Why didn’t WWE fans see more of Francine? Known as ECW’s “Queen of Extreme,” Francine was a bona fide heat magnet and skilled bump taker who also happened to be visually appealing, so one would think she’d have been primed for a successful run in WWE. Appearing on “Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw,” Francine revealed that she was offered an opportunity with the company back in 2001.

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“When [ECW] went bankrupt, I got a call from WWE,” Francine said. “And they wanted me to work with X-Factor, which was X-Pac and Justin Credible and Albert. But the way it was pitched to me, it was going to be right on ‘Raw,’ live, and it was them against the Hardys … So, Lita and I would’ve I think eventually went off and did our own thing, wrestling. But at that point I was 30 years old … In my mind, I was like, they’re gonna make me train all over again to be like this wrestler. And I didn’t want to do that.” She did eventually turn up in WWE during their infamous ECW reboot, although it did not go the way Francine had hoped. 

“In 2006 I actually did sign, because I was told I was going to be a manager,” Francine said. “But they had me doing bikini contests every weekend. And I was just like, I don’t want to do this … I’m 34 years old, and I have to do all this bikini stuff, and I’m just like, this is not what I signed up for … I even told Vince to his face, like, ‘Let me take Kevin Thorn’s finisher.’ He goes, ‘We don’t do that here.’ I said, ‘You don’t let the girls bump here?’ He goes, ‘Well, I didn’t watch ECW, I don’t know anything about you.’… All I did is go cry to Johnny Ace, ‘Give me my release, I wanna go home.’

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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.