Former WWE Diva and Superstar Stacy Keibler is one of the newest inductees confirmed to be entering the WWE Hall of Fame for this year’s Class of 2023 inductees. This year’s rumors for its Hall of Fame class have been pretty spot on so far. Keibler was a name, who had been rumored right from the start of WrestleMania Season.Â
Once again the rumor turned out to be true.WWE confirmed the news on Monday (March 27) during Monday Night Raw.
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STACY KEIBLER: FROM A NITRO GIRL TO MISS HANCOCK
It was first announced this Monday via People and later confirmed by WWE that the newest inductee into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class will be Keibler.
From A Nitro Girl To Miss Handcock
Stacy Keibler admits she didn’t think she would ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during an interview with People. She stated the following:
“I never thought I would be in the Hall of Fame, to be honest,” Keibler said. “I was completely shocked when I got the call. I had tears in my eyes.. When she told me, I screamed, and tears were in my eyes, and I was completely overwhelmed with just gratefulness.”
Transcription taken from People.com.
Keibler first started her career in wrestling in 1999. She entered a contest to become a WCW Nitro Girl, Nitro Girls were cheerleaders for WCW’s Nitro show at the time. She won the contest after receiving the most votes. In 2000, she had impressed WCW enough to move her from being a Nitro Girl to an on-screen role.
Keibler became Miss Hancock and accompanied Lenny Lane and Lodi to the ring in a heel valet role while wearing business suits with short skirts. She began dancing on the announce table and distracting her team’s opponents.
After WCW was bought out by WWF at the time she made her way to the new company. This is where her wrestling career really started. While in WWF/WWE she began wrestling more and more. Even though she never won any championships in WCW or WWE, she was a constant fixture on WWE TV. She was involved in big storylines like being Duchess of Dudleyville partnering with Dudley Boyz and being Mr. McMahon’s personal assistant. As time went on she started to move away from wrestling and took on more non-wrestling roles and fell into a manager role.
THE OLD WWE WOMEN’S DIVISION
When Keibler’s name is brought up, the first image which comes to mind is her legs. WCW and WWE made a very big deal out of how nice her legs were. Stacy Keibler came into wrestling during a very weird time in wrestling.Â
She joined during a new focus on involving women more on WWE TV, but the focus was on their looks and not on their in-ring ability. The WWE roster had beautiful women with only a select few who could wrestle well. Unfortunately, she was part of the group who were not properly trained in the ring and forced to try to keep up with the ones who could.
WWE at the time was devoid of high-level women’s wrestling, instead focusing on showing skin and swimsuit photoshoots of their female talent. This was during the period where Evening Gown matches, Bra and Panties matches, and mud wrestling were a common part of Raw and SmackDown. It was a very dark time for women’s wrestling.
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Stacy Keibler said the thing she is most proud of during her time in WWE was the connection she made with the fans.She added in her conversation with People:
“The fans are the ones that made it possible,” Keibler said. “I owe so much to them for getting me to this point in my career.
I’ve spent time just reflecting, and I feel so lucky to have this extraordinary time with the organization, the community, but most of all the fans. And it’s shaped my life, and there’s nothing else that can get me more excited in the exact same way as being live in front of the WWE fans. Their passion is contagious. So I’m just so excited.”
Stacy Keibler will join the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame class which already includes some very notable names. This year’s class will include Rey Mysterio, The Great Muta, and Andy Kaufman. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held this Friday, March 31, and streamed live on Peacock.
Do you think Stacy Keibler is deserving of the WWE Hall of Fame? What do you think was her biggest contribution to wrestling? When you hear her name what is the first thing which comes to mind? Who do you think will induct her? Let us know what other women from that era, besides Chyna, deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
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SOURCE: People, WWE, Wrestling Inc.
