Smokin' Gunns (WCW Magazine #67)
by Amy Bell

Once a shy teenager, Tylene Buck soars with the superstars of WCW as Major
Gunns

   As a young child, Tylene Buck dreamed of becoming a model. Because she
was painfully shy and her family was not wealthy she never believed modeling
would become a reality. In her most elaborate dreams, Buck never could have
guessed that once she graduated from high school she would dive headfirst
into a successful fitness-modeling career and eventually join WCW, where she
would transform into the camounaged seductress known as Major Gunns.

   Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Buck lived with her father
growing up. When she reached her 1Oth birthday, Buck discovered the world of
athletics. She moved to Arizona for a short time and joined the rodeo. "That
was a lot of fun," Buck says. "I used to do Barrel and Pole, where you take
your horse and run around barrels or poles as quicky as you can. I have tons
of ribbons from the rodeo." Once she moved back to California, Buck became a
talented softball player. When she was 14, Buck played on a team with the
best softball players in her age group from around the nation. Buck also
played soccer for a while in high school and made working out away a life by
the time she was 17. "When I was in school, I kept to myself and did my
work," she says. "I didn't really hang out with the popular crowd because I
was so shy."

   Despite her timid demeanor, Buck discovered enduring love while she was
in high school. She met the man who currently is her fiance when she was 16.
"I actually went to high school with his nieces, so he's an older man," Buck
says. "But he's my true love and my best friend. He's always been so
supportive of me."

   After Buck completed high school, her fiance asked her what she wanted to
do with her life. "When I told him I wanted to be a model, he told me that I
should follow my dreams," she says.

   Following her fiance's advice, Buck began looking for modeling agencies.
After fruitless searching and a few bad experiences with some agencies, Buck
decided to take control of her future. She began contacting companies and
photographers herself. "I was doing all the work on my own," she says. "I was
doing everything I could to make my dreams come true."

   Through hard work and her unyielding resolve to succeed, Buck broke into
the modeling business. She started by appearing on covers for magazines such
as Truckin' and MiniTruckin.' Buck also found success in bikini contests,
where she lost her last traces of bashfulness. "Wearing a bikini in front of
hundreds of people definitely helped me to stop being shy," Buck says. "Now I
love being in front of an audience."

   A fitness photographer discovered Buck on the bikini contest circuit.
Awestruck with Bucks physique and beauty, the photographer introduced her to
many fitness magazines. She began to appear in magazines such as Muscular
Development, Muscle Magazine and Ironman. Shortly after, Buck became the
spokesperson for Max Muscle and wrote a monthly column on fitness and
nutrition for the magazine.

   One of the most exciting moments within this period of Buck's life was her
appearance on the "Jenny Jones Show." "I was a guest on the show called 'Geek
to Chic.' It was about people who used to be nerds but grow up to become
famous and beautiful. People from high school were amazed at how much I had
changed," she says with a laugh.

   Although Buck's modeling career was taking off, something else was eating
at her. "I had been wanting to get hooked up with wrestling for years," she
says. "Wrestling has been a true love of mine since I was a little girl. I
can remember watching Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash and wishing I could meet them
one day."

   A close friend of Buck who lived in Los Angeles knew some people who
work for WCW, including Nash and Hogan. "I told him I'd like to get into
wrestling, and he introduced me to Kevin Nash. Nash invited me backstage
during Halloween Havoc in Las Vegas. It was absolutely amazing to meet
everyone, but I still couldn't seem to find the right avenue to get in," she
says.

   A few months later, Buck's friend told her WCW was coming to Los Angeles
to interview women for the show. "I found out that Terry Taylor (of the WCW
talent management department) had been following my career and some other
fitness girls' careers for a while," Buck says. "I was so excited. I hopped
on a plane and new straight to LA. I was very nervous because all the girls
who were interviewing were so beautiful." A few hours after her interview,
Buck received a telephone call from a WCW contact and discovered that she
was one of six girls selected to join WCW.

   On May 15, 2000, Buck made her first appearance on WCW television as an
nWo girl. "The nWo was really popular at the time, so it was very exciting
to walk with those guys to the ring," Buck says. "I learned so much about
the business from Nash when I worked with him. Nash is so down to earth, and
he made things so easy and relaxing for me."

   Once the nWo dissolved, Buck joined Midajah O'Hearn as a valet for Jeff
Jarrett, "I'm really happy that I got to work with Jeff," Buck says. "I used
to love to watch him do his promos. He's so great at getting into character,
and he was very patient with us girls."

   In typical wrestling fashion, the storylines changed and Buck became a
valet for Scott Steiner. Eventually Buck was removed from Steiner's group to
become an interview girl. "I liked doing the interviews, but I love being in
front of people and hamming it up. I missed being in front of the crowd," she
says.

  Buck next found herself without a character or storyline. "When WCW called
me and told me they still didn't have a storyline forme after a few weeks, I
cried and cried. I thought my wrestling career was over," she says. "I begged
them to give me any part at all in the storyline. I was trying everything I
could think of to get back into WCW."

   A few weeks later, Buck received a telephone call. WCW wanted her to
return, and she was ecstatic. "They asked me if I had any combat boots and
camouflage. I said, 'What?'" When she returned to WCW, Buck met her new
teammates, the Misfits in Action.

   "I found out it was the MIA guys who requested that I come back," Buck
says. "They asked where I had been because they wanted me to be a part of
their team. I was amazed because I didn't really know them that well," Buck
says. "They all are really great guys."

   Although Buck was thrilled to be working with the Misfits, she was less
than pleased with her new moniker.'Say told me that my new name would be
Torpedo Girl," she says with a laugh. "I asked Vince Russo if I could change
that name if I came up with something better. He said I could, so I started
asking everyone for suggestions. We eventually came I up with Major Gunns."

   Buck feels grateful to be back in the spotlight, and she is enjoying her
new character. "Major Gunns is a total babyface," Buck says. "She's a sweet
girl, but she won't back down either. She's a powerful girl, just like I am,
but she's not vicious. She has a heart of gold, and shell do anything to make
a bad situation good."

   Buck is delighted that she has the opportunity to train in the Power
Plant, WCWs training facility, with the rest of WCWs female stars. "I've
always wanted to learn to wrestle," she says. "Until you're a part of it,
you don't really understand the sport of wrestling. Now I wrestle almost
every week and I'm thrilled to death."

   As a result of her entertaining matches and sculpted physique, Buck's
career is skyrocketing. But she knows better than to credit her fame to
anyone other than her fans. "I get a rush interacting with my fans, seeing
all their smiles and faces. If it weren't for my fans, I wouldn't be where I
am," she says.

   Although Buck has gained many adoring fans, her most faithful fan is
someone she's known all her life. "My mom is my biggest fan," she says.
"When I first joined WCW, my mom was happy for me, but she wasn"t really a
wrestling fan. Now she not only watches me, but she watches the entire show.
Every show I've been on, she has it on tape."

   Unlike many female stars who hope to use WCW as a stepping stone to
further their entertainment careers, Buck says she would be content to remain
a fixture in the wrestling world. "I'd love to do TV and movies eventually,
but wrestling always will be my first love," she says. "I want to stay with
WCW and be known as one of the biggest women wrestlers of ah time."