15 WWE Divas That Got Bashed For Their Behavior Behind The Scenes
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Looking at the landscape of the Divas Division today, it’s pretty fair to say that things are quite different in and out of the ring. Today, the product is all about in-ring competition, putting on some of the best women’s matches we’ve ever seen. In addition to that, the women are total pros behind the scenes and take value in their professionalism. Disputes seem to be a thing of the past for these women currently employed by the company.
On the contrary, the Divas of the 90s and early 2000s had quite the different mindset. In those climates, sex sold, while the backstage scene was a circus-like atmosphere more so than anything else. This led to various disputes and altercations among the talent. Most of those situations saw the women go at it behind the scenes.
This article will highlight some of the most disliked Divas behind the scenes from that era. We will also include some performers from today’s climate that have been bashed for situations behind the scenes as well. Enjoy this list of 15 WWE Divas that got bashed for their behavior behind the scenes!
15. Luna Vachon
The late great Luna Vachon was a legend in the wrestling business. She started way back in the mid 80s and would ultimately make her way to the WWE in 1993. Her initial run was rather short-lived, by ’94 Luna was already gone from the WWE. Her departure was pretty controversial as she was ultimately the first even woman to appear in a WWE video game despite not being with the company. She objected to being showcased in the game but she was ultimately included regardless.
Her following run in 1997 was much longer, spanning until the year 2000. Her on-screen role improved, though behind the scenes things weren’t the smoothest. Luna was criticized by her peers for being erratic behind the scenes; after several warnings from the company she was finally let go for that very reason. In 2000, the company had enough and released Luna for an outburst backstage. She would go on to perform on the Indie circuit for several years after her WWE departure.
According to her peers, the behavior was because of an apparent drug problem. The WWE had actually paid for her rehab in 2009 but she would later pass away from a drug overdose, losing her battle to the addiction.
14. Melina
Melina was a “heat magnet” during her days as a WWE Superstar. Although it didn’t seem as such on the air, she was quite the nuisance backstage.
Melina had heat with several performers, one being Booker’s wife Sharmell, following a fight between Batista and Booker T at a SummerSlam photoshoot. Her backstage heat only got worse, becoming an arrogant face behind the scenes. Former WWE star Michelle McCool even remembers an incident which saw Melina roll her eyes at an idea Michelle threw out which led to another altercation.
Some other legendary Divas even got into it with Melina. According to rumors, Lita kicked Melina out of the locker-room at one point for acting in a disrespectful manner towards the other employees. Not to mention Lita’s good friend Trish, even encountered problems with Melina after she took her spot tagging with Morrison at WrestleMania. This led to some heat between the two along with Morrison, becoming insanely awkward throughout his confrontations with Trish.
Melina was extremely talented but man, did she ever come with lots of baggage and drama behind the scenes.
13. The Kat
The Kat basically represented everything the women’s division is not today. During the climate of the Attitude Era however, she fit in perfectly. Despite her inability to wrestle or perform any type of in-ring maneuver, she managed to make a connection with the crowd based on her seductive ways in the ring. The WWE loved to promote the “sexual” aspect of the business and Kat was one of the better performers at doing so.
Backstage however, she wasn’t well received in comparison to her connection with the audience. Wrestlers were skeptical about her credentials, seeing as how she was employed because of her prior marriage to Jerry Lawler. Before that, Kat had no experience whatsoever and was green to the business. Her attitude certainly didn’t help her cause and led to a rare dismissal which took place during a storyline. While a member of the Right to Censor faction, McMahon had seen enough and pulled her out of the angle releasing her on the spot for her a negative attitude behind the scenes with various employees. She never returned following her dismissal more than a decade ago.
12. Amy Weber
Some people just aren’t cut out for a career in the pro wrestling business, and Amy Weber was one of them. Coming from a background in film and television, Weber certainly wasn’t used to the animal that is the WWE. Some believe she took the job for exposure without really knowing what she was getting herself into.
Her stint came crashing down after a brief stay with the company. Following the lackluster Diva Search competition, Weber signed a contract. From in the ring to behind the scenes, Weber never really fit the mold. She distanced herself backstage and failed to make any connections. Amy would eventually resign from the company discussing problems of harassment. Weber also complained about multiple facets of the company, including the pay and the “frat house-like environment” backstage.
Despite her claims of leaving the company, JBL stated she was fired for accidentally hitting him with a sleeping dart. You can’t make this stuff up, folks!
11. Ivory
In terms of backstage heat, Ivory is quite minor in comparison to the others on this list. For the most part, her heat stemmed from absolute annoyance, as wrestlers like X-Pac went on the record to say that Ivory would not shut up behind the scenes. This proved to be true following her days with the WWE, as Ivory partook in numerous shoot interviews. In one instance, she took a bitter approach calling out Stephanie McMahon, making the claim that fame got to Steph and she certainly changed throughout the years going from a sweet and innocent little girl to someone that was becoming more and more like her father. Is she being bitter, or is there truth to this accusation? We’ll leave it up to you guys.
Following her WWE release, Ivory spent a year working the Indies and would ultimately retire from the business. She worked in landscaping but would later focus her time on animals, opening up her very own pet daycare company.
10. Gail Kim
Unlike the other women on this list, Gail Kim was well received by her peers backstage. She was a tremendous worker in the ring and very respectable outside of it (as most Canadian born wrestlers usually are). The only problem was her biggest critic happened to be her boss.
According to rumors, McMahon bashed Gail behind the scenes for not having the proper “look” to make it in the business. Despite her obvious talent in comparison to the others at the time, Vince was reluctant to push Gail any further. This would eventually lead to Gail’s departure and a controversial one to say the least. Out of frustration, Kim eliminated herself from a Battle Royal and proceeded to demand a release. The company would try to keep her on board for the remainder of her deal but ultimately she had enough and was unwilling to comply. Kim would end up joining TNA, becoming one the greatest female wrestlers in the company’s history. Good for you Gail, good for you!
9. Shelly Martinez
Known as Ariel with the WWE, the company had high hopes for the female star who had a very specific look. Ultimately, her run came to a premature end because of a backstage incident.
During her time in the WWE, Batista was a prominent name on the card. During an altercation between Batista and Shelly’s good friend Melina, the former ECW star decided to intervene and confront Batista. The two had a verbal argument backstage which led to her abrupt release. After such a short-lived stint, Martinez was released because of the altercation with Batista. Following her lacklustre ECW brand run, Shelly would quickly sign a deal with TNA. Her problems persisted with the other company, as Shelly would miss a live event accompanying LAX to the ring. Instead, she claimed to have prior engagements at an autograph session. Martinez even took to social media claiming the pro wrestling business has a major double standard when it comes to its talent.
8. Kelly Kelly
Without any prior experience, the WWE signed Kelly Kelly to a developmental deal when she was still a teenager at the age of 19. The company would later opt to bring her up shortly after as a part of the “Extreme Expose” segment with the ECW brand.
She would go on to have a lengthy career and even win an improbable Divas Championship. Her legacy however, is more so remembered for her antics behind the scenes than in the ring.
It might have been immaturity, but Kelly was linked to several WWE stars during her time. This ultimately led to some backstage heat with various Divas, including former WWE star Maria Kanellis. During a shoot interview, Maria bashed Kelly for exposing pictures of herself with certain Superstars behind the scenes. Maria made the claim that Kelly gave the Divas a bad reputation and one they were working on fixing. Maria was making references to party pictures Kelly put online of herself with Chris Jericho (who is married) and various others. The heat eventually died down and Kelly parted ways with the company on her own terms in 2012.
7. Rochelle Loewen
Similar to The Kat, Rochelle entered the business with no prior experience coming from a modelling background. The difference with her stint and Kat’s was the era. Unlike the Kat, Rochelle entered the mix when the WWE was finally pushing their female talents with higher regard, and this would ultimately lead to her abrupt departure serving as an afterthought during her run.
To make matters worse, her brief backstage encounters with the talent were somehow met with an even lower regard. According to the rumor mill, Loewen didn’t have a clue who Randy Orton was when meeting “The Viper” backstage. This infuriated Randy, not only as an ego thing, but for her lack of knowledge for the business. The urban legend has it that Orton would proceed to let out some urine into her personal belongings. It truly was a rough, short-lived stint for Rochelle who understandably left the wrestling business following her failed WWE run.
6. Lita
Throughout her WWE career, Lita was always regarded as one of the best the WWE has ever seen. Her style was trailblazing to say the least and it inspired several performers to break into the business. Names such as AJ Lee and Bayley, were both huge fans of Lita growing up and got into the business because of her.
In the ring, her resume was truly flawless winning the Women’s Title four times and eventually earning a spot into the WWE’s Hall of Fame.
Her career however, came with one blemish and it was pertaining to a situation behind the scenes. During the mid 2000s, the rumor mill ran rampant with allegations of Lita having an affair with WWE Superstar Edge, while she was dating long-time boyfriend Matt Hardy, who was sidelined with an injury. The situation ruined her reputation backstage, and almost her entire career. Fans began to heckle Lita every show and she eventually chose to step away from the business retiring on awful terms. Thankfully, time heels everything and Lita would later return to a nice reception with fans and talent, putting the situation behind them.
5. Eva Marie
Like some others we’ve seen on this list, Eva Marie entered the mix with no prior pro wrestling experience, inking a deal with the company based on her marketable look. As we’ve seen with the others, this led to some resentment behind the scenes which was documented on the reality show Total Divas. The likes of both Nikki and Brie Bella have criticized Eva for her passion and ability to get better. Eva finally decided to improve but even that was met with some controversy backstage as Eva elected to get private training with WWE star Brian Kendrick, as opposed to going down to NXT and joining the rest of the developmental wrestlers in training.
Despite her minor improvements and dust ups backstage, the company continues to turn away from such events. The WWE is very high on Eva and still plans on pushing her once she gets back to the ring.
4. Paige
Winning the Divas Championship at the age of 21, the future looked brighter than ever for Paige. She was young, well received backstage and a tremendous ambassador for the company as a terrific role model for millions who looked up to her. Fast-forward only a little over two years later, and the script is somehow completely flipped.
Nowadays, not only is Paige not with the company at the moment, but she’s received some terrible heat since her relationship with Alberto Del Rio began. The company was none too pleased about the arrangement and it even led to Alberto leaving the WWE. Since his departure, Paige hasn’t appeared on television and continues to post pictures with Del Rio, whether it be supporting her man on the Indie scene or for the unveiling of his new restaurant. This has led WWE officials to be furious with the young star backstage and the other talent have also been disappointed with the way she’s handled the situation. Her future with the company remains in serious doubt.
3. Stephanie McMahon
He rise in the company is truly something, even if she is the boss’ daughter. Stephanie started off as a receptionist, to becoming a shy on-screen character, and to becoming one of the greatest natural heels in WWE history. What makes it all so interesting is the fact that Stephanie is the complete opposite when she’s her regular self outside of character. Stephanie is great with talent, easily approachable and always tries her very best to make things work with various performers creatively.
Despite that, there have been some critiques of Stephanie. We touched base early on regarding Ivory who bashed Stephanie for changing over the years. Ivory claimed that Stephanie was no longer sweet and innocent as the power got her head. Others have also been critical of Stephanie and her role with the success of her husband, Triple H. Even former wrestlers have bashed Stephanie for constantly having a hand in pushing her husband to the front of the card. With WrestleMania on the horizon, you can expect these displeasures to once again resurface with Triple H set to return soon.
2. Sunny
We end the article off with two of the most disliked WWE Divas of all-time, starting with Sunny.
1996 was the time period which saw the WWE finally push the envelope and show some skin on their programming which was desperate for a change. That all began with WWE manager Sunny, who rose to superstardom with her various vignettes on Monday Night Raw. At the end of this time period, Sunny was named AOL’s most downloaded woman of the year; quite the accomplishment.
Her rise eventually led to her demise behind the scenes. Knowing what she brought to the table, Sunny was quite hostile with other talents, including Sable. The WWE had eventually seen enough and parted ways with Sunny based on her attitude with other talents backstage and for no-showing several WWE events. To this day, Sunny is critical about her departure and continues to bash the WWE along with several other talents.
1. Sable
From the very beginning, long time former WWE employee Jim Cornette was very critical about Sable’s signing. With no prior experience, Cornette questioned her passion and claimed she was only in the business for fame. Whether that’s true or not, we’ll leave it up to you.
Her run with the company was bittersweet looking back. Sable was a massive draw for the WWE but this eventually got to her head. Sable wasn’t approachable backstage and claimed to be drawing all the ratings. This upset several of her co-workers and caused her to be a loner backstage, alongside ex-husband Marc Mero.
When Sable announced she’d be leaving, X-Pac decided to play a nasty “joke” on her, dropping some "waste" in her bags. The stunt just proved how disliked she really was.
Following her departure, Sable would ruffle a few more feathers suing the WWE for $110 million, claiming sexual harassment on the company and deeming the WWE as “unsafe”. Her legacy took a major hit because of all these backstage shenanigans.
Sources: thesportster.com
