Tragedy blighted the wrestling business once again this past week, with the passing of former WWE manager and female performer Luna Vachon.
Vachon was found dead in her mother’s home on Friday morning (August 27, 2010). She was just 48 years old and is survived by her two sons and one granddaughter. On behalf of everyone here on Smash Wrestling, I stress that our thoughts and prayers are with Luna’s family and friends during this very difficult time.
Luna Vachon (real name Gertrude Vachon) was born into professional wrestling. The daughter of Paul “Butcher” Vachon and the niece of Maurice “Mad Dog Vachon” (two wild on-screen characters in their own right), it was highly likely that she would follow the “family tradition” and keep the “Vachon” name alive (even her Aunt Vivian was a female wrestler and was considered to be the very best in the 1970’s).
Luna got her break with Florida Championship Wrestling in 1985, working with the ludicrously sinister Kevin Sullivan in his “Army Of Darkness” faction (it was actually her association with Sullivan that led to Vachon adopting the infamous “Luna look”; with one half of her head shaven and some scary-looking “vein” artwork covering her face). In one of her earliest feuds she fought Madusa Miceli, an accomplished female worker whom Luna would battle many times over the next decade.
Vachon also worked for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling and Herb Adams’ UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation). It was during her time with the UWF that Luna feuded with another future WWF female star, Jacqueline “Miss Texas” Moore. Vachon was also involved in angles and matches with the likes of Jeff Jarrett and David “Gangrel” Heath, both of whom later found their way to the WWF (Luna and Heath also became husband and wife and got married on Halloween).
In 1993, Luna arrived in the WWF, initially as the “surprise manager” for Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania IX. (At the time, Michaels had gone through a bitter story line split with his manager, the late Sensational Sherri, who had shown up at WM, but had chosen to be in the corner of Shawn’s opponent, Tatanka).
Vachon elected to stay out of Michaels’ Intercontinental Title defence against “The Native American” (Luna was tempted to interfere, but the intimidating “Sensational One” stood her ground and nullified the “Luna factor). However, the wild woman chose to strike after the match, pulling Sherri down from the ring apron and attacking her on the floor.
Luna (who was unlike any female character WWF fans had seen up to this point) continued the assault backstage, in a “Coliseum Video Exclusive”. While Sherri was receiving medical attention, Vachon burst into the first aid room and battered poor Sherri; hurling first aid boxes at her and throwing her into the wall (this attack had more impact in 1993 as it’s unorthodox and “off-the-rails” nature was unlike the usual WWF fare, especially when it came to two female performers).
Luna and Sherri went on to a have a brief rivalry, which led to an infamous “cat fight” on Raw, where both women tore each other’s clothes. Unfortunately, Luna got injured and Sherri left the company (she later reappeared in ECW and WCW) before the feud could officially conclude.
Luna returned to her valet role soon after, and set the ball rolling at King Of The Ring 1993 by interfering in the KOTR final match between Bret “Hitman” Hart and the late Bam Bam Bigelow.
Although Bigelow (who had received a “bye” to the final by virtue of the time-limit draw between Lex Luger and Tatanka in the quarter-finals) lost to Hart, Luna’s chair-wielding interference (which went undetected by the referee) almost resulted in “The Hitman” getting counted out, and the act in itself suggested to Bam Bam that Luna might be worth having around as his manager as well as his “squeeze.”
The Bam Bam/ Luna partnership was truly memorable. Both were unorthodox and intimidating and therefore they complemented each other well (Bigelow was a real old-school “monster” heel and was completely believable in the role).
In the run-up to the 1993 Survivor Series, Bam Bam and Luna were the recipients of some contrived but amusing practical jokes from Doink The Clown (who for targeting two hated figures like Bigelow and Vachon was embraced as fan favourite by the WWF audiences).
The Clown (who had broken into the WWF around a year earlier as a sinister “evil” clown who revelled in playing cruel tricks on children and had actually brutally attacked the late Crush with a false arm) was now playing strictly for laughs and on an edition of WWF Superstars, he came into contact with Bigelow and his “squeeze” (Bam Bam was leaving the ring after winning his match, Doink was making his entrance for his).
Never one to pass up the chance for some circus shenanigans, Doink came armed with a bucket (of glitter), which he dumped over the tattooed head of “The Beast From The East.” Luna, meanwhile, received a bucket-full of water over her noggin’, much to the delight of WWF fans.
There was further humiliation for Bigelow and Vachon at the Survivor Series itself when Doink enlisted 4 “other Doinks” (The Bushwhackers and Men On A Mission) to do his bidding in a farcical comedy match against Bigelow, The Headshrinkers and Bastion Booger. It was buckets and banana skins all round as Bigelow and company took what seemed like an endless supply of pratfalls and “arse over tip” moments.
However, it was Bam Bam and Luna who ultimately had the last laugh. The duo defeated Doink (who was now much taller than before; which stood to reason as the character was now being played by Ray Apollo, as opposed to the original Doink, Matt “Big Josh” Borne) and his midget side-kick Dink in an entertaining mixed tag-team match at WrestleMania X in March 1994.
A few months later, Luna “sold” Bigelow’s contract to The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase (who was building his own “Corporation” of wrestlers, which later included names like IRS, Tatanka, Kama “The Supreme Fighting Machine” and King Kong Bundy).
Luna concentrated on winning the WWF Women’s Championship from her old rival Madusa (now going by the name “Alundra Blaze”), but when her efforts proved fruitless, she enlisted the help of Japanese female sensation Bull Nakano and became her manager.
Luna eventually led Nakano to her first WWF Women’s Title, but left the company soon after her charge’s victory.
Luna later made waves in renegade group ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling), where she debuted as Tommy Dreamer’s “surprise partner” in a tag-team Steel Cage Match in which she was the only female participant. Throughout her brief tenure with ECW, Luna participated in matches and angles with the likes of Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards and even her husband, the “Vampire Warrior” (Gangrel).
Following a brief stop-off at WCW (World Championship Wrestling) in 1997 (where she again revived her feud with Madusa, who was now holding WCW’s Women’s Championship), Luna returned to the WWF as the odd-ball “other half” of Goldust (who was now going through a more-unusual-than-ever phase as “The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust which saw him dress up as characters as diverse as a giant baby (complete with diaper), Sable (the WWF’s top blonde bombshell at the time) and Marilyn Manson).
Her association with Goldust led to a memorable feud with Marc Mero and his wife at the time, Rena “Sable” Mero. Sable was fast becoming one of the hottest and most popular stars in the company (male or female) and in the story line, Luna was jealous of all the attention she was getting for posing in swimsuits in Raw Magazine and baring some skin in the ring as well.
Of course, as is so often the case with pro wrestling, the on-screen animosity spilled over into real life, with Luna losing her cool and getting legitimately upset when Sable reportedly got all the credit and the praise in their matches and angles and Luna’s contributions were allegedly dismissed by most.
Certainly, the highlight of the Sable/Luna rivalry was the entertaining mixed tag match at WrestleMania XIV in March 1998, where Sable and Mero defeated Luna and Goldust (it should be pointed out that Sable [who hadn’t officially competed in a match up until this point] held her own here and entered a career performance and certainly wasn’t completely “carried” by Luna).
A “T&A”-themed “Evening Gown Match” at Unforgiven the following month obviously went down well with the gaggle of teenage boys who’d just discovered wrestling, but it will hardly be remembered in the same vein as the Sable/ Luna ‘Mania showdown and was further hampered by the fact that Sable (much to Luna’s chagrin) reportedly refused to take bumps due to her hefty silicone implants (Sable lost the “match”, but ensured that Luna was stripped of her clothes as well).
In August of that year, Luna joined the fan-favourite “fun-loving outcast jobber” faction “The Oddities.” With all due respect to Luna (and the late John “Earthquake” Tenta, who was also in the group as the goofy “South-Park loving” mask-wearing “Golga”), this was not a high-point in her career. It was as if the WWF creative team had just thrown a bunch of people together and turned them into a comedy act whilst hoping for the best (it was annoying for long-time fans of Luna and Earthquake as these two still had potential while the useless Kurrgan and Giant Silva had none).
Thankfully, Luna’s stint as an “Oddity” didn’t last long and she was back to her vicious and aggressive best by early 1999, reviving her feud with Sable and competing for the WWF Women’s Championship.
Unfortunately, Luna didn’t win the belt but remained a prominent figure in the WWF’s female division throughout 1999. She also formed an on-screen alliance with her real-life husband Gangrel and competed with him in several mixed tag-team matches.
In 2000, Luna was let go by the WWF but she returned to the limelight in 2001 when she appeared on the WWA (World Wrestling All-Stars) tour of Europe. Throughout the events, she and Gangrel regularly competed in some entertaining and bizarre “Black Wedding” Hardcore matches (I witnessed one live in Cardiff Wales and it was good fun and unlike anything I’d seen live before).
In June 2007, Luna defeated former TNA Knockout Traci Brooks to become the first Great Lake’s Championship Wrestling Ladies’ Champion, before retiring as champion in December.
At the 44th Annual Cauliflower Alley Club reunion, Luna Vachon was honoured and awarded with the “Ladies Wrestling Award.”
Away from the ring, Luna suffered from bipolar disorder, which she referenced in a “Where Are They Now?” interview with WWE.Com. Since 2004, she had been a born-again Christian and since leaving the wrestling business had worked as a tow-truck operator in Florida.
In August of this year, Luna was dealt a cruel blow when her house burnt down, causing her to loss all her possessions (which included her wrestling-related items). Shortly after, she appealed to fans to support her and pass on any Luna Vachon wrestling memorabilia they may wish to donate. Prior to her death, she’d been living at her mother’s house.
Overall, Luna Vachon was a unique, hard-working and truly unforgettable woman. Her character was believable (and dare I say frightening at times), however it was fun and entertaining.
Luna was truly a force to be reckoned with and was one of the toughest people around the business (regardless of gender) but away from the ring many of her fellow wrestlers and those who worked with her over the years have paid tribute to her kindness, generosity and her true dedication to professional wrestling.
Luna Vachon truly broke the mould of female characters in wrestling. There were similarities between her and Sensational Sherri, who whilst a different character to Luna (I.e perhaps not as “wild”) had that “it” factor that made you believe she meant business.
Sadly, like Sherri, Luna passed on way before her time and along with a host of other former stars has become yet another wrestling tragedy.
Previously posted on Smash Wrestling:
http://www.firetank.com/smashwrestling/
