Power and skill could take Beth Carolan, a 1999 Notre Dame High School graduate, only so far as a professional wrestler. What put her over the top, she said, is image.

Beth, who was known as Beth Kocanski when she lived in Elmira and wrestles under the name Beth Phoenix, signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, the major league of pro wrestling, on Oct. 20.

She performs for the Louisville, Ky.-based Ohio Valley Wrestling promotion, hoping someday to get called up to join one of the WWE’s telecasts.

To catch the attention of WWE talent scouts, Beth said she had to change her appearance.

“In wrestling, looks are the most important thing,” she said. “I lost a lot of weight, changed my look and my body. I used to have a power-lifter kind of look. Now I have a more athletic, fitness-model kind of look.”

Looks are fine, she said, but they aren’t worth much if a wrestler can’t deliver.

“The second thing is pretty much just being consistent, not giving up no matter what adversity got in my way,” she said.

“I’ve stuck with it. I’ve been injured; I’ve had my stumbling points. But I kept trying, kept really being consistent, in their face. There’s something to be said for being really persistent.”

Signing with the WWE has been her goal since she started pro wrestling as a student at Canisius College in Buffalo, Beth said. She was the first girl on the Notre Dame High School team.

“It’s a little surreal right now,” she said. “It’s wonderful. It’s the culmination of all my dreams, all the work I’ve done over the last few years. It’s still sinking in.”

For now, not much will change. Beth’s still wrestling for the Ohio Valley promotion, but now she’s WWE property.

“I came to Ohio Valley on my own coin to train, and after about a year and eight months, they signed me on,” she said.

“Right now, I’m continuing to train and work here. All the signed wrestlers, we all work and train and try to come up with ideas to make money. A lot of it is the same stuff I have been doing, but I’m on (the Ohio Valley) television program right now pretty regularly.”

Beth is married to wrestler Joey Carolan, who performs under the name Joey Knight. He’s an independent wrestler who travels all over the Northeast and Canada for shows, she said.

Signing the deal with the WWE is just the next step toward her ultimate goal of making the big show.

“I just want my little sentence in the book of wrestling history,” she said. “I just want my little piece of the pie, to be something special.”