On this day in history:
October 7th, 2007 | Women’s Champion Candice Michelle managed to best Beth Phoenix at 2007′s Unforgiven, but by the time No Mercy came around, the Glamazon was ready. Though Candice put up a tough fight, she just couldn’t match the drive of her challenger. The Glam Slam had yet to be added to Beth’s repertoire, so a Fisherman’s Suplex was the move she chose to put Candice down for the count. It worked, and a 3-count later, Beth was crowned the new Women’s Champion. Thus began the first of several WWE title reigns for the Glamazon.
What are your memories of this moment? Tell us in the comments!
44 Comments
at 3:45 pm
Ah, the good old day when Beth was the prominent figure of the division.
perceval Reply:
October 7th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
The good old days when the Division, itself, was still prominent.
at 4:00 pm
i loved what was going on between these two candice was turning into something really good and the crowd was behind her
at 4:09 pm
Beth had a lot of good matches in her wwe career. I will miss her
at 4:26 pm
good old days were Beth wasn´t the joke she currently is…
at 5:08 pm
The good old days period. When matches and storylines took place and didn’t end with a roll-up.
at 5:14 pm
Fail: Candice Michelle wasn’t Divas champion, she was Women’s champion! xD
perceval Reply:
October 7th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Ha! I didn’t notice that until you pointed it out. Big Oops on the site’s part. :)
lucky1now Reply:
October 7th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
I noticed that too I just took it as they thought of her champion of the divas
at 5:24 pm
I really enjoyed this match. I also liked the post match interview. Beth sounded insane.
While she was far from my favourite, Candice was improving with every match. I wonder how far she would gone if she hadn’t been injured.
at 5:34 pm
I miss Candice Michelle, I thought she was quite talented and one of the few women who never had a bad title match.
at 5:43 pm
This match was seriously a defining moment in Women’s Championship history. It saw the beginning to a new dominate figure (Beth) and sadly enough, the end/peak of another (Candice) …I loved Candice for improving as much as she did, and I was heartbroken along with many others when she got injured, because that was the beginning of the end for her career. She could have been a great Trish 2.0, and honestly, I think that’s what WWE was going for with her because we all knew she could play a good bad girl, but she was a great face too because she had the underdog story going on.
at 6:26 pm
It must have been such a huge honor for Beth to win the Women’s Championship that night. The same title Trish, Lita, Jazz, Molly, Victoria, Ivory, Jacqueline – all the greats have held in the past. A lot of history in that title.
The Diva’s Championship is a joke and it’s so ugly.
perceval Reply:
October 7th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
To be fair, though, is the butterfly belt really any worse than the spinner belt? :)
The only person I thought the butterfly belt looked right on was Natalya, since it matched her pink & black ring gear and the pink streak in her hair. It looked like a custom belt on her, like Austin’s smoking skull.
Beth would be the last woman to KEEP the Women’s Championship belt. It’s in her house, now. It’s an elite list of women who kept the belt: The Fabulous Moolah, Alundra Blayze, Ivory, Trish Stratus, Lita, Mickie James, Melina, & Beth Phoenix.
Eve will be the first to keep the butterfly belt.
WWFoverWWE Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 2:13 am
Actually Michelle Mccool is the first woman to keep the divas championship and take it home with her. That’s why WWE had to create copies of the divas title because they gave the original to Michelle since she was the inaugural champ.
hado Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 5:49 am
Why would Beth be the last woman to keep the Women’s title. Layla was the last Women’s Champion..
WWFoverWWE Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 7:03 am
Layla was the last champion, but that’s more of a fun fact. WWE hasn’t made it a big deal like Trish being a 7-time champ, nor have they ever mentioned that she is in-fact the last womens champion.
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Ivory said the rule there is, when you win a Championship the third time, you own the belt and they commission a new one. That’s why Madusa had, and still has, her Women’s Championship belt. So, the current butterfly belt is actually Eve’s property.
They went through several of the classic red & god belts. The one that Chyna held aloft at Wrestlemania 17 went home with Ivory. The won Trish held up in her final match is the one Lita takes with her to personal appearances.
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Oh, and to add (Too bad we don’t have an edit function), TNA doesn’t have that policy, which is why the Knockouts Championship belt looks so beat up in close-ups, scratched, chipped in spots, etc; while the red and gold belt always looked so nice and shiny.
at 7:54 pm
Beth is awesome no doubt and she was stiff as fuck when she debut against poor awesome sexy Candice Michelle who by the way had a fire like no other woman! I miss Candice she was so much fun and she truly lived us the male audience and the rest of the fans!! :)
Beth ur awesome too
perceval Reply:
October 7th, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Candice was stiff, too. The entire Women’s Division was from late 2001-07, because of Finlay. They worked the stiff, snug, British style he and Regal used, what Regal described as “I’ll hit you very hard in very safe places.”
I have to say that I liked it more than the soft style currently used (Even the guys don’t hit as hard, now, as the women did, then). The matches looked much more believable.
Ryan Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 3:34 am
Ya Candice was stiff too so were everyone else haha loved it. But here Beth was incredibly brutal o Candice. After Candice Beth watered down and began to take it more easy on the girls
MikeChrisH Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 5:01 am
I noticed after this feud, everything started becoming very light. Probably because of her injury.
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
I’d guess that was more the softer approach adopted by the company as a whole over the course of transforming post-Benoit to the current era. It’s not like they softened things up when a major Diva was put on the shelf with injuries, before. Lita tore her knee up doing Trish’s Air Canada, but Trish kept doing that move for the rest of her career. They didn’t make them lighten the moves after Trish & Beth were put on the shelf for extended periods, so I can’t see them doing it over Candice.
As someone pointed out a while back, even the modern Hell in a Cell matches are softer than what Trish & Victoria used to do to each other, all the time.
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Oh, and (Again, wish we could edit our replies) poor Candice ALWAYS got it rough. Trish almost broke her jaw in 2005, Victoria DID break Candice’s nose in 2006, but she kept coming back for more.
at 8:32 pm
This Is The Beth I Wish WWE Would’ve Kept Beautiful And Unstoppable. It Used To Be Hard To Beat Her But Now………
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
That’s how it was with Victoria during the Golden Era. But then, Beth’s role was the dominant monster foil for Mickie, the same role Victoria had for Trish, and Bull had for Alundra. It seems it’s not good for the person in that role when the babyface they were playing foil to leaves.
at 10:01 pm
Good match. I miss Candace. I don’t remember Beth wearing that style of attire
at 10:44 pm
I remember ordering this PPV when I was 9 years old! Haha, time goes by fast.
WWFoverWWE Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 2:09 am
I remember ordering it too. I invited my two friends (who are brothers) from school and we watched it. They thought candice would win but I knew Beth would win since she lost to the Candice last time.
at 2:07 am
Things came crashing down for Candice after this title loss. Her career went straight to hell :(
at 2:19 am
While still enjoyable, this is probably my least favourite Candice/Beth match. Their 2/3 falls match a few weeks after this was probably my favourite (despite the sad ending).
I also loved their match at No Mercy 2008 after Candice’s return. I wish WWE had gotten behind her when she returned; she was still good in the ring (I think she unfairly gets written off because of her return match botches) and she shone at Survivor Series and on house shows. I was looking forward to her on Smackdown…what could have been!
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
She was never 100% after he return. Remember, she was on the shelf, again, pretty quickly after that.
Part of it was being the first Diva Search contestant to win the Championship. That and Playboy were stigmas that kept a lot of fans from taking her seriously as a wrestler and Champion. This was 2007, when Diva Search and the Playboy pushes were still fresh controversies. A lot of folks took Candice’s title run as the company screwing over Mickie & Melina for not posing for Playboy.
Candice was paying the price for Christy’s and Ashley’s bad performances at Wrestlemania, pretty much.
Ryan Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
Candice vs mccool would and could of been amazing!!
at 5:00 am
Last real interesting feud we had tbh. Fans eventually got into it, WWE was actually into it, and Candice was really becoming a legit champion. These two were getting amazing reviews for their houseshow matches at the time as well and some even said they were having the match of the night.
Candice was the ideal face IMO. She was improving every week and was exciting to watch as she was unpredictable and WWE was actually behind her.
They tried to do it with Eve and Kelly but it lacked and fell flat and there was really nothing to get behind. Eve is too boring and Kelly just wasn’t improving in the ring that well (she was at first).
Still wish she beat Beth for the title in 08 to have a pay off for their feud. She was starting to get over again and her ring work was improving again. Her short hair look was “meh” but that could have been easily fixed.
at 11:10 am
Probably one of the most improved wrestlers IMO. Candice was going to be the next big face in the division but the injury totally ruined that
at 3:11 pm
im still not sure what candice was supposed to do in the top rope when she got injured. i think what wld have happened was she was supposed to land on the turnbuckle after beth pulled the ropes. beth would go for a superplx with candice fighting her off and doing a crossbody or maybe a litacanrana move with a pin to even the score. i didnt like candice at first and although she was a botchfest…she was a fantastic and ever improving one. i loved watching her grow as a competitor the same way we saw trish grow.
perceval Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 6:44 pm
And Gail. Remember, Gail was the Queen of Botchfests, at first. Then, Molly took her under her wing and she developed into the Gail Kim we know and love.
The K@rmic HeeL Reply:
October 9th, 2012 at 5:51 am
Yes I do, although if we’re being fair, Gail wasn’t as sloppy. It was normally her high flying attempts that kind of led to her downfall during her debut push. Honestly though, I was selfishly happy that her high flyer self died down because that spot was for Lita in my loyal eyes. I guess it was all for nothing though since Lita toned it down quite abit after she returned.
Candice Michelle was doing so great, ill always have a soft spot for her. She changed my mind that not all DSearch rejects(or winners) were a waste. She was likeable and had the passion and desire. Hopefully one day, she makes an appearance.
at 3:53 pm
Oh Candice!
I loved how she went from Go Daddy girl to legit contender. I honestly didn’t think she could do it but she did and she did it well. It’s a shame that her injuries got the best of her because I think she could have gone so much farther. But it all worked out for the best, as Candice has her AkiAnne and her second daughter on the way.
at 7:31 pm
I miss Candice Michelle. I thought her matches were really good back then. I especially liked her match against Melina at GAB. It’s too bad she got injured a lot… as for Beth, I liked her a lot when she was with Santino, and I thought she had a terrific match with Natalya on Smackdown. I hope she’ll come back one day and have another match with her at WrestleMania.
at 11:15 pm
I really miss Candice! she had a lot of fire and heart and definitely wanted to learn and grow as a wrestler.. so upset about her injury :( it really set her career back. Wish she was used more after her feud with Beth ended… or at least WWE could have made the feud longer.
When Candice got moved to Smackdown I wanted her to feud with McCool. Candice vs McCool would have been a great match!!
at 7:18 pm
If you combine Beth Phoenix’s title reigns, she is third on the all-time list of most days as champion. Her 3 reigns as Womens Champion total 367 days. Her 1 reign as Divas Champion totals 204 days. Combined, Beth Phoenix’s 4 title reigns equal 571 days.
Fabulous Moolah was champion for 10,708 days in 4 different title reigns. Trish Stratus had 7 title reigns for a total of 828 days. Beth Phoenix is now third on the list having 4 reigns of 571 total days.
at 5:33 pm
yes total shame she isn’t used as much. I can see her fighting Eve at hell in a cell and loss and gets fired for attacking Kaitlyn or a loser leaves wwe