The WWE Diva Search is 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 Eve Torres. In addition to the winners of the yearly contest, WWE has hired several contestants as Divas. WWE is currently planning to bring back the Diva Search after a four-year hiatus but as of October 2011 nothing has been announced.[1]
Contents |
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.
| WWE Diva Search | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | |||
| Broadcast from | July 19, 2004 – September 20, 2004 | ||
| Broadcaster | Spike TV | ||
| Winner | |||
Christy Hemme, the 2004 Diva Search winner
|
|||
| Name | Christy Hemme | ||
| Hometown | Poway, California | ||
| Runner-up | |||
| Carmella DeCesare | |||
| Name | Age[1] | Hometown | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christy Hemme | 23 | Poway, CA | Winner [2][3][4][5] |
| Carmella DeCesare | 23 | Avon Lake, OH | Runner-Up [4][6] |
| Joy Giovanni | 26 | Boston, MA | 3rd Place [6] |
| Amy Weber | 27 | Mapleton, IL | 4th Place [6] |
| Maria Kanellis | 22 | Ottawa, IL | 5th Place [7] |
| Tracie Wright | 24 | Atlanta, GA | 6th Place |
| Michelle McCool | 24 | Palatka, FL | 7th Place [7] |
| Chandra Costello | 28 | Liberty, KY | 8th Place |
| Camille Anderson | 26 | Dallas, TX | 9th Place |
| Julia Costello | 28 | Liberty, KY | 10th Place |
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.[5][8] Over 7,000 females applied to be a part of the contest.[2] 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.[8]
They began airing the weekly Diva Search segments on July 19.[5][8] 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,[5] 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 competed at WrestleMania 21 for the WWE Women's Championship where she was accompanied to the ring by Lita, but ended up with Trish Stratus retaining the title.[3]
Finalists (winner Hemme, runner-up Carmella DeCesare, Amy Weber, and Joy Giovanni)[6] took part in a segment titled "Diss the Diva" on August 30, 2004,[9] 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.[6] Also, during an earlier segment in the competition, Maria Kanellis gave DeCesare the middle finger.[7]
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,[6] Candice Michelle,[8] Maria Kanellis,[7] and Joy Giovanni all received contracts after losing the contest. Several of the girls were sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to train.[6] Weber eventually quit the company, alleging that Randy Orton had played cruel pranks on her. In December 2005, Christy Hemme was released by WWE due to budget cuts.[6] Hemme posed for the cover of Playboy in 2005, Candice Michelle appeared on the cover for the 2006 issue, and Kanellis appeared on the cover in 2008. 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. Despite being released back in 2005 Joy Giovanni participated in the 25-Divas Battle Royal at Wrestlemania XXV. On June 19, 2009, Candice Michelle was released by WWE. That year, McCool became the first contestant to hold the Women's Championship and Divas Championship along with winning the Unified Divas Championship in 2010. Maria Kanellis became the first Diva Search contestant to win a Slammy at the 2009 WWE Slammy Awards for Diva of the Year as voted by the fans at WWE.com followed by McCool in 2010 after winning the Battle Royal at 2010 WWE Slammy Awards in addition to her sharing Knucklehead of the Year with 2006 winner Layla El. Prior to her release on February 26, 2010 Maria finished taking part of The Celebrity Apperentice 3 while still employed before the show aired in March. Michelle McCool became the last contestant employed by WWE until her departure on May 1, 2011 at Extreme Rules (2011) as she was defeated by Layla El in a no disqualification, no count-out, loser leaves WWE match.
| WWE Diva Search | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | |||
| Broadcast from | June 27, 2005 – August 15, 2005 | ||
| Broadcaster | Spike TV | ||
| Winner | |||
Ashley Massaro, the 2005 Diva Search winner
|
|||
| Name | Ashley Massaro | ||
| Hometown | Babylon, New York | ||
| Runner-up | |||
| Leyla Milani | |||
| Name | Age[2] | Hometown | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Massaro | 26 | Babylon, NY | Winner [6][10] |
| Leyla Milani | 23 | Toronto, ON | Runner-Up |
| Elisabeth Rouffaer | 22 | Santa Cruz, CA | 3rd Place |
| Kristal Marshall | 21 | Los Angeles, CA | 4th Place |
| Summer DeLin | 24 | Shreveport, LA | 5th Place |
| Cameron Haven | 24 | Lake Worth, FL | 6th Place |
| Simona Fusco | 25 | Italy | 7th Place |
| Leilene "Alexis" Ondrade | 23 | Costa Mesa, CA | 8th Place |
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 eight finalists began appearing on Raw on June 27. One contestant was eliminated each week until there was a final three.[10] 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.[11]
Ashley Massaro was declared the winner on August 15 and received $250,000.[10] 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. Massaro appeared on the cover of the 2007 issue of Playboy and also took part of Survivor: China. Other contestants hired include Kristal Marshall, Trenesha Biggers (eliminated in the Top 25) and Elisabeth Rouffaer. Leyla Milani the runner up and a model for the NBC television show Deal or No Deal appeared in a commercial for USA Network called "Raw Fan Nation". 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 requested and was granted her release from her WWE contract. As of 2008, contestants from the 2005 Diva Search are no longer active with the WWE.
| WWE Diva Search | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | |||
| Broadcast from | July 10, 2006 – August 16, 2006 | ||
| Broadcaster | USA Network UPN |
||
| Winner | |||
Layla El, the 2006 Diva Search winner
|
|||
| Name | Layla El | ||
| Hometown | Miami, Florida | ||
| Runner-up | |||
| Jen England | |||
| Name | Age[3] | Hometown | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layla El | 27 | Miami, FL | Winner [12] |
| Jen England | 27 | Lansing, MI | Runner-Up [12] |
| J.T. Tinney | 25 | Phoenix, AZ | 3rd Place [12] |
| Milena Roucka | 26 | Vancouver, BC | 4th Place [12] |
| Erica Chevillar | 23 | Boca Raton, FL | 5th Place [12] |
| Rebecca DiPietro | 26 | Rehoboth, MA | 6th Place [12] |
| Maryse Ouellet | 23 | Montreal, QC | 7th Place [12] |
| Amy Zidian | 23 | Orlando, FL | 8th Place [12] |
The eight finalists made their first appearance on WWE programming on Raw on July 10.[13] 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.[14] When introducing the contestants, Mizanin mispronounced names and looked uncomfortable in his new role as Diva Search emcee.[14] Each week, the contestants appeared on both Raw and SmackDown!.[13] 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[12] and was placed on SmackDown! in late 2006 before she was moved to ECW as part of the short lived dance trio Extreme Expose throughout 2007. WWE also hired several of the eliminated Diva contestants including: Maryse Ouellet, The Garcia Twins, Rebecca DiPietro, Brooke Adams, Amy Zidian, and Milena Roucka. DiPietro had a short stint with the company when she became a backstage interviewer on the ECW brand. 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 her poor backstage behavior. Adams was first sent to Deep South Wrestling before debuting on the ECW brand as a member of Extreme Expose with El but was released in 2007 and later went to work for rival Impact Wrestling in 2011. The Garcia Twins debuted on the SmackDown brand as The Bella Twins in August 2008. In December 2008, Ouellet won the Divas Championship after defeating Michelle McCool and becoming the second contestant to win that title. Ouellet would then go on to win her second and last Divas title after defeating Gail Kim in the Tournament Finals in 2010. Milena went on to become Rosa Mendes, a fan of the Glamazon Beth Phoenix who debuted in 2008 and has since then managed Carlito, Zack Ryder, and the team of Primo and Epico. In May 2010, Layla became the first and only Diva Search winner to become the WWE Women's Champion after teaming up with Michelle McCool to defeat Beth Phoenix in a 2 on 1 Handicap Match. Due to the fact that Layla got the pinfall, she became the Women's Champion. Layla also became the second winner to win a title and the last person to hold the Women's Championship before it was retired in 2010. That year, she and McCool won Knucklehead of the Year at the 2010 Slammy Awards making El the first Diva Search winner to win a Slammy. Brie Bella would also go to win the Divas title in April 2011 making her the sixth contestant to win a title after defeating 2007 winner Eve Torres. On October 28th, 2011, Maryse Ouellet was released by WWE leaving Layla, Milena, and the Bella Twins as the only four contestants from the 2006 Diva Search still employed by WWE.
| WWE Diva Search | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | |||
| Broadcast from | September 10, 2007 – October 29, 2007 | ||
| Broadcaster | Webcast | ||
| Winner | |||
Eve Torres, the 2007 Diva Search winner
|
|||
| Name | Eve Torres | ||
| Hometown | Denver, Colorado | ||
| Runner-up | |||
| Brooke Gilbertsen | |||
| Name | Age[4] | Hometown | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eve Torres | 22 | Denver, CO | Winner [16] |
| Brooke Gilbertsen | 22 | Chicago, IL | Runner-Up |
| Lena Yada | 28 | Los Angeles, CA | 3rd Place |
| Taryn Terrell | 23 | New Orleans, LA | 4th Place [17] |
| Jessica Hatch | 26 | Canada | 5th Place [18] |
| J. Kim | 24 | Catawba, NC | 6th Place [19] |
| Lyndy Frieson | 22 | Vancouver, BC | 7th Place [20] |
| Naomi Kirk | 24 | West Yorkshire | 8th Place [21] |
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. Tarryn Terrell, Angela Fong and Lena Yada were called up to the roster despite being eliminated. Yada served as a backstage interviewer on ECW while Fong who was signed to a developmental contract did ring announcing for the first season of WWE NXT as Savannah. Terrell became the General Manager of ECW while going under the name of Tiffany but started to competing in matches after the show went off the air. After winning the competition, Eve Torres along with 2006 winner Layla El became the only two Diva Search winners to win a title. Torres became the first winner to hold the Diva's Championship and later becoming a two-time Diva's Championship after winnig the title again at the 2011 Royal Rumble in a Fatal Four Way match. As of 2011, Torres remains as the only contestant from the 2007 Diva Search still employed by WWE after the releases of Yada in 2008 and Fong and Terrell in 2010.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||