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Elmira native Beth Phoenix: Glamazon becomes Glamamom

Posted: Jan 19th 2015 By: Joe Mink - StarGazette.com

When Elizabeth Kocianski left Elmira as a Notre Dame High graduate to attend Canisius College in Buffalo, little did she or anyone else know that she'd become one of the biggest stars in women's professional wrestling.

Working under the name Beth Phoenix, she became a familiar face on television with four runs with the World Wrestling Entertainment title, three as women's champion and one as Diva's champion after the women's belt was retired. Phoenix revolutionized the business with power moves that even many of the men couldn't pull off, picking up the nickname Glamazon for her combination of strength and beauty.

A little more than two years ago, at the height of her career, Phoenix gave up the life of a celebrity to spend more time with her family, again becoming Elizabeth Kocianski.

Last year she and her partner, Adam Copeland, had their first child, a daughter named Lyric. Copeland was also a WWE champion known as Edge, and he's now in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Kocianski, 34, remains a major figure on social media. She has 692,000 followers on her Twitter account of @TheBethPhoenix.

MMA champion Jon "Bones" Jones (@Jonny Bones) has 1 million followers. His football playing brothers, New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones (@Chan95Jones) and Indianapolis Colts defensive end Arthur Jones (@Artj97), have 203,000 and 69,000, respectively.

Question: By what name were you called growing up?

Answer: Most people called me Liz or Elizabeth. It was Beth in college. I prefer Beth. My legal name is Elizabeth Kocianski.

Q: What sports did you compete in during your high school and college years?

A: In high school I ran track, played tennis and wrestled on the boys team, though that was just in 1998. I played tennis at Canisius and got into freestyle wrestling with USA Wrestling. There were not a lot of girls built like me in my weight class. Most were very young. After awhile I saw it would not get me to where I wanted to go, athletically. I would have had to go to school in the Midwest, where women's wrestling had already built up steam. I caught a few eyes, some coaches mentioned to me that they were just introducing wrestling for females at the Olympics and if I dedicated myself to it I could do well. But my heart was in pro wrestling.

Q: Did you watch much pro wrestling as a kid?

A: My grandparents were huge wrestling fans. They were from Poland and didn't speak the language very well. Pro wrestling was communication without language, a simple tale of good and evil. You could understand the characters. There was a Polish wrestler (Ivan Putski) they really liked. For me it never stopped.

Q: In your career you also wrestled men. Did you have a preference on who you worked with?

A: I was very blessed. I could wrestle men or women. I was the powerhouse among the girls, so I could blend in and mix it up with the guys. I had no preference as long as there was a good story to tell, female or male, and that the crowd was entertained.

Q: The women on today's WWE roster are much thinner than the women working 15 to 20 years ago, like Madusa Miceli, Sherri Martel and Wendi Richter. Do you feel like you might have been better served if you could have worked with them?

A: People have said that to me. I've been in contact with Madusa, and she said the same thing. I loved Sherri. I loved the girls who could mix it up. I think I am more of a vintage era performer. I would have loved that opportunity, but I made the best of the opportunity in the time I was there. But yes, it would have been awesome to mix it up with (Fabulous) Moolah and the other girls.

Q: Is the money for women wrestlers close to the men?

A: I don't discuss money, but I will say I made more money than at other things I could qualify for. The key for me is the respect of your peers. I was able to be influential and create a mold. There was no one else who was shaped like me or looked like me. I don't compare myself to the men.

Q: Did you ever have any real feuds with any co-workers?

A: You don't get along with everybody, but you have to be able to work with everybody. Respect is important, and if you don't have it you won't be on the professional level very long. The ring is not the place to take care of disrespect. It's supposed to be a safe haven where we protect each other. You can disagree with someone and still do business as a professional. I've had some differences of opinion with some, and there were some people I liked more than others.

Q: Before your matches you would be introduced as being from Buffalo, not Elmira. How did that come to be?

A: It's just how it worked out. The WWE ran TV tapings out of Buffalo, where I had attended college and lived for six years. There were no TV tapings in Elmira. Coach USA Center (now First Arena) was just a couple years old. It was preferred that wrestlers be announced from TV towns. Before WWE came to Elmira, the closest shows were in Binghamton. I've always told the story of where I got my start. I love Buffalo, and Elmira is one of my favorite places on earth. I love going to Light's bakery,Wegmans.

Q: Your signature move was the Glam Slam (where Phoenix would get behind her opponent, lock arms, lift the opponent high into the air and then slam her face-first into the canvas). Who came up with it? Did the move ever go wrong?

A: It was a couple of moves melded together. I'd hold my opponent up and then drop with an impact. I thought this was something I could hit time and time again. It was catchy. If you believed it would knock someone out, then I did my job. One time my opponent (Michelle McCool), in an effort to make the move look great, ended up squeezing my arms too tightly as I held her up in the air. What I do is release the arm and let my opponent take a free fall. She held on so tight that I couldn't pull my arms out as we descended for the impact. She couldn't cushion her fall with her arms. It was a total accident, both of us wanting very much for the match to go well. But it happens both ways. There are times you just get bumped and bruised. I've had my share as well.

Q: What kind of injuries did you suffer in your career?

A: You do your best to minimize injuries. I've seen a ring rope snap, when there's been something wrong with the ring, like when a tear in the canvas would result in a bad fall. I worked in an outdoor arena where it was pouring rain, and we were slipping all over the place. You can't control all that happens. I broke my jaw, still have two titanium plates and nine screws in there. I've had ACL surgery, a concussion, black eyes, a herniated disk, sprained ankles and muscles. I broke my hand once. The WWE has strict policies on injuries. The injuries were terrible, but we signed on for them.

Q: You were in a handicap match televised in Buffalo where you lifted two wrestlers (McCool and Layla) onto your shoulders at the same time. Then your knee appeared to give out. What happened?

A: I tore my ACL a few weeks before that match. Dr. (James) Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., handled my ACL, and it was a fast healing process because he's the best doctor in the world. I wanted to compete in Buffalo. It was a special to me. I taped up my knee to make it as sturdy as possible, but at one point it became too much. I lost the title that night because I couldn't make it through the injury.

Q: Why did you get out of pro wrestling?

A: I left wrestling to spend more time at home with family. I didn't get to see my parents and brother while I was working, just quick visits living out of a suitcase. It was time to go home.

Q: Do you think you might ever return to wrestling?

A: Never say never. I'm very happy what I'm doing. But I'm still in fighting shape.

Q: Where do you live now?

A: We have two homes, one in North Carolina and one in Syracuse. It depends on the season. We have friends (in Syracuse), and it's close to family in Elmira.

Q: Do you come back to Elmira very much?

A: I pop back often. My brother (Erik) lives there. I hit my favorite spots. I worked at Light's bakery, worked there all through school. When I'm home I'll get a half moon. I'll go by the downtown market. I like seeing how things have changed, and even more so what hasn't changed.

Q: How did you meet Adam?

A: We knew each other, met through the WWE. But we didn't date when we were there.

Q: How did you come to name your daughter Lyric?

A: Myself and my partner, we have a mutual love of music. It popped into our heads. We didn't name her until we saw her. It's unique.

Q: You were known as the Glamazon. I understand Adam now calls you something different.

A: He calls me Glamamom. I really appreciate it. I'm really proud of being a mother. It's the biggest accomplishment in my life.

On Twitter: @SGJoeMink

Beth Phoenix

Birthdate: Nov. 24, 1980

Hometown: Elmira

Real name: Elizabeth Kocianski

High school: Elmira Notre Dame

College: Canisius College