| Sunshine | |
|---|---|
 French, circa 1986 | |
| Birth name | Valerie French |
| Born | April 29, 1962 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Sunshine |
| Debut | 1983 |
| Retired | 1987 |
Valerie French is a former professional wrestling valet better known as Sunshine.
Valerie French started in wrestling as the valet for her real-life cousin Jimmy Garvin in Championship Wrestling from Florida.
French became a mainstay with World Class Championship Wrestling in 1983. She was called Sunshine and helped Garvin in his feud with David Von Erich. Garvin received some criticism for hiding behind Sunshine when he was in trouble. Sunshine was known for constantly interfering on Garvin's behalf. David Von Erich spanked her in the middle of the ring for this same reason. [1] On July 4, 1983, Garvin lost a match to David where he and Sunshine had to be his servants for a day. David had them doing chores on his ranch and filmed it.
Shortly after this, Garvin brought in his real-life wife, Precious, to replace Sunshine, and they feuded. Sunshine enlisted the help of Chris Adams to help her in this feud. [2]
In the summer of 1985, Sunshine had a brief feud against Jim Cornette that saw her pin him in a match where he had one arm tied behind his back and blindfolded. By late 1985, she was feuding with Missy Hyatt. They had many catfights that Hyatt's man John Tatum usually broke up so Sunshine enlisted Scott Casey and The Great Kabuki to help her. Kabuki turned on her and Casey in October, in a match where Kabuki teamed with The Missing Link against Scott Casey and Iceman Parsons Kabuki would attack her and The Missing Link would turn on him and The Missing Link would later to the same thing again when he would be attacked by former Manager Percy Pringle and Rick Rude she would spray perfume in Rude's eyes and The Missing Link would stop Pringle from attacking her. She would start managing him and continued her feud with Hyatt. It culminated at the Parade of Champions on May 4, 1986 where Sunshine beat Hyatt in a pig-sty mud match. She then started a feud with a woman by the name of Raven which culminated in Sunshine beating Raven in a mud wrestling match on July 4, 1986.
Sunshine also managed Lance Von Erich and reunited with Chris Adams in 1986, after Adams became babyface following a sixteen-month stint as a heel wrestler.
She then left for the Universal Wrestling Federation where she managed The Fabulous Freebirds. As part of the federation, she and the Freebirds feuded with The Missing Link and Dark Journey.
She left the UWF for Wild West Wrestling where she managed the team of John Tatum & Jack Victory. She also went back to managing The Missing Link. She eventually returned to the UWF, but the company was in the process of being sold to Jim Crockett Promotions. She retired shortly afterwards.
She now lives in Tampa, Florida, is married and has a daughter. [3]
World Class Championship Wrestling(WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich. Beginning as a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), it went independent in 1986 in a bid to become a major national promotion, but was unsuccessful in its attempts and eventually went out of business in 1990. Rights to the pre-1989 WCCW tape library belong to WWE (the post-1988 rights are owned by International World Class Championship Wrestling) and select episodes from 1982 to 1988 are available on the WWE Network.
The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival of the World Wrestling Federation. However, Watts' business strategy quickly swung from "overnight" success to catastrophic failure, resulting in the 1987 sale of the UWF to another rival: Jim Crockett Promotions. The promotion began as an NWA territory, NWA Tri-State, founded by Leroy McGuirk in the 1950s. Tri-State/Mid-South/UWF promoted in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi until 1987.
David Alan Adkisson was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name David Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich Family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling, the Dallas, Texas-based professional wrestling promotion owned by his father, Fritz Von Erich.
Christopher Adams, best known as "Gentleman" Chris Adams, was an English professional wrestler, promoter, coach, and judoka.
Kerry Gene Adkisson, better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with his father's promotion World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he spent eleven years of his career, and his time in World Wrestling Federation (WWF), under the ring name the Texas Tornado. Adkisson held forty championships in various promotions during his career. Among other accolades, he was a one-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him an overall five-time world champion and one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion.
Michael Seitz is an American retired professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as an announcer under the name "Handsome" Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He is currently employed with WWE as Vice President, Creative Writing & Booking and is also a senior producer.
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name. The Freebird lineup of Hayes, Roberts, and Gordy was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015, and members Hayes, Roberts, Gordy, and Garvin were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.
Terry Ray Gordy Sr. was an American professional wrestler. Gordy appeared in the United States with promotions such as Mid-South Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling and the Universal Wrestling Federation as a member of The Fabulous Freebirds. He also appeared in Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling as one-half of The Miracle Violence Connection.
James Williams is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Gorgeous Jimmy" Garvin and Jimmy "Jam" Garvin. A member of The Fabulous Freebirds, Garvin is best known for his appearances with promotions including the American Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling.
Dale Hey was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy "Jack" Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blonds in the 1970s and as one of The Fabulous Freebirds in the 1980s. He was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of The Fabulous Freebirds.
Gary Richard Williams was an American professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart. Hart was one of the pivotal driving forces behind what is considered to be World Class Championship Wrestling's "golden years" in the early 1980s.
Lynda Newton is an American naturopath and retired professional wrestling valet and professional wrestler, better known by her ring name, Dark Journey.
Nickla Ann Roberts-Byrd is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, better known by her ring name, "The Perfect 10" Baby Doll. She is best known for her appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s.
King Bailey Parsons Jr. is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name Iceman King Parsons.
The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich. Jack took on the name as part of his wrestling gimmick as he originally portrayed a Nazi heel, hence his use of a German name.
Scott Casey is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation between 1987 and 1990.
John Frenkel III is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Hollywood" John Tatum. Tatum is best known for his appearances with the Texas-based promotion World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s.
Melissa Ann Hiatt, better known by her ring name, Missy Hyatt, is an American retired professional wrestling valet, commentator, model and occasional professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1987 to 1994; she has also appeared with World Class Championship Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and Impact Wrestling.
Toni Leah Adams was an American professional wrestling valet who appeared in several North American regional promotions during the 1980s including the Universal Wrestling Federation and the United States Wrestling Association, although she was best known as the manager of her late ex-husband Chris Adams while in World Class Championship Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation.
Patricia Williams is a Canadian retired professional wrestling valet better known by her ring name, Precious. She is the real-life wife of the man she managed for much of her career, Jimmy Garvin.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)