Fans of the WCW and WWE legend Booker T may remember that even as a singles wrestler, he didn’t always fly solo. In the 2000, fans may remember that he had real-life wife, Sharmell — or Queen Sharmell — accompanying him to the ring and getting involved in storylines.

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A legend and WWE Hall of Famer in her own right (she was inducted in 2022), Sharmell is one of those performers fans might not know much about, as much of her run on televised major pro wrestling had her functioning as a valet to various wrestlers. Let’s take a look at her career and see what fans should know about Sharmell.

10 Dance And Pageant Background

Sharmell as Miss Black America in 1991

Born Sharmell Sullivan in Gary, Indiana in 1970, Sharmell’s first big claim to fame wasn’t in the squared circle, but rather in the pageant scene. In 1991, Sharmell won Miss Black America, representing her home state of Indiana. From there, she pursued a dancing career, finding work as a backup dancer for various artists including Keith Sweat, James Brown, and P. Diddy. It was her experience in dancing that ended up being her entry point into the world of pro wrestling.

9 Joined WCW As A Nitro Girl

WCW's Nitro Girls

In late 1998, Sharmell became a part of WCW television when she joined the Nitro Girls, WCW’s resident dance troupe that would entertain the live crowds during the commercial breaks. Working under the name Storm, Sharmell ended up bonding with several other nitro girls — namely Tygress, Spice, Chae, and Fyre — and they ended up forming a side project outside of WCW, a pop group called Diversity 5. The group only managed to put out two tracks and Sharmell/Storm left the group upon signing to WWE.

8 Valet To Prince Iaukea

Sharmell as Paisley with The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea

By the year 2000, WCW began to incorporate the Nitro Girls into on-screen storylines as opposed to just having them dance during commercials. Storm found herself paired with Prince Iaukea, who’d been repackaged as the Prince parody The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea (later simply “The Artist”. As part of the gimmick, Sharmell found herself with a new name: Paisley.

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During this period, Paisley ended up venturing into in-ring competition, first by joining The Artist in mixed tag team matches and then making her singles debut in a winning effort against Tammy Lynn Sytch (better known as Sunny).

7 Retired While In WWE Developmental

Sharmell in WWE

While some might assume Sharmell was one of the many performers who WWE retained after its purchase of WCW, she was actually released by WCW just before the purchase. However, she ended up signing to WWE that year anyway, and trained in WWE’s developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling to continue wrestling. However, an injury forced her retirement from in-ring competition, after which she became a backstage interviewer on SmackDown until she was released from the company in 2002.

6 Feud With Kurt Angle

Sharmell and Kurt Angle

Sharmell would make her return to WWE in 2005, now working as the valet for Booker T, who she married the same year. During this period, they entered a feud with Kurt Angle centered around Angle’s sexual harrassment and stalking of Sharmell. The storyline, which Angle considers the worst of his career and attributed to Vince McMahon wanting to torment/embarrass Angle for a laugh, saw Angle pinning Sharmell in a suggestive way during a match and Booker T ultimately defeating Angle in a lengthy match on SmackDown.

5 Turned Heel Before Booker T

Sharmell, Booker T, and the United States Championship

Following the Kurt Angle feud, Sharmell soon began to act more heelish while working as Booker T’s valet, despite them being a babyface act. During bouts, Sharmell would interfere and cheat on Booker’s behalf, often when he wasn’t looking, a practice that ended up helping Booker T win the US Championship from Chris Benoit. When this was revealed to Booker, he ended up faking an apology before attacking Benoit himself, revealing that he was fully aware of Sharmell’s interference and turning heel himself.

4 Becoming Queen Sharmell

King Booker T and Queen Sharmell

In 2006, Booker T would defeat Bobby Lashley in the final round of the King of the Ring tournament, and embark on the obligatory “king gimmick” repackaging that many KOTR winners do. As a result, Booker T became King Booker while Sharmell became Queen Sharmell, and the duo began talking in hilariously poor English accents as part of their new regal personas.

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The following year, the two would enter a break-up storyline, where a loss to Matt Hardy caused Sharmell to ditch Booker T, as he failed to defend her honor.

3 Joined Booker T In Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling's Main Event Mafia

In 2007, both Booker T and Sharmell departed WWE, and made their way over to the competition, TNA (now known as Impact Wrestling). One of their first feuds was with Robert Roode and his manager Ms. Brooks, leading to a winning effort in a mixed tag team match at Final Resolution in early 2008. Before long, Booker T would turn heel and join the Main Event Mafia faction alongside Sting, Kurt Angle, and others, with Sharmell joining up alongside her husband.

2 Infamous Match With Jenna Morasca

Sharmell Vs Jenna Morasca

In the Main Event Mafia, there were several valets, including Jenna Morasca, who was famous for competing on the reality show Survivor. Sharmell and Morasca were often at one another’s throats during MEM segments, so after a physical altercation backstage a bout between the two was inevitable. Their singles match went down at Victory Road 2009, and was not only Sharmell’s only singles match in Impact, but also immediately went down in infamy as one of the worst matches of all time, thanks in part to Morasca’s poor all-around in-ring performance.

1 Co-Founded Reality Of Wrestling

Reality Of Wrestling Cropped

In 2005, before they left WWE, Sharmell and Booker T decided to start up their own wrestling promotion to help keep the Houston, Texas wrestling scene alive as well as bring up new talent. Initially named Pro Wrestling Alliance, in 2012 the company rebranded as Reality of Wrestling, and boasts such alumni as WWE’s ma.çé, NXT’s Roxanne Perez, and AEW’s Athena. In addition to training and holding live events, Reality of Wrestling also boasts a weekly television show that airs on YouTube.