Sapphire (wrestler)
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Juanita Wright (October 24, 1934 – September 11, 1996) was an American
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...
and
wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...
best known as "Sweet" Sapphire in the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
where she managed
Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...
in 1989 and 1990. She also wrestled on the independent circuit as Princess Dark Cloud.


Early life

Juanita Wright was born on October 24, 1934, in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
. She became a huge wrestling fan as a child and began to drive wrestlers to arenas in the St. Louis area. Wright earned a wrestling referee's license, the first woman in Missouri to do so, before entering the ring as a wrestler at the age of 42, also becoming the first person of the state to participate in a Men's Battle Royale bout. She and another opponent were declared the winners after they were the last two left in the ring out of 15 other wrestlers. She appeared under the name Princess Dark Cloud and once wrestled a bear. Prior to signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation, Wright worked as a saleswoman for a clothing company in St. Louis.


Professional wrestling career


World Wrestling Federation (1989–1990)

On November 23, 1989, Wright made her Pay-Per View debut at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
as a fan cheering on Dusty Rhodes who was a part of the Dream Team against The Enforcers. Her WWF television debut occurred one week prior, however, during an episode of Prime Time wrestling, where she was also seen as a fan cheering on Dusty Rhodes during his match against Akeem. Sapphire began to manage Dusty Rhodes, both adorned in black outfits with yellow polka dots. She along with Rhodes later on entered into a feud with "Macho Man"
Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...
then referred to as "Macho King" and
Sensational Sherri Sherry Lynn Schrull (née Russell; February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri. Martel began her professional wrestling career in the ...
then Queen Sherri as Sapphire teamed with Rhodes to take on Savage and Sherri in a tag team match at
Wrestlemania VI WrestleMania VI was a 1990 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the sixth annual WrestleMania and took place on April 1, 1990, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Can ...
. Sapphire pinned Sherri, with some help from
Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, occasional professional wrestler and prof ...
, who had allied herself with Sapphire and Rhodes after a previous incident that precipitated the match. Sapphire and Sherri would continue their feud competing against each other in singles and tag team matches, across the country from April 21, 1990, at the
Richmond Coliseum Richmond Coliseum is a defunct arena located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, with a capacity of 13,500 that was most often used for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and the region is looking to replace the aging facility with a la ...
where she lost to Sherri in a one-on-one match, up until August 25, where she and Rhodes emerged victorious as a team. In the spring and summer of 1990, she began to receive gifts from a mysterious benefactor. At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, Sherri defeated Sapphire via forfeit after Sapphire failed to show. When Sapphire was found after a brief period of searching, she quickly ran into a dressing room and locked the door, refusing to be interviewed or even speak to Rhodes. Seconds before Rhodes' match against Savage,
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
revealed that he had bought Sapphire. A distraught Rhodes lost a quick match to Savage after being hit with Sherri's purse behind the referee's back. Sapphire began appearing in segments where she would do favors for DiBiase, including ironing his money. She left the WWF a short time later. Although it was never explained why on WWF programming,
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
revealed in an interview with ''
WWF Magazine ''WWE Magazine'' was the official professional wrestling magazine of WWE. This incarnation of the magazine contains lifestyle sections, a monthly calendar, entertainment, work out tips, and other information. It was announced in July 2014 that ...
'' several months later that the (
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...
) reason for her leaving was that DiBiase took all the gifts back. In a later shoot interview, Sherri Martel revealed that Wright's admiration for Rhodes was legitimate, and that she broke down crying when the office told her that they were severing her and Rhodes' on-screen partnership. Martel believed that Wright lost complete interest in the wrestling business after this, which is why she left the company not long after SummerSlam. Sherri also recalled making Wright cry by yelling at her for not doing a basic maneuver properly during their training sessions. Also recalling another instance in training, Wright accidentally smashed Martel in the nose, where Sherri proceeded to make her cry. According to friends, Wright enjoyed the time she spent with the WWF, and would constantly receive autograph requests years after her character disappeared.


United States Wrestling Association (1993)

Wright was later brought into the
United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...
(USWA) for a brief period of time in 1993, participating in a feud featuring
Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
and Bert Prentice.


Personal life and death

Wright had two children, named Wanda and Ricco. Little is known about Juanita from the time she left the WWF except that she worked at GrandPa Pidgeon's in University City, Missouri, where she enjoyed telling old wrestling stories to her co-workers' children. She died in St. Louis, Missouri from a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on September 11, 1996, at the age of 61. She was survived by her children, her mother Edna, her brother Glenn, and four sisters, Cosetta, Mildred, Ruth, and Edna Wright.


In popular culture

A character called "Sweet Sapphire" was adopted by Earl Douglas, a radio producer for XM Radio's '' Ron and Fez Show'' due to his uncanny resemblance to Juanita, and his pairing with the new show producer The Midnight Rider, portrayed by East Side Dave. Dusty Rhodes, whom Sapphire had managed in the WWF, had wrestled under the name The Midnight Rider during his days on
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
.


See also

*
List of premature professional wrestling deaths According to a 2014 study by Eastern Michigan University examining professional wrestlers who were active between 1985 and 2011, mortality rates for professional wrestlers are up to 2.9 times greater than the rate for men in the wider United State ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapphire (wrestler) 1934 births 1996 deaths 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American actresses 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers African-American professional wrestlers American female professional wrestlers Professional wrestling managers and valets Professional wrestlers from St. Louis Burials at Lakewood Cemetery