Her Majesty Stacy Keibler Makes Her Triumphant Return to Twitter Amid Reports She's Getting Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
The above is the first Tweet that legendary WWE Diva Stacy Keibler has posted since March 25, 2017. So almost exactly six years to the day by normal human time. But an eternity by spectacularly attractive celebrity standards. Almost enough time to make a generation raised in a world of instant gratification and an overload of constant stimulation forget who she is.
I said almost. It's obvious from the post what she's been doing with the intervening years and why she chose to go off the grid. And good for her choosing to pursue the greatest adventure of all, raising a family. But there should be no forgetting this radiant woman and the indelible mark she left on the culture.
If you are old enough to remember Keibler at the height of her powers, no explanation is necessary. If you're not, none will suffice. In an age of magazines like Maxim and FHM, cable TV and Barstool still in its infancy, this former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader:
... was America's It Girl. And long after she last stepped out of the ring in 2006, maintained enough of her star power to climb to the summit of all female celebrities of the era: Dating George Clooney.
It doesn't seem like all that long ago that she was dominating the squared circle for Vince McMahon. Until you look at the videos and find they're all in the analog 4:3 aspect ratio:
Same with her appearances on non-wrestling events, like her star turn on Season 2 of Dancing With the Stars, that earned her the nickname "Weapon of Mass Seduction" from judge Bruno Tonioli:
Unless otherwise edited. Like this one of her table dancing to earn the job of Mr. McMahon's assistant, that became a meme long before memes became our primary language:
But enough of talking about the past. Keibler is back on Twitter just as we're getting reports about her immediate future:
PW Insider - [T]here will be five WWE Hall of Fame members total for the 2023 Class.
Officially Announced so far are Rey Mysterio, Andy Kaufman and The Great Muta. …
This year's women's inductee … is Stacy Keibler. Keibler, 43, first entered professional wrestling after a boyfriend suggested she enter a contest World Championship Wrestling was running to add a new member of the Nitro Girls dance troupe. … She was brought into the WWF in 2001 as part of the WCW contingent that invaded WWF. … [S]he performed as Mr. McMahon's assistant, before being linked to the late Andrew "Test" Martin and Scott Steiner as their manager, performed as "Super Stacy" with The Hurricane and the late Matt "Rosey" Anoa'i and more, remaining with the company until her run on ABC's Dancing with the Stars led to far more mainstream opportunities. On that season of Dancing, Keibler placed third for the season, but was an absolute favorite for viewers. She parlayed the run into a recurring role on ABC comedy What About Brian? several appearances on NBC's Chuck and CBS's How I met Your Mother, including a great scene where she got to slap Neil Patrick Harris' character Barney, a hosting gig for Lifetime's Supermarket Superstar and many other appearances. Keibler last appeared on a WWE broadcast in 2019, where she inducted Torrie Wilson into the WWE Hall of Fame.
With a resume like that, it's fair to ask why it's taken the Hall so long to induct her. I mean, if you drew up a short list of wrestling stars with the crossover appeal to break into the mainstream, Stacy's mighty name would belong right up there alongside Dwayne Johnson and 2019 inductee Dave Bautista. But it's fair to say she's been busy with more noble pursuits than letting people celebrate her accomplishments. Until now. And it's not well deserved, it's long overdue. Welcome to HoF immortality, Stacy Keibler. And welcome back to the internet. You've been missed.
Our once and former Queen. It's been our loss.