My (Brief) Life with the WWE
By WWE Diva Search contestant Alexis (AKA Leilene - costar of National Lampoon's Strip Poker )
When WWE personality Jonathon Coachman told me - live on TV, during Monday Night Raw - that I had just been eliminated from the 2005 Diva Search competition, I left the ring and took my lingerie-clad body backstage, where the WWE superstars reacted to my dismissal with a mixture of uncomfortable ambivalence and being genuinely pissed off. One of the other divas told me that world champion Batista - who was so supportive of me during my tenure with the company - actually snarled: "So, this is how it's gonna be, huh?" Nobody dared to answer Batista... which is understandable, considering that he's 300 pounds of pure muscle and strong enough to bench press a Buick.
And thus ended my abbreviated run as a WWE performer.
Since leaving the WWE a few days ago, I've been flooded with questions from sports entertainment enthusiasts from around the world. Everyone wants to know the inside story on what really goes on behind the scenes - and what it's like to be a member of the WWE family. So, without further ado, let me pull the curtain wide open... and answer all the questions that you're dying to know:
What are the WWE superstars like when the cameras aren't broadcasting their every move?
Well, almost without exception, everyone at the WWE is respectful, professional, and a delight to be around. Stephanie McMahon is incredibly cool and a big supporter of us ladies - and Vince McMahon truly loves the wrestling industry, constantly encouraging us to give just a little more effort. Eric Bischoff used to be the main competitor of Vince's when he ran WCW, but he's humble and gracious to everyone backstage, and couldn't help himself from chatting with us! Batista and I got along famously (he's half Filipino, and I lived in the Philippines until I was five). Edge is a Canadian citizen - as am I - and enjoyed giving me a hard time for wearing a red, white & blue bikini on July 4th. John Cena is a smooth dawg and certainly knows how to make a lady feel good about herself! We were told to refrain from socializing with the WWE performers, but we ended up interacting backstage anyway. Hey, it's awfully tough to keep a bunch of healthy young athletes separated from near-naked divas!
What were the other Diva Search contestants like?
Most of them are sweethearts. We were all in the same boat, so we tried to help each other as much as possible. Here's my breakdown:
Cameron is incredible; we're going to be very good friends for a long time to come. She'd be a much better fit on a runway in Paris or Milan than eating canvas inside the squared circle! Following the Bikini Boot Camp event, we laughed together over her head getting stuck in the net they placed over the wrestling ring. I told her that she looked like a giraffe!
Simona is beautiful and sexy - and she certainly knows how to have a great time out on the town! With her European charm, she has an uncanny way of wrapping men around her little finger.
Kristal is a warm, genuine person who I'll truly miss; she might've been angrier than I was when I got eliminated! Kristal also has a Big Show-sized crush on John Cena! But she needs to stop playing PLINKO; this isn't the Price Is Right , so chill on being a Bob Barker beauty - and concentrate on taking that cash home, girl!
Ashley is a classy, wonderful lady, but I think she'd be better off being herself - instead of trying to be Avril Lavigne when the cameras are on. Some of the wrestlers didn't look too pleased when Ashley tried out a few wrestling moves in the ring last week, which hurt her feelings (plus, the crowd didn't seem too into it, either). Ashley, just stay true to yourself, and this contest is yours!
Elisabeth is a great athlete, and of all the girls, I think she would make the best wrestler.
Summer is a country girl who reminded me of Stacy Kiebler - which is a heck of a compliment. Yeah, everyone was laughing at her when she tried to do a high-leg kick two weeks ago... and promptly fell on her ass! But she got back up and persevered; I was so proud of her for that. I sometimes call her the "dopey diva" because she was practicing that move again in heels backstage... and nearly tumbled again! Physically, Summer looks almost too perfect... if such a thing is possible!
And Leyla ? She took a number of shots at me on the WWE webpage this week, but I'm not taking it personally. With me gone, she's trying so hard to be the "heel" of the group, and I can't fault a girl for selling her character! It's a wise departure from how she portrayed herself before, which was as an airhead ditz.
I encourage all of you to vote for the lady you want:
www.wwe.com/superstars/2005divasearch/ . Happy voting!
What was the deal with Leyla's "wardrobe malfunction" on the July 4 edition of Raw ?
In a contest like this, you need to work hard to standout from the rest of the pack. So, to "pop" the crowd on Independence Day, I had white stars stuck over my nipples, so I could tear off my top and flash with impunity! But I wasn't really sure if that would be allowed, so I told Stephanie McMahon what I was planning a few hours before Raw hit the airwaves. She consulted with a few people and got back with me, saying that she appreciated the heads-up, but the WWE would prefer that I not show anyone my pasties. Leyla was planning on doing the exact same thing - only with red stickers - and one of the other diva contestants ratted her out to the WWE officials beforehand. That's why the WWE was so ready to disqualify her from the Bikini Boot Camp portion of the contest.
Still, her so-called "wardrobe malfunction" certainly got her lots of attention, so in retrospect, she did the right thing by baring flesh. I thought about going through with the boob-flash anyway myself... but with the WWE reserving the right to change the rules without notice, I thought it would be best not to antagonize anyone with a "McMahon" surname. Plus, I didn't know the TV or legal consequences of engaging in another Janet Jackson boobgate. Oh, well!
What were the WWE writers like?
Both of the writers we worked with hadn't been with the company for that long, and didn't seem as familiar with wrestling history as you'd anticipate. To be fair, they were new - just like us Diva Search contestants - and we were all learning the ropes together. On July 11, I was planning on making an allusion to Katie Vick in a poem I wrote for the talent competition... and one of the writers didn't even know who Katie Vick was. Very strange. (By the way, Eric Bischoff overheard my poem and was laughing his ass off, which made me feel pretty good!) When we Diva Search candidates wanted reliable feedback, most of us went to Stephanie McMahon.
Why do you think you were voted off?
I wish I could blame someone other than myself... but the bottom line is that I didn't do well in the Bikini Boot Camp competition, and out of all the girls, I finished the race with the worst time. But the WWE didn't reveal the online voting tally with any of us - other than to acknowledge a few voting anomalies that they had to correct, such as some girls receiving thousands of votes from single computers. Really, who knows what happened?
I just didn't think I'd fare well in the Diva Search battle by portraying myself as the typical happy-go-lucky Barbie doll, so I tried to stay true to who I am - which is an aggressive, cutthroat ass-kicker! Unfortunately, my skills are with the microphone and martial arts... which weren't all that helpful when you're getting timed jumping up & down in a potato sack, ala the Bikini Boot Camp!
Did the WWE give you those outfits?
Nope. We provided our own clothes, lingerie, boots, etc. The WWE had fabulous makeup artists on staff, armed with an expensive airbrush system. Those artists did an amazing job.
Of course, now I'm stuck with all this ultra-skimpy lingerie! Got any suggestions on what I should do with it?
Who was the best-looking wrestler in person?
Believe it or not, it's Romeo of the Heart Throbs. I know he's portraying a major cheeseball on stage, but he has piercing blue eyes and a damn good body. He's hella fine - and made me wish my name wasn't Alexis, but Juliet!
Speaking of your name, why was it changed to Alexis?
The WWE felt that Leyla and Leilene sounded too similar - plus, we both are Canadian, we both did work for National Lampoon, etc. So I chose the name Alexis, based on the bitchy Dynasty character. The name Alexis also comes first alphabetically with this group of girls, and I hoped that being listed first on the WWE website might give me an advantage with the voting. Guess not!
Were any of the wrestlers resentful towards the Diva Search contestants?
About a dozen WWE superstars had just been released from the company, so there was some considerable backstage tension. Trying to be sensitive about this, I didn't want to come across like a wannabe - or act as if I thought I was "one of the boys" when I hadn't come close to paying my dues yet - because I respect these performers so much. Instead, I took the attitude that the WWE believes that the right woman with the right look would only enhance their overall program, and tried to fit in the best I could.
What's next for you?
I might be out of the WWE family, but I have a home with National Lampoon! Check me out in National Lampoon's Strip Poker on Pay-Per-View and Video on Demand - where I'll show you a side of me that the WWE censors would never allow! Trust me - when I flash the cameras in National Lampoon's Strip Poker , my puppies won't be hiding under any lame stickers!
Let's go all in, boys!
-http://www.nationallampoon.com/strip_poker/gallery/strip_poker_Leilene_wwe.html
I think I would like ahsley to win since she is diffrent to the rest.
![[D619S-Arrow] Avatar](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/arrowbucket/obi2.gif)
It was great!!
Cause she didn't even appear in the Bikini Boot Camp.. Or did you just add some random who wasn't even in the Diva Search?
did he go? What a waste of a Tough Enough, after 1 match he has vanished!
