You're not hardcore unless you live hardcore and, for a while, former WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly (AKA Barbie Blank) absolutely lived hardcore.
Kelly debuted with WWE's ECW brand in 2006 and though, originally, she worked as an "extreme exposé " dancer, it wouldn't be long before she found herself in the thick of things when it came to ECW action.
Part of that action included being paired with former WWECW Superstar Mike Knox during his feud with ECW legend, The Sandman. During a match between the two, it was Kelly Kelly herself who ended up taking a kendo stick shot to the head, courtesy of The Sandman. Kelly recently opened up about the stunt during an episode of Byron Scott's Fast Break.
"It was so bad. We rehearsed it with Sandman. He’s like, ‘Oh Kelly, it’s going to be so easy,’ and he does this little poke (with the cane). ‘Oh, okay.’ I saw him swing that thing back and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Seeing it happen...I remember hitting the ground, seeing stars. ‘What just happened?’ We go to the back and they have me on a gurney. I open my eyes and Vince is standing over me. ‘Kelly, you okay?’ All the guys, the ones who were brother or father figures, who were guiding me along, they were like, ‘When you get hit with that cane and come to the back, do not let them see you cry. Do not cry.’ That’s in the back of my head. Vince is like, ‘Are you okay?’ ‘I’m fine. Yup.’ Everyone is standing there. It’s a line of people waiting to see what I’m going to do. I get off the gurney and everyone is like, ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Yeah, I’m great.’ I get to the locker room and I’m bawling, calling my parents, ‘I don’t know how to do this.’ Next week, I was out there doing it again," Kelly stated.
Kelly would eventually go on to win the WWE Divas Championship, as well as the WWE 24/7 Champion, defeating Gerald Brisco for the belt in 2019.
Her last match was the 2022 Royal Rumble.
Kelly discussed more aspects of her career, including her thoughts on Charlotte Flair, whether she'd ever return to the company, and more during her talk with Byron Scott. The full interview can be seen in the above video.
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