Debra Marshall
| Debra Marshall | |
|---|---|
| File:Debr.jpg | |
| Born | March 2, 1960 Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Debra, Debra McMichael, Debra Williams, Queen Debra |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (165 cm) |
| Billed weight | 122 lb (55 kg) |
| Trained by | Jeff Jarrett |
| Debut | August 1996 |
| Retired | June 2002 |
Debra Gale Marshall (born March 2, 1960 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) is an American real estate agent and former professional wrestling manager. She is better known by her ring name, Debra. Before Debra was famous she won Miss Texas USA, Miss Illinois America for Beauty contests.
Career
World Championship Wrestling
Debra was a track runner, cheerleader and Homecoming Queen in high school before attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. She then became an Airline Attendant, before joining World Championship Wrestling along with her husband, Steve "Mongo" McMichael, in 1996.
Debra was originally one of many women who would stand on the entrance ramp and clap as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage entered the ring. On one occasion she was sitting at ringside while her husband was performing announcing duties. Ric Flair hit on her and she ended up throwing a drink in his face, much to Mongo's delight. This caused Mongo to want a match with Flair, so they set up a match for the Great American Bash pay-per-view in 1996. Mongo and Debra ended up turning on his partner, Kevin Greene, to join the Four Horsemen.
During this time, Debra bickered with Woman, with Mongo and Chris Benoit having to step in and separate them. Debra would usually have the last word after Woman and Benoit had left the area.
Jeff Jarrett arrived in WCW and Debra wanted him to join the Horsemen, while Mongo did not. She eventually helped Jarrett defeat Mongo to gain membership, forcing Mongo to team with him. Just as the duo had began to co-exist peacefully, Debra and Jarrett turned on Mongo. Debra recruited Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Bill Goldberg and Alex Wright to a shortlived stable which disbanded when Debra left WCW (and divorced Mongo).
World Wrestling Federation
Debra rejoined Jarrett in the World Wrestling Federation. At the beginning of her WWF career, Debra played the part of a shrewd businesswoman, wearing business suits and rarely smiling. She helped Jarrett win matches through cheating. Following Survivor Series: Deadly Games in November 1998, Jarrett began a feud with "The Bizarre One", Goldust. A match was set for the December 1998 pay-per-view, Rock Bottom: In Your House, which Goldust announced would be a "Striptease Match", meaning that if Jarrett won, then Goldust would have to strip naked, but if Goldust won, then Debra would have to strip naked. Debra played mind games with Goldust in the weeks preceding to the match, flashing him in order to distract him and costing him matches.
On December 13, 1998, Jeff Jarrett faced Goldust in the Striptease Match. The crowd was strongly behind Goldust, as they wanted to see Debra strip. Unfortunately for them, Debra hit Goldust over the head with Jarrett's trademark Guitar, enabling Jarrett to win, meaning that Goldust had to strip. However, WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels ruled that, since Debra had hit Goldust with a guitar, Jarrett was disqualified, meaning that Goldust was the winner, and Debra had to strip. Debra was hesitant at first, but soon warmed up to the crowd, and stripped down to her bra and thong. However, before Debra could unhook her bra, The Blue Blazer (a disguised Owen Hart) entered the ring and covered her up, just as Shawn Michaels took off her bra.
Jarrett hoped this would be the last time anyone saw Debra in her underwear, but Rock Bottom was only the beginning. From that point on, in every Jeff Jarrett match, Debra would take off her blouse and show her bra in order to distract Jarrett's opponents. The strategy was normally successful, and helped Jarrett and his partner, Owen, defeat The Big Bossman and Ken Shamrock to become World Tag Team Champions. Jarrett became a defacto face as a result of Debra, who would willingly take off her blouse to show the crowd her "puppies" (a nickname originally bestowed by wrestler Road Dogg and immortalized by commentator Jerry Lawler).
It wasn't until February, 1999 when Debra had her first feud with a female in the World Wrestling Federation which was Ivory. This included catfights, A match between Debra & Jeff Jarrett vs. Ivory & D Lo Brown, the two started to fight when Ivory won by Disquafication due to Debra hitting Ivory over the head with a Guitar. On the 2nd March 1999 (Debra's Birthday) Ivory striped Debra during Jeff Jarretts Match which then Debra Challenged Ivory to a match later on, Ivory accepted the match Debra won the match due to the interference from PMS.
Debra "won" the Women's Championship from Sable in an Evening Gown Match on May 10, 1999. Technically, in an Evening Gown Match, the winner is the woman who forcibly removes her opponent's dress. Sable took off Debra's dress, and should therefore have been the winner. However, Commissioner Shawn Michaels ruled that he considered the woman who had lost her dress the winner, making Debra the new Women's Champion. She would rarely defend the title, remaining a manager. Jarrett and Debra began feuding with Val Venis and Nicole Bass, leading to a match at Over The Edge on May 23, 1999; a match that took place immediately after Owen Hart had died after falling from the top of the arena in a stunt gone wrong. The feud ended in a bikini contest between Debra and Nicole Bass, which Debra won.
Debra lost the Women's Title to Ivory on June 14 , 1999 due to the interference from Nicole Bass. She continued as Jarrett's manager, still distracting his opponents by removing her shirt, and wearing bikinis and a sports jacket at pay-per-views. Jarrett began to mistreat her throughout the months of July & August every match Jeff lost it would be Debra's fault, at one point applying the Figure Four Leglock on her after losing a match to Test and Stephanie McMahon. Finally, at Unforgiven on September 26, 1999, Debra turned on Jeff Jarrett, becoming a face, in the middle of his match against Chyna for the Intercontinental Championship. She smashed Jarrett's guitar over his head and told him she was no longer going to manage him. Chyna pinned Jarrett, but the referee overturned the decision due to Debra's involvement. The next night on Raw Jeff Jarrett and Tom Pichard challenged Chyna and Debra to a mixed tag match, Chyna accepted but said if she won then she should get a re-match for the Intercontinental Championship, just as chyna was about to lose Debra got into the ring and started to pull Jeff Jarretts hair this lead Miss Kitty to enter the ring and confront Debra however this did'nt last long as Debra toke her down by her hair, at the end Chyna and Debra won the match and Chyna then won her place to have a re-match at No Mercy, the upcoming weeks show a feud between Chyna and Jeff Jarrett with Debra backing Chyna and Miss Kitty backing Jeff.
Debra appeared sporadically thereafter, participating in the Sudden Death Match for the WWF Women's Championship at Survivor Series 1999, and acting as Ring Announcer for the World Tag Team Championship match between Edge and Christian and D-Generation X (X-Pac and "The Road Dogg" Jesse James) at Backlash 2000. She disappeared in the summer of 2000, but made her full-time return in the fall of that year, playing the role of Lieutenant Commissioner, the assistant of Commissioner Mick Foley. At this point, Debra married to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the marriage was incorporated into onscreen storylines, such as the buildup to Austin's match with The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven.
Debra decried her husband's heel turn at WrestleMania X-Seven, but still stood by him as he slowly descended into madness throughout his reign as World Heavyweight Champion. It wasn't until Austin joined The Alliance during the InVasion angle that Debra officially turned heel again. She no longer wore business suits, instead, her attire changed to wearing tight black t-shirts with Stone Cold written on them, and leather pants. While she didn't accompany Stone Cold to the ring for his matches, she did join him in backstage segments and in interviews. She also started baking cookies which she served to the Alliance members during this time period. The cookies supposedly tasted terrible, but no one ever told Debra this other than the somewhat tactless Austin. On August 2, 2001, Debra hit Austin with a tray in the middle of the ring after he repeatedly interrupted and disrespected her.
In late 2001 and early 2002 there was a major feud between Stone Cold and Triple H, however this led into an argument between Debra and Stephanie on January 14, 2002, the two babes battled this out including Debra slapping Stephanie, pulling her down by her hair the fight between them was about 2 minutes long until WWF officials broke it up.
Debra retained an on-screen role with Stone Cold even after the Alliance angle ended and Stone Cold turned face again. However, her appearances became more and more infrequent, as she wasn't involved in any actual angles or storylines, and just made random appearances backstage with Stone Cold.
World Wrestling Entertainment
After the WWF changed their name to WWE in 2002 Debra only made 3 more appearances. One was with Stone Cold discussing the Raw and Smackdown programs and about who Stone Cold would have to face, the second appearance was a backstage interview with Debra discussing what Lita said to Stone Cold earlier that night and the third and final one was with a live guest show where Debra and Trish Stratus was the Guests. Finally late June 2002 Stone Cold walked out of the WWE, and Debra followed. She has not been seen in the wrestling business since. Wwe.com kept Debra's profile until March 2003 when they removed it. On January 15, 2006 Debra was reported to be backstage at TNA Final Resolution 2006, and was reportedly seen backstage at a RAW house show in 2005. She has expressed an interest in returning to WWE if a position became available.
Wrestlers managed
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
- Ric Flair
- Eddie Guerrero
- Owen Hart
- Jeff Jarrett
- Dean Malenko
- Steve McMichael
- The Rock
- Alex Wright
Championships and accomplishments
- PWI Manager of the Year Award (1999)
- 1-time WWF Women's Champion
- Runner-up for "best legs of 2001" (Magazine poll)
Championship succession
Filmography
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994) as "Cop At Bud's Pizza"
- Beyond the Mat (1999)
- Biography (1999) in episode "The Life and Death of Owen Hart"
- Teen Choice Awards (1999)
- Mad TV (2002) in episode 7.15
- Weakest Link (2002) in episode "WWF Superstars Edition 2"
- Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy (2005) as dancer (uncredited)
- Resident Evil Extinction(2007) as Cindy Lennox (Attached)
Personal life
In 1985, Debra married National Football League alumni and professional wrestler Steve McMichael, and changed her name to Debra McMichael. She and McMichael were divorced on October 12, 1998. On September 6, 2000, Debra married Steve "Stone Cold Steve Austin" Williams, and changed her name to Debra Williams or Debra Marshall-Williams. In september, 1999 outside of wrestling Debra was asked by playboy to appear on the front cover of the next playboy issue Debra turned down the offer as she said she would never appear naked for any magazine or TV programme.
On June 15, 2002, police were called to the residence of Debra and Austin in San Antonio, Texas. They found Debra bruised and hysterical. Austin had left the house and was asked by police not to return. On August 14, 2002, Austin was arrested and charged with domestic abuse. He pled no contest on November 25, 2002 and was given a year's probation, a $1,000 USD fine and ordered to carry out eighty hours of community service. In addition, he was banned from drinking alcoholic beer for a year, as alcohol was believed to be linked to his offence.
Austin filed for divorce on July 22, 2002, and the couple were legally divorced in 2003. Debra later auctioned her wedding ring on eBay, with a portion of the proceeds going to "SafePlace", a legal clinic which assists the victims of domestic abuse. She is now involved in the world of real estate.