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A Welcome Invasion: 'Stacy Keibler has made quite the First Impression' By: Aaron Williams Stacy Keibler had a feeling that June 12 might be special. The World Wrestling Federation was coming to her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland for a SmackDown! taping, and Stacy was hoping to come to ahe arena and meet the people she might be working with in the near future. The night before, she had spoken with road agent Johnny Ace, who had told her to bring a few outfits "just in case." She didn't know what to make of Ace's suggestion. And as she headed to the Baltimore Arena the next afternoon, all she could think about was how nice it would be to finally meet the men and women of the Federation. When she arrived at the arena, Stacy was a bit nervous. This was her first appearance backstage at a Federation event, and even though she had been in sports-entertainment for two years, she knew only a handful of WWE Superstars. Dean Malenko, whom she had known from his WCW days, greeted her with a big hug and helped break the tension. Shortly after, she was ushered into the ladies locker roomwhere she met Lita, Debra, Ivory, Jacqueline, and Lillian Garcia. "Do you know what you're going to be doing tonight?" they asked. "No," replied Stacy. "I'm not sure if they have anything planned for me. I'm just really excited to be here." Only a few mintues later, Stacy heard the big news. Not only would she be on television that night, she would be escorted to the ring by none other than WCW owner Shane McMahon. "It's hard to describe what I was feeling when I found out I would be appearing with Shane. To have that opportunity and to have it in my hometown was so exciting. I couldn't wait to see how the crowd would react." Stacy's debut would take place during the Hardcore Championship match between Rhyno and Test, when she would be led to ringside by Shane McMahon. Seconds before she was set to make her entrance, she gathered herself and took a deep breath. There was no longer any time to worry about how she would be received or to be nervous. It was showtime. Shane's entrance music blared over the arena's loudspeakers and the owner of WCW made his way onto the entrance stage. Admidst a thunderous ovation, he acknowledged the crowd and turned to introduce his companion --- Stacy Keibler. As she appeared from backstage, the thousands in attendence in the Baltimore Arena rose to their feet to cheer their hometown heroine. Shane took her arm and the twosome strode to the ring where Stacy strutted her stuff for a few moments before distracting Rhyno and helping Test defeat the "Man-Beast" for the Hardcore Championship. Stacy's debut was a complete success. She had aided Shane in his quest to disrupt the Federation, and her hometown fans greeted her like a returning queen. "It was such a rush," Stacy recalled. "I wasn't used to being in front of such a large and loud crowd. It was so exciting. You can't get much better than walking down to the ring with one of the McMahons." A relative newcomer to the sports-entertainment business, Stacy first appeared in WCW in November 1999 after winning a nationwide contest to become a Nitro Girl. Before that, she was a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader (she continued to cheer for the 1999-2000 season while appearing on WCW) and a full-time student majoring in Mass Communications at Maryland's Towson University. These days, her sports-entertainment obligations fill most of her time, but she's only a few classes short of graduating and plans on finishing her degree as soon as possible. Away from the arena, Stacy can be found in and about her hometown of Baltimore. She recently bought a place just outside town and enjoys hanging out there with her friends. She's also become intrested in painting and is having fun learning how to cook. (Stacy admitted it might be a little while before she'll be able to submit one of her favorite recipes to Raw Magazine) While her on-screen persona may be described as "prissy and flirtatious," in real life, Stacy describes herself as "very down to earth." A longtime sports-entertainment fan before becoming involved in the business, Stacy loves performing and feels very close to today's fans. She tries her best to make as much time for them as possible. Based upon the reception she received her first night in Baltimore, it looks like Stacy will have to make a lot of time available for her fans in the near future. |