Former WWE Women’s Champion Jacqueline Joins This Year’s Hall Of Fame Class

WWE has announced that former Women’s Champion Jacqueline will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Jacqueline joins Sting, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Godfather and the Big Boss Man as part of this year’s class.

Fox Sports broke the news earlier and when asked for comment Jacqueline had the following to say:

“I was so overjoyed. It’s a great honor, it’s the highest honor to receive in WWE, and to be in my home town… it means so much to me.”

You can read the official announcement below.

WWE posted the following announcement regarding her induction:

Jacqueline, a true trailblazer for women in the sports-entertainment industry, will take her well-deserved place in history in her hometown of Dallas, Texas, when she is enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016. The news was broken by FoxSports.com, who got exclusive comments from the Hall’s latest inductee.

Her journey to sports-entertainment immortality began in the late 1980s in Dallas, where she trained under the nefarious Skandor Akbar. The lone female in Akbar’s academy, Jacqueline cut her teeth in the world-famous Sportatorium, where the Von Erich Family and Fabulous Freebirds engaged in one of the most heated rivalries ever.

She traveled to Memphis and Japan to further hone her craft before bursting onto the national scene with WCW in 1997. As the manager of the devilish Kevin Sullivan, Jacqueline showed she was just as tough as any man, clobbering Sullivan’s opponents with vicious blows and slamming them onto unforgiving arena floors.

Jacqueline jumped to WWE in 1998, aiding Marvelous Marc Mero in his quest to take back the spotlight from Sable. The hard-hitting competitor ended up taking some glory for herself, winning the reinstated WWE Women’s Championship with a victory over the blonde bombshell. She captured the championship once again in 2000.

In addition to her in-ring battles, Jacqueline took on a number of other jobs within WWE. She served as a trainer and mentor to hopeful Superstars and Divas on the first season of the reality show Tough Enough and donned stripes to enforce the rules as a WWE referee. She returned to the ring in 2004, answering the open challenge of Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero. Though Guerrero treated Jacqueline like a joke, the fierce Diva brought the fight to Guerrero and shocked the world by pinning him to capture the title. True to her groundbreaking nature, Jacqueline became the third woman ever to hold the Cruiserweight Championship and the first to do so in WWE.

Now, on the eve of WrestleMania 32, the trailblazing Diva will add another accolade to her incredible resume, as she is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.