WWE Diva Search

WWE Diva Search
Also known as	WWE Raw Diva Search Diva Search Raw Divas Search
Created by	Vince McMahon
Opening theme	"Walk Idiot Walk" by The Hives (2004) "Be Yourself" by Audioslave (2005) "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects (2006) "Let It Roll" by Velvet Revolver (2007)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	6
Production
Camera setup	Multicamera setup
Release
Original network	Spike TV (2004–2005) USA Network (2006) UPN (2006) WWE.com (2007)
Picture format	NTSC
Original release	July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)
Chronology
Related shows	WWE Raw WWE SmackDown WWE Tough Enough
External links
Website

WWE Diva Search (formerly WWE Raw Diva Search) is a talent competition that was produced and held by World Wrestling Entertainment (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, Eve Torres and Eva Marie. In addition to the winners of the yearly contest, WWE has hired several contestants as Divas, the name that WWE gave at the time to the female performers. As of 2021, Maryse Ouellet is the sole remaining female talents signed with WWE to come from the contest. There were many failed attempts at bringing back the competition over the years following the cancellation of the 2008 season, and was at one point going to return in 2019 under the new name Superstar Search. But those plans were scrapped.^[1][2][3][4]

2003[]

WWE Diva Search
Winner	Jaime Koeppe
Runner-up	Terri Mitchell

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. The four that competed that year in the 1st WWE Diva search were Jamie Koeppe, Terri Mitchell, Paige and Marsha. Fans voted online and WWE made the final decision. The competition was held the night before SummerSlam at Jillian's in Phoenix, Arizona.

2004[]

WWE Diva Search
Christy Hemme, the 2004 Diva Search winner
Winner	Christy Hemme
Runner-up	Carmella DeCesare
Release
Original network	Spike TV
Original release	July 15 (2004-07-15) – September 20, 2004 (2004-09-20)

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:

Finalists[]

Name	Age[a]	Hometown	Eliminated
Christy Hemme	23	Poway, California	Winner[5][6][7][8]
Carmella DeCesare	26	Avon Lake, Ohio	Runner-Up[7][9]
Joy Giovanni	26	Boston, Massachusetts	3rd Place[9]
Amy Weber	34	Mapleton, Illinois	4th Place[9]
Maria Kanellis	22	Ottawa, Illinois	5th Place[10]
Tracie Wright	24	Atlanta, Georgia	6th Place
Michelle McCool	24	Palatka, Florida	7th Place[10]
Chandra Costello	28	Liberty, Kentucky	8th Place
Camille Anderson	26	Dallas, Texas	9th Place
Julia Costello	28	Liberty, Kentucky	10th Place

Notes[]

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.^[8][11] Over 7,000 females applied to be a part of the contest.^[5] 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.^[11]

They began airing the weekly Raw Diva Search segments on July 19.^[8][11] 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,^[8] 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.^[6]

Finalists (winner Hemme, runner-up Carmella DeCesare, Amy Weber, and Joy Giovanni)^[9] took part in a segment titled "Diss the Diva" on August 30, 2004,^[12] 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.^[9] Also, during an earlier segment in the competition, Maria Kanellis gave DeCesare the middle finger.^[10]

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,^[9] Candice Michelle,^[11] Maria Kanellis,^[10] and Joy Giovanni all received contracts after losing the contest. Several of the girls were sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to train.

Candice Michelle would become the first Diva Search contestant to win a championship on the main roster, defeating Melina for the WWE Women's Championship at Vengeance: Night of Champions.

2005[]

WWE Diva Search
Ashley Massaro, the 2005 Raw Diva Search winner
Winner	Ashley Massaro
Runner-up	Leyla Milani
Release
Original network	Spike TV
Original release	June 27 (2005-06-27) – August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15)

Official theme[]

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

• "Be Yourself" by Audioslave^{[n 1]}

Contestants[]

Name	Age[a]	Hometown	Eliminated
Ashley Massaro†	26	Babylon, New York	Winner[9][13]
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 were a final three.^[13] 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.^[14]

Ashley Massaro was declared the winner on August 15 and received $250,000.^[13] As in 2004, other contestants were hired by WWE, including Kristal Marshall, Trenesha Biggers (eliminated in the Top 25) and Elisabeth Rouffaer.

Leyla Milani would later appear on Deal or No Deal as a briefcase model. Alexis Ondrade would later appear on Flavor of Love (season 1) under the nickname "Smiley". She would later appear in other "Of Love" spinoff shows under the same nickname or her real name "Leilene Ondrade".

Massaro died on May 16, 2019 at the age of 39.

2006[]

WWE Diva Search
Layla El, the 2006 WWE Diva Search winner and only winner to become WWE Women's Champion and WWE Divas Champion
Winner	Layla El
Runner-up	Jen England
Release
Original network	USA Network
Original release	July 10 (2006-07-10) – August 16, 2006 (2006-08-16)

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[a]	Hometown	Eliminated
Layla El	29	London, Greater London	Winner[15]
Jennifer England	27	Lansing, Michigan	Runner-Up[15]
J.T. Tinney	25	Phoenix, Arizona	3rd Place[15]
Milena Roucka	26	Vancouver, British Columbia	4th Place[15]
Erica Chevillar	23	Boca Raton, Florida	5th Place[15]
Rebecca DiPietro	26	Rehoboth, Massachusetts	6th Place[15]
Maryse Ouellet	23	Montreal, Quebec	7th Place[15]
Amy Zidian	23	Orlando, Florida	8th Place[15]

Notes[]

The eight finalists made their first appearance on WWE programming on Raw on July 10.^[16] 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.^[17] When introducing the contestants, Mizanin mispronounced names and looked uncomfortable in his new role as Diva Search emcee.^[17] Each week, the contestants appeared on both Raw and SmackDown!.^[16] 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^[15] and was placed on SmackDown! in late 2006. WWE also hired several of the eliminated Diva contestants including Maryse Ouellet, The Bella Twins, Rebecca DiPietro, Brooke Adams, Amy Zidian, and Milena Roucka. The Bella Twins would become the first Diva Search contestants to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020

2007[]

WWE Diva Search
Eve Torres, the 2007 Diva Search winner and a record three time WWE Divas Champion
Winner	Eve Torres
Runner-up	Brooke Gilbertsen
Release
Original network	WWE.com
Original release	September 10 (2007-09-10) – October 29, 2007 (2007-10-29)

Official theme song[]

The official theme song for the 2007 WWE Diva Search was "Let it Roll" by Velvet Revolver from the band's second studio album, Libertad, which was released on July 3, 2007. At the time of release, Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup that featured vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarists Slash and Dave Kushner, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum. "Let it Roll" was only used as the official theme song for the competition and was not used as the official entrance theme song for the winner of the competition. Special thanks to Velvet Revolver

Contestants[]

Name	Age[a]	Hometown	Eliminated
Eve Torres	22	Denver, Colorado	Winner[18]
Brooke Gilbertsen	22	Chicago, Illinois	Runner-Up
Lena Yada	27	Los Angeles, California	3rd Place
Taryn Terrell	21	New Orleans, Louisiana	4th Place[19]
Jessica Hatch	26	Montreal, Quebec	5th Place[20]
J. Kim	24	Catawba, North Carolina	6th Place[21]
Lyndy Frieson	22	Vancouver, British Columbia	7th Place[22]
Naomi Kirk	24	West Yorkshire, England	8th Place[23]

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. Taryn Terrell, Angela Fong and Lena Yada were called up to the roster despite being eliminated.

Taryn Terrell and Angela Fong would find more success in other promotions. Taryn Terrell competed for Total Nonstop Action, where she held the TNA Knockouts Championship for a record-setting 279 days, which would be later broken by Taya Valkyrie. Terrell currently wrestles and does commentary for National Wrestling Alliance. Angela Fong wrestled for Lucha Underground under the ring name "Black Lotus". She had a singles match against El Dragon Azteca Jr. at Ultima Lucha Dos.

2013[]

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in February 2013 that WWE held an un-aired diva search in the Los Angeles area.^[24] Among the prospects that participated were future WWE performers Eva Marie, Alexa Bliss, Lana, JoJo, Devin Taylor, and Veronica Lane, with the former winning the contest. Other participants were Maysa Quy, Olivia Karpinski and Sarah Backman who were all models.^[25][26]

Future[]

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.^[27] 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.^[28]

WWE originally announced on January 25, 2019 that the competition would return as a competition show, similar to NXT Seasons 1-5 re-entitled, WWE Stars in association with Bunim-Murray Productions including casting.^[2][3] But on September 29 that year, Squared Circle Sirens reporter Casey Michael confirmed it was cancelled.^[4]

See also[]

• TNA Gut Check
• WWE Tough Enough
• Women in WWE
• Mae Young Classic

References[]