Missy Hyatt

Real Name:  Melissa Ann Hiatt
Hometown:  Tampa, FL
Notable WCCW Feuds:  Sunshine

Need to Know Facts:  Born in Tallahassee, Florida on October 16, 1963, Missy Hyatt began her professional wrestling career with World Class in 1985 when she was hired as a valet for her then-boyfriend, "Hollywood" John Tatum.  Long before the creation of WCW's Nitro Girls or WWE's divas, Hyatt and her WCCW arch-nemesis Sunshine made the typical testosterone-filled wrestling fan's heart flutter as the two beauties clashed throughout the state of Texas and beyond.

The feud between the two ladies culminated in a mudpit match on May 4, 1986 at Texas Stadium at the third annual David Von Erich Parade of Champions. Unfortunately for Missy (but fortunately for the male fans in attendance!), Sunshine emerged victorious.

Shortly after the Parade of Champions card, Hyatt, along with Tatum and a number of other World Class stars, followed former WCCW booker Ken Mantell to Bill Watts' newly rechristened Universal Wrestling Federation (formerly Mid-South Wrestling), where Mantell became Watts' new main booker.  Upon their arrival, Hyatt and Tatum were aligned with "Hotstuff" Eddie Gilbert's Hot Stuff International, a faction that included future superstars Sting and Rick Steiner, and was renamed Hotstuff & Hyatt International, Inc. shortly thereafter.

Not only did Hyatt and Tatum split in a wrestling angle, they also did in real life; and exactly as portrayed on UWF television, Hyatt and Gilbert became an item offscreen as well. In 1988, Gilbert and Hyatt were married.

After an extremely brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation where she was to host a "Missy's Manor" interview segment, Hyatt returned to the UWF, and eventually began working for Jim Crockett Jr., who purchased the UWF from Watts in 1987 and merged it with his own promotion.  When the NWA was bought out by Turner Broadcasting and became World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Missy took on the job of commentator and eventually became manager for Gilbert and the Steiner Brothers.  She also began to feud with manager-turned-commentator Paul E. Dangerously (future ECW owner Paul Heyman). This feud ended with Hyatt beating Paul E. in an arm wrestling match at the Clash of Champions on January 30, 1991.

In 1994, Hyatt filed a sexual harassment suit against WCW after she found that an in-ring photo of her with one of her breasts inadvertently exposed had been enlarged and displayed in the company's offices.  When her complaint to WCW head Eric Bischoff was ignored, Missy took the issue to upper management, after which Bischoff fired her.  The details of the settlement in late 1996 were never made public, though Hyatt stated that she was "pleased with the outcome".

Hyatt would briefly work for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during 1997, managing Shane Douglas and the Sandman, then joined Paul Alperstein's short-lived American Wrestling Federation (which also featured WCCW alumnus "Gentleman" Chris Adams) as a commentator.  In late 2001, she published her autobiography, Missy Hyatt:  First Lady of Wrestling.  Missy also appeared on the syndicated Judge Mathis TV show in 2002, filing a small-claims suit against former ECW referee Bill Alfonso for damaging her Porsche; she was awarded $500.

Hyatt and former WWE manager Tammy "Sunny" Sytch launched WrestlingVixxens, a paysite featuring their nude photos, in 2001, but a dispute with their business partner led to both ladies quitting the site.  Missy now runs several websites of her own, including MissyHyatt.net (warning: adult content), which features softcore shots of her, Sytch, "Queen of Extreme" Francine Fournier and many other women of wrestling.  She has also written numerous articles on the sport for Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly Online, including this piece on the decline of WCCW. Missy still works frequently as both a wrestler and valet at independent shows, and appears at numerous fan conventions.  She remains in touch with John Tatum and other World Class alumni, and has many fond memories of her stint in Dallas-Fort Worth, calling it "the happiest time in my career."