Luna Vachon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Luna Vachon |
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Vachon in 2007
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| Birth name | Gertrude Elizabeth Wilkerson |
| Born | January 12, 1962 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | August 27, 2010 (aged 48) Pasco County, Florida, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 2, including Vincent "Van" Hurd |
| Family | Vachon |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Luna Vachon Luna Princess Luna Angel Baby Trudy Herd |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Billed from | Montreal, Quebec, Canada "The Other Side of Darkness" |
| Trained by | Paul Vachon Vivian Vachon The Fabulous Moolah |
| Debut | 1985 |
| Retired | 2007 |
Gertrude Elizabeth Vachon (born January 12, 1962 – died August 27, 2010) was a professional wrestler from America and Canada. She was much better known by her ring name, Luna Vachon.
Luna wrestled for 22 years. She worked for many wrestling companies. These included the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling. After she passed away, she was honored by being added to the WWE Hall of Fame. She was also added to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Contents
Professional Wrestling Career
Becoming a Wrestler
As a kid, Gertrude Vachon dreamed of becoming a wrestler. She wanted to follow in her family's footsteps. She often played in the wrestling ring at events. This led to her training with many stars from the World Wide Wrestling Federation.
Her family worried about her becoming a wrestler. They thought the life was too hard for a girl back then. Even André the Giant, who was a close friend, tried to talk her out of it. Around age sixteen, she began her wrestling training. Her aunt Vivian Vachon and then The Fabulous Moolah taught her.
Starting Out (1985–1992)
Gertrude began her wrestling career in 1985. She wrestled for Moolah's all-women's wrestling company. Later, she moved to Florida. There, she wrestled as Angelle Vachon. She was part of a group of four women wrestlers.
In Florida, she joined a wrestling group called the Army of Darkness. She changed her name to Luna Vachon. As part of her wrestling character, she shaved half her head. This was the start of her famous Mohawk hairstyle. She also painted her face and often sneered.
During her time in Florida, Luna started a long rivalry with Madusa Miceli. Luna also teamed up with The Lock. They were known as the Daughters of Darkness. They even sang backup for a metal band called Nasty Savage.
Luna traveled to Japan and Puerto Rico to wrestle. Her father, Butcher Vachon, was her manager in Japan. She also wrestled in other companies. One was the American Wrestling Association (AWA). She took part in a big match called a Battle royal in 1988.
In the early 1990s, Luna became the manager for a masked tag team called The Blackhearts. One member was Tom Nash, a childhood friend and her husband at the time. The other was David Heath, who would later become her husband. Luna worked with them in several wrestling companies. She also wrestled, commented, and helped plan matches for Wild Women of Wrestling.
Joining the WWF (1993–1994)
In 1992, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) became interested in Luna. They hired her, but it was tricky to find her. She was working as a waitress when the WWF finally located her.
Luna first appeared in the WWF in April 1993 at WrestleMania IX. She was with Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels. After his match, Luna attacked Michaels' former manager, Sensational Sherri. This started a big fight between them.
Soon after, Luna teamed up with Bam Bam Bigelow. He called her his "Tick," and fans started chanting "Luna-tic." Bam Bam even started using a move called the Lunasault in her honor. They had a rivalry with Doink the Clown. At WrestleMania X, Luna and Bam Bam finally beat Doink and his small sidekick, Dink.
When the WWF brought back its women's division, Luna's old rival, Madusa, won the Women's Championship. Luna wanted that title. She had many matches against Madusa, but Madusa always won. Later, Luna sold Bam Bam's contract to Ted DiBiase. She then chose Bull Nakano to win the Women's title from Madusa, which she did. Luna left the WWF shortly after this.
In 1994, Luna was the first woman to be in a WWF video game, WWF Raw.
Independent Wrestling and ECW (1994–1997)
After leaving the WWF, Luna wrestled for many smaller companies. She joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as Tommy Dreamer's manager. She helped him in his long fight against Raven. Luna had many physical fights with Raven's friends, including Stevie Richards. She even won a steel cage match against him.
In 1995, she was ranked No. 306 in the PWI 500. She was only the second woman ever to be on this list of top wrestlers.
World Championship Wrestling (1997)
In early 1997, Luna had a short time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). She continued her rivalry with Madusa. Luna stopped Madusa from winning the WCW Women's Championship. Luna and Madusa wrestled each other many times. Even though Luna often seemed stronger, Madusa always won the matches.
Back to the WWF (1997–2000)
Later in 1997, Luna returned to the WWF. She became the manager for Goldust. They wore many different outfits and played various roles. They had a fight with Vader. Luna helped Goldust by blinding Vader with "medical fluid."
Goldust and Luna also liked to pretend to be other wrestlers. This often happened when Goldust was fighting them. Once, they pretended to be Triple H and Chyna. This led to a funny situation where Goldust accidentally won a championship!
At this time, Goldust also teamed up with Marc Mero. This led to another fight, as Luna and Mero's manager, Sable, started fighting outside the ring. Their rivalry ended in a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania XIV. After this, Luna challenged Sable to an Evening Gown match. Luna won that match.
The dislike between Luna and Sable was real, not just for the show. Sable became very popular. Luna felt that Sable didn't want to learn how to wrestle safely. Luna was also upset because Sable was promised the Women's Championship, which Luna had always wanted.
In August 1998, Luna joined a group called The Human Oddities. She attacked Marc Mero's new manager, Jacqueline. In December, Sable won the WWF Women's Championship. Luna then attacked Sable while wearing a mask. She said she deserved the championship.
Luna tried to win the title from Sable in a special match. But Sable kept the title thanks to a fan who helped her. Luna also defeated Gillberg, a wrestler who made fun of another star. Luna was supposed to have another title match, but it was canceled. She left the WWF for a short time.
Six months later, Luna returned at SummerSlam. She started a fight with the Women's Champion, Ivory. Luna even beat Ivory in a non-title match. But at Unforgiven, she lost to Ivory in a Hardcore Rules match.
After that, Luna went back to managing her husband, Gangrel. They took part in many mixed tag team matches. At the Royal Rumble in 2000, Luna was in a "Swim Suit Contest." But she refused to take off her gown to protest the event. Luna left the WWF again in early 2000.
Independent Circuit (2000–2007)
After leaving the WWF, Luna continued to manage Gangrel. She also wrestled on her own around the world. She wrestled in Australia, Germany, and the UK.
On June 9, 2007, Luna won the Great Lakes Championship Wrestling's Ladies championship. She was the first person to hold this title. On December 5, 2007, Luna Vachon announced she was retiring. Her last match was on December 7. She successfully defended her GLCW Ladies Championship and retired as champion.
Personal Life
Luna Vachon was born Gertrude Elizabeth Wilkerson in Atlanta, Georgia. Her biological father passed away when she was young. Paul "Butcher" Vachon then adopted her. Because of this, Luna was also the niece of famous wrestlers "Mad Dog" Vachon and Vivian Vachon. She was also very close to André the Giant.
Luna was married three times. She had two sons with her first husband, Dan Hurd. Their sons are Joshua (born 1980) and Vincent (born 1982). Vincent appeared on the cooking show Hell's Kitchen. Luna later married her childhood friend Tom Nash. After they separated, she married David Heath in 1994. They divorced in 2006 but remained good friends. Luna had three grandchildren.
Luna had a health condition that affected her mood. In 2004, she became a Christian. She was baptized by fellow wrestler Nikita Koloff. In 2007, she worked as a tow truck driver in Florida.
Later Years and Passing
In April 2009, Luna was honored with the "Ladies Wrestling Award." She loved visiting children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. After she retired, Luna kept an eye on other Canadian wrestlers. She especially followed the career of Nattie Neidhart.
Around Christmas 2009, Luna's house was destroyed by a fire. She lost many things, including her wrestling memories. After the fire, she stayed with her mother. Other wrestlers, like Mick Foley, asked fans to send Luna wrestling items to help her. Luna was asked to wrestle again in 2010, but she said she had retired.
On August 27, 2010, Luna was found passed away by her mother. She was 48 years old.
Legacy
Luna Vachon's impact on wrestling is still remembered.
- In 2015, a band called The Mountain Goats released a song named "Luna" after her.
- She was added to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019.
- She was also added to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020.
- In 2023, she was added to the Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame.
- A TV show called Dark Side of the Ring made an episode about Luna in 2021.
Championships and Awards
Luna Vachon won many championships and awards during her career:
- American Wrestling Federation
- AWF Women's Championship (1 time)
- Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Ladies Wrestling Award (2009)
- Great Lakes Championship Wrestling
- GLCW Ladies Championship (1 time)
- Ladies Major League Wrestling
- LMLW World Championship (1 time)
- Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- Powerful Women of Wrestling
- POWW Tag Team Champion (2 times) – with Hot Rod Andie
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 306 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in 1995
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Class of 2020
- South Coast Championship Wrestling
- SCCW Women's Championship (1 time)
- Sunshine Wrestling Federation
- SWF Ladies' Championship (1 time)
- United States Wrestling Association
- USWA Women's Championship (1 time)
- Wild Women of Wrestling
- WWOW Television Championship (1 time)
- Women Superstars Uncensored
- WSU Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
- Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2023
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2019)
- Other Titles
- Universal Women's Hardcore Championship
See also
In Spanish: Luna Vachon para niños
- List of premature professional wrestling deaths
Images for kids
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Vachon during her second time in the WWF
