Just days after she was medically cleared to return to the wrestling ring, Candice Michelle has been released by WWE.
Candice Michelle Released
In the summer of 2004, Candice Michelle was hired by WWE. The company was impressed enough with her that they gave her a contract despite the fact that she failed to even place in the top ten spot in the diva search competition.
When she was brought into WWE, Candice Michelle had the gimmick of a makeup artist. From there, she represented WWE in the covers of Playboy magazine. With that much publicity behind her, the company then decided to turn her into a champion.
WWE was really hoping that wrestling fans would accept her as a legitimate female wrestler. The company made sure to constantly remind wrestling fans that she had improved tremendously even though she hadn't improved as much as the commentators were claiming that she had.
She wasn't a horrible worker, but she was nowhere near Trish Stratus, the person that many people were led to believe that she was becoming.
On June 19, 2009, though, the company gave up on Candice Michelle and released her from her contract.
Reason For Release
There's two main reasons why WWE decided to let Candice Michelle go.
The most important reason is that she is injury prone. It's pretty difficult for the company to push her when there's that fear that she could miss a few more months to heal from an injury.
The company was still planning on pushing Candice Michelle when she was drafted over to the Smackdown brand during the WWE Supplemental Draft, which took place on April 15, 2009.
She was supposed to be elevated to a certain point again so that she could be used to elevate the newer female wrestlers in the company.
However, they decided against it.
Another reason why WWE decided to release Candice Michelle is because they were ready to move on. The company likes to cycle through the female wrestlers to ensure that there are a few new faces each year.
Candice Michelle is 30 years of age (and still quite attractive), which is ancient in WWE years. The company would much rather use her roster spot for someone new.
What's Next?
Even though Candice Michelle is no longer collecting a paycheck from WWE, don't feel too bad for her. She still has plenty of ways to stay financially sound.
First of all, the former WWE Women's Champion is married to a doctor. The two have been together since 2005.
Secondly, Candice Michelle can still make money as a model. She still has a deal with GoDaddy to be one of their spokespersons.
There's also a chance that she could show up in TNA.
Candice Michelle might not be nearly as talented as the female wrestlers in TNA. However, she does still hold some name value from her tenure in WWE (despite the fact that she hasn't been on television in a while).
It isn't a guaranteed thing, but I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of her showing up in Florida.
Closing Thoughts
Candice Michelle had a nice run in WWE. I'm not completely surprised that she was released. It always sucks when someone loses their job, but she'll manage. Life goes on. |
