Terri Runnels

Infobox Wrestler
name=Terri Runnels


names=Alexandra York
Marlena
Terri Runnels
Terri
height=5 ft. 0 in. (157 cm)
weight=105 lb. (48 kg)
birth_date=birth date and age|year=1966|month=10|day=5
death_date=
birth_place =Live Oak, Florida
resides=Gainesville, Florida
death_place=
billed=
trainer=Terry Taylor
Nancy Benoit
Ole Anderson
debut=1989
retired=|

Terri Lynne Boatright Runnelscite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/wrestling/story/700418.html|title=Terri overcame assault, robbery to star in WCW, WWE|date=2008-09-24|last=Varsallone|first=Jim|accessdate=200810-04|publisher=Miami Herald] (born October 5, 1966) is a former WCW and WWE professional wrestling manager, and TV host. She is best known for her eight-year career with World Wrestling Entertainment, and as the former wife of Dustin Runnels.

Career

1980s-mid 1990s

Runnels was originally a make-up artist for CNN, and worked in the same studios in which episodes of WCW were taped. When WCW was purchased by Ted Turner in 1988, booker Ole Anderson invited her to become part of the roster. Terri debuted in 1990 as Miss Alexandra York, (a name Terri created at lunch one day with Tony Schiavone) an accountant who led the WCW faction known as the York Foundation. The York Foundation was a consortium of wrestlers with finance themed gimmicks, including Terrance Taylor, Richard Morton, Thomas Rich, and Michael Wallstreet. Terri carried a laptop (actually a Tandy 100 computer, which at that time had been obsolete for about six years) to ringside with which she purportedly calculated the means (and time) necessary for her clients to win matches.

World Wrestling Federation

1996-1999

Terri debuted in the World Wrestling Federation at the 1996 Royal Rumble as Marlena. Terri came up with the name and also had to petition Vince to allow her to smoke the cigars she wanted to bring to the ring. Terri loved smoking cigars in her private time and thought that would be perfect for the androgynous character that she thought of to compliment her husband's character "Goldust". Terri thought of the Marlena character one day while she was in her tanning bed. The motivation for the Marlena character was the Bob Mackie Barbie doll which looked like a Sun Goddess. The cigar-smoking manager and wife of her real-life husband Dustin Runnels, then packaged as the eccentric, cross-dressing, bisexual wrestler Goldust,as Marlena,Terri was attacked by Chyna twice, the first time Chyna choked Terri from behind while in a match between Goldust and HHH, the second time was after Marlena slapped HHH because he Pedigreed Goldust, Chyna sneaked up behind Marlena and shaked her like a rag doll, causing her to injure her ribs, Marlena then had an arm wrestling match with the conceited Sunny, where Marlena was close to winning but Sunny threw a bag of sand at her face, so no one really won.Terri managed Goldust until November 3 1997,when he revealed his new valet, Luna Vachon. Terri disappeared from TV, re-emerging in 1998 as the manager and on-screen girlfriend of Val Venis. Venis ended their relationship when Terri announced that she was pregnant saying that she could not be expecting a baby from him due to the fact that he had a vasectomy.In November 1998, the jilted Terri formed the stable "Pretty Mean Sisters" (P.M.S.) with Jacqueline and Ryan Shamrock, both of whom also had reason to resent men,although Ryan Shamrock joined a few months after Terri and Jacqueline did, when Terri and Jacqueline first joined they both low blowed their male counterparts and had a few matches with some divas such as Ivory and Tori where Terri would usually act as a manager instead of actually wrestling. In a match between Jacqueline and Ivory, Terri went up to the ring and burned Ivory in the face with a cigar causing Jacqueline to pin Ivory. 2 shows later Ivory called out Terri to the ring to fight hand-to-hand and Terri came out with Jacqueline but on the way to the ring Terri told Jacqueline that she was fine and that she could take on Ivory by herself,Jacqueline hesitated but agreed, but almost immediately after Terri stepped into the ring, she was intimidated by Ivory and tried to run away, but Ivory grabbed her and ripped off her T-shirt. In a subsequent angle, D'Lo Brown accidentally knocked Terri from the ring apron to the floor during a match, and she claimed to have suffered a miscarriage. This was later found to be untrue, as was the entire pregnancy, but in the meantime Terri used the incident to exert control over D'Lo, who became a virtual servant to P.M.S. The stable eventually grew to encompass Meat, a male wrestler who the ladies constantly abused. P.M.S. gradually drifted apart, and the stable finally split in August 1999.

She competed in a slightly modified Classic Survivor Series 8-Diva Tag Team Match with there only being one fall instead of elimination at the 1999 Survivor Series pay-per-view. She teamed up with former P.M.S. stablemate Jacqueline, Luna, and the WWF Women's Champion Ivory in a loss to The Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Tori, and Debra. Though she didn't get tagged in or even stand on the ring apron like the other participants, she got her top ripped off by Debra at the conclusion of the match.

In late 1999, Terri arranged the "Terri Invitational Tournament" between Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz (then known as The New Brood), with the winner receiving her managerial services and the sum of $100,000. The Hardy Boyz won the Tournament, which culminated in a Ladder match at No Mercy (with the prize money suspended above the ring in a bag), and Terri spent the next few months as their manager until she was injured when Bubba Ray Dudley powerbombed her through a table on January 24 2000. Terri returned on February 27 and cost the Hardy Boyz a match, complaining that they had not visited her while hospitalized. She then became the manager of Edge and Christian, but cost them numerous matches, including a bout for the WWF Tag Team Championships. After she cost Christian a match on an episode of "SmackDown!", Edge and Christian dispensed with her services. After Terri mocked the departing tag team with her signature "she-devil" taunt, Edge noticing the gesture on the TitanTron, turned around and speared her.

2000-2004

Terri then began a feud with The Kat because she was jealous of the latter's TV exposure. At WrestleMania 2000, Terri (accompanied by The Fabulous Moolah) defeated The Kat (with Mae Young) in a Catfight.cite web |url = http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/specialty_clips/wrestlemania_diva_matches/wm2000terrikat | title = Kat vs. Terri at WrestleMania 2000| accessdate=2007-05-09] Val Venis was the Special Guest Referee, but was distracted when Mae kissed him in response to Val making out with both Terri and The Kat. This allowed Moolah to pull The Kat out of the ring, and when Val saw her out of the ring, he declared Terri the winner. Post-match, The Kat attacked Terri by stripping her black pants off to expose her thong.

Terri invited The Kat to a beauty salon saying she was sorry for cheating on the match. However, Terri spiked The Kat's drink and dyed and cut her hair while she was unconscious. The feud would continue to an Arm Wrestling Match at Insurrextion 2000. [Jerry Lawler. It's Good to Be the King...(339)] Carter was victorious, but after the match, Terri pulled The Kat's top off, exposing her breasts. Instead of being disgusted or embarrassed, Carter allowed the crowd to see her breasts. [Jerry Lawler. It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes (339)] In June 2000, Terri formed an alliance with Dean Malenko, and on June 6 on "RAW", Malenko faced Jerry Lawler (representing The Kat) in a "Over the Top, Off with the Top" Match. Though Malenko lost, Terri was covered up by Steven Richards before she could strip topless. The feud resurfaced in a match between Terri and Perry Saturn vs The Kat and Al Snow where Terri and Perry emerged victorious at SummerSlam 2000,later then Terri and The Kat had a backstage fight before their match involving Perry Saturn on Terri´s side and Rikishi on The Kat´s side,although Terri and Perry Saturn won Rikishi left Perry Saturn nearly unconscious and Stinkfaced Terri,one show later Terri took revenge on The Kat by Stinkfacing her. This resulted on an official Stinkface match between Terri and the Kat where The Kat won by stinkfacing Terri.Both ladies continued their feud in match between Terri, Perry Saturn, and D´lo Brown vs The Kat, Dean Malenko and The Godfather where Terri´s team resulted victorious, a match between Terri and the Fabulous Moolah vs. The Kat and Mae Young where they lost, and many more matches.

Terri became the onscreen girlfriend and manager of Perry Saturn and joined The Radicalz. The partnership lasted until Saturn, concussed by a double powerbomb delivered by The Acolytes, opted to continue seeing "Moppy" (a mop he believed was alive) when Terri told him to get rid of the mop or she would leave him. Terri then became the manager of wrestler Raven and joined The Alliance in order to enact revenge upon Saturn, a goal she achieved when Raven stole the mop and fed it into a woodchipper.

In late-2001, Terri replaced Trish Stratus as the host of the WWE recap program "Excess" after Stratus became a full-time wrestler. She briefly feuded with Stratus, resulting in a wet T-shirt contest between the two on "RAW", which was interrupted by Jazz. [cite news | author = Michael McAvennie | title = WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition | publisher = Pocket Books | year = 2003 | pages = 18-20] Runnels held the role until the program was canceled and she then became a backstage interviewer. She wrestled the occasional match a notorious one being her vs. Trish Stratus on a lingerie match for the Women´s Championship but she lost.and had brief feuds with Molly Holly and Stacy Keibler. Terri defeated Keibler in the first ever Lingerie Pillow Fight, which concluded with a bitter Keibler tarring and feathering Terri afterwards. On May 27 2002, she briefly held the perpetually contested Hardcore Title when she pinned a dazed Steven Richards, though he immediately pinned her to regain the title. [cite news | author = Michael McAvennie | title = WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition | publisher = Pocket Books | year = 2003 | pages = 156] She also began an onscreen romance with Kane which was abandoned when Kane turned heel in June 2003. Terri declined to train as a full-time wrestler, preferring to act as a manager if possible. In March of 2004, Runnels requested and was granted her release from the WWE, parting on good terms.

2008 Wrestling Comeback

It was reported in April 2008 that Terri will be making her comeback to wrestling after a 4 year absence [http://rajah.com/base/node/12084] . She is taking bookings through the talent booking company [http://www.integritybookings.com/ Integrity Bookings] and also through Highspots.com [http://rajah.com/base/node/12219] . So far UWF Live have stated on their [http://www.uwfusa.com/index.asp website] that Terri will be appearing for their promotions [http://www.uwfusa.com/events.asp May 1st and 2nd shows in Virginia] .

Personal life

Before entering the world of wrestling, Terri worked in the make-up department at CNN and was friends with CNN finance manager Derek Kuipers. From there, she dated Brian Pillman in 1990 while they were both in WCW. She was born Terri Lynne Boatright, but took the name of first husband Dustin Runnels after their marriage in 1993.cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/wrestling/story/708460.html|title=Terri's vacation time changed the face, pace of WWE divas|date=2008-10-01|last=Varsallone|first=Jim|accessdate=2008-10-05|publisher=Miami Herald] They have a daughter, Dakota, who was born on February 14, 1994. [ [Stated in the June 2000 issue of WOW Magazine] ] The couple divorced in October 1999 but maintain an amicable relationship for the sake of Dakota. [ [Stated in the June 2000 issue of WOW Magazine] ] She was briefly married again in November, 2001 to Life Coach David Essel in a beach wedding where WWF legend Big Boss Man gave her away, but she divorced her new husband soon after. She turned down offers to pose for "Playboy" in the 1990s, citing the potential effects on her daughter.Fact|date=July 2008

Terri appeared on the show "The Weakest Link" in 2002. During the taping when asked by host Anne Robinson, she admitted to having fake breasts by responding, "These are as fake as my hair." Runnels also tried to repeatedly vote off Kane, citing his wrestling attire smelled bad. She said she had a "blast" doing the Weakest Link with her friends.

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves
**Diving crossbody
**Frankensteiner
**Bronco buster
**Catfight
**Low blow
**Hair-pull snapmare
**Running bulldog
**Bitch slap
**Terri would stand on her opponent's hair and pull up on their arms

*Wrestlers managed
*Managers
**The Fabulous Moolah (WrestleMania 2000)
**Perry Saturn
*Entrance Music
**Runnels originally used Goldust's entrance theme when she was his manager
**When Terri Runnels joined the "Pretty Mean Sisters" faction, she began using the PMS theme. That later became the entrance music of both Jackie and Terri even after PMS split. Terri used it until 2001 when she started managing Perry Saturn
**When Runnels began managing Perry Saturn, she began using his production entrance theme, along with the entrance music of the Radicalz.
**Terri then used the theme "Electron" Terri used it until she left the WWE.

Championships and accomplishments

*World Wrestling Federation
**WWE Hardcore Championship (1 time)

Notes

References

*cite book|author=Jerry Lawler|title=It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes|year=2002| publisher =WWE Books| isbn = 978-0743457682
*cite web|url=http://www.2tbn.com/divas/interviews/terri.html|title=Terri Interview| publisher = 2tbn.com | accessdate=2007-06-14 |month=March | year=2005
*cite web|url=http://www.Peoplefinders..com|title=Terri Runnels Search|publisher= peoplefinders.com | accessdate=2007-07-05 |month=March | year=2005
*cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2007/07/12/wwe-in-soma-coma/|title=WWE In Soma Coma? | publisher = TMZ.com | accessdate=2007-07-13 |month=July | year=2007

External links

* [http://www.theterrirunnels.com Terri Runnels' Official Website]
* [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/t/terri.html Online World of Wrestling Profile]
* [http://www.wrestlingepicenter.com/5678articles/218263987.shtml WrestlingEpicenter.com Audio Interviews with Terri Runnels]
*imdb name|id=0750315|name=Terri Runnels

Persondata
NAME= Runnels, Terri
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH=birth date and age|year=1966|month=10|day=5
PLACE OF BIRTH=Live Oak, Florida
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=