History YMMV / WWEDivaSearch

** Joy Giovanni of the first season is still remembered. Even though she placed third, she got a lot of screen time on ''[=SmackDown=]'' as Wrestling/BigShow's on-screen girlfriend and winning the only Rookie of the Year contest at ''Wrestling/NoWayOut|WWE''.
** Amy Weber of the same season as the two abovementioned is also still remembered to this day. Despite being placed fourth, she enjoyed a lot of screen time on ''{{SmackDown}}'' as part of [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL's]] entourage, The Cabinet, and feuding with fellow contestant Joy Giovanni. She has plenty of fans who wished she'd stuck around longer[[note]]She reportedly quit after suffering some bullying from Wrestling/RandyOrton and Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} on a Japanese tour.[[/note]]

** Amy Weber out of the first season is still remembered to this day. Even though she placed third, she enjoyed a lot of screen time as part of JBL's entourage, and has plenty of fans who wished she'd stuck around longer[[note]]She reportedly quit after suffering some bullying from Wrestling/RandyOrton on a Japanese tour.[[/note]]

** Many of the less respected contestants would later go on to become competent wrestlers such as Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/{{Layla}}(she was one of the better liked of her season, but also part of the most heavily booed season), Wrestling/EveTorres and to a lesser extent Christy Hemme and Wrestling/CandiceMichelle. The Wrestling/BellaTwins were rescued too, though long after their season had aired.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the lead up to the 2004 diva search, WWE made it clear that they were not looking for any new wrestlers with the contest. This annoyed some fans only watching the product for wrestling but WWE did have a decent women's division already. When the contest ended however, it fired most of those women wrestlers and pushed runner ups from the contest in their place. The reaction was negative. So during the lead up to the 2005 contest WWE frequently stated they'd be open to signing new wrestlers through it, should any promising recruits show up. WWE rejected pretty much anyone with pro wrestling experience, just like last time, but it tricked the audience who supported Ashley Massaro the entire way after hearing about her desire to wrestle and seeing her do one move. When that didn't workout though, [[CryingWolf the audience kind of gave up]], despite the next two contest winners turning out to be better wrestlers than Ashley.

** What killed the competition itself, before its long term consequences started kicking in, before the fans in attendance turned on it, was when Wrestling/TheRock returned to host a pie eating contest. Rather than a race where everyone tries to eat the most with extra points for cleanliness or something else actively pitting contestants against each other, it was yet another "personality showcase" where each woman was "judged" individually while eating for so many seconds. Try as he might, The Rock couldn't make any contestant anymore interesting and ended up getting more mileage out of Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri, who was off in the corner, daydreaming about something more interesting. Also, one of the contestants decided to put her thong wearing ass in her pie. While not ''all'' of the following contests were quite so {{padd|ing}}ed or uneventful, the diva search's reputation as an embarrassingly amateurish trashy time waster was cemented. Every other complaint just stacked on this foundation.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The Diva Search had good ideas - and Wrestling/MollyHolly pointed out that if the company could find a new star that could make them lots of money - then that would benefit everyone. Unfortunately they emphasised T&A and the contest was seen as a joke. The 2013 revival was seen as more successful - as it was essentially a tryout camp rather than a beauty contest.

** What cemented the women of the diva search as social climbers simply using WWE as a stepping stone, as opposed to people who might have some interest in the pro wrestling business, was when one of the 2004 contests called on them to seduce Wrestling/{{Kamala}} and none of them seemed to know who he was. What hardcore wrestling fans sometimes fail to realize is that in the US, WWE ''had'' basically become pro wrestling to the casual observer. Dedicated fans kept seeing him in The NWA, WCW and the independent circuit but someone who had only watched WWE from 1994 to 2004 wouldn't have much reason to know who Kamala was.
** What killed the competition itself, before its long term consequences started kicking in, before the fans in attendance turned on it, was when Wrestling/TheRock returned to host a pie eating contest. Rather than a race where everyone tries to eat the most with extra points for cleanliness or something else actively pitting contestants against each other it was yet another "personality showcase" where each woman was "judged" individually while eating for so many seconds. Try as he might, The Rock couldn't make any of the contestants anymore interesting and ended up getting more mileage out of Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri, who was off in the corner, daydreaming about something more interesting. Also, one of the contestants decided to put her thong wearing ass in her pie. While not ''all'' of the following contests were quite so padded or uneventful, the diva search's reputation as an embarrassingly amateurish trashy time waster was cemented. Every other complaint just stacked on this foundation.

* EliminationHoudini: Carmella [=DeCesare=] from the 2004 season made it all the way to the final before losing at the very end, thus taking second place overall. She had no charisma, no desire to wrestle and a AlphaBitch attitude which made her so universally hated that it's seriously believed they deliberately fudged the votes and kept her on just so people would keep waiting to see her finally get eliminated (and thus hopefully keep watching.) This is WWE, after all—totally scripted Face vs. Heel matchups is what they do. Her existence was finally justified when, just before the winner was announced, Trish Stratus took both her and Christy Hemme apart in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Even after that, her rivalry with Christy would continue on TV for a few months, Carmella finally got sacked near the end of the year.

** Maria Kanellis is a curious example. She proved quite popular when featured on TV from about 2007-2009 - even getting voted the 2009 Diva of the Year. She did however have a PeripheryHatedom (particularly on ''Website/DivaDirt''). She was not rescued fully until after her WWE release, when she continued to show her love of wrestling on the indies.
** Inverted for Ashley Massaro who was popular in her heyday, but quickly got a massive {{Hatedom}} and is seen as a MemeticLoser these days.

* CriticalDissonance: Ask any wrestling fan or critic on the internet what their opinion of the Diva Search was and chances are they'll say it's a complete embarrassment that killed women's wrestling for the next several years. According to Wrestling/MariaKanellis, they were some of the highest rated segments on ''Raw''. The 2004 contest was, which was the reason WWE was willing to try four more times(five if you count "[[SpearCounterpart Million Dollar Tough Enough]]") despite diminishing returns from the television audience while the live attendees began to boo the segments.
* EliminationHoudini: Carmella [=DeCesare=] from the 2004 season made it all the way to the final before losing at the very end, thus taking second place overall. She had no charisma, no desire to wrestle and a AlphaBitch attitude which made her so universally hated that it's seriously believed they deliberately fudged the votes and kept her on just so people would keep waiting to see her finally get eliminated (and thus hopefully keep watching.) This is the WWE, after all—totally scripted Face vs. Heel matchups is what they do. Her existence was finally justified when, just before the winner was announced, Trish Stratus took both her and Christy Hemme apart in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Even after that, her rivalry with Christy would continue on TV for a few months, Carmella finally got sacked near the end of the year.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: The 2003 contest was barely a footnote in the pro wrestling history books. Even with the more controversial 2004 contest, Wrestling/GailKim and Wrestling/{{Ivory}} didn't [[IgnoredExpert get that much attention]] when they warned people they weren't going to like what was about to happen to WWE's women's division. Even though Christy Hemme's work was below what was previously expected of women's title matches in WWE, only a few of her matches were bad enough to get her booed. If the contest had stopped at 2004 it still would be an odd [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment hiccup]] rather than {{padding}} that damaged the show in the long run.

* TheScrappy

* HarsherInHindsight: Ashley doing a wrestling move in her talent round. Years after she left WWE, she revealed that she had never been trained properly - only on a 'per-match' basis - and this resulted in frequent injuries for her.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Many of the less respected contestants would later go on to become competent wrestlers such as Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/{{Layla}}(she was one of the better liked of her season, but also part of the most heavily booed season), Wrestling/EveTorres and to a lesser extent Christy Hemme and Wrestling/CandiceMichelle. The Wrestling/BellaTwins were rescued too, though long after their season had aired.

* FetishRetardant: One of, if not ''the'' biggest complaints about the Diva Search was that it was meant to be pure titillation but instead came off as incredibly trashy, with the contestants behaving like middle school brats rather than would-be professional entertainers.

* EliminationHoudini: Carmella [=DeCesare=] from the 2004 season made it all the way to the final before losing at the very end, thus taking second place overall. She had no charisma, no desire to wrestle and a AlphaBitch attitude which made her so universally hated that it's seriously believed they deliberately fudged the votes and kept her on just so people would keep waiting to see her finally get eliminated (and thus hopefully keep watching.) This is the WWE, after all—totally scripted Face vs. Heel matchups is what they do. Her existence was finally justified when, just before the winner was announced, Trish Stratus took both her and Christy Hemme apart in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Even after that, her rivalry would continue on TV for a few months, with Carmella finally getting sacked near the end of the year.

** Likewise with Ashley Massaro, as she expressed a desire to wrestle/

* FranchiseOriginalSin: The 2003 contest was barely a footnote in the pro wrestling history books. Even with the more controversial 2004 contest, Wrestling/GailKim and Wrestling/{{Ivory}} didn't [[IgnoredExpert get that much attention]] when they warned people they weren't going to like what was about to happen to WWE's women's division. Even though Christy Hemme's work was below what was previously expected of women's title matches in WWE, only a few of her matches were bad enough to get her booed. If the contest had stopped at 2004 it still would be an odd hiccup rather than {{padding}} that damaged the show in the long run.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Many of the less respected contestants would go on to become competent wrestlers later on such as Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/{{Layla}}(she was one of the better liked of her season, but also part of the most heavily booed season), Wrestling/EveTorres and to a lesser extent Christy Hemme and Wrestling/CandiceMichelle. The Wrestling/BellaTwins were rescued too, though long after their season had aired.

** Likewise with Ashley Massaro.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Many of the less respected contestants would go on to become competent wrestlers later on such as Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/{{Layla}}(she was one of the better liked of her season, but also part of the most heavily booed season), Wrestling/EveTorres and to a lesser extent Christy Hemme and Wrestling/CandiceMichelle.

--> '''Cristy''': Carmella, you're a cum-burping gutter slut!

--> ''Joy'': You talk a lot of shit, but you got a gab a mile wide, baby.
--> ''Amy'': Having a cock in your mouth has nothing to do with wrestling, ''bitch''!
--> ''Cristy'': Carmella, you're a cum-burping gutter slut!

* TakeThatScrappy: Carmella getting several new assholes ripped courtesy of the "Diss-the-Diva" segment and Wrestling/TrishStratus' final speech to her before Christy was declared the winner.

* FetishRetardant: One of, if not ''the'' biggest complaints about the Diva Search was that it was meant to be pure titillation but instead came off as incredibly trashy, with the contestants coming across as middle school brats rather than would-be professional entertainers.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: If the 2003 contest had been the only one, the only people talking about it would be really hardcore WWE fans and pro wrestling historians. Even with the more controversial 2004 contest, Wrestling/GailKim and Wrestling/{{Ivory}} didn't [[IgnoredExpert get that much attention]] when they warned people they weren't going to like what was about to happen to WWE's women's division. Even though Christie Hemme's work was below what was previously expected of women's title matches in WWE, only a few of her matches were bad enough to get her booed. If the contest had stopped at 2004 it still would be an odd hiccup rather than {{padding}} that damaged the show in the long run.

** Based on the main page alone, you could probably guess that Carmella [=DcCesare=] wasn't well liked.
** Ashley Massaro was well liked at first but eventually became one. She'd eventually regain some of her fan base back once she started making it to her indie dates, though the stink of her disappointing WWE career will probably never leave entirely.
** The latter three diva searches aren't as well remembered as the 2004 contest, so the contestants were not as affected by the stigma of entering pro wrestling through it. Trenesha Biggers, Rosa Mendes, Maryse Ouellet, The Bellas and Eva Marie still managed to find their way onto the scrappy heap though. Seasons one and five seem to be only ones that did not produce a scrappy.
* SequelDisplacement: The 2004 Diva Search is often falsely believed to have been the first Diva Search when it was actually the second. Since the 2003 version wasn't televised and its winner wasn't signed to a contract (instead only participating in a magazine shoot) it's understandable why the first one has been largely forgotten.

* Ashley Massaro was well liked at first but eventually became one. She'd eventually regain some of her fan base back once she started making it to her indie dates, though the stink of her disappointing WWE career will probably never leave entirely.

* TakeThatScrappy: Carmella getting several new assholes ripped courtesy of the "Diss-the-Diva" segments and Wrestling/TrishStratus' final speech to her before Christy was declared the winner.

* CriticalDissonance: Ask any wrestling fan or critic on the internet what their opinion of the Diva Search was and chances are they'll say it's a complete embarrassment that killed women's wrestling for the next several years. According to Wrestling/MariaKanellis, they were some of the highest rated segments on ''Raw''.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Many of the less respected contestants would go on to become competent wrestlers later on such as Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/{{Layla}}, Wrestling/EveTorres and to a lesser extent Christy Hemme and Wrestling/CandiceMichelle.
* TheScrappy: Based on the main page alone, you could probably guess that Carmella [=DcCesare=] wasn't well liked.

* SequelDisplacement: The 2004 Diva Search is often falsely believed to have been the first Diva Search when it was actually the second.

* SequelDisplacement: The 2004 Diva Search is often falsely believed to have been the first Diva Search when it was actually the second, perhaps due to this one airing on TV.

* CriticalDissonance: Ask any wrestling fan on the internet what their opinion of the Diva Search was and chances are they'll say it's a complete embarrassment that killed women's wrestling for the next several years. According to Wrestling/MariaKanellis, they were some of the highest rated segments on ''Raw''.

* FetishRetardant: One of, if not ''the'' biggest complaints about the Diva Search was that it was meant to be pure titillation but instead came off as incredibly trashy.

* EliminationHoudini: Carmella [=DeCesare=] from the 2004 season made it all the way to the final before losing at the very end, thus taking second place overall. She had no charisma, no desire to wrestle and a AlphaBitch attitude who managed to become so universally hated that it's seriously believed they deliberately fudged the votes and kept her on just so people would keep waiting to see her finally get eliminated (and thus hopefully keep watching.) This is the WWE, after all—totally scripted Face vs. Heel matchups is what they do. Her existence was finally justified when, just before the winner was announced, Trish Stratus took both her and Christy Hemme apart in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Even after that, her rivalry would continue on for a few months, with Carmella finally getting sacked near the end of the year.

* TakeThatScrappy: Carmella getting several new assholes ripped courtesy of the "Diss-the-Diva" segments and Wrestling/TrishStratus' final speech to her before Christy was declared the winner.
* TheScrappy: Based on the main page alone, you could probably guess that Carmella [=DcCesare=] wasn't well liked.