Insane Insights From Dark Side of the Ring - Chris & Tammy

When it comes to wrestling couples, there are a ton that comes to mind. Sometimes these relationships do well, but other times it is super chaotic. One of those relationships was between Chris Candido and Tammy "Sunny" Sytch. Both have lived very dark lives and Dark Side of the Ring did a documentary on both of them.

10. How Chris Met Tammy

The relationship between Chris Candido and Tammy "Sunny" Sytch began ironically at a wrestling event. Chris was wrestling a match in New York against Johnny Hotbody. Amid a headlock, Johnny Hotbody pointed out a blonde woman in the front row to Chris. That blonde woman was Tammy "Sunny" Sytch.

Tammy's presence was so striking that even Chris's mother noticed her. After the wrestling event concluded, Chris and Tammy met and they got along. Their connection was strong enough that Chris went back to Tammy's house after the show. This chance meeting at a wrestling event would go on to play a significant role in both of their lives.

9. Chris Left His Date At The Prom To Be With Tammy

The connection between Chris Candido and Tammy "Sunny" Sytch was undeniably strong. Their bond grew so close that Tammy became Chris's second obsession in the world. Chris made the bold decision to leave his prom date at the dance and depart with Tammy in a car. That isn't a nice thing for him to do to his prom date, but it shows how deeply he has fallen in love with Tammy. Love has a way of making people do unexpected things, and for Chris, his love for Tammy was powerful.

8. Chris Was Only Getting Paid 75 Dollars A Night With Smokey Mountain Wrestling

When Chris began wrestling, he received a significant opportunity to work in Smokey Mountain Wrestling. Candido worked tirelessly to secure bookings, and SMW was a big break for him. However, there was one problem: the pay was terrible. Candido only got paid $75 a night for four days a week, and the promotion was located in Tennessee. Candido, at the time, resided in New Jersey, which presented a significant challenge. Cornette came up with the idea to make Tammy a manager and pay them both the same, making the decision easier for Candido to accept. Fortunately, Candido and Sytch agreed, and the rest is history.

What was not mentioned in the documentary was that Sytch joining Candido put an end to her dream of working in the medical field. She was studying Medical Technology at the time and joining Candido on the road became too much. She made more money with Chris so she abandoned her career.

7. The Disgusting Godwins Rib On Sunny

It's stories like this that bring extreme shame and disgust with how some of the wrestlers acted behind the scenes back in the day.

The world of professional wrestling has seen its fair share of pranks and jokes, known as ribs, being played backstage. While some ribs are lighthearted and fun, others can be crude and distasteful. Unfortunately, the rib played on Sunny in 1996 falls into the crude category and it is quite disturbing.

The Godwins, a tag team known for their pig farmer gimmick, brought their slop buckets backstage during a live event. They informed the roster that they planned to dump the contents of these buckets on Sunny that evening. The locker room was not a fan of hers at all. This led some individuals to add unpleasant substances to the buckets, including spitting, urinating, and defecating into them. When the Godwins then proceeded to pour the buckets over Sunny in the match.

What a disgrace that this rib was allowed to happen. Such a rib is not only crude but also deeply disrespectful and harmful. Say what you want about Tammy Sytch, but nobody deserves that. Any individuals who participated in this raid should be ashamed of their actions and should have been fired.

6. Lance Storm Was Originally Going To Be A Bodydonna

Sunny and Candido joined the WWF, and the plan was for Candido to be in a tag team called the Bodydonnas. Lance Storm revealed that he was once considered to be a Bodydonna in the tag team. That ultimately did not happen as WWF did not reach an agreement with Storm via contract. As a result, the WWF went to Plan B and decided to have Tom Pritchard in the role. It was a blessing in disguise as the Bodydonna gimmick was garbage. Even Tom Pritchard in this documentary called it “...the worst time of my life”.

5. Tammy Wonders If Candido Knew About Her Relationship With Shawn Michaels

When there is a documentary on Tammy Sytch, her relationship with Shawn Michaels is brought up. This is at the time when Shawn Michaels was a complete jerk and was one of the top stars in the company. Sunny during her time with WWF was cheating on Chris Candido with Shawn Michaels and it was often common knowledge within the locker room.

The thing that is super crazy is that Tammy in her own words said that she wonders to this day if Chris knew everything. That's a silly thing to wonder as let's be real everyone knew in the locker room. Terri Runnels even said, “Everybody knew, but Chris did not want to accept it.”. The worst part is that according to Terri Runnels Sunny felt that “Being loved by the top guy felt better than being loved by your boyfriend who was down here.”

What is a pretty damning thing to say? Even if Chris did accept it, he hardly couldn’t confront Michaels as he was the top guy it would have been career suicide.

4. How Much Pain Candido Was In With His Neck Injury

Candido during his time with WWF suffered a broken neck and that pain would follow him. Candido got hooked on Somas and he was taking 6-7 of them a day, which is just insanity. Candido had started taking pills for pain and got to the point where he used them to sleep and then to control his emotions. This is a guy who previously was clean and never took a single drug or drank alcohol, now he is a complete mess with the pills.

It got worse when he joined ECW. His neck was in such rough shape that a doctor thought he was in a car accident based on x-rays. There have been previous stories of these brutal injuries in the past. One that often comes to mind is the Dynamite Kid. The guy was injured so much with all the bumps he had; he was bound to a wheelchair at a young age. It's why it's scary when Darby Allin takes so many crazy bumps in AEW. Neck and Spine injuries are no joke.

3. Paul Heyman Doesn't Come Across Great In This Episode

Chris Candido's Bodydonna gimmick was a complete flop and he left WWF. He then signed a new deal to work with ECW. Sunny would eventually join the company as well and become Candido’s manager. When she entered the company, she was a full-blown addict and Paul Heyman who was the owner/booker of ECW wanted to exploit it. Yes, because it is such a wonderful and ethical idea to want to exploit someone’s problems with drugs. Especially in an industry that has been infested with that sort of problem.

What Paul Heyman does is have Tammy film a tell-all video. In this video he allows her to talk about her drug use and it is disgusting. Tammy is crying on it and she is speaking about not wanting to wake up the next morning. That is a cry for help and what does Heyman do, well he decides to respond by saying “Tell us about that. Describe that feeling.”

This woman is crying for help and you're asking her to describe that feeling. Cornette was pissed off about what Heyman did in that video just for TV ratings and still does to this very day.

That is not all when Candido and Sytch were written off TV for a suspension, Paul Heyman decided to give them office jobs to keep them on the payroll. What they did was arrange travel plans for pro wrestlers in the business. Candido was spending his own money via credit cards for this and the deal was for him to be reimbursed with the money. The problem here was that ECW was deep in debt and Candido & Sytch did not know that and it ultimately led to them going bankrupt.

This wasn't mentioned in the documentary, but Candido and Sytch lost their home as a rest. The bad credit forced them to sell their house.

Paul Heyman just does not come across well in this story at all. There have been so many more stories of Heyman just screwing with many other ECW stars as well. What happened here with both Sytch and Candido was just awful.

2. Chris Candido's Cause Of Death Was Not A Blood Clot

The passing of Chris Candido was a deeply tragic and emotional moment for many people within the wrestling community. His decision to fly after surgery ultimately led to his death. For many years it was reported that a blood clot was what killed him, but it turns out it wasn't. When he landed he got a really bad case of acute pneumonia and it progressively got worse.

The recounting of how Johnny Candido found out about his brother's passing is heart-wrenching. Chris Candido was not just a colleague to those who knew him but a beloved friend and family member, as evidenced by the outpouring of grief and emotion from those interviewed in the documentary. Cornette's reaction was heartbreaking and he cried which is rare for him to publicly do that

1. Tammy "Sunny" Sytch Has No Regrets

Almost everyone is aware of how much of a trainwreck Tammy Sytch is. Something incredibly crazy mentioned in this documentary is that Tammy has told many that she has no regrets. None for what happened with Chris and her personal life. It was Terri Runnels who said, 'I don’t know if anyone can utter those words and mean them.' No kidding. Considering the disgraceful actions she has done, and the fact that she has no remorse for them is insane.

With how many times she has been behind bars, a normal person would have a hint of regret. Not to Tammy, as she keeps getting arrested time and time again. I swear this woman has been arrested so many times that she should be given her own American Penitentiary Championship belt. There was even one point, and this was not mentioned in the documentary, where she was arrested 5 times in 4 weeks.

Tammy was even laughing about her high number of DUIs before killing someone in another one. Currently, she is serving a 17.6-year jail sentence for a DUI and manslaughter-related charge.

She was not able to participate in this documentary on her advice of counsel. The same counsel, that wants nothing to do with her anymore. This was not mentioned in the documentary but in the court case, her lawyer quit in the middle of the court case. When the lawyer hired wants nothing to do with a person anymore then there screwed.

My Thoughts On The Documentary

I'm glad that this episode focused more on Chris Candido than on Tammy “Sunny” Sytch. Many people already know what a trainwreck Tammy "Sunny" Sytch is. Not many people fully know about Candido. Chris Candido made a significant impact on others in his limited time. I do wonder, though, what if Chris Candido had never died?

Would Tammy be as much of a trainwreck as she is now? I've often thought about that. If Chris Candido had never died, he would likely have continued working in the business as an agent, and trainer, or become a much bigger star in TNA.

His brother and mother were the MVPs of the documentary. Both were key talking heads and, emotionally, they didn't get more time with Chris on this earth.

Rest in Peace, Chris.

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