5 things you (maybe) didn't know about Beth Phoenix

In an era known for short matches, pillow fights, and lingerie showdowns, Beth Phoenix stood apart from her contemporaries. Ahead of her time, the chiseled WWE Hall of Famer dominated the Divas era with brute strength and athletic prowess.

Known as The Glamazon, Phoenix showed the wrestling world that anything a man could do, women could do just as well, and often better. The multi-time Women's Champion was ahead of her time and, arguably, the very beginning of WWE's Women's Evolution.

Phoenix recently appeared on the Prime Time with Sean Mooney podcast and opened up about her storied WWE career. The Hall of Famer revealed details that may take even her most ardent supporters by surprise.

What impact did ICOPRO, a coloring contest, and a Molly Holly autograph line have on Phoenix's illustrious pro wrestling career? Learn all that and more in 5 Things You Never Knew About Beth Phoenix.

#5. ICOPRO motivated her to change her life

Beth Phoenix will always be remembered as one of the most physically gifted wrestlers in history, but things weren't always that way. There was a time when she wasn't athletic at all.

Phoenix told Sean Mooney,

"I was an overweight kid. I struggled with my weight. I struggled with some depression as a child. I had a rough go with those pre-teen years. I felt like I really leaned on wrestling for something to kind of take my mind off it and give me something to get inspired by. I just got lost in that product for a long time when I was kind of a lonely pre-teen feeling depressed and getting bullied in school."

Things clicked for Phoenix when she saw an ICOPRO commercial featuring Bret "Hitman" Hart and Scott Hall. Phoenix saw the two WWE Superstars lifting weights in the ICOPRO commercial and was inspired to get in shape.

Phoenix convinced her mom to get her a gym membership and everything began to change for her. She began lifting weights, became an avid Muscle & Fitness reader, and through hard work and dedication saw her physique metamorphosize.

#4. She joined the boys' wrestling team

Phoenix, inspired by her dream to become a professional wrestler, made the courageous decision to join the high school boys wrestling team,

"It was a really pivotal decision for me. I truly sucked at every level of it. Like I said, I was not an athlete at the start. It took a lot of time and work to start understanding body movement and how to control your opponent. I sucked right off the bat to be totally honest, but it was such a good lesson to me and what I was capable of in going outside the comfort zone and doing something scary to go after what I want."

Phoenix described the reaction she received as a female in a traditionally all-male sport,

"Once I showed up on day one, I think there was skepticism. When I showed up on day two, and day three, and day four, then people started to be like, 'OK, alright. She's not here for attention, or to put herself over, or to find a boyfriend. She's here because she likes this.' I wanted to learn. I've always had this philosophy in life, 'Am I gonna regret not trying this?' My answer was, 'Yes, I think I'll look back and regret this.' It was the same with pursuing WWE....I was willing to accept the failure and the criticism along with the good stuff because at least I'll know that if it didn't work out, I tried and did my best."

Phoenix eventually found her footing on the team and the sport was instrumental in becoming a professional wrestler down the road.

#3. An Undertaker coloring contest was her first WWE connection

Beth Phoenix came from humble and meager beginnings. Although she was an avid fan of professional wrestling, her family could not afford tickets when WWE came to town. Phoenix would have to find another way to see the cast of characters she was becoming increasingly infatuated with.

Her first WWE connection would come by way of a coloring contest. Phoenix was 11 years old when WWE conducted the contest via the local Star-Gazette newspaper,

"There was a full page ad featuring the Undertaker with Paul Bearer in it. My family couldn't afford to buy me tickets to go see wrestling live and I had been begging, and begging, and begging, so I kind of took matters into my own hands and colored this picture of Undertaker and Paul Bearer and I sent it in."

Phoenix spent hours coloring and described the work of art as her life's "Mona Lisa." Her efforts; however, were not in vain. Soon Phoenix received a big envelope in the mail with her photo returned. She won four tickets to a Monday Night RAW taping in Binghamton, NY. It would be Beth's first WWE live experience and her earliest connection to the company.

#2. She waited in a Molly Holly autograph line to get WWE's attention

Former multi-time women's champion Beth Phoenix

Beth Phoenix was attending Al Snow's wrestling school when she endured an unfortunate medical setback. The future WWE Hall of Famer failed an EKG and, while the health matter ended up being minor in nature, it was still enough to get her sent home for good.

Phoenix left with her WWE dreams crushed. She decided to return to independent wrestling and start over from scratch.

Inevitably, Phoenix and fellow indie star Gail Kim put together a highlight video showing what the two were capable of in the ring. Still, the duo needed to find a way to get the tape to WWE.

At WrestleMania X8, Kim and Phoenix decided to wait in line to meet WWE Superstar Molly Holly,

"We gave Molly Holly a tape of myself wrestling Gail. Molly has this line of 500 people waiting for her. I'm thinking, 'No way. She'll probably throw it away or something.' Sure enough she took it right backstage and she and Dr. Tom Prichard watched that tape. Dr. Tom brought myself, Gail Kim, and Traci Brooks for a tryout in 2002."

WWE hired Kim on the spot, but the tryout left an indelible impression with Prichard and the brass at WWE, who eventually hired Phoenix in 2004.

#1. She suffered a horrific jaw injury that left her face partially numb

Injuries are an unfortunate part of professional wrestling. Fans would be hard-pressed to find a wrestler who hasn't suffered some sort of in-ring injury, many of which are career-altering. For Beth Phoenix, her in-ring career was threatened with a serious jaw injury only five weeks after she made her WWE debut.

Phoenix was wrestling Victoria when she took a slap to her face. She had taken hundreds of slaps before, but this time things were different.

Phoenix heard a frightening crack,

"I felt a little woozy. I put my tongue between my teeth and thought, 'I lost a tooth. Crap!' I was like, 'Oh, well.' I had this whole thought process, 'I'm sure that will be easy to replace.' I finished the match."

As soon as the match came to an end, Phoenix made her way to the trainer's room.

"I'll never forget I had twenty people around me in the trainer's room. Everybody was like, 'What happened?' I said, 'I lost a tooth.' The doctor opened my mouth and I saw everyone recoil. That's when I knew it was bad."

Phoenix suffered a dislocated jaw and a break. Her jaw was completely severed all the way through. She was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital and laid in a hospital bed for several days before she was able to undergo surgery. Phoenix received two large plates and nine screws in her face and had to consult with a plastic surgeon as well.

The gruesome injury left Phoenix with "a lot of nerve damage" and the skin around the area is still completely numb, but serves as a constant reminder of her dedication to professional wrestling.

(Transcription Credit: Michael McClead, Sportskeeda)

Readers may listen to Phoenix on Prime Time With Sean Mooney below:

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