Beth Phoenix

3.2.1. Ohio Valley Wrestling (2004-2006)

In May 2004, Elizabeth Kociański was invited to a tryout with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Following a successful tryout, she relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, to train at their then-developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). She debuted on OVW television in July 2004 under the ring name "Beth Phoenix" and initially served as the on-screen girlfriend and valet for Chris Masters. This storyline was brief, and the following month, Phoenix was repackaged as the manager of Aaron "The Idol" Stevens. On October 20, 2005, she signed a developmental contract with WWE, coincidentally the same month she broke her hand. The duo of Phoenix and Stevens was later joined by Shelly Martinez, leading to Phoenix feuding with Martinez in early 2006.

Phoenix made her initial debut on WWE's main roster on the May 8, 2006, episode of Raw as a face character. She attacked Mickie James, who was at the time assaulting Trish Stratus. This action initiated a storyline where James berated Phoenix for "ruining everything." A week later, Stratus formally introduced Phoenix, who then attacked James again on Stratus's behalf, claiming James had "ruined her life" and calling her a "psycho." Phoenix continued her attacks on James and teamed with Torrie Wilson (with Stratus in their corner) to defeat Candice Michelle and Victoria (with James in their corner) on May 29.

However, during a match with Victoria on the June 5 episode of Raw, Phoenix suffered a legitimate fractured mandible. Despite the severe injury, she managed to finish the match and emerged victorious. The injury required numerous surgeries, including the placement of a titanium plate and nine screws in her jaw, which left a portion of her face permanently numb. While she was only out of action for two months, her recovery period was spent back in OVW rather than on the main roster.

Phoenix returned to OVW action on August 16, 2006, defeating Serena. She soon began competing for the OVW Women's Championship, although initially unsuccessfully. At the October 4 OVW television tapings, Phoenix defeated Serena to win the championship. She briefly lost the title to Victoria Crawford in a gauntlet match on October 20 and won it back the very next day. However, Crawford's title reign and, consequently, Phoenix's second reign, are not officially recognized by OVW. Phoenix officially vacated the championship in a gauntlet match on November 1, where she was eliminated by Katie Lea, who ultimately won the match. On November 6, Phoenix appeared with the championship, claiming to still be the champion, leading to a ladder match to determine the undisputed OVW Women's Champion, which Lea won. Phoenix continued to wrestle in OVW throughout 2007, making her final appearance there on August 15, losing to Lea in a number one contender's match.

3.2.2. Main Roster Debut and First Women's Championship (2006-2008)

On the July 9, 2007, episode of Raw, Phoenix made her official return to the main roster, this time as a villain. She replaced an "injured" Melina in a tag team match, partnering with Jillian Hall, but they lost to Candice Michelle and Mickie James. At the SummerSlam pay-per-view, Phoenix dominated an interpromotional Divas battle royal, winning to become the number one contender for Michelle's WWE Women's Championship.

Following this, Phoenix was heavily pushed as a dominant Diva, adopting the formidable nickname "The Glamazon." She assertively attacked James, Hall, and Michelle on the September 10 episode of Raw, establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with. At Unforgiven, however, she failed to capture the Women's Championship from Michelle. Their rivalry intensified when Phoenix pinned Michelle in a non-title mixed tag team match on Raw on September 24.

At No Mercy in October, Phoenix decisively defeated Candice Michelle to win her first WWE Women's Championship. She successfully retained the title on the October 22 episode of Raw in a two out of three falls match against Michelle. During this match, Michelle suffered a legitimate fractured clavicle after Phoenix shook the rope, causing her to fall from the top turnbuckle.

Phoenix's reign continued as her team lost a 10-Diva tag team match at Survivor Series after Melina was pinned by Mickie James. On the November 26 episode of Raw, James defeated Melina to become the number one contender, leading to a title match at Armageddon, where Phoenix successfully defended her championship. On New Year's Eve 2008, Phoenix again defended her title in a Triple Threat match against Melina and James, pinning Melina for the win.

Phoenix, along with then-ally Melina, participated in the Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match at WrestleMania XXIV, where they defeated the team of Ashley and Maria. However, on April 14, 2008, Phoenix lost her Women's Championship to Mickie James, ending her first reign. Phoenix received a rematch on the May 5 episode of Raw in a lumberjill match, but lost after Melina unintentionally struck her with her boot. This incident led to a breakdown in their alliance; on May 12, Melina accidentally knocked Phoenix off the ring apron during a tag team match, prompting Phoenix to abandon her. A backstage brawl later that night officially ended their partnership. At Judgment Day, Phoenix failed to regain the Women's Championship in a Triple Threat match. At One Night Stand, Phoenix made history by defeating Melina in the first women's "I Quit" match in WWE. The next night on Raw, she teamed with Katie Lea Burchill to defeat Melina and James.

3.2.3. Glamarella and Second Women's Championship (2008-2009)

After a month-long absence from television, Phoenix returned on the July 14 episode of Raw, defeating Santino Marella after he issued an open challenge backstage. The storyline progressed the following week when Marella lost to D-Lo Brown; Phoenix confronted Marella, and after a brief grapple, they unexpectedly shared a kiss, leaving both visibly confused.

This peculiar encounter led to the formation of an on-screen power couple known as "Glamarella," a portmanteau of their names. In this pairing, Phoenix often played the straight-woman, reacting with disbelief or annoyance to Marella's exaggerated and embarrassing antics. At SummerSlam, Glamarella defeated Kofi Kingston and Mickie James in an intergender tag team match. Phoenix pinned James, securing her second Women's Championship, while Marella simultaneously won Kingston's WWE Intercontinental Championship. She successfully defended her Women's Championship against Candice Michelle at No Mercy. At Survivor Series in November, Phoenix captained the victorious Raw Diva team that defeated the SmackDown Divas in a five-on-five elimination match. She was the sole survivor for her team, notably eliminating Maryse.

On December 8, 2008, Phoenix received the prestigious "Slammy Award" for Diva of the Year, recognizing her outstanding performance throughout the year. Phoenix then began a feud with Melina, who had recently returned from injury. This storyline also introduced Rosa Mendes, who debuted as Phoenix's "superfan." At the Royal Rumble in January 2009, Phoenix lost the Women's Championship to Melina. At WrestleMania XXV, Phoenix competed in the 25-Diva "Miss WrestleMania" battle royal. Despite eliminating 12 other participants, the most of any competitor, she ultimately lost when Marella, competing in drag as his "twin sister" Santina, last eliminated her. After WrestleMania, Glamarella dissolved as Phoenix became disillusioned with Santino's "Santina" persona. Phoenix had a brief scripted rivalry with both "Santina" and Marella, unsuccessfully challenging "Santina" for the "Miss WrestleMania" title at Backlash.

3.2.4. SmackDown and Third Women's Championship (2009-2011)

After a brief hiatus, Phoenix returned on the July 27, 2009, episode of Raw, teaming with Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes in a losing effort against Mickie James, Gail Kim, and Kelly Kelly. She soon had her first opportunity for the WWE Divas Championship, narrowly being defeated by the defending champion, Mickie James, on the August 31 episode of Raw, after winning a number one contender's battle royal earlier that same night.

On October 12, it was announced that Phoenix had been traded to the SmackDown brand. She made her in-ring debut for the brand on the October 30 episode of SmackDown, defeating Jenny Brooks, an enhancement talent. In January 2010, at the Royal Rumble, she made history by entering the men's Royal Rumble match, becoming the second woman ever to do so, following Chyna's previous entry. She notably eliminated The Great Khali before being eliminated herself by CM Punk.

After being told by Vickie Guerrero, the SmackDown consultant, that she would not receive a Women's Championship opportunity, Phoenix turned face. This turn occurred after she saved Tiffany from an attack by Guerrero and LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla) on the March 12 episode of SmackDown. She then went on to defeat McCool and Layla in a tag team match alongside Tiffany. The feud with McCool continued at WrestleMania XXVI, where they were on opposing teams in a 10-Diva tag team match, which Phoenix's team lost, though they won a rematch the following night on Raw. On the April 23 episode of Smackdown, Phoenix teamed with Mickie James against McCool and Layla. After the match, LayCool brutally attacked and humiliated Phoenix by smearing make-up on her face and body while she was unconscious. This led to Phoenix receiving a match for the Women's Championship against McCool at Extreme Rules, where she defeated McCool in an "Extreme Makeover" match to win her third Women's Championship.

On the May 6 episode of Superstars, Phoenix suffered an ACL tear in a match against Rosa Mendes. As a result of this legitimate injury, one week later on SmackDown, McCool invoked her rematch clause to face Phoenix in a two-on-one handicap match alongside Layla, with Layla ultimately pinning Phoenix to become the new Women's Champion.

Phoenix made her return from injury at November's Survivor Series pay-per-view, immediately attacking the former co-champions Michelle McCool and Layla after they lost the WWE Divas Championship to Natalya. Phoenix and Natalya subsequently formed an alliance, uniting as the "Divas of Doom." At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, Phoenix and Natalya defeated LayCool in the first Divas Tag Team Tables match in WWE history.

3.2.5. Divas Champion and Initial Departure (2011-2012)

As part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft on April 26, 2011, Phoenix returned to the Raw brand. On the August 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix won a battle royal to become the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship, subsequently attacking champion Kelly Kelly to ignite a feud and marking a heel turn. Phoenix publicly declared her frustration with the "perky bimbos" dominating the Divas division and announced her mission to bring a more serious, athletic focus to women's wrestling. She was soon joined by her ally Natalya, solidifying their partnership as the "Divas of Doom."

Phoenix unsuccessfully challenged Kelly for the championship at SummerSlam. Throughout September, the Divas of Doom feuded with Kelly and Eve Torres on Raw, and with The Chickbusters (AJ and Kaitlyn) on SmackDown. Phoenix again challenged Kelly for the Divas Championship at Night of Champions but was unsuccessful. However, at Hell in a Cell in October, Phoenix finally defeated Kelly to win the Divas Championship for the first time, with assistance from Natalya. In a rematch on the October 14 episode of SmackDown, Phoenix successfully retained the championship. At Vengeance, Phoenix successfully defended the championship against Eve Torres, with both Natalya and Kelly banned from ringside. She continued her dominant reign, retaining her championship against Torres at Survivor Series on November 20 in a Lumberjill match, and against Kelly at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 18.

Further successful defenses followed against Torres on the January 30, 2012, episode of Raw and against Tamina Snuka at Elimination Chamber on February 19. After this period, Phoenix competed only sporadically for a few months, including a tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII, where she and Eve Torres were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos. On the April 6 episode of SmackDown, Phoenix lost to Nikki Bella in a non-title match due to Kelly's interference. On the April 23 episode of Raw, Phoenix lost her Divas Championship to Nikki Bella in a Lumberjill match, following a storyline ankle injury. At Extreme Rules, Phoenix was scheduled for a rematch against Nikki for the Divas Championship, but she was not medically cleared to compete and was replaced by the returning Layla, who ultimately won the title. Phoenix made two unsuccessful attempts to regain the Divas Championship from Layla at Over the Limit in May and at No Way Out in June. She also lost 19 times against Divas champion Layla in various live events.

In September, Kaitlyn was attacked by an unknown assailant before her championship match at Night of Champions. Upon her return, Kaitlyn described her assailant as having blonde hair, leading Assistant SmackDown General Manager Eve Torres to accuse Phoenix before attacking her. On the September 28 episode of SmackDown, after defeating Natalya, Phoenix was controversially suspended by Torres, but the suspension was later reversed by SmackDown General Manager Booker T. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix lost to Torres. Phoenix turned heel again on the October 18 episode of Superstars, chastising Kaitlyn for suspecting her of the attack and demanding respect, before losing to her in a singles match. On the October 29 episode of Raw, Phoenix was defeated by AJ Lee in a singles match, but the match was restarted by Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero, allowing Phoenix to win. After the match, in a storyline development, Guerrero fired Phoenix for her perceived poor performance. In reality, Phoenix had given her notice to WWE in September, deciding to leave the company to focus on her family life with her then-boyfriend and later husband, Adam Copeland (known as Edge). In September 2019, Phoenix revealed that a significant factor in her departure was her "really frustrated with where the women were at from a company standpoint, and the investment that was being made in us. I felt in my heart I had done my best, and I'd try hard to change things but, at some point, I just got frustrated."

3.2.6. Hall of Fame and Part-time Appearances (2017-2019)

On February 27, 2017, WWE officially announced that Beth Phoenix would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class. This induction made her the quickest woman to be inducted after her retirement, entering just five years after her departure, and the youngest inductee in history at age 36. Her induction also made her and her husband, Edge, the first real-life couple to both be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. On March 31, 2017, at the induction ceremony held in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, Natalya served as her inductor. Prior to this, in 2015, Phoenix received the Frank Gotch Award for her philanthropic work. In 2019, she became the first woman to be inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame itself, a hall of fame dedicated to professional wrestlers with an amateur wrestling background.

In 2018, Phoenix began a part-time role as a color commentator for WWE, primarily for women-related events. She started from January 16 to April 3, 2018, commenting on the first season of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge each week alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves. On January 28, 2018, at the Royal Rumble event, she made a one-night in-ring return as a face for the first time since 2012 by entering the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match. She entered at number 24 and lasted over two minutes before being eliminated by Natalya. This appearance made her the first wrestler to have participated in both a men's and a women's Royal Rumble match.

Phoenix continued to work as a guest commentator at various events and for women's matches, including the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34, the 2018 Mae Young Classic, the women's Royal Rumble match at the 2019 Royal Rumble event, and the Elimination Chamber match to determine the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions at the 2019 Elimination Chamber event.

On March 10, 2019, at the Fastlane pay-per-view, Phoenix served as a commentator for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match between defending champions The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) and Nia Jax and Tamina. After their defeat, Jax and Tamina brutally attacked Bayley and Banks. Phoenix intervened to help them, and was soon joined by Natalya, but the four were still overpowered by Jax and Tamina. The following day on Raw, Phoenix accompanied Natalya to her match against Jax and eventually caused a disqualification by attacking Jax.

On the March 18, 2019, episode of Raw, Phoenix officially announced that she was coming out of retirement. She and Natalya reformed their tag team, The Divas of Doom, which had been active from 2011 to 2012. They then challenged The Boss 'n' Hug Connection for a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 35. However, during a one-on-one match between Natalya and Banks, Tamina ambushed Phoenix after a distraction from Jax. On the April 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix wrestled her first match in nearly seven years, teaming with Natalya, Bayley, and Banks to face off against Jax, Tamina, and The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce). Phoenix's team emerged victorious after she pinned Royce following a Glam Slam. At WrestleMania 35, Phoenix and Natalya lost to The IIconics in a fatal four-way tag team match for the Women's Tag Team Championship. The finish saw Phoenix perform a Glam Slam from the second rope on defending champion Bayley, but she didn't realize that The IIconics' Billie Kay had tagged her out. Kay's partner, Peyton Royce, then threw Phoenix out of the ring, allowing Kay to successfully pin Bayley and win the titles.

3.2.7. Full-time NXT Commentator (2019-2021)

On May 15, 2019, Beth Phoenix officially joined the commentary team for NXT, working alongside Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness, replacing Percy Watson. This marked her first full-time commentary role and her first time commenting on matches that did not exclusively feature women. Her first NXT TakeOver event as an announcer was NXT TakeOver: XXV on June 1, 2019. She remained a key member of the commentary team when NXT transitioned to airing live on television on September 18, 2019, at which point its runtime was extended from 50 minutes to 120 minutes.

Phoenix returned to the ring for the first time since the previous year's WrestleMania during the Women's Royal Rumble match at the 2020 Royal Rumble event. She entered as the nineteenth participant, lasting over 23 minutes before being eliminated by Shayna Baszler and finishing in third place. Early in the match, she suffered a legitimate head injury when Bianca Belair slapped her chest, causing the back of Phoenix's neck to strike one of the ring posts. Despite the injury, she was able to finish the match.

On the March 2, 2020, edition of Raw, Phoenix made an appearance to provide a medical update on her husband, Edge, who had been injured by Randy Orton. However, Orton interrupted her, explaining his actions, which provoked Phoenix to slap and kick him. Orton retaliated by striking her with an RKO.

3.2.8. Sporadic Returns and Contract Expiration (2022-2024)

At WWE Day 1 on January 1, 2022, Beth Phoenix made a significant return to help her husband Edge win a match against The Miz. Following this, the couple began a feud with The Miz and Maryse, which culminated in a mixed tag team match at the Royal Rumble on January 29, where Phoenix and Edge emerged victorious.

On the August 22, 2022, episode of Raw, Phoenix returned to observe Edge's match against Damian Priest. After the match, The Judgment Day (Priest, Finn Bálor, and Rhea Ripley) attacked Edge, but Phoenix intervened to stop the assault. She further interfered in Edge's "I Quit" match against Bálor at Extreme Rules, but despite her efforts, Edge ultimately lost. Following the match, Rhea Ripley attacked Phoenix with a violent Con-Chair-To, inflicting a severe kayfabe injury.

In 2023, Phoenix made another return at the Royal Rumble, executing a Spear on Ripley before leaving with Edge. She appeared on the subsequent Raw to similarly intervene when The Judgment Day attempted to interfere in Bálor's match against Cody Rhodes. On February 6, 2023, Phoenix and Edge challenged Rhea Ripley and Finn Bálor to a mixed tag team match at the Elimination Chamber premium live event. At the event on February 18, Phoenix and Edge secured a victory despite interference from Dominik Mysterio. On August 15, 2024, Phoenix announced during an interview with Chris Van Vliet that her WWE contract had expired, making her a free agent. This news followed an initial report by PWInsider on July 26, 2024.