10 Subjects Dark Side Of The Ring Should Cover Next
1. The Diva Search
The WWE Diva Search - and in fact the offscreen recruitment model - is, anecdotally, a steep indictment of WWE's treatment of talent.
Imagined by Kevin Dunn as a "sophisticated" contest, this pitch was undermined drastically by the infamous 2004 Diss The Diva segment in which - and this is outrageous, given the talent that weren't permitted to talk off the cuff - the Divas accused their fellow contestants of burping up c*m from their throats.
It was tawdry, nominal entertainment divorced from the point of pro wrestling - utter sleaze designed to hold the fading attention of the young adult males - and some of those recruited through the era of John Laurinaitis have spoken out against the bare minimum level of training given to them. Ashley Massaro did so, most notably, and before her tragic death blamed residual pain from resulting injuries on the depression that claimed her life. Massaro herself is the bravest and most volatile prospective subject - and you'd suspect Viceland is content with maintaining its beginner's course and not embarking on a Spotlight-level investigation - but there's something in the risk WWE took by hurrying evidently substandard talent into the ring.
Sleazy and dangerous, the thrills were cheap and the risk exorbitant.