10 Moments WWE Don't Want You To Find On The Network
6. Diss The Diva (...and The Diva Searches In General)
Where to find it: Raw, August 30th 2004
A segment that was considered toxic on the night (Jerry Lawler's traditional perverted glee hits a brick wall the second the women go big with their microphone moments, while Jim Ross "jokes" about still being on the air, knowing full well the extent of what he's watching) let alone in the aftermath luxuriates in the world for women Vince McMahon has shaped and created by 2004. And it's a miserable old time.
2002 and 2003 were transformative for women in WWE, thanks to the hard graft of Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, Victoria, Jazz, Lita, Gail Kim and countless others trying to retrain an audience extremely keen to see puppies more than sporting hostilities. It was less than perfect, but it was a longterm project and it was working.
The Diva Search was a humongous leap back in the wrong direction, with this parade of verbal violence about as far away from ideal as any unscripted performer could have managed - even if it did create a certain appetite for a match featuring contestant Carmella DeCesare. The remaining women in the competition do not like her, and make no secret in this grisly and barely-censored race to the bottom. An old Jim Cornette axiom applied here - it'd have been funny if it wasn't so sad.