Stacy Keibler had an outstanding run in the wrestling business despite leaving faster than most. The strengths of Stacy in the wrestling business helped her journey into Hollywood, but her legacy was always strongest for her time in WWE and WCW. Both promotions made Keibler an asset when pushing her in noteworthy roles.
WCW was the place to discover Stacy when signing her to a contract and realizing she had something special. It was a no-brainer for WWE to pick up Keibler’s contract when they made the move to buy WCW. Both chapters of her career were highly successful, but everyone picks one over the other depending on their taste. Find out if you preferred Stacy’s time in WCW or WWE when looking back at her wrestling career.
10 WCW: Winning Nitro Girls Contest
The start of Stacy Keibler’s wrestling career came when she defeated hundreds of other women in a WCW contest. Keibler won the prize of a WCW contract and a spot on the Nitro Girls dance team to start things off.
WCW realized that Stacy was clearly more popular than the other contestants during the short segments hyping the contest. Keibler ensured that she would have the chance to breakout on her own even though she joined as part of a dance team.
9 WWE: Importance During The Alliance Vs WWE Feud
Stacy Keibler was one of the first WCW talents to make an appearance in WWE ahead of the Invasion storyline. Shane McMahon brought Stacy to the ringside area where she danced to cost Rhyno his match.
The actual angle starting would see Stacy getting over with WWE fans when teaming up with Torrie Wilson to feud with Trish Stratus and Lita. Keibler was one of the handful of WCW stars to become a success story in WWE in the aftermath of this often-criticized storyline.
8 WCW: Instant Success Of Miss Hancock Character
The timing of Stacy Keibler joining WCW came when the company was struggling, but there was the positive of the female performers having bigger roles. Keibler’s time in the Nitro Girls ended after a few months when she moved into the Miss Hancock character.
The popularity for Miss Hancock grew instantly as she made her way to the ringside area during matches. Fans cared more about her actions and presence than anything in the ring to make the character a success.
7 WWE: Managing The Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boyz eventually paired up with Stacy Keibler when they were all members of The Alliance together. Keibler started wearing the camo shorts and glasses to match with Bubba Ray and D-Von as heels.
The main feud would see Stacy at the Dudley Boyz side when Lita was ringside for Matt and Jeff Hardy in their tag matches. Keibler helped the heel duo get more interest from the fans at a time when many teams would have jumped the shark a few years into their WWE run.
6 WCW: Love Triangle With David Flair & Daffney
Stacy Keibler started to get more television time and experience on the microphone during a love triangle storyline. David Flair seemed to find an ideal character playing the psychotic face character dating Daffney and teaming with Crowbar.
The big swerve came when Stacy revealed she was with David who indeed left Daffney for her. Many of the segments were cringeworthy, but Keibler was clearly the top star involved in the angle. WCW elevated Stacy in a bigger role to help her name value.
5 WWE: Love Triangle With Scott Steiner & Test
Another love triangle storyline to feature Stacy Keibler came in WWE with Scott Steiner and Test. Keibler helped Test get over for a short time as a face during their romantic pairing, but he eventually turned heel as a toxic boyfriend.
Steiner was the face to help Stacy against Test with those two becoming an item cheered by the fans. Keibler carried the storyline until the rather weak ending of Steiner and Test becoming a heel team together ended it.
4 WCW: Ratings Draw
Stacy Keibler proved that women could draw during the final few years of WCW. The company struggled immensely to build any momentum as every metric showed them trending downward while also bleeding money.
Death of WCW was regarded as the top book providing a historical view at the company and it confirmed that Keibler was a draw. Numbers went up for Stacy at a time when WCW needed any help it could get.
3 WWE: Storyline With Vince McMahon
Any WWE talent entering a storyline with Vince McMahon is likely receiving a lot of television time and a bigger push. Stacy Keibler broke away from managing for a short time when winning the job of McMahon’s assistant on WWE television.
The various segments flirting with Vince saw Stacy getting into hot water with Stephanie McMahon. Keibler also would be responsible for wrestlers like Randy Orton feeling Vince’s wrath when she wanted to assert her own power.
2 WCW: Succeeded Against Odds
WCW could not make fans believe most of their wrestlers were stars by 2000 when things were falling apart during the final year. Stacy Keibler should have been able to get over as a new character with no experience in wrestling given the nature of the company at the time.
The fans connected with her because of her look and her charisma. Keibler had the entertainer dynamic that allowed her to develop a following even though veteran wrestlers couldn’t even get a crowd reaction from the smaller audience.
1 WWE: Top Face On Raw Brand
The heel turn of Trish Stratus in 2004 was a shocking move by WWE since she was the top female face for years. Stacy Keibler’s success played a huge role in WWE allowing Stratus to shift her character and dominate from the heel side.
The change to Trish made Stacy the new top face from the Raw women’s division for a short run. Keibler never wrestled matches like Stratus, Lita or Jazz, but she had the promo and backstage segments that got the audience just as interested in the show. Any woman being the face of a division deserves credit like Stacy did in 2004-2005.