All language subtitles for S06E09 Dark Side of the Ring

♪

Daffney was this larger
than life character.

[screaming]

She was goth.

She was rock and roll.
She was unhinged.

[screaming]

-Agh!
-Oh, man.

She was
the Scream Queen.

[Narrator] In 1999,

Shannon Spruill arrived
in WCW as Daffney Unger

and immediately
left her mark

on the wrestling world.

She made it cool for people
who didn't feel like

they fit in to find
someone else

who didn't
quite fit in.

She was the pioneer for

alternative women
in wrestling.

Whatever was gonna
get the story over,

the character over,
she was all for it.

Oh, man!

Beloved by her fans.
Beloved by her peers.

One of the most
positive people

I've ever met in
my entire life.

But sometimes the happiest
people around you

are the ones that are
hurting the most.

Off camera, Shannon was
fighting a battle

no one else
could see.

She knew how to play
that character well

because it also showed
her suffering.

Most of her
adult life, she...

fought bipolar disorder.

That is a fight.

She was either
killing it...

or she had no ability
to do anything.

You never know which
Shannon you were gonna get.

Enduring endless
obstacles...

Oh, my god,
no, no!

And the business
she loved.

Oh!

That head injury was bigger
than maybe even she knew.

They weren't taking care
of her medical bills.

She was in such pain
all the time.

There was a light
that went out in her.

I've looked in those
eyes since she was born.

There was just something
that wasn't the same.

I did not know how bad
it had gotten.

Shannon was the
best person.

I want people to remember her
for the person that she was,

not for the person that she
ended up on that day.

♪

♪

I always wanted
to be an actress.

My agent called me up and
asked if I want to audition

for a little four-week

reoccurring character
for WCW.

Stalking David Flair.

♪

Hi, I'm Daffney Unger,

and I'm from
Peoria, Illinois,

and I love all the
superstars of the WCW.

That was it.

That started the
whole thing right there.

David Flair, he wrestling
Diamond Dallas Page.

He was getting his
butt kicked, and...

Daffney comes running out.

Who in the world?
Who has come out here?

Whoa!

They're like, "Okay, you just
have to kind of act crazy."

And that's really all
the information I got.

It was just gonna be
a one, two-time gig,

and she really blew it
out of the park.

And, next thing you know,
she's on TV all the time.

My name's Darren Spruill.

Shannon is my sister.

You may know her
as Daffney.

They liked how I
performed the character,

so it was really
kind of up to me.

This girl's nuts.

Look at her,
she's loving this.

At that time, all of the
women that you saw in

mainstream wrestling had
that Barbie doll build.

She was something new,

something totally different
that stood out.

Oh!

The cool, crazy
goth girl.

Oh!

And the fans ate it up,
they loved it.

My name is Chris Ford and
wrestling fans know me...

as Crowbar.

They came up with this idea

that we were gonna
have a tag team.

Double team now by
Flair and Crowbar.

We got along great.
We just automatically clicked.

I think crazy
characters are fun.

I was crazy,
David was crazy.

Daffney was crazy.

[screaming]

She just screamed
bloody murder

at the top of her lungs.

[screaming]

It's ear piercing!

Oh, my gosh, the scream,
the scream.

She had the
scream forever.

Sometimes she'd just come
into the room and- Bah!

[screaming]

My mom screamed,
"What were you doing,

Darren?"
"I didn't touch her!

I didn't lay a hand
on her," you know.

And she wouldn't let me get
in trouble real bad for it

because we were each other's
best friends, you know?

We didn't know
anybody else.

We were
military brats, and...

with the military,
you're moving around a lot.

You don't know anyone
but your mom and dad

and your sister so,

you just become
very, very close.

Almost where you can

read each other's
thoughts sometimes.

We always did
things together.

We did a lot of theatre.

And she played soccer.

She broke all of her
fingers playing goalkeeper,

diving into
people's feet so,

Shan wasn't scared
of anything.

She was quite an athlete.

She could sing,
she could dance.

She could act.

And she was a
straight-A student.

And she was beautiful.
She had it all.

My name is Quentin Spruill,
and I'm proud to say

I'm Shannon's father.

She was in three major
movies before she was ten.

My parents gave me a
doll where she says

whole sentences
on a cassette.

That was the first clue.

When I saw on the
big screen, I was like,

hm, yeah, she may try to
go on to do other things.

Once she was bitten by
the wrestling bug,

that was it.
She was in it.

If she had it in her head
that she's doing this...

she's doing it.

-What was that for?
-Whoa!

I saw you on Monday
night with that hoochie.

[laughing] I wasn't real
pleased about the matter,

but we went with it.

Daffney was up for anything,
and I think

that's what made it
work so well.

She had a gymnastics
background,

which is how
we got into...

teaching her spots.

Whoa!
DDT from Daffney.

We showed her safe ways
to do moves that...

look athletic, look violent,
look cool, but are...

very safe if done right.

Which is how the
Frankenscreamer was born.

Here we go!
Daffney!

That's her Frankenscreamer
off the top!

She didn't want to look
like the technical wrestler.

She wanted to make it look
like she was the crazy girl

who just happened
to be wrestling.

I'm Lexie Fyfe,
and I've been in

professional wrestling
for 30 years.

And Shannon, aka Daffney,
was my best friend.

Shannon had
that magnetism

that made you
want to watch her.

Oh! Frankenscreamer!

And she got noticed,
and so they started

letting her do
more and more.

There is your new
cruiser weight

champion of the world!

Get your
ex-Hooter girl butt

out here right now!

It just kind of rolled
for her, you know,

she was the
Ferris Bueller of women.

You know, it just
always worked out for her.

She belonged in
the spotlight.

She was drawn to be
in the spotlight.

And...

she was just
enjoying the ride.

But we all knew,
at some level,

that that ride could
come to an end

at any time.

As Shannon's star rises,
WCW crashes.

And in 2001,

the competition swoops in
and shuts it down.

She knew she wanted to stay
in professional wrestling.

She was talking to WWE
and trying to, you know,

potentially get a
contract back with them.

She had a
developmental deal,

but never made it
to the TV.

When she did lose
her contract,

she and her husband
at the time

were going
through a divorce.

She was gonna
have to move.

It was a whole bunch
of crap at once.

She was trying some
antidepressants,

but they weren't working.

It threw her into a spiral.

Sometimes she would just
think it would be lots easier

if I didn't have to put up
with all of this.

That's not Shannon.

That was your
first indication.

There will be moments
where everything was great.

And then, there was
other moments where...

she just had the
confidence of a mouse.

So Shannon was
diagnosed as bipolar.

Bipolar disorder is an
instability of moods.

You'll be really,
really depressed...

and then, all of a sudden,
there'll be a switch

in your brain
and you're manic.

Your brain tricks you 'cause
your chemicals are so

messed up, which I'm also
very familiar with.

She had bipolar disorder,
and I do too.

♪

My name is
Amanda Rodriguez,

and I was a best friend
of Daffney.

Mania, it can be really
scary and really confusing.

You're, like, in the backseat
and your body is the car,

and someone else
is driving it.

You don't
recognize yourself.

It's terrifying.

There are drugs
that you can take.

The problem is
they have

horrible, horrible
side effects.

Throwing up,
and headaches,

and all kinds of
stuff like that.

There were times when
she wouldn't take it

consistently, so she wasn't
seeing the benefits of...

the medicines
that she had.

She didn't want
to be on medicine.

She wanted another way
for it to be handled.

If you don't take care of it
with professional support or

medication,
it could turn into

depressive mania,
where...

I believe, the risk
of suicide comes in.

♪

One time she was in
a very manic mood,

and my dad called me on
the phone, was like,

"She's got to get
to the hospital,

she's gonna do something."
And so I said,

"Shan, you got to
go to the doctor

because I can't
take care of you.

There's nothing I can
do to help you."

There was times
on the way

that she was threatening
to get out of the car

and just run...

but we got her
there safely and...

checked her in, and she was
there for a couple weeks.

That's not something
you want to...

do with your sister.

You need to make sure
that your children

know that
they're loved...

no matter what.

We prayed through
and talked through

so many things.

She decided that she
wanted to be in the ring,

and couldn't talk her
out of it.

Following her diagnosis
with bipolar disorder,

in 2003,
Shannon sets out on

the indie circuit to
rebuild her career

and herself.

If she still thought
she could do something,

she still wanted
to do it. You know,

that was Shannon,
so that was it.

We thought she
was doing better.

We thought she had
some success, and, and

she was in better control
with the medicines,

and day-to-day
life kind of stuff.

It was an opportunity for her.

She wasn't at home
twiddling her thumbs.

She was, she was
getting to do stuff.

Independent wrestling is
a totally different...

lifestyle than TV wrestling.

You're going from
town to town to town,

and that's when I met her.

And she was just like,

"This is what I'm
supposed to be doing."

[cheering]

All she thought
about was wrestling.

[screaming] Woo!

It doesn't matter if there
was five people

in the audience
or 50,000.

She went out there and gave

the same exact performance.

And Daffney with the
Sunset Flip out of the corner!

That just completely
encompasses who she was,

as a person and as a
professional wrestler.

My name is Shantelle,

but you may know me
as Taylor Wilde,

and Daffney is one of

my professional
wrestling sisters.

I met Daffney at
Shimmer in 2005.

Shimmer was the first time

in any real
American promotion

that women were
solely highlighted,

and it actually kind of
changed the trajectory of

where women's
wrestling was headed.

She really wanted all the
girls to band together

because she knew it was
going to be big.

Shimmer was a great
place for all of us,

and Daffney had a really,
really good time there.

The Scream Queen,
Daffney!

[cheering]

We were a family there and
she felt it was a safe place.

[indistinct shouting]

[laughing]
In control and

very pleased with
yourself, Daffney.

As wrestling has grown,
there's more opportunities

for women, and the
women that are involved,

they build each other up.

And I really think Daffney
had a huge part in that.

[indistinct chanting]

By the time that
we got together,

she was full force,
gung ho.

She loved professional
wrestling more than

anything else
in the world.

My name is
Caleb Konley.

I've been a professional
wrestler for 20 years now,

and for four of those years,
I dated Shannon Spruill,

known to the wrestling
world as Daffney.

♪

So, I was 20 years old.

I was two years into
the wrestling business.

And she came, and...

she had a couple
of matches and...

we started talking,
and then

it just blossomed
right from there.

We worked on tons
of shows together.

We tagged a couple times,
we wrestled each other.

She opened up a lot of
doors for me.

She introduced me to a lot
of people that I would have

probably never met
on my own otherwise.

Even if she wasn't in
professional wrestling,

Shannon was so cool.

She was just amazing.

But,
the bipolar thing was...

front and centre
our entire relationship.

I could wake up
in the morning,

and I could just feel
the energy change.

Sometimes she just
couldn't get out of bed.

And then at other points,
she would be doing

the elliptical for
two hours a day.

And then all of a
sudden she's like,

I have to get off this
medicine because

it's making me
gain weight.

She lost the weight,
but now she's also

completely depressed
and hates life.

And she was very quick to
lose her temper in

those times, but when her
moods started to swing,

I felt like she needed
someone there

that she could trust.

But it's hard
to stay positive.

I was a dumb kid who thought

he knew what he was doing.

I didn't.

I realize that we are just
two people

that had a moment in
time together,

and I loved her and
she loved me.

And we always had

a pretty positive friendship
after the fact.

I think Shannon's...

bipolar disorder
was very disruptive

for her personal life.

But it didn't
affect her work.

Whoa!

She could still get
out there in the ring

and do what she
needed to do.

Shannon's grit, charisma,
and screen presence...

earn her another shot
back on television,

this time with TNA.

WWE wasn't taking the women
seriously at this point.

And, TNA decided
they would.

And they had bangers.

Oh, my god!

It wasn't bra and panties
matches. It was...

real professional wrestling.

Shannon didn't get brought in
as a wrestler at first,

and she didn't even
get brought in

as Daffney at first.

They indoctrinated Daffney
back into TNA wrestling

as a parody of
Sarah Palin,

and they called her
"The Governor."

Our next-door neighbours
are foreign countries.

They're in the state that
I am the executive of.

Sarah Palin was the
governor of Alaska

and the running mate
for John McCain

in the 2008
presidential election.

You betcha!

Drill, baby, drill
and mine, baby, mine.

The first time Sarah Palin
was on like national TV,

she was like...
"I could do that."

Ladies...

You are true Americans.

Yeah?
You betcha?

People didn't actually
know who it was at first.

I remember all the
wrestling gossip websites.

They were like,
"But who is it?"

And it just took off.

What?
Is that the governor?

It is.
It's Governor Palin!

People were completely
committed to the storyline.

When was she
gonna transform?

And who was she gonna
transform into next?

The story was she
was actually in

a mental institution,
and they brought in

Doctor Stevie to
bring her back to being

the Scream Queen,
Daffney.

Daffney's bipolar
was definitely

a super power for her.

She knew how to play that
character well because

that character was her.

Everything was
so calculated,

from her hair,
to her makeup,

to her persona,
and I could just tell

she was gonna make it
count this time.

When she got to
come back to TNA,

and she was doing
really well,

it was like a big "F-U"
to everyone

who didn't believe in her.

When I joined TNA, I started
working with Daffney

on screen because I really
liked what she was doing.

Do not try this at home.

And, I wanted her
on my team.

Everything about her
she tried to make

different and unique.

And she was successful.

My name is Mick Foley.

I'm known as the
Hardcore Legend.

I knew Daffney
as a colleague,

and also as a friend.

Daffney was always
up for anything.

She just really wanted
to put on a good show,

and she wanted to be...

whatever professional
wrestling wanted her to be.

To a fault.

I did not have any idea
that the match

that I was in
would be...

the beginning
of the end.

Oh my God, no, no!
Oh!

Bound for Glory continues

with the
Monster's Ball Match!

Monster's Ball,
basically anything goes.

Barbed wire bats
and thumbtacks,

and things of that
nature are encouraged.

Daffney was part of my crew.

We did want her to
play a role in the,

the big match with Abyss.

Shannon called me that day,
and she was like,

"They want to throw me
through this table with

thumbtacks and barbed wire."
And she goes,

"I don't really know
if I feel comfortable."

I do remember the move
being discussed...

and Daffney
wanted to do it,

and felt like
she could do it.

It's just there's very
little room for error.

That's Daffney!

Looking back,
we wish we had...

made a different call.

[cheering]

Oh! Oh my God!

No, no! Oh!

Daffney gets choke slammed!

The table broke and
she landed on her head.

It wasn't any of the wrestlers
in the matches fault.

It was as safe
as you can make it,

but it was the
actual fall.

And then the
concrete floor.

I remember watching
on the monitor...

and I just ran
straight to medical,

and I was waiting for her
to be brought backstage.

They dragged her to
another room,

closed the door, and they
pushed us all away.

It was maybe 20, 30 minutes
after the match

when we realized
how serious it was.

Daffney had broken
her arm as well.

[groaning]

I just remember
the whispering

about concussions...

and that she hit her
head really hard,

and that she wasn't okay.

She, I believe she had
no memory of where

she was and what had
just happened.

It was sad to see that
someone who had

so much potential, and was
realizing that potential,

had been sidelined
for this injury.

And for it to be an injury

that turned out to
be so consequential,

to this day,
I feel terrible about it.

♪

Just months after suffering
a broken arm and

serious head trauma,

Shannon returns
to the TNA ring,

desperate not to lose
her spot on the roster.

The doctor told her she
shouldn't ever get

back in the ring again
at that point.

And she was like,
"Well, this is my life.

I have to."

Knowing Daffney,
she wouldn't want anyone

to know how
injured she was.

When it comes to wrestling,

like there's not a lot of
room to be injured.

There's always someone
younger, hungrier,

more talented,
better looking,

waiting to take your spot.

I think there's a
difference between...

"cleared"...

and cleared.

Why'd she do it?

The same reason
we would all do that,

and that's because you want
to further your career.

You want to continue to
become more valuable

in the wrestling
business.

It's a shame,
but we all do it.

Months after her
debilitating injuries,

Shannon takes on
newcomer, Rosie Lottalove.

Rosie was a larger woman.

She has a very,
very strong offense.

She had Daffney in
between her legs,

and then basically
just sits down on her,

right on her chest,
bam.

♪

She literally landed on her,

and it hurt her sternum.

The wrestlers at TNA were
mostly very supportive

and checking in on her.

The company as a
whole at that time...

there was a whole
lawsuit about it.

They weren't...

taking care of
her medical bills,

and they weren't doing
follow up care for her.

I chose to file a
worker's comp claim...

to try to prove
in a court of law

that wrestlers are not
independent contractors,

we're employees.

And I just feel like at
least what they can do is

if you get injured
in their ring,

they should pay for it.

She settled...

for money.

I know that part of her
settlement, at least, was...

they gave her like a thousand
of her action figures,

which is seems like such
a crock of crap to me.

This girl had a near-death
experience, basically,

for your company, and the
best you can do is,

"Hey, why don't you go make
your own money hawking

your merchandise at an
independent show."

So wild.

They've got concussion
protocols now that

they did not
have back then.

So a lot of those changes
were brought about

by wrestlers like Daffney.

She really kind of broke
a barrier there for us.

But following two
major injuries,

Shannon's recovery is
slower than expected,

and the toll on her body
is starting to show.

It wasn't an option
to take the time off.

But she was kind
of forced into it.

We say that we have
a bump card.

That's what we call it.

There's only so many bumps
you can take in your life

before your body says,
"Yeah, no more of this."

I've got a long
way to go. Right?

I see a light at the
end of the tunnel and...

I see...

I'm gonna cry.

I just, I see hope.

And, um,
it's really awesome.

I think for a while there's
gonna be some things

I'm gonna have
to push through.

I do remember her going into,
like, a deep depression.

I think whatever it did to
her brain, it was not good,

and she went
severely negative

for a while after that.

Some of you may
have noticed

a little bit of a change
in my attitude...

No!

But a lot of people don't
realize, with concussions,

if you have bipolar disorder,
it's going to amplify it or

trigger it, and she was
struggling with that.

There was a shift...

in her personality.

Trauma changes people.

It changes your
brain chemistry.

That's just an uphill battle.

And Daffney hard into
the steel barricade!

[cheering]

By 2011, injuries force
Shannon to make

a decision about
the future of her career.

All these injuries
took a toll on her.

Like, I think she had
headaches for months.

That was the beginning of
the end for her,

as far as, like,
in-ring performer.

We kind of put a foot
down towards the end,

that especially after
the concussions,

that she just did not
need to go into the ring.

And she agreed.

When you're a wrestler
and you can't wrestle...

there goes your paycheck.

So, she was always
trying to figure out

what the next hustle was
going to be for her.

You're also going to be
getting a match or two.

Luckily, she had a
really great fan base.

She would be online
trying to sell her 8x10s

and her t-shirts.

W-C-dub.

She was doing
appearances.

She would pop up
here and there,

and do autograph
signings at conventions,

and she was producing for
Shine, down in Florida.

The Iron Maiden!

Finding new purpose,

Shannon teams up
with other female

wrestlers to fight the
stigma of bipolar disorder.

I think people don't really
realize that for

ten years now, I've had a
chemical imbalance.

I take medication twice a
day and it's something that,

every day, like it's a
real thing, as opposed to,

you know, it's just me
acting crazy as a gimmick.

We banded together
as sisters-

me, Daffney, Kimberly,
and Amber Gardner

and got our bipolar disorder
awareness tattoos.

It's a colon, a parenthesis,
and another colon,

so it's like
happy and sad.

So, for depression
and mania.

And, it gives me a reason to
talk about bipolar disorder.

And that had been the
theme of our sisterhood.

She was always there to be
the rock for everybody else,

And I think a lot of people
find it hard to comprehend,

you know, that she
was suffering, too.

She would have times when she
was getting ready to go to

the grocery store,
she'd get out in the car...

and can't remember
where she's going.

She would do
some refereeing,

and even that was
giving her issues,

like she'd go down
to make a count and

she was getting dizzy spells,
a lot of vertigo.

Those concussions
were just killing her.

She's like, "When I die,
I want my brain to go to

science so they
can research...

what's going on with me
and hopefully help people."

She had already filled out
all the paperwork with

a Boston CTE hospital to
have her brain donated.

She decided she needed to
make a big change because

I think being around
the business,

not being able to wrestle,
was causing her depression.

And, so she opted
to leave.

For Daffney, losing wrestling
was like losing the,

the love of her life.

[chanting]
Daffney! Daffney!

I miss being in the ring.

[chanting]
Daffney! Daffney!

This is where
my heart is, at least...

is in this business.

Definitely.

Shannon, just like many
professional wrestlers,

when that run is over,

don't know how to become
regular people.

How do we exist outside
of that spotlight?

All of us have some kind
of struggle like that.

She was big into
self-medication

for a long time.

It's a Band-Aid that...

you can put on a situation
for a little bit, you know.

She has a couple drinks,
she's feeling good,

everything's fine,
and then it all kind of

tumbles downhill after that.

She got in a car accident.

And then she got in
another car accident.

And...

she had to go
to rehab...

because it was
court ordered.

The night before she was
gonna go into rehab, ah...

she....

contemplated
committing suicide.

I made her promise
to always call me.

And so that's why she
called me that night.

And I took her to
rehab the next day.

Every day I was,
I felt like I was having to

talk her off a ledge for
a while there.

Bipolar disorder,
like, makes...

the bad stuff seem...

SO bad.

I can't wrestle.

I haven't wrestled
since 2010.

She really struggled
with her self-image.

With medication,
she was gaining weight,

so she was getting really
depressed about that.

That's a really big problem,

I think in entertainment
for all women.

Beauty and thinness
is a currency.

The fans that
she was...

so enthralled with
and loved,

a lot of them
started writing

some negative
stuff about her.

Someone said I look
like Ozzy Osborne

and Roseanne
had a, had a kid.

Ha!

The internet can be cruel,

and it was really causing
her mental anguish.

She was having a lot
of physical issues.

She got diagnosed
with a thyroid issue,

and she was having all
these menopausal symptoms,

which makes your
bipolar meds not work.

I felt guilt for too long!

She was going through
a lot of things

that would kind of
beat anyone down.

So then Covid hit.

Then she was even
more isolated.

She would say
things like, like...

Like, "I'm so alone, I don't
have anybody." And I'm like,

"Oh my gosh, girl,
you have so many people."

We always had plans...

about what we're
gonna do...

to get her out of the
situation that she was in.

She had a new apartment,
she had a new job,

and she was going
back to school.

I talked to her
that morning.

And...

everything seemed
to be fine.

And then, that's when the
Instagram moment happened.

On the evening of
September 1st, 2021,

Shannon goes live
on Instagram.

[phone vibrating]

I wasn't even really familiar
with Instagram Live.

♪

But I just saw that
bubble pop up

and it was Daff,
and I thought, oh!

And...

just...

basically talking
her suicide note.

She stole her former
roommate's gun.

She was saying,

"You guys gotta take care
of your brain,

take care of your brain."
And she would say,

"Take my brain to Boston,
take my brain to Boston."

And I knew that it was
a lot more serious...

than I had
initially thought.

I've been a firefighter
for ten years, and...

I deal with people
that are in crisis

every time I go to work.

And, um...

She was just, ah,
she was in crisis.

She needed help.

I saw maybe about 10,
20 seconds of, of it and...

got up, and got dressed,
and was- getting-

calling my dad,
saying,

"Alright, hey, we need
to go to Atlanta."

♪

All of a sudden,
I started getting...

a ton of text messages.

[phone vibrating]

When I logged on and
she saw my name...

She said,
"I'm sorry."

She goes, "I'm gonna
break my promise."

[phone ringing]

I immediately went and
called the police up there.

I'm commenting,
saying, "Daff, I love you."

And then I'm seeing all
the wrestlers I know.

They're all logging in,
they're all saying

the same thing,
you know, "Call me."

I went to my
cell phone and...

started calling her...

over and over
and over again.

I just kept getting,
the voicemail was full.

The voicemail was full.

I tried calling her.

And...I, I...

[Exhaling sharply]
Hoo!

[voice cracking]
Calling her and texting her.

And I just knew that if I
could get a hold of her,

if I can get her
to text me back,

if I could get her
on the phone,

then I could make sure
everything's okay,

she would listen to me.

I- [sighing]
----.

[sniffling]

But she wouldn't
answer her phone.

And then it went black.

And, I was just left
staring at my phone,

not knowing what I had
actually witnessed.

Knowing what I had witnessed,

but my brain was
not allowing me...

to process.
Um...

♪

When me and my
dad got there,

my mom was
already there,

knocking on the door,
and of course,

there's no answer.

We had to call the
fire department in

to come and
knock down the door.

I was on the phone
with her mom

when they finally
broke in.

♪

It was, it was...

it was the worst
night ever.

I was just waiting
on the news.

♪

And then when it arrived,
it wasn't, it wasn't good.

Fire department
came down and...

said they were sorry, but
that she had passed, and...

my dad was on my left,
and my mom was

on the right, and they
both kind of...

knees buckled and...

I grabbed them, and then
one of the officers

helped me
grab 'em, and...

it didn't really dawn on me
that this time she had,

she had done it.

I talked to her
that morning.

And I felt like if I had a
chance to talk to her again...

we could have
talked it out.

I didn't get a chance...

to talk her out of it.

I like to believe if she knew
how much it hurt me...

she wouldn't
have done it.

Even though your brain
might be telling you that...

suicide is the
only way...

and that you don't
think you're worth it...

the hole that
you leave...

is, it's, it's too much.

It's too much to fill.

I was mad at her...

because of my daughter.

My daughter knew
her as Aunt Shannon.

How dare she do
this to my daughter.

How dare she take
Aunt Shannon away.

How dare she take
my friend away.

♪

I'm driving down
the road....

I'm supposed
to be chipper.

I'm supposed
to go to shows.

I'm supposed to shake
everybody's hand and,

meanwhile, this person that
meant the world to me

for, for years...

is gone.

Shannon, you were an
incredible friend.

I just wish...

you felt comfortable
enough to...

reach out and talk about
the things that were

bothering you, and I just wish
you were still here now.

Could be really difficult...

for Daffney to know
how loved she was.

And so unfortunate that
she felt all alone.

That's why I encourage
people to reach out

and reach out to
their friends.

That's what
we're here for.

She was in a
very dark place,

and it was very real to her.

And that's what mental illness
and CTE can look like.

It's like a veil.

She believed
she had CTE,

and she wasn't going
to let it be in vain.

God, that is her
second grade?

Yeah, something
like that.

Fountain, Illinois.

And, that was, I believe,
her second grade picture.

She made an agreement with
the University of Boston

that she was gonna
donate her brain

for research...

and made me promise...

that I would make sure
that that happened.

Shannon was going to be

the first female brain
in their study.

They say that there was CTE,
but they don't know

how much and to what
extent that it was.

The biggest thing for
Daffney, in her death,

was that she wanted to bring

focus into CTE and to...

what concussions
long term do.

And when you're willing to
do anything for wrestling...

♪

...what can happen to you.

We really need to listen
to her message

about taking care
of your brain.

As a wrestler
with bipolar disorder...

my brain health
comes first.

I saw what it
did to Daffney.

The best counselor in the
world can't help anybody

if they don't want
to get better.

Shannon did.

And she worked at it.

And we fought
the good fight.

She was never shy
about talking about

her bipolar disorder, so I
think she'd be happy

that we were being
honest about it.

While Shannon
was still alive,

she had started to do
some charity work with

a group called NAMI,

which deals with
mental illness.

It's a great cause,
and it's a cause that,

that Shannon was
already invested in.

So, I feel like giving
in her honour and

in her name just
keeps it going.

She did a lot for
basically everyone.

[sniffling & sighing]
It's time to repay.

The outpouring of
support and love

made us realize even more

how special of a
of a person she is and was.

I really don't think you'll
ever find anybody in the

wrestling business
that could

say a bad word
about Daffney,

especially if you
met her personally.

There was not a more
giving performer...

to her fans
than Shannon.

Daffney.

You look at Daffney
as a great character.

It was fun,
it was different.

But I think the match that
epitomizes her as a

human being is

the match she had
with Vickie Lyons.

♪

I was somewhere on
the road,

and it was 2 AM, 3 AM.

I couldn't sleep, and I'm
watching Forensic Files,

and it's a story about a
little girl who was run over

in a parking lot, and the
terrible ordeal

that this child
went through.

I don't like how people
make me feel.

So it really
touched my heart,

and so I type
in Vickie Lyons.

And the first thing that
comes up is "Vickie Lyons

Daffney YouTube
wrestling match."

And I think no,
there's, there's no way.

♪

Vickie Lyons had
always wanted to be

a professional wrestler.

And Daffney was like,
you know what?

I'm gonna teach you and
we're gonna have a match.

She obviously had limited
physical capabilities,

but any time anyone
would tell her,

no, you can't do this,
she would look you

dead in the eyes and
be like, yes, I can.

This is Vickie Lyons!

[cheering]

What unfolds is like one of
the most beautiful things

I've ever seen
in, in our sport,

and I've been around
a long time.

Shannon knew how
to make Vickie

look like a star, and...

she damn sure did it.

That suplex, Daffney...

gets rocked on that one.

Daffney surprised Vickie

by putting her
over for a victory

in her one match that
she trained five years for.

Trying to get the tights!
Got 'em!

[indistinct commentary]

[cheering]

In that match, I see
everything that's good

and right about
professional wrestling.

Vickie Lyons!

[cheering]

I think it was just as
good for Shannon

as it was for Vickie.

It just showed you who,
who she was as a person

and what kind of a
special heart she had.

I knew that Shannon
was liked and loved,

but I did not realize how many
people she had touched.

That helped a lot.
That helped a lot.

Daffney's legacy is that...

she taught female
professional wrestlers

how to be sisters,
to love each other more,

build each other up more,
and to look after each other

both inside and
outside the ring.

And David and I were the
wrestlers of that crew.

Without question,
Daffney is the one

that people
remember the most.

She oozed positivity.

She was the
----ing greatest.

♪

Thank you for just
leading by example.

Thank you for
being completely...

an original.

I'm not a religious
person at all,

but man, she always...

always lets me know she's

paying attention to me.

I miss her every day.

I love her more
and more every day.

I have made it
my duty to...

continue her advocacy

for women in wrestling,

women in entertainment,

and for bipolar disorder
patients.

I will always talk
about you, Daffney.

Daffney is watching.
She's always watching.

She's influencing women's
wrestling today and forever

because that was the
lasting effect she had.

She's so missed.

And I just want to say,
thank you, Daffney.

And we love you.
And we miss you.

And I hope you're
proud of all of us.

♪

Shannon loved her fans.
She loved her family.

She loved her friends.

She would always be
there for you,

if you needed her to.

♪

And that's what I would
want people to remember.

I love that girl,
I tell ya.

We miss her.

And we love her.

♪

I always thought we were
gonna be old and...

sitting in rocking chairs,
laughing at jokes

that we didn't have to say
anything 'cause

we'd just look at each other
and start laughing.

And...

I hope, I hope I did
a good job for you.

♪

I hope, I hope I did
what you wanted.

I hope I did a good
job for you, and...

and I miss you.
[chuckling]

I miss you.

A lot.