Coming from a background of cheerleading, gymnastics, and modeling, Kelly Kelly started her pro wrestling career in 2006, debuting in WWE’s revival of ECW before moving over to the main rosters of Raw and SmackDown. Before long, Kelly Kelly would become a star of the Divas Division, as it was called at the time, becoming a one-time WWE Divas Champion before stepping away from pro wrestling in 2012.
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During that six-year period, Kelly Kelly had gone through a few iterations over the course of her brief career, including an “exhibitionist,” a vanilla babyface champion, and a member of a dance troupe indebted to The Miz. So let’s take a look at each version of Kelly Kelly, starting with the worst one.
6 ECW Singles Star
After her aforementioned dance troupe Extreme Exposé disbanded, Kelly Kelly ended up going solo thanks to a feud with her former Exposé partner Layla, who had turned heel on her. While the ECW revival was a mixed bag that had its moments, this run was not one of them. The problem here was that the lack of an ECW Women’s Championship meant that there was nothing for the two women to do after they settled their grudges. While a feud gave Kelly Kelly some direction, no matter what happened the direction here would have to be “go to Raw or SmackDown.”
5 Exhibitionist
This may not have much value considering how WWE’s ECW was received, but Kelly Kelly is technically an ECW Original, having made her debut on the very first episode of the revival program. She was introduced to fans as an “exhibitionist,” meaning that she would do a provocative striptease dance at the top of the entrance ramp. But Kelly was pretty much just a prop to get Mike Knox over as a heel, as he played the controlling boyfriend who would interrupt the dances by throwing a towel on her and forcing her to be his valet so he could keep an eye on her.
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Overall, their dynamic was a throwback to the Randy Savage/Miss Elizabeth relationship, as Kelly was considered a face and her abusive boyfriend was a heel. Her big storyline during this era involved backstage flirtations with CM Punk that made Knox jealous, but Knox was such a failure as a heel that his big betrayal involved abandoning her during a mixed tag team match.
4 WWE Legend
Kelly Kelly retired at the age of 25, so whenever she makes appearances in modern WWE as a “legend,” it’s always a bit of cognitive dissonance, as this woman in her 30s is hanging out with aging retirees like Ron Simmons. But her youth means she can still perform, as evidenced by her appearances in the 2018 Royal Rumble, the Evolution battle royal, and the 2020 Royal Rumble, not to mention her winning the 24/7 Title in 2019. While Kelly Kelly was never considered a particularly gifted in-ring competitor, it’s nice to see WWE value enough for a nostalgia appearance even if it is simultaneously frustrating how quickly many performers of the Divas Era were put out to pasture after a handful of years.
3 Extreme Exposé
After taking time to cool off after that searing Mike Knox storyline, Kelly Kelly returned as a part of Extreme Exposé, a trio of dancers that included Layla and Brooke. Less provocative than Kelly’s solo act, Extreme Exposé basically functioned as ECW’s version of the Nitro Girls, but with more of a plot function.
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Somehow it was revealed that The Miz owned their contracts, so they worked as his valets in addition to dancing in the ring. This led to a feud between Miz and Balls Mahoney as the latter began fostering a romance with Kelly Kelly. While that’s pretty goofy considering the physical mismatch as well as the age gap, it was one of the more oddly charming examples of that common storyline where a hot person is in love with a weird-looking monster. This run would end, however, with the release of Brooke, forcing Extreme Exposé to disband.
2 Main Roster Kelly Kelly
Kelly Kelly would move from ECW to Raw in 2008, where she’d enter feuds with Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall, as well as unsuccessfully challenge Maryse for the Divas Title. After a couple of years, she’d move on to SmackDown, where she’d feud with LayCool and align with Edge in a feud against Vickie Guerrero. While this era would see Kelly Kelly fail to gain traction as far as title runs or anything tangible like that, it did show Kelly as a rising babyface, leading to her becoming the top star of the division.
1 Divas Champion
In 2011, Kelly Kelly went from SmackDown back to Raw, where she’d get a pretty strong push thanks to a feud with the Bella Twins, and her subsequent victory over Brie Bella would not only earn her the Divas Championship but also a Slammy later that year. From there, Kelly Kelly would feud with Beth Phoenix and even take her and Eve Torres in a WrestleMania XXVIII match alongside Maria Menounos. This run would give Kelly Kelly her widest exposure and brightest spotlight of her career but would also prove shockingly short as she’d get released from WWE in 2012 in order to deal with some injuries.
