Beth Phoenix Shares The Conversation She Had With Vince McMahon Upon Deciding To Leave WWE In 2012

Beth Phoenix says Vince McMahon thanked her for her contributions to WWE.

During the era of Divas, Beth Phoenix stood out as “The Glamazon.” Initially making her main roster debut in 2006 before an injury prevented that run from coming to fruition, Beth would return to WWE and set out on a journey that would land her in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.

Beth Phoenix was recently the subject of a WWE Icons special, where she discussed her journey into the industry and how being a wrestler with something she wanted to be when she was a little girl. 

When it came time for her to leave WWE in 2012, Beth had a heart-to-heart conversation with Vince McMahon where he thanked her for her contributions. Beth describes this conversation during the WWE Network special.

“My contract was expiring in October and they’re like, ‘We’d like to re-sign you. We want to talk about this.’ I lost both my Grandparents and my one uncle whom I was very, very, very close with. I lost all three of them within a timeframe of a year and I was just feeling the call to go home. I was feeling frustrated with the women. I didn’t feel like there was going to be any change. 

“So I had to take a deep breath and I was walking in to tell Vince that I have to go home and leave a dream that I have chased since I was a little girl and close the book. It was maybe one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. It hurt. It hurt terribly, and he said, ‘I understand.’ He gave me a huge hug and he said, ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,’ and I walked out the door.”

Beth Phoenix has since returned for sporadic appearances in the ring including several Royal Rumble matches and WrestleMania 35, when she teamed with Natalya in the first-ever WrestleMania match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

Her full-time WWE position sees her as a commentator in NXT.

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