Maryse Ouellet

Maryse
File:Maryse cropped.jpg Maryse in November 2008
Birth name	Maryse Ouellet
Born	(1983-01-21) January 21, 1983 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Residence	Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse(s)	The Miz (m. 2014)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Maryse
Billed height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Billed weight	115 lb (52 kg)
Billed from	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Trained by	Al Snow Steve Keirn Tom Pritchard Finlay Ricky Steamboat
Debut	July 10, 2006
Retired	October 28, 2011

Maryse Mizanin (née Ouellet; born January 21, 1983) is a French Canadian glamour model, retired professional wrestler, businesswoman and actress better known simply as Maryse. She is best known for her time in WWE between 2006 and 2011.

After spending years modeling, including winning Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada in 2003, Ouellet was hired by the professional wrestling promotion WWE in August 2006, after she participated in the WWE Diva Search competition. She spent time in Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's developmental territories, before being assigned to the SmackDown brand in 2008. In December 2008, Maryse won her first WWE Divas Championship and held it for seven months, which is the third longest reign in the championship's history. In April 2009, she was drafted to the Raw brand, and won the Divas Championship for the second time in February 2010, making her the first wrestler to have held the championship on more than one occasion. In 2011, she became the co-host of NXT and the manager of Ted DiBiase, prior to her release from the company in October 2011.

In late 2011, she announced plans for a clothing and jewelry line called House of Maryse, and later began working as a realtor.

Early life and career

Ouellet was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in Edmundston, New Brunswick. In high school, Ouellet was the only girl in her class, and ran the school's fashion show. She also began developing a range of makeup products.

Ouellet began her modelling career as a beauty pageant contestant, winning Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada 2003 and finishing second at the International Finals of Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2004. She was also on the cover of Playboy's 2007 Girls of Canada calendar.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

Diva Search and developmental territories (2006–2008)

In mid-2006, Ouellet tried out for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Diva Search. She made the final cut and was one of the top eight contestants, but was the second person eliminated on July 24. Despite her elimination, she was invited to observe workouts and the training facility at WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), along with Brooke Adams. Ouellet later said that she was "very, very excited", as it was her "dream to become a WWE Diva". Ouellet was inspired to become a professional wrestler by Lita.

Ouellet was officially signed to a WWE developmental contract on August 24, 2006 and was assigned to OVW for training. She made her in-ring debut at an OVW live event in December 2006. In March 2007, she began wrestling in dark matches prior to the OVW television tapings. In mid-2007, Ouellet began managing Sylvain Grenier. When Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) opened in mid-2007, Ouellet was transferred to the new developmental facility, and on September 25, she made her FCW debut as the valet of Ryan O'Reilly along with Lacey Von Erich. Ouellet then started competing in singles and tag team competition, before managing Ted DiBiase, Jr. in December 2007, and was at ringside when he captured the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship. She continued making sporadic appearances in FCW until January 2008.

SmackDown (2006–2008)

File:Maryse Ouellet.jpg

Maryse posing at the ring turnbuckle during a house show in September 2008.

On the September 22, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Ouellet, known as simply Maryse, was shown on the TitanTron welcoming the Montreal viewers in French to the season premiere of SmackDown! on the CW Network. Maryse made her first official televised appearance on the May 21, 2007 episode of Raw to present American rapper Timbaland's new music video for the single "Throw It on Me", in which she had appeared.

By the time she began appearing regularly on SmackDown at the beginning of 2008, she had adopted a snobby attitude and become a villainous character. On the March 7, 2008 episode of SmackDown, Maryse competed in a swimsuit contest against Victoria, Michelle McCool, Cherry, and Eve Torres, which ended in a brawl between Maryse and Torres. The following week, she was the first eliminated from another swimsuit competition. On March 28, Maryse competed in a "Wet and Wild" match, teaming with Victoria against Cherry and McCool in a losing effort. On a "SmackDown after the bell" video on WWE's website, the tag team Deuce 'n Domino dumped Cherry, who had been their manager, and replaced her with Maryse. Maryse then insulted Cherry, only for Cherry to slap her. On the May 16 episode of SmackDown, Maryse made her in-ring debut in a loss to Cherry, though she defeated Cherry in a rematch the following week. On the July 4, 2008 episode of SmackDown!, She competed in a Golden Dreams match to face Natalya for the WWE Divas Championship at the The Great American Bash, however she failed to win. For several weeks, Maryse competed in six-person tag team matches with Victoria and Natalya against Cherry, Michelle McCool and Maria. She suffered a minor broken nose after receiving a bulldog from Maria in August 2008.

Divas Champion (2008–2010)

Maryse as the WWE Divas Champion in 2009.

Maryse began a rivalry with Michelle McCool in September 2008, unsuccessfully challenging her for the WWE Divas Championship at Unforgiven, and in a rematch the following week on SmackDown, but failed to win on both occasions. On the September 23 episode of ECW, Maryse defeated McCool in a non-title match. After a month-long absence, Maryse returned at Survivor Series in November, participating in a five-on-five Divas elimination match; Maryse was the sole survivor of her team, but was ultimately eliminated by Beth Phoenix. On December 19, Maryse pinned Maria to become the number one contender for Michelle McCool's Divas Championship. The following week on SmackDown, Maryse defeated McCool, with Maria as the special guest referee, to win her first Divas Championship. On December 28, at a house show in Raleigh, North Carolina, Maryse dislocated her knee in a tag team match against The Bella Twins. It was later announced that the injury was not major, and therefore only missed a few weeks action. On the January 23, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Maryse returned and sat at ringside commentating during a Divas' tag team match. She returned to in-ring action on February 20, teaming with Michelle McCool in a win against Maria and Eve Torres.

Maryse made her first appearance on Raw on March 2, as a commentator for a match involving the WWE Women's Champion Melina, with Maryse attacking her after the match. The following week, Maryse made her in-ring debut on Raw in a champion vs champion lumberjill match, which she defeated Melina. The rivalry extended to a tag team match on SmackDown on March 13, where Melina and Maria defeated McCool and Maryse. On 27 March episode of SmackDown, Maryse made her first title defense, losing by disqualification after the returning Gail Kim attacked Maryse and McCool, and thus retained the title. On April 5, Maryse competed in a Divas battle royal at WrestleMania XXV, but the match was won by Santina Marella (Santino Marella dressed in drag). Maryse made her last appearance on SmackDown on April 24, retaining her championship against Gail Kim.

As part of the 2009 WWE Draft on April 13, Maryse was drafted to the Raw brand, and in the process, the Divas Championship became exclusive to Raw. She made her debut for the brand on April 27, teaming with Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes, and Jillian Hall in a loss to Santina Marella, Mickie James, Brie Bella and Kelly Kelly. Maryse then began feuding with Mickie James after she cost James a number one contender's battle royal, which was eventually won by Kelly Kelly, by spraying hairspray in her eyes. The following week, Maryse lost a championship match against Kelly by disqualification, meaning the championship did not change hands, and won a subsequent rematch by pinfall two weeks later on June 8. At Night of Champions on July 26, Maryse lost the Divas Championship to James. Despite being only the second Divas champion, her reign of 216 days remained the longest in the title's history for nearly five years, until AJ Lee surpassed her reign in January 2014.

Maryse at the 2010 Tribute to the Troops event.

After losing the championship, Maryse underwent knee surgery. She returned on the November 23 episode of Raw, disguised as The Gobbledy Gooker, as the guest timekeeper for a Thanksgiving-themed Divas tag team match. After the match, she revealed herself by attacking Melina. The following week, Maryse made her in-ring return, pinning Melina in a tag team match.

In early 2010, a tournament was held for the newly vacated Divas Championship. Maryse entered the tournament, and defeated Brie Bella and Eve Torres in the first round and semi-finals, respectively, to advance to the finals. The finals were originally scheduled for Elimination Chamber on February 21; instead, the match was changed to a tag team match, where Maryse teamed with her scheduled opponent Gail Kim against LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla), which Maryse and Kim lost. The following night on Raw, Maryse defeated Kim in the finals to win the championship, becoming the first Diva to have held it twice. At WrestleMania XXVI, she was on the winning team in a 10-Diva tag team match. Maryse lost the Divas Championship two months later to Eve Torres on the April 12 episode of Raw, and was unsuccessful in attempts to regain it at Over the Limit and at Fatal 4-Way in May and June, respectively.

Managing Ted DiBiase and NXT (2010–2011)

On the June 21 episode of Raw, after Ted DiBiase fired Virgil, Maryse became DiBiase's new personal assistant. Along with DiBiase, Maryse was announced as a mentor for Brodus Clay for the fourth season of NXT on November 30. On Raw, on December 13, Maryse was involved in a battle royal to determine the winner of the Diva of the Year Slammy Award, but was eliminated by Natalya. Clay traded his mentors, Maryse and DiBiase, for Alberto Del Rio on the January 25, 2011 episode of NXT. In late September 2010, Maryse was involved in an storyline with Goldust, in which he stole the Million Dollar Championship from DiBiase, and lost a subsequent mixed tag team match against Goldust and Aksana on October 26.

On March 8, Maryse became the co-host of NXT, alongside Matt Striker. As part of NXT Redemption, Maryse was involved in several romantic storylines, most notably with Yoshi Tatsu, Lucky Cannon, and Hornswoggle. In August, Maryse underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia and took time off WWE programming. After two months of inactivity, Maryse was released from her WWE contract on October 28.

Independent circuit (2012)

On October 5, 2012, Maryse appeared at the Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) event Back 2 Brooklyn, performing live commentary. She began appearing regularly for FWE, where she commentated during women's matches.

Other media

File:WW Chicago 2012 - Maryse Ouellet 02 (7785759344).jpg

Maryse at the 2012 Wizard World Chicago convention.

In April 2007, Ouellet appeared alongside fellow WWE Divas Ashley, Torrie Wilson, Brooke Adams, Layla, and Kelly Kelly in Timbaland's music video "Throw It On Me" featuring The Hives. Ouellet also appeared in the January 2009 issue of Muscle & Fitness, along with Eve Torres and Michelle McCool. She and John Morrison were interviewed on Eurosport in the same year. She also made a special appearance on Redemption Song, which was hosted by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho, along with Candice Michelle, Mickie James, and Eve Torres. She has also appeared in several newspaper interviews, including Tokyo Headline, and was on the cover of Sessions Magazine in October 2010. In 2012, Maryse was featured on the cover of Le Journal de Montréal, and on MDA Show of Strength with The Miz and other celebrities. In 2015, Ouellet had roles in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! and in Santa's Little Helper, the latter starring Ouellet's husband, The Miz.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1994	Octobre	Pouilleuse	Film debut
2015	Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!	Officer Davis	TV Movie
2015	Karla	Sidney	Post-production
2015	Santa's Little Helper	Melody	Straight-to-DVD
2016	Enter the Fist and the Golden Fleecing	Macy Does	Filming
2016	Delilah	Amy Lannigan	Filming
2016	Xp-573	Mikaela Usylvich	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2008	Redemption Song	Herself	Guest appearance
2010	Musée Eden	Religieuse auditorium	1 episode
2011	Trauma	Femme de Lemire	1 episode
2012	Unité 9	Infirmière d'Yvon	2 episodes
2015	WAGS	Herself	Episodes 1 & 4

Video games

Maryse made her video game debut in the WWE game WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 and appears in WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 and WWE '12.

Other endeavors

Following her release from WWE, Ouellet announced her plans for a clothing and jewelry line named House of Maryse.

Beginning in late 2013, Ouellet began working as a realtor in Los Angeles after spending a year earning her real estate license.

Personal life

Ouellet is trilingual; she is a native speaker of French, fluent in English and she is able to read Spanish, although she cannot speak it. Ouellet has a tattoo of her late father's name, Guy, on her left wrist. She has a degree in business administration, and holds a black belt in martial arts. Ouellet is an avid supporter of animal rights and gay rights, and posed for the NOH8 campaign in 2011.

In July 2011, Ouellet asked a judge for protection from 61-year-old "crazed fan" Lee Silber, and filed a request for a permanent restraining order. She claimed that Silber had sent "numerous terrifying letters to [her] home and left more than 50 voicemail's on [her] personal cell phone all of which are extremely disturbing and delusional." In the filed documents and an interview for TMZ, Ouellet stated that she "feared for [her] life". She also explained that she had beefed up her personal security, and noted that Silber was a "crazy stalker ... who needs to either be in a psychiatric hospital or jail!". On 3 August, the court granted her the restraining order.

In 2013, Ouellet got engaged to longtime boyfriend and fellow wrestler Mike Mizanin, best known by his ring name The Miz, and were married in the Bahamas on February 20, 2014. The couple reside in Los Angeles, California.

In wrestling

Maryse as Ted DiBiase's valet in December 2010.

• Finishing moves
  • French Kiss (Snap DDT, with theatrics)
  • French TKO (Reverse roundhouse kick, to the back of the opponent's head)
  • Running knee strike, to the head of a kneeling opponent – 2008
• Signature moves
  • French Pain (Camel clutch)
  • Forward Russian legsweep
  • Hair-pull mat slam
  • Leg choke
  • Modified sleeper hold
  • Single leg Boston crab
  • Spinning backbreaker
  • Short-arm clothesline
• Wrestlers managed
  • Deuce 'n Domino
  • Ryan O'Reilly
  • Cameron
  • Ted DiBiase
• Nicknames
  • "The French-Canadian Beauty"
  • "The Sexiest of the Sexy"
  • "The Sultry Diva"
  • "The Canadian Phenom"
• Entrance themes
  • "Pourquoi?" by Jim Johnston (2008–2011)

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her #9 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2009.
• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Divas Championship (2 times)

External links

• Official website
• WWE Alumni profile
• Maryse Ouellet at the Internet Movie Database