Wrestling World Outraged As Tammy Sytch Uses Chris Candido's Name During Sentencing

The wrestling world is outraged by Tammy Sytch using Chris Candido's name in court this week to try and explain her destructive behavior. 

This week, Sytch was sentenced to 17 years in prison, as well as eight years probation once she is released. This sentencing comes after Sytch pleaded no contest to the DUI Manslaughter charge against her, stemming from the death of 75-year-old Julian Lasseter in March of last year.  

Wrestling World Outraged

During her sentencing, Sytch referenced Candido, who she was in a relationship with for years. Sytch was with Candido until his death in 2005 of acute pneumonia at the age of 33. In a statement this week, Sytch stated that the passing of Candido played a pivotal role in her "downfall". 

Many people in the wrestling world are upset with Sytch referencing Candido, PW Insider reports. The belief is that well before Candido's passing, there were red flags that showed a pattern of destructive behavior by Sytch. Sytch cheated on Candido multiple times, as documented in Sytch's book A Star Shattered: The Rise & Fall & Rise of Wrestling Diva Tammy "Sunny" Sytch. Sytch and Candido were featured in a 2023 episode of Dark Side of the Ring. On the show, Jim Cornette described Sytch's legacy as "a meteoric rise and a meteoric fall."

During this week's sentencing, one expert testifying on behalf of Sytch said that "blows to the head" from her career in wrestling had played a role in her behavior. This claim has also caused backlash, given that Sytch hardly, if ever, wrestled, and that the majority of her career was as a manager. While Sytch took bumps on occasion, it is unclear how many 'blows to the head' she actually received.