Legendary 6-time WWE champion allegedly thought her career was over after serious injury
Former WWE Superstar Candice Michelle shared a story of how a legendary women's champion initially thought her career was over due to an injury. The legend in question, Beth Phoenix, was worried about her future back in the mid-2000s after she suffered a broken jaw.
In an appearance on the Cafe de Rene podcast, Michelle was asked about her favorite wrestler to work with during her time with WWE. She described Phoenix as easy to work with and felt they had great chemistry. They began working together at a time when The Glamazon had just recovered from an injury.
"Beth Phoenix was my favorite partner to work with. She was just coming back from her jaw being broken and kind of thought that her career was over. For me, I think what I'm best at is putting other people over. I feel like I'm still good at that in my life nowadays where most people want to go out there and put themselves over. I know that I get over if I put my opponent over and she got that concept. Just our dynamic, her being the Glamazon and me being this like up-and-coming model like our chemistry was so great. I was willing to sell the sh*t out of anything that she did and put her over which put me over," Michelle said. [3:58 - 4:48]
Candice Michelle was alluding to the time Beth Phoenix suffered a serious jaw injury in 2006 that took more than a year to fully recover from. Phoenix underwent multiple surgeries to fix the injury and became one of the greatest women's wrestlers of her generation.
Beth Phoenix recalled her jaw injury in an episode of 'WWE Icons'
In an episode of WWE Icons back in 2021, Beth Phoenix opened up about the horror she felt when doctors examined her broken jaw. Phoenix thought that her career was over because of the severity of the injury.
"They said your jaw is shattered, dislocated, displaced. One mandible's up, one's down. You have to have full plastic surgery to put everything back. You have to have steel plates in your face and screws, and it was a lot to take in. I just cried. I didn't know what else to do. I just processed everything. I was like, 'I just had a singles match on Monday Night Raw, and it's over,'" Phoenix said. (H/T SEScoops)
Phoenix had to spend some time in OVW after recovering from the injury because WWE had nothing for her on the main roster. She returned around mid-2007 and became a powerhouse name, winning three Divas Championships and three Women's Championships.