WWE Diva Search

On June 18, 2003, WWE announced their intention to embark on a countrywide quest for a fresh addition to their roster of WWE Divas. It was emphasized that the final decision regarding the selection of the new Diva would rest solely in the hands of the fans. The 2003 Diva Search invited women aged 18 or above who believed they possessed the qualities required to be the next WWE Diva, applicants were required to submit a photograph of themselves along with a brief biography explaining their aspirations to become a WWE Diva. }} On July 1, 2003, fans were given the opportunity to cast their votes for their favorite contestant, through fan voting, the potential contestants were narrowed down to a group of 16 by July 20, then reduced down to a further 8 finalists by July 29. Fitness model and Trading Spouses star, Deeann Donovan was a reject from this season of the search. After the competition Despite winning the contest, Koeppe did not receive a WWE contract but featured in a segment during the SummerSlam pay-per-view sat in the audience. She also received a photoshoot for WWE Magazine and appeared on an episode of WWE Confidential. ==2004==

In 2004, WWE decided to make an extension of the Diva Search, including holding the contest live on RAW and a one-year contract worth $250,000. Over 7,000 women applied to be a part of the search, }}The most controversial segment from the contest took part during the "Diss The Diva" challenge on the August, 30, episode of RAW. Before the challenge began, Maria Kanellis was eliminated from the competition and gave Carmella DeCesare the middle finger. The contest began with Giovanni calling out DeCesare stating; "''Carmella, you talk a lot of shit, but look at you, you've got a gap so wide you could drive a truck right through there baby!".'' Weber went on to also call out DeCesare calling her a "whore" and claiming she "didn't know shit, about wrestling", she then went on to tell DeCesare that having a cock in her mouth had nothing to do with wrestling, before calling her a bitch. DeCesare responded by outing Giovanni as a mother, something she had not told WWE higher-ups, and calling her fat. She then went on to claim that Weber was jealous of her and that Playboy laughed at Weber's attempt to audition for the magazine. Hemme continued the verbal beatdown on DeCesare by calling her a "cum-burping gutter slut". The censors could not keep up with the live audio with RAW commentators Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross asking if they were still on air. In a 2023 interview Giovanni revealed that she was confronted by Stephanie McMahon backstage about having a child. The winner of the 2004 WWE Diva Search was Christy Hemme. Jamie Lynn, Maria Lemone, Mariza Villarreal, Radhaa Nilia and Tiffany Holliday. 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 • "Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future • "Walk Idiot Walk" by The Hives Top 28 Open casting calls were held in Los Angeles, California, New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, in June and July of 2004. The following 28 finalists were chosen from each of the locations: Finalists After the competition 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 in a losing effort. and found more success in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). She worked for TNA from 2006 until her retirement in 2016, briefly returning in a backstage role from 2022 until 2025, in 2006 she was fan-voted the TNA Knockout of the Year. Despite never signing a contract with the WWE, Carmella DeCesare went on to face Christy Hemme at Taboo Tuesday 2004, in a losing effort, before leaving the wrestling business completely. Tracie Wright starred in the reality series 8th & Ocean. Joy Giovanni went on to become the valet of the Big Show, being involved in the main event of Smackdown! She was fan-voted the WWE 2005 Rookie Diva of the Year, before being released in July 2005. She returned in 2009, for one night only, as a legend Diva in the WrestleMania 25 battle royal. Amy Weber went on to become the valet of John "Bradshaw" Layfield, being involved in the main event of Smackdown! She quit the company in February, 2005, due to alleged bullying and harassment from Edge and Randy Orton. Maria Kanellis went on to work for the WWE from 2004-10. During her time she posed on the cover of Playboy magazine in 2008 and was fan-voted the 2009 WWE Diva of the Year. She went on to work across various other wrestling promotions including; Ring of Honor (ROH), New-Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and TNA, where she became a one time TNA Knockout's Champion. She returned to the WWE again in 2017, becoming a one time WWE 24/7 Champion, before being released in 2020 due to budget cuts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. She debuted and worked for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2022, departing in February, 2025. Michelle McCool went on to work for the WWE from 2004-11. During her time she went on to become a two time WWE Women's Champion and the inaugural WWE Divas Champion, which she also won on two separate occasions. She won a battle royal to win the 2010 Slammy for WWE Diva of the Year, and won the 2010 Knucklehead Moment of the Year award that night. She most notably was one half of LayCool, alongside future 2006 winner, Layla El, during their time as a team they drew the highest television ratings on Smackdown! during their feud against Mickie James and went on to face The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya) in the first ever women's tables match. In 2025, during an appearance on ESPN's Get Up alongside her husband The Undertaker, Triple H appeared via satelite to surprise McCool with an induction into the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2025, making her the third contestant and the first 2004 contestant to receive that honor. That year, she was the winning Legend in the second season of WWE LFG. Despite being rejected from the competition, Candice Michelle went on to work for the WWE from 2004-09. During her time she posed on the cover of Playboy magazine and won the WWE Women's Championship. She also won the WWE 24/7 Championship. In 2026, she signed to TNA as a backstage producer. ==2005==

}} Official theme The 2005 WWE Raw Diva Search featured one official theme song. • "Be Yourself" by Audioslave Contestants 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. Ashley Massaro was declared the winner on August 15 and received $250,000. 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" and would later appear in other "Of Love" spinoff shows under the same nickname or her real name "Leilene Ondrade". In 2007, Ashley Massaro appeared in a special guest role in the Smallville episode "Combat", posed for Playboy, and finished 15th on Survivor: China while in WWE until her release in 2008. She died on May 16, 2019 by suicide at the age of 39. ==2006==

}} 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 • "Out Here All Night" by Damone Contestants 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. and former 2006 Diva Search participants Brianna Garcia and Nicole Garcia won the WWE Divas Championship on separate occasions with the latter winning it twice and becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion. In addition, Brianna would go on to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Paige. ==2007==

}} 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 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. During her tenure as Tiffany in the WWE, Taryn Terrell wrestled and was once the general manager for ECW. But she and Angela Fong would find more success in other promotions. 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 in addition to doing commentary and went on to wrestle for National Wrestling Alliance, until her retirement in 2022. 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. Eve Torres became the first Diva Search winner to win the Divas Championship and also held it twice more in addition to being the first winner to win a title. ==2013==

}} Official theme song The 2013 WWE Diva Search featured one official theme song. • "Top of the World" by CFO$ Contestants The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in February 2013 that WWE held an un-aired diva search in the Los Angeles area. Among the prospects that participated were future WWE performers Natalie Eva Marie, CJ Perry, Joseann Offerman, 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, Jennifer Sterger and former For the Love of Ray J contestant Courtney "Jaguar" Cameron. Notes Former contestant CJ Perry competed as Lana in the WWE where she managed her then-husband Rusev and competed against Naomi for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at WWE Money in the Bank of 2017 but was not successful. Joseann Offerman briefly wrestled on the main roster at the time she starred in the first season of Total Divas before transitioning to backstage interviewer and later ring announcer. ==Cancelled revival==

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. 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. 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. But on September 29 that year, Squared Circle Sirens reporter Casey Michael confirmed it was canceled. At that time, the focus of the WWE Women's Division has shifted from sex appeal to true athleticism as indie wrestlers, mixed martial artists and athletes from other sports such as cheerleading have replaced the models when it came to hiring women. == Winners ==