Former Champion Signs WWE Legends Deal
A former Divas Champion in WWE has signed a Legends deal with the company.
Kelly Kelly had one of the more unique careers in WWE because she signed with the company when she was 18 years old and put on television on the ECW brand, as a dancer, when she was just 19 years old.
During her career, Kelly worked as a manager at first, but then she stepped into the ring and became one of the more popular women in the company during her run from 2006 until her September 2012 release. She was just 25 years old at the time of her release, which was essentially a retirement since she didn’t wrestle elsewhere.
On the June 20, 2011 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, Kelly Kelly defeated Brie Bella to win her first and only Divas Title. Kelly held the title for 103 days. She also won the “coveted” 24/7 Title during a later appearance in 2019.
It has been reported by Fightful Select that Kelly Kelly has signed a WWE Legends deal. That deal allows the company to use a wrestler’s likeness for marketing purposes, in video games, action figures and other things like that.
Kelly Kelly also appeared in three Women’s Royal Rumbles in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
How Did Vince McMahon Come Up With Kelly Kelly’s WWE Name?
In a recent interview, Kelly Kelly revealed that former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon decided to give her the Kelly Kelly name because of the famous Cheers episode where Woody performed a song for his girlfriend Kelly, where he said her name repeatedly during the song.
“I wanted Barbie. I wanted Barbie so bad, but it’s trademarked. They gave me a list of ten or 15 names and Kelly was on there. ‘Oh, I like Kelly. That’s cute.’ She was a Barbie. There was a Kelly doll. It was Kelly. Then, I debut, and the next week it was Kelly Kelly.
Vince, who knows the way he thinks, but he had seen a ‘Cheers’ episode, and I guess the girl bartender is Kelly. It was before my time. There was a song, ‘Kelly, Kelly, Kelly.’ That’s how Kelly Kelly became.”
The former Divas Champion misspoke because Woody was the bartender and Kelly was his girlfriend. She went on to say that nobody had the same name twice, so it allowed her to stand out.
Kelly Kelly’s real name is Barbie Blank and she is married with two children.