Trudy Vachon

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Biography

American-Canadian professional wrestler, better known as Luna Vachon. Over the course of her 22-year career, she wrestled for promotions such as the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, and World Championship Wrestling. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2019. Luna was honored in April 2009 at the 44th annual Cauliflower Alley Club reunion, given the "Ladies Wrestling Award" in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of her fondest memories about the wrestling business was being able to visit children as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. After her retirement, Luna took an interest in fellow Canadian wrestlers and especially monitored the career of Nattie Neidhart, the daughter of fellow wrestler and friend Jim Neidhart. Around Christmas 2009, Vachon's house was destroyed by a fire in which she lost her wrestling-related memorabilia and other possessions. After the fire, she stayed at her mother's home and joined her father and his third wife Dee on a cruise in February 2010. The fire prompted a call from fellow wrestler and friend Mick Foley (and others) to fans to send Luna-related memorabilia to Vachon's post office box. Foley also suggested that TNA bring her in to manage Tommy Dreamer at the Hardcore Justice pay-per-view in August 2010, but Vachon turned down the offer, stating that she had retired. On the morning of August 27, 2010, she was found dead by her mother at her home in Pasco County, Florida. She was 48 years old. According to the District Six Medical Examiner's Office in Florida, she died from an "overdose of oxycodone and benzodiazepine". Investigators previously found crushed pill residue and snorting straws at multiple locations inside Vachon's house. Vachon became addicted to medication at some point and underwent rehabilitation, paid for by WWE, which she completed in June 2009. She was cremated after her death and her ashes were scattered at the ranch formerly owned by her close friend André the Giant in Ellerbe, North Carolina

Movies

WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001. Production ceased shortly after WCW was purchased by the WWF. The debut of Nitro began the Monday Night Wars, a ratings battle between the WWF and WCW that lasted for almost six years and saw each company resort to cutthroat tactics to try to compete with the competition. In mid-1996, Nitro began to draw better ratings than Raw based on the strength of the nWo storyline, an anarchist wrestling stable that wanted to take over WCW. Nitro continued to beat Raw for 84 consecutive weeks, forcing WWE owner Vince McMahon to change the way he did business. As the nWo storyline grew stagnant, fan interest in the storyline waned, and Raw began to edge out Nitro in the ratings. The turning point for the organizations came during the January 4, 1999 broadcast of Nitro, during which lead commentator Tony Schiavone gave away the results of matches for that night's Raw broadcast. As Raw was taped and Nitro was live, Bischoff believed that knowing the outcome would dissuade viewers from watching the program. Excited by the prospect of seeing perennial WWF underdog Mick Foley win the WWF Championship, a large number of Nitro viewers changed channels to watch Raw, switching back to Nitro after Foley won the title. From that week forward, Raw beat Nitro in the ratings by a significant amount, and WCW was never able to regain the success it once had.

More info
WCW Monday Nitro
1995