Former WWE Star Joy Giovanni Says She Was Devastated By 'Weird Timing' Of Release

Joy Giovanni first got herself on WWE's radar when she competed in the WWE 2004 Diva Search, ultimately placing third but still being signed by the promotion later that year. Across her career, Giovanni was a mainstay of the Divas Division, going on to win the first and only WWE Rookie Diva of the Year contest before being released in July 2005. Recently, the former WWE Diva sat down for an interview with "Developmentally Speaking" in which she recalled the feelings she had upon her release 20 years ago. 

Giovanni noted that in agreeing to do a full-time schedule, she dedicated herself to WWE despite the grueling five-day-a-week schedule and driving that kept her away from her little children. "It just felt like, 'Okay, I'm just going to commit to this thing, this is not really, like, necessarily what I 100% want to do, but let's just give it a go,'" she said, noting that she got the news of her release a day before her full-time schedule kicked off. "I was pretty devastated because I felt like I was committing to something that felt like a ... trade off for me, do you know what I mean? It just was such weird timing, but it is what it is, I think everything really worked out for the best!"

While Joy Giovanni claims she was surprised by the call, she added that she had a feeling something was off when it came to her utilization. "I could feel that they didn't have, like, a very strong direction for me at that time." Giovanni continued to explain that she tried to focus on how great of an opportunity WWE was for her at the time, and that across her tenure she began to understand the business of pro wrestling and could see a future for herself in the industry. "I had agreed to go full-time on the road. My contract — I only did televised events, press conferences, pay-per-views, those kinds of things as just the way the deal was."

In the past, Giovanni has also opened up about her experience during the 2004 Divas Search Contest, noting that she and the other contestants were almost segregated from the rest of the locker room, and that this fostered resentment from the existing women in WWE towards them before they were even signed. So, while she's clearly grateful for the experience, Giovanni likely had the odds against her from the moment she signed up for the contest.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Developmentally Speaking" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.