Her name has been coming and going around the Internet for weeks now. USA Today and WWE confirmed today that Beth Phoenix will be the Female Superstar to be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame this year.
She joins Kurt Angle, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Teddy Long and Diamond Dallas Page in the upcoming Class of 2017.
Beth Phoenix, 36, embodied power and dominance when women wrestling was still about model-shaped girls and pillow fights. She is seen as the precursor of the current Women’s Revolution that allowed WWE “Divas” to finally be considered as the true “Superstars” they are.
Phoenix started her career in the independent circuit in 2001 before entering WWE developmental system in 2004. She spent two years in Ohio Valley Wrestling as a valet and a wrestler.
She made her first steps in WWE main roster in 2006 as Trish Stratus’s enforcer in her fight against Mickie James. She didn’t have the time to show more of her abilities because, 3 weeks after her debut, she suffered from a mandible fracture in the jaw.
Coming back as “The Glamazon” 14 months later, an ultimate combination of strength, power and beauty, she quickly dominated the Womens division.
A three-time WWE Women’s Champion and one-time WWE Divas Champion, Beth Phoenix is one of the very few women who entered the Royal Rumble Match. Eliminating the Great Khali with a kiss over the top rope in 2010.
She was also involved in the first-ever Tables match at “Tables, Ladders and Chairs” pay-per-view in 2010. With Natalya, she defeatd the team of Michelle McCool and Layla.
After many associations, with Santino Marella, Rosa Mendes and Natalya, and other injuries, Beth Phoenix left WWE in 2012 for family reasons. But left a unique impact of the way Womens Wrestling is supposed to be seen.
The Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place Friday, March 31, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, during Wrestlemania Week.