Source: The Times Leader
There are people who go to World Wrestling Entertainment events for the wrestling … and there are others who go for the ladies.
Considering one segment of stereotypical wrestling fans is made up of testosterone-filled, beer-guzzling men, can you blame them?
That’s not to say the floor at the Wachovia Arena is going to be filled with beer cups after Monday Night Raw, which starts at 7:30 p.m. June 11.
But the Divas, the scantily clad women who wrestle, will be there. If you think the Divas are just pretty faces, Candice Michelle will prove you wrong – and not just with a spinning heel kick.
“If I could take a picture of what my legs and body looks like right now, I have 20 bruises on my body,” she said. “I’d show them those bruises first. Second, I’d talk to them about injuries.”
Michelle, 28, broke her nose in November, and superstar Gregory Helms underwent neck surgery last month for two broken vertebrae.
“The third thing, my favorite thing that I love to do, is say to people, ‘If it’s not real, let me just give you a chop across the chest.’ Nobody will ever let me do it.”
Maybe because no one wants to get beaten up by a girl – not even the April 2006 “Playboy” cover girl.
“For me, to be honest, it was really a dream come true,” said Michelle, who grew up in Milwaukee. “I had always wanted to be a part of ‘Playboy.’ … When they asked me to be on the cover, it took my dream to a whole other level.”
Some of her wrestling outfits don’t leave much to the imagination, but you can’t really hide anything on “Playboy.”
“The photo shoot was comfortable, considering what type of photo shoot it is,” she said. “They’re not even looking at you. It’s like, ‘I’m looking at the lighting. This or that. Move over an inch.’ Not the fact that you have no clothes on. It was really comfortable.”
And it’s only when people say they’re looking at her photos in the magazine does the naturally bubbly Michelle get a little bashful.
“Maybe I get a little shy at that moment; it’s weird because I’m not usually very shy,” she said. “I think of it as such a magazine that shows off the beauty of a woman. I look at it like that.”
Michelle is no stranger to the camera. She won a modeling contest at the local skating rink when she was 16 and went to New York and Los Angeles.
Three years later, she was packing her car to move to Los Angeles to pursue her career.
“I didn’t leave because I was rebellious or I hated my mom or anything,” she said. “I went after my dreams.”
If you’re still trying to place Michelle, but you’ve never seen an episode of RAW, it’s probably from the risqué and controversial GoDaddy.com Super Bowl commercials.
More of the focus is on Michelle – who this year was sprayed with champagne – than on what the Web site does, which is register domain names. That’s probably why Michelle became a household name, even if many households referred to her as “the GoDaddy.com girl.”
But, back to wrestling …
Michelle and the other Divas will appear with such superstars as Shawn Michaels, RKO, Carlito, Jeff Hardy and Ric Flair, all in support of the main event: a WWE Championship match between John Cena and Umaga.
If you want to check the stars out before the show, try your local gym. To keep in shape, the wrestlers always stop at gyms in the show’s area.
And they avoid fast food. Michelle admitted McDonald’s french fries can always be the downfall to her diet, but Cracker Barrel keeps her on track.
“Cracker Barrel is my ultimate favorite,” she said. “I’m going to marry Cracker Barrel one day. They have really healthy food. I’ll order lunch and take it to the building.”
Lucky for Michelle, there’s one right down the road from the arena.
IF YOU GO
What: World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday Night Raw with appearances by John Cena, Umaga, Shawn Michaels, RKO, Carlito, Jeff Hardy, Ric Flair, the Divas and more
When: 7:30 p.m. June 11
Where: Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre
Tickets: $60, $40, $30, $25, $20 through the box office or Ticketmaster
