The Original Diva: Sunny’s Rise And Fall

It can be hard to imagine a time in WWE when women were hardly a company focal point. In the mid-90s, one woman broke the mould and became one of the most popular and heavily promoted figures in the entire company. She would have the distinction of being the most downloaded celebrity of any kind when the internet was still in its infancy. This is the story of the woman who, for better or worse, would become the first true “diva” in WWE history. Her name was Sunny, and her saga is one of the incomparable highs and tragic lows. 

Meeting Chris

Tamara Lynn Sytch was born on Dec 7, 1972, to a middle-class family in New Jersey. It was a neighbor when Tamara was only seven years old, that would first introduce her to pro wrestling. She recalls being hooked from day one, imitating and obsessing over her favorite wrestlers, as many of us do. She credits Wendy Richter as the one who inspired her to take up physical fitness, which would become a specific theme in her eventual WWE career. She says she lost interest in wrestling during high school, but as fate would have it, attending a local indie show would shape her destiny. 

Tamara was only 17 when she first met the man she still refers to as her soulmate. She says it was love at first sight when it came to Chris Candido, and she vowed to win his affections that night. She was successful, as she often was in her formative years, and thus she and Candido would begin one of the most whirlwind romances in wrestling history. From then on, wrestling would reenter Tamara's life in the most dramatic and enduring fashion. Soon enough, she would undergo a key transformation, and the world would eventually know her as Sunny. 

Changing Her Path In Life

Before and after beginning a relationship with Chris, Tamara planned to attend medical school. But she claims the two were so inseparable that she couldn’t bear going to college out of state and being away from Chris. She opted to spend the summer with Chris instead. Her first foray into the business was as a photographer. She routinely photographed Candido's matches and others on the card. Her photos were good enough to catch the eye of legendary wrestling journalist and photographer Bill Apter. Apter paid Tamara for some of her photos, giving her the first official payday from wrestling she ever received. 

Soon enough, she was escorting Chris to the ring as his valet. She recalls being so “green,” as they say, that she was speechless when a young Nancy Toffoloni, aka Woman, asked if she were a heel or a face. Eventually, she would catch the eye of Eddie Gilbert, a great booker with a radar for talent. She and Chris would start working in the USWA territory, based in Tennessee. This would eventually lead to them working for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and a fateful collaboration with Jim Cornette. 

Jim Cornette was the first to cast Tammy in an actual wrestling “angle.” Now it’s important to note that she was still attending classes to become a plastic surgeon. But after going to work for SMW, it became more apparent that wrestling was her true calling. Cornette, being the quixotic he was, knew that Tammy would be a heat magnet in the southern fried hills of Tennessee and Kentucky. Soon enough, she would become the most hated woman in the entire territory, thanks to her being perceived as the ultimate Yankee from the Northeast. 

Back To The Northeast 

Around this time, Tammy was hit with personal tragedy for the first time, but it wouldn’t be the last. Her father would pass away, and she was devastated, as they had been close. She was still attending classes, but her grades began slipping further. At this point, she and Chris had made Knoxville their home, but a fortuitous phone call was about to change everything. SMW had always been on the WWE's radar and sometimes acted as a bit of an unofficial developmental territory. 

Tammy recalled answering the phone and hearing Bruce Pritchard’s voice on the other end. Bruce was head of talent relations then and wanted to talk to Tammy about bringing her in for a tryout. She was elated but also a bit confused. She had still considered her involvement in the business as a temporary gig and that wrestling was her boyfriend’s dream. To make things even more complicated, the company was only interested in her at this point, and not Candido. 

To his credit, Chris encouraged Tammy to take the opportunity and not be conflicted. She would be scheduled to audition on her birthday of all days, and she says she could barely contain her excitement. After receiving hair and makeup treatment, she was brought into a small studio room and asked to read from a teleprompter. She meekly protested and told Bruce she wasn’t used to anything like this, and he assured her things would be fine. According to her, she then proceeded to bomb her audition spectacularly. 

After calling Candido upon returning to her hotel, she remembers being unable to speak and sobbing uncontrollably for several minutes. Tammy returned to Knoxville, defeated and deflated. To make matters worse, after a spot at an SMW show, she would suffer her first wrestling-related injury; a broken hand. Tammy recalls how things couldn’t get any worse when the light started to shine through. Bruce Pritchard called again, and the WWE wanted to make her an offer. 

Becoming Sunny

It’s somewhat forgotten now, but Sunny’s first role in WWE was as a reporter. She was christened Tamara Murphy because Vince wanted her to have an Irish surname. She was juggling WWE, Smoky Mountain and other independent bookings. This was the final nail in the coffin of pursuing her medical degree. She made a decent income with WWE and no longer had time outside her wrestling commitments. 

In 1995, she was informed she would be cast as an on-air manager with WWE. They were also now interested in bringing Candido in as well. At first, the two were to be cast as a cheerleading duo and as babyfaces. Tammy remembers being uncomfortable in the protagonist role, as she and Chris had always worked as heels. To make matters worse, while Tammy had a cheerleading background, Chris did not and wasn’t precisely believable in the role. After a disastrous debut, Vince decided they would be better off as heels, much to the couple’s relief. 

After being brought into Vince’s office, the two were assigned their new characters. They were based on a popular fitness and motivational guru at the time, Tony Robbins. They were given their new names, Skip and Sunny. Tammy loved it, but Chris hated it. She reflects that, as was often the case, she was favorably presented, while he was left much to be desired. Sunny was officially born on this day, and Tamara Lynn Sytch would become one of the most integral and auspicious women in WWE history.

The Body Donnas 

A series of vignettes would begin airing in mid-1995, introducing Skip and Sunny as The Body Donnas. Upon their debut, they settled nicely into the mid-card and garnered immediate heat. From the beginning, Sunny began to emerge as the act's centrepiece. It’s important to remember that not since Ms. Elizabeth had there been such a cosmetically striking female personality. But Sunny was a different animal. Unlike Elizabeth, a proper southern belle, and the epitome of class, Sunny was brash, outspoken, and effervescent. She was a pretty girl who sometimes did terrible things, and the audience reacted badly. 

Sunny’s popularity began to ascend rapidly, and soon enough, the company booked a photo shoot to be featured in RAW magazine. It’s important to emphasize this magazine's popularity at the time, especially amongst the WWE's core audience. Sunny’s issue would become the best-selling ever, and her fame grew there. Soon enough, Sunny would become the most downloaded celebrity in America, ahead of Pamela Anderson and Cindy Margolis. Sunny’s ascension was ahead of its time and a harbinger of future things. 

Sunny says that she was offered a spread in Playboy magazine at this point. Though flattered and somewhat taken aback, she ultimately declined the offer. Ironically enough, she says she was much more conservative with her body in those days and didn’t think her late Father would approve. She remembers Vince McMahon being surprised and mildly disappointed when she didn’t take the offer. It’s interesting to note her decision and where her path would ultimately lead here. 

She recalls how she was the only wrestling personality since Hulk Hogan to be featured on mainstream media outlets. Sunny was featured on Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition, among others. Her popularity was a rarity and a first for wrestling Without having ever wrestled a single match, she had become one of the WWE’s biggest stars. Her personal life was also about to become much more interesting as well. 

Heartbreak

Though some have disputed Sunny’s account of things, Chris Candido never publicly commented on the matter to anyone’s knowledge. Sunny claims that she and Chris had hit a wall in their relationship. She says that while they maintained appearances, they weren’t functioning as a couple when she began a relationship with Shawn Michaels. It started as an on-air bit in which she and Shawn were supposed to kiss in front of a live crowd. Things escalated quickly, and the two were engaged in a full-blown affair.

Sunny claims that she had been “in love” with Shawn since she was 13 when she attended a show The Rockers were wrestling on. By this point, she was 23, and he was 31, but she says the age difference played no factor. In her autobiography, Sunny is incredibly graphic in how she describes her romance with Shawn. She says their affair was intensely passionate and physical and that she eventually told Shawn she loved him. It was also during a vacation with him that Sunny had her first drink, which she says was a foreboding turning point in her life. 

Sunny remembers Shawn asking her to move in with him in his home state of Texas. She says at this point, her and Candido’s relationship had begun to see the light again. Because Sunny seemed reluctant to make a complete break with Chris, she claims that Shawn grew to resent him. When it became clear to Michaels that she wouldn’t leave Candido, he immediately broke things off. At 23 years old, Sunny said “The Heartbreak Kid” was the first man to break hers. 

The Sun Is Setting 

As 1996 came to a close, Sunny shuffled around into different roles within the company. She would manage Farooq and The Road Warriors at different points, but those pairings never seemed to stick. She would host or co-host several of the company’s weekend shows, bringing her sense of flair and magnetism to them. While she was still considered a valuable commodity to WWE, she seemed to fit less and less into their direction as time passed. It wasn’t much longer until she left the company for good. 

Going Extreme, Then To Atlanta 

After leaving WWE, Chris and Tammy would land in Paul Heyman’s outlaw promotion, ECW. Things initially went well for the couple but soon soured after a financial falling out with Heyman. To this day, Tammy has no love lost for Paul, essentially labelling him a crook and an unscrupulous businessman. After ECW, the tandem would head to WCW, which at this point, was no longer the premiere promotion in North America. 

Tammy found herself in controversy with Kimberly Page, the wife of WCW star DDP. It led to her getting suspended and ultimately out of the company altogether. Though it seemed she had been unfairly railroaded, Tammy and Chris were now without a job in a major promotion for the first time in 5 years. Looking back, it’s important to note how much of an impact Tammy/Sunny made in a relatively short time. She opened the door for women to become stars on par with their male counterparts. 

Losing Chris

After Tammy and Chris left WCW, they eventually found their way to Puerto Rico. The former wouldn’t be extended for the territory, but Chris would stay on a bit longer. After returning to the States, Tammy would begin her first of what would become a lifelong struggle with alcohol. While Chris was away in Puerto Rico, she drank so heavily it gave her pancreatic issues. She was hospitalized and began dealing with several residual effects, including weight gain.

Eventually, Candido found his way to TNA, and while it was initially a positive experience, Chris would soon suffer his first serious injury. He injured his ankle, and after flying home, he suffered a blood clot that would lead to a heart attack. The talented worker would die at the Young age of 33. This essentially sent Tammy into a tailspin. Her drinking increased to the point where she says she wouldn’t leave the house for days unless it were to get more booze. 

She would eventually find herself in a couple of different relationships, but the one with Damien Darling would be her first undoing. In 2011, Sunny was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame, and it seemed her life was poised to get back on track. However, the relationship with Darling would become toxic, seeing Tammy arrested numerous times. Sadly, this would only be the beginning of her legal woes. 

Downward Spiral

From 2015 to 2020, Sunny was arrested for numerous offenses. This is a little after she began a career in adult entertainment, distancing herself from the woman who once elected not to pose for Playboy. Over five years, Sunny was arrested for multiple DUIs, probation violations, battery and possession of/threats with a firearm. Her life became a living tabloid, and it seemed she had little interest in straightening her path. 

Then came the irrevocable incident in March 2022, when Tammy, once again driving under the influence, struck a parked car at a stoplight. The driver was a 75-year-old man killed by the crash's impact. Tammy was transported to a local hospital and treated for her injuries. Tammy Lynn Sytch was denied bail and currently awaits trial in a correctional facility. She could face up to 26 years in prison if convicted. 

Conclusion 

Sunny was, at one time of the most well-known females in the entire country. She broke barriers and was crucial in bringing WWE to the popularity it now enjoys. Her story is most simply defined as a cautionary tale but also one of poor life decisions, substance abuse, and mental health issues. She lost her Father, niece, and husband along her journey, but she compromised those losses when her reckless actions cost an innocent man his life. She had numerous opportunities to get back on track but fell into the same pattern of self-destructive behavior. 

Tammy Sytch was a woman who had her path in life altered in the blink of an eye. She was once on track to become a doctor, but instead, pro wrestling found her and gave her a home and a purpose. She found fame and fortune at a young age, and it seems she could not develop positive coping mechanisms and mature. In this case, you can’t point to the trappings of pro wrestling and the demons it facilitates. Sunny’s is a story of someone getting dealt a few bad hands in life and choosing the wrong way to overcome that. And although her story isn’t necessarily over, it doesn’t appear that it will have a happy ending.