Monday, June 1, 2009



Playboy (2003–2004)

In May 2003, Wilson appeared in a pictorial and on the cover of Playboy magazine. A few months earlier, when her pictorial was announced, a short storyline feud with Nidia developed, with the latter being jealous of the fact that Wilson was chosen for the cover and spread in the magazine. In weekly vignettes aired on SmackDown!, both Nidia and her on-screen boyfriend Jamie Noble made trips to The Playboy Mansion to complain to Hugh Hefner over his choice.

Soon after, on an April 2003 episode of SmackDown! during a segment labeled as Torrie's Playboy Coming Out Party former Diva and Playboy covergirl Sable made her return to WWE after a three year absence. This began a storyline between the two women where for weeks, Sable played mind games with Wilson, being friendly one moment and unfriendly the next. This all led up to a bikini contest between the two at Judgment Day, which Wilson won. After the contest, Wilson kissed the former Women's Champion Sable on the lips, showing her that there was "no hard feelings" due to Wilson's win over the WWE veteran.

Continuing her feud with Noble and Nidia from earlier in the year, Wilson managed Billy Gunn upon his WWE return in the summer of 2003. The feud came to an end after Nidia and Noble both became fan favorites and sided with Gunn and Wilson. After the formation of this alliance, Wilson, Nidia, and Dawn Marie feuded with Shaniqua for a short period of time, which led to Shaniqua physically dominating Wilson and Nidia in a handicap match.
Wilson teamed with Sable in March 2004 to feud with Raw Divas Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie. The feud's storyline centered on the latter duo's jealously of Wilson and Sable as Playboy cover girls, as well as their recently being named cover girls yet again, as the two Divas were announced to be featured together in an upcoming Playboy March 2004 issue. After weeks of rivalry, Wilson and Sable defeated Keibler and Miss Jackie in a Playboy Evening Gown match at WrestleMania XX by stripping their opponents of their evening gowns. Later in the year, Wilson engaged in a short feud with Sable, who defeated her at the Great American Bash.

In November 2004, Wilson began feuding with Hiroko. On February 10, 2005 on a special edition of SmackDown! (recorded on February 4 in Saitama, Japan), Torrie defeated Hiroko in a kimono match by removing her kimono first.

Raw and Vince's Devils (2005–2006)

It was revealed on August 21, 2005 that Wilson and Candice Michelle had been moved to the Raw brand. Wilson then became a villain by attacking Ashley Massaro. Her and Candice's storyline feud with Massaro continued over the next couple weeks, as the duo, along with their enforcer Victoria, made things difficult for Massaro. Massaro evened the score on the September 12, 2005 edition of Raw when she brought out the returning Trish Stratus, and the duo proceeded to attack the villains. This led to a tag match at Unforgiven, where the team of Stratus and Massaro defeated Wilson and Victoria. The feud continued into WWE Homecoming, where Stratus and Massaro defeated Wilson, Candice, and Victoria in the first ever three on two Bra and Panties match by stripping all three of their opponents.

Wilson was absent from WWE television for quite some time after this, leading to rumors and false reports that she had been released from WWE. In actuality, she had taken a leave of absence to tend to some "personal issues". Wilson was surprised by the rumors after some media personnel offered to help her find work. WWE issued a statement on their website, in which Wilson also commented, denouncing the rumors. In the statement she joked she had to "call the WWE office and ask them if they forgot to fire me".

On November 28, Wilson made her return to Raw, where she, Candice and Victoria faced off against the team of Stratus, Massaro, and their new ally Mickie James. Vince's Devils was a short-lived alliance. Wilson soon became a fan favorite after Candice and Victoria both turned against her. The storyline feud between Candice and Wilson led to a match where Wilson faced Playboy's newest cover girl, Candice, at WrestleMania 22 in a Playboy Pillow Fight. Wilson won the match, but the feud still continued on-and-off for some time. On the June 12, 2006 edition of Raw, Wilson defeated Candice in the first ever "Wet and Wild match", a wrestling match involving water balloons and squirt guns, in which the winner of the match would be on the cover of the WWE 2006 Summer Special magazine.

Relationship with Carlito, return to SmackDown! and departure (2006–2009)

Wilson also made a special appearance on WWE's ECW brand on August 22, 2006 representing Raw in a bikini contest against ECW Diva Kelly Kelly. A winner was not decided, however, and a six-person mixed tag match began pitting Wilson, Tommy Dreamer, and The Sandman against the team of Kelly Kelly, Mike Knox, and Test. Wilson's team was victorious.

In the final months of 2006, Wilson entered into an on-screen relationship with Carlito. During this time, Ric Flair took an interest in Carlito, and Wilson accompanied the duo in a series of tag matches. In May 2007, however, Carlito turned against Flair and dumped Wilson when he became a heel. The storyline came to a halt when on the June 11 edition of Raw, Wilson was drafted from Raw to SmackDown! as part of the 2007 WWE Draft.

On the September 28 edition of SmackDown!, she was attacked in the ring by the debuting Krissy Vaine, but the feud was prematurely dropped when Vaine left the company. Her last match was against Victoria, whom she defeated. In November, Wilson took time off from wrestling to undergo physical therapy in relation to a previous back injury. She was released from her WWE contract on May 8, 2008.

Wilson returned to the WWE for one night at WrestleMania XXV as a part of the 25 Diva Battle Royal representing the past WWE Divas, in which she was eliminated by Beth Phoenix.


Other media

Aside from Playboy, Wilson has also graced the cover of several other magazines, including the September 2006 cover of FHM magazine.
Wilson was also number forty-three on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World list in 2007. She has also been on AskMen.com's list of the Most Desirable Women in the World twice: she was number twenty-two in 2006 and number sixty-five in 2007.

In April 2007, Wilson, along with several other Divas, filmed Timbaland's music video "Throw It On Me". Also in 2007, Wilson made a special appearance, along with Mick Foley, at the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai. She appeared on the February 6, 2008 episode of Project Runway where the contestants designed wrestling attire for several of the Divas. In April 2009, Torrie Wilson signed on to appear in the upcoming NBC reality show, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!.

Personal life

Wilson admits not to watching wrestling when she was younger, but claims that since she became involved in the industry, she has become a fan of Hulk Hogan.

While working for WWE, Wilson was on the road for up to 300 days per year. She has a Maltese named Chloe, who travels with her. While on the road, Wilson works out at least four days a week. Usually, her workout consists of an hour of cardiovascular workouts and a half-hour of lifting weights.
Wilson also has a close friendship with Stacy Keibler. At one point, they were roommates in Los Angeles, California.

After being together for four years, Wilson married Peter Gruner (known on-screen as Billy Kidman) on July 11, 2003. They lived together in Tampa, Florida, when not traveling. The couple were officially divorced in 2007.

In September 2007, Wilson opened her official clothing line "Officially Jaded", alongside Nick Mitchell, a former WWE wrestler who was known as "Mitch" of the Spirit Squad. She opened a store in The Woodlands, Texas, at the upscale Market Street district. In January 2009, the store moved to a bigger location in the same shopping center. Torrie and Nick have been dating for about two and a half years.

On September 14, 2008, Torrie made an appearance at the inaugural Wrestler's Rescue event held in Piscataway, New Jersey, an event to create awareness and to help raise money to support the health care needs of retired professional wrestlers.

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