WWE Diva Rewind: Beth Phoenix Tuesday, 20 July 2010 13:09 Written by Jen Preston

Whether she's wrestling men or women, Beth Phoenix is no doubt one of the most dominating Divas in the WWE today.

Phoenix, born Elizabeth Carolan, was raised in Elmira, New York and grew up both an athlete and a huge pro wrestling fan. She played tennis, ran track and wrestled on her high school varsity team. Upon high school graduation, Phoenix began classes at Canisius College and began training with local wrestlers.

After her debut match against former WWE Diva Mickie James, then wrestling under the name Alexis Laree, Phoenix began wrestling for several independent promotions in the Northeast, and joined GLORY Wrestling in 2002, and became the promotions' first champion.

In 2004, Phoenix began wrestling for the WWE's then developmental territory, OVW. During her Louisville tenure, Phoenix valeted for former Superstar Chris Masters and current developmental star Idol Stevens, and wrestling former and current Divas Serena Deeb, Katie Lea, Shelly Martinez and former TNA Knockout ODB.

Phoenix made her Monday Night RAW debut in May 2006, jumping into a feud with long time rival Mickie James. However, during a match with Victoria she suffered a broken jawbone and vanished from TV for a year.

In the summer of 2007, Phoenix returned as a heel and, at SummerSlam, became the number one contender to Candice Michelle's Women's title. She would go on to win the championship that October at No Mercy.

It was once again The Glamazon versus Mickie James, this time for the Women's Championship. Phoenix held the title for seven months, consistently fighting off her long time foe until April 2008, when in London James was able to win the belt for the fourth time.

After losing the title, Phoenix began a feud with former tag partner Melina, and the two faced off in the first ever Divas “I Quit” match in which Phoenix won.

Phoenix would regain the title in August 2008 at SummerSlam, after she and tag team partner Santino Marella, whom she'd been kayfabe dating since July

Phoenix would move on from her feud with Melina to pair with Santino Marella, and the two began feuding with James and Kofi Kingston. The teams would come to a head at SummerSlam where James' Women's title and Kingston's Intercontinental championship were on the line, which Glamarella won. She lost the title to Melina at the Royal Rumble in January 2009.

After a long absence from TV, Phoenix returned and set her sights on the new Divas Championship, and was moved to SmackDown. At the 2010 Royal Rumble, she became only the second woman in WWE history to compete in the 30-man match. She was the sixth entrant was the fifth eliminated, thrown over the top rope by CM Punk.

Phoenix won her third Women's title against Michelle McCool at Extreme Rules, but in a match against Rosa Mendes, she tore her ACL. On the following episode of SmackDown, Phoenix dropped the title to Layla.

Recovering from ACL surgery, Phoenix is reportedly two months away from returning to the ring.

You can follow Beth Phoenix on Twitter here. Thanks to SLAM! Sports, Lethal Wow, Online World of Wrestling, WWE.com, 411mania.com, for the information used in this piece.