13 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Daffney

It's easy to see that WCW was on the ropes between 1999-2001 now, but few could've predicted that the promotion would go out of business in '01 at the time. Spruill was certainly reeling when the company folded and remnants were purchased by Vince McMahon's WWF. VICE showed clips of McMahon walking to the ring and various signs in the crowd as Shannon says she went through an extreme depression around this time.

At first, she thought that was just because she didn't have a job anymore. Then, Spruill realised that she still wanted more from the pro wrestling biz. WWF/WWE offered sanctuary in the form of a developmental contract, but that proved to be short lived. Shannon was only in developmental for less than a year before being cut from the roster. 

"F*** wrestling" was her attitude after that.

Shannon wouldn't return to the industry until 2003. That's when she began working on the independent circuit and having some fun with it again. Her WWE dream might've fallen flat, but that didn't mean she couldn't keep playing the Daffney character or scratching that performative itch. The indy scene let her do that even if it wasn't necessarily paying the bills.

WCW going under had a hugely negative impact on Spruill personally. No wonder. She'd only gatecrashed the product in late-1999, and then the whole place had been sold to its own competition just over a full year later. That must've been really challenging for Shannon to process, especially when she was faced with an uncertain future.