 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Winfred Childree (1955-09-05)September 5, 1955 Reynolds, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 2020(2020-05-09) (aged 64) |
Spouse | Mark Morrell |
| Children | 1 |
| Family | Dick Barkley (stepfather) Peggy Lee Leather (stepsister) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Cindy Lou The Lock Miss Littleheart Princess Littleheart Wenona Littleheart Winona Littleheart Winnie Barkley |
| Trained by | The Fabulous Moolah Joyce Grable Sue Green |
| Debut | January 1, 1976 |
| Retired | 1988 |
Winfred "Winnie" Childree, also known asWinfred Barkley[1] (September 5, 1955 – May 9, 2020) was an Americanprofessional wrestler, better known by thering namesWinona Littleheart andThe Lock.
Childree, stepdaughter of wrestler/booker "Dirty" Dick Barkley, debuted on New Year's Day, 1976, participating in a ten-woman battle royal at theOmni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] She began her wrestling career as "Winona Littleheart" with the standard "Native American" gimmick, including a fringe vest and feather in her hair. She became Girls' Wrestling Rookie of the Year for 1976. For the next several years, she would cut her teeth in various NWA territories such asTampa,New York,Amarillo,Hawaii,Mid-South,Mid-Atlantic,Midwest,Houston,St. Louis,Nashville,Atlanta,Knoxville,Dallas,Kansas City,Calgary, andMemphis. As "Princess Little Heart", she was awarded theNWA United States Women's Championship in October 1980, before losing to the title toJudy Martin.
After leaving Moolah's group and the WWF in 1985, Childree returned to the NWA and its Tampa territory, this time under the name "Cindy Lou", a young woman who used to be friends withBarry Windham andKendall Windham while growing up. She had been abducted byKevin Sullivan, who renamed her "The Lock" (because he kept her under lock and key). As The Lock, she eventually wore amohawk and wore bizarre clothing and face paint. She joined Sullivan's "Army of Darkness" stable and frequently fought with Sullivan's other valet,Fallen Angel. EventuallyLuna Vachon joined the stable and she formed a tag team with The Lock known as "The Daughters of Darkness".[1]
As Winona Littleheart, she frequently competed in theWorld Wide/World Wrestling Federation in the late 1970s and early/mid 1980s. She often feuded withThe Fabulous Moolah and Judy Martin. She also worked as a trainer at Moolah's wrestling school and helped trainWendi Richter.
In 1985, two years after WWF finally broke away from the NWA, she challenged thenWWF Women's ChampionLeilani Kai for the title during Kai's short title reign.
As the Florida territory started to wind down, Luna and Lock hit the independent circuit and won the World Tag Team title for the short lived Women's Championship Wrestling (based in Las Vegas, the predecessor toLPWA). They defended the titles againstCandi Devine andDebbie Combs in Memphis in January 1987.[2] Later that summer, she returned to Georgia to compete forAWA Georgia.
The Lock wrestled forDavid McLane'sPowerful Women of Wrestling in 1988, managed by Genie Beret.
Barkley retired from professional wrestling. She provided back-up vocals for a song onNasty Savage's 1987 album "Indulgence".
She died on May 9, 2020. She was believed to have been 64 years old.[3]