Layla El
| Layla El | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 25, 1978 London, England |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Layla El |
| Billed height | 152 cm (5ft 2in) |
| Billed weight | 52kg (115lb) |
| Debut | 2006 |
Layla El (born on June 25, 1978) is an English professional wrestling diva of Moroccan heritage, currently residing in the United States. She is employed by World Wrestling Entertainment, and appears on its ECW brand. Before joining WWE in 2006, Layla El was a dancer for the National Basketball Association Miami Heat team, and has also danced for Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Diva Search
Layla El first became known in the world of professional wrestling when she tried out for, and eventually won, the $250,000 WWE Diva Search contest in 2006. During the contest she won a week's worth of "immunity" on the July 14 (taped July 11) edition of Friday Night SmackDown when she won Sgt. Slaughter 's "Diva Boot Camp" obstacle course. She is said to have jumped over the tire hop section of the course instead of going through it and to have not had both of her feet cross the finish line due to her doing a split, but she was awarded immunity anyway. She won another competition, the "Diva Search Talent Show", on the August 11 SmackDown!, when she danced dressed as a police officer. She won the entire Diva Search, beating out Jen England in the finals on August 16.
SmackDown!
She made her first "official" WWE appearance at the 2006 SummerSlam in a backstage segment with several other divas, during which they initially taunted and teased her before revealing that "it was all in fun" and part of an "initiation" of sorts. Afterwards they dragged her into the showers, fully clothed, spanking her and laughing.
The week after SummerSlam El made her debut as a member of the SmackDown! brand in an interview with Mike "The Miz" Mizanin -- although he didn't allow her the chance to say much, spending most of the time talking about himself. After this she wasn't seen on WWE TV for weeks, reappearing during the September 22 SmackDown! and getting into confrontations with both Kristal Marshall and Jillian Hall. She again went missing for a number of weeks, resurfacing at October's No Mercy pay-per-view to embarrass The Miz by tricking him into getting a lap dance from Big Dick Johnson -- who was blindfolded and expecting it to be from her, since it was his birthday.
Following No Mercy, El was involved in a series of competitions with Michelle McCool, Ashley Massaro, Jillian Hall and with Kristal Marshall. El made her official in-ring debut, a "Diva Trick-or-Treat Battle Royal". The battle royal ended in controversial fashion when she was pulled from the ring apron by The Miz, causing her to lose. This led to a short teaming of Miz and Marshall in a short feud against Layla, which included a victory over Layla and Vito, on November 3 during SmackDown!.
ECW
On January 23, 2007, after not being used much on SmackDown!, El was moved to the ECW brand. On ECW she joined up with Brooke Adams and Kelly Kelly as Extreme Exposé, performing a weekly dance segment with the group.
Championships and accomplishments
- WWE Diva Search Winner (2006)