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Thursday, 20 October 2011

WWE Diva Search

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.




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


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


Contestants
Name Age[1] Hometown Eliminated
Christy Hemme 23 Poway, CA Winner 
Carmella DeCesare 23 Avon Lake, OH Runner-Up 
Joy Giovanni 26 Boston, MA 3rd Place 
Amy Weber 27 Mapleton, IL 4th Place 
Maria Kanellis 22 Ottawa, IL 5th Place 
Tracie Wright 24 Atlanta, GA 6th Place
Michelle McCool 24 Palatka, FL 7th Place 
Chandra Costello 28 Liberty, KY 8th Place
Camille Anderson 26 Dallas, TX 9th Place
Julia Costello 28 Liberty, KY 10th Place




Former Diva Search contestant Candice Michelle as the Women's 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. Over 7,000 females applied to be a part of the contest. 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.
They began airing the weekly Diva Search segments on July 19. 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, 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.
Finalists (winner Hemme, runner-up Carmella DeCesare, Amy Weber, and Joy Giovanni)[5] took part in a segment titled "Diss the Diva" on August 30, 2004, 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. Also, during an earlier segment in the competition, Maria Kanellis gave DeCesare the middle finger.
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,Candice Michelle, Maria Kanellis, and Joy Giovanni all received contracts after losing the contest. Several of the girls were sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to train.[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. 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 McCool became the first holder of the WWE Divas Championship in July 2008. On June 19, 2009, Candice Michelle was released by WWE. Also in 2009, McCool became the first Diva Search contestant and the first WWE Diva to hold the Women's Championship and Divas Championship. In December 2009, 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. On February 26, 2010 Kanellis was released by WWE. 




2005


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
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Leyla Milani


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. 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.
Ashley Massaro was declared the winner on August 15 and received $250,000.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.






2006


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


The eight finalists made their first appearance on WWE programming on Raw on July 10. 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. When introducing the contestants, Mizanin mispronounced names and looked uncomfortable in his new role as Diva Search emcee. Each week, the contestants appeared on both Raw and SmackDown!. 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.
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Layla El won the 4th annual Diva Search 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, Brooke Adams and Milena Roucka. DiPietro 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. Adams was first sent to Deep South Wrestling before debuting on the ECW brand as a member of Extreme Expose; Brooke was released by WWE in 2007. 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. Milena went on to become Rosa Mendes, a fan of the Glamazon Beth Phoenix who debuted in 2008 and has since then managed Carlito and Zack Ryder. In May 2010, Layla became the first and only Diva Search winner and the first British person 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 also won Knucklehead of the Year at the 2010 Slammy Awards making her the first Diva Search winner to win a Slammy sharing the award with McCool.




2007


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


Former 2007 Diva Search Contestant, Taryn Terrell portraying the character of Tiffany on Raw.
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. The winner, Eve Torres became the third Diva Search contestant and the first Diva Search winner to win the WWE Diva's Championship winning it on the April 12th episode of Raw. At the 2011 Royal Rumble, Torres became the first Diva Search winner to win the Unified Divas Championship after winning the Fatal Four Way match.



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