Jun 25 2009
More On Candice Michelle’s Release
As announced this past Friday evening on WWE.com, World Wrestling Entertainment released former Women’s Champion Candice Michelle (Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich), 30, from her contract. Her sudden release from WWE wasn’t seen as a surprise internally.
It is believed that Michelle’s less than stellar appearance at the television tapings in Los Angeles a few weeks ago ultimately sealed her fate with company officials. She had not been seen since WrestleMania, but when she arrived at the shows in Los Angeles, she didn’t look “Diva like,” and there were those who felt she was ready to leave the company and move on. As it turns out, WWE beat her to the punch by releasing her a few weeks later.
She told officials she was just about ready to return from her latest injury, but they gave very little leeway because she is a woman and there is a weight issue. The impression on her was always that she wasn’t someone with a naturally thin body, and that she had to work very hard to look the way she did, and when you get older, fighting those genetics gets much harder. In a company where the women are primarily there for their looks, some felt she didn’t have that look anymore, so they decided to let her go.
Source: Rajah, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider.com
There you have what the news sites want to say about Candice Michelle’s release. As was the case with Trish Stratus not attending Wrestlemania this year, you can never fully put your faith in these reports. In an interview, Trish denied much of the rumors these sites posted. Whether you could accept Trish’s own explanation is another issue that I will not go into here. Recent reports concerning a female wrestler and a deceased wrestler having an affair years ago caused great controversy as well. I have my own doubts with what I read up there. I think there are holes in the argument. Nevertheless, for the sake of discussion, I am still going to look at the main claim made.
It is all about the looks. I would have liked to believe otherwise in my optimistic mind. Then again, I know better. Did Candice Michelle have a weight issue? I have seen some supposedly recent pics of her in wrestling attire. Yes, she did not look like the typical diva shape. If anyone wants to see these pics, you can find it on your own. I am not going to bury or humiliate Candice further on here. But in my eyes, she was not hired as a wrestler. She was hired for her looks. I am not saying that it is right to fire her just because of a bit of weight gain. This is where I think there are holes in the report’s reasoning. I would like to think the WWE did not base their decision solely on looks alone as well. Candice Michelle suffered numerous injuries in less than two years. She put on a very sloppy performance in 2008, at a time when the WWE was ready to push her heavily again. If you are not in great shape, there is the possibility that you may fail to perform in the ring as well as others. You can become a danger to them and yourself. It goes beyond just taking WWE bikini photoshoots, which that report I cited makes it seem as the only thing that matters.
If you survey the current list of WWE women, there are those who do not look “Diva like”. I will not name anyone. Typically, however, these women who are lacking the look are the ones who were not hired as models, but as wrestlers. I hate how the WWE tries to turn models into wrestlers and wrestlers into models, but that is another story. I do not need to mention how certain of these women lacking that stereotypical look have fans who view them as hotter than the generic models the WWE may push out. Moreover, just because these women lack the look does not mean they cannot bring it in the ring in a great way. That is why they are there. If they ever lose that drive, their careers in the WWE may very well be over.
When Cherry was released last year, I seem to recall talk about weight being the issue. When Tyson Tomko was on the road to his official return in the WWE, weight was once again brought up by some news sites as to why the WWE dropped him again. However, with Cherry, and in my honest opinion, she was not as amazing in the ring as many other women at the time. She lacked the look in the eyes of the WWE, had the skill, but not enough in terms of quality, and just did not have enough support. With Tomko, he was wrestling through an injury in the try-out match the WWE gave him. It is not easy to stay in shape with an injury. And, if it needs to be said, it is not easy to wrestle your absolute best through an injury.
Candice’s situation is not absolutely unheard of. I do not like how reports may make it seem like releasing her was based on her looks alone. I honestly believe there is more to it than that. In any case, Candice is free to get her life back in order. If she really wants to still be a part of wrestling, she better understand the road she is taking. She still deserves some respect.
