Debra Marshall

Debra Marshall
File:Debra2008.JPG
Born	(1960-03-02) March 2, 1960 Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Debra Debra McMichael Debra Williams Queen Debra
Billed height	5 ft 6 in (167 cm)
Billed weight	117 lb (52 kg)
Trained by	Jeff Jarrett
Debut	April 1996
Retired	March 2003

Debra Gale Marshall (born March 2, 1960 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) is an American real estate agent and former professional wrestling manager and WWE Diva. She is best known by her ring name, Debra. Before becoming involved in wrestling, Debra was a beauty pageant participant, winning the runner-up for Miss Texas USA in 1984.

Wrestling career

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 a flight attendant before joining World Championship Wrestling along with her husband, Steve "Mongo" McMichael, in 1996.

World Championship Wrestling (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 sat at ringside while her husband performed announcing duties. Then, Ric Flair hit on her, and she threw a drink in his face, which caused Mongo to demand a match with Flair. At the Great American Bash 1996, Mongo and his partner Kevin Greene competed against Flair and Arn Anderson. Late in the Match Woman & Elizabeth chased Debra McMichael & Terri Greene backstage. Debra McMichael returned a few minutes later with a metal brief case and gave it to her husband, Steve McMichael opened it and found a IV Horsemen T-shirt and a lot of money, Flair won the match after Mongo and Debra turned on Greene due to the brief case. After the match, Chris Benoit came out and the reformed Four Horsemen continued to attack Greene.

During this time, Debra bickered with Woman. Mongo and Chris Benoit frequently had to step in and separate them from their disagrements. Debra would usually have the last word after Woman and Benoit had left the area.

Later in the same year, Jeff Jarrett came over to WCW from the WWF, and expressed his desire to join the Horsemen. He immediately gained a fan in Ric Flair and Debra, much to the chagrin of the other Horsemen (including Mongo). She eventually helped Jarrett defeat Mongo to gain membership by forcing Mongo to team with him. Just as the duo had began to co-exist peacefully, Debra and Jarrett turned on Mongo. Next, Debra recruited Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Bill Goldberg, and Alex Wright into a shortlived stable, which disbanded when Debra left WCW (and divorced Mongo).

World Wrestling Federation

1998

In 1998, 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 often helped Jarrett win matches through cheating and interference. Following Survivor Series: Deadly Games in November 1998, Jarrett began a feud with "The Bizarre One", Goldust. A match was set for December 1998 at WWE In Your House: Rock Bottom. Goldust announced that it would be a "Striptease Match", meaning that if Jarrett won, Goldust would have to strip naked, but if Goldust won, Debra would have to strip naked. Debra played mind games with Goldust in the weeks prior to the match by flashing him in order to distract him and cost him matches.

On December 13, 1998, Jeff Jarrett faced Goldust in the Striptease Match. The crowd was strongly behind Goldust because they wanted to see Debra strip. However, 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.

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 it helped Jarrett and partner Owen Hart to 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).

1999

It wasn't until February 1999 that Debra had her first feud with a female, Ivory, in the WWF. The feud began with small catfights, but it escalated to wrestling matches. The first match that Debra was invovled in saw her team with Jarrett against Ivory and D'Lo Brown on Monday Night RAW. Ivory and Brown won by disqualification after Debra hit Ivory over the head with a guitar. They also fought in a tag match at WWF St. Valentine's Day Massacre where Jarrett and Owen Hart retained their tag titles against Brown and Mark Henry, who were accompanied by Ivory. On March 1, 1999, Ivory stripped Debra during Jarrett's match. Debra then challenged Ivory to a match backstage, and Ivory accepted. On one occasion, Debra beat Ivory due to the interference from PMS (Terri & Jacqueline). During the month of April, Debra continued to manage Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart.

On May 10, 1999, Debra "won" the Women's Championship from Sable in an Evening Gown Match. Technically, in an Evening Gown Match, the winner is the woman who forcibly removes her opponent's dress. However, Sable removed Debra's dress and therefore should have been the winner. However, Commissioner Shawn Michaels ruled that he considered the woman who had lost her dress the winner, crowning Debra the new Women's Champion. During her reign, she rarely defended the title, instead remaining a manager.

Jarrett and Debra then began feuding with Val Venis and Nicole Bass, culminating in a match at Over The Edge 1999 on May 23. The match that took place immediately after Owen Hart died after falling from the top of the arena while preparing for a stunt. The feud ended in a bikini contest between Debra and Bass, which Debra won.

Debra lost the Women's Title to Ivory on June 14, 1999 due to the interference from Nicole Bass. Debra was choking Ivory with a scraf when Nicole entered the ring and choked Debra so Ivory got the pin. Subsequently, she continued as Jarrett's manager. Jarrett began mistreating her during July and August, complaining that every match he lost was her fault. Jarrett then began another feud with D'Lo Brown. The two met at SummerSlam 1999, with Debra in Brown's corner. However, Brown's former tag team partner Mark Henry turned on him, along with Debra, resulting in Jarrett winning both the WWF European Championship and the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The following night, Jarrett awarded Henry the European title and gave Debra an assistant, Miss Kitty. However, he soon turned againist Debra in favor of Kitty, after blaming her for a mixed tag team loss to Stephanie McMahon and Test. After losing that match, Jarrett applied the Figure Four Leglock on her. Finally, at Unforgiven 1999 on September 26, 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, Jarrett and Tom Prichard challenged Chyna and Debra to a mixed tag match. Chyna accepted but added the stipulation that if she won, she would get a re-match for the Intercontinental Championship. Just as Chyna was about to lose, Debra got into the ring and pulled Jarrett's hair, and then Miss Kitty entered the ring to confront Debra. Debra also took her down by her hair. Chyna later pinned Jarrett, so Chyna and Debra won the match. Chyna was rewarded a re-match at No Mercy 1999. In the following weeks, Chyna and Debra continued to feud with Jeff Jarrett and Miss Kitty.

Debra appeared sporadically thereafter, participating in an 8 women Sudden Death Match for the Women's Championship at Survivor Series 1999 Terri got into the ring to break up the pin when Debra got in and stripped Terri. At the end of 1999 Debra got an offer from Playboy to appear nude in the magazine however she turned down the offer.

2000-2002

In 2000, she acted as Ring Announcer for the World Tag Team Championship match between Edge and Christian against D-Generation X's X-Pac and "The Road Dogg" Jesse James at Backlash 2000. She disappeared in the summer of 2000, but made a full-time return in the fall of that year, playing the role of Lieutenant Commissioner, the assistant of Commissioner Mick Foley. By this time, Debra had married Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the marriage was incorporated into onscreen storylines, such as the buildup of Austin's match with The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven.

Debra disliked 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, and she began 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 other Alliance members. The cookies supposedly tasted terrible, but no one told her, except a 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. One week later on RAW, Stone Cold and Debra took on Matt Hardy and Lita. Debra and Lita fought outside the ring until Stone Cold stunned Lita and won the match.

In late 2001 and early 2002, Stone Cold entered into a feud with Triple H. This led into an argument between Debra and Stephanie McMahon on January 14, 2002. The argument turned into a battle when Debra slapped Stephanie and pulled her down by her hair. They fought for about 2 minutes until WWF officials separated them.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002-2005)

Debra retained an on-screen role with Stone Cold even after the Alliance angle ended and Stone Cold had turned face again. However, her appearances became more and more infrequent, as she wasn't involved in any actual angles or storylines, and she just made random appearances backstage.

After the WWF changed its name to WWE in 2002, Debra made even more infrequent appearances. On June 3, 2002 Debra was shown with Stone Cold discussing both RAW and SmackDown! and about who Stone Cold would have to wrestle. On June 10, 2002, Debra was shown in a backstage interview about an incident between Lita and Austin. Debra's final appearance was on a the live guest show WWE Excess where Debra and Trish Stratus guested. The show aired two days after her last RAW appearance.

In late June 2002, Austin walked out of WWE and Debra followed, and she has not been seen in the wrestling business since. On January 15, 2006, Debra was reportedly backstage at TNA Final Resolution 2006 , and was also reportedly seen backstage at a RAW house show in 2005. She has expressed interest in returning to WWE if an open position becomes available.

Wrestling facts

• Wrestlers managed

• Stone Cold Steve Austin
• Ric Flair
• Eddie Guerrero
• Owen Hart
• Jeff Jarrett
• Dean Malenko
• Steve McMichael
• The Rock
• Alex Wright
• Chyna
• D'Lo Brown

• Managers

• Owen Hart
• Jeff Jarrett

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI Manager of the Year (1999)
• PWI Woman of the Year (1999)

• World Wrestling Federation

• WWF Women's Championship (1 time)
• Runner-up for "Best Legs of 2001" (magazine poll)
• Debra was made Lt. Commissioner in 2000
• Third Runner-up for Babe of the Year in 2001.

File:Debra mcmichael movie.jpg

Debra's appearance as a policewoman in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.

Other media

Before becoming involved in wrestling, Debra had a small role in the 1994 film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation as a policewoman.

In 1999, Debra hosted the Teen Choice Awards, presenting two awards. On February 16, 2002, she and Steve Austin appeared on an episode of Mad TV. On March 10, 2002, Debra appeared on an episode of The Weakest Link alongside several other members of the WWE roster.

On August 7, 2006, Debra appeared on the British talk show GMTV, discussing both her WWE career and her current movie roles.

Debra said in the interview on GMTV she is to be in the upcoming 2007 film Resident Evil: Extinction playing the role of Cindy lennox as well as a minor role as a "Lab Technician" .

Filmography

File:Cin.JPG

Debra's and Her Character Cidny Lennox

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• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994) as "Cop At Bud's Pizza"
• Beyond the Mat (1999) as "Herself"
• Biography (1999) in episode "The Life and Death of Owen Hart"
• Teen Choice Awards (1999) as "Presenter"
• Stone Cold Steve Austin: What? (2002)
• Mad TV (2002) in episode 7.15
• Weakest Link (2002) in episode "WWF Superstars Edition 2"
• Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story (2004) as "Herself"
• Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy (2006) as "Jennie/Dancer"
• Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) as "Lab Technician"

Personal life

In 1985, Debra married National Football League alumnus 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 Stone Cold Steve Austin and changed her name to Debra Williams . However, on June 15, 2002, police were called to their residence in San Antonio, Texas. They found a hysterical Debra with bruises and a bloody nose. 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 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 off on eBay. The money was donated by Debra to "SafePlace", a legal clinic which assists the victims of domestic abuse. The ring went for $34,000.

She is now involved in real estate.

External links

• TotallyDebra.com
• Debra Marshall at IMDb
• Debra Marshall at onlineworldofwrestling.com
• Debra Marshall at OWOW.com