Daffney

Shannon Claire Spruill (July 17, 1975 – September 1, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, wrestling manager and actress better known by her ring name Daffney.

As a "military brat", Shannon Claire Spruill was born on July 17, 1975, at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield, a United States Air Force base in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Hesse, West Germany, where her father was stationed.

In 1976, her family returned to the United States, residing first in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, then in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, and finally on the Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois.

In 1985, Spruill had an uncredited bit part in the film Santa Claus: The Movie.

They relocated to Oxford, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom for three years, before moving to the Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany until 1987, when her father, by then a Lieutenant Colonel, retired.

In March 1998, she graduated from Georgia State University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in film and video production, with minors in acting and music.

She went on to work in media production before pursuing full-time acting.

Daffney began her professional wrestling career in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1999.

In November 1999, she responded to a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) contest looking to acquire new talent and was hired.

In WCW, Spruill played Daffney, the mentally deranged, besotted girlfriend of David Flair, managing him and Crowbar.

One of Daffney's hallmarks was a piercing scream when she was lurking at ringside.

The gimmick was based in part on Mallory Knox, the character played by Juliette Lewis in the film Natural Born Killers.

Spruill cited Batman supervillainess Harley Quinn as the original inspiration for the character.

Spruill's first appearance was on the December 6 episode of Nitro, when she was shown sitting on her bed and chanting Flair's name.

On May 8, 2000, Daffney was appointed by Vince Russo to wrestle Miss Elizabeth in her first wrestling match.

On May 15, Daffney and Crowbar defeated WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Chris Candido and his girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch in a mixed tag team match where Candido's cruiserweight title was on the line.

Daffney scored the pin on Tammy to make she and Crowbar the co-champions.

The following week on the May 22 episode of Nitro, Crowbar and Daffney faced one another to determine the undisputed World Cruiserweight Champion.

Crowbar held back during the match, but still dominated the smaller Daffney.

After Candido entered the ring and hit Crowbar with a reverse piledriver, Spruill inadvertently pinned him while trying to revive him and thus became the second woman ever to hold the Cruiserweight Championship.

Her reign lasted until June 7 when Lieutenant Loco pinned Disco Inferno in a three-way title defense while Daffney was hurt following interference from Miss Hancock.

Daffney went on to feud with Hancock, who had stolen the affections of Flair.

Daffney defeated Hancock in the promotion's first ever Wedding Gown match after Hancock removed her own dress.

Daffney then became solely the valet for Crowbar.

She had a brief feud with Shane Douglas's valet, Torrie Wilson, but was sporadically used as a wrestler.

Daffney's gimmicks included frequently changing hair color, t-shirts printed with bizarre slogans, and her loud screams, the latter which was the suggestion of head WCW writer Ed Ferrara.

In WCW, she was known for her association with David Flair and Crowbar, and she became the second woman (after Madusa) to hold the WCW Cruiserweight Championship before the promotion was purchased by the WWE in early 2001.

She was released by WCW on February 2, 2001, due to budget cutbacks.

WCW itself was purchased by its rival, the World Wrestling Federation, a month later.

After her release from WCW, Spruill opted to continue wrestling, attending Dusty Rhodes' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling training camp in Kennesaw, Georgia for eight months.

She also worked for Xtreme Pro Wrestling in 2003 as Lucy, the manager of Vic Grimes.

She also appeared in Ring of Honor, where she debuted on April 26, 2003, as Lucy, the valet of the Second City Saints.

In July 2003, Spruill was signed to a developmental deal by World Wrestling Entertainment.

She worked in Ohio Valley Wrestling as the manager of Aaron Stevens until she was released on December 17 of the same year.

Spruill decided to retire from professional wrestling.

Intending to focus on her acting career, she sold her wrestling boots to her then-roommate, Mickie James.

While retired, Spruill worked as a personal trainer.

In June 2005, she posed for a website owned and operated by Francine and Missy Hyatt.

She subsequently appeared on the independent circuit until she signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2008.

Injuries forced her to retire from in-ring wrestling in 2011 but she continued to appear in non-wrestling roles for various promotions until 2018.