10 Biggest Heat Magnets In WWE History
2. Melina
At one point, it seemed that rumours were flying around that Melina Perez had heat with every single woman on the WWE roster. Those rumours had actually begun in OVW, however, with Melina slating Mickie James (then working under the name Alexis Laree) in multiple online posts.
It’s always difficult to ascertain the truth of the matter when it comes to non-specific allegations of ‘diva behaviour’ and ‘bad attitude’ - after all, standing up for yourself, protecting your spot on the card and refusing to allow yourself to be victimised are all admirable qualities that have been mischaracterised as prima donna behaviour in the past.
However, the sheer number of people who’ve come out and told stories about Melina’s attempts at sniping and sabotaging her fellow WWE Divas (as was) tend to provide circumstantial evidence that the rumours may be true on this occasion.
Aside from James, from her debut in OVW in April 2004 until her release in August 2011 Melina had confirmed backstage feuds and altercations with Tiffany, Candice Michelle, Maria Kanellis, Sharmell, Lita, Brooke Adams and Trish Stratus. On her arrival in the main roster, Lita exercised veteran’s privilege and banned her from the locker room because of her bad behaviour.
Partnered with her real-life boyfriend John Hennigan from his days as part of MNM under the name of Johnny Nitro, Melina’s issues reportedly had a knock on effect on his career. Her brazen affair with Batista supposedly occurred with his reluctant blessing, causing him further problems in the WWE’s macho but gossipy backstage environment.
Melina was even brought into wrestler’s court in early 2006 due to her brattish, spiteful behaviour towards other Divas, although given that this incident appears to have been a drunken 3am decision on the part of the male wrestlers that called the quorum, designed purely to shout abuse at her until she burst into tears, it doesn’t reflect at all well on anyone involved.
Whatever the case - justified or not, deserved or not - Melina’s reputation as a malicious headcase extended far beyond her obvious athletic talents. At one point, even as inexperienced as she was, she was considered the most naturally gifted female wrestler on the roster.
Her time on the independent circuit since her release appears to have resolved a number of these issues and from all reports, she and Mickie James are now good friends. It’s a shame she couldn’t make it work in WWE, or she could have had the high regard and enjoyed the Hall Of Fame career that Trish Stratus has now.