In 2004, Candice Michelle entered the WWE Diva Search with the goal of securing a WWE contract and an enormous money prize. As an alternative, she found herself eliminated from the competition, with fellow model Christy Hemme ultimately collecting the winnings and Diva Search crown.
While appearing on “Insight With Chris Van Vliet,” Michelle recalled the heartbreak she felt within the initial aftermath of her Diva Search loss. “That was really hard,” she said. “In LA, as you already know, if you’re auditioning on a regular basis, you recover from it pretty fast or it’s good to recover from it fast. And that one, I feel I cried for like a month. I used to be like, that was perfect for me. I used to be athletic. I used to be into boxing and Krav Maga. I must have got that. I also know there is a side of the business where I also knew Christy Hemme was perfect role for that spot. I just didn’t know that they’d call me back when that contest ended and offer me a three-year deal.”
When asked for her tackle why she didn’t win Divas Search, Michelle suggested that she may need presented a personality different from what the WWE fanbase typically saw. “I actually have a unique appeal. I want to warm as much as an audience,” she said. “Christy just had that fun vibrant bubbly personality. People love her immediately and I feel that is what the WWE needed at the moment.”
Upon coming aboard to WWE one month after her Diva Search stint, Michelle noted that then-WWE CEO Vince McMahon told her, and a number of other other contestants, that he’d provide them with a platform to showcase themselves as WWE stars; it was as much as them, nonetheless, to maximise it. Michelle made probably the most of hers and eventually seized the WWE Women’s Championship in 2007.
For those who use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.