Stacy Lee Carter (born September 29, 1970) is an American former professional wrestling valet and retired professional wrestler, better known as Miss Kitty or The Kat.
She first appeared on the WWF in August 1999 as Miss Kitty, an assistant to Debra, appointed to her by Jeff Jarrett, whom Debra managed. After Jarrett left the company after losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna at No Mercy, Carter began managing Chyna, and then started dressing in Chyna-like clothing and wearing a black wig.
At Armageddon in December 1999, Miss Kitty won the WWF Women's Championship in a Four Corners Evening Gown Pool match that included defeating then-champion Ivory and Jacqueline. After the match, Miss Kitty stripped out of her dress in celebration and quickly flashed the crowd her breasts. This was the first instance of intentional nudity in the WWF. The following evening, she announced, before successfully defending her title in a Chocolate Pudding match, that she was changing her name to The Kat. The Kat lost the championship on the January 31 edition of Raw to Hervina in a Lumberjill Snowbunny match, only to be revealed later that Hervina was Harvey Wippleman in drag.
After having spent the rest of 2000 in a feud with Terri Runnels, in early 2001 The Kat began a new storyline with the stable Right to Censor, a group of conservative wrestlers, where she demanded equal time for the "right for nudity". At No Way Out (WWE), Jerry Lawler, who was representing The Kat, lost a match to Steven Richards, the head of the stable, and as a result she was forced to join the stable. On February 27, 2001, however, Carter was released from the WWF in the middle of the storyline. As a result, her husband Jerry Lawler also quit the company, but after they divorced shortly after leaving the company, Lawler returned the night after Survivor Series in November.
Tropes related to Stacy Carter:
- Aborted Arc:
- Her storyline with the Right to Censor was abruptly cut short by her release. She was literally in the middle of getting ready to tape a load of segments for SmackDown when she was told of it.
- When Eddie Guerrero split from Chyna, a segment was filmed where he flirted with The Kat, implying that he'd be pursuing her next. Nothing came of that potential storyline.
- Age-Gap Romance: Jerry Lawler was in his mid-40s when they started dating. She was only eighteen! In a Diva Diaries interview, she attributes this to having to "be an adult" from a young age, and frequently hanging around with people much older than herself.
- Animal Motifs: After drifting apart from Chyna, she favoured outfits with different animal prints - all from various cats (leopards, tigers etc).
- Arch-Enemy: Terri (funny), Right to Censor (serious).
- Ass Kicks You: Defeated Terri in their "Thong Stinkface Match" (see Breather Episode in Terri's page) at SummerSlam 2000, and it was a regular part of her offence.
- Barely-There Swimwear: She memorably appeared wearing a bikini made of bubble wrap at the 2000 Royal Rumble PPV.
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Beauty? She was Ms. Fanservice for years. Brawn? What she lacked in wrestling skill, she made up for in determination. Brains? She started out doing the accounts in a wrestling promotion.
- Cat Fight: She was in one of the few matches actually billed as a 'Cat Fight' - at WrestleMania 2000, and she and Terri Runnels once rolled down the entrance ramp together.
- Characterization Marches On: At first an interchangeable valet for Jeff Jarrett, once she hooked up with Chyna and started getting more mic time, she become known as a Plucky Genki Girl.
- Clothing Damage: Defeated Terri in an arm-wrestling match at the UK-only PPV WWF Insurrextion 2000. After the match, Terri retaliated by ripping Kat's shirt open, exposing her breasts. She covered up for a second before showing them again, although WWE's cameras cut to a long distance side view.
- Establishing Character Moment: Defeated WWE Women's Champion
Ivory, Jacqueline and B.B. in a Four Way Evening Gown in a Pool Match to win the title at WWE Armageddon 99, December 12, 1999. She then cut a promo about how everyone came to the show to see her get naked and how "they made me wear underwear."note She celebrated by stripping her gown off so she was in her bra and panties and jumped into the pool. She climbed back onto the stage and took her bra off, thus providing the first instance of deliberate toplessness on a WWE PPV in the United States,note before Sgt. Slaughter covered her with a towel and he and some referees carried her to the back. - Expository Hairstyle Change: After hooking up with Chyna, her blonde hair was replaced with black to match Chyna (though this was just a wig). After she distanced herself from Chyna, she was back to blonde.
- Faux Action Girl: Subverted. Although she held the Women's Championship (with no wrestling training) she won it in a way that was believable that a non-wrestler could - in catfight or Fanservice matches. She was never presented as a legitimate wrestler. Even in her feud with Right to Censor, Jerry Lawler wrestled in her name instead of herself.
- Fur Bikini: One of her ring outfits evoked this. Her costume on WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role was one in leopard print.
- Gag Haircut: Terri took her to the spa for some pampering, but actually drugged her. So when The Kat woke up, her hair had been badly cut and coloured.
- Genki Girl: During her time as The Kat, she was known for being lively and energetic.
- Going Commando: She claimed she didn't wear underwear - right after she was put into an Evening Gown match.
- Groin Attack: She would often deliver this to Ivory when they feuded in the form of the Bronco Buster.
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: Generally played straight, in both her WWE work and photos she took for Lawler's website. However, at WrestleMania 2000, she made a Visual Pun out of this. She was shown sitting in a chair naked before her catfight match with Terri Runnels, holding up possible items she might wear for her manager Mae Young to evaluate. Mae picked out a red T-shirt with a cat's face on it. The shirt was used to cover the Kat's crotch, thus making a "pussy" joke. She also placed water bottles so they stuck out from her chest.
- Another Parodied/Visual Pun example: Once did a photoshoot for Lawler's website where she was naked and held two milk bottles in front of her chest.
- Once did a photo for Lawler's website, naked of course, holding blue Fluffy Fashion Feathers in front of her in a "U" shape so her nipples and crotch were covered.
- Heel–Face Turn: A heel valet to Jeff Jarrett, she abandoned him when Chyna defeated him and became the latter's manager - and a fan favourite at that.
- Kaleidoscope Hair: She achieved this through wigs, and would often have different colours every week.
- Kayfabe:
- During her segment on the 2000 VHS release Divas: Postcard From The Caribbean, she talked about the Miss Kitty and the Kat characters in the third person, drawing a line between her real self and her onscreen character, though not using her real name. Additionally Steven Richards referred to her as 'Stacy' on-screen.
- Although her relationship with Lawler was not acknowledged on WWE TV, when she, Terri, Jacqueline, Ivory and B.B. appeared on The Howard Stern Show to plug the "Miss Royal Rumble" contest at Royal Rumble 2000, she said, "It's not who you know, it's who you do." Also, Lawler did mention her on commentary once before she debuted (on the September 12th, 1998 episode of RAW), when told by Jim Ross that they were going to be showing previously unseen footage of Sable from Wrestlemania and Summerslam that year after the commercial break, Lawler can be heard as they go to commercial saying something to the effect of, "Stacy, set the VCR for me at home!"
- Loophole Abuse: Ivory challenged The Kat to a Women's Championship match, whatever the stipulation, as long as it was a wrestling match (as opposed to an evening gown or pudding match). The Kat suggested No DQ, to which Ivory agreed. The Kat then had Chyna Pedigree her and covered her to retain the title.
- Meaningful Rename: After winning the Women's Championship, she announced that she would be called The Kat instead of Miss Kitty.
- Modesty Towel: What was meant to happen after she won the Women's Championship. Sgt Slaughter was late coming in to cover her up, so the crowd got to see plenty before the towel hid her.
- Ms. Fanservice: She went topless on live TV twice, and frequently wrestled in pudding matches.
- Mud Wrestling: She wrestled Tori in a vat of chocolate pudding.
- Naked Apron: When she was married to Lawler, she once did a photoshoot for his website wearing just an apron. This allowed for butt shots, nipple slips and Hand-or-Object Underwear.
- Non-Indicative Name: She was not a Miss Kitty, nor was there anything cat related about her character, save for the occasional animal print outfit.
- Older Than They Look: She debuted in WWF when she was 29 and was 31 by the time of her release. Due to her petite frame and Girly Girl appearance, she looked more like a 21-year-old. She's in her mid-40s now and looks more like mid-30s.
- Perky Female Minion: Downplayed when she was with Jeff Jarrett but still present. The perky part really came out around Chyna.
- Phrase Catcher: Jerry Lawler would often say "Here, kitty kitty" whenever she appeared. A few signs bearing that appeared as well.
- Pun: At the start of her segment on WWF Divas: Postcard from the Caribbean, she says that she's not really a wrestler, she's "more of a Catfighter, pardon the expression."
- Punny Name: As Debra was known for having "puppies", Miss Kitty's name was based around her having the kittens too.
- Replaced the Theme Tune: She initially used Chyna's theme song, but adopted a theme of her own after becoming Women's Champion.
- Sexy Coat Flashing: On the February 5, 2001 Raw she walked into The APA's office wearing a coat and asking for help in launching her Right to Nudity campaign against Right to Censor. She didn't have money or beer with her, so she flashed them, with her back to the camera.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Her feud with the Right to Censor was over her desire to get naked on live TV.
- Slapstick: She got cake mix poured over her by Chyna, had a Gag Haircut from Terri and participated in a match in a pit of snow.
- Small Name, Big Ego: A rare self-described example, from her segment on the Divas: Postcard From The Caribbean VHS release."Miss Kitty was really playful, and The Kat thinks she's really hot stuff."
- Stripperiffic: Most of her wrestling gear, since Fanservice was the main aim.
- The Teetotaler: Says she never had any alcohol until she was thirty-one.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She was the Girly Girl to Chyna's Tomboy. Behind the scenes she said that Chyna's own girly side came out when they were together.
- Took a Level in Badass: If one watches her matches from before she was released, she was getting quite decent in the ring - which she credits to Ivory helping her out. She wrestled for a bit in MCW and got a little bit of praise.
- Wardrobe Malfunction: Played with. Her flashing the crowd at Armageddon was intentional - but it going out live wasn't. As detailed on the Trivia page, what was meant to happen was Toplessness from the Back, where only the live crowd would see anything. But a goof in the production room led to the wrong camera going out live - and Kat's boobs being broadcast on national television.
- Would Hit a Girl: She lost the title to Harvey Wippleman, who had disguised himself as "Hervina."
- Wrestling Family: Ex-wife of Jerry "The King" Lawler.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: The Kat.
- You Can Leave Your Hat On: After winning the Women's Championship, she performed a striptease for the crowd.
