The Women of the WWE have evolved just as professional wrestling has evolved. They’ve gone from being strictly women’s wrestlers to eye candy valets to sex symbols to now, a combination of the three. The women of the WWE are strong, athletic, smart, sexy and role models to millions of young women today.
The WWE is always quick to highlight these things about its female superstars. That phrase “Women Superstars” is significant as the WWE wants you to know that these ladies are more than just divas which can sometimes have a negative connotation. The PR machine of the WWE has re-branded their women for the better and now they are on the same level as their male superstars.
Those are the things that WWE wants you to know about their women superstars but there are many things that they would prefer not become public knowledge. Some of these ladies may portray perfect angels on TV, but can’t maintain that gimmick in reality. The women of the WWE have some dark secrets that consist of such things as arrests, adulterous relationships and hardcore drug problems.
Or, in other words, the women of the WWE have the same issues as the men of the WWE.
We’ll take a look at some of these acts by the female faces of the WWE as here are 15 facts the WWE won’t tell us about their women’s roster.
15 15. Paige’s Mother Is More Messed Up Than She Is
Paige just turned 25 but she’s had her fair share of issues in her career ranging from leaked photos (and videos), wellness violations and a domestic violence incident. However, Paige’s mother, Sweet Saraya gives her daughter a run for her money in terms of controversy. Saraya is a wrestler in her own right but while growing up in England she was abused by her stepfather. She then ran away at 15, was raped, and became addicted to drugs. A young Saraya lived on the streets of England and would use public swimming pools as her personal bathtub. At 18 Saraya overdosed on pills and had to have her stomach pumped to save her life. A year later she would meet Ricky Knight, who was 18 years her senior and had served eight years in prison.
The two would get married and Saraya would become pregnant with the future WWE superstar known as Paige. Saraya even continued to wrestle while seven months pregnant with Paige which may help explain why Paige is who she is today.
14 14. Becky Lynch Was An Addict As A Teen
Some superstars get into wrestling because it’s the family business while others get into it for athletic and competitive reasons. But Becky Lynch became a wrestler to, literally, save her life. She says she was a fan growing up but then she dropped out of school and started going down a really bad path. She said she was smoking lots of weed and drinking three times a week which may not seem like much according to most people, but you have to remember Becky was just 15 years old at the time. It took wrestling for her to get her life back on track as she now had a goal in life to become a professional wrestler. In Becky’s own words, “Lord, I don't know where I'd be now if I didn't start wrestling, and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't want to know.” Becky would start attending a wrestling school in Ireland that Finn Balor had opened and he would help train her about a dozen years before they would be reunited in NXT.
13 13. Natalya Worked For Eric Bischoff Before She Worked For Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon’s favorite superstars are the ones he gets his hands on first. They are the ones he helps cultivate whether it be in NXT or formerly in FCW or OVW. Nattie Neidhart received her training with the Hart Family in Canada but before she joined WWE or one of its developmental territories, she did business with Eric Bischoff. When just 18 years old, Natalya joined “Mat Rats” in Calgary which had Bischoff on the company’s Board of Directors. Mat Rats was a youth program which featured wrestlers under 21 years old and their matches were accompanied by music which was played throughout.
Natalya was with Mat Rats for just about one year but that is still seven years before she would ever work for the McMahons. She would join Stampede Wrestling after leaving Mal Rats and would finally sign with the WWE in 2007.
12 12. Tamina Is Not Actually Related To The Rock
Seemingly every Samoan wrestler that joins the WWE is related to The Rock in one way or another. He’s cousins with The Usos, Roman Reigns and Nia Jax while also being related to former wrestlers Yokozuna, Umaga and the Wild Samoans. But one Samoan wrestler not related by blood to The Rock is Tamina even though the WWE promotes that they are kin. Tamina is the daughter of the late Jimmy Snuka and The Rock called Snuka his “uncle” even though they were not technically related. Snuka was married to a relative of The Rock’s so they were related by marriage at some point, but once they divorced then the two were technically no longer related. But in Samoan tradition, anyone who is close to the family is considered a blood brother and is often seen as essentially family. Another example is former wrestler Haku who The Rock also calls his uncle even though they are not related.
11 11. Paige Has Two Strikes Against Her In The Wellness Policy
As mentioned earlier, Paige’s mother had issues with drugs and it looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In August 2016, Paige was suspended for 30 days for violating WWE’s Wellness Policy. She claimed it was due to a procedural error and never failed a test. It could have been due to a simple technicality such as not being available for the test or not even being able to pee in the time allotted. There were no procedural errors when Paige failed her second wellness test in October 2016 which resulted in a 60 day suspension. She said it was due to prescribed medication but WWE responded by saying she tested positive for an illegal substance and not a prescription drug.
Paige has two strikes against her and if she fails a third drug test, then she would be terminated immediately and will not be allowed to return to WWE for at least one calendar year.
10 10. Alexa Bliss Failed In Her Pre WWE Career
Long before she took the wrestling stage as Alexa Bliss, she took the bikini modeling stage as Lexi Kaufman. Bliss had an eating disorder while in high school and she used bodybuilding as a way to overcome it. She was in the bikini division and achieved success as an amateur which earned her a Pro IFBB card. She won her first contest in her home state of Ohio as a pro, but couldn’t find anywhere near the same success in later competitions. Over her last four events, Bliss finished 12th, 6th, 13th and 14th which pretty much ended her bodybuilding aspirations. After that 14th place finish in the Arnold Classic (which is held in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio), Bliss gave up the sport and turned to wrestling instead. Thus, anyone who is a fan of Alexa Bliss can thank the IFBB judges for not liking the physique of Lexi Kaufman.
9 9. Dana Brooke Is Actively Competing In Another Sport
Little Miss Bliss isn’t the only women’s superstar with bodybuilding in her blood as Dana Brooke not only competed, but still competes today. Brooke is a little more muscular than Bliss is so she competes in the fitness division instead of the bikini division. She started competing in 2011 and earned her pro card in 2013 with IFBB. She has not won as a professional but has competed all over the world including as recently as March 2017. In between getting berated by Charlotte on Raw, Brooke placed 5th in the fitness division at the Arnold Classic. I’m sure WWE doesn’t mind her competing in another sport but I’m also sure they don’t encourage their talent to do so unless it’s something that could benefit the company in terms of cross-promotion.
8 8. Emma Was Charged With Larceny In 2014
On June 30, 2014, Emma entered a Walmart in Hartford, Connecticut and was caught leaving with an item that she didn’t pay for. It wasn’t some expensive jewelry or high-end fashion; Emma had forgotten to pay for a red IPad case.
Seeing how Emma was making about $70,000 at the time and the case costs all of $21.14, it was probably a simple mistake and she just forgot it wasn’t paid for. But this was still an embarrassment for the WWE and they decided to fire her, only to then reinstate her just hours later. Emma’s arrest and larceny charge was then thrown out after completing her sentence, which was one day of community service. There's no way this will ever be brought up again.
7 7. The Princess Of Staten Island Is From Boston
While both Enzo and Cass are from the NYC metropolitan, their former manager, Carmella, is Straight Outta Boston. She is billed as The Princess of Staten Island and has even adopted a New York accent, but she was born and raised in the Boston area and graduated from UMass-Dartmouth. Carmella is the daughter of a WWE jobber from the early-to-mid 90s and even was once a cheerleader for the New England Patriots who are definitely not the favorite NFL team of New Yorkers. The WWE fibbing about a person’s origin isn’t anything new but Carmella’s entire gimmick is wrapped around being a New Yorker. Maybe, one day, the WWE suddenly decides to drop that aspect of her gimmick and just be upfront about where she’s from. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time they did that *cough* Kofi Kingston.
6 6. Charlotte Has Already Been Divorced Twice
With Charlotte’s two divorces (and counting) and Ric’s four divorces (and counting), the two Flairs have half-a-dozen under their belts…and counting. Charlotte first cast her web on Riki Johnson when she was 24 years old in 2010. That marriage lasted just about a year and Johnson is best known for getting into a Texas Triangle match with both Flairs in 2008. Police were called onto the scene when the Flairs were involved in a fight with Johnson that resulted in Charlotte being sentenced to probation and paying a fine for her role in the fight. Charlotte’s next marriage was to Thomas Latimer AKA Bram in TNA. That marriage lasted twice as long as the first one and two years later the two were divorced. With two divorces before the age of 30, Charlotte has plenty of time to surpass her old man as Ric didn’t get his second divorce until he was 57 years old!
5 5. Mickie James Cheated On Kenny Dykstra With John Cena
Remember Kenny from the Spirit Squad? Well in 2006 he was just 20 years old and became engaged to Mickie James who was 27 at the time. But, according to Kenny, he found James on the internet searching for rumors about her cheating on her fiancé with John Cena. That’s when James confessed to her infidelity and the two broke up. Here is Kenny in his own words:
"She was googling mickie james and john cena dating. I asked why, she broke down crying. Then I heard more from others. She was checking to see if it was on the net yet," Doane recalls. "I feel bad for magnus. Nice guy dating a .... well u know.”
The awkwardness of Kenny, James, and Cena all being on the same brand led to the WWE transferring Kenny to SmackDown and he would be released shortly thereafter.
4 4. Mickie James Flipped Out And Got Fired When John Cena Broke Up With Her
And I use the phrase “broke up” loosely because James and Cena never really dated, they just…ya know. But according to Kenny, again, James and Cena broke up when James wanted a relationship with Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, Respect but he wanted no part of it. Kenny says that Cena wanted no part of an official relationship with James because he was engaged to his girlfriend at the time.
"She wanted to date him, he said no, she flipped out backstage which led to her demise,” said Kenny. “When they were together, she got the title, TV roles. When he dumped her she became Piggy James, then fired."
James would be saddled with the Piggy James gimmick towards the end of her initial WWE run and then left the company in early 2010. The WWE said they wanted to go in a different direction with their women’s division as their reasoning for splitting with James. In early 2017, James would make her first return to WWE television in nearly seven years.
3 3. Maryse Had A Crazy Stalker In 2011
Towards the end of her first run in WWE, Maryse had to deal with a psycho fan who was stalking her. A 61-year-old man was sending terrifying letters to Maryse’s home and also left over 50 voice messages on her cell phone that she described as “disturbing and delusional.” The man reportedly told Maryse that he wanted to “take her to heaven with him.” Maryse asked for a restraining order against the man and said that he needed to either be in a psychiatric hospital or in jail. The court granted the restraining order against the man but I’m sure Maryse had thoughts about him when someone broke into her home in 2016.
That incident was profiled on Total Divas and Maryse did actually obtain a firearm as protection as depicted in the episode. No word on if the two ordeals are related but 2011 would be a rough year for Maryse as right after this stalking case, she had abdominal surgery and then was released by WWE weeks later.
2 2. JoJo Caused The Divorce Of Bray Wyatt
JoJo, everyone’s favorite ring announcer to follow on Instagram, joined the WWE when she was just 19 years old in 2013. Bray Wyatt was already a (happily?) married man at that point who had been with his then-wife since they were in college. JoJo apparently saw something in The Eater of Worlds that no one else saw and decided to enter into a relationship with a married man. Wyatt decided to throw his marriage away for a fling and as soon as his wife found out about it; she filed for divorce. His wife alleges that not only did Wyatt leave her for JoJo, but he also walked out on their two kids who are aged 6 and 4.
She wants majority custody of their kids, alimony payments, spousal support and ownership of their marital home while JoJo just wants to disappear from the spotlight for a while which is hard when you are the only person who is in the ring for every single match.
1 1. Emma Wasn’t Considered Convincing Enough To Pull Off Emmalina
For four months the WWE audience was teased about “the makeover of Emma to Emmalina.” The Emmalina gimmick was supposed to be a throwback to the Attitude Era and the days of Sable and The Kat. However, when Emmalina finally debuted, we got this:
It was an awkward gimmick and segment and the reason why the WWE pulled the rug under Emmalina was because they believed Emma wasn’t sexy enough to pull off the makeover. They had countless rehearsals and the WWE producers never truly bought into a sexy version of Emma. So now Emma is back to being a mid-card women’s wrestler but WWE still has hopes for the Emmalina character concept; but it just won’t involve Emma. Let's hope she gets something suited for her.