The WWE Diva Search was a talent competition held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The first winner was Jaime Koeppe, but she did not receive a contract like subsequent winners of the contest. Other winners included Christy Hemme, Ashley Massaro, Layla El, and the final winner Eve Torres. In addition to the winners of the yearly contest, WWE has hired several contestants as Divas.
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2003
In 2003 WWE had its first Diva Search. However, unlike the later Diva Searches, the first Diva Search winner did not receive a contract. She did receive a photoshoot for an issue of WWE Magazine. Jaime Koeppe was named the first WWE Diva Search winner.
2004
- Themes: "Walk Idiot Walk" by The Hives, "Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future, and "Open Your Eyes" by Alter Bridge
Contestants
- Christy Hemme - Winner[1][2][3][4]
- Carmella DeCesare - Runner-Up[3][5]
- Joy Giovanni - 3rd Place[5]
- Amy Weber - 4th Place[5]
- Maria Kanellis - 5th Place[6]
- Tracie Wright - 6th Place
- Michelle McCool - 7th Place[6]
- Chandra Costello - 8th Place
- Camille Anderson - 9th Place
- Julia Costello - 10th Place
Notes
In 2004, WWE decided to make an extension of the Diva Search, which included a one-year contract worth $250,000 and was held on Raw.[4][7] Over 7,000 females applied to be a part of the contest.[1] The final ten contestants were chosen on a casting special aired on Spike TV on July 15, with guest judges Triple H, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and Edge.[7]
They began airing the weekly Diva Search segments on July 19.[4][7] Despite reported claims by the company that the contest would be handled in a classy manner, the contest involved prospective divas performing suggestive acts on live television, such as "seducing" a male wrestler. Fans were allowed to vote for the winners,[4] but the outcome of the voting process was questioned by media outlets. The eventual winner of the competition was Christy Hemme, who went on to pose in Playboy and compete at WrestleMania 21.[2]
Finalists (winner Hemme, runner-up Carmella DeCesare, Amy Weber, and Joy Giovanni)[5] took part in a segment titled "Diss the Diva" on August 16, 2004,[8] which was censored at several points due to foul language and obscenities from the contestants when they were asked to taunt one another verbally. Backstage, the four contestants bickered with and disliked each other, as well.[5] Also, during an earlier segment in the competition, Maria Kanellis gave DeCesare the middle finger.[6]
Despite only one winner being crowned in the competition each year, WWE hired a large number of the contestants from past contests and immediately placed them in on-camera in non-wrestling roles. From the 2004 Diva Search, Michelle McCool, Amy Weber,[5] Candice Michelle,[7] Maria Kanellis,[6] and Joy Giovanni all received contracts after losing the contest. Several of the girls were sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to train.[5] Weber eventually quit the company, alleging that Randy Orton had played cruel pranks on her. In December 2005, Hemme was released by WWE.[5] Candice Michelle went on to be the first Diva Search contestant to win the WWE Women's Championship in June 2007, and Michelle McCool became the first holder of the WWE Divas Championship in July 2008. On June 19, 2009, Candice Michelle was released by the WWE making Michelle McCool and Maria Kanellis the only two original former Diva Search contestants left. In June 2009, Michelle McCool became the first ever WWE Diva and the first former Diva Search contestant to hold the Womens Championship and the Divas Championship. Also in 2009, Maria won Diva of the Year as voted by the fans at wwe.com making her the first Diva Search contestant to win a Slammy at the 2009 Slammy Awards.
2005
- Theme: "Be Yourself" by Audioslave
Contestants
- Ashley Massaro - Winner[5][9]
- Leyla Milani - Runner-up
- Elisabeth Rouffaer - 3rd Place
- Kristal Marshall - 4th Place
- Summer DeLin - 5th Place
- Cameron Haven - 6th Place
- Simona Fusco - 7th Place
- Leilene "Alexis" Ondrade - 8th place
Notes
For the 2005 Diva Search, WWE reportedly emphasized the fact that potential contestants did not need to have any wrestling experience or even a desire to wrestle. The contestants instead were asked each week to "show us your individuales". The eight finalists began appearing on Raw on June 27. One contestant was eliminated each week until there was a final three.[9] Contestant Leyla Milani accidentally exposed herself by falling out of her top while attempting to navigate an obstacle course on the July 4 edition of Raw, leading to a "disqualification" in the contest.[10]
Ashley Massaro was declared the winner on August 15 and received $250,000.[9] Massaro wanted to train to wrestle, however, due to her family's involvement in amateur wrestling. As in 2004, not only the winner of the contest was hired by WWE. Other contestants hired include Kristal Marshall, Trenesha Biggers and Elisabeth Rouffaer, who are no longer with the company. Milani, the runner up and a model for the NBC hit television show Deal or No Deal, did not go on to work for WWE. She appeared in a commercial for USA Network called "Raw Fan Nation", however. Leilene "Alexis" Ondrade appeared as Smiley on the VH1 reality show Flavor of Love, Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, and I Love Money 2. On July 9, 2008, Massaro was released from her WWE contract due to "personal issues".
2006
- Themes: "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects, "Face Down" by the The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and "Out Here All Night" by Damone
Contestants
- Layla El - Winner[11]
- Jen England - Runner-up[11]
- J.T. Tinney - 3rd Place[11]
- Milena Roucka - 4th Place[11]
- Erica Chevillar - 5th Place[11]
- Rebecca DiPietro - 6th Place[11]
- Maryse Ouellet - 7th Place[11]
- Amy Zidian - 8th Place[11]
Notes
The eight finalists made their first appearance on WWE programming on Raw on July 10.[12] The Diva Search had an awkward beginning on July 10 with an introductory segment on Raw featuring new host Mike Mizanin. During the segment, Mizanin appeared to have forgotten his lines and stammered on for several minutes when trying to explain the voting procedures for the contest.[13] When introducing the contestants, Mizanin mispronounced names and looked uncomfortable in his new role as Diva Search emcee.[13] Each week, the contestants appeared on both Raw and SmackDown!.[12] The final three appeared on a special that aired on August 16, 2006 on the USA Network in the USA and August 19, 2006 on FOX8 in Australia, where the winner was announced.
Layla El won the 4th annual Diva Search[11] and was placed on SmackDown! in late 2006 before she was moved to ECW as part of the short lived trio Extreme Expose throughout 2007. WWE also hired several of the eliminated Diva contestants including: Maryse Ouellet, the Garcia Twins, Rebecca DiPietro and Milena Roucka. Up until her release in August 2006, Rebecca DiPetro had a short stint with the company when she became a backstage interviewer on ECW. Amy Zidian also had a short stint with the business when she debuted on Smackdown as the valet for Jimmy Wang Yang before she was released due to a poor backstage attitude. In December 2008, Maryse Ouellet became the third Diva Search contestant to win a championship and the second title holder to the Divas Championship after defeating Michelle McCool. Milena went on to become "Rosa Mendes", a fan of the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix, who debuted in 2008.
2007
- Theme: "Let it Roll" by Velvet Revolver[14]
Contestants
- Eve Torres - Winner[15]
- Brooke Gilbertsen - Runner-up
- Lena Yada - 3rd place
- Taryn Terrell - 4th place[16]
- Jessica Hatch - 5th place[17]
- J. Kim - 6th Place[18]
- Lyndy Frieson - 7th Place[19]
- Naomi Kirk - 8th Place[20]
Notes
The first competition was on WWE.com on September 10, which was also when the voting started. The winner was announced on the October 29 edition of Raw. Unlike past Diva Searches, this Search was the first to take place exclusively on WWE.com. Short vignettes aired each week, recapping the weekly competitions and encouraging viewers to vote. When it got down to the final three, Eve Torres, Brooke Gilbertson, and Lena Yada made their first live television appearance on Raw on October 22, 2007. Torres was announced the winner on the October 29 episode of Raw. Torres made her first television appearance in WWE since winning the Search on SmackDown! on February 1, 2008, where she debuted as the new interviewer.
As in past Diva Searches, WWE signed a number of the runner up's to contracts. Lena Yada was signed by WWE and debuted on January 4, 2008 as a backstage interviewer until she was released from her WWE contract in November 2008. Taryn Terrell was signed to a development contract and made her wrestling debut on the February 12, 2008 FCW show in a lingerie contest. On the June 10 episode of ECW, Terrell made her debut as ECW General Manager Theodore Long's assistant going by the name of Tiffany and is currently the General Manager on the show. Angela Fong was also signed to a developmental contract despite not making it to the top 8 and debuted on ECW in 2009 as a backstage interviewer by going under the name of Savannah.
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Christy Hemme". PurrfectAngelz.com. http://www.purrfectangelz.com/angel-christy_hemme.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ a b Tim Baines (March 9, 2005). "Christy Hemme: A naked conversation". The Ottawa Sun. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2005/03/09/955105.html. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ a b "Christy Hemme". Bullz-eye.com. http://www.bullz-eye.com/celebritybabes/christy_hemme.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ a b c d "Hemme Wins $250,000 One-Year Contract with WWE". Business Wire. September 21, 2004. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_Sept_21/ai_n6201557. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Simon 'LILSBOY' Rothstein (August 2005). "Hemme is Christy clear". The Sun Online. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003560001-2005380448,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ a b c d Eric Gargiulo (March 17, 2008). "WWE Diva & Playboy cover girl, Maria speaks to phillyBurbs.com". PhillyBurbs.com. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/341-03172008-1503583.html. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ a b c d "The Next WWE Diva Ultimately to be Chosen by the Millions of WWE fans Worldwide On September 13". WWE Corporate. 2004-07-12. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2004/2004_07_12.2.jsp. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- ^ "RAW Results: August 16, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. August 16, 2007. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/040816.html. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ a b c "Ashley Massaro of New York Wins WWE RAW Diva Search, Secures $250,000 One-Year Contract with WWE". WWE Corporate. August 15, 2005. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2005/2005_08_15_2.jsp. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ "RAW Results: July 4, 2005". Online World of Wrestling. July 4, 2005. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/050704.html. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "2006 Diva Search Interviews". FHM Online. http://www.fhmonline.com/articles-1642.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
- ^ a b "WWE Diva Search Finalists Debut Tonight On Monday Night RAW". WWE Corporate. July 10, 2006. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2006/2006_07_10.jsp. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ a b "RAW Results: July 10, 2006". Online World of Wrestling. July 10, 2006. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/060710.html. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ Kara A. Medalis (August 22, 2007). "Special thanks to Velvet Revolver". WWE.com. http://www.wwe.com/divasearch/exclusives/velvetrevolver. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^ EveTorres.com (2007-10-29). "The 2007 Diva Search Winner is Eve Torres". EveTorres.com. http://www.evetorres.com/evetorres/post/2007-WWE-Diva-Search-Winner-Eve-Torres.aspx. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
- ^ Andrew Rote (October 16, 2007). "Farewell Taryn". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/divasearch/competitions/rescue/exclusives/farewelltaryn. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
- ^ Andrew Rote (October 9, 2007). "Farewell Jessica". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/divasearch/competitions/rapidfire/exclusives/farewelljessica. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
- ^ Andrew Rote (October 2, 2007). "Farewell J. Kim". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/divasearch/competitions/obstaclecourse/exclusives/farewelljkim. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ Kara A. Medalis (September 25, 2007). "Weekly roundup: Obstacle Course". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/divasearch/competitions/obstaclecourse/exclusives/weeklyroundup. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ Kara A. Medalis (September 18, 2007). "Weekly roundup: Limbo". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/divasearch/competitions/limbo/exclusives/weeklyroundup. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
External links
- 2006 Diva Search at WWE.com
- FHM Online interviews with the 2006 contestants
- Diva Search 2007 at WWE.com
- WWE Diva Search History at Pro-Wrestling Edge
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