WWE Diva Search

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WWE Diva Search
Created by Vince McMahon
Opening theme
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes TBA
Production
Camera setup Multicamera setup
Release
Original network
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
Original release July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)
Chronology
Related shows
External links
Website

WWE Diva Search (formerly WWE Raw Diva Search) is a 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 2016, Milena Roucka, Maryse Ouellet and Nikki Bella, from the 2006 Raw Diva Search, are the last remaining Divas to come from the Diva Search. It was rumored that the show would return in 2015 but the plan has been ultimately scrapped.

2003

WWE Diva Search
Season 2003
Winner
Jaime Koeppe

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

WWE Diva Search
Season 2004
Broadcast from July 15 –
September 20, 2004
Broadcaster Spike TV
Winner
Christy Hemme
Christy Hemme, the 2004 Diva Search winner
Christy Hemme, the 2004 Diva Search winner
Runner-up
Carmella DeCesare

Official themes

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

  1. ↑ "Real Good Girl" by Jim Johnston was written exclusively for the 2004 WWE Raw $250,000 Diva Search competition. The song was later featured in WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6.
  2. ↑ "Walk Idiot Walk" was also used as the official entrance theme for Christy Hemme after winning the competition.

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:

Finalists

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

Notes

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.[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

WWE Diva Search
Season 2005
Broadcast from June 27 –
August 15, 2005
Broadcaster Spike TV
Winner
Ashley Massaro
Ashley Massaro, the 2005 Diva Search winner
Ashley Massaro, the 2005 Raw Diva Search winner
Runner-up
Leyla Milani

Official theme

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

  1. ↑ "Be Yourself" was also used as the official entrance theme for Ashley Massaro after winning the competition.

Contestants

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

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

WWE Diva Search
Season 2006
Broadcast from July 10 –
August 16, 2006
Broadcaster USA Network
UPN
Winner
Layla El
A dark-haired, tanned Caucasian female straddles the top rope of a wrestling ring with blue ropes. She is wearing a red patterned crop top, and matching shorts and kneepads. She is holding a wrestling championship above her head with both hands.
Layla El, the 2006 WWE Raw Diva Search winner
Runner-up
Jen England

Official themes

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

  1. ↑ "Move Along" was briefly used as the official entrance theme for Layla El after winning the competition.

Contestants

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

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

WWE Diva Search
Season 2007
Broadcast from September 10 –
October 29, 2007
Broadcaster WWE.com
Winner
Eve Torres
Eve Torres, the 2007 Diva Search winner
Eve Torres, the 2007 Diva Search winner and a record three time WWE Divas Champion
Runner-up
Brooke Gilbertsen

Official theme

The 2007 WWE Diva Search featured one official theme song.

Contestants

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

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 was cancelled due to the failure of the 2007 edition.

2016

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.[22] As of 2016, there has been no new information given about the future of the Diva Search.

See also

References

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  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ WWE Announces the Return of the Diva SearchPossible Changes For WWE Tag Team, Big Guest For Steve Austin On WWE Network?, Diva Search News
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