Getting a leg up: Debra McMichael-Williams has used her assets—physical and otherwise—to gain an advantage in the world of professional wrestling - sports manager - Cover Story - Interview

Wrestling Digest, Dec, 2001 by Thomas Chamberlin

DEBRA MCMICHAEL-WILLIAMS good looks got her into the wrestling business. Not having pretensions about those looks saved her career.

The former beauty pageant queen turned wrestling diva has bounced from WCW to the WWF and from one superstar husband to another. In the interim, she had a big hand in creating the era of female managers who did more than just get involved in a match here and there.

Formerly the WWF's "lieutenant commissioner," Debra returned to the spotlight on "RAW" on earlier this year. She doesn't have a nightly role on TV, but she has returned to managing in the WWF. Because she has been willing to show the goods--or at least come close --Debra will always be welcome.

"I think Debra had to do with the female role on TV more than what people realize," says Chyna, one of Debra's closest friends in the wrestling business. "She had that business manager look that got a lot of people interested. And the shorter the skirt got, the more people became interested."

And the more popular and influential she became.

FROM THE BIG SCREEN TO THE RING

While her first husband, former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael, was establishing himself as "Mongo" in WCW, Debra was taking acting classes back home in Austin, Texas. She appeared in several television commercials and two of country music star George Strait's videos. Debra was offered the lead role in the 1994 movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre IV," but the offer was rescinded when the woman the director originally wanted changed her mind about the part and accepted. Debra was given a small part as a police officer in the movie, which starred Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey before they became Hollywood stars.

"I can't believe anyone remembers I was in that movie," Debra says with a raised eyebrow. "My acting career didn't exactly take off like Renee's and Matthew's did."

Her acting career was in neutral, but her wrestling career was just about to get started. The former Miss Texas and Miss Illinois met McMichael's mother on a flight to Chicago. His mom set them up on a blind date, and they were soon married. Debra always made sure she was visible during McMichael's playing days with the Bears. When he began gaining notoriety in WCW, Debra began hanging around the arena more. Eventually, she was asked to start accompanying her then-husband to the ring. As "Queen of WCW," Debra became famous for swinging a brief case and showing off her long legs.

"I have never been one who says she gets offended by doing a lot of the things that we do on TV," Debra says. "You're in this game to make money, and it is a money-making game. It's sex that sells. This is entertainment and we're here to make money. Good-looking flesh pulls in viewers."

At that time, WCW was pulling in the audience. "Nitro" was the highest-rated cable television show, and both Debra and Steve McMichael were a big part of the ratings. "Mongo" was part of the Four Horsemen, and Debra made sure, with her briefcase, that no one got out of line.

When WCW began to lose its grip on the ratings war, Debra got her first lesson in wrestling politics. She said the "who-knows-who" network began to take effect, and the show suffered as a result. As ratings dwindled, Debra began looking to improve her workplace situation. Along the way, her marriage also began to suffer.

"He grew one way and I grew the other," Debra says. "We were married 10 years, but we became different people."

LEGS, GUITARS, AND SUPERSTARS

As her marriage headed for divorce, Debra used another relationship to get started in the WWF. Jeff Jarrett had just made the jump from WCW to the WWF, and Debra wasn't far behind. When she arrived, she was paired with Jarrett and Owen Hart as the team's manager. She quickly developed into a fan favorite at the Rock Bottom pay-per-view in December 1998. To pay off a bet, Debra began disrobing. As each second passed and more and more of her body became visible, fans became hypnotized and fixated on her figure. She had them, and she loved it.

"What is funny about when I was doing those things is that I'm not even close to like that," Debra says. "That character allowed me to be like that, but my real personality could never pull off some of the things the character did."

Debra's main duty with Jarrett and Hart was to look good and swing Jarrett's guitar every now and then. She also let her creative juices flow. While thinking of names for the team, Debra came up with "T&A;" for "talent and attitude." The idea was being mulled when Hart died at the Over the Edge pay-per-view in Kansas City, Mo., in May 1999.

"That was really hard for me and really, really hard for Jeff," Debra says. "Owen was always the kidder. When they had the tag belts, Owen would always be sure that he would be a couple of steps behind us before we came out. That way he could pop Jeff's belt off when we were supposed to come out."

Jarrett left the WWF not long after Hart's death, and Debra was left dangling. She bounced from one bikini match to the next, but her character had no direction other than providing the occasional eye candy.