Diva Dirt presents its annual selection of women who have been most newsworthy and talked about in 2012. The 12 women selected have embodied the zeitgeist of the year by hitting the headlines, breaking boundaries, stopping the show, and becoming trending topics. The Diva Dirt editors and contributors have picked one woman as the Diva Dirt Woman of the Year, as well as 11 runners-up who have helped define 2012. Join us as we count down our runners-up before unveiling the Woman of the Year on December 31st.
EVE TORRES
The Golden Bad Girl
2012 has truly been a year that Divas Champion, Eve Torres, will likely not soon forget. From rejuvenating her character as the deceitful bad girl who didn’t mind making out with a guy or two, or abusing her position of power as an authority figure, all the way to winning NBC reality series “Stars Earn Stripes” and announcing her engagement to a longtime boyfriend, Eve has certainly lived the American dream in the last 12 months.
She started off the year as the “girlfriend” of Zack Ryder… or so he thought. Eve quickly set her eyes on a bigger prize, in John Cena. When Cena saved her from being taken away in the ambulance of deranged monster, Kane, she proceeded to leap onto him and engage in a kiss. Call it the heat of the moment, but to Zack Ryder, it was the moment that broke his wheelchair bound heart.
Throughout the following month or two, Eve began to show a more cunning side to her that we had never seen before. She wanted the attention to be on her after previously playing second fiddle to the likes of Kelly Kelly, and, yes, even Zack Ryder. Eve joined forces with Beth Phoenix for a brief few weeks, as they did battle against K2 and celebrity partner Maria Menounos at WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Florida. While the match didn’t end the way Eve would’ve liked, she wasn’t quite finished with the SunLife Stadium just yet.
As a 12 man tag team match took place later on to determine whether John Laurinaitis or Teddy Long would control both Raw and SmackDown, Eve ran down to “help” Zack Ryder. Unfortunately, she ended up distracting him long enough for The Miz to put him away and claim victory for big Johnny. After that, Eve looked to be apologizing to her broski, but she then revealed her true colors with her very own ‘Mania moment and kicked Zack right in his Woo-Woo-Woo-You-Know-What.
Following an impressive moment that helped Johnny attain victory, Eve was appointed to be his right hand woman on the job. She would appear pretty consistently until a few weeks went by without any sighting. Many wondered what was going on, but just as they were about to raise a red flag, Torres was revealed to take part in an NBC reality series, Stars Earn Stripes, which involved a group of celebrities, alongside current and former members of the United States Armed Forces and law enforcement, competing in different challenges for charity based off actual training exercises used by the U.S. military. Eve certainly knew what she was getting into, and went in with her game face on, as she left taking home the ultimate grand prize of $100,000 for her charity, the USO, and helped fight cliched opinions of wrestlers as unintelligent, with her quick wit, aptitude and can-do attitude.
Eve returned to form, taking part in a brief feud with AJ on Raw which was ultimately cut short by her decision to go for the position of being Booker T’s assistant on SmackDown. She competed against Kaitlyn for the role, which she ended up winning by defeating the Houston native in a match on SmackDown. After a few months of continued beef between the two, Kaitlyn ended up being assaulted before her first crack at the Divas Championship. It was Eve who stepped up and took her place, going on to defeat champion, Layla, for the title at September pay per view, Night of Champions. Ever since that date, Eve Torres has continued to reign supreme as holder of the butterfly emblazoned belt, and she wears it with pride every time she appears on TV.
From her star-making year in WWE, to making her mark on the entertainment world, Eve has been one of 2012’s biggest revelations.
More Women of the Year: Lita | Saraya Knight | Brooke Tessmacher | Jazz | Ronda Rousey | Beth Phoenix | Kim Nielsen | Sara Del Rey | Alpha Female
