Beth Phoenix Was Frustrated When She Retired, Didn’t Think She Made A Difference in the Women’s Division

Beth Phoenix is a big part of the history of the WWE’s Women’s division, but at the time she felt frustrated feeling like she didn’t have much impact. The WWE Hall of Famer and NXT commentator appeared on The Bump this week and discussed the Women’s Revolution and more. When Kayla Braxton asked her about how many of the current women say they’ve patterned their careers after Phoenix, she said that she is happy to hear that because she didn’t think she had made much of a difference. You can check out highlights below:

On her impact on the women’s division: “I mean, that’s really overwhelming to hear and feel. Because at the time that I left WWE, the first time when I retired from the ring, I felt a little frustrated at that moment. Because I felt like I didn’t make a difference. Like, I felt really like I wanted to be a part of change. And at that point I didn’t feel it, I didn’t see it at that moment when I left. And so I was sad, I was bummed. I felt like I had put this energy, and I wanted it to change so bad, because I knew the women had the talent to be on the level with the men.”

On how she’s realized that she ultimately made an impact: “But now I’m seeing that the impact actually has just been a little bit on a delay. Like, those women that were watching me perform at the time, even though it was maybe a shorter match, a couple minutes of TV time. But that was just the little door being cracked open for them to see, ‘No no no. Let’s keep going,’ so that this generation busted that door open. And now we’re seeing the fruits of the labor from the previous generation. So it gives me goosebumps, makes me so proud to know that these girls may have saw me, and saw opportunity or potential to kind of take the girls and the women to where they are right now.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE’s The Bump with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.