Dissing The Divas..
Discussing WWE’s INFAMOUS RAW Diva Search
Before I begin, my soul would ache if I didn’t address the elephant in the room.
Out of all the WWE Diva Search contestants, I only ever actively voted for two individuals. Michelle McCool, & Ashley Massaro.
Ashley Massaro was the victim of an assault and resulting cover-up during her time with WWE, referring specifically to an incident during an overseas trip during an annual Tribute to the Troops in Kuwait in 2006..
I don’t know how to put into words what it feels like to support someone, only to learn of horrendous details after their death about the way they were treated at a time you held them in such high esteem.
WWE failed Ashley Massaro in every conceivable way, and before I start this piece, I wanted to say I hope her soul is flying high somewhere the sun shines brightly enough to eradicate the darkness behind all of this..
Looking past the unavoidable monolith of loss, the worst memory I associate with pro wrestling will forever be the night I tuned into Smackdown, and all of my hours of dedicated attention was rewarded with an in-ring segment featuring Nick & Aaron Carter alongside contestants hoping to become the next WWE Diva.
Don’t care for that one BIT.
If ANYTHING pushed me to begin speaking publicly about my love of the squared circle, it was the unrestrained frustration stemming from a weekly segment on a wrestling show that had nothing to do with pro wrestling.
The WWE (later RAW) Diva Search was an annual contest from 2003 to 2007 that awarded winners contracts similar to Tough Enough, WWE’s original reality show which featured young wrestlers attempting to punch their own quick ticket to the big time.
Bluntly, the WWE Diva Search spat in the face of many deeply respected norms of the industry, the least of them being working long enough WITHIN the business to respect the time on the card you’ve been allotted.
Out-of-character segments during a presentation focused on in-ring athleticism are further contrasted when compared to other competitions which stressed the sacred tenants of the business.
I can’t take many of the Divas seriously after watching Bob Holly kick someone’s head off when he thought the youngin’ wasn’t respecting pro wrestling properly..
Like Tough Enough, the greatest success stories to come from The Diva Search go to those who didn’t win, but found enough of a passion for the business to see their efforts through following the conclusion of this chauvinistic farce.
Late 90s pro wrestling was painted with the rambunctious depravity of grunge counter-culture, but as much as The Thong Song, Baywatch, Jerry Springer & crotch chopping had their purpose, by the mid aughts, uninspired fart jokes were starting to wear out their welcome..
While the attitude of the late 90s may have been a fresh breath the younger generation needed in order to break free of the cartoonish, child friendly hue of the 80s, Ruthless Aggression brought with it the oily faced angst of a future wave of proud edge lords.
The Diva Search was the first domino leading to The Four Horsewomen.
It was the reason we look back at the Butterfly Belt with such disdain, and the reason TNA provided an alternative at the time that made it clear Vince’s finger was moving away from the fans’ pulse, and closer to his own ego and self fulfillment…
WWE can be proud of a group of women that forged a path through NXT, impacting the main roster in ways that forever changed how female competitors are viewed..
But they weren’t the first.
Gail Kim, Awesome King, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, Taylor Wilde, ODB, Roxxi Laveaux & MORE we’re providing a Diva alternative long before the brass in WWE would acknowledge they even had a problem..
There are talented individuals around the globe that do little else but what will get them one day closer to performing in the ring at the highest level possible.
It’s unfortunate we served so much precious time on the canvas to people who couldn’t understand the value of standing where they did…
Though the percentage of success stories resulting from the Diva Search may be on the lower end, those that managed to hold on after the fact, at least showed the effort to merit the spot they were given.
LayCool, Massaro, Maryse & Christy Hemme are shining stars that bring a light to every corner of this debacle.
Speaking about a contest designed initially around modeling contracts, the fact a few mat rats rolled out of the woodwork is an inarguable silver lining…
The jury is still out pertaining to my opinion on The Bella Twins, (making their debut during this time) but I’m comfortable saying they were better ambassadors than they were ever solid wrestlers.
For the third episode of Missing The Mark, I re-watched EVERY. SINGLE. SEGMENT. that aired during the Diva Search’s on-air seasons, and gathered appropriate statistics regarding each contestant across every season the fans could watch on weekly television…
(Originally released 10/1/16)
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