Melina Perez
Ring name(s)	Melina Melina Perez
Billed height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[1]
Billed weight	123 lb (56 kg)[1]
Born	(1979-03-09) March 9, 1979 (age 33)[2] Los Angeles, California
Resides	Los Angeles, California
Billed from	Los Angeles, California[3]
Trained by	Jesse Hernandez[4] Dave Finlay[5] UPW staff[4] OVW staff[5]
Debut	April 2002[6]

Melina Nava Perez (born March 9, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Melina.

Perez joined the independent professional wrestling circuit in 2000 before signing with WWE in 2004. Initially, she was a manager for the tag team MNM. She managed them to three reigns as WWE Tag Team Champions,^[7] as well as Johnny Nitro to two reigns as WWE Intercontinental Champion.^[8][9] Perez made her WWE singles debut in 2005 and is an three-time WWE Women's Champion, winning the belt twice in 2007 and once in 2009.^[10] She also captured the WWE Divas Championship on two occasions in 2009 and 2010, making her a five-time champion overall. As a WWE Diva, Perez was noted for her trademark ring entrance which involved performing the splits on the wrestling ring's apron. She was released from her contract with WWE on August 5, 2011.^[11]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Early career[link]

She started training at Jesse Hernandez's School of Hard Knocks in San Bernardino, California and made her professional debut in April 2002.^[6] Many EWF officials stated that she had the most natural ability of any woman who came through their school.^[12] In late 2002, Perez auditioned for World Wrestling Entertainment's reality show Tough Enough III, making it through to the final twenty-one before being eliminated from the competition in the final cut of the first episode.^{[3][12][13][14]} After she was eliminated from the contest, trainer Al Snow pulled her aside and encouraged her to keep trying to pursue her dream as a wrestler.^[15]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2004–2011)[link]

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2004)[link]

Perez debuted in WWE's former developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in March 2004, being placed in a storyline as John Hennigan's ex-girlfriend. The storyline had Matt Cappotelli introduce her to the ring as a way to taunt Hennigan.^[4] Melina, however, turned on Cappotelli and aligned herself with Hennigan, who later changed his ring name to Johnny Nitro.^[4] Soon after, the duo began teaming with Joey Matthews, later known as Joey Mercury.^[4] The trio became known as MNM and on November 10, Melina managed Mercury and Nitro to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, holding it for over two months.^{[16] [17]} During her time in OVW, Melina, Nitro, and Steven Adkins came up with Melina's trademark split ring entrance.^[18]

Melina made her first Raw appearance on November 29, 2004, when Randy Orton was the guest General Manager and hosted a Diva lingerie fashion show.^[19] She made another Raw appearance in December, participating in a limbo contest when Chris Jericho was General Manager for the night.^[20]

Debut and MNM (2005–2006)[link]

MNM during their entrance.

MNM made their debut in WWE as a villainous tag team on the April 14, 2005, edition of SmackDown!.^[21] The team interrupted the first ever Carlito's Cabana interview segment, where one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Rey Mysterio, was a guest.^[21] Melina insulted Mysterio and had Mercury and Nitro attack him, leading to MNM's in-ring debut the next week on SmackDown! in a title match. The team won the match against Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, starting their first WWE Tag Team Title reign.^[22]

While managing the Tag Team Champions, Melina's character was developed to be more egotistical as she declared herself "the most-dominant Diva in WWE".^[3] She made her official WWE in-ring debut on June 30 against Michelle McCool and had her first pay-per-view match against Torrie Wilson at The Great American Bash, winning both matches.^[23][24] In the same night, MNM dropped their championship to the Legion of Doom, prompting a new storyline where Melina hired Jillian Hall, a "fixer", to assist them.^[24][25] MNM regained the title on October 28 in a Fatal Four-Way tag team match.^[26] On the Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show Melina won an interpromotional Divas battle royal by eliminating Women's Champion Trish Stratus.^[27] The next week, as a part of the new storyline, MNM kidnapped Stratus, tied her up and gagged her for Melina who challenged her to a match for the Women's Championship.^[28] The two fought at Survivor Series, with Melina losing to Stratus with the help of Mickie James.^[29]

During this time, MNM defended their title against Rey Mysterio and the World Heavyweight Champion Batista. Melina was placed in a storyline where she tried to make Batista call off the match by visiting him in his locker room and attempting to seduce him. The storyline had the two engage in sexual intercourse, after which he simply thanked her for the "warm-up" before leaving to take part in the match, where he and Mysterio defeated MNM for the title.^[30] The storyline played over to the next episode of SmackDown! when, before MNM invoked their rematch clause, Melina held a press conference in the ring where she claimed that Batista had sexually harassed her. During the tag team match, Mark Henry aided MNM in winning back the WWE Tag Team Championship.^[31] The storyline with Henry continued into the next year. On the first SmackDown! of 2006, Melina announced that Henry was her personal protection against Batista. He accompanied her and aided the other members of MNM in matches against Batista and Mysterio.^[32]

At Judgment Day on May 21, 2006, MNM lost their Tag Team Championship to Paul London and Brian Kendrick.^[33] After the match, Melina and Nitro, as part of the storyline, attacked Mercury, blaming him for the loss.^[33] Later that night, Melina lost a singles match against Jillian Hall and after slapping General Manager Theodore Long in anger, she and Nitro were fired from the SmackDown! brand.^[34] The team was broken up because off-screen, Nitro and Mercury did not get along, and WWE management decided to send Nitro and Melina to the Raw brand.^[35] Melina and Nitro made their way to Raw on May 29, with Nitro losing to WWE Champion John Cena.^[36] Melina continued to manage Nitro during his successful hunt for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and in another storyline with Trish Stratus.^[37][38] The storyline turned into a tag team feud when Carlito teamed with Stratus after he saved her from the attacks of Melina and Nitro.^[39] At Saturday Night's Main Event on July 15, Melina and Nitro lost to Carlito and Stratus in a mixed tag team match.^[40]

Singles competition and Women's Champion (2006–2007)[link]

After Melina's arrival on Raw, Mick Foley began to mention her in promos and on his WWE.com columns, playing on their real-life friendship, and they soon formed an on-screen friendship.^[41][42] At SummerSlam, Melina was involved in Foley's "I Quit" match against Ric Flair when Flair threatened to hit her with a barbed wire baseball bat, causing Foley to quit the match to save her.^[43] The next night on Raw, the storyline had Vince McMahon order Foley to join the Kiss My Ass club. After begging Foley not to go through with it, Foley "joined the club" to save Melina's job, only to have her suddenly turn on him by delivering a low blow and firing him at the behest of McMahon.^[44] The storyline was concocted by Foley to refresh the idea of the Kiss My Ass club.^[44][45] It was also around this time that Melina added another characteristic to her gimmick: screaming loudly at ringside while managing or in tag team action, which became known as the "primal scream".^[46]

On January 29, 2007, Melina became the number one contender for the WWE Women's Championship.^[47] On the February 5 edition of Raw, Melina was unsuccessful in her title match against Mickie James.^[48] The following week on Raw, Melina pinned James in a mixed tag team match and was granted a rematch for the title.^[49] On February 19, as part of her first major singles push, Melina successfully pinned James to win the WWE Women's Championship. She then retained the title in a rematch during the first ever Women's Falls Count Anywhere match in WWE history.^[50][51]

In March, Melina was placed in an angle where she became jealous of SmackDown! Diva Ashley Massaro, who was receiving attention because of her appearance in Playboy.^[52] The angle had Melina claim in her blogs that no Playboy cover models were capable of fighting her.^[53] This resulted in scheduled matches against former Playboy cover girls Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle, with both women losing to Melina.^[54][55] The storyline came to a close at WrestleMania 23, where Melina pinned Ashley in a Lumberjill match to retain her Women's Championship.^[56] After WrestleMania, Melina organized a photo op with the Women's Title belt in the ring but was interrupted by Mickie James, resulting in another storyline feud between the two Divas.^[57] On April 24, at a house show in Paris, France, Melina lost the Women's Championship in a Triple Threat match to James when James pinned Victoria, but on the orders of Jonathan Coachman she was entitled to a rematch on the same night, where she pinned James by putting her hands on the ropes to regain the title and become a two-time WWE Women's Champion.^[58]

On May 7, Melina was defeated in a tag team match when she was pinned by Candice Michelle.^[59] Melina continued to lose to Candice in various tag team matches, as well as in non-title bouts over the next few weeks.^[60][61][62] At Vengeance, Melina lost the Women's Championship to Candice and failed to recapture the title at The Great American Bash.^[63][64]

Feud with Beth Phoenix (2008–2009)[link]

Melina, along with then-ally Beth Phoenix, defeated Maria and Ashley at WrestleMania XXIV.^[65] On the May 5 edition of Raw!, Melina unintentionally attacked Phoenix with her boot during a lumberjill match with Mickie James.^[66] The following week, Phoenix walked out on Melina during a tag match against James and Maria when Melina accidentally bumped Phoenix off the apron. Melina was then attacked by Phoenix during a backstage segment following the match, leading to her turning into a fan favorite for the first time in her WWE career.^[67] At One Night Stand, Melina competed in a losing effort against Phoenix in the first ever Women's "I Quit" match.^[68] On June 23, 2008, Perez injured her heel after falling from the turnbuckles during a tag team match with Mickie James against Natalya and Victoria.^[69]

Perez returned to WWE television on the November 24 edition of Raw, teaming with former rivals Mickie James and Candice Michelle to defeat Phoenix, Jillian Hall, and Katie Lea Burchill.^[70] The following week, she made her singles return by defeating Hall. Following the match, Melina stated her intentions to take the WWE Women's Championship from Beth Phoenix.^[71] On December 29, Melina won a six-woman battle royal to become the number one contender for the Championship. After the match, Melina and Phoenix engaged in a confrontation over a fan of Phoenix's named Rosa Mendes, who had attacked Melina.^[72] On January 25, 2009, Melina won her third WWE Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble by defeating Phoenix.^[73] She retained her championship against Beth Phoenix on February 16 edition of Raw,^[74] and again during a dark match at No Way Out.^[75]

Divas Champion and departure (2009–2011)[link]

Melina as WWE Divas Champion.

On the April 13, 2009 episode of Raw, Melina was drafted back to SmackDown as part of the 2009 WWE Draft, thus making the WWE Women's Championship exclusive to the brand.^[76] She began a feud with Michelle McCool, who was named as the number one contender to the title.^[77] McCool attacked Melina after her victory over Alicia Fox on the June 19 episode of SmackDown.^[78] Melina dropped the Women's Championship to McCool at The Bash after an interference from Alicia Fox and failed to regain the championship at Night of Champions^[79][80] During a "Lumberjill" match on the October 2 edition of SmackDown, Melina failed to regain the title.

On October 12, Melina was traded back to the Raw brand in a tri-branded trade that was announced by the night's guest host Nancy O'Dell of Access Hollywood and went on to win the WWE Divas Championship from the new Divas Champion Jillian Hall, who had won the belt from Mickie James only a few minutes earlier.^[81] After defending the Championship in Hall's contractual rematch, Melina went on to feud with new number one contender Alicia Fox, again successfully retaining her title. She then began a brief feud with the returning Maryse, who had just recovered from knee surgery. However the feud was cut short due to Melina sustaining an injury. On December 29, at a WWE live event at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, Melina tore her ACL during a six-woman tag team match; she relinquished the Divas Championship on January 4 due to her injury.

She made her return on the August 2 edition of Raw, attacking WWE Divas Champion Alicia Fox after a six-woman tag team match in which she, Jillian Hall, and Tamina defeated Eve Torres, Gail Kim, and Natalya.^[82] At SummerSlam, Melina defeated Fox to capture the WWE Divas Championship for the second time in her career. After the match she was attacked by Michelle McCool and WWE Women's Champion Layla.^[83] At the 900th episode of Raw, after winning a match, she was challenged by either Layla or McCool to a match at Night of Champions, to unify the WWE Women's and WWE Divas Championships. At Night of Champions, Melina lost the Divas Championship to McCool after she was attacked by Layla during the match.

On the December 20 edition of Raw, Melina became the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship and turned heel in the process when she slapped Natalya who had attempted to congratulate her following her victory.^[84] When the two fought for the WWE Divas Championship on January 24 on Raw, Melina was defeated.^[85] On the June 9 edition of WWE Superstars, she teamed up with Maryse to defeat Gail Kim and Eve Torres.^[86] On the June 2 edition of WWE Superstars, She was defeated by Gail Kim in a singles match. She started a feud with Kim, claiming that Kim was a horrible friend. On the June 23 edition of WWE Superstars, Melina lost again to Kim in a singles match. On the August 1 edition of Raw, Perez participated in a number one contenders Battle Royal and was the first participant eliminated.^[87] On August 5, Melina was released from her WWE contract.^[88]

Women Superstars Uncensored (2011–present)[link]

On August 12, it was announced that Melina will compete at the Women Superstars Uncensored's pay-per-view on November 19, in a match against fellow former WWE Diva Serena Deeb, which Melina later confirmed on her YouTube channel, as well as her official website.^[89] Melina appeared at the Family Wrestling Entertainment event on August 20, signing autographs and serving as Eric Young's valet as he became the new FWE Heavyweight Champion.^[90] In November 2011, Perez wrestled her first match outside of the WWE by defeating Lexxus (replacing Serena) at the WSU November 19th pay-per-view.

International tour (2012)[link]

Perez appeared on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012, where she wrestled under her real name.^[91]

Personal life[link]

Perez is of Mexican descent.^[2] She speaks both English and Spanish.

She is currently in a long term on-and-off relationship with John Hennigan, previously known as Johnny Nitro and now as John Morrison, whom she managed on-screen.^[9][36] After one of their break ups, Perez was in a short-term relationship with Dave Batista, who claims that the duo began their relationship after his divorce from his wife.

Other media[link]

On April 13, 2008, she appeared in an episode of Celebrity Fit Club Boot Camp along with Mickie James, Layla, and Kelly Kelly.^[92] Perez made her motion picture debut in a supporting role as Devin in the 2011 film, Serial Buddies. On June 23, 2011, Melina appeared in an episode of Zack Ryder's YouTube series, Z!, True Long Island Story. She made another appearance on the 22nd episode of Z! True Long Island Story, alongside John Morrison and Zack Ryder's father. Perez now host a show called After Buzz.

Filmography[link]

Video games[link]

Perez has appeared in SmackDown vs Raw 2008, SmackDown vs Raw 2009, SmackDown vs Raw 2010 and SmackDown vs Raw 2011. Perez didn't appear in WWE '12 even though she wasn't released until late 2011.

In wrestling[link]

Melina's splits entrance.

Melina in her third reign as Women's Champion.

Melina in her second reign as Diva's Champion.

• Finishing moves
  • Charging Extreme Makeover (Running spinning kneeling facebuster) - 2005-2006
  • Sunset Split (Split–legged inverted leg drop bulldog followed by split-legged pin) – 2007–present
  • Last Call (Sunset flip powerbomb) – 2008–present
  • California Dream^[4] / Kyrapractor^[4] (Cross-legged Inverted STF) - 2007-2008
  • Barra-Bracker (Inverted facelock transitioned into a double knee backbreaker)
  • Shark Bite (Split-legged big boot) (TOR) (previously a signitaure)

• Signature moves
  • Body scissors^[4]
  • Bow and arrow stretch^[4]
  • Divastator^[4][5] (Multiple kicking combinations)^[1]
  • Diving double knee drop to an opponent trapped horizontally in the turnbuckles^[4]
  • Kranium Buster^[4] (Flipping neckbreaker)^[4][5][1]
  • Lariat^[4]
  • Mel-trix (Matrix evasion)
  • Split–legged arm drag
  • Split-legged big boot
  • Split-Legged Neckbreaker
  • Extreme Makeover^[4] (Springboard kneeling facebuster)

• Wrestlers managed
  • Johnny Nitro
  • Joey Mercury
  • Mark Henry
  • Mick Foley
  • Eric Young
  • Beth Phoenix

• Managers
  • Jillian Hall
  • Beth Phoenix
  • Johnny Nitro
  • Joey Mercury
  • Santino Marella (WrestleMania XXIV)

• Nicknames
  • "The A–List Diva"^[93]
  • "The Barracuda"^[94][95]
  • "The Paparazzi Princess"^[96]
  • "The firey Hell Cat"
  • "The Red Carpet Diva"^[96][97]

• Entrance themes
  • World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
    • "Paparazzi" by Jim Johnston (April 14, 2005–August 5, 2011)^[98]
  • World Wrestling Fan Xperience
    • "Danza Kuduro" by Don Omar & Lucenzo (February 14, 2012)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her #3 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2009.^[99]

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Divas Championship (2 times)^[4][83]
  • WWE Women's Championship (3 times)^[4]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Bautista, Dave and Jeremy Roberts (October 2007). Batista Unleashed. World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 1-4165-4410-0. 
• Foley, Mick (2007). Hardcore Diaries. Pocket Books. p. 384. ISBN 1-4165-3157-2. 
• "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards" (Kappa Publishing). 2007. 

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melina Perez

• WWE Alumni profile
• G.L.O.R.Y. profile
• Melina Perez at the Internet Movie Database
• Melina Perez on Twitter
• Melina Perez on Youtube
• Official Website
• Melina Perez Fansite

Becky Bayless
Becky Bayless in mid-2010
Ring name(s)	Becky Bayless Brooke Lynn[1] Cookie[2][3] Rebecca Bayless
Billed height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Billed weight	122 lb (55 kg)[4]
Born	(1982-02-03) February 3, 1982 (age 30)[4]
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Billed from	Queens, New York City New York City, New York The Jersey Shore[1]
Trained by	Homicide
Debut	2002
Website	http://rebeccabayless.net

Rebecca Treston^[4] (born February 3, 1982) better known by her ring name Rebecca "Becky" Bayless, is an American professional wrestler, currently working for independent promotions such as Women's Extreme Wrestling, Wrestling Superstars Unleashed, Wrestlicious, and Women Superstars Uncensored. In the past she has worked for a number of major independent promotions, primarily Ring of Honor (ROH), Full Impact Pro, and Shimmer Women Athletes. She is also known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Cookie and for ROH and Shimmer as a backstage/in-ring interviewer.

Career[link]

Prior to her 2004 accident, Bayless was initially known as a valet for wrestlers, particularly Jimmy Jacobs, and mostly in Combat Zone Wrestling and IWA-Mid South, but occasionally wrestled for promotions. This includes during one 3-way Tag-Team match in Mid South where during a point when many wrestlers performed 'Dives' off an announce position, Bayless herself leaped on top of the participating wrestlers, including the ones she was managing, shortly followed by commentator Dave Prazak and the referee of the match.

Since her return, Bayless has had a long standing feud with Alicia in Wrestling Superstars Unleashed, and in their sister all-women's promotion Women Superstars Uncensored. This cumulated on September 22, 2007 with a loss in a No-DQ grudge match for the WSU Women's Title which was billed as Alicia's retirement match.^[5] The next night Bayless and Alicia revealed that their 'feud' had been a plan between the two to make the other look good in the ring. Alicia attempted to hand her title to Bayless, but they were interrupted by Tammy Lynn Sytch who stopped their plan, and following an impromptu match Sytch won the title herself. Since then Bayless has feuded with Sytch, and also Dawn Marie and then Missy Hyatt who were brought in as managers/opponents against Bayless.

On the June 5, 2008 edition of TNA Impact!, Bayless made a one-off appearance as a candidate for Awesome Kong's $25,000 Fan Challenge^[5] along with fellow wrestlers Amber O'Neal, and Daffney who was picked for the challenge.

Ring of Honor[link]

Bayless debuted in ROH in 2003 as part of the Special K stable as a valet. During her time she wrestled occasionally, including losses to Alexis Laree. The high point during this time was Bayless' involvement in the break-up of the stable in the later part of 2004. After a series of losses suffered by her teammates she began arguing with fellow stablemate Lacey. This ultimately leading to cat fights after matches, and eventually the break-up on ROH's December 4 show when after a 6-Man Tag-Team loss to 3 ROH wrestling school students, the team of Izzy, Deranged and Lacey turned on Dixie, Angel Dust and Bayless. Later in the month, December 26 the two sides would meet in a mixed Tag Match, where Bayless would be pinned by Lacey.^[5] Following a severe automobile accident, this would be the last Bayless would be seen anywhere in wrestling for a number of years, and subsequently was written out of the storyline.

In 2007 Bayless returned to ROH and to pro wrestling at ROH's January 26 show, conducting an in-ring interview with the then new ROH World Champion Homicide.^[5] Bayless remained in the role as backstage and in-ring interviewer for the duration of her time with Ring of Honor, regularly being seen on DVD releases in promos and interview segments, and on ROH VideoWire updates in the same roles. Despite ROH having women's matches on their cards, Bayless did not wrestling any further in ROH.

Shimmer Women Athletes[link]

In Shimmer Women Athletes, a sister promotion to ROH, Bayless fulfilled the same on-camera role she has in ROH as an in-ring and backstage interviewer for the company, alongside Valerie Malone and Amber Gertner.

Full Impact Pro[link]

Bayless was part of The YRR stable in Full Impact Pro, in the role of a valet, but due to occasional appearances for the company she may or may not have left the stable or have been written out of it.

Wrestlicious[link]

In early 2009 Bayless signed with Jimmy Hart's Wrestlicious series, which began airing in March 2010.^[1] She debuted on the fifth episode on March 31, under the ring name Brooke Lynn, as the new co-host of Take Down, replacing Leyla Milani, who was inactive due to scheduling issues.^[6] She was also one of the 20 wrestlers competing in the "Hoedown Throwdown" 20-girl battle royal to determine the two contenders for the Wrestlicious Takedown title.

Women Superstars Uncensored (2007-Present)[link]

In 2007, Bayless joined Women Superstars Uncensored. She quickly began a feud with Alicia that included a no DQ match and a last woman standing match, both won by Alicia. She would later feud with both Dawn Marie and Rick Cataldo. She left WSU in mid-2010 when she signed with TNA in the middle of 2010 but as soon as she left TNA, she returned to WSU in November 2011 to resume her feud with Rick Cataldo, defeating him on WSU iPPV. Bayless quickly got a shot at the WSU Spirit Championship but was defeated by Jessicka Havok.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010–2011)[link]

At the August 10, 2010, tapings of Impact! Treston, working under the name Cookie with a gimmick inspired by the television show Jersey Shore, managed Robbie E in a dark match, where he defeated Jeremy Buck.^{[2][unreliable source]} On August 18 it was reported that TNA had signed Treston to a contract.^[7] On the August 26 edition of Impact!, vignettes began airing to promote Cookie's and Robbie E's upcoming debuts.^[8] Prior to their televised debuts, Cookie and Robbie E made an appearance on September 24 at TNA's live event at The Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, interrupting Jeremy Borash and insulting the crowd, before Robbie was defeated in a match by Rhino.^[3] At the following day's event in Rahway, New Jersey, Cookie and Robbie interrupted Mick Foley, before Robbie was again defeated in a match against Rhino, with Foley serving as the special guest referee.^[9] Robbie and Cookie made their televised debuts on the October 7 live episode of Impact!, cutting a promo insulting the Florida crowd.^[10] The following Sunday at Bound for Glory the two made their pay-per-view debuts, when Robbie attacked X Division Champion Jay Lethal after his title match with Douglas Williams, claiming he was a disgrace to New Jersey.^[11] Cookie and Robbie gained mainstream attention on the following edition of Impact!, when Cookie had a cat fight with Jersey Shore cast member Jenni "JWoww" Farley.^[12][13][14] On November 7 at Turning Point, Cookie helped Robbie defeat Jay Lethal to win the TNA X Division Championship.^[15] On the following edition of Impact! Cookie made her televised in-ring debut in a tag team match, where she and Robbie defeated Lethal and Taylor Wilde.^[16] On the December 16 edition of Impact!, Robbie lost the X Division Championship back to Lethal, after Christy Hemme came out and prevented Cookie from interfering in the match.^[17] In February 2011 Cookie and Robbie became embroiled in a feud with X Division Champion Kazarian and his wife Traci Brooks.^[18] On the March 3 edition of Impact! Cookie and Robbie aligned themselves with former Jersey Shore cast member Angelina Pivarnick, with whom they bonded through their mutual dislike of Jenni "JWoww" Farley, whom Pivarnick proceeded to challenge to a match.^[19] The following week Cookie teamed with Pivarnick and Sarita in a six knockout tag team match, where they were defeated by Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Winter.^[20] On the August 11 edition of Impact Wrestling, Robbie broke up with Cookie, after she inadvertently cost him his match against X Division Champion Brian Kendrick.^[21] On August 26, Treston announced that she had parted ways with TNA, reportedly after the promotion decided not to renew her contract.^[22]

Personal life[link]

On December 31, 2004 Bayless was involved in a severe automobile accident.^[5] Bayless suffered internal bruising, a sprained ankle, nerve damage to her neck and also injured her rotator cuff as a result. Prior to this, Bayless was planning to study overseas in Europe, and as a result these plans were canceled.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Inverted double underhook facebuster

• Signature moves
  • Arm wrench inside cradle
  • Jawbreaker
  • STF
  • Tornado DDT
  • Knife Edge Chop

Wrestlers managed[link]

Bayless has acted as a manager and valet to over thirty wrestlers, including:

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Professional wrestling[link]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her # 37 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2008.^[23]

• Other titles
  • Miss USA Pro Beauty Contest Winner (1 time)^[5]
  • TWE Texas Ladies Championship (1 time)^[5]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Online World of Wrestling Profile
• Official Arrest Report on DUI Charge

External links[link]

• TNA Wrestling profile
• Official MySpace
• Official Website

Professional wrestling portal

Tata Young
Tata Young in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Amita Marie Young
Born	(1980-12-14) December 14, 1980 (age 31) Bangkok, Thailand
Genres	Dance-pop, pop, R&B, electropop
Occupations	Singer, dancer, actress, entrepreneur
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1991–present
Labels	GMM Grammy (1995-2000) TERO Records (2001-2003) Sony Music (2004-present)
Website	http://www.tatayoung.com/

Amita Marie Young (Thai: อมิตา มารี ยัง, December 14, 1980), better known under her stage name Tata Young, is a Thai singer, model, actress and dancer.

She gained prominence when she placed first in a national singing contest at age 11, subsequently signing a record deal and releasing her first album Amita Tata Young in 1996. Within five months, the album had sold over one million copies. Since then, Young has released eight studio albums, three in English and five in Thai. Her most recent album is Ready for Love, released on August 25, 2009.

She has acted in three films, The Red Bike Story (Jakkayan See Daeng), O-Negative and Plai Tien a TV drama Wick of the Candle. She sang "Reach For The Stars" at the Bangkok opening ceremony for the 13th Asian Games in 1998 and also sang the English part of the title song for the Bollywood movie, Dhoom.

Early years[link]

Tata was born to a Thai mother and an American father in 1980 and by the age of eleven had won her first national talent contest, the Nissan Awards Thailand Junior Singing Contest. By the age of fourteen she had signed her first professional contract and released her debut million selling album in 1995. This led to her winning multiple awards at the Thai Radio Vote Awards in 1996.

In 1997 the Chinese government chose her to represent Thailand at the handing over of Hong Kong and later that year such as Wet Wet Wet, Michael Learns to Rock, Lisa Stansfield, All 4 One and Brand New Heavies. She received the prestigious "Golden Pikkanes God Award" from the Musical Artist Association of Thailand, becoming the youngest performer to receive this reward.The Tata Young Fan Club was also formed in 1997, to gather support from her fans to provide assistance to the Thai children's charity, the Human Development Foundation. Tata continued her success by singing a duet with Mos in the album MOS & TATA, that was launched on January 23. This album made Tata to be the newest Teen Idol, the songs like ‘Malang’ (Bugs) was one of the songs in Thai music memories, even until now everyone can sing it!

On February 15, Tata featured in ‘Mos, Tata & Friends’. She sang along with many guest artists such as Beau Sunita, Fluke Clerkpon, Jason Young and Nana Cha.

She made her film debut in 1997 in the youth drama ‘The Red Bike Story’, which broke records for audience-attendance for the Thai film industry. Her debut earned her the "Best Actress Award (Thailand)" presented at the Fourth Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards 1997. She followed that up with two other hit films, O-Negative and Plai Tien.

Her next album, the self-titled Tata Young, was released in 2001 with many of its songs reaching high chart positions and in 2003 she released her fourth album, Real TT.

Asian star: 2004-2007[link]

In 2004, Tata released her English-language debut album, I Believe on Columbia Records.

The first single taken from the album was "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy", which was controversial in Thailand. In Malaysia, she had to change the name of the tune to "Sexy, Naughty, Cheeky". Further single releases from the album included 'I Believe' and 'Cinderella'

She expanded her reach to India, recording the song, Dhoom Dhoom, for the soundtrack to a Bollywood movie, Dhoom. Dhoom, whose OST album sold over 800,000 units in India, was a phenomenal success for a soundtrack. Later, she embarked on her Dhoom Dhoom tour.

In Taiwan, Tata became the first Thai artist to be invited to perform at the Golden Melody Awards – Taiwan's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. In Hong Kong, China and Japan, "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy" and "I Believe" climbed to the top of the charts.

Her second English-language album, Temperature Rising was released in August 2006; its first single was "El Nin-YO!". The album includes songs composed by Diane Warren, Paul McCartney and Natasha Bedingfield.

In 2007, she recorded her single "Zoom" in Simlish for the top-selling PC game The Sims 2: Seasons.

Tata has also lent her voice to humanitarian causes, including the AIDS program of Father Joe Maier's Human Development Foundation and MTV's Exit campaign to end human trafficking.^[1][2]

In early 2008, Tata Young released her sixth Thai album. The headline single "One Love" was released on Valentine's Day.

Health and professional struggles: 2008-present[link]

Young had been working on her third studio English album since 2008 in Berlin, Germany, working with Sony BMG Europe. Demo tracks of four new songs from the album surfaced on the internet in early 2009' 'Ready for Love' and 'Suffocate'. She hired Korean stylists to direct her image for the new album. The first single, Ready For Love, was released in July 2009 with a Korean directed video. Although "Ready for Love" reached number one in some local radio markets in Indonesia, the single and the album were considered flops in other markets. 'My Bloody Valentine' reached the Indonesian Charts and Tata Young has been credited as the singer with the label Sony BMG. The single was finally released as the album's second single. Tata announced a promotional tour in Australia and Europe, which did not take place. Her third single, "Mission is You", was later released with video footage from the opening of the album but no additional film, raising questions about the situation between her and her label. In 2010, Tata changed her image again and participated in a concert contributing to Michael Jackson.

In 2007, Young developed hypothyroidism, treatment for which caused her to gain weight and went through a notable image change, also dying her trademark red hair black.

In September 2011, Young premiered "Let's Play", believed to be Her upcoming single produced by Jeliah and co-written by singer-songwriter VASSY, Jeliah and Tata Young, it was performed live at the True Academy Fantasia Season 8's Grand Finale Concert as her comeback.^[3]

Discography[link]

Over the course of her career, Young has released nine studio albums, five compilation albums, two EPs and one remix album. Two of her studio albums are in English rather than Thai.

She has embarked on eleven tours, the first starting in 1995, the last ending in 2009. Also, she has released sixteen VCDs and DVDs: ten of them featuring karaoke to her songs, six documenting her concerts. Additional to her song discography, she has been featured on over twenty songs with other artists and other organisations, such as an official FIFA song.

• 1995 - Amita Tata Young
• 1997 - Amazing TATA
• 2001 - Tata Young
• 2003 - Real TT
• 2004 - I Believe (English)
• 2005 - Dangerous TATA
• 2006 - Temperature Rising (English)
• 2008 - One Love
• 2009 - Ready for Love (English)

Singles[link]

Filmography[link]

• 1997 - The Red Bike Story (จักรยานสีแดง)
• 1998 - O-Negative
• 2009 - Bitter/Sweet

Television[link]

• 2002 - Wick of the Candle (ปลายเทียน)
• 2011 - Academy Fantasia (True), Judge (Season 8)
• 2012 - Academy Fantasia (True), Judge (Season 9)

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tata Young Official Web Site
• Tata Young Fan Club
• Tata2You
• Tata Young Fan Club Spanish
• Tata Young songs lyrics