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On this episode 10 Bell Pod NickohlesA, Tyler Wood, and Jake “The Man Scout” Manning tell the full story of Daffney.
This is deeply person for Jake. Daffney was a friend, and someone he spent countless hours on the road with
We discuss her WCW casting call to TNA pillar, from indie grind to creative force behind SHIMMER and SHINE, and finally the unseen toll wrestling took on her mind and body.
It’s a personal, unfiltered tribute about friendship, mental health, concussions, exploitation, and love for an art form that gave Daffney everything, and took far too much in return.
This isn’t nostalgia. It’s reckoning, remembrance, and saying her name the right way.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
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IMPORTANT LINKS:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/10bellpod
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/10BellPod
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/10BellPod
ProWrestling Tees: https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/related/10bellpod.html
PayPal Donation - 9BHDW7Y2KMBTY
Discord: https://discord.gg/64GdAqEG
EPISODE NOTES
Daffney: Wrestling, Mental Health, and the Cost of Being Tough
This episode is why this podcast exists.
It’s a deeply personal examination of Daffney’s life and career, not as a “tragic figure,” but as a wrestler who fought for dignity, safety, and legitimacy in an industry that consistently asked her to absorb pain and stay quiet.
The lens here is wrestling as labor, mental health as a workplace issue, and what happens when toughness becomes a trap.
Daffney earned her place the hard way.
She entered wrestling through casting, but committed fully to the craft, training relentlessly and evolving into a respected in-ring performer across WCW, the indies, Shimmer, and TNA.
She pushed against how women were used. Daffney consistently resisted being reduced to spectacle, choosing wrestling, violence, and character work over humiliation based booking whenever possible.
TNA showcased her talent but failed her health. Multiple concussions, unsafe spots, and being filmed while injured revealed a system more interested in content than care.
Her legal fight mattered. By pursuing workers’ compensation, Daffney challenged an industry norm that treats injuries as personal problems rather than workplace responsibility.
Mental health was inseparable from the damage. Bipolar disorder, compounded by head trauma, fundamentally altered her life long after the matches ended.
By 10 Bell Pod4.9
5555 ratings
On this episode 10 Bell Pod NickohlesA, Tyler Wood, and Jake “The Man Scout” Manning tell the full story of Daffney.
This is deeply person for Jake. Daffney was a friend, and someone he spent countless hours on the road with
We discuss her WCW casting call to TNA pillar, from indie grind to creative force behind SHIMMER and SHINE, and finally the unseen toll wrestling took on her mind and body.
It’s a personal, unfiltered tribute about friendship, mental health, concussions, exploitation, and love for an art form that gave Daffney everything, and took far too much in return.
This isn’t nostalgia. It’s reckoning, remembrance, and saying her name the right way.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
-------------------
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/10bellpod
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/10BellPod
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/10BellPod
ProWrestling Tees: https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/related/10bellpod.html
PayPal Donation - 9BHDW7Y2KMBTY
Discord: https://discord.gg/64GdAqEG
EPISODE NOTES
Daffney: Wrestling, Mental Health, and the Cost of Being Tough
This episode is why this podcast exists.
It’s a deeply personal examination of Daffney’s life and career, not as a “tragic figure,” but as a wrestler who fought for dignity, safety, and legitimacy in an industry that consistently asked her to absorb pain and stay quiet.
The lens here is wrestling as labor, mental health as a workplace issue, and what happens when toughness becomes a trap.
Daffney earned her place the hard way.
She entered wrestling through casting, but committed fully to the craft, training relentlessly and evolving into a respected in-ring performer across WCW, the indies, Shimmer, and TNA.
She pushed against how women were used. Daffney consistently resisted being reduced to spectacle, choosing wrestling, violence, and character work over humiliation based booking whenever possible.
TNA showcased her talent but failed her health. Multiple concussions, unsafe spots, and being filmed while injured revealed a system more interested in content than care.
Her legal fight mattered. By pursuing workers’ compensation, Daffney challenged an industry norm that treats injuries as personal problems rather than workplace responsibility.
Mental health was inseparable from the damage. Bipolar disorder, compounded by head trauma, fundamentally altered her life long after the matches ended.

1,079 Listeners