10 Things You Need To Know About Beth Phoenix
Learn about the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Monday afternoon, WWE announced the next inductee into the 2017 Hall of Fame class - three-time Women's Champion and one-time Divas' Champion Beth Phoenix.
Phoenix will be enshrined in the hall at the official ceremony on March 31 in Orlando, along with Kurt Angle, The Rock 'N' Roll Express, Teddy Long, and Diamond Dallas Page.
Phoenix was a key player - perhaps the most important one - during the lean years of WWE women's division. Following the early 2000s boom that starred Trish Stratus, Jazz, Victoria, Gail Kim, and Molly Holly and before the AJ Lee/Paige feud that led into the women's revolution, there came eight or nine years where the divisions on both Raw and Smackdown were dominated by the likes of Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and Maryse. Phoenix, Natalya, and other legitimate wrestlers did their best to create a balance.
Phoenix wasn't even 32 when she decided to retire from WWE and pro wrestling as a whole, but she left behind an impressive body of work and a legacy as a powerful performer. Her induction is well-deserved, and fans should hope that the future combatants in WWE's women's division were influenced by "The Glamazon."
10. She Won Tickets To A WWE Show And Became An Aspiring Wrestler
Beth Phoenix grew up in Elmira, New York, a small city on the state's southern border. As a young child, she enjoyed watching wrestling, but her parents couldn't afford to bring her to a live show. Luckily, Phoenix found a coloring contest with a grand prize of tickets to a show. She entered, won, and got to see her first live WWE event.
The event turned out to be more than Phoenix had bargained for - it was a four-hour long set of television tapings. The show was a major turning point in the fan's life.
"I was in heaven," Phoenix later said in an interview with The Charleston Gazette. "And it really changed what I wanted to do with my life."
Yes, it was attending that show that inspired a young Beth Phoenix to someday pursue a career in pro wrestling. She continued to follow the sport, counting the legendary Owen Hart as her favorite wrestler growing up.