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The evolution of Candice Michelle

Candice Michelle first hit WWE TV as a contestant in the 2004 RAW Diva Search. Although she didn't make it to the finals she was still offered a contract and initially pursued a limited backstage role until the decision was made in 2005 to bring her into the ring as part of a feud with the 2005 RAW Diva Search winner, Ashley.

As a result of this feud she was teamed with Victoria. Previously she had done little more than the usual slaps and hair pulling expected of T & A Divas, but this began to change with her use of a tarantula type move later known as the Candylicious. It was clear though that she was still very green, and in tag matches her partner would do all the work.

In a singles match against Mickie James in the UK, the only offensive move Candice used the entire match was a clothesline. For the rest of it she was thrown around the ring, or attention was drawn to Victoria and Trish who were at ringside. Candice only won following an intervention from Victoria.

At Wrestlemania 22, Candice took on Torrie Wilson and it looked like any hope of her attempting to be taken seriously as a wrestler had died. The match was an evening gown one and was nothing more than the usual cat-fight.

For the early part of 2006 both she and Torrie sided with Victoria acting as glorified valets most of the time. Once again the complexity of moves was low; the most complicated being a double DDT.

By June 2006, Torrie and Candice had parted ways and Candice was also showing signs of having put on weight around her midriff. Hopes of her becoming a wrestler were fading fast with her competing in a wet ‘n’ wild match against Torrie, and then a bra and panties tag team match.

By the end of July however, Candice was a different person. She was leaner than ever, wearing more appropriate wrestling attire and was showing renewed promise in the ring. In a tag team match pitting her and Trish against Mickie James and Victoria, Candice and Victoria went at it first with Candice taking the offensive lead with a series of arm wrenches, fireman’s carries and submission moves. She then ensured Trish was able to get the pin through taking Victoria down with a drop-kick to prevent her from interfering.

Her improvements in the ring were made even clearer when she took on Mickie James in a singles match for the second time in her career. Although Candice didn’t get much of a chance to go on the offensive, it was clear that WWE officials were happy to leave her in the ring to fend for herself. She sold Mickie’s offensive onslaught well and toward the end of the match even demonstrated her willingness to take to the air with a flying crossbody. Unfortunately though the next few matches she was booked in were a water fight and a paddle on a pole match against Torrie Wilson. Although fun to watch, they once again cast doubt on whether Candice would be used as a wrestler or if what we had seen of her thus far had simply been a false dawn.

Things weren’t helped either when Lita in her last few appearances on RAW before retiring was allowed to throw Candice around the ring without really letting her demonstrate the new moves she’d clearly learnt (such as her spinning wheel kick). The heavier redhead was able to keep Candice grounded with a series of hair pulls, submission moves and simple shoves thus never allowing her opponent to gain any momentum. What Lita’s very limited repertoire proved however is how much she had forgotten from her previous wrestling days. She hadn’t wrestled a singles match for close to a year, and this was pretty plain to see from her need to keep falling back on the same old moves. It was clear she wanted to humiliate Candice, but her plan failed when the brunette was able to pick up the win after Mickie James had come to ringside to distract Lita. The rematch between them was even more an ego trip for Lita as her boyfriend Edge acted as special guest referee and quickly took Candice down with a spear to allow Lita to pick up the easy win.

The next notable match came in October when the WWE found itself trying to work out what to do with the women’s division following the departure of Trish Stratus. It decided to stage a fatal four way bra and panties match, but rather than allow this to degenerate into the anticipated cat-fight, Candice was able to show off one or two impressive moves highlighting her improvement in ability.

Toward the end of November, Candice found herself in another battle royal that started as something of a cat-fight, but once again allowed Candice to show off some new tricks. In an unparalleled show of strength she managed to lift the considerably heavier Victoria onto her shoulders before attempting to throw her out of the ring. Sadly though it was not to be Candice’s night as she suffered the double indignity of being thrown out of the ring herself, but not before Victoria broke her nose with a very stiff kick.

Candice was sidelined because of this for a couple of months, but when she made her return to the ring in tag team action, she was looking even leaner than she had done in the past. Unfortunately though we didn’t get too much of a chance to see her skill in the ring as she was only able to get in a couple of clotheslines and a reverse elbow off the top rope for the victory. Nor did we get too much of a chance to see her strut her stuff when a few weeks later she lost to a very angry Melina in an impromptu bra and panties match.

But the recent match that really highlighted how far Candice has come was when she took on Victoria on Heat in early April. Candice’s offensive was relentless and revolved around a series of submission moves that kept Victoria firmly on the mat. One of the most impressive moves she pulled out was the reversal of a backbreaker into a headlock, which was only surpassed by the perfect set-up and execution of her new finishing move, the spinning wheel kick.

More recently in a series of tag team matches against Victoria and Melina, Candice has demonstrated yet a new move in her arsenal; a very effective headscissor takedown. These matches have also gone to prove that Candice is now capable of maintaining the pace of a fast-flowing match with the best of the Divas in the division at the moment (Mickie James, Victoria and Melina). It would also be fair to say that she is now one of the top Divas in the division, through hard work and perseverance rather than through default by simply being marginally better than the likes of Maria or Torrie Wilson.

With Candice having survived the recent draft, she will remain on RAW and can now continue to pursue Melina for the Women's Championship. With what we've seen of her skills in the past there's every danger that we can expect more top quality matches and it's also safe to say that she has clearly earnt her place as one of the top Divas in the women's division.