The WWE Diva Search was a talent competition held by WWE For Extreme. 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.
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.
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) took part in a segment titled "Diss the Diva" on August 16, 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.
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 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.
2006[]
Themes[]
Layla El, 2006 Diva Search Winner
"Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
"Move Along" by The All-American Rejects
"Out Here All Night" by Damone
Contestants[]
Name
Age
Hometown
Eliminated
Layla El
27
Miami, FL
Winner
Jen England
27
Lansing, MI
Runner-Up
J.T. Tinney
25
Phoenix, AZ
3rd Place
Milena Roucka
26
Vancouver, BC
4th Place
Erica Chevillar
23
Boca Raton, FL
5th Place
Rebecca DiPietro
26
Rehoboth, MA
6th Place
Maryse Ouellet
23
Montreal, QC
7th Place
Amy Zidian
23
Orlando, FL
8th Place
^[a] Ages are at time of filming.
Notes[]
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.
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.
