Tammy Sytch, better known to most simply as “Sunny,” was is arguably the first “Diva” in professional wrestling history. Many women came before Sunny, but few made the lasting impact or became the mainstream sensation that she became in the mid-’90s. At one time, during the early years of the internet, Sunny was actually the “most downloaded celebrity in the history of AOL,” which back in the prime of Baywatch, was saying a lot. Personally, I loved Sunny… she was a far cry from the Miss Elizabeth-types that I had grown up on in the ’80s, and just in time to be an object of infatuation for my teenage years. Sunny helped to change the perspective and mindset of the masses of wrestling fans who didn’t think that women could be anything but “eye candy” or silent escorts for wresters, and in doing so, left her immortal mark on the sports entertainment industry. As a valet/manager to wrestlers, she helped make mediocre performers fan favorites, and incredible performers more popular than they had ever been just by associating with them, utilizing her extraverted personality, flirtatious antics, and undeniable sex appeal. Sunny no doubt helped to pave the way for a reemergence of women to have careers in professional wrestling, regardless if they were in-ring performers or not. Most importantly, as an entertainer, she helped to revolutionize and modernize a male-dominated industry, and for that, she’ll always have my personal appreciation and the teenage fan in me will always have a special place in my heart for her.
Congratulations to Sunny on being inducted this year into the WWE Hall of Fame, Class of 2011!! It’ll be an honor to be there live as she takes her rightful place in sports entertainment history!
