Show: Wrestling Epicenter (www.WrestlingEpicenter.com)
Guest(s): Leyla Milani & Lance Storm
Date: August 26, 2005
Your Hosts: Chuck D & “The Queen of Extreme” Francine
Recap By: James Walsh
This week on the Wrestling Epicenter, we welcome a name that’s fresh on each and every wrestling fan’s mind, especially the males. She was a drop dead gorgeous part of the WWE Diva Search competition this year and fell just shy of winning the $250,000 . Personally, I voted for her but regardless, she’s the runner up from this year’s Diva Search competition. She’s Leyla Milani!
Leyla was told to try out for the WWE Diva Search Competition by her agent. She didn’t expect much to come of it until she was interviewed by The Coach and Christy Hemme. About that interview, Leyla said, “I fell in love with that company! I fell in love with the vibe! I wanted it so bad and the next day, I made top 8 and the rest is history!”
“I wasn’t afraid to stand up for myself and speak my mind and show what I’ve got,” says Leyla when asked if she felt she could be the winner of the Diva Search Competition. She was the first runner up so she obviously did bring a lot to the table and is infamous for showing the fans what she had during the Sgt. Slaughter Bikini Boot Camp.
Last year’s Diva Search brought a lot of bitterness from each contestant towards each other and especially towards one of the would be Divas in Carmella, This year’s competition was a different story. “As boring as that is to admit, all the girls really did get along. It did get more competitive towards the end.”
All the competitions were a little different from last year’s in what they wanted from the contestant. One that stood out was the old pie in the face. Chuck and James laugh at how tame the girls were and ask if anybody flipped out after their segment. Leyla said, “Crystal flipped out!” But, Leyla adds that she took it in stride because she knew what they were testing for.
The Coach, a former guest on our show, had the honor of being the MC of this competition of lovely ladies. Leyla says, “Coach was a great guy and got along with everybody. But, he was mean to me! He’d always stand right behind me when it came time to say who was to be eliminated. I guess he felt I was too confident and wanted to cut me down to size!”
Coach called this year’s Diva Search girls “Dirty Hot” when he appeared on our show a few months ago. Leyla laughs when she heard this and says, “I guess he meant the other girls are dirty and I’m hot.” We can’t speak for any of the girls being dirty but the hot part, we concur!
Though the positive momentum was with Leyla as she survived the first interview, was chosen as part of the top 8, and made it to the very end of the competition, the momentum stopped when she was the final contestant eliminated. But, Leyla took it in stride. “Of course it was disappointing. But, just making it that far and being a part of the WWE family was amazing. Those memories are ones I will have forever.”
Last year’s Diva Search brought several new Divas to the company despite being eliminated in the competition. When asked if Leyla will be brought back to the WWE, she said, “I hope so! God, that would be great. Since I got back, I can’t think about anything else. I just want to get back to RAW! I’m just hoping and praying that Vince saw something in me and wants me back!
