WWE legend Stacy Keibler sobbed after learning she will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
During the early 2000s, the blonde bombshell, 43, was a major fan favourite.
And she will now have a permanent place in WWE history when she is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before this weekend’s WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.
When Keibler received the call from a WWE employee earlier in March, she became distraught.
The Maryland beauty sat in her kitchen, taking in the surprising news.
“I never thought I’d be in the Hall of Fame, to be honest,” an emotional Keibler told People.
“I was completely shocked when I got the call. I had tears in my eyes.
“When she told me, I screamed, and tears were in my eyes, and I was completely overwhelmed with just gratefulness.
“The fans are the ones that made it possible. I owe so much to them for getting me to this point in my career.
“My husband’s coming, my husband’s family’s coming, my family, my kids.
“We have friends coming from LA, from Austin. So it’s really exciting because a lot of these people didn’t get to see me in action.
“I get tears in my eyes every time. How am I going to keep it together? I got to keep it together.”
Keibler began her career as a model and dancer before joining the Baltimore Ravens as a cheerleader at the age of 18 and winning the 1999 Nitro Girl Search competition.
That gave her the opportunity she needed to pursue a career in wrestling, and she was retained when World Championship Wrestling was purchased by WWE in 2001, starting on television at SmackDown and later becoming Vince McMahon’s on-screen mistress.
Babe of the Year in 2004 Keibler departed WWE in 2006, as both a hero and a villain throughout her many feuds, but has made several guest appearances since then.
She has done modeling, dancing, and acting in addition to wrestling.
Keibler was in a two-year relationship with George Clooney before marrying Jared Pobre.
The pair married in Mexico in 2014, and they have two girls and a boy together.
“I’ve entered another chapter of being a mum,” Keibler continued, “and anyone with three kids knows that’s a juggling act, and it’s my full-time job.”
“So I have taken a step back to focus on putting my heart and soul into that.
“Now because I’ve been a performer since the age of seven, of course, it’s also in my heart, but it’s just something that I’ve kind of taken a backseat to that, focusing on something else.”
WWE also stated that Rey Mysterio, The Great Muta, and late comedian Andy Kaufman would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.
