ECW's Francine Looks Back On Almost Joining WWE

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.

"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.'

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.