Shannon "Daffney" Spruill is the Tina Fey of professional wrestling.
Both have benefited from their on-camera impersonations of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Fey created more attention for her "30 Rock" sitcom last fall with a brilliant Palin imitation on "Saturday Night Live." In Spruill's case, spoofing the former Republican vice-presidential nominee led to a job with TNA Wrestling.
After Palin's ticket lost November's election, TNA tried generating mainstream publicity by inviting her to become a member of the Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky). Since Palin would never acknowledge such a grandstand offer, TNA needed someone to cast as "The Governor" for a series of comedy skits.
Spruill -- who was still chasing grappling stardom seven-plus years after the demise of World Championship Wrestling -- fit the bill perfectly.
Contacted by TNA road agent Terry Taylor (a former WCW co-worker), Spruill quickly put her acting and production background from Georgia State University to good use. Spruill left a message on matchmaker Vince Russo's voicemail in her best Alaskan accent and e-mailed a photograph that showed her wearing glasses and a Palin-inspired wig.
She did more than score the gig. She was convincing enough that some fans and even fellow TNA performers like Brother D-Von and Mick Foley accustomed to seeing her as the Gothic-inspired Daffney didn't initially recognize the "Palinized" Spruill.
"I'm a thespian, so for me that was the ultimate compliment," Spruill said earlier this week in a telephone interview.
Like other gimmicks of this type, Spruill knew the Palin shtick would eventually run its course. That created personal angst about how long she would be staying in TNA.
"I was waiting for the 'Thanks, you did a good job, pat on the back' every week," she said. "It was nerve-racking."
Spruill, though, can rest easier now. She impressed TNA officials enough with her acting prowess and improved grappling skills from her WCW days to get recast as Daffney. Now feuding with the Beautiful People, Spruill is part of a "Queen of the Cage'' match with ODB, Madison Rayne and Sojourner Bolt on Sunday's "Lockdown" pay-per-view show in Philadelphia.
"Before, I was just a manager who did high spots," said Spruill, referring to her WCW days when paired with David Flair (Ric's son) and Chris "Crowbar" Ford. "I'm really proud that I'm now able to hang in there with the girls we have. We have some talented females on our roster."
Daffney distinguished herself in WCW with her dark appearance and high-piercing shriek. But she had other reasons to scream after WCW was purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2001. For more than two years, Spruill was relegated to working primarily on the Southeast independent circuit until signing a WWE developmental contract in July 2003. She was cut from Ohio Valley Wrestling five months later without ever having appeared on WWE's main talent roster.
The release was devastating. Spruill began working as a personal trainer and yoga instructor until deciding to give wrestling another try.
"It took away my confidence and it took a little while for me to get sucked back in," Spruill said. "But no pity party for Daffney. I think that has happened to a lot of other (ex-WWE wrestlers) who were more deserving to have a shot there than me."
Spruill, 33, is looking forward to expanding the depth of her Daffney persona in TNA. She says Mallory Knox -- the maniacal femme fatale played by Juliette Lewis in the 1994 movie "Natural Born Killers'' -- is the inspiration behind her character.
As the TNA story line goes, Spruill reverted to being Daffney after the Beautiful People recently betrayed and scalped The Governor. Daffney is now seeking revenge against Rayne, who also participated in the humiliating beat-down on "TNA Impact" (9 p.m. EDT Thursdays, Spike TV).
"I got my hair chopped and no one came to save me," Spruill said. "I really feel people are going to sympathize because I was hired to play this joke and I got the brunt of it instead. But who knows? With the fans, you kind of have to take it week to week. They could turn on me and I may end up being a bad guy again."
For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com and www.daffney.2ya.com.
(Alex Marvez writes a syndicated pro-wrestling column for Scripps-Howard News Service. Contact him at alex1marv(at)aol.com.)
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