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R.I.P. Shannon Spruill (Daffney Unger)


C.S.

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Absolutely heartbreaking news. I didn't see the Instagram video, and I intend to keep it that way, but it's so sad that she found herself in this position. Thought she was great in WCW, the trio with Crowbar and Flair was really fun, and the unrequited love storyline with Crowbar was one of the last storylines they ran that I was invested in thanks to the work of her and Crowbar. Great TNA run as well. For someone who hadn't wrestled when she joined WCW, she took to it naturally. RIP

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I caught part of the video and it was brutal, seeing a slow motion train crash unfold and hoping someone would reach her in time while the people watching were pleading with her. 

The worst part is she moved like a week or so ago and had people been able to pin down her new address sooner things may have turned out different. Not that it's anyone's fault, just one of those what if things that could have changed the outcome.

Depression is a real motherfucker,  I know from first hand experience, and sometimes it seems you just don't have the energy to keep climbing out of the hole.

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She dealt with a lot for a long time. She both was Bipolar and had extensive issues with CTE. In her video last night, she requested for her brain to be sent to the Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center. 

Will be remembered for her kindness. And her vast indirect and direct influence on Pro Wrestling and her peers.

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This hits too close to home for me. This weekend, my family is burying my cousin, who took his own life at age 19 a few weeks ago. Just like Daffney's friends and family, we wish we could've seen things coming and act on it but we didn't have that chance. Please, never hesitate to seek help whenever you need it. There'll never be too much awareness being raised about mental health.

As for Daffney, I always thought she was one of a kind. She stood out in an era where a lot of the focus was on the sex appeal when she first appeared. She was able to bring her own touch on her character and truly develop that. Her pairing with Crowbar & David Flair was quite entertaining.

Condolences to the Sprull family as well as her many friends in the wrestling business.

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1 hour ago, rovert said:

She dealt with a lot for a long time. She both was Bipolar and had extensive issues with CTE. In her video last night, she requested for her brain to be sent to the Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center. 

I know she had mental health issues, but I'm surprised to hear about the CTE stuff. I didn't think she had any other history of concussion related issues other than that one really bad incident in TNA. 

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Very sad news. Definitely an underrated/overlooked talent. 

I just watched TNA Slammiversary VII a couple months back and was positive on her match, tagging with Raven against Abyss and Taylor Wilde. I know that, ultimately, the bumps and spots she was performing were incredibly dangerous and led to serious injuries (this article from 2011 covers a bunch of it), but it should still be commended how gutsy her performance is. It's not easy to "steal" a hardcore match from Raven and Abyss, but she did. 

Obviously, she also worked hard to make lemonade out of lemons with David Flair and Crowbar and, on many occasions, succeeded against basically impossible odds. Truth be told, 20 years later, Daffney's character and hijinks, even on a sinking ship, have aged comparatively well versus the one-dimensional, vapid "bimbo" characters that the WWE often highlighted. 

RIP Daffney

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I guess we'll know more when/if her brain gets analyzed, but this really kills me if the mental issues were related to her in-ring work. She had the looks to just get by as a valet, but it seemed she really put her body through a lot to earn people's respect during a time when women were mainly treated as eye candy. Really a sad story.

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