Trivia / WWE Diva Search

• Acting in the Dark: The contestants never had any idea what the segments would be from week to week, and were only told to bring bikinis, club wear and athletic outfits.
• Author's Saving Throw: In the lead up to the 2004 Diva Search, WWE made it clear that they were not looking for any new wrestlers with the contest. This annoyed some fans only watching the product for wrestling but WWE did have a decent women's division already. When the contest ended however, it fired most of those women wrestlers and pushed runner ups from the contest in their place. The reaction was negative. So during the lead up to the 2005 contest WWE frequently stated they'd be open to signing new wrestlers through it, should any promising recruits show up. WWE rejected pretty much anyone with pro wrestling experience, just like last time, but it tricked the audience who supported Ashley Massaro the entire way after hearing about her desire to wrestle and seeing her do one move. When that didn't workout though, the audience kind of gave up, despite the next two contest winners turning out to be better wrestlers than Ashley.
• Creator Backlash: Velvet Sky later admitted to trying out for the contest and was ashamed of it.
• Executive Meddling:
  • The Bella Twins tried out for the 2006 season, but were told that twins couldn't enter the contest (in contrast to the 2004 season where twins Chandra and Julia competed).
  • It was theorized that WWE intentionally kept Carmella DeCesare in the contest despite her unpopularity to generate Heel heat for her.
• Friendship on the Set:
  • Amy Weber and Joy Giovanni became close friends in the 2004 contest, and as such were put into a feud when they were both properly signed, that was even meant to build to a PPV match at the No Way Out event - only not happening when Amy decided to leave the company.
  • Maria Kanellis and Michelle McCool were the only two contestants in the 2004 season to be current wrestling fans, and so they bonded over that. On the main roster, Maria described Michelle as her favourite person to work with.
• Harpo Does Something Funny: For the infamous 'Diss the Diva' segment, the girls were told that they could say whatever they wanted and could even get physical but "if someone feels you hurt them and decides to sue you, you're on your own."
• Hostility on the Set:
  • Carmella DeCesare did not make many friends during her time in WWE. Maria Kanellis described her as very arrogant and rude to everyone else - once arriving late to a TV taping and kicking her out of the make-up chair. It's very telling that when 'Diss the Diva' came around, the remaining three playfully ribbed each other and then tore into Carmella. Out of all the contestants, Christy Hemme is the only one who ever had anything good to say about her.
  • Joy Giovanni deserves a special mention. She provided context in a 2023 interview with women's wrestling channel Ring the Belle - in the entertainment industry of 2000s, actresses who had children generally had to keep that hidden out of fear that they would be turned down for roles. Carmella had overheard her on the phone to her children and decided to out her as a mother on live television specifically to try and sabotage her (and she was dropped by an agent as a result).
  • As the contestants were told not to interact with the talent backstage, that led to a lot of wrestlers assuming the women were avoiding and mistook them for snobs. Maria says that Randy Orton in particular tried to antagonize them on a few occasions.
  • Defied by Molly Holly, who recalls numerous fans coming up to her assuming she hated the Diva Search contestants, and bashing them as much as possible. She however didn't mind the contest and pointed out that they could find a new star who made the company lots of money - as well as liking a lot of the women who participated (Michelle McCool in particular).
• Promoted Fanboy: Michelle McCool and Maria were the only competitors on the 2004 incarnation to be actual wrestling fans (as was Candice Michelle, but she missed out on the finals). Likewise with Ashley in 2005 (though in her case, it didn't help much) and Maryse and the Bella Twins in 2006.
• What Could Have Been:
  • A 2008 season was planned but got cancelled due to the failure of the 2007 season, as well as WWE's attempt to move in a more PG direction, meaning fanservice was toned way down.
  • They announced a 2015 Diva Search that was planned to be hosted by Lita and Trish Stratus. It too was scrapped after WWE decided to start treating its women seriously (including retiring the moniker "Diva") and instead started the Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017.

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