411’s WWE Icons Report: Beth Phoenix on Battling Body Image Issues, Being Inspired by Chyna

411’s WWE Icons Report: Beth Phoenix

-Air Date: 03.28.21
-Run Time: 1:08:16

-We start with Beth going through a closet at her home where she keeps all her ring gear. She keeps all the gear because of the sentiment and each piece has a memory. Her daughter’s don’t understand the meaning yet, but she hopes they love something as much as she loved this.

-Opening montage of what to expect: She talks about body image and how she had to learn to love herself. She only had one dream and that was to be a pro-wrestler. Her mom was against that as she didn’t know how you survive on wrestling. She felt she deserved to be the in the WWE and didn’t care how many times she was told no. Various talking heads discuss how tough she was and how she helped keep the women’s division alive. This is WWE Icons: Beth Phoenix!

-WrestleMania III: Hogan vs Andre is shown as Beth talks about how great wrestling is and how you can easily pick up on the story of good vs evil. Her family came from Poland and there was a language issue. Her grandma was a small, petite Polish woman and the only thing that would get her fired up was pro-wrestling. AWESOME! She would go crazy for Ivan Putski for obvious reasons. Beth’s mom tells us that Beth told her she wanted to be like Ivan. Her mom pointed out that she was a girl and Beth shot back that there were women in wrestling. They show Elizabeth and her mom said they aren’t wrestling. Beth told her she would be the first woman to wrestle then.

-Her transition from being a fan to being someone who wanted to wrestle is very clear to her. She takes us to WrestleMania X with Bret vs Owen. She was captivated by that match and knew she wanted to take people on that kind of emotional ride. It was the light switch moment for her as she wanted to do what Bret and Owen just did. She begged her parents to take her to a show and they didn’t have the money to pay for tickets. There was a contest in a local paper to color a WWE photo and they would give tickets to the winner. Beth won and they made the drive to Binghamton for a taping of Monday Night RAW.

-That was her first experience of WWE as it was May 22, 1995 edition of RAW. She has a photo collage of the events from that night. She was excited to see Razor Ramon and Savio that she used 10 of the 24 photos on her disposable camera. Yeah, disposable cameras man. You kids and your cellphones today just wouldn’t understand! She saved her last photo to get a shot of Owen Hart. Cool photo of her from the event and she is sporting a Shawn Michaels shirt.

-In 1996 Beth was a sophomore at Notre Dame High School in Elmira, NY. Huh, that would put me and Beth at about the same age as I was just finishing my Freshman year/starting my Soph year in 1996. Beth played in the band, choir, and played tennis. She exercised a lot and started to develop some muscles. She became obsessed with her weight to fit in and did all she could to lose weight. A school counselor and her parents had to step in to get her help. She had to learn that she was who she was and her mom told her that God made her the way she is for a reason.

-Chyna debuts in 1997 and Beth was enamored and that was another light bulb moment. She was inspired by her and started heading to the gym everyday. We get footage of Beth working out present day in a gym with her Championship belts hanging on the wall. She tells us she got a lot of self satisfaction and esteem from lifting weights. They cut to an old video from Chyna saying it is ok to be big and strong and still do your hair and wear make-up. Nice montage of the two of them working out in the gym.

-Beth felt the best way to get to the WWE was to start with the wrestling team at her high school. They had no female wrestling team, so she signed up for the boy’s team. The school thought she made a mistake, but she told them she wanted to do it and they let it happen. She had grown up with the team as her older brother was a wrestler on the team first. We meet Steve Weber who was her coach in high school. “Liz wasn’t someone you would think of as wanting to be a wrestler.” Beth had to take a fitness test to make sure she could compete on a level with adolescent boys and she passed, so she became the first female wrestler in school history. Coach tells us she never backed down and did everything the boys were asked to do. The coach was as hard on her as he was anyone else and pushed her like he would anyone else.

-There was an instance where she defeated a boy at a home meet and her teammates lifted her up on their shoulders. She felt like she had won the Super Bowl. Soon after another girl in the school signed up for the boys lacrosse team and Beth felt like maybe she was helping change things. She shows off her Letterman’s Jacket that she rightly was proud of earning.

-After graduating in 1998 with honors, Beth attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. She entered college with intentions of being a doctor. She struggled with her pre-med classes which was new as she never had academic issues. She mentioned to her college roommate that she didn’t think she was cut out for this and her friend asked what she wanted to do. In tears Beth told her she wanted to be a wrestler and the friend came back with, “well, why don’t you?” Good friend there!

-Beth then became a weekend warrior working Independent shows as Phoenix. They have some good footage of Beth working in gyms and bingo halls in front of 50 fans. Her mom told her the minute her grades slipped she was done with wrestling. She changed her major to Criminal Justice and found more success. Next her path took her to Ron Hutchinson where she finally got some formal training. Ron helped train people like Edge, Christian, and Trish Stratus.

-She continued on the Independent scene and then WWE and MTV announced Tough Enough. Yes! Again, I can’t explain who awesome those first MTV seasons were and I still go back and watch them more than nearly anything else from the archives on the WWE Network. Beth was blown away when she watched Season 1 and applied for Season 3. She made it through the first round of cuts at the time she had graduated from college. She had a nice t job that had her set up on a nice career path where she could make money and get a Federal job that would have her set.

-The Tough Enough call her had traveling to Chicago for the next round of auditions and she walked in to a table where Al Snow, Big John, and MTV executives were sitting. Of course they have the footage and it was from 2002. They have a bright eyed, excited Beth cut a promo and as you would expect it wasn’t good, but was passable. After she left the room, Big John admits he didn’t like her at first and she grew on him. Al is pissed at the falling asleep line though he admits he is only kidding. Jon calls it the best promo they have gotten from a woman in some time. She gets called the next day and they are sending her to Hollywood.

-She made the trip and they inform her there was a problem with her EKG. They do more tests on her and Al tells her they don’t know what is happening with her heart so they have to send her home. Damn! On top of that she resigned from her job so she could make the trip to Tough Enough. Beth tells us she had an issue as a kid and was on medication, but out grew it.

-WrestleMania X-8: Beth was friends with Jason Sensation who was friends with Molly Holly. Jason tipped off to Beth that WWE was looking for women for the division and she needed to get a tape to Molly. Beth went to Fan Axxess and waited in line for a signing that Hurricane and Molly were doing. The live was massive and she felt she wouldn’t get there in time, but then The Rock made his entrance to do a promo in the ring and the line cleared in a heart beat. Awesome story! Molly brings up the meeting with Beth and she mentioned she was an aspiring pro-wrestler. Molly was impressed by her. Beth told her it was nice to meet her and handed her a VHS tape. They took a picture together and after Molly and Dr. Tom watched the taped backstage at Axxess. This is fantastic! Molly says what they were watching was obviously small time, but they saw something in Beth.

-Beth was one of 3 girls they brought in for a tryout. Finlay asked Beth if she was wearing ballet shoes and Beth told him they were wrestling boots. Finlay shot back for her to get in the ring and wrestle then. Molly says they had her give Beth a match to see what she thinks. Molly told management she wasn’t sure if she was going to get hired, but this was her next step onto something bigger. Beth says she wasn’t hired, and mentions one of girls hired was Gail Kim.

-The whole process left Beth wanting more and she was determined to get to the WWE. Nick Dinsmore (Eugene) met Beth through Molly and he told Beth to move to Kentucky where OVW was. Danny Davis invited her to come train at OVW, but it didn’t mean she was being signed. She had to pay tuition and had to move to Kentucky. She told her father as she was afraid to tell her mom.

-Beth made the move and gave Danny Davis a check, but he handed her back a receipt saying it was already paid in full. Beth thought it was a mistake and Danny told her that a little birdie believed in her and wanted to help her. You probably guessed it, but it was Molly who had paid her tuition. See, this is why nobody ever has a bad word to say about Nora. She’s just awesome and why so many were happy to see she is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

-Mickie James talks about OVW and how they were all like a family. She mentions the talent that OVW produced: Batista, Cena, Orton all mentioned and they doesn’t even mention Lesnar. She puts over Beth for how she worked knowing she didn’t have a WWE Contract. She was allowed to train with the contracted talent and even put her on TV when they never did that with non contracted talent. They gave her an opportunity to shine. Her brother talks about being out in a bar and a friend mentioned to him his sister was on TV. Nice!

-Tommy Dreamer who was head of talent development. He saw something special in Beth. She was there on her own dime and was there for a long time. She was good, but wasn’t there yet. Beth felt she deserved to be on the main roster and she was told no time and time again. They told her that Trish was the gold standard and they wanted another Trish. So Beth got more into make-up and did all she could to show off her body more. That wasn’t who she was though. She reached a point where her student loans were late and she was out of money. She was working two jobs between Perkins and a golf course just to manage. She had a breakdown and decided she wanted to go home. Her mom told her it was time to give it up, but Beth made the decision to stick it out.

-We see video of a local Perkins which is some good advertising for them as Beth talks about working a shift there and getting a phone call from Tommy Dreamer. Tommy says he had a list of people he wanted to hire and Beth was at the top of his list. He takes pride in that he was able to hire Beth and start her on her journey in the WWE. Everything fell out of Beth at that moment as she started crying.

-RAW: May 8, 2006: Beth was told she would be making her but jumping the rail and attacking Mickie James. She was loaded into the audience and was sitting there watching as a fan and was about to transition to being a WWE Superstar. The whole thing only lasted about 10 seconds but for her it was a lifetime in the making. She made her in ring debut a few weeks later against Victoria. They had a spot where Victoria slapped her and Beth had her mouth open. Beth got the win but knew something was wrong though she thought it was just a missing tooth. Trish could see the blood from her mouth and when they got her back to medical everyone was shocked by what they saw when she opened her mouth. They took her to the ER and x-rays showed she had a shattered, dislocated, displaced jaw. Wow! She had to have full plastic surgery to put everything back in place which required screws and plates. She didn’t know understand why it was all going to end like this. Her mom knew she had a broken jaw when she saw the way it was hanging. That was her mom’s biggest fear and it happened.

-Beth healed, but they had nothing for her on RAW so she had to start over in OVW. Her mindset was that she needed to find something new to catch people’s attention. She was watching Sex and The City and heard the term Glamazon. Thus a new nickname was born. Molly talks about how you can find your niche in development and work on things that can help you go mainstream. That second OVW run was what gave her the confidence in herself.

-Beth got the call she was heading back on the road and she was back on RAW. She crated the tiara look as that was her Bret Hart sunglasses.

-Edge talks about first meeting Bret when she was called up and admits you don’t pay attention as much as you don’t know if someone will stick. Then he saw the way she worked in the ring and knew she had something different. Christian next (labeled as WWE Legend) as he talks about Beth having beauty and smarts to go with her physical presence.

-Back to Beth going through her various costumes and she pulls out one from No Mercy 2007. She wanted to give the costume a Chya feel. In her mind The Glamazon was somewhere in the middle of Chyna and Trish Stratus. That takes us to No Mercy 2007 as Beth Phoenix ends the Championship reign of Candice Michelle. She calls it a mind blowing thing as it was the same title she watched Chyna, Trish and Molly win. What made it more special was that she won it when she stopped trying to be the next Trish and instead was focused on being the first Beth Phoenix.

-Beth dominated the division as her brother and mom talk about how proud of her they were. Her mom admits it wasn’t what she would have picked for her daughter, but she was happy and that was good enough for her.

-Ember Moon talks about being inspired by Beth Phoenix. It showed her that you can do things your way and get noticed. Rhea Ripley loved that Beth wrestled like a dude (her words). She dealt with people telling her she was too muscular and it would get to her, but then she would see what Beth was doing.

-YES! They have Santino Marella as one of the talking heads and he is also credited as a WWE Legend! He puts over how Beth can quickly learn a task and will deliver. She saw the comedy in their pairing and she was game for it. Their pairing was tremendous. I will say it was kind of weird hearing Santino talk without the Italian accent, but awesome to see him on here.

-Royal Rumble: Dean Malenko came up to Beth and told her they had an idea and asked if she could keep a secret. “You’re darn right I can.” He told her if anything gets out it’s not happening. Beth then becomes the second woman ever to enter the Men’s Rumble as she eliminates soon to be Hall of Famer, The Great Khali. For her it was a throw back to when she had that win on her high school wrestling team. She mentions how Chyna was the first woman to enter and she got to walk in her shoes. They don’t show her getting tossed by CM Punk. That Rumble was great as you had Punk’s fun run to start, Shawn’s story with trying to win to get back against Taker and then the surprise return of Edge.

-Later that year Beth was paired with another rising star. I assume this will be the part about Natalya. Yep, Divas of Doom or Pin-up Strong as they were first caused. They have known each other for a long time and Beth says so long that she first messaged Nattie on MySpace. Nice! I assume she was in her Top 8. They had a lot of similar struggles as they didn’t fit the standard Diva mold. Nattie talks about all the weird things they made the Divas do and her and Beth just wanted to wrestle inside the ring.

-Charlotte shows up as she was told by her brother that she should be like The Divas of Doom. She credits them for setting the standard for what the future of the division would be. We get highlights from their Tag Team Table Match that was a first ever for the women. Nattie mentions it was an Aha moment as they were allowed to fight like the guys.

-In 2011, Beth also formed a special bond outside the ring. She watched Adam (Edge) on TV when she was a wrestling fan. She had a lot of respect for Edge and kind of kept her distance. Edge says they didn’t talk much and then had a proper conversation when they had Edge Appreciation Night after his retirement. Edge thought she was cool and texted Nattie, “so what’s Beth’s deal.” Nice! They grew closer and Beth appreciated they started discussing things other than pro-wrestling.

-We fly through the rest of 2011 and 2012 as Beth gets to the end of her contract. She lost both her grandparents and started to get frustrated with where the division was heading (Santa’s Litte Helper Match). She told Vince she had to go home and was leaving a dream she had chased since she was a little girl. It was hard for her to do and Vince told her he understood, gave her a hug, and thanked her for everything.

-The next goal was to become a mom as in 2013 Beth and Adam welcomed daughter, Lyric and then 3 years later another little girl in Ruby. Now we meet the Copeland family and stuff like this is always great and I appreciate it more since my 2 boys were born in the last 4 years. Once she held Lyric she knew she had a new purpose in life and she knew she was meant to be a mom. Edge calls Beth a strong woman and that makes for a great model for the two girls.

-“Five years after Beth retired from WWE, she received some unexpected news from her husband.” Home footage of Edge and Beth on a beach in Oregon and Edge breaks the news to Beth that the WWE is putting her in the Hall of Fame this year. Beth thinks it is a joke and then starts crying as Edge tells her it is true. Aww, her asking “Why?” was so perfect. She talks about how she always though of the HOF as a place for people like Austin and Bruno, but Edge told her that she belonged. Edge says he loved her reaction and loved that he was the one to tell her. I will say I love that they are breaking the news for The Hall of Fame to the person being inducted now. The NFL has been doing that for years to get that raw reaction and the WWE doing it has been awesome.

-2017 Hall of Fame: Beth gets her ring from Vince and HHH. She hangs out backstage with her daughter and the current crop of women come up to get pictures taken with her. Beth killed it with her Hall of Fame speech that night. Edge says it all came from the heart and it opened a lot of eyes. It wasn’t surprising for him that shortly after, the door to return to the ring opened back up for Beth.

-After Hall of Fame she got the call to be in the first Women’s Royal Rumble Match. I mean, that was an easy call. Ember talks about how there is no Revolution without Beth as she inspired so many. Edge says for Beth it validated what her and the other Divas were doing during the lean years to keep the division alive. Next was Mania where she got to team with Nattie and have Bret Hart there. She got into wrestling because of Bret at Mania X and now she was sharing a stage with him at Mania.

-Beth discusses remaining healthy and taking care of herself as it is part of her identity. Mickie talks about being a mother and trying to find the balance in taking care of your kids and finding time to get in workouts.

-Royal Rumble 2020: Again, I miss fans. Beth got the call 6 days before The Rumble and she says if she had time to think she might have said no. This was also the same night Edge returned so they both had a lot on their plate. Bianca tells us how excited she was as Beth was one of the first women she watched in the WWE. Bianca talks about the spot they had in the corner where Beth cracked the back of her head off the ring post. Nasty! Edge was watching in the back and heard the sick thud and knew what had happened. They have footage of HHH telling Edge that the doctor checked on her several times and Beth assured him she was fine other than the cut and the doctor was comfortable with her staying in the match. That’s some great footage! Edge tells a friend “she is way more bad ass than I am going to look.” Nice! Her family talks about watching and they tried to tell her mom that it wasn’t real, but your not fooling mom. Her blonde hair turned red from all the blood as Nattie mentions Beth was in Beast Mode that night. Christian says that it cane throw you off your fame or seeing your blood can make you up your game. Beth says she doesn’t like to quit and she didn’t intend to get cut, but it brought the warrior out in her that night. Backstage Beth is rushed to the medical area as Edge tells her she looked like a bad ass.

-Beth wanted to continue to help the current generation and thus she gets the gig as a commentator for NXT. Ember talks about how great it is to have Beth there at ringside and often she will look over to her to see how she is reacting to the match. Bianca and Rhea both talk about how influential Beth has been to the current roster. Edge told her he would eventually see the impact she had and she thinks that is happening now.

-She started out as a amateur wrestler and put in the work to become a star and then Hall of Famer. Nattie says she has influenced both men and women around the world. Beth says she has checked all the boxes and she would not change anything. All she wanted was to be in the Encyclopedia of Wrestling even if it was just one line. She wants her daughters to learn that “No” doesn’t mean the end of your story.

-Credits which is a nice touch as you check out of the names of the people that put these great documentaries together. They deserves a shout-out for their work.

-This series is great and I can’t wait until the next episode. I believe we have ones for Luger, Bulldog and RVD still to come. As for this one it was wonderful and told a great story. It is natural to compare this to the Yokozuna one. That one I found more interesting because we haven’t heard many stories about the late great, Yokozuna. A good many of the stories shared here, have been shared by Beth at her Hall of Fame speech. With that said this was obviously a more uplifting story and just made me happy. Beth was able to tell a few knew stories and I loved the one about The Rock clearing out the line so she could get her VHS tape to Molly Holly. That is just destiny creating a way for someone. Overall this was another in the line of great WWE documentaries and recommend spending the hour plus to give it a watch. Thanks for reading!