Diva Search Tournament 1.9

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

On Wednesday, December 13th, WWE.com announced that Amy Zidian had been released from her contract. Amy, who played the role of Jimmy Wayne Yang's girlfriend on SmackDown, was previously a contestant in the 2006 Diva Search. Even though she didn't win the contest (she actually came in last place), WWE hired her a few weeks later and sent her down to OVW before being called up to WWE in November. Zidian was released because she rubbed too many people the wrong way.

Over the past few weeks, it all started when she made a comment to Layla El. Zidian asked Layla if she was upset that she was getting a push, whereas Layla, the winner of the same Diva Search contest in which Zidian was eliminated from, was "collecting dust." That was faux pas number one.

Number two occurred when Zidian made fun of Kristal Marshall's hair extensions, which made her so angry that she complained about it to management. Marshall relies heavily on hair extensions as her hair is actually really short.

Perhaps the biggest blow Amy made was when she insulted Vickie Guerrero. Apparently in a sarcastic tone, Amy asked Vickie as to why she was a WWE Diva, not to mention that she insinuated something about her looks and weight. Vickie responded by saying that since she wasn't pretty enough (referring to herself), she had better get out of "your" locker room ("Amy's locker room"). Although, Zidian honestly didn't know who Vickie Guerrero was and she couldn't understand as to why she was on the roster. Zidian was about to get fired for this, but John Laurinaitis came to her rescue and temporarily saved her job. Furthermore, there is probably nothing that can make you more universally despised in the locker room than to make Vickie Guerrero upset, especially considering that she's really nice in real life and she's been through a lot over the past few years.

The final blow came when Stephanie McMahon was producing a TV segment for her & Yang. Stephanie gave Amy some pointers on how to act. Reportedly, Amy responded with an attitude by asking Stephanie who she thought she was to give her advice. Apparently, this all transpired in front of several people backstage. Stephanie then informed Amy on who she was and that her family owns the WWE. Amy then rolled her eyes, either not believing it, because she didn't know who Amy was, or maybe because she knew she messed up big time. Well, that was it for Amy, and she was soon released from her contract. Also, Laurinaitis couldn't save her this time.

Additionally, Jimmy Wang Yang had been staying as far away from Amy as possible as of late because he didn't want any of the heat to rub off on him. Laurinaitis received the most heat for her actions, seeing as he brought her to TV and pushed for her use despite the creative team seeing little value in her.