In response to yesterday’s post about Candice Michelle possibly being the fixed winner of Kevin Nash’s ‘Big Sexy Tour’ valet search, a TNA source tells me that the search is expected to be legit.
They continue that if plans are for Candice to come in, management are ‘playing it close to the vest’. As far as those backstage are aware, the winner will be a fan who has legitimately entered.
Diva Dirt will be talking to former WWE Diva, Kristal Marshall in an exclusive interview!
Do you have a question to put to Bobby Lashley’s beautiful baby mama? Let us know in the comments!
In order to consolidate our Eye Candy coverage, we’ve developed a new feature: Unwrapped! We’ll take all the new photoshoots from the week and grade (or “brand”) each based on the following criteria:
Brie Bella‘s Red Hot
Appearance: Both of the Bellas seem partial to the color red, as more often than not, they wearing red tights or are sporting red flowers in their hair. I can’t say it’s a bad thing, though–they look terrific in red. Their bright red ring attire may not be my favorite, but Brie’s dress in this photoshoot is absolutely gorgeous. It’s cute and sexy, but looks like something even your average girl could wear, unlike some of the more “ambitious” Diva outfits. The gigantic flower looks like it may give her a neck ache, so a downsize in that department wouldn’t hurt. The shoes are red as well, and have little rosettes on them. This hyper-coordination brings it just a hair away from overkill–black shoes would’ve kept the look from being too matchy-matchy. Though, as is, Brie still rocks it.
Poses: Sweet grins and knowing smiles are her obviously strong suit–she pulls them off without looking too try-hard or air headed. She’s a prime example that a Diva can look drop dead sexy without sticking out her butt or making fish lips all day long.
Uniqueness: Just your standard studio shoot..
Grade: Sweet. Red is her color, and though the look could use a bit of a reduction on that hue, she looks great. She looks very at ease in the photoshoot, and shows that even though the WWE seems keen on packaging the Bellas in a one-size-fits-all way, she’s got a spark of her very own.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Christy Hemme‘s Untitled
Appearance: Sticking to the familiar ring attire she’s worn since the WWE, Christy’s wearing a teeny weeny bikini top and matching skirt. The color is gorgeous, and the ribbed fabric adds a little bit more substance to it. Her red hair compliments the color of the outfit really well–it just pulls the whole thing together, as simple as it all is.
Poses: TNA’s photoshoots are notoriously small, so a Knockout only has a few photos to show some variety. Christy does this pretty well, showcasing both her sex appeal and the spunkiness that she was so associated with in her time with the WWE. It’s all toned down compared to her more in-your-face shoots.
Uniqueness: Well, Christy is rarely this toned-down and mellow, so I suppose that gives this shoot a unique edge.
Grade: Sweet. With that beautiful greenish-blue outfit, how could I rate it any differently?
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Follow the cut to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
This is Project Diva! Consider me your own personal Heidi Klum as I guide you through the looks of your favourite Divas & Knockouts! As a former personal stylist, fashion is srs bsns when it comes to this here web-diva; I’ll teach you how you can emulate the look, offer alternative solutions & suggest the perfect accessories to polish it off.
This week: ECW General Manager, Tiffany is white hot in this shirt dress complete with a waist belt and gold strappy heels. The look is almost effortless but the inclusion of the belt shows some thought to bring it all together by Tiffany. Let’s break it down…
Look Book
Women’s shirt dress: Just like Tiffany’s, this white shirt dress looks organic and simple, part of actress Taryn Manning’s clothing line. Revolve Clothing, $61.00
Flower pattern woven belt: Not quite the same size as Tiffany’s waist belt, but this patterned woven belt looks pleasantly similar. Serengeti, $7.99
Strappy buckle side heeled sandal: A n average pair of gold sandals completes this look. ASOS, £55.00
More after the cut:
As we first broke, there was some talk of Candice Michelle at the post-Hard Justice Impact tapings last month. Well PWInsider’s Mike Johnson has now reported that Candice could be brought in as the ‘winner’ of the Big Sexy Tour to search for Kevin Nash’s valet.
In July, TNA announced that Nash and the company were holding a competition to find a female valet to accompany Nash to the ring at the December 20th Final Resolution pay per view.
Johnson reports that there’s been talk of the competition being a ‘front’ to introduce the former Women’s Champion.
We get a lot of e-mails from disgruntled fans and in the past, we have shared with you one particular e-mail from a lovely Ashley mark. Well since then, we haven’t really found a worthy successor — until now!
Big thank you to Ryan Short for giving me my first good chuckle of the day, I hope this e-mail hits the spot for you guys too!
WARNING: Contains strong language, so follow the cut to read:
In the Saturday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.
Talks of Divas in the media has been ample and well… I’m striking while the iron is hot. A woman’s personal life is her personal life, whether or not she may be in show business. And don’t you try to tell her any differently. However, when it comes to the disesteemed offense of “Dating while Diva,” is there a double standard?
We’ve seen this trend more recently this past week. In break of some rather personal news, Superstars like Batista will be called “man-whores” by boasting their alleged sexual prowess to the masses… while Divas such as one Kelly Kelly will receive just as much, if not more criticism for being spotted in a harmless social engagement. The very same can be said for Divas like Michelle McCool who have been accused for dating for power. It seems as though the Divas can’t catch a break when it comes to relationships outside of the ring.
Recently, it was reported that Batista has courted none other than Raw’s Rosa Mendes. The reaction to the story was universal. “What a pig/sicko/pervert…how disrespectful…women are not to be objectified.” So on and so forth. It became apparent that the Animal plows through Divas like cornfields, and Diva fans were none too pleased with the discovery. Somewhat of an outpour of outrage and disgust commenced as news broke on the Internet. Some even suspect that Rosa’s success on Raw can be somewhat attributed to any passed relationships she might have attained. Whether or not there may be any truth to that, there is little question that men like Batista have major pull backstage. So, what’s the appeal?
The Roundtable is back on Monday to our usual format, in our new slot! This week’s WWE and TNA topics are below, so sound off in tyhe comments with your opinions:
Please try to keep them short and sweet — just one sentence, so we can read out as many comments as possible.
WWE Topic: “Where do you think the Maria/Dolph/Melina storyline is going? Will Maria and Melina eventually feud? Is it a waste of Melina’s talent?”
TNA Topic: “With Angelina Love‘s shocking release this week, how will her departure affect the Knockouts division?”
We are also going to do a segment where we answer your questions about anything and everything, from wrestling to random stuff! If you have a question for Melanie, Erin, Steven, Tiffany or Krissy, just leave it in a comment and make sure you state who your question is for! Whether it be an opinion on a certain Diva or if you just want to know what their favourite sandwich filling is!
Remember: Keep your comments brief, one sentence is best. I’m being serious about this, every week we get huge paragraphs from some of you and bear in mind, I have to read this out and it gets tongue-twistery. I know it’s hard to say what you want to say in a line or two, but it’s important to keep your comments brief so we can read them out.
Please copy and paste and the form below into the comments box, to best help us! Feel free to leave any field blank if you don’t want to answer:
Your name (required):
Comment on this week’s WWE topic:
Comment on this week’s TNA topic:
Question for Melanie/Erin/Steven/Tiffany/Krissy (delete as applicable):
Don’t forget to join us on Monday for the Roundtable!
Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool made her anticipated in-ring return last night during the SmackDown roster’s tour of Puerto Rico. McCool defeated Melina in a singles match.
With McCool now back and a pay per view in just over a week, a third encounter between the two seems likely for Breaking Point.
EDIT: Handheld footage of Michelle’s return:
In a correction to yesterday’s story on Angelina Love‘s release, PWInsider is now reporting that Love was not working under the visa issued during her time in WWE developmental. Her visa was revoked at the time of her release.
Last time on SmackDown: Melina and Layla went toe-to-toe with Michelle again standing at ringside, this time with crutches and a knee brace. Another rough shove by Melina leaves Michelle writhing in agony.
This week: Is there retribution in the cards for Michelle? Or will she let her “understudy” do the talking/walking? What about Maria–will she continue to play the damsel in distress?
Once again we start this week’s action with a backstage segment pilfered from the daytime soaps. And what else could it be about but Maria‘s woes? I personally can’t wait to see what epic twist the story takes this week! Fake pregnancy? Evil twin? Elaborately orchestrated death? Well, at the very least, I hope someone wears an eye patch..
We see Maria and Eve in the locker room, discussing tonight’s match. Maria tells Eve that all they need to do is go in there with a lot of confidence and passion, because when you don’t have talent, a whole mess o’ confidence will solve all your problems. (Though maybe having a scheme of selling broke-ass calendars with self-indulgent and hokey slogans for $25 wouldn’t hurt either..) Michelle takes the layup that Maria tosses her way, and shows up to remark, “..and you’ll still be losers.” Michelle tears down Maria’s makeup and passion for rhinestones, saying that no matter what she does, Dolph won’t keep his eyes off of other women, like her. (OMG, is that a hint of a twist? Probably not.) She says that Maria is nothing but his “flavor of the week”. (Damn, this has been the longest week of my life..) Maria counters, calling Michelle the most egotistical Diva on the roster.
Melina appears out of nowhere (Seriously, was there a door over there?), but Maria tells her that she’s got in under control. But one insult later, Melina gets in Michelle’s face, and Michelle threatens legal action if she even lays a finger on her. Obviously not interested in filing legal papers just yet, Michelle leaves before things can unravel. Melina apologizes on her behalf, but Maria tells her to stay out of her business. I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment–let’s all stay out of her business! No? Okay..
It’s our second Jelly (thanks for the name xmelissaa) post of the day! Already today, we have posted the first images of Kelly Kelly and Entourage star, Jeremy Piven together in public. Well now we’ve got even more!
As mentioned in the first post, Jelly were seen at the NY Jets game last night and now we have photographic evidence.
You know, in the context of WWE, I never quite comprehend just how orange these Superstars and Divas are. I’m guessing some poor hotel room worker will have to wash the fake tan out of the sheets at some point today, if there was some hot, steamy action between the two.
Oh em gee… what do we have here?! It’s the first pictures of Raw Diva, Kelly Kelly with Emmy-award winning actor and serial lothario, Jeremy Piven! And you saw ’em here first!
Miss Kelly has been rumoured to be courted by Piven since he hosted Raw last month. Good ol’ JR became a Page Six for the wrestling industry, revealing J-Piv scored K2’s number backstage — and we all thought he was just talking kayfabe! Kelly was reported to have been at the NY Jets game last night with the Entourage star too. And that brings us to this…
Meet the morning after! Piven and Kelly were spotted in NY this morning. Sure she’s wearing a cap and you can’t really see her face, but with the reports from last night & that hard-to-mistake weave — we are certain that these pics are of our lil Kelly.
And how proud we feel, our K2 is all growed up and on the arm of an A-List star. And to think, just three years ago, she couldn’t unhook her own bra. *Sniffle*
In a huge shocker, former Knockouts Champion, Angelina Love was released by TNA last night. Angelina, real name Angel Williams, is Canadian and had been working in the States under a work visa which was issued when she was signed to her WWE developmental contract in 2004.
The visa has expired or is soon to expire, reports PWInsider. It seems as though she hasn’t worked out a new one in due time.
TNA’s ‘hands are tied’ cites a source to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, as they cannot employ her if she’s not legally able to work in the United States.
For more information that contains spoilers on upcoming shows, click the ‘+’ below:
It is assumed that Love will return to TNA after the whole situation is fixed. Though PWInsider does report that with her release, she’s no longer legally bound to the company and could even accept an offer from WWE.
Much like WWE’s hiring process, sources reveal to me that TNA too, is now looking to hire more model-like women. The mandate was laid down by TNA President, Dixie Carter herself.
Carter is said to be only interested in hiring ‘beautiful women’, though thankfully for fans — ones that can actually wrestle.
One source tells me: “She [Dixie] wants beautiful women who can wrestle.”
As we’ve reported, TNA is close to clinching a deal with former Diva, Kristal Marshall and also spoken internally about Candice Michelle.
With Dixie wielding more power than ever after benching TNA founder Jeff Jarrett, it wouldn’t be surprising if the company and ultimately, it’s television output, was moulded more in Carter’s image. TNA is looking to hire more new Knockouts in the near future, it was reported earlier this week.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with that per se but in a division that has always been celebrated for it’s unique appeal, it seems a step back and almost hypocritical. If we take a look at the roster, some of their most popular Knockouts aren’t exactly conventional beauties i.e. Awesome Kong, ODB and others.
This week on TNA Impact leads us into Round Numero Dos of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tournament (say that five times fast): Victoria & Christy Hemme vs. Hamada & Sojourner Bolt. Talk about a tag team thrown together at the last minute…
As a precursor to the match, the Beautiful (Velvet Sky and Angelina Love) film a backstage segment further discussing Madison’s “mystery” partner. More Lauren-pwnage arises. “We no speak-y, ugly!” I think that just about synopsizes that segment.
The contenders of this round of the tag team tournament make their way to the six-sided ring. Holy tye-dye, Batman! Christy has either confused a bathing suit for wrestling gear or she is paying a cheap homage to Daizee Haze. I can’t decide.
Onto the match at hand… Somewhat of a teaser for what could be a dream match of the ages, Hamada and Victoria start off the contest as both ladies lock up. Victoria gets the upperhand early with a bridge into the 2-count. Victoria counters an attempt by Hamada and goes for a second cover. Hamada kicks out and manuevers into a pin attempt of her own. When both women perform respective kip-ups into a fighting stance position, a foretold stare-down commences.
In either a show of respect or arrogance, Victoria bows down to Hamada only to receive a kick to the shoulder in retaliation. Following through on an Irish Whip, Hamada effortlessly springs off the middle rope and into a moonsault. I blinked twice and almost missed it. Victoria kicks out just as swiftly.
Sojo and her two-toned tracks get tagged in; she follows up an armbar with a kick. Taking a bit of time to do a little trash talking, Sojo pays for it with a drop toehold from Victoria. Victoria takes Sojo down again with a scoop slam. Christy flails around a bit until Hamada gets tagged in. Some brief tandem action, and Christy eats the bottom of Hamada’s big boot, followed by a series of headbutts. TNA takes a needed break, and I’m left to amuse myself with Christy’s selling “ability.”
Former TNA triple-crown champion, AJ Styles has finally done it. The TNA star has finally responded to claims that WWE Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool stole his finisher, the ‘Styles Clash’. And well, sorry to disappoint the lynch squad but Styles’ response isn’t quite what you’d expect…
Gail Kim‘s one of my really good friends, and I asked her about that and we talked about it and she (McCool) does do my move, but I’m flattered that she would think to use that move. It doesn’t bother me at all. I guess it might be different if a guy was doing it and calling it something else.
The fact of the matter is this. People know it. That’s the Styles Clash. That’s my move. I came up with it on my own. It’s okay. I understand, you gotta come up with something and there’s not a lot of moves in the world. It’s hard to be different. But it’s cool with me. Now it would be different if it was a guy in my own company.
And there you have it, folks. No doubt, this won’t make a blind bit of difference to the marks who will continue to pester poor Michelle. But if the man himself has no problem with it, neither should the fans. They will, but they shouldn’t. It just goes to show how far some of the crazies will go to hang Michelle out to dry.
SmackDown Divas Eve Torres and Natalya got the chance to mix it up on tonight’s edition of WWE Superstars, taking part in a mixed tag team match with their usual teammates–Eve with Cryme Tyme, and Natalya with the Hart Dynasty. It appears as though the WWE is reigniting their feud from a number of weeks ago, when Eve and Natalya mixed it up and had a few impressive matches with one another. But, like most good things, the WWE forgot about it and dropped it. But never fear, because they’ve (at least for the time being) brought it back. Let’s see how they fare:
After what seems like forever, with the men doing the legwork, D.H. Smith tags in Natalya, which brings in Eve. I feel like these matches would be a lot more interesting and compelling if the men were allowed to face the women–I know that they’re not gonna go toe-to-toe (Let’s not embarrass the boys!) but it would make things a lot more interesting if someone didn’t have to automatically leave the ring once a person of the opposite gender was tagged in. It feels like a function in a video game that you should be able to use a cheat code to get around. Then again, I don’t play too many video games, so there’s not much I could do other than pound on the controller and complain. Which, ironically, I’m close to doing now with this entire spiel. Enough with the diversions, onto the action!!
Tonight on WWE Superstars, Eve Torres & Natalya are in action in a six person tag team match representing SmackDown. Watch the match and read the Redux here.
Then on Impact, the Knockouts Tag Team Championship continues as Sojo Bolt & Hamada face Tara & Christy Hemme. Watch below:
Discuss tonight’s Divas & Knockouts action in this post!
Continuing the legacy of the Hall of Fame-inducted Von Erich family, Lacey Von Erich is due to take center stage late this fall as one of the characters in Wrestlicious. In an exclusive interview with Diva Dirt, the third generation starlet dished the dirt on Wrestlicious including how she got involved in it, what we can expect to see, what it’s like working with the cast & crew of the series and reveals her Wrestlicious goals!
As well as all that, we touch upon her brief time under contract to WWE including why she left, the emotional Hall of Fame ceremony this past April, working with girls like Natalya and Cheerleader Melissa [aka Alissa Flash] and much more.
Plus Lacey also reveals whether Playboy may be in her future…
To listen to the interview directly on the website, just click on the play button below. You can also download the MP3 file to listen to on your computer:
Please Note: This audio recording is the exclusive content of Diva Dirt (diva-dirt.com), for which we hold copyright. By downloading our audio you agree not to repost or transcribe the content elsewhere including but not limited to other websites, blogs or message boards. Failure to respect copyright will result in legal action.
» Add Lacey as a MySpace friend
» Click here & here for exclusive Wrestlicious pictures
» Download Lacey Von Erich matches (including Melissa match mentioned)
The experiment has come to an end… ‘Celebrity’ Knockout, Jenna Morasca is done with TNA, reports PWInsider.
The former Survivor winner’s contract reached it’s conclusion and was not renewed.
In July, Morasca took part in the worst Knockouts match in history (and that’s a tough thing to do!) against Sharmell at Victory Road.
Last month, it was reported that Jenna would be taking a leave of absence to film the 20th season of Survivor, but it now looks as though she’s gone altogether.
With Morasca now gone, it begs the question — what was the point? Her ‘celebrity stature’ didn’t help ratings and drew ire & the wrong kind of infamy for an awful, awful pay per view match. A few column inches on trash like Perez Hilton, is worth it apparently.
Meanwhile, the real losers here are TNA and the other Knockouts as Morasca is likely laughing all the way to the bank. The company no doubt shelled out big bucks for the ‘experiment’, possibly more so than the Knockouts that can actually wrestle and/or are actually over earn. What a crock…
Hey y’all and welcome to the first Vainety Fair! We can all applaud Melanie for the clever name for my new column. When I was pondering about what to write for my first contribution to Diva Dirt, I thought to myself… what can I talk about that would be interesting to the masses? I want to keep my audience captive, but I also want to keep it real. So I decided after much deliberation to use myself as the ‘butt of the joke’ and talk about the aging Diva. During my tenure as a full-time entertainer, I look back and believe that in the span of only about two years, I aged at least five to ten! How does this happen? Good question! I lived it and am still not completely sure but the proof lies in the pudding. Of course, I can look back now and laugh (I’ve managed to ‘de-griz’) but as this was going on in front of me, it was not so humorous and damaging to be truthful. It was heart wrenching and terrifying! You have to understand your ‘beauty’ tends to be the most important thing you’ve got as a female in the wrestling business. Unlike actresses, females in wrestling can never be too attractive. Jessica Biel has often stated that she hasn’t gotten specific movie or television gigs because she is too easy on the eyes… How is this possible, you ask? In acting there are different roles, different characters — the most beautiful woman in the world will receive an Oscar for dimming herself down to look ‘homely’ and ‘unattractive’. Now count how many homely women in wrestling ever ‘get over’, or better yet are ‘pushed’. Bet you can count them on one hand. I am happy to see that some places nowadays are thinking outside of the box and that is refreshing. But I can only speak of what I know…
I, one time tried to pitch a ‘nerd’ character while I was under contract and was actually quite good at it. Think Neil Goldman from Family Guy. I have a retainer I still have to wear at night, y’all! No joke! I sound ridiculous and look even more silly. However, it was kind of funny in it’s on way and I had an idea. Possibly a very good idea. Never have I been comfortable with being the so-called wrestling ‘sex kitten’, so I decided to suggest something different and actually portray that awkward stage that at some point in our lives, we all go through. I thought it would be brilliant for a babyface female to become this character’s ‘protector’ and help her emerge after many trials and tribulations as a beautiful swan. Redemption right? Wrong! Needless to say this ‘character’ did not go over so well with management… in fact, it was more like a turd in a punch bowl. So I was told to drop it and become as ‘sexy’ as I could be. Ugh. I was not happy, but this is the way you’re making a living so you do as you must. As I said on the Roundtable, it’s either be a ‘perfect 10’ or buh-bye Diva wannabe. Is this ridiculous? I think so… I conformed for a while, tried to be sexy. Eek! I’m not very good at that. Yes, I photograph well, but am I a sexpot in the ring? No and I don’t want to be. I think its tasteless and if you are talented, you are selling yourself short.
Former WWE Diva, Kristal Marshall is expected to join the ranks of the TNA Knockouts. She would follow in the footsteps of fellow WWE star and baby daddy, Bobby Lashley.
Just last month, Marshall teased she was going to make a debut soon.
There are some familiar faces for Marshall to work with if she is to come in as expected, Sharmell and the former Victoria, Tara currently work for the company as well as former Deep South co-workers, Angelina Love and Taylor Wilde.
Kristal was released by WWE in September 2007, just two weeks after shooting a huge wedding angle on SmackDown. At the time, Marshall believed she was released because she declined taking part in a “morally degrading storyline.”
WWE’s resident man whore, Batista has already fessed up to boinking Melina and Kelly Kelly, but in a new radio interview he has revealed that a third lucky Diva has pet the Animal… Raw’s Rosa Mendes. Diva Dirt reader, Jason writes in:
The host brings up his book Batista Unleashed and says in it he dated Melina and says she’s so hot, how did he manage that? Batista says she’s a great girl, very sweet and they are still good friends. The host then asks what its like to work with such hot women and does it distract him from his job. Batista says hes a professional and separates the 2 apart, he says he’s been with a few of their divas but when it comes to work, he’s professional. He says he’s been with Melina, Kelly and he was with Rosa until a couple of months ago. The host jokes and says is he trying to complete the set of all the divas? Batista says they have the most beautiful women in the world.
Lucky Rosa! And it doesn’t end there, when prompted if there’s any Divas on the roster he’d like to be his next victims add to that list…
The host then asks if there’s any other divas he’d like to hook up with next. Batista says he has a thing for twins and that they have a couple of those.
Wow, what a catch…
As our source at the scene had to leave the show early, we missed out on these spoilers. But TNA taped another match in addition to the tag team tournament matches.
EDIT: Even more spoilers added! I guess this’ll air over the next two weeks:
It looks like Traci Brooks won’t be gracing the cover of Playboy.. or the magazine at all, for that matter. According to PWInsider.com, Traci’s nude photoshoot in the adult magazine has been nixed from the print version. A change in editors is said to be the cause, as the new editor wanting nothing to do with wrestling, and did not want the magazine associated with the business. Ouch.. For those of you itching to see Brooks in the buff, never fear–the shoot will still see the light of day, just on Playboy.com’s “Cyber Club”.
I guess this is one WWE-mimicking move that seriously backfired on TNA. But hey, it was bound to happen sometime. Traci’s TNA return and inclusion in the Main Event Mafia had pretty much everything to do with her upcoming Playboy pictorial, so it’ll be interesting to see where TNA goes with her from here.
I think, once and for all, this can end the trend of wrestling women posing in Playboy. Personally, I’m not mourning its death–if Playboy thinks wrestling has a stigma, then screw them. The publicity from the shoots post-Sable and Chyna wasn’t game-changing anyways. Let them have Heidi Montag and her lens-flared nipples.
