When it comes to dramatic and shocking downfalls in wrestling history, the decline of WWE's 'First Diva' (as she is often referred to) Sunny, is a story that will forever baffle any hardcore wrestling fan. Tammy Lynn Sytch (which is her real name) seemed to have it all in the mid 1990's, originally she hadn't planned a career in wrestling but it was through her boyfriend, wrestler Chris Candido that she became involved.
Chris and Tammy had been teenage sweethearts and had a very rocky relationship from the start so when they eventually got married, people were surprised. To some people it looked as if Chris was more besotted with Tammy than she was with him and she had a reputation for being quite full of herself. Tammy had the looks and natural charisma but Chris was showing a lot of promise in the ring and many people commented on how great a technical wrestler he actually was but when the pair were together it was always 'Sunny' (Tammy's character) who would steal the show.
Tammy was born in Matawan, New Jersey on the 7th of December 1972 and came from a respectable family. Her parents were firm but fair and as she grew up she was not only academically gifted but she had the personality and looks to match. When she got together with Chris the pair were inseparable and they basically grew up together which was great in some ways and not in others. The relationship could be very toxic at times and when Sunny's career really began to take off with WWE, it seemed that not only did their relationship suffer but their addictions began to spiral out of control. They did everything together as a couple and that also meant taking drugs and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.
Tammy's popularity in WWE skyrocketed like nobody had seen before with a female in the wrestling world. There had been amazing women involved in the wrestling world in the past but Tammy's character 'Sunny' seemed to have that x-factor and was not only sexy and intelligent, she was quite feisty too and could stand her ground in what was still at the time, a very male dominated field. Men and teenage boys were obsessed with her, girls and women wanted to be like her, it seemed she could do no wrong but it soon became clear that the more fame and adoration she received, the worst she became.
She was certainly a massive hit with the fans and was making WWE a lot of money as well as helping the viewing figures go through the roof. She was hailed as being WWE royalty and was noted as being the most downloaded celebrity on the internet in 1996. Her popularity was like that of Pamela Anderson in her hay day, the guys just went crazy for her and basically fanboy over her whenever she walked in the ring or presented a WWE segment.
Things started to turn sour in regards to her reputation amongst other wrestlers, she began reportedly having several flings with various wrestlers, most notably, Shawn Michaels and the pair practically rubbed it in Chris's face. Everybody knew about it and Shawn was a big ticket at the time so it was a very awkward situation. Chis knew about the affair and Tammy even admitted later on that she and Shawn would have sex backstage whilst other wrestlers would keep a look-out incase Chris appeared. It was all pretty humiliating for Chris who had some sympathy from his colleagues in the beginning but this sympathy soon faded as Chris was proving himself to be a bit of a wimp when it came to standing up, confronting the pair of them and leaving Tammy. He was so besotted with her that he just let it happen. The fling with Shawn didn't last and soon there were rumours flying around that she had slept with more of the guys. To this day some of the wrestlers rumoured to have been involved with her have denied these rumours and also denied claims that she has made publicly and previously herself.
As is the case with certain personalities who believe their own hype, Tammy started letting things slide in a big way, she began to throw herself into her addictions and was becoming unreliable. The fans were tiring of her too and it was looking like her days were numbered at WWE especially when a new blonde bombshell came on board. It was no secret that Tammy (aka 'Sunny') felt threatened by female wrestler 'Sable'. Sable was the new blonde in town and the fans soon became obsessed with her, Sable merchandise was outselling Sunny's merchandise and Tammy wasn't happy with the competition.
Tammy's battles with substance addiction and alcohol have been noted through the years and her time at WWE came to an end. She tried to regain some of the glory of the early days and had joined other wrestling promotions but was still having issues and ended up being fired. Soon she had a reputation for not only being full of herself and ruthless in her approach to others, but her addictions were so out of control that she didn't even bother hiding it. Chris was struggling too and things took an even tragic turn when after an accident in the ring, Chris ended up in hospital for a routine operation. He was expected to have the surgery and then recover for a while and return to what he had worked hard for all of his life but it sadly wasn't to be. Chris suffered complications in his recovery from the surgery and developed acute pneumonia. He sadly passed away on the 28th of April 2005. He had reportedly been sober just before he had died and was on the road to recovery with his battle against addiction. It was a sad and tragic loss of a promising talent who had so much more to give.
As for Tammy, she was understandably devastated by Chris's death and her career and reputation in the wrestling world never recovered, in fact, it is forever destroyed due to her selfish actions which ended up with an innocent person losing their life. The downward spiral of Tammy just got worse as time went on. Despite many highlights in her career and being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, she still continued to spiral out of control. She was now a slave to her addictions and soon found herself on the wrong side of the law so many times that wrestling fans have commented that they'd given up trying to keep track of what was going on or had lost track of what was happening with Tammy, it was one disaster after another and WWE did try to step in with offers of support and rehab on numerous occasions but she refused to accept the help.
She just kept getting into more and more mess with the constant arrests and indulging in addictions that it was sadly no surprise that she was either going to end up dead herself or accidentally killing someone. Well, as I write this it may come as no surprise (and you will no doubt already know if you are a wrestling fan) but Tammy is in prison serving a 17 year prison sentence (she was sentenced in November of 2023) for being under the influence and speeding in her car which resulted in her crashing into the back of a 75 year old man's vehicle. The man sadly died as a result of her actions.
Tammy is currently 52 years old and the years of alcoholism and substance misuse have taken a hard toll on what was once a beautiful face. Everybody ages and if she had taken good care of herself (and others) she would have still been beautiful and would have kept her legacy a respectful one, maybe working in some capacity today for WWE. But she threw it all away and the sad thing is, the help was there, the wake-up calls were there. How many times do you have to be arrested before you realise what you are actually doing to yourself and those around you? How could you go from having a glittering career where you are adored to just allow yourself to continue to destroy all that you are and all that you worked for?
Was it too much fame going to her head? Did she just have too big an ego? Those who know her best say that she had always been over-confident about herself and when her career with WWE really took off, it all just made her worse and it was like nobody mattered but her, Chris was pushed to the side and humiliated when she slept with other wrestlers and now she's in a prison cell and she has nobody to blame but herself.
What are your thoughts on Tammy aka 'Sunny'? I would love to hear your thoughts either below n the comments section or by email: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com
RIP Chris, you will never be forgotten and thoughts also to the 75 year old man who sadly lost his life, RIP x
Further Reading & Sources:
- Tammy Lynn Sytch: Article | Daily Mail
- WWE Hall of Fame | Wikipedia
- Tammy Lynn Sytch | Wikipedia
- Chris Candido | Pro Wrestling
- Tammy Lynn Sytch | Reddit Discussion Thread
- Tammy Lynn Sytch: Article | Sky News
- A Star Shattered: The Rise & Fall of A Wrestling Diva | Book by Tammy Lynn Sytch
- Chris Candido | Find A Grave
Thank you if you have been with me the past nine weeks as I have looked back over some of the dark events and moments in wrestling history, I really appreciate it. This post was the last in this series.....for the time being. I will be writing about more moments in wrestling history in a future series but for now I will be taking a break for a few days. It won't be long break, I have my next series planned and I hope that you will join me for that.
In the meantime, I thank you again for all of your support and I hope to see you on my Socials
Until next time, stay safe and I'll see you in the next post x
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