Sable Mania, Round Two

When our first pictorial of Sable hit the newsstands in April, she was the hottest champ in the ring, the World Wrestling Federation darling who aced Dressed to Kill contests and pummeled opponents with her fabled Sable Bomb. What a difference a few months make. As we write this, Sable and the WWF are in a knock-down-drag-out battle that has all the extravagant trappings of a WWF match--only this time, the real-life drama is not scripted.

And while we may have come to expect that the squabbles, the internecine struggles and the hurt feelings of the wrestling greats all have a public--and sometimes pay-perview--airing, this matchup is of a different order entirely. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's concentrate on the issue at hand: the futuristic photographs you see here. The April issue was such a hot commodity that we couldn't wait for a Playboy and Sable rematch. Thankfully, neither could she. ''I had no idea my first pictorial would be so successful,'' Sable says. ''I'm honored and flattered. I knew wrestling has a huge following and that Playboy has a loyal readership. I guess people were curious about seeing me without my wrestling gear on after all these years. Last time I posed, I wanted people to see a soft, pastel side of me they had never seen before. This time, I wanted it to be edgy, black and cutting edge, just in time for the millennium. The first pictorial was for myself. This one is 100 percent for my fans. If I've learned one thing, it's that my fans have made me who I am. They come out and they support me in (continued on page 147) Sable Mania (continued from page 133) whatever I do. I'd like to say thank you to all of them.''

In June, Sable, a.k.a. Rena Mero, filed a complaint against the WWF, stating that the sport has become ''obscene, titillating, vulgar and unsafe'' and requesting $100 million in punitive damages. At first we thought she might be putting us on. After all, we're talking about the WWF. It's a kind of entertainment. What's the big deal? But that's not at all the way Mero sees it, so we sat down with her for an exclusive interview.

Q: The last time we spoke, you appeared to be pleased with the WWF. What happened?

A: In the past year I have become increasingly concerned about my safety, about sexual harassment and about the my perception of the use of drugs in the WWF.

Q: Describe the WWF behind the scenes.

A: Men would routinely walk into the women's dressing room, as if by accident. They cut holes in the walls to watch us dress. They bragged about their sexual encounters. Some of the other wrestlers even threatened to beat me up outside the ring.

Q: When did your co-workers turn against you?

A: When I won the championship belt. They felt I didn't deserve it and threatened and emotionally abused me. They said they would bite my face and disfigure me. It's terrible to have to work in an environment where you are worried about your safety. You never know what people who are under the influence of drugs are going to do.

Q: Did WWF owner Vince McMahon know all this was going on?

A: He had to be aware of the situation and he said he would test for drugs. I asked him later about drug testing, then he said it was too expensive to continue to test the employees.

Q: What was the final straw?

A: When I opened my gym bag and found it filled with human feces. That was the most demeaning and humiliating thing that's ever happened to me. In baseball, a player is fined for spitting on an umhp. Nothing happens to wrestlers who smear shit on someone's personal belongings.

Q: We would never have accused the WWF of being regulated, but isn't it self-policed in some fashion?

A: It's a sport that has run amok. The wrestlers can do whatever they want because there are no consequences for their actions. McMahon doesn't care.

Q: What is it like dealing with Vince McMahon?

A: He's controlling and intimidating. I feel threatened by him. I've approached him several times about my problems with the WWF. I asked him that T-shirts depicting Sable offering sexual favors not be printed. I asked that I not have to participate in a lesbian angle. But when you are under contract, McMahon controls every aspect of your life.

Q: You refused to let your bra be ripped off during a live pay-per-view event. What happened next?

A: My championship title was taken away. They changed Sable from a good character to an evil one. When the WWF asks you to participate in a certain angle and you refuse, you are demoted. When you deny a request, there are consequences. At the time, I felt like it was the WWF's way of bashing me. There is a time and a place for nudity, but it's not during a live pay-per-view event where children are present in the arena or could be watching on TV.

Q: What's the impact of Owen Hart's death on the WWF?

A: Owen was one of the classiest guys in wrestling. He was devoted to his family. Within minutes after taking Owen out of the ring on a stretcher, they continued the show. Not only that, but in the next segment, Vince McMahon was rushed out of the arena on a stretcher. It was in poor taste. They should have edited it out.

Q: Is it foolhardy to take a stand against McMahon?

A: It's scary, but someone has to speak out. I'm not doing this with a safety net, or because there's a ton of money waiting for me. I've simply had enough.

Q: Can you justify your request for $100 million in punitive damages?

A: McMahon has a fortune upwards of $750 million, which is more than those of most professional sports teams. We're hoping to change the way women and men are treated in this sport.