Diva is a term used by the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to refer to its female talent.[1] The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers.
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History
1985-1996
Although the term 'Diva' had not yet been coined in the company, the first Diva of the World Wrestling Federation was "The First Lady of Wrestling", Miss Elizabeth. She was quiet and demure. She didn't wrestle while in the WWE, and, for most of her career but always supported the men that she managed. She was very attractive without resorting to the sex appeal of today's Diva. Sherri Martel, "Sweet" Sapphire, and Luna Vachon were also female managers in the WWF during the late 80's and early 90's.
1996–2000
The first modern day Diva in the World Wrestling Federation was Sunny, who debuted as the manager for the bodybuilder-themed duo The Bodydonnas and went on to manage several other tag teams and singles wrestlers. Although the notion of a female manager had been popular throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Sunny's character was significantly sexualized, whereas prior female managers were depicted as being involved in either platonic or romantic storylines. Sunny came to the ring accompanied by videos of her posing in suggestive positions on a beach while dressed in revealing clothing, and with each successive act she managed her ringside attire became more provocative, moving from workout attire to a leather bra worn without a top.
Between 1996 and 1997, Marlena, Sable and Chyna, joined Sunny as prominent female on-air talent in the promotion. Marlena and Sable were as equally sexualized as Sunny, with Marlena suggestively smoking cigars at ringside during matches and Sable coming to the ring in form fitting leather catsuits designed to reveal a significant portion of her breasts. Chyna was offered as an antithesis to the rest of the Divas, a masculine bodybuilder whose sexual identity was the subject of early story lines. Sunny, Sable, and Marlena were further marketed as sex symbols through WWF's Raw Magazine, which featured monthly spreads of the women in suggestive poses while either wearing provocative clothing or seminude. In 1998, Debra debuted as the "Fourth Diva," and shortly thereafter was featured in a Raw Magazine spread in which she shed a series of business suits to reveal lingerie.
Marlena was the manager of Goldust, her then real-life husband,[2] and Sable was manager for her then real-life husband, wrestler Marc Mero. Sable quickly eclipsed her husband in popularity.[3] Her popularity lead to the re-instatement of the WWF Women's Championship, as well as the hiring of more female wrestlers by the promotion. Sable became the first WWF female to proclaim herself as a 'Diva' during the April 19 edition of Raw in 1999; the term proved popular and shortly coined instantly thereafter by becoming the official title for its female performers, be them as managers or wrestlers. In March 1999, the WWF also debuted another beautiful, vivacious, and talented veteran female wrestler Ivory, whose wrestling talent was exceptional and played a big role in the development of the women's division in the WWF at that time.
Sable's popularity led to a shift in the role of women in the WWF, as the promotion began to rely less on its female performers as simply eye candy and placed a greater emphasis on female athletes who actually competed in matches. Having being one of the first female wrestlers to compete in such specialty matches as evening gown matches, intergender tag team matches as well as a strap match and the first ever bikini contest in which she competed against Jacqueline, she was also the first female wrestler to ever be a Playboy cover girl. Sable pushed the envelope on women's wrestling. Unlike Jacqueline, Ivory and Luna, the more physical Divas and experienced wrestlers at the time, Sable later admitted that it was written in her contract that she was not allowed to take bumps.[4]
Her success also indirectly led to a push in popularity for Chyna, whose agility and muscular body made her an ideal addition to the new, competitive brand of female performers. Her masculine features were de-emphasized and her clothing became more provocative, and a WWF Raw spread was dedicated to a series of erotic photos depicting her in a series of wildlife settings in form-fitting survivalist gear. She was put into competition against male opponents, going on to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice. Chyna's popularity quickly grew to match that of Sable's, culminating in Chyna being featured as the centerfold in an issue of Playboy magazine.
2000–2002
Although Sable left the WWF after several years, the WWF signed many more female performers during and after her employment with the company, promoting them as "Divas." In 2000, newcomer Lita focused her attention on the WWF Women's Championship. Lita performed riskier moves than the Divas before her, such as moonsaults and diving hurricanranas.[5] Her popularity encouraged a higher standard of athletic competition within the WWF Women's Division, while still retaining the sexual element.
The August 21st edition of RAW featured the first Divas match in WWF history to be the main event, a WWF Women's Championship match between defending champion Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Lita.
Shortly after Lita's arrival, Trish Stratus made her debut. Stratus started off as a valet, who brought pure sexuality to the ring. Also later that year, Molly Holly made her debut. She was a contrast to most of the other Divas because she was given a more wholesome gimmick and more modest ring attire.[6]
In the Autumn of 2001, Stratus was trained by Fit Finlay, who was the road agent responsible for the women's matches, and improved her in-ring ability. She worked her way up to the top of the division and eventually won the Women's Championship at Survivor Series. Lita and Stratus have been credited as the women who changed the face of women's wrestling, as they brought a combination of sexuality and wrestling ability to the ring in such even amounts and kept the fans entertained. Also in 2001, Chyna left the WWF due to real-life issues between herself, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon.[7] Her last feud was with Lita.[5] In April 2002, however, Lita suffered a neck injury and was the first Diva to have neck fusion surgery.[5] She was out of action for almost a year and a half.[5]
2002–2006
On May 5th of 2002, the WWF officially changed its name to WWE and brought in a host of new female talent. Over the next few years, WWE hired more Divas than ever before, including female winners of the reality TV show WWE Tough Enough featuring contestants aspiring to be professional wrestlers. Stacy Keibler,Terri Runnels, Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Christy Hemme, Maria Kanellis, Miss Jackie, Dawn Marie, Ashley Massaro, a returning Sable and numerous others often competed in contests from "Pillow Fights" and "Bra and Panties" match-ups to "Bikini Contests", which were based more on the sexual appeal of the women involved. Meanwhile, Trish Stratus, Lita, Jazz, Gail Kim, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, Ivory and Victoria competed for the WWE Women's Title featuring match-ups only previously participated in by men, such as Street Fights, Hardcore, Table Matches and the first ever Women's Steel cage match.[8] Holly (competing as Mighty Molly), Stratus, and Terri Runnels also held the now-defunct Hardcore Championship briefly.
From 2002 to the present, WWE began hiring new Divas assigned to their development territories to train and wait to be called up to the main roster. These new Divas were recruited from model agencies, the independent circuit, and the Diva Search. In 2003, Gail Kim became the first woman with a Korean background to win the Women's Championship. Also, Jacqueline held the male title, the WWE Cruiserweight Championship briefly in 2004. Also during this period, new Divas such as Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Mickie James and Melina Perez made their debuts in the company; these Divas would later become four of the most prominent women of the WWE, as more and more of the previous generation of Divas slowly departed from the company.
2006–present
In July 2006, Stacy Keibler left WWE to pursue an acting career; though in late 2006, Lita and Trish Stratus would retire.[9][10] Torrie Wilson retired in mid-2008 due to having back problems and Victoria retired in January 2009 after a 9 year career with WWE. In March 2009, Gail Kim returned to WWE[11] leaving Gail Kim and Lilian Garcia from the previous generation of WWE Divas along with a vast majority of newer arrivals.
In December 2007, Trish Stratus, Lita, and Sunny returned to WWE for a one night special appearance on an episode of RAW due to the show's 15 year anniversary. Also during that episode, a video was shown featuring highlights and clips of several of its past former WWE Divas including the current women of today as to why the WWE Divas are popular.
At Vengeance: Night of Champions in 2007, Candice Michelle became the first former WWE Diva Search contestant to become the WWE Women's Champion.
At One Night Stand 2008, Beth Phoenix and Melina competed in the first
On the June 6, 2008 edition of SmackDown, the then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced the creation of WWE Divas Championship, a SmackDown Diva exclusive title. Natalya and Michelle McCool became the first two contenders for the new championship, and, at the The Great American Bash, McCool defeated Neidhart to become the inaugural champion.
On the December 22, 2008 edition of RAW, Trish Stratus made her second appearance on RAW for that year (the first being on May 5th), by wrestling for a one night return match since 2006, by teaming up with John Cena as his replacement partner to defeat Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix in an intergender tag team match as the main event in her hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
At Wrestlemania 25, former WWE Divas Sunny, Victoria, Molly Holly, Torrie Wilson, Jackie Gayda, and Joy Giovanni returned to WWE for a one night special appearance in the 25 Divas Battle Royal match to crown Miss Wrestlemania.
During the 2009 WWE Draft, current Women's Champion Melina was drafted to the SmackDown brand, thus making the Women's title exclusive to SmackDown. Later that same night, current Divas Champion Maryse was drafted to the RAW brand, thus making the Divas title exclusive to RAW, effectively switching both champions and championships between both brands for the first time in history.
On June 28th at The Bash pay-per-view, Michelle McCool became the first ever Diva to hold both the WWE Women's Championship and the WWE Diva's Championship.
Diva Search (2003 - 2007)
The Diva Search was an annual competition that occurred every Summer. The purpose of the Diva Search was to find new women to be wrestlers, interviewers, and/or valets in WWE though the winner would go straight to the main roster as WWE would also hire the eliminated contestants including some of women who didn't make it to the final 8 to development contracts and be sent to Florida Championship Wrestling for to learn to how to wrestle. The winner of the competition received a one year contract worth $100,000. Previously the contract was worth $250,000.
Promotion
The popularity of women in WWE has resulted in various cross-promotions with other brands featuring WWE Divas. Various Divas have posed in Playboy, and others have appeared in commercials for WWE and non-WWE products as well as men's interest magazines.
The WWE Divas normally go on an annual photoshoot every year, usually to a different location each time. The photoshoot is followed by a magazine featuring photos from the shoot as well as a television special or video release of highlights from the shoot.
- 1999, WWE released their first Divas video Come Get Some: The Women Of The WWF, which features interviews and footage of the Divas. This photoshoot took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Debra, Chyna, and Sable made the cover. When Sable left the WWF she was replaced on the cover with Tori.
- 2000, the Divas went to the streets in New York City as part of WWF Divas in New York City. This was due to the launch of WWEDivas.com, several photos and video of the photoshoot were released. All the Divas made it on the photoshoot, including Trish Stratus, Ivory, Chyna, Jacqueline, Lita.
- WWE introduced their second Divas home video franchise with Postcard From The Caribbean. The photos were released on a special Swimsuit edition of Raw Magazine. Divas in this photoshoot all had their own cover.
- 2001, the Divas traveled to Jamaica and the DVD In Hedonism was released as well as the first of the now annual magazines. Lita earned the cover of the magazine. Also, all Divas made it on the DVD cover including Trish Stratus, Debra, and Lita.
- 2002, a UPN special entitled WWF Divas: Sex on the Beach aired which the photoshoot took place in Nassau, Bahamas. It was then later released on VHS and DVD format as WWF Divas: Tropical Pleasure with Trish Stratus on the cover. However, the home video was missing the mainstream music and Molly Holly, who had appeared in the special, Debra appeared in the Magazine for this shoot but did not film a documentary for the DVD.
- The first lingerie shoot, WWE Divas Undressed was originally a special on TNN (now Spike TV). The program was a competition or "Thong-a-thon" as Jerry Lawler called it. All of the divas, except for Jazz and Lita, were involved, however Trish Stratus only competed in the first round due to a "kayfabe" attack by Jazz. It was later released on VHS and DVD with behind the scenes photoshoot sessions. Jazz participated in the photoshoot session despite being injured. Stacy Keibler was the covergirl of the WWE Divas Undressed magazine.
- 2003, the Divas traveled to Arizona to participate in a variety of outdoor activities as part of WWE Divas: Desert Heat. Trish Stratus, Stacy Keibler, and Terri Runnels went on a Jeep tour and got to use a gun. While Victoria and Nidia got to relax and go rafting. Jazz, Ivory, and others spotted a rattlesnake. The magazine covergirl was once again Trish Stratus.
- 2004, the Divas went to the beaches of Copacabana, Mexico as part of WWE Divas: South of the Border. To determine who would make the cover of the magazine, a poll was taken on WWE.com, where fans voted Torrie Wilson as the covergirl. A Multi Diva cover was used for the DVD.
- 2005, the Divas traveled back to Mexico for Viva Las Divas of the WWE. The more experienced Divas traveled to the beaches of the Grand Xcaret and Grand Cozumel, along with the 2004 Diva Search winner, Christy Hemme and longtime WWE ring announcer Lilian García (in what was her first divas shoot in the 6 years she had spent so far with WWE). The newer Divas, including Joy Giovanni, Amy Weber, Michelle McCool, and Maria Kanellis visited only the Grand Cozumel. Some controversy arose when it was apparent that Molly Holly was not on the DVD, with some fans of Molly sending complaints to WWE.[citation needed] A few pictures of her, however, were featured in the magazine. This was the second time she had been removed from the yearly Diva video. Conversely, Amy Weber (who had left the company before the DVD and magazine became available) was in the DVD and not the magazine. Christy Hemme was the covergirl of the 2005 edition of the magazine and Stacy Keibler for the cover of the DVD.
- 2006, a lingerie photoshoot took place in New York, and a DVD entitled WWE Divas Do New York was released. Much like in 2004, WWE.com let the fans decide who they wanted on the magazine cover. They chose Trish Stratus, who appeared on her third Divas' magazine cover that hit newsstands on Valentine's Day. Candice Michelle originally landed the DVD cover that was released a week later, but it was replaced with a multi-Diva cover.
- 2007, the Divas took part in a western-themed lingerie shoot for WWE Divas Do San Antonio. This photoshoot took place in San Antonio, Texas because WWE was in San Antonio for the Royal Rumble. Only select WWE Divas were chosen: Rebecca (who was later released), Lilian Garcia, Kelly Kelly, Kristal, Mickie James, and Victoria. Several of the photos and a video of the photoshoot were released on WWE.com, but the annual magazine was not released.
- June 2007, the Divas took part in a photoshoot, the second of 2007, in Los Angeles for Divas in Los Angeles. This was the third time in the past few years that there has been two photoshoots in the same year. This shoot, unlike previous years, has a special section to the Development Divas. The development Divas that are featured were Milena Roucka, Beth Phoenix, Maryse, and the Garcia Twins (Brianna and Nicole), though, Maryse and Beth are already on the main roster. Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson and Mickie James are on the cover.
- 2008, the Divas took part in a bikini photoshoot for Divas Uncensored, this photoshoot took place at a beach in Tierra Verde, Florida. Only select WWE Divas were chosen: Ashley, Maria, Mickie James, and Eve Torres. Several photos are seen in a WWE magazine that came out in April which in a section Maria, Ashley and Mickie give advice regarding relationships and where Eve Torres answers questions from fans though a photo from this photoshoot of Mickie James was featured in WWE.com's Daily Diva section.
- July 2008, the Divas took part in a bikini photoshoot for Summer Skin in San Diego and select other California coastal cities which was a feature on WWE.com, that WWE launched in July 4, 2008. It featured a spread of photos of the women who went on the trip as well as special interviews, video packages and biographies of each respective diva and special mobile offering downloads. Preview shoots were posted on WWE.com which featured Maria, Michelle McCool, and Mickie James.
Playboy
Since 1999, seven WWE Divas have appeared on the cover of Playboy:
- 1999: Sable
- 2000: Chyna
- 2002: Chyna
- 2003: Torrie Wilson
- 2004: Torrie Wilson and Sable
- 2005: Christy Hemme
- 2006: Candice Michelle
- 2007: Ashley Massaro
- 2008: Maria Kanellis
It has become a WWE tradition for any Diva who appears on the front cover of Playboy to have a match at WrestleMania. Commonly, these matches would have the term 'Playboy' included in its name. For example, at WrestleMania XX in 2004, Torrie Wilson and Sable competed as a 'Playboy' tag team against Stacy Kiebler and Miss Jackie. At WrestleMania 22, Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle competed in a Playboy Pillow Fight.
Actual Playboy playmates, such as Carmella DeCesare and Karen McDougal have also appeared in Diva Search in 2004. Some former and current Divas such as Trish Stratus, Lita, Debra, Sharmell, Stacy Keibler, and Melina have indicated that posing for Playboy magazine is out of the question for them. Stratus has appeared on sports talk show Off The Record and said that she didn't pose because she wanted to be known as "multiple time Women's Champion Trish Stratus" rather than "the girl who posed in Playboy." Stratus also claims that she refused the shoot because she says she can still be sexy without taking her clothes off.[12] Dumas has said that she didn't pose because she felt it was wrong for her (who was known as a role model for young girls at the time) to pose for the magazine.[13] Stacy refused to pose as she believes it would be better if she "left something for the imagination."
Tammy Lynn Sytch (Sunny) claimed to have refused an offer by Playboy to pose for the magazine. Rena Mero (Sable) later claimed, however, that Playboy had actually never approached Sytch, and that Sytch had fabricated the whole story.[4] However, Sytch was not the first to report that she had turned down an offer.
Current WWE Diva, Kelly Kelly, refused to pose for the 2009 edition of Playboy. It has been suggested that she had initially agreed to do so in 2007. The WWE had originally planned for Kelly Kelly, Brooke and Layla to all pose together as the first triple Diva combination. The trio had appeared on WWE television as a dance troupe called Extreme Expose. But Playboy themselves rejected the idea, causing the WWE to offer Ashley Massaro instead. The WWE continued to encourage Playboy to use Extreme Expose until they released Brooke in November.
Since WWE turned to TV-PG in late 2008, Vince McMahon has refused to continue their yearly tradition with Playboy.
Other
In 2007, Ashley, Torrie Wilson, Maryse, Brooke, Layla, and Kelly Kelly shot a video for music producer and rapper Timbaland.[14][15] and, in the same year, Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Michelle McCool, Maria, Layla and Kristal Marshall appeared in an episode of the U.S. reality show Project Runway, in which designers were asked to design in-ring attire for their designated Diva. In 2008, Layla, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Melina appereared in the U.S. reality show Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp to get the celebrities in shape. Later the same year, Mickie James appered on the USA Network show Psych, playing a roller derby girl named Rita "Lethal Weapon" Westwood.
Joanie Laurer and Stacy Keibler went on to have a short television careers. The highlight of Chyna's television career has been a re-occurring role as Harry's girlfriend on 'The Third Rock From The Sun'. Keibler's most notable television appearance was on the 2006 series of 'Dancing With The Stars'. Keibler's last television appearance was as an assassin in the Samurai Girl mini-series.
Championships and accomplishments
Women's Championship
Divas Championship
WWE Babe of the Year (2001 - 2004)
The WWE Babe of the Year contest is a contest where fans get to vote on who is their favorite WWE Diva for that year.
Trish Stratus won the inaugural Babe of the Year competition in 2001. Stratus had her own mini-site on WWE.com and her photoshoot of choice was a space-type theme. The corresponding mini-site was fittingly named "The Stratusphere." Stratus retained her title in 2002 and received another mini-site on WWE.com. The 2003 edition was again won by Stratus. She also won the 'Diva of the Decade' award for Raw's 10th anniversary special. Stacy Keibler ended Stratus's reign in 2004 and won the honor, receiving her own mini-site and a photoshoot for every month in the year, sometimes two. The photoshoots were usually themed from the holiday of that month. In 2008, WWE Magazine then declared Beth Phoenix as the 'Diva of the Year' which earned her a 2008 Slammy Award for that title.
Rookie Diva of the Year (2005)
The first and only Rookie Diva of the Year contest was held on the SmackDown! PPV No Way Out 2005, where former WWE Diva Joy Giovanni defeated Michelle McCool, Lauren Jones, and Rochelle Loewen. Giovanni received more than half of the vote, followed by McCool who got just under 20%, Loewen got just over 10% and Jones received just 6%. During the talent competition, Dawn insulted Giovanni's massage on Wilson, Loewen's jokes and Jones' dancing so McCool's "talent" was attacking Dawn for insulting the other rookie's. The competition was hosted by then divas Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie. McCool is the only one of the four who ended up receiving wrestling training, improving her abilities, staying in WWE as of 2009, and becoming the inaugural WWE Divas Champion. By this point, Giovanni, Jones, and Loewen have already been released from the company and left the business. Giovanni being the only one to have a one off return (which was also her debut match) in a 25 Diva Battle Royal also including McCool at WrestleMania XXV.
See also
- Diva, traditional usage of the term
- TNA Knockout
- Nitro Girls
- Ring girl
Notes
- ^ "Superstars > Divas". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/divas/. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ "Goldust's Alumni Profile". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni/goldust/bio/. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- ^ "Sable's Alumni Profile". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni/sable/bio/. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
- ^ a b Oliver, Greg (1999-01-11). "Sable looks beyond wrestling". SLAM! Sports. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive/jan11_sable.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
- ^ a b c d Berkowitz, Matt (October 2003). "Lovely Lita". Wrestling Digest. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCO/is_3_5/ai_108049497. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
- ^ John F. Molinaro (June 30, 2001). "Molly Holly having a blast in the WWF". http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosH/holly_molly_01jun30-can.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
- ^ Lilsboy (May 2005). "The truth about Chyna". http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003560001-2005201210,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- ^ The Rick (November 25, 2003). "November 24, 2003 RAW Results". http://www.oowrestling.com/recaps/raw/20031124.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- ^ Tim Baines (September 17, 2006). "Stratusfaction comes to an end". Ottawa Sun. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/09/17/1852888.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ Craig Tello (November 27, 2006). "Lita says goodbye". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/325276811. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- ^ WZ.com Exclusive: Update On Gail Kim In WWE
- ^ Tim Baines (November 30, 2003). "Trish hot in, out of ring". Ottawa Sun). http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2003/11/30/273168.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- ^ Amy Dumas (2004). Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D - The Reality of Amy Dumas (p.213). World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 074347399X.
- ^ KellyKellyWWe.com (April 20, 2007). "Ashley, Torrie, Maryse, Brooke, Layla and Kelly Kelly shoot Timbaland video". http://kellykellywwe.com/news/apr_07_kelly_timbaland.php.
- ^ Kara A. Medalis (April 20, 2007). "The Sexiet Women n L.A.". http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/4563070. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
External links
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