I’m glad Nancy is finally being recognized
As I was scrolling through Twitter last night, I saw a tweet from Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine that Nancy Toffoloni Benoit was being awarded their most prestigious honor, the Stanley Weston Lifetime Achievement Award. Stanley was the creator of Pro Wrestling Illustrated and a very successful sportswriter, promoter and photographer. As I was reading snippet from an article in their latest issue tons of memories of Nancy came rushing into my head.
I’ve thought about Nancy a lot in the years since she was murdered in 2007. (It’s a horrible story and wont be going any further into it here.) Maybe its been because I’ve been blogging about my first experiences in the pro wrestling and Nancy was one of the few people that actually talked to me and tried to ease my nerves.
One of those memories was after I won the ECW Television Championship Paul Heyman (ECW head booker at the time) wanted me to cut an interview about winning the championship for the tv show but I didn’t look “beat up” enough. Nancy dug into her makeup bag and started giving me a black eye with makeup. After she was done with her artistic shiner, Terry Funk said it wasn’t swollen or watery so it didn’t look quite right. Nancy thought about it for a minute and went back into her bag. She grabbed me by the cheeks. I thought she was going to put on more makeup. Unbeknownst to me, she had put some Ben Gay on her thumb and proceeded to poke me in the eye. My eye instantly started burning and watering. Terry Funk said, “That should do it”. I know that sounds crazy but it seemed almost normal back then.
A “black eye” courtesy of Nancy
Getting to know Nancy in the 2 years we worked together in ECW is something I’ll always cherish. We mostly lost touch over the years but any time I’d see her, I was greeted with a smile, a kiss on the cheek and a big hug. I hope, wherever she is, she’s at peace and knows she’s finally being acknowledged and honored in a way that’s long over due. I really wish a certain Hall of Fame would do the same.
-Mikey-
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Oh. . . Here’s a nice memory too! ;)
