WWE Diva Search

WWE Diva Search (formerly WWE Raw Diva Search) was an talent competition held by WWE. 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. In 2011, WWE announced plans to bring back the Diva Search.^[1] As of 2017, Maryse Ouellet, Nikki Bella and Maria Kanellis, are the last remaining Divas to come from the Diva Search. It was rumored that the show would return in 2015, but that plan has been ultimately scrapped.

2003

The first WWE Diva Search took place in between July 1 and August 24, 2003. However, unlike the later Diva Searches, the first Diva Search winner did not receive a contract. She received a photoshoot for an issue of WWE Magazine. Jaime Koeppe was named the first WWE Diva Search winner.

2004

Official themes

The 2004 WWE Raw $250,000 Diva Search featured four official theme songs.

• "Open Your Eyes" by Alter Bridge
• "Real Good Girl" by Jim Johnston^{[n 1]}
• "Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future
• "Walk Idiot Walk" by The Hives^{[n 2]}

Top 28

Open casting calls were held in Los Angeles, NYC, and Chicago in June and July to narrow the field down from thousands to 28 women. The following the 28 finalists where chosen from each of the locations:

Name Age Hometown Selected/Not selected Amy Weber 27 Mapleton, Illinois Selected (Finalist) Alison Weder 23 Minooka, Illinois Not selected (Semi-finalist) Bobbi Sue Luther 25 Silver Spring, Maryland Not selected (Semi-finalist) Camille Anderson 26 Dallas, Texas Selected (Finalist) Candice Michelle 25 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Not selected (Semi-finalist) Carmella DeCesare 23 Avon Lake, Ohio Selected (Finalist) CeCe Wagner 22 Chicago, Illinois Not selected (Semi-finalist) Chandra Costello 28 Liberty, Kentucky Selected (Finalist) Christina Hernandez 24 Odessa, Texas Not selected (Semi-finalist) Christy Hemme 23 Poway, California Selected (Finalist) Erin "Kelly" Britz 25 Kansas City, Kansas Not selected (Semi-finalist) Gabrielle Tuite 26 Brooklyn, New York Not selected (Semi-finalist) Jaynie Mae Baker 23 New York, New York Not selected (Semi-finalist) Jennifer R. Lopez 26 Lodi, New Jersey Not selected (Semi-finalist)

Name Age Hometown Selected/Not selected Joy Giovanni 26 Boston, Massachusetts Selected (Finalist) Julia Costello 28 Liberty, Kentucky Selected (Finalist) Karen McDougal 33 Merrillville, Indiana Not selected (Semi-finalist) Kimberly Cozzens 21 San Jose, California Not selected (Semi-finalist) Kimmy Brown 24 Seattle, Washington Not selected (Semi-finalist) Maria Kanellis 22 Ottawa, Illinois Selected (Finalist) Mary Castro 25 LaVerne, Connecticut Not selected (Semi-finalist) Michelle McCool 24 Palatka, Florida Selected (Finalist) Nicole Bradhurst 24 Kansas City, Missouri Not selected (Semi-finalist) Nina Hardin 22 Carson, California Not selected (Semi-finalist) Tammy Vallejos 24 Albuquerque, New Mexico Not selected (Semi-finalist) Taryn J. Reed 25 Charlotte, North Carolina Not selected (Semi-finalist) Tracie Wright 24 Atlanta, Georgia Selected (Finalist) Yesenia Camacho 30 Austin, Texas Not selected (Semi-finalist)

Finalists

Name	Age[n 1]	Hometown	Eliminated
Christy Hemme	23	Poway, California	Winner[2][3][4][5]
Carmella DeCesare	26	Avon Lake, Ohio	Runner-Up[4][6]
Joy Giovanni	26	Boston, Massachusetts	3rd Place[6]
Amy Weber	27	Mapleton, Illinois	4th Place[6]
Maria Kanellis	22	Ottawa, Illinois	5th Place[7]
Tracie Wright	24	Atlanta, Georgia	6th Place
Michelle McCool	24	Palatka, Florida	7th Place[7]
Chandra Costello	28	Liberty, Kentucky	8th Place
Camille Anderson	26	Dallas, Texas	9th Place
Julia Costello	28	Liberty, Kentucky	10th Place

Notes

Former Diva Search contestant Candice Michelle as the Women's Champion

Michelle McCool was the first Diva Search contestant to become the inaugural Divas Champion

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 Raw 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]

2005

Official theme

The 2005 WWE Raw Diva Search featured one official theme song.

• "Be Yourself" by Audioslave^{[n 1]}

Contestants

Name	Age[n 1]	Hometown	Eliminated
Ashley Massaro	26	Babylon, New York	Winner[6][10]
Leyla Milani	23	Toronto, Ontario	Runner-Up
Elisabeth Rouffaer	22	Santa Cruz, California	3rd Place
Kristal Marshall	21	Los Angeles, California	4th Place
Summer DeLin	24	Shreveport, Louisiana	5th Place
Cameron Haven	24	Lake Worth, Florida	6th Place
Simona Fusco	25	Milan, Italy	7th Place
Alexis Ondrade	23	Costa Mesa, California	8th Place

Notes

For the 2005 WWE Raw Diva Search, 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, other contestants were hired by WWE, including Kristal Marshall, Trenesha Biggers (eliminated in the Top 25) and Elisabeth Rouffaer.

2006

Official themes

The 2006 WWE Raw Diva Search featured three official theme songs.

• "Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
• "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects^{[n 1]}
• "Out Here All Night" by Damone

Contestants

Name	Age[n 1]	Hometown	Eliminated
Layla El	29	London, England	Winner[12]
Jennifer England	27	Lansing, Michigan	Runner-Up[12]
J.T. Tinney	25	Phoenix, Arizona	3rd Place[12]
Milena Roucka	26	Vancouver, British Columbia	4th Place[12]
Erica Chevillar	23	Boca Raton, Florida	5th Place[12]
Rebecca DiPietro	26	Rehoboth, Massachusetts	6th Place[12]
Maryse Ouellet	23	Montreal, Quebec	7th Place[12]
Amy Zidian	23	Orlando, Florida	8th Place[12]

Notes

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, where the winner was announced.

Layla El won the 3rd annual Raw Diva Search^[12] and was placed on SmackDown! in late 2006. WWE also hired several of the eliminated Diva contestants including Maryse Ouellet, The Garcia Twins, Rebecca DiPietro, Brooke Adams, Amy Zidian, and Milena Roucka.

2007

Official theme

The 2007 WWE Diva Search featured one official theme song.

• "Let it Roll" by Velvet Revolver^[15]

Contestants

Name	Age[n 1]	Hometown	Eliminated
Eve Torres	22	Denver, Colorado	Winner[16]
Brooke Gilbertsen	22	Chicago, Illinois	Runner-Up
Lena Yada	27	Los Angeles, California	3rd Place
Taryn Terrell	21	New Orleans, Louisiana	4th Place[17]
Jessica Hatch	26	Montreal, Quebec	5th Place[18]
J. Kim	24	Catawba, North Carolina	6th Place[19]
Lyndy Frieson	22	Vancouver, British Columbia	7th Place[20]
Naomi Kirk	24	West Yorkshire, England	8th Place[21]

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 with most of the pre-taped segments TV. Tarryn Terrell, Angela Fong and Lena Yada were called up to the roster despite being eliminated.

2008

The 2008 edition was supposed to take place that year, but it was cancelled due to the failure of the 2007 edition.

2013

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in February 2013 that WWE held an un-aired diva search in the Los Angeles area.^[22] Among the prospects that participated were future WWE performers Eva Marie, Lana, JoJo, Devin Taylor, and Veronica Lane, with the former winning the contest.^[23][24]

2015/16

During WrestleMania 31, WWE announced that new shows will air on the WWE Network, including a returning WWE Diva Search, which was expected to premiere in the fall of 2015.^[25] There was no additional information given until July 2016, when WWE surveyed fans about potential new WWE Network shows, including a new season of Diva Search under a new name (WWE Superstar Search) due to the fact that the term "Diva" was ultimately phased out that year. In addition, the show would've been hosted by Lita and Trish Stratus.^[26]

See also

• TNA Gut Check
• WWE Tough Enough
• Women in WWE

References