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Nancy Elizabeth Daus Benoit (born May 17, 1964 in Daytona Beach, Florida) (more commonly known by her in-ring names as Woman and Fallen Angel) was a professional wrestling valet and manager who has since retired from the business. Nancy is married to WWE SmackDown! Superstar, Chris Benoit.
Career
Early days
When George Napolitano needed a beautiful young girl for the cover of the June 1984 edition of the pro-wrestling magazine Wrestling All Stars fellow photographer Bill Otten suggested the young Nancy Daus for the role.Nancy, who would often sit alongside her then husband Jim to watch matches was no new-comer to being in a wrestling magazine. Nancy, who had been selling programs at the Orlando shows took the job.
It was on this shoot where she met Kevin Sullivan who became enamored with the raven-haired beauty. Sullivan eventually wanted her to be a part of his wrestling entourage, and after months of convincing, Nancy finally became an on-air valet, taking the name Fallen Angel. She made her in-ring debut on July 7, 1984 at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida for Florida Championship Wrestling.
She became a part of Kevin Sullivan's stable of "Satanists", which also included wrestlers Luna Vachon, The Purple Haze, and Sir Oliver Humperdink. Nancy and Kevin Sullivan were married in 1985 and the duo would travel throughout the U.S. using the "Satanist" gimmick for promotions such as Angelo Savoldi's ICW and Southwest Championship Wrestling.
NWA
In 1989, Nancy appeared in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions as Robin Green, Rick Steiner's biggest fan who would sit at ringside cheering him on during matches. Eventually she talked Rick into letting her actually stand at ringside with Missy Hyatt during a tag-team match with brother Scott against the Fabulous Freebirds, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin. Nancy caused the Steiners to lose the match and soon left Rick to manage the masked team of Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed). During this time she also changed her name to Woman. The Steiner Brothers and Doom went on to feud, with the main point being the Steiners still seeking revenge on Woman. In response, she acquired a bodyguard known as Nitron to protect her from them.In 1990, Ric Flair and his Four Horsemen soon caught her wandering eye and she dumped Nitron and Doom to manage Flair. She fit in well with the "dirtiest player in the game", interfering in his matches and helping him keep his NWA World Title. She left the NWA by mid-1990 however.
She later rejoined her husband Kevin in ICCW and other smaller promotions.
ECW
Never one to stay put for too long, 1993 saw Kevin and Nancy surface in the fledgling ECW, where once again called simply Woman she managed Sullivan and the Tasmaniac to the Tag Team Titles. When Kevin resought the greener pastures of WCW, Nancy remained in ECW, going on to manage Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio. She captivated the crowd as she once again almost seamlessly reinvented herself to fit with The Sandman's gimmick; opening his beers, lighting his cigarettes, and destroying his opponents with her own kendo stick.WCW
After being uncerimoniously dumped by Sandman and Scorpio in ECW she once again resurfaced in WCW, first appearing as one of many women who would stand in the aisle and wave as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage came to the ring. She, however, stayed at ringside but couldn't help but show her true colors when she turned on Savage and rejoined Flair, Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit in the current incarnation of the Four Horsemen.In 1996, the Horsemen added Steve McMichael and with him came his wife Debra, which didn't sit well with Woman and the two began bickering and generally not getting along. At the same time she started an on-screen relationship with Benoit, rubbing it in Sullivan's face. As fate would have it, this on-screen relationship would develop into a real affair off-screen. This resulted in a violent feud between Benoit and Sullivan that saw Woman clashing with Sullivan's then valet Jacquelyn at ringside. In one memorable match the two ladies were lashed together, which didn't stop them from taking shots at each other, and even using the strap connecting them as a weapon on the men.
Sullivan and Nancy (off-screen) divorced in 1997 and (on-screen) Sullivan lost a retirement match to Benoit. It is often joked that 'Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce'. Sullivan's intent was to retire from in-ring action and focus on booking. As booker Sullivan caused Nancy to (off-screen) quit wrestling when she refused to be topless in an angle Sullivan created for a PPV.
Nancy and Benoit married in 1997, although Benoit didn't start referring to Nancy as his wife until shortly before the birth of their son Daniel in 2000 (on his former official website, Nancy was referred to as his fiancee). To this day she is still not an active on-air performer, though she does actively manage her husband's career from their home in Atlanta.
Nancy, along with her kids, was present in the front row at WWE Backlash in 2004, when Benoit successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch from WrestleMania XX, against Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
Profile
- Birthday: May 17, 1964
- Hometown: Daytona Beach, Florida
- Other Gimmicks: Woman, Fallen Angel, Robin Green, Devil Woman
- Marriage(s) to: Kevin Sullivan (divorced), Chris Benoit (current marriage)
- Children: 2
Wrestlers Managed by Daus
External link
Professional wrestling managers and valets | 1964 births | Living people | People from Florida | The Four Horsemen | ECW alumni
"Nancy Daus"