Nidia, like many Superstars and Divas who came and went through WWE in the early 2000s, is a case of what could have been versus what was. The winner of the first season of Tough Enough, she was relegated to developmental for nearly a year before being called up to the main roster in the spring of 2002. A major beneficiary of the brand extension, she debuted for the SmackDown brand on June 6, 2002 as the secret admirer of then-Cruiserweight champion The Hurricane. As it turned out, Nidia was the ex-girlfriend of the superhero wannabe and had brought with her a new boyfriend in the form of trailer park Superstar Jamie Noble. She guided Noble to his first Cruiserweight Championship at 2002's King of the Ring and helped him retain it all the way to November and the Survivor Series. A sneaky sexpot, Nidia became a vital part to the Noble character's success. In fact, if she was taken away, there is no way he would have remained as over as he was, despite possessing outstanding in-ring ability. She completed the package, making the Noble and Nidia couple one of the most entertaining midcard acts WWE produced in the 2000s. In October of 2003, she was blinded when Tajiri sprayed her in the eyes with his rare black mist. It was a very effective angle made that much better by the panicked and scared performance of Nidia. Eventually, Noble began using his blind girlfriend to his advantage. When Rey Mysterio revealed to Nidia what was actually happening, and the former Tough Enough winner regained her sight, a feud between boyfriend and girlfriend ensued. Nidia would lose a match to a blindfolded Noble at No Way Out, ending their union for good. After being drafted to Raw in the spring of 2004, it appeared as though Nidia would be able to showcase her ring skill. She had improved by leaps and bounds and gained some momentum for herself by scoring wins over Molly Holly and Victoria. She lost her first title opportunity to Trish Stratus but had begun to show hints of a very solid professional wrestler. Before she could fully develop, however, she was shockingly and unexpectedly released from her contract in November, likely to make way for some of the Diva Search rejects the company was planning on hiring. The trailer park girlfriend character was a great one that Nidia threw herself into completely. She was a very loyal to the character and like Jillian Hall, would do whatever the company asked of her. The split between she and Noble arguably ended both of their chances at achieving success any further up the card and, in reality, sent them down the card significantly. Dedicating herself to her in-ring work, Nidia became a very good wrestler but, again, saw her push end prematurely. She never went on to accomplish anything of note in the wrestling world outside of WWE, leaving fans to wonder what could have been in regards to the once bright young star.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
