WWE Diva Search

Did You Know?

• The 2004 Diva Search winner Christy Hemme went on to pose on the cover of Playboy magazine and competed at WrestleMania 21 for the WWE Women's Championship against Trish Stratus.
• Michelle McCool, a 2004 contestant, was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2025, making her the third contestant and the first from 2004 to receive that honor.
• The 2004 Diva Search featured four official theme songs, including 'Open Your Eyes' by Alter Bridge and 'Walk Idiot Walk' by The Hives.
• Despite being rejected from the 2004 competition, Candice Michelle went on to win the WWE Women's Championship and pose on the cover of Playboy.

2003

On June 18, 2003, WWE announced their intention to embark on a countrywide quest for a fresh addition to their roster of WWE Divas. The final decision would rest solely in the hands of the fans. Women aged 18 or above were invited to apply by submitting a photograph and a brief biography. On July 1, 2003, fan voting began, narrowing the contestants to 16 by July 20, then to 8 finalists by July 29.

The final 4 were confirmed on August 6 and awarded a trip to WWE's SummerSlam in Phoenix, Arizona, where they competed in a final event broadcast live on WWE's web-show, Byte This!. The winner was Jaime Koeppe. Despite winning, Koeppe did not receive a WWE contract but featured in a segment during SummerSlam sitting in the audience. She also received a photoshoot for WWE Magazine and appeared on an episode of WWE Confidential.

She confirmed in a 2005 blog post that she was invited to take part in the 2004 search but declined. Fitness model and Trading Spouses star Deeann Donovan was a reject from this season.

2004

In 2004, WWE extended the Diva Search, holding the contest live on RAW and offering a one-year contract worth $250,000. Over 7,000 women applied, with the final ten chosen on a live casting special on Spike TV on July 15, hosted by Jonathan Coachman with guest judges Chris Jericho, Edge, Randy Orton and Triple H. Weekly segments aired on RAW starting July 19, with fans voting for the winner. Despite WWE stating the contest would be handled in a "classy manner," segments included contestants performing suggestive acts like seducing Kamala, rubbing ice-cream and pie into their breasts, and covering themselves in chili to arm-wrestle.

The most controversial segment was the "Diss The Diva" challenge on the August 30 episode of RAW. Before it began, Maria Kanellis was eliminated and gave Carmella DeCesare the middle finger. The four finalists—Amy Weber, Carmella DeCesare, Christy Hemme and Joy Giovanni—competed in a live shoot promo challenge. Giovanni called DeCesare out for having "a gap so wide you could drive a truck right through there baby!"

Weber called DeCesare a "whore" and a "bitch," saying having a cock in her mouth had nothing to do with wrestling. DeCesare responded by outing Giovanni as a mother, calling her fat, and claiming Playboy laughed at Weber's audition. Hemme called DeCesare a "cum-burping gutter slut." The censors could not keep up with the live audio.

In a 2023 interview, Giovanni revealed she was confronted by Stephanie McMahon backstage about having a child. The winner was Christy Hemme. WWE hired Amy Weber, Joy Giovanni, Maria Kanellis and Michelle McCool after they lost. Future WWE Women's Champion Candice Michelle was a reject from this season.

2006

The 2006 WWE Raw Diva Search had three official theme songs: "Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects, and "Out Here All Night" by Damone. The eight finalists first appeared on RAW on July 10. Host Mike Mizanin appeared to forget his lines and stammered when explaining voting procedures, mispronouncing names and looking uncomfortable. Each week, contestants appeared on both RAW and SmackDown!.

The final three appeared on a special on August 16 on the USA Network, where the winner was announced. Layla El won and was placed on SmackDown! in late 2006. She became the first Diva Search winner to win the Women's Championship and also won the Divas Championship, being the final holder of the former title. WWE hired several eliminated contestants, including Maryse Ouellet, the Garcia Twins (who did not make the Top 10), Rebecca DiPietro, Brooke Adams, Amy Zidian, and Milena Roucka.

As The Bella Twins, the Garcia Twins became the first Diva Search contestants inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (class of 2020). Brianna Garcia and Nicole Garcia each won the Divas Championship on separate occasions, with Nicole winning it twice and becoming the longest-reigning Divas Champion. Brianna also won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Paige.

2007

Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup at the time, with members Scott Weiland, Slash, Dave Kushner, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum. The song was only used for the competition itself and not as the winner's entrance music. The search began on WWE.com on September 10, when voting also started, and the winner was announced on the October 29 episode of Raw. This was the first Diva Search held entirely on WWE.com, with most segments pre-taped. Despite being eliminated, Taryn Terrell, Angela Fong, and Lena Yada were still called up to the roster. Terrell, known as Tiffany in WWE, wrestled and served as ECW general manager. Fong wrestled in Lucha Underground as Black Lotus, facing El Dragon Azteca Jr. at Ultima Lucha Dos. Eve Torres was the first Diva Search winner to capture the Divas Championship, winning it three times, and also the first winner to hold any title.