Diva (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a diva is a recent term used by World Wrestling Entertainment for a beautiful woman employed primarily as eye candy, but sometimes as a wrestler as well. Although "diva" is a recently-coined term in the wrestling community, promotions have been using women as managers or wrestlers for years.

It is unclear as to whether "bit parts" played by women, such as The Godfather's "hos" qualify as Divas. It is also not clear if the term applies retroactively to wrestling "valets" such as Miss Elizabeth or Madusa.

History

Perhaps the first "diva" in professional wrestling history was Tammy Lynn Sytch, better known in the WWF under her performing name "Sunny". The Sunny character was a manager of various wrestlers in the WWF. Although the female managerial role was not a new concept in professional wrestling, the Sunny character brought a sexuality to the position that had seldom been seen in the business before.

After Sytch left the WWF, Rena Mero, known to WWF fans as "Sable" took the role of the prominent female performer in the promotion. Originally a manager for wrestler Marc Mero, she quickly eclipsed Marc Mero in popularity, in part by wearing increasingly revealing outfits to the ring. Her popularity lead to the re-instatement of the WWE Women's Championship, as well as the hiring of more female performers by the promotion. It was around the time of the height of her popularity that the term "diva" was used by the WWF to label its female personalities.

Although Sable would leave the WWF after several years, the WWF would sign many more female performers during and after her employment with the company – including current notable divas Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson and Trish Stratus.

Wrestling

Traditionally, most divas in WWE have not wrestled real wrestling matches on a regular basis. Although Sable was engaged in feuds with technically sound female performers Luna Vachon and Jacqueline, the match that was most closely associated with her character and WWE divas in general is the bra and panties match. Additional matches divas have been presented in are mud wrestling matches and non-wrestling bikini contests.

Perhaps due in part to the decrease in raunchy content in WWE programming as well as the wrestling skills of most divas on the WWE roster, the bra and panties match has largely been replaced by the lingerie pillow fight, a pillow fight between divas near a bed full of pillows inside the wrestling ring.

In recent years in WWE, divas have been also increasingly been wrestlers and are respected on an individual level considerably more. Diva trainer and former professional wrestler Fit Finlay has been largely credited for this change. With the firing of various women's wrestlers such as Gail Kim, Jazz, Nidia as well as the exit of wrestler Molly Holly, the WWE's continued commitment to their women's wrestling division remains in question. While the WWE has an ample roster of female performers, the majority of them do not have extensive technical wrestling training.

Controversy

There has been some measure of controversy relating to WWE divas. The risquè matches and storylines the WWE divas have taken part in were cited as part of an extensive campaign against WWE and the content of its programming throughout the late 1990s.

Harassment of the company's females has also been an issue. Rena Mero left the WWE for several years, claiming that she was harassed by other performers in the promotion. Harassment claims were also made by former WWE wrestler Nicole Bass and more recently, former WWE Diva Search contestant Amy Weber.

As wrestling has been traditionally a male-oriented pastime, which originated in the spectacle of carnival, it is perhaps not surprising that such practices occur. This aspect of the industry draws widespread criticism for its misogynistic treatment of women as sex objects, who usually appear either scantily clad or 'glamorous' in the form of evening gowns and the like. These issues have been portrayed in angles involving divas.

Promotion

Cross promotion

The popularity of women in WWE has resulted various cross-promotions with other brands featuring WWE divas. Various divas have posed in Playboy Magazine, including Sable, Chyna and Torrie Wilson. Others have appeared in commercials for WWE and non-WWE products as well as men's interest magazines.

Diva Search

In the past, there have been various talent searches by major wrestling promotions to find new female talent. The most extensive one was the WWE's $250,000 "Diva Search" contest in 2004 which was held on the company's WWE RAW program. Despite reported claims by the company that the contest would be handled in a classy manner, the contest involved prospective divas performing such suggestive acts on live television as eating pies and "seducing" a male wrestler. Fans were allowed to vote for the winners, but the outcomes of the voting process were questioned by media outlets. The eventual winner of the competition was Christy Hemme, who went on to pose in Playboy Magazine and then compete at WrestleMania 21.

Fan reaction to the Diva Search contest was generally negative or apathetic. Some live WWE RAW crowds did not exhibit positive reaction to the competition being held during live events. Despite only one winner being crowned in the competition, the WWE hired a large number of contestants from the contest and immediately placed them in on-camera, non-wrestling roles.

Despite the the reaction to original Diva Search content, in 2005, WWE announced another Diva Search contest for that year. The WWE reportedly emphasized the fact that potential contestants did not have to have any wrestling experience or even a desire to wrestle.

Notable WWE divas (after 1996)

While various divas have come and gone from the WWE roster, there are some that have been extremely popular and notable among WWE fans.

• Chyna – former Women's Champion and Intercontinental Champion.
• Debra – matched Sable's popularity after Sable's exit from the company
• Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley – daughter of WWE owner Vince McMahon, former Women's Champion
• Stacy Keibler – performer for both WWE and WCW
• Lita – former manager of the Hardy Boyz, former Women's Champion
• Sable – considered by some to be the first WWE diva
• Trish Stratus – multiple time Women's champion, most notable female heel in professional wrestling
• Torrie Wilson – performer for both WWE and WCW, most prominent diva on WWE's SmackDown! brand.
• Dawn Marie – performer for both WWE and ECW, now a major SmackDown! Diva

See also

• Diva – traditional usage of the term
• Professional wrestling slang

External links

• WWE Divas Website