Melina and Ashley Massaro had a lot going against them, and sadly succumbed to nearly every disadvantage. Working with Playboy for the penultimate time, WWE chose Diva Search winner Massaro for the prized cover spot and placed her in a Women's Title match against Melina to help shift copies.
Though the exact same strategy had failed a year earlier, WWE believed they were bolstering the battle by flooding ringside with the division's remaining Divas. They did nothing to help it.
Whenever she fought with a fellow pro, Melina provided plenty. She wasn't quite capable of carrying the dangerously under-trained cover girl to something passable in the three minutes they were allotted.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
