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Rena Mero made her World Wrestling Federation debut as Sable at WrestleMania XII in March 1996, escorting Hunter Hearst Helmsley to the ring as he took on the returning The Ultimate Warrior. Mero's first major angle as Sable involved her then real-life husband, who debuted at WrestleMania XII as "Wildman" Marc Mero. The storyline started when Marc Mero witnessed Sable being mistreated by Helmsley backstage, so Marc Mero attacked Helmsley and took Sable as his manager. She remained Mero's manager until his injury in 1997. Between 1997 and the time he returned from his injury in 1998, Sable became popular on her own. In her next storyline, a returning Marc Mero (now known as "Marvelous" Marc Mero) became jealous, refused to let Sable get any of the spotlight, and mistreated her. The duo entered into a feud with Luna Vachon and The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust, which climaxed in a match at WrestleMania XIV in March 1998. Sable delivered a superkick to Goldust and executed a "Sable Bomb", a version of the powerbomb, on Luna. She also delivered a TKO and pinned Luna to finish the match, with the crowd chanting Sable's name in the background. At the following pay-per-view event, Unforgiven in April 1998, Sable lost to Luna in an Evening Gown match after being distracted by Marc Mero.

After Marc's interference at Unforgiven, Sable came to the ring and challenged Marc to a match. Sable then kicked him in the groin and delivered a Sable Bomb to get revenge. Sable eventually broke away from "Marvelous" Marc Mero, who debuted Jacqueline as his new manager, resulting in a storyline feud between the two women. The two met in a bikini contest in July 1998 at Fully Loaded. Sable, only wearing impressions of hands painted on her exposed breasts, won the contest. The next night on Raw however, Vince McMahon disqualified Sable from the previous night's contest since she did not actually wear a bikini, and the match was then awarded to Jacqueline. In response, Sable gave McMahon the double finger. At SummerSlam, Sable and her mystery partner, federation newcomer Edge, defeated Marc Mero and Jacqueline in a mixed tag team match.

Sable and Jacqueline faced off for the newly reinstated WWF Women's Title on the September 21, 1998 edition of Raw. Jacqueline claimed the title after Marc Mero interfered. On November 15, 1998 at Survivor Series, she dropped the title to Sable, who won after powerbombing both Marc and Jacqueline during the match. During this time, Rena had a guest appearance on an episode of the USA Network show Pacific Blue. Sable then briefly entered a storyline where she was forced to play a subservient role to Vince and Shane McMahon, but the storyline was cut short.

Heel turn

In 1999, as part of a new storyline, Sable was attacked by a masked woman named Spider Lady, who turned out to be Luna. Sable defeated Luna in a Strap match at the Royal Rumble after an assist from a planted female Sable fan, WWF newcomer Tori. Tori's debut signified a change in Sable's persona. After the Rumble, Rena (under her Sable ring name) was featured as the cover girl for the April 1999 issue of Playboy. The issue was one of the highest selling issues of Playboy ever. Surrounding the release of the issue, the Sable character turned heel by "going Hollywood" and having an inflated ego. Rarely defending her title, Sable continually berated her fan Tori, and she feuded with both Tori and Luna Vachon (who had turned face). She debuted a new catchphrase: "This is for all the women who want to be me and all the men who come to see me" and a dance move called "the grind." The feud with Tori led to a match at WrestleMania XV. During the contest, Nicole Bass debuted as Sable's bodyguard and helped Sable win the match.

Sable went on with Bass making Bass do all of her dirty work. Sable continued to hold the championship for almost 6 months, but on May 10, 1999, Debra "won" the Women's Championship from Sable in an Evening Gown match. Normally in an Evening Gown match, the winner is the woman who forcibly removes her opponent's dress, which Sable did. As part of the storyline, WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels, however, ruled that the woman who had lost her dress was the winner, making Debra the new Women's Champion. Off-screen, Sable was in a dispute with the WWF, which is why she was stripped of the title on-screen.

Post�WWF (1999�2001)

In June 1999, Rena Mero quit the WWF and filed a $110 million lawsuit against the company, citing allegations of sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. She claims to have filed the lawsuit after refusing to go topless. During the course of the lawsuit, Vince McMahon counter-sued Rena over control of the stagename "Sable". Mero reduced the amount she was seeking in damages, and they eventually settled out of court in August 1999. Mero used her real name for her appearance in the September 1999 issue of Playboy. She was the first woman in history to be given two Playboy covers in the same year. After her WWF exit, she made an on-camera appearance as an audience member on World Championship Wrestling's Nitro.

During this time, Mero made appearances on The Howard Stern Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. She also made appearances on television shows such as Relic Hunter and First Wave and in the films Corky Romano as a female bouncer and Ariana's Quest. She released her autobiography, entitled Undefeated in August 2000. She also released a comic book entitled The 10th Muse starring herself as a superhero. In May 2001, Mero was given an advice column on CompuServe. On November 13 and November 14, 2001, she appeared as the on-camera "CEO" of the newly formed X Wrestling Federation (XWF), but these were her only appearances with the company.

Return to WWE and departure (2003�2004)

Sable in 2003Mero returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on the April 3, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, reprising her role as Sable. Sable continued to be a villain and heel and spent several months in a storyline with new Playboy covergirl Torrie Wilson. Sable followed Wilson down to her matches, talked with her backstage, and on one occasion, she left Wilson in a tag match alone to fend for herself. Sable eventually challenged Wilson to a showdown bikini contest at Judgment Day. After Sable got the bigger applause, Wilson removed another layer of clothing, and Special Guest Referee Tazz declared Wilson the winner. After the match, Wilson went up to Sable and kissed her before exiting the ring. Sable then had an altercation with the guest judge Tazz, dumping water on him on the following edition of SmackDown!, as a means of gaining revenge for declaring Wilson the winner.

Sable then feuded with Stephanie McMahon in a storyline in which she was Vince McMahon's mistress. Vince appointed Sable as Stephanie's personal assistant against Stephanie's will, sparking the feud between the duo. During the feud, they competed in several catfights, a food fight, a parking lot brawl in which Sable's bra was ripped off, revealing both her breasts on live television, and a match in which Sable smacked a clipboard over Stephanie's head. At Vengeance, Sable defeated Stephanie after interference by her new ally, A-Train. At SummerSlam, Sable accompanied A-Train in his match against The Undertaker, which he lost. After the match, The Undertaker held Sable so that Stephanie could use a Spear attack on her. After SummerSlam, Vince and Sable focused on getting rid of Stephanie for good, so Vince made an "I Quit" match at No Mercy. In the match, Sable slapped Stephanie and was involved in a scuffle with Linda McMahon.

Sable briefly became a face again when she appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine for the third time in her career. On the cover, she appeared with fellow diva Torrie Wilson, making them the first WWE Divas to pose in Playboy together. Surrounding the release of the cover, the duo feuded with Raw divas Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie, even though all four women were faces at the time. The two teams squared off at WrestleMania XX in an Interpromotional Tag Team Evening Gown match, but the divas started the match in their underwear, making it more of a lingerie match. Sable and Wilson were victorious. The change was rumored to have occurred because Sable had suffered damage to her breast.

Following WrestleMania XX, Sable quickly turned heel again and engaged in another short feud with Torrie Wilson. The feud culminated in a match at The Great American Bash, which Sable won. Sable's final appearance in WWE was on SmackDown! when she, Dawn Marie, and Wilson accompanied Eddie Guerrero to the ring in his lowrider. On August 10, 2004, WWE's official website announced that Sable and WWE had parted ways. Mero claimed that she left the company to spend more time with her family.

Legacy

Mero, as Sable, was a pioneer of WWE Divas, that helped define the role of women in WWE during the 90's. Sable's popularity led to a shift in the role of women in the WWE, as the promotion began to rely less on its female performers as simply eye candy and placed a greater emphasis on female athletes who actually competed in matches. Her popularity marked the reinstatement of the WWE Women's Title, as well as the hiring of more female wrestlers by the promotion. Sable became the first WWE female to proclaim herself as a 'Diva' during the April 19 edition of Raw in 1999; the term proved popular and shortly thereafter became the official title for WWE's female performers, be they managers or wrestlers. Having been one of the first female wrestlers to compete in such speciality matches as evening gown matches, and the first ever bikini contest, in which she competed against Jacqueline, she was also the first WWE diva to pose for Playboy. Her edition was a huge success, and opened the door for many other divas to pose for the magazine as well.

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