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Missy Hyatt: A Controversial Legend Of WCW History

Posted: Nov 3rd 2022 By: Michael Chin - TheSportster.com

Missy Hyatt was a popular figure for WCW across a period of years but wrapped up her time with the company on poor terms.

When longtime wrestling fans reflect on women of the 1980s and 1990s, there are a number of names who immediately come to mind. Miss Elizabeth was a key complement to Macho Man Randy Savage’s presentation, while Sunny and Sable would redefine the role of sex appeal in wrestling down the road.

Sensational Sherri, Madusa, and Luna Vachon were the kind of performers who did well in the ring and probably could have thrived in the modern era, but nonetheless did strong work in managerial roles at the time, too. Then there’s Missy Hyatt—a WCW star who was one of the biggest female names in wrestling who nonetheless tends to get overlooked by fans today.

How Missy Hyatt Became An Iconic Sex Symbol In WCW

Missy Hyatt got started in wrestling in the mid-1980s, working for a variety of major territories with highlights including feuding with fellow valet Sunshine in World Class and engaging in heated “catfights” with Dark Journey in the Mid-South. She achieved a new level of fame, though, when she signed with WCW.

In WCW, Hyatt became known for her broadcast work and managing a range of talents, though most of all the company made no bones about featuring her for her sexuality including pitting her against Madusa in a swimsuit contest at Beach Blast 1992 and featuring her in a photo spread in WCW Magazine in 1993. While the company didn’t have as high a profile as WWE, or as it would grow into itself in the five years to follow, WCW nonetheless had a bigger platform than most wrestling promotions and as such Hyatt entered the short list of the business’s most widely recognized sex symbols.

Missy Hyatt’s Forgotten Work With WWE

It’s a testament to Missy Hyatt’s appeal at the time that she actually did have a forgotten run with WWE. She discussed this tenure in a visit to The Steve Austin Show, explaining she was charged with hosting an interview talk show along the lines of Piper’s Pit or The Brother Love Show, billed as Missy’s Manor.

Hyatt openly acknowledged that the show didn’t click, and that she didn’t disagree with WWE’s choice to never air any of what they’d recorded. It nonetheless remains interesting to speculate about what might have happened if WWE had run with Hyatt for a period of years and if she’d established herself on wrestling’s biggest stage before or perhaps instead of plying her trade in WCW.

Missy Hyatt Sued WCW

Missy Hyatt ultimately sued WCW, claiming sexual harassment and that the company had underpaid her relative her male counterparts filling similar functions on air. It was one of many times on screen talent clashed with management in that company.

Bischoff discussed these legal proceedings on his 83 Weeks podcast (h/t 411mania) and claimed, “Backstage everybody knew, in the locker room everybody knew, that if you didn’t like the way things were going with WCW, come up with some …lawsuit, if you sue them for X amount of money but are willing to settle for $100,000 or less, you’re gonna get your check.” Clearly Bischoff thought Hyatt was making a cash grab, and he went on to dismiss suggestions he himself would have harassed her in this way, suggesting he didn’t even find her pretty. He further indicated that her complaints about being cast as a “bimbo” were rooted in Hyatt not actually being that bright, thus limiting what they could do with her.

Missy Hyatt Became A Difficult Figure To Feature

Missy Hyatt still holds a special place for a number of fans as a beautiful woman and particularly the subject of nostalgia for fans who grew up with her work in WCW. However, she has become a difficult figure for mainstream promotions like WWE or AEW to bring back for a guest spot or otherwise celebrate nostalgia around nowadays.

Some of Hyatt’s limitations come down to her never actually being much of an in-ring performer or all that distinguished as a manager or broadcaster. Her act always came down to sex appeal. In an era of women’s empowerment when female performers often put on as good, if not better performances than men, it’s harder to celebrate what someone like Hyatt brought to the table. That’s all the more the case when a figure like Renee Paquette has demonstrated just how good a female talent can be in the backstage interviewer or host role (not to mention everything fans have learned from her podcast), and the degree to which Hyatt’s own contemporaries like Sherri Martel, Madusa, and Woman were stronger in the manager role.

To make matters worse, Hyatt became involved in adult entertainment for a stretch. While there’s not necessarily anything inherently wrong with such endeavors, they do make it harder for family-friendly WWE to, for example, draw attention to her legacy with a Hall of Fame induction.

Missy Hyatt has become a polarizing figure and there are legitimate questions as to how much she actually contributed to the business. Still, she was a memorable figure from an era of wrestling with a lot of star power and maintains her fan base to this day.