2006 Diva Search Finalists

* Layla El - 2006 Winner
* Jen England - Eliminated 7th/Runner Up on 8/16/06
* JT Tinney - Eliminated 6th on 8/16/06
* Milena Roucka - Eliminated 5th 8/14/06Exit Interview
* Erica Chevillar - Eliminated 4rd 8/7/06Exit Interview
* Rebecca DiPietro - Eliminated 3rd 8/3/06 Exit Interview
* Maryse Ouellet - Eliminated 2nd 7/27/06 - Exit Interview
* Amy Zidian - Eliminated 1st 7/18/06- Exit Interview

* Jennifer Walcott - 1st Contestant to Drop Out

Articles from FHC Magazine by Shallon Lester

Amy Zidian might be the first to go on USA's WWE Diva Search, but don't cry for this ass-kicking beauty. FHM catches up with this week's unlucky lady to hear about cat-fights, rabid fans and pickup lines that actually work.

By Shallon Lester

Its not easy being the first contestant voted off the WWE Diva Search. Could you have stepped up your game last week?
For sure—that’s why I didn’t make it. All we had going into the competition was personality because everybody had the looks. Everybody’s gorgeous. I could have performed so much better. I went in this week with the game face and ready for war, but it was last week that counted. They just couldn’t handle all this hotness right now!

Is this the end of your wrestling dreams or will you be back?
I actually plan to start training. Wrestling is something I’ve taken a love to and I don’t plan to steer away from it. I’ll still do Hawaiian Tropic and bikini modeling, but I hope to get more involved in wrestling and make it my career.

Most beautiful women arent wrestling fanatics. How long have you been a fan?
I was a tomboy and always had a lot of guy friends growing up. Then I started getting into the girl phase and it didn’t appeal to me anymore. But I had just recently started to watch wrestling again, so it’s ironic that the Diva Search is happening now. I love Raw— it’s got great characters and everything is so funny. It’s really entertaining, so all of this couldn’t have come at a better time.

If you do make it into the pro-wrestling circuit, will your character be good or evil?
I want to do the wholesome American type of girl, like Stacey Kiebler. But I can be a badass bitch too. Whatever I’m feeling that day.

Do you have a finishing move like The Sexy Smackdown or The Hottie Hold?
No, not yet. I’ve actually just started stage-fighting. There will be a finishing move to look out for, though.

How do you respond when people say pro wrestling is fake?
I used to think that was the case until I started taking classes—it’s as real as it can be! You can’t fake hits, barbed wire or slaps.

Do the girls in the competition get along well or was it one big catfight?
I went in there with the best intentions and I came out with some friends. You plan for the worst but you hope for the best. But it’s $250,000 on the line and a life-changing career—I’m sure some of the girls have tricks up their sleeve. You could sense when the girls were weak or sense when they were really strong or when they were doubting themselves.

Who do you think has a good shot at winning?
I think Jen and Milena both have a really good shot. Milena has something different that the WWE doesn’t have—the pretty tomboy angle. She’s gorgeous, but at the same time she’s one of the guys. Jen has her sexy vixen thing but you know what? I could see myself coming back next week and winning it. I’m going to be the next diva!

Wrestling fans are hardcore. How have they treated you?
I’ve been getting fan mail and MySpace messages. I’ve been answering all of them! I get a lot of people saying, “We’re really rooting for you!” Nobody has been mean or slanderous at all—Ive gotten the best support from the WWE fans.

Would you ever date a fan?
You never know what life throws at you. If you were to ask me if I thought I would be a wrestler two years ago, I would’ve said no. So if you feel something and your gut instincts tell you to go with it, you’d better listen.

Any advice for a guy whos trying to approach a beautiful woman?
Just be yourself—cheesy pickup lines never work. Be yourself and ask how she’s doing. Its good to say, “You caught my eye.” It’s not good to say, “Can I check your tag? Are you made in heaven?” We’re not hard to talk to. Men really try to overanalyze us. We’re just as easy as they are!




Foxy French Canadian Maryse Ouellet is the second contestant to be voted off of WWEs Diva Search. Now, hear what the blonde beauty has to say about the show, achieving celebrity status and what words of wisdom wrestling legend Hulk Hogan had for the girls.

By Shallon Lester

Now that youve been booted from Diva Search, do you plan to pursue your wrestling career?
Yes. I know WWE will call me in a couple of weeks to discuss some details and yes, I’m very interested. This is more of who I really am. Modeling can be kind of boring. I’m more than that. I have the personality to do this kind of job. It’s hard to explain how I feel when Im in front of 30,000 people and a million TV viewers. It’s a drug.

What persona can fans expect to see when you make your return to the ring?
I would like to play the “black widow with a heart of gold” type. A mysterious girl, and when she enters the ring, you’ll never know what she’s going to do.

Have you always been into wrestling?
Yes! I wanted to be like Trish Stratus or Lita. I love the gymnastics in the ring.

You don’t seem to have a lot of extra padding on your lean frame. Have you always been athletic?
Right now I’m a model in Canada. I’m the spokesperson for a fitness company. But I’m very physical, very aggressive. I look so feminine people don’t believe me when I say that I’m a black belt in martial arts and I do kickboxing. But I love to box, I love aerobics, dancing, I love going to the gym each day.

You’re tougher than you look. Was the WWE Boot Camp a challenge at all for you?
I love athletic challenges and normally, the boot camp would be fairly easy for all of us. But in front of 30,000 people live, your heart’s beating so fast already that you run out of breath quickly. With all that adrenaline in you, trying to breathe and do cardio is really hard. But my favorite was the dance-off. I loved that.

What’s it like to be an overnight celebrity?
It’s incredible. I receive thousands of e-mails. The first year of my Web site, we had 15,000 viewers total. In two days after Diva Search, the site had 30,000 hits. I can’t answer each e-mail, but I read all the messages and I try to respond.

Did the pressure of the competition ever get to you?
The first week the pressure was intense because we didn’t know what we had to do for the challenge. And, you have to find your clothes, your style and it’s really hard to do all of that. Diva Search was the most challenging experience in my life and the best ever.

The pressure is heating up now. Were the girls friendly to each other?
Yes. I was in a lot of bikini competitions, so I know how girls can be. Honestly, it’s always hard when your competing with other women, but the Diva girls were really great. We helped each other.

Who are you putting your money on to make it to the final round?
I love Layla. Milena, too, because she’s Canadian also. She’s from Vancouver, so I will say Milena. She’s very athletic and I like her style.

Did you get to fulfill any childhood WWE fantasies?
I met Hulk Hogan! He was very sympathetic to what we were going through. Wrestling is really intense and he said he was proud of all of us. That was a really great moment for me.

What kind of guys catch your attention? Are you only into dudes who can keep up with your physical prowess?
First of all, the guy has to have great charisma and a great personality. And be in great shape. I like the tall, athletic type, not a 300-pound guy.

So no beefy wrestler guys for you?
Well, it depends on the guy. I like Randy Orton and John Cena because they have attitudes and great personalities. It’s not just the body with me—you have to be more than that!



Lady luck wasn’t on the side of Rebecca DiPietro, the third contestant to be eliminated from the WWE's Diva Search, but this fiery beauty isn't crying—she’s challenging! Check out how she feels about getting in the ring with contestant J.T. Tinney, what kind of guys turn her on and why she's not afraid to take one for the team.

You’re the third girl to be voted off Diva Search. Where do you think things went wrong?
I think there was a malfunction somewhere. Maybe too many people were texting my name at the same time and it just kind of shut the circuit down. I think that might have been the problem.

Do you still plan on pursuing a career in wrestling?
Definitely. I was in the search last year and I ended up as the first alternate. This year I was like, "I’m going to keep coming back until they take me." They had no choice—either they take me or I’ll hound them for years. I’m not giving up. You haven’t seen the last of me. It was honestly one the of the best experiences of my life. They can't give me that taste and take it away.

What kind of wrestling character would you want to play?
Probably the heel [bad girl]. I’m into trying the rough stuff. I’m all about them slamming me through a table. I’m really game for anything. I think that scares a lot of my family members. I’m willing to take one for the team. So hopefully you’ll see going through a couple of tables or hitting some girls with chairs.

In the musical chairs competition, we almost saw you hit contestant J.T. Tinney with a chair.
Oh yeah. I was going to whack her with it! She cheated. She sat down before the music was over. I mean come on, everyone played that game in kindergarten. She’s a big girl. She should know the rules by now.

Is this the beginning of a feud between you and J.T.?
I would love that! I would love to get in the ring and show that girl what I’m made off.

Are you issuing a challenge?
Yes, I am! She thinks I’m going to break—let’s get her in the ring and see if she can break me. I don’t think I’ll be the one losing.

What’s your response to critics who say wrestling’s fake?
People need to get off of that, because they don't get to see what we get to see—they have no idea. People probably thought my whole thing with the chair was fake. I’ve heard people ask if that was staged. No, that was me. As for wrestling in general, how can you fake jumping from a top rope and landing on a person? You can’t fake that.

Who do you think is going to win the competition?
I honestly thought I had a good shot, but I’m kind of partial. Jen and I are good friends. Layla, she’s got so much spunk and really wants it. Milena wants it. Erica, she’s beautiful but maybe as a ring girl or something else. I don’t see her getting physical or having what it takes to be the Diva the winner needs to be. J.T., I’m not convinced with her.

How have the WWE fans responded to you?
When I got eliminated I had fans waiting for me at the hotel before I got there. They left the show to meet me at the hotel to tell me they were mad I got voted off. The fans have been amazing.

What kind of guys are you attracted to?
Honestly, I love it all. I can’t lie. Do I love the big muscles and the tattoos? Yeah, I totally dig it.

Someone like Batista?
You can say that. You could say I dig on him. Then again I love Rey Mysterio. What he can do in the ring is amazing. He’s honestly such a sweetheart. He’s great. I love watching him.

Did the wrestlers hit on you?
Honestly, come on! The Diva girls are the sexiest women on TV. So men will be men, boys will be boys. They’re all really cool and the girls are very hot, so it’s an interesting thing. Tension. There’s a lot of tension!

You replaced Jennifer Walcott after she dropped out. So you weren’t originally in the Diva Search competition?
No. Thousands of girls auditioned for the show. About 130 girls made it to L.A. but they picked only 10—eight finalists and two alternates—I was number nine. I was a first alternate, so when Jennifer dropped out, I came in, which was great for me.

Why do you think you were voted off the show?
I’m more reserved than the other girls, because I’ve been a teacher for the past year. The whole entertainment thing is new to me and I think that’s probably what held me back, just being shyer than the other girls.

When you were a teacher, didn't you once get into some hot water for having photos taken of yourself in a bikini?
Yeah. They did an investigation and they said I didn’t do anything wrong. It caused a lot of controversy. I guess a lot of parents were upset and they were trying to get me fired. It was a huge deal.

If you won the competition, that could’ve been your character—a submissive sexy teacher, with an inner wild girl.
Yeah! I played that role in the casting, but there is another Diva who actually plays that role on Smackdown, so I would have had to come up with something else.

Do you still plan to pursue a wrestling career?
Yeah, I plan to talk with the WWE. They said they want to talk to me to see what I would be interested in doing. I’m definitely going to call them.

Did you think you were going to win the competition?
After working with all the girls and seeing how they reacted to certain situations, I knew I had a lot of growing to do in the industry before I'm ready to be a Diva. I thought maybe I could be better starting out like an announcer, or something not as intense as a wrestler.

How have the fans treated you throughout the contest?
It’s been amazing because they’re waiting at the airports and hotels for autographs. That’s really been new and exciting for me. My first bad experience with a fan didn't actually happen until last Monday night when I was voted off. A guy was cheering on Layla and when they announced my name, he started booing. He was looking right at my face and yelling. I wanted to punch him. He was an idiot.

What Diva challenge did you hate the most?
For me it was so new to me, but in the Dance-Off contest, I was dying! First of all, I’m not a very good dancer. As soon as I started dancing they started booing. Dancing is a weak point of mine.

You girls must be nervous all the time, do you prank each other on the road to release the pressure?
Yes, there’s lot of nerves and lots of butterflies. No pranks, but there is cattiness of course. There were lots of accusations of broken curling irons.

Was your curling iron ever attacked?
No. I pretty much got along with everyone. I don’t like drama.

Who do you think is going to win it all?
I think Layla has a really good chance. She’s so used to being out in front of a crowd and she’s really outgoing.

After all your time with the WWE, how do you respond to people who argue that wrestling is fake?
It’s scripted, but it’s not fake. These people get hurt—the sweat and the blood is real. Ashley, last year's winner, got hurt a couple of months ago. Her first match back, she broke her finger. She was in pain, so is it fake? It’s definitely not fake. They know who they’re fighting and who’s going to win, but the pain they feel is very real.
 

So you're the fifth girl to be voted off Diva Search. How disappointed are you right now?
I put my heart and soul into this, but I could've done more. I could've been spunkier. I could've been Milena times 100 instead of Milena times 10.

Do you think the fans picked up on that and that's why you got the boot?
I'm not a Diva yet, so I didn't want to come across as having the attitude, 'I'm a Diva. I'm on the show-you guys all suck!' I wanted the fans to see the real me first and get to know me as a person.

How did it feel getting eliminated on live TV?
What really made me happy was when the fans booed when I got eliminated. The whole stadium shook. It was such a good feeling-that's why I left with a smile.

How long have you been a wrestling fan? Were you practicing your moves while other girls were playing with Barbie dolls?
Actually, I've been a fan since Trish Stratus became a Diva. I used to read a lot of fitness magazines and she was my inspiration to start working out when I was like 19 or 20 years old.

So it's safe to say Trish is your role model?
Very much so. She's tough, beautiful, athletic and I really respect her. I want to follow in her footsteps. I met her and told her she's my inspiration and the reason why I'm here. I got to hug her and it was so awesome.

How did you get along with the other girls on the show?
I got along with everybody, but I got off on the wrong foot with J.T. We mended things, though.

Was she the most difficult girl to get along with?
She's overly confident. There's a little truth behind every sarcastic statement, and she made little comments here and there to me. I was like, "Listen, don't talk like that to me." I don't take that, but she apologized and we shook hands. We got off to a bad start, but it's cool now.

So you're not going to issue a challenge to her?
I would love to get in the ring with her.

Who do you think is going to win the finale of Diva Search?
I love Layla's energy and her spunk, but she's not really a wrestling fan. Jenn and I are-it would be great if the winner is someone who appreciates the sport. I'm sure the wrestling fans want that too. J.T. and Layla are not really fans-they don't know what The Great American Bash was and stuff like that, but that's cool. I'm partial to Jenn because she is a wrestling fan. I want her to win.

If you do get back into wrestling, what will your character be like?
I definitely want to be a baby face [protagonist]. I want to be loved by everyone, and I want to win every match.

But baby faces don't always win. In fact, they get beat up a lot.
I know, but I can take a beating. Plus, I have the kind of look that would allow them to mold me into any kind of character.

So wrestlers really do take a beating? It's not fake, like some critics insist?
I really hate when people say it's fake. Wrestlers get hurt-they go through surgery, they break limbs, they get metal plates inside their bodies. Fake? That's such bullshit. I can't stand when people say that shit.

And you wouldn't be afraid to step inside the ring with an opponent who is bigger and tougher than you?
I'm fearless. It's crazy because I was always a tomboy. In school, I once fought this girl who was two years older than me-she was a big, fat, scary-looking girl. I was scared, but when she attacked me, I bit her arm, put her in a headlock and started punching her face. I was suspended for five days, but I got so much respect from the kids at my school.