Luna Vachon

Gertrude Elizabeth Vachon (/vʌˈʃɒn/; January 12, 1962 – August 27, 2010) was an 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 posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame.

As a child, Gertrude Vachon wanted to continue her family's wrestling legacy. Attending wrestling events she used to play in the ring, which often resulted in training with various World Wide Wrestling Federation stars. Her family objected to her entering the wrestling business and tried to dissuade her, as they considered a wrestler's life at that time too harsh for a female. André the Giant, with whom she was close and who took her on a trip to Paris in 1974, also tried to dissuade her. Around the age of sixteen, she began training under her aunt Vivian and then The Fabulous Moolah.

Gertrude started her professional career wrestling for Moolah's all-women's Professional wrestling school in Columbia, South Carolina. She then moved to Florida and, competing under the ring name Angelle Vachon, became a member of a four-woman wrestling troupe led by Mad Maxine.

In 1985, she debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling, as a young, soft-spoken reporter named Trudy Herd, who was giving Kendall Windham an award. A melee ensued and she was slapped twice by Kevin Sullivan. The angle had her driven mad by Sullivan's treatment and she ended up joining Sullivan's Army of Darkness stable under the new ring name, Luna Vachon. As part of her gimmick, she shaved one half of her head, which was the first step to her trademark Mohawk hairstyle, covered her face in bodypaint, and continuously sneered. Looking back, Vachon expressed her uneasiness about some elements of this angle.

During her time in Florida, Luna teamed up with The Lock as the Daughters of Darkness, a part of Sullivan's Army. The duo also provided back-up vocals for the thrash metal band Nasty Savage. In early 1987, Luna and Lock appeared in the Continental Wrestling Association. During the next three years, Luna also traveled to Japan, where her father Butcher Vachon acted as her manager, as well as Puerto Rico. She also wrestled in David McLane's Powerful Women of Wrestling (POWW) and, during POWW's alliance with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), participated in the latter's only pay-per-view event, SuperClash III in December 1988, competing in a Battle royal.

In the early nineties she took over management of The Blackhearts, a masked tag team coming out of Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. The team consisted of Tom Nash — a childhood friend of Luna and her then-husband — and David Heath, her future husband, under the names "Apocalypse" and "Destruction", respectively. Luna worked with them in Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling, in Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation, and finally Giant Baba's All-Japan, where the team split up. Luna also worked at Wild Women of Wrestling, as a competitor, commentator, and booker.

In 1992, while wrestling in Puerto Rico, she tried to get David Heath a job with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which resulted in the WWF developing an interest in her. They hired her, but not without some complications. No in the company knew where she was; even her father only knew that she was staying in Florida. The WWF ultimately hired a private investigator to find her. She was found working as a waitress at a restaurant.

Luna's first WWF appearance was in April 1993 at WrestleMania IX, accompanying Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels in his match against Tatanka, who was accompanied by Michaels's former valet Sensational Sherri. After the match, Luna attacked Sensational Sherri at ringside, and then again in the first aid area. She was arrested by security, starting a vicious feud between the two.