411’s Dark Side of The Ring Report: “The Scream Queen: Daffney”

-This one is going to be heavy and tough to watch. Let’s get to it and anyone out there reading that may need help, know you aren’t alone, so please reach out to anyone you need to.

-”The Following Episode Contains Content About Suicide and Suicide Ideation. View Discretion is Advised!”

-Chris Jericho is our narrator!

-The teaser before the credits is already tough to watch.

-Show opening!

-They have old shoot interview footage with Shannon Spruill (Daffney) from 2001. She wanted to be an actress and her agent asked her if she wanted to audition for a four week run as David Flair’s stalker. The only information she was told was to ask crazy and she crushed it, so she became a regular.

-We meet her brother, Darren Spruill. Shannon was allowed to do what she wanted with the character. Crowbar says Daffeny stood out because of her Goth look and how all the other women were Barbie Dolls. He says they were put in a team and clicked instantly. He thinks crazy characters were fun and the two of them and David were crazy.

-The talk about The Scream and her brother notes she had that scream forever. They grew up as military brats and it made them close due to moving so much. Daffney played soccer and was a goalie who broke all her fingers diving at people’s feet.

-Quentin Spruill, her father, seems very proud of his daughter as he should. He notes she was a straight A student and beautiful. “She had it all.” She was in three major movies before she was 10. Some footage from Santa Claus (1985) and Insignificance (1985) are shown.

-We get back to WCW. Her dad laughs that he wasn’t pleased, but he went with it. Crowbar mentions Daffney had a gymnastics background and they showed her moves that were safe, but looked cool. Lexie Fyfe, a wrestler and Shannon’s best friend, says Daffney didn’t want to look too technical as she wanted to be a crazy person that could do wrestling. We see highlights of the wedding where her and Miss Hancock had a cake fight.

-WCW folds in 2001 as the company is sold to Vince McMahon. She wanted to stay in wrestling and was talking to WWF and all she got was a 9 month developmental deal. She was going through a divorce at the same time and started taking anti-depressants. They note they sent her into a spiral. Shannon says she had a 3 month period where she couldn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time and she developed a stutter. She called her dad, who was her rock, and told him something was wrong. Her dad said that is when she first started thinking things would be better if she wasn’t around to put up with it. That is when she was diagnosed as bi-polar.

-Amanda Rodriguez, pro-wrestling and best friend, also suffers from bi-polar. She says it is terrifying. There are drugs you can take, but the side effects are horrible. It can become depressive mania if you don’t take your meds and get outside help.

-Her brother tells the story of getting her to the hospital and she was there for a few weeks. She hates that she put her family through that. Her father notes you need to make sure your children know they are loved. They prayed through and Daffney was sure she needed to be back in the ring and they couldn’t talk her out of it.

-Commercials!

-Shannon goes the Indie route in 2003 and her family felt she was doing better and in better control of her medicine. She was no longer sitting at home with nothing to do. They discuss the different with Indie wrestling and we saw footage of her in Shimmer.

-Shantelle Malawski (Taylow Wilde) is up next and says Daffney didn’t care if there were 5 people or 5000 in the crowd she was giving it her all. She tells us about Shimmer and how it changed the future of women’s wrestling and where it was heading.

-Caleb Konley, a 20 year pro, dated Daffney for 4 years. They met when he was 20 years old and a relationship quickly blossomed. He notes that Shannon opened a lot of doors for him. He calls her amazing, but the bi-polar thing was front and center their entire relationship. She was quick to loose tempers and had mood changes, but needed someone she could trust. He admits he was a dumb kid that thought he knew what he was doing, but he didn’t.

-The bi-polar issue affected her personal life, but not her wrestling career. She gets a shot from TNA, who was giving their women more of a chance to actually wrestle vs. what WWE was doing. Shannon was brought in as “The Governor,” which was a parody of Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. She was committed to the role and looked nothing like Daffney. The story was she was committed and Dr. Stevie brought her back as Daffney.

-Mick Foley is here and mentions he joined TNA and loved Daffney. He wanted her on his team as he was a big fan. Taylor notes Daffney was up for anything and to a fault, was ready to be whatever wrestling needed her to be. Mick says he didn’t know they match they would be in together, would be the beginning of the end for her.

-Commercials!

-Back to TNA where Mick Foley and Abyss were booked in a Monster’s Ball Match. Daffney was part of Mick’s team and they had a spot planned where she would get knocked off the rope and sent through a barbed wire table. We get two accounts where one says Daffney wasn’t sure she wanted to do it, and Mick notes she wanted to do it, but says there is not much room for error. Mick says looking he wishes they had made a different call.

-We see the spot and the table breaks and Daffney cracks the back of her head on the floor. It was as safe as they could make it, and they note the wrestlers in the match weren’t at fault but she was severely hurt. Mick notes she broke her arm and had no memory of what happened or where she was. We see footage of her on a stretcher with Mick standing by her side and then riding to the hospital with her. “To this day I feel terrible about it.”

-Of course she returns only a few months later even though a doctor told her to never wrestle again. Taylor mentions there is no room to be injured as a wrestler as someone is always younger and better looking to take your spot. Thankfully, that way of thinking is changing in today’s wrestling world.

-She is back in the ring and works a match with Rosie Lottalove (Sage Beckett in NXT) and she gave Daffney an modified version of The Earthquake Splash and sat right on her sternum. That caused a bruised sternum, and another concussion and a stinger as she admits she didn’t just sit still taking the move.

-There was a lawsuit filed as TNA wasn’t doing follow up care or taking care of her medical bills. She filed a lawsuit noting wrestlers were not independent contractors and felt since she was hurt in their ring they could pay her bills. They reached a crazy settlement where TNA gave her 1000 of her action figures to be able to sell on the side according to Caleb. Concussion protocols weren’t in place back then and they note have changed for the better since then.

-They talk about the bump card and how you only have so many before you can’t take anymore. We see Shannon talking on her Vlog talking about how she sees hope for the first time. Caleb thinks the concussions changed something in her. Amanda notes concussions amplify bi-polar disorder. Shannon notes people don’t realize how bad she has been hurt and she cries, “I don’t think I will be able to wrestle anymore.”

-Commercials!

-2011 and the injuries have taken a toll and her family puts their foot down and tells her it is time to retire. She agrees, but needed to figure out what was next to make money. She had a strong fan base and would do signings and appearances and worked with SHINE in Florida. She also wanted to speak about her bi-polar disorder and Amanda says they bonded and got their bi-polar tattoos along with two other female wrestlers that were suffering.

-She tried to fill in as a special ref, but even getting down to count caused vertigo. She told her family she wanted her brain donated to be studied after her death. Mick says losing wrestling was like losing the love of her life. Shannon says on her Vlog that she misses being in the ring and the business is where he heart is.

-Crowbar notes she was like many wrestlers that didn’t know how to become a regular person when the run is over. She got big into self medicating and would mix with drinks. She got in a car accident and then another which sent her to court ordered rehab. She had the idea to commit to suicide the night before rehab, but she called her friend on a promise and she helped her get to rehab. She continued with her meds, but would gain weight which caused her self image issues. “Beauty and thinness is currency.” She would read the awful comments online and would laugh on the outside, but it obviously caused her mental anguish. People suck! She had a thyroid issue as well which caused her meds not to help and then COVID hit which caused even more isolation. She felt she had nobody, but was told she had so many people that cared. Her father says they always had plans to get her out of the situation she was in. She had a new apartment, a new job, and was going back to school. Everything seemed fine!

-Commercials!

-Sept 1, 2021: Shannon goes live on Instagram! Taylor says she was not familiar with IG Live and just saw the bubble and Shannon was live. She was talking her suicide note and has stolen her roommates’ gun. She just kept telling people to take her brain to Boston. Taylor says she was a firefighter for 10 years and dealt with people in crisis and Shannon was in crisis. Her brother saw 10-20 seconds of it and knew he needed to take his dad and get to Atlanta.
-Lexie’s phone was blowing up and she logged on and Shannon apologized to her and told her she was going to break her promise. She called the police in Atlanta. Mick, Crowbar, Caleb, Taylor and many others all tried to call and they all start breaking down. She would not answer her phone and it went black. Taylor says her brain would not allow her to process what happened.

-Her brother, mother, and father get there but nobody answers the door. The authorities break the door down and the news is not good. The family was told that she was gone. Her mom and dad nearly collapsed but were caught by their son and a fireman. Her dad feels he could have talked her out of it if he had the chance, but he didn’t get the chance. Lexie says that suicide is not the answer as it leaves a hole that can’t be filled. She was made as she took Aunt Shan away from her daughter. This is rough man! We see a picture with the little girl and I can’t help but have tears in my eyes now. Caleb is bawling at this point talking about Shannon. Crowbar calls her an incredible friend and wishes she was still here now. Mick says it was difficult for Shannon to know how loved she was. He encourages everyone to reach out to their friends as that is what they are here for.

-Commercials!

-Next week is the Season Finale with Muhammad Hassan!

-The family shows off pictures of Shannon as a little girl. He brain was donated to The University of Boston for research. Her brain was the first female on in the study. CTE was found but they couldn’t say how much. Shannon wanted people to learn more about CTE and what the wrestling business can do to someone. Her dad says Shannon wanted to get better and fought the good fight.

-Shannon started doing charity work with NAMI and Lexie still gives support because Shannon would have wanted it. She was open about her disorder and would be happy people are still talking about it and not hiding it.

-Mick tells a story of watching Forensic Files one night and the episode was about a girl named Vicki Lyons, who was run over in a parking lot. It touched his heart, so he googled her and the first thing that came up was Vicki Lyons having a wrestling match against Daffney. He was shocked and thought there was no way. Vicki wanted to be a wrestler and Daffey saw it and taught her enough and carried Vicki in a match at an Indie show in Utah. Daffney put Vicki over in the match and Mick says in that one match he sees everything good and right in pro-wrestling. It showed who she was as a person and the heart she had. That’s awesome!

-Taylor says Daffney taught female wrestlers how to be sisters and look after each other. Crowbar says he and David were the wrestlers of that crew, but Daffney was the star everyone remembers. Caleb is still in tears as he says Shannon always lets him know she is paying attention to him. Taylor says Daffney is always watching and influencing women’s wrestling today. “We love you and miss you and I hope you are proud of all of us.” Geez man! Her father loves her and misses her. Her brother breaks down and hopes he did a good job for her and did what she wanted. “I miss you. I miss you a whole lot.”

–If You or Someone You Know is Struggling with Thoughts of Suicide, There is Help Available.

–The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved one. Call 9-8-8 and via online at 988lifeline.org

This was as heartbreaking as expected. It is clear she was deeply loved by her friends and family. You will find yourself getting teary eyed as he sympathize with Shannon and those who loved her. There isn’t much more for me to add as the episode kind of speaks for itself and I really hope someone watching this who needs help, can find it or if someone is reading this also finds help if they need it. Please reach out to anyone or the number or online service above. Thanks for reading and spread love to everyone.