In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Beth Phoenix opened up about a significant moment in her WWE career: reliving the brutal Con-Chair-To given to her by Rhea Ripley during the I Quit match at Extreme Rules 2022. The former WWE Hall of Famer addressed the evolution of women’s wrestling since then during an interview with “Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
At one time, when she was still active, Phoenix did not think that women could have violent or high-stake matches. But by 2022, female superstars like Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley had already competed in such brutal contests as Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber where the use of foreign objects became more normal.
This all came to head when Ripley used an iconic Con-Chair-To move on Phoenix during her match against Edge and Finn Balor, marking a major point In their feud for The Judgement Day. Looking back on it now, there was hesitation around this move because it had never been done before to any woman wrestler.
Unprecedented Female Violence
According to Phoenix, “they’d never done that before to a female.” She quoted everyone who said thusly; “So we were like ‘Are they going to let us do this?’When you see how gruesome that is especially seeing another woman doing something so violent on another woman”. That’s why all those last acts looked so Shakespearian in all its sensibilities… Just absolutely masterfully done because everyone played their part perfectly.”
She experienced some minor issues with the handcuffing process while wrestling but stated that overall, it was great fun. Following the fight, she recalled backstage scenes very well. “It was chaotic but ultimately pure joy,” Phoenix noted.“I just remember coming back and we were all just kind of basking in the reactions from the crowd. We told our story exactly how we wanted it told and it was just beautiful- as that could have gone and it was really enjoyable.”
Phoenix’s insight is an example of how far women’s wrestling has progressed, revealing the greater intensity and complexity of narratives that characterize WWE’s current women’s division.