Scream Queen, silent struggles: The tragic brilliance of Daffney Unger
The infamous ‘Attitude Era’ was one of the most popular and profitable periods in wrestling history. During this time, wrestling’s fanbase expanded to record numbers. It invaded mainstream culture like never before and created some of the industries biggest stars of all time. Despite all of its highs of that era there were some very low lows as this week’s episode of Dark Side of the Ring proved.
Nowhere were the lows more apparent than with the position, presentation of its female competitors. This was a time when women were borderline interchangeable; blonde bombshell beauties using their physical appearance to gain the coveted few moments on international television. Amongst all of the women one stood out, with her distinctive look, legendary banshee scream, and willingness to put her well being on the line to entertain fans.
Daffney made a name for herself by displaying her electric personality and commitment to consistently improving her wrestling abilities. Beyond her in-ring legacy, she was known for being compassionate, giving and wanting to support fellow women in professional wrestling and entertainment in general. Out of all of the causes she advocated for none was more important than her commitment to raising awareness and support for mental illness; particularly the one she battled – Bipolar Disorder. She battled the mental illness that would eventually take her life right out in the open. She never shied away from speaking about it and supported others that were going through the same situation. In this episode of ‘Dark Side of the Ring’, her family, friends and professional wrestling colleagues tell her cautionary yet very inspiring story.
Daffney Unger, born Shannon Spruill, was born on a military base in West Germany on July 17th, 1975. Her father was a member of the United States Air Force. Growing up the family moved around a lot. This consistent moving made her relationship with her father and brother very important as they were each other’s constants. As a child, Daffney loved playing sports, particularly gymnastics and soccer and showed a great interest in acting. In 1998, she graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in film and video production. After college, she responded to an open casting call for WCW which would end up being her formal introduction into professional wrestling. Originally, she was supposed to have a very limited number of appearances but her talent and unique charm shined through and her position grew. Professional wrestling would give her the opportunity to combine her passions for athletics and entertaining as a career.
During her time in WCW, she played the role of the “crazy” girlfriend of David Flair (real-life son of professional wrestling legend Ric Flair) and best friend, valet of the equally unhinged Crowbar.
The trio became instantly popular and their inscreen time grew almost every week. The most memorable storyline of this period was the onscreen love triangle between Daffney, David and Miss Handcock (later known as WWE hall of famer Stacy Kiebler). This story made Daffney very sympathetic to fans, showed her acting range and allowed her the chance to become WCW Cruiserweight champion. Her character work was like none other as she got to be a complex and intriguing wrestling personality where most females were one dimensional.
Outside of the ring, Daffney committed to learning how to wrestle and worked very hard to improve her abilities. She used her gymnastics background to learn how to do “wrestling spots” which further set her apart from her female counterparts. Despite being a fan favorite, when WCW went out of business, she was signed to a developmental contract in WWE but would never make it onto national television. After being released and throughout her divorce many around her described this time as a “downward spiral”. She took antidepressants that did not work and caused her to lose sleep for months and gain a stutter. Concerned family members took the growingly erratic Daffney to a mental hospital where she stayed for weeks to receive treatment. This is when she was formally diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and was prescribed medication…that she did not take.
In 2003, Daffney reignited her love of professional wrestling and started training with legendary wrestler Dusty Rhodes. This was a time in her career where she perfected her craft and showed vast improvement; finding work in ROH and a home in the all women’s company Shimmer. While she was working hard on the independent scene, a new company called TNA was rapidly growing in popularity. TNA became known for their vastly different presentation of female talent and their women’s division, known as The Knockouts Division, gave women a respected platform to perform on. Many fans would credit this division as the “real” beginning of the “women’s evolution” movement.
In 2008, Daffney would become a member of this highly competitive and obscenely talented roster as the onscreen character known as “The Governor”, a parody of real life Alaskan governor Sarah Palin. Her performance as this character was so good, many fans did not recognize her making the eventual reveal very shocking. After her time as the governor was done, she gained a whole new persona as the mental health patient of the onscreen psychiatrist Dr. Stevie Richards.
Daffney spent a lot of time and effort perfecting the character by carefully selecting ring gear including her iconic tiny tophat and having distinctive make up; ensuring she would once again stand apart from her peers. This would also be the time where she began punishing her body by competing in hardcore matches where she would be struck with various weapons and slammed into sharp objects. Unfortunately, as we would learn, her dedication to wrestling and willingness to take risks would be what made her mental health condition worsen.
On October 18th 2009, TNA had their annual pay per view ‘Bound For Glory’ where Mick Foley battled Abyss in a “Monster’s Ball” match. During this brutal hardcore contest, Daffney would be thrown from the top rope out of the ring and sent through a table covered in barbed wire. This incredibly dangerous stunt went wrong as she landed on her head, giving her a serious concussion and a broken arm.
Afraid to lose her spot in the company, she hid how severe her injury was and returned to the ring before her body had the chance to heal properly. In her first match back, she competed in a match with an undertrained woman known as “Rosie Lotta Love,” where she would be injured again. Given her larger size, Rosie was given the finishing move of sitting on her usually smaller opponents and when she went to perform this move during this match, she missed and sent her entire body weight crashing into Daffney, causing another concussion and injuring her sternum. Since professional wrestlers are legally classified as ‘independent contractors’, TNA did not have to pay for her medical bills or provide any other form of compensation.
This situation caused Daffney to think hard about how seriously a wrestler’s health is taken by their employers, motivating her to file a workman’s comp claim. The two parties would settle this out of court but this would be remembered as one of the first cases that prompted the change of concussion protocols in wrestling in the future. The long term effects of having multiple concussions made her Bipolar Disorder symptoms worsen and made the medication for it drastically less effective, making her everyday life challenging.
In 2011, Daffney would be forced to make the difficult decision to retire from in-ring competition but would still be a part of the industry by making appearances and working as a producer for Shine Wrestling in Florida. During this time, Daffney had daily struggles with the condition and the side effects of CTE, including severe dizziness and vertigo. She teamed up with a group of women wrestlers to raise awareness about CTE and decided she wanted to donate her brain to the Boston CTE Hospital.
According to the episode, with her in-ring career over she fell into a deep depression where she began self medicating with alcohol. This dangerous coping mechanism caused her to get in two car accidents after which she was legally required to go into rehab. The night before Daffney was set to go into rehab, she strongly considered suicide and this would be the first time those around her saw just how bad her condition was. The COVID pandemic made her isolation worse and she would record blogs expressing her loneliness and feelings of having no one. Family members and close friends saw this and tried to help her by getting her to focus on the future. Listening to those around her, Daffney started taking the steps to build a brighter future for herself by getting a new apartment, job and deciding to go back to school. All of the effort made everyone think she was doing better but tragically that would be the furthest thing from the truth.
On September 1st 2021, Daffney went on Instagram live and delivered what has been described as a verbal suicide note. A manic Daffney repeatedly said “talk care of your brain” and “donate my brain to Boston”. This greatly alarmed everyone watching, who tried everything they could to prevent what was most likely to happen. Friends and family members poured their hearts into the video’s comment section and frantically contacted the police who would end up not making it to her in time. When her family members and first responders entered her home, they found her dead as a result of a self inflicted gunshot wound. Her final wishes were respected and her brain was examined by experts, who determined there was evidence of CTE. She would be the first female brain studied by the institute, further proving her dedication to helping women’s wrestling.
The episode ended with Mick Foley telling the story of her match with Vickie Lyons described as a perfect representation of who Daffney was as a person. As a child, Lyons had been the victim of a hit and run in a parking lot and was left with long lasting effects. Daffney heard this woman’s brave story of survival and learned she wanted to be a wrestler. She decided to train this woman to compete in a match so she could live her lifelong dream. When watching the match, you can see how important this moment was to Lyons and how hard Daffney worked to give her that moment safely. Foley said this shows how much Daffney cared about people and how much she would do for anyone.
Given the subject matter, this episode of Dark Side Of The Ring was extremely hard to watch as everyone interviewed, including her father and brother, had the most beautiful things to say about the trailblazing scream queen. They wanted to tell her story to raise awareness for mental health and to let the world know how special and loving Shannon Spruill was. They claimed that no one would have a negative thing to say about her, as she gave everything she could to anyone who needed it. Hearing these stories directly from those who knew her best gave viewers an intimate understanding of the impact Daffney made on those around her.
