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Ross from Ringside By: Jim Ross There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that Stacy Keibler has been a huge boost to the career of Test. The big Canadian athlete has seemingly been close before in reaching the next level, and now with Stacy at his side it seems that the next level is the next stop for the marketing-friendly pair. Stacy Keibler's Treck From Student to Superstar: Fate Can Be Great--Just Like That As life-altering events go, it's tough to top Stacy Keibler's story. Late in 1999, the Towson University student and Baltimore Ravens cheerleader saw a commercial for a contest to become WCW's next Nitro Girl. The lifelong dancer and aspiring actress had been a sports-entertainment fan for several years, but it wasn't as if becoming a Nitro Girl was the end-all, be-all aspiration of her life. "The commercial said, 'Win $10,000 and a chance to be the next Nitro Girl,'" she remembers. "What I got out of it was, 'Wow, $10,000!' Being a college student, that was a lot of money. It was basically a dance contest and I had been dacning since I was 3, so why not? It's been literally non-stop ever since." To say that audition has had legs--pardon the pun--is an understatement. Keibler won the contest, and was offered contract by WCW a day later. Within a week, she was dancing on Nitro under the name Skye. Three years later, without so much as a chance to catch her breath, Stacy Keibler is the proud owner of arguable the most famous set of legs in the world and a full-fledged sports-entertainment star. Stacy, a Baltimore native who at 18 was the youngest member of the Ravens cheerleading team, is still staggered by her good fortune and sudden fame. But to her it's just another example of things happening for a reason. The contest, WCW's decision to move her from the Nitro Girls into a full-time role as Miss Hancock, WCW's purchase by WWE in 2001, and the roads not traveled in her life--all seem like somebody has a plan for Stacy. "When I was getting out of high school, I really thought about moving to New York City and getting into modeling," she says. "Right when I was fiddling around that that idea, I tried out for the Ravens and got that. From the Ravens I had the Nitro Girl tryout. So I look at it as proof that I wasn't meant to move to New York. In some strange way, this is what I was meant to be doing right now." Her WWE run has been similarly charmed. Introduced by Shane McMahon as part of the WCW invasion, Stacy has teamed with fellow WCW alum Torrie Wilson against WWE Divas Lita and Trish Stratus, only to turn against Torrie a short time later. She has been the valet for the Dudley Boyz and Mr. McMahon's personal assistant, and has recently given Test a greater appreciation for his "Testicles." "From day one, I've had great storylines," she says. "I've never felt for one second like I was going backwards. What I'm doing in the ring right now with Test is exactly what I like to do. I couldn't be happier." While Stacy's sudden thrust into the spotlight might be more than many young women could handle, she's completely taken it in her lengthy stride. "We were just in New York, and there were fans waiting outside the hotel for autographs," she says. "I was with some friends from way back, and they hadn't been exposed to that. There were saying, 'What is going on here? This is just Stacy!' But I love the fact that my friends and family tell me I haven't changed one bit, and that I'm still the same person. Even friends I hadn't seen since grade school tell me, 'You haven't changed a bit.'" That might be because this is the life she's always wanted. Long before she ever thought about sports-entertainment, Stacy knew she would become and entertainer. She began dancing at the age of 3, and she's had a Screen Actors Guild membership card since she was 5. She had done acting and modeling jobs before the Nitro Girl contest, and has had extra roles in several movies, including 2001's Bubble Boy and 1998's Pecker. "If fans go out and rent the movies I did," she says, "if they blink, they'll miss me. I'm barely in them." Whether she is gracing the cover of the WWE Divas Undressed magazine or exhorting Test to "love his testicles," Stacy's popularity among the WWE fans is virtually unrivaled. And, like any born entertainer, it's the pops from the live crowd that has her hooked. "Going out there and walking down that ramp couldn't be more exciting," she says. "It's never been a nerve-racking experience for me, going back to the Ravens games. But here, it's so exciting that all those people are cheering for me. When I go out there by myself, and they're all up smiling, excited and waving, it's amazing. When you're a cheerleader, there are 75,000 fans in the stands, and they don't even know you're there. Here, people recognize me." With that in mind, she's barely looked back once in her wild three-year ride. The 24/7 treadmill that is life in WWE was the only thing that took some getting used to--WCW was running only one house show a month during her time there, compared to the three-per-week WWE schedules. But Stacy now says she barely knows what to do with herself when she is home with some time off. "This is my life now," she says. "Being around the Superstars and the cred, they're like my family. Aside from my parents and family at home, it's the second-best thing." The only time Stacy looks back, it seems, is to appreciate how far she's come since that one night she happened to see a TV commercial and said "Why not?" Three years later, she looks back with appreciation and more than a little disbelief. "I'm 23 years old and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunities I've been given," she says. "At 23, I've traveled the entired world because of what I do. I've seen so many things and places, and those are experiences that can never be taken from me. I feel like I can do anything after this. I've been on the road, and I've been independent. I can take care of myself. I've been good about taking care of my money. I hope to never go backwards. Always forward. |