No Holds Barred

WWE superstars Sable and Torrie leave their leotards in the locker room--and create the tag team of your dreams

How did we convince Torrie Wilson and Sable, who typically fling insults and dropkicks at each other as the top WWE divas, to play nice for our camera? We asked. As it turns out, these two gorgeous grapplers are off-screen pals, even as their ring personas prepare to rumble the roof off the joint in this month's live pay-per-view event Wrestle Mania XX. "We get along really well," says Torrie, "and it's actually easier to work with friends in the ring than with someone you don't like. They won't take it personally if you smack them a little hard to make it look good."

And make it look good they do. Whether they're taunting each other in the ring or spying on each other in the showers on the highly rated UPN wrestling show Smack-Down!, Torrie and Sable (whose real name is Rena Mero) make fans wish that they were the ones getting pinned. Torrie thinks her "good girl" character is similar to what she's really like, but Sable contends that she's not nearly as wicked as her WWE doppelgänger. "I describe her not as my alter ego but as my ultra ego, because she's larger than life and thinks she can do no wrong," says Sable. "Rena, on the other hand, is feminine and domesticated. But they are both driven and confident in who they are."

So confident, in fact, that shortly after Sable's last appearance in this magazine nearly five years ago, she quit wrestling in a dispute with WWE boss Vince McMahon. She didn't return to the fold until last year, around the same time that Torrie's first Playboy pictorial wowed fans. "Vince and I have a more solid relationship now," says Sable. "Sometimes in the heat of the moment you say and do things you otherwise would not have. We had the opportunity to let our wounds heal, and we decided to put it all behind us. Now my character is Vince's confidante, and I make sure that he's very well taken care of."

Both women say they still get a rush from performing in front of an arena crowd. "I get nervous every time I walk into the ring, because I want to impress the fans," says Torrie. "There's always the thought in the back of your head that you're going to forget something or screw up a move and hurt someone." Sable adds, "I think nervous energy keeps you at the top of your game. I had the opportunity to pursue an acting career while I was gone, but I missed being in front of a live audience. It's very intoxicating to walk out in front of so many people who are there to see you and cheer for you."

Between matches, Torrie enjoys quiet time at home. "I dead-bolt the door and don't leave," she says. "I want to have kids someday, so I think I've got a few years of wrestling left in me. If I got pregnant I'm sure they would try to get me to wrestle with my big belly." Sable, now single, likes cooking and interior design and is taking voice lessons for a possible album. "I think people probably don't realize how sensitive I am," she says. "When I care about you, I care deeply. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, but I can also be very tough. I think that's a good combination." When we tell Torrie that she looks like a tough cookie on TV, she blushes. "I might look like an athlete, but I'm really not," she says. "My family makes fun of me because this is the furthest from what they thought I'd be doing. My parents tell this story about how they would take pictures of me during my judo lessons when I was little. I was always brushing the hair out of my face and trying to smile for them while competing."

Neither blonde bombshell will tell us whom to bet on in their sexy show down, but they say they're looking forward to more ring rivalry, whatever the outcome. "We're always trying to top what we did before," says Sable. Judging from these pages, they're both champs in that department.

Torrie

Sable

"I used to be shy and would never confront anyone. Now I stand up for myself, because I know I have the goods to back it up."--Torrie

"I have been known to practice a few wrestling moves in private. You have to perfect them somewhere!"--Sable