Debra Marshall Biography
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Debra Gale Marshall is an
American former professional wrestling manager, most famously known as Debra.
She was married to two prominent professional wrestlers, first to former NFL
star Steve McMichael and later to Stone Cold Steve Austin (real name Steve
Williams).
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Career
World Championship Wrestling
Debra was a track runner,
cheerleader and Homecoming Queen at 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 short-lived 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 bestowed by commentator
Jerry Lawler).
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 passed
away 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.
Afterwards, Bass attacked Venis with Jarrett's guitar, and was never seen in the
WWF again.
Debra lost the Women's Title
to Ivory on June 14, 1999. 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, 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 scab referee Dr. Tom
Pritchard overturned the decision due to Debra's involvement.
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.
After Mick Foley was fired as
Commissioner in December 2000, Debra took another break, but returned in March
2001. She was ordered by Vince McMahon to become The Rock's manager, in order to
generate tension between him and Stone Cold, who were set to face each other for
the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven. The storyline was made as a
"tribute" of sorts to the famous Hulk Hogan / "Macho Man" Randy Savage / Miss
Elizabeth angle from 1988-1989. Austin finally attacked The Rock after he failed
to prevent Kurt Angle placing an ankle lock on Debra in the course of a match.
The angle was dropped after two weeks when the WWE decided that the Rock versus
Austin with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line was a big enough
match to headline WrestleMania X-Seven without further embellishments.
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.
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. Finally, in June 2002, Stone Cold walked
out of the WWE, and Debra followed. She has not been seen in the wrestling
business since.
Personal Life
On June 15, 2002 police were
called to the residence of Debra and Austin in San Antonio, Texas, and found
Debra bruised and hysterical. Austin had left the house and was asked by police
not to return. On August 14, Austin was arrested and charged with domestic
abuse. He pled no contest on November 25 and and was given a year's probation, a
$1,000 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. 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. Debra is now involved in the world of real estate.
Wrestlers managed by Debra
Steve McMichael
Ric Flair
Jeff Jarrett
Alex Wright
Eddie Guerrero
Dean Malenko
Owen Hart
The Rock
Stone Cold Steve
Austin
Championships/Accomplishments
1-time WWF Women's
Champion
Debra won the Pro
Wrestling Illustrated Manager of the Year Award in 1999.
Beauty Titles Won:
Miss Texas USA, Miss Illinois America
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URL of Original Article:
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Date Article Copied:
July 20, 2005
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