Born in Los Angeles, CA, Melina started off her career as a fashion model. Upon encouragement from friends she signed on with the WWE’s reality show “Tough Enough 3.” Shortly thereafter she aligned herself with Johnny Nitro, and the two have been inseparable ever since.

On April 14th, 2005, Mercury, Nitro & Melina made an immediate impact in their SmackDown debut. Claiming to be the hot new team on the scene because of their good looks and the celebrity circles they run in, MNM walked to the ring on a red carpet with paparazzi photographers snapping pictures. Interrupting the very first Carlito’s Cabana, MNM attacked Rey Mysterio. One week later in their first SmackDown Match, Mercury & Nitro defeated Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. A subsequental feud with the team of Hardcore Holly & Charlie Haas helped establish MNM as a force to be reckoned with in the SmackDown Tag Team Division, proving that their WWE Tag Title win was not a fluke.

Melina had a feud of her own with fellow SD! Diva Michelle McCool following a confrontation between her, Heidenreich, Michelle, and several other SD! Divas on the June 16th, 2005 edition of SmackDown. Michelle had had enough of Melina’s holier-than-thou attitude, and after she stopped Melina from interfering in a match, Melina challenged her to a one-on-one bout, which came to be Melina’s first official match in the WWE. Melina came out on top, leaving Michelle in the dust as she moved on from the intense - albeit short - rivalry.

Next on Melina’s list of foes was Torrie Wilson. Following an exchange between the two on SmackDown on July 14th, 2005, insinuating possible jealousy on the part of Melina towards the “Covergirl”, Torrie challenged Melina to a Bra & Panties match at the Great American Bash 2005. Leading up to the match, Melina sought to imtimidate Candice Michelle, Torrie’s friend and the appointed special guest referee for the match. Melina ended up winning the match, sucessfully stripping Torrie to her underwear. In the aftermath of the match, though, Melina got a taste of her own medicine, being doubleteamed by Torrie and Candice and ending up in her underwear as well, running for refuge backstage as the two friends celebrated.

The next SmackDown, Melina introduced Jillian Hall as MNM’s ‘fixer’. Jillian aided Melina in her match with Torrie later in the night, and the self-appointed “Most Dominant Diva” defeated Torrie, victorious in what was a non-Bra-&-Panties GAB rematch. With Torrie out of the way, Melina found frequent use of her new ally, as Jillian helped Melina in confrontations with Sharmell, both at ringside and in a intergender tag team match on the August 18th, 2005 episode of SmackDown, where Melina & Joey Mercury defeated Sharmell & Booker T.

MNM lost their WWE Tag Titles to LOD at the Great American Bash 2005, and after a variety of matches between MNM and the trio of LOD and SD! Diva Christy Hemme - including a 6-man tag match at No Mercy 2005 where LOD & Christy came out on top - MNM finally regained their WWE Tag Titles in a 4-team Tag Title match, defeating the likes of LOD, The Mexicools, and William Regal & Paul Burchill on the October 28th, 2005 edition of SmackDown. Melina’s feud with Christy - which originated from a broken nail of all things - consisted of, aside from the No Mercy 6-man tag, two one-on-one matches, Melina being victorious in both.

On November 14th, 2005, what was known as the “Eddie Guerrero Tribute Night” following the wrestler’s tragic death, Melina overcame several other Divas from both RAW and Smackdown, winning an interpromotional Battle Royal. Abrubtly, it seems, Melina turned her sights onto Trish Stratus - the Women’s Champion and the woman she last eliminated - having two men - donning black masks - abduct Trish from ringside during a tag team match on the November 15th, 2005 RAW. Once backstage, Trish is tied to a chair, her mouth covered with duct tape. The masked men emerge from the shadows, and pull off their masks, revealing them to be Nitro & Mercury. Melina appears from behind them, proceeding to taunt Trish and challenge her to a Women’s Title match at Survivor Series 2005. With the words “Aint that a kick in the head?”, Melina kicks the restrained Women’s Champion in the side of the head, leaving her bound to a toppled chair. In the subsequent match, Trish defeated Melina with the help of Mickie James. This may have been the end of their interaction for the moment, but Women’s Title gold would be calling Melina’s name soon enough..

MNM also went on to have an intense rivalry with Batista & Rey Mysterio. On the December 16th, 2005 edition of SmackDown, Melina tried to seduce Batista to get him to call off a match. Batista took the bait, but then thanked Melina for the warm-up when it was over. That night, Batista & Mysterio defeated MNM to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later, Melina accused Batista of sexual harassment, and announced that she would be suing him. That night, Mark Henry made his return; he attacked Batista during a rematch for the WWE Tag Team Championship, handing MNM their third reign as champions. Henry would later attack Batista again during a Steel Cage Rematch before putting the Animal out of action with an injury.

With Batista out of the way, Melina sold Henry’s contract to Daivari, and MNM was able to concentrate on the WWE Tag Team Championship again. They began issuing an open challenge, offering any team an opportunity to beat them to earn a chance at their gold. Matt Hardy answered, and at No Way Out 2006, he & Tatanka defeated MNM; however, when the gold was on the line the next Friday night on SmackDown, MNM was able to come out on top. MNM later defeated Hardy & old foe Road Warrior Animal in another open challenge before Paul London & Brian Kendrick stepped up to the plate.

The challenge of London & Kendrick ended up being the beginning of the end for MNM. After two months and five straight losses to London & Kendrick - along with the addition of Jillian Hall to be a thorn in Melina’s side - MNM lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to them at Judgment Day 2006. Nitro & Melina blamed the loss on Mercury, attacking him and effectively putting an end to MNM as a tag team unit. To make matters worse, Melina lost her singles match against Jillian in controversial fashion, and Melina and Nitro went to General Manager Theodore Long to protest the decision. When the GM refused to do anything about it, Melina responded by slapping him right across the face. Melina’s actions would not prove to be wise, as Theodore Long fired her and Nitro on the spot, effectively ending the couple’s run on SmackDown.

Nitro and Melina made their RAW debut on May 29th, 2006, but it was an unsuccessful one as Nitro lost to John Cena after tapping out to the STFU. However, Nitro did manage to score his first RAW victory the following week when he defeated Charlie Haas; when Melina ran into the ring and feigned injuring her ankle, Nitro used the distraction to roll Haas up, using a handful of tights to help him get the victory.

On the June 12th, 2006 RAW, Nitro took on Carlito with Shelton Benjamin sitting in on commentary; thanks to Benjamin’s interference, Nitro was able to defeat the Caribbean Superstar with an impressive standing Shooting Star Press. It was later announced that all three men would meet at Vengeance 2006 in a Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship. The following week, Nitro & Benjamin faced Carlito in a Handicap Match; while the two argued during the bout, they held it together long enough for Nitro to pin Carlito once again. At Vengeance 2006, Nitro stole Carlito’s pinfall on Shelton Benjamin to win the Intercontinental Championship. Carlito nailed Benjamin with the back cracker, but the opportunistic Nitro pulled him out of the ring and pinned the champion.

The next night, Nitro and Melina confronted Trish Stratus following her loss to Mickie James. Melina shunned Trish Stratus for her string of losses to the Women’s Champion, claiming this moment to be a “passing of the torch”, as Melina was now the top Diva on RAW. Nitro then moved in to attack Trish. Carlito, however, came out to run them off. The following week, Nitro defended his championship against Carlito who was about to get the pin before Melina jumped in. This caused Carlito to win by disqualification, allowing Nitro to keep the gold. This time it was Trish who came to Carlito’s aid to make sure he wasn’t out numbered. The next week on RAW - July 10th, 2006 - the Divas went at it like they were out for blood. Trish was about to hit Melina with some Stratusfaction, but Nitro caused a distraction at ringside allowing Melina to get a roll-up pin for the win. Carlito ran out before Melina and Nitro could double team Trish. Instead, she and her cool tag team partner doled out double beatings and double drop kicks on their opponents. It all came to a head at the July 15, 2006 Saturday Night’s Main Event in a mixed tag match where Nitro & Melina faced Carlito & Trish. Trish and Melina traded punches outside the ring allowing Carlito to give the unaided Nitro a back cracker and get the pin for the win. Trish joined Carlito in the ring to celebrate their victory while Nitro helped a furious, screaming Melina from the floor and back to the locker-room area.

Next came Nitro and Melina’s association with Mick Foley. Following Foley’s numerous, seemingly out-of-the-blue references to Melina, Nitro and Melina confronted Foley’s nemesis, Ric Flair, on the July 17th, 2006 RAW. They told him that they were friends of Mick, and the rematch Flair wanted was not going to happen. Nitro continued to face Flair in Foley’s place, teaming with Edge the next week to take on Flair & John Cena. Melina stood by Foley’s side as he finally confronted Flair on the July 31st, 2006 RAW, and Nitro took on Ric Flair two weeks later, wrestling to a no contest when Foley interfered and attacked Flair. In a extremely different scenario, on the August 15th, 2006 edition of ECW, Foley announced a “three way dance” between him, Melina, and ECW Diva Kelly Kelly. The three danced, eliciting an attack from Ric Flair, with Flair whipping Foley with his belt and sending him running. At Summerslam 2006 in their “I Quit” match, Foley and Flair did their best to make the other submit. Eventually Melina came to ringside, concerned for Foley’s well-being. When she got too close to the action and Flair was close to hitting her, Foley quit, looking to protect his friend. The next night on RAW, Melina thanked Foley for his concern. Foley was later ordered by Mr. McMahon to join his “Kiss My Ass Club” for what her viewed as disrespect from the Hardcore Legend, and when the time came to pucker up, Melina came to the ring, trying to convince Mick not to do it. Mick made it clear that he was not afraid of being fired. However, Mr. McMahon informed him that it would not be him who would be fired. Rather, it would be Melina. Mick assured her that she was the only person worth doing this for, and that she would be a star for a very long time. Going against Melina’s pleads, Foley kissed McMahon’s ass, much to the Chairman’s delight. Unfortunately for Foley, this humilation was not his last. With his back turned, Foley was low-blowed by Melina, and standing alongside Vince and Shane, she told Mick the he, in the words of Vince, was “FIRED!!” The next week, Nitro and Melina held a press conference to explain Melina’s actions. Their justification was based on their views that Foley was a quitter and a “disgusting old man”. They claimed that Foley had a school boy crush on Melina, and Nitro told Foley to go back to his computer, write on his blog, and watch Nitro’s career go places he could never go.

In the following weeks, Nitro defended his Intercontinental Championship against various opponents, including an Unforgiven 2006 match against Jeff Hardy, a six-pack challenge, and a match against the Big Red Machine Kane. Nitro’s luck finally ran out when he lost his title to Jeff Hardy on the October 2nd, 2006 edition of RAW. From there, Melina looked upon herself to provide the “gold” in the couple’s wardrobe.

A tournament for the Women’s Championship, recently vacated by the retiring Trish Stratus, began on the September 25th, 2006 RAW, and in its third bout two weeks later, Melina took on Torrie Wilson in a “lumberjill” match, featuring the Divas who took part in the Extreme Strip Poker segment. Melina deafeated Torrie with a roll-up, thanks to some distraction from Kristal. In the semifinals on October 23rd, 2006, Melina took on former Women’s Champion Mickie James, and succumbed to Mickie’s signature DDT, thus eliminated from the tournament, while Mickie advanced to the finals at Cyber Sunday 2006, where Melina served as a Lumberjill in the stipulation the fans voted for.

On the October 16th, 2006 edition of RAW, Nitro and Melina promised to introduce an exciting special guest to the crowd that night. When in the ring, they brought out Kevin Federline, hailing him as a “A-list actor, rapper, and close friend”. When John Cena came out to confront Federline and challenge him to a rap battle, Nitro defended him, but ended up being disposed by the WWE Champ. The next week, Nitro took on Cena with K-Fed and Melina in his corner. Federline tried to help Nitro out, at one point slapping Cena across the face. It was for nothing, however, as Nitro was pinned by the Champ, falling prey to the Five Knuckle Shuffle and the FU. After K-Fed attacked Cena in his match at Cyber Sunday 2006, he challenged the WWE Champion to a match on the New Year’s Day edition of RAW, set to take place in Miami, FL. Nitro faced Cena on the December 11th, 2006 RAW, after predicting earlier in the night that Federline would “bitchify” him in their upcoming match.

Meanwhile, a surprise was on the horizon. On the November 27th, 2006 RAW, Nitro and Melina shocked many when they showed up backstage with former MNM member Joey Mercury, accepting a challenge for a match against The Hardys at December to Dismember 2006. This reunion was tagged with the label of “one night only”, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case. The night following the PPV match in which Matt and Jeff were victorious, MNM competed against them in a 8-man tag team match, teaming with Rated RKO to take on them and DX. Nitro, Mercury, Edge & Orton won the match, thanks to a spear by Edge. In a surprise move, MNM teamed up once again at Armageddon 2006 when a scheduled ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Titles was expanded to a four-way match, with the inclusion of The Hardys and MNM. MNM did not emerge as winners, but a much more memorable and frightening occurence stuck in the minds of the viewers. During the course of the match, Joey Mercury took a shot to the face from the corner of a ladder, lacerating his face. His nose poured blood and his eyes swelled shut, providing a frightening image for the fans. Thankfully, Joey came out of it okay, earning a large amount stitches for his troubles. In Joey’s absence, Nitro finished the match, and nearly won it for his team, coming up short when he was taken out with a sunset flip off the ladder. This was not the last of MNM, but with Joey’s gruesome injury, it would be a bit of time before the trio would reunite.

When the January 1st, 2007 RAW rolled around, it was finally time for the recently divorced “Mr. Britney Spears” to take on John Cena. With Nitro’s help, “Fed Ex” - as he was being called - defeated Cena, and the duo celebrated in style in the locker room. Later in the night, a 4-on-1 handicap match made by Coach played out as the main event, with Nitro teaming with Umaga, Armando Alejandro Estrada, and Coach against Cena. The tandem were victorious, but Cena had the last laugh, FUing both Nitro and K-Fed, who was ringside.

At New Year’s Revolution 2007, following an unsucessful IC title match for Nitro, Melina was confronted backstage by Victoria, who at the point was mowing her way through the women’s division. She told Melina that if she helped her defeat Mickie James in her Women’s Title match that night, she would recieve the first title shot. Her interference was unsucessful. The next night, the duo teamed up against and defeated Mickie James & Maria. Melina kept her sights on Maria, and in an intergender tag match on the January 15th, 2007 RAW, she and Nitro were defeated by Maria and Jeff Hardy. The next RAW, however, Melina teamed back up with Victoria, taking on the team of Candice Michelle and Mickie James. The two were not victorious, but a partnership between the two was cultivated that would last quite some time.

On that same night, Joey Mercury returned to RAW in a match against Jeff Hardy, which was billed as a “RAW vs. SD” match. Sporting a black face mask, Joey, accompanied by Nitro and Melina, lost to Hardy, quite vulnerable to the shots her recieved to his face. On SmackDown the week before, Mercury had lost to Matt Hardy, and Nitro and Melina came to his aid, beating down the eldest Hardy. This led to a match being made between the two teams at the Royal Rumble 2007. That following Sunday, The Hardys beat MNM in a lengthy match, and Nitro survived quite a while later in the Rumble match.

The next night, Melina took advantage of a chance at the number one contendership to the Women’s Title, defeating Maria in a relatively quick match. She cashed in the title shot the next week, immediately following the Nitro/Super Crazy match, where Mickie was also ringside. Their match started directly after Super Crazy beat Nitro, and Melina didn’t fare much better than her counterpart. She lost to Mickie, and in her fury following her loss, the paparazzi surrounded her, taking pictures of her in what seemed to be a good photo op. Nitro attempted to block their view, shooing them away as Melina screamed in a fit of rage. The two sought revenge on Super Crazy and Mickie, facing them in an intergender tag match the following week on the February 15th, 2007 RAW. They picked up the win in what featured some firey exchanges between the two Divas, showing how intense their feud would soon become. The next RAW, on February 19th, 2007, Melina and Mickie faced off in a match for the Women’s Championship. After blocking a hurricanrana, Melina rolled up Mickie, using the ropes for leverage to gain the three count and the Women’s Title. Melina celebrated, letting her emotions show as she left the ring, hoisting the title belt high.

The next week, Melina spoke of her frustrations to Nitro, complaining about all the attention Ashley Massaro had been recieving in posing for Playboy, believing that she should have all the attention from her Women’s Championship win. Also on her list of gripes was the fact that she had to face Mickie the following week in a “Falls Count Anywhere” match. But before that could come, Melina had to face Maria in a non-title match. Towards the end of the match, Maria went for a Bronco Buster, which Melina blocked. She then rolled Maria up, scoring the win. On the March 5th, 2007 RAW, Melina and Mickie battled inside and outside the ring, fighting all the way back to the Divas’ locker room. There, Candice, Torrie, Maria, and Victoria all got involved, most of the girls siding with Mickie while Victoria looked to aid Melina. When they finally made it back to the ring, the two Divas battled each other on the top rope, neither willing to let the other knock them off. When Mickie looked to take Melina down with a Frankensteiner, Melina blocked the move, sending Mickie down on the top of her head. Melina then made the quick pin, retaining the Women’s Title. Following the match, Melina confronted Ashley Massaro, who had served as ring announcer. Melina got in Ashley’s face, and the Playboy covergirl shoved Melina to the ground, heading off the tend to Mickie.

The following SmackDown, on March 9th, 2007, Melina and Ashley appeared on the first edition of MizTV. The two traded insults, with Ashley being proud of showing off her body in Playboy, while Melina claimed her body to be scared, only to be seen by Nitro. Following more back-and-forth, Ashley demanded a Women’s Title match at Wrestlemania 23. Melina accepted the challenge and blindsided Ashley, only to be taken down by her adversary and chased away. On the March 12th, 2007 edition of RAW, Melina faced Torrie Wilson in a non-title match. Melina pinned Torrie with a roll-up, and after the match, Mickie attacked her. Victoria came to Melina’s aid, only to be disposed of by Mickie. Ashley then came to the ring, getting a few shots in on Melina as well. Meanwhile, on several SmackDown!s, MNM took on Paul London & Brian Kendrick in numerous matches, with Melina and Ashley cheering on their teams, and getting into a few scraps along the way.

Next Monday, Melina ran into Candice Michelle backstage, who remarked that Melina had been doing a lot of bashing of Playboy covergirls in her WWE.com blog. Melina countered with the accusation that Candice wasn’t good at anything aside from taking her clothes off. Candice then insulted Melina in the same fashion, challenging her to a non-title Bra & Panties match. In the match that followed, Melina defeated Candice, removing the last of Candice’s clothes following a bulldog. Having lost only her skirt, Melina stood victorious, but was soon attacked by Ashley, who stripped Melina down, humiliating the Women’s Champion. On the March 23rd, 2007 SmackDown, Ashley and Melina let their tag teams do the talking, and MNM took on London & Kendrick in a WWE Tag Team Title match, looking to win back the Titles from the very team who took them. MNM enlisted the help of Melina, and she obliged, grabbing London’s leg as he climbed the turnbuckle. Ashley put a stop to this, smashing Melina’s face into the apron and allowing London to take down Mercury for the pin with a crossbody.

The next RAW, on March 26th, 2007, Melina and Ashley’s upcoming WrestleMania bout was changed to a Lumberjill match, with Divas from all three brands standing at ringside. That night, three Playboy covergirls - Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, & Ashley Massaro - took on the team of Victoria, Jillian Hall, & Melina. Ashley won the match for her team, pinning Jillian with a victory roll. The following SmackDown, it came down to the wire, as WrestleMania was only a few days away. Another tag team match took place, with Melina, Jillian Hall, Kristal Marshall, Victoria, & Michelle McCool going up against Ashley, Maria, Candice, Torrie Wilson, & Mickie James. Once again, Ashley got the win for her team. Leading into the big Women’s Championship match, it seemed that Ashley had the upper hand..

Finally, WrestleMania 23 arrived. With all of the brands represented at ringside, Melina and Ashley finally faced off one-on-one. After Ashley started off with the upper hand, Melina tried to escape the ring, but we thrown back in by her adversaries standing by. Momentum shifted back and forth, until Melina rolled out of the way of a “Star Struck” attempt by Ashley. Whe n the Playboy covergirl attempted to roll up Melina, she reversed it, applying a roll up of her own and getting the win, successfully retaining her Women’s Title.

The next night on RAW, Melina made her way to the ring, greeting music superstar Timbaland, who was seated at ringside and was scouting for WWE Divas to appear in his next music video. On the microphone, Melina told him that she was looking forward to appearing in the video, and then bragged about proving the previous night that Ashley was nothing more than a pretty face. At that point, she encouraged the paparazzi surrounding the ring to take pictures of her as she posed with her championship belt. Distracted by this task, Melina didn’t notice Mickie James storm into the ring, and was caught by surprise when her old foe attacked her, planting her with the Mickie T. Mickie stood victorious over Melina, who appeared to be out cold, as the paparazzi proceeded to snap pictures of the scene. Next week, on the April 9th, 2007 RAW, Melina sought revenge, teaming up with Victoria against Mickie and Candice Michelle. Mickie and Melina started off the match, eager to do battle against one another. However, after some doubleteaming on Melina and Victoria’s part, their control over the match unraveled. Following a spinning heel kick by Candice on Melina, Mickie hit her spike DDT on Victoria and pinned her to win the match.

A Diva Fashion Show in Milan, Italy took place on the April 16th, 2007 RAW. Melina, Mickie, Victoria, Torrie, Maria, & Candice showed off their most fashionable ensembles, looking to garner the best fan reaction and thus win the contest. Torrie was announced as the winner, but Melina would have none of that. She pitched a fit, attacking Torrie. Mickie came to the Diva’s aid, taking out Melina pretty handidly, making for three weeks in a row of Mickie getting the best of Melina. It was announced that Mickie would face Melina for the Women’s Championship at Backlash, the formerly “Psycho Diva” looking to win back the title Melina took from her mere months before. The RAW before that, however, Melina displayed that she was deserving of holding the belt, quickly defeating Maria in a rather one-sided bout.

At Backlash 2007, Mickie and Melina put on a rather lengthy match. The two started out with a series of hammerlocks, moving into a headscissors counter by Mickie. Melina soon feigned injury, claiming that something was wrong with her eye. The referee attended to her, and as Mickie was temporarily distracted, Melina nailed her with a forearm, taking control. Mickie then takes Melina down with a monkey flip, and looks to gain momentum in the match, climbing the turnbuckle. Melina take advantage of the pause by Mickie, pushing her off the ropes and out of the ring, making for a rough landing. The match continues with various submissions holds applied by Melina, looking to make Mickie submit. Mickie never does, however, and counter with a series of punches, and attempts a kick, which Melina counters, grabbing her leg and sending her down in a split position. On the mat, Mickie does the same, catching Melina’s kick and forcing her into a split. The two trade punches in this position until Mickie nails Melina in the face with a dropkick. Mickie gains control of the match, hitting a series of moves and gaining near a series of two counts. Following a corssbody and failed pin attempt, Mickie is kicked in the face by Melina, and is taken down with a reverse DDT. This proves to do the trick, and Melina gets the three count, victorious and still the Women’s Champion.

The next night on the April 20th, 2007 RAW, Mickie got a form of retribution when she and Candice defeated Victoria & Melina in a tag team bout. However, Melina was still champion, and was dead set on staying that way. The next week, an exact duplicate of that match takes place, with the same outcome as before, as Melina is pinned by Candice after being blindsided by her spinning heel kick. With this, Melina sights seemed to turn to Candice. The following week, Melina stood at ringside, watching as Candice successfully defeated Victoria. On the May 21st, 2007 RAW, it was Melina’s turn to take on Candice one-on-one, and much to her surprise, was defeated by the less experienced Diva. Memorial Day was the subject of the next RAW, and Melina, along with Kelly Kelly, Brooke, Layla, Candice Michelle, Mickie James, Maria, Jillian Hall, Michelle McCool, & Kristal Marshall took part in the Memorial Day Bikini Battle Royal. Naturally, all of the Divas were clad in their best bikinis, and used weapons such as water baloons, water guns, and various beach toys. It was far from a techincal match, but nevertheless, the bout went on until only Melina and Michelle McCool were left. Melina seemed to have control, putting quite a beating on Michelle. When she tries to dump her out of the ring, however, Michelle counters it, sending Melina out of the ring with a dropkick to win the Battle Royal.

At One Night Stand 2007, Melina and Candice competed in a rather unique match, wrestling in a pool of pudding. Battling in and out of the substance, Melina - sporting swimming goggles - managed to keep Candice at bay with fist drops and headlocks. Candice, however, wins the match after dunking Melina repeatedly in the pudding, forcing her to tap out out of fear of drowning. On the June 4th, 2007 RAW, the two Divas took part in a Six-Man Intergender tag match, with Candice teaming up with Cryme Tyme, while Melina paired up with Nitro and Kenny. It wasn’t long before the match erupted, and a brawl broke out between both teams. Shad lifted up Candice, and tossed her onto Melina, taking her out of the equation and leaving Nitro to be doubleteamed for the pin and the win.

At Vengeance 2007, Candice finally recieved a shot at Melina’s title. Melina kept control over Candice for much of the match, seemingly going to reverse the many losses she’d suffered against Candice in past weeks. Candice, however, following many near falls, picks up the win with her spinning heel kick, pinning Melina and becoming the new Women’s Champion. An emotional Candice celebrated, while a disbelieving Melina fumed. Two weeks later, following a tri-brand Draft, Melina and the newly-drafted Jillian teamed up to face Candice and Mickie James. Jillian proved to be a pleaseant addition for Melina, and the team was successful in their first team outing. Melina pinned Mickie following the unveiling of an impressive new finisher, taking her down with a split-legged manuever to the throat. The same match was scheduled to take place on the July 9th, 2007 edition of RAW, but as Melina and Jillian made their entrance, it was apparent that Melina was not going to wrestle that night. Not dressed in her gear and walking with a considerable limp, Melina announced that she would invoke her rematch clause against Candice and face for the the Women’s Title at the Great American Bash. She also announced that she had a replacement - the newly returning Beth Phoenix! Melina followed the duo of Beth and Jillian to the ring, standing ringside for the bout. Unfortunately, Jillian succumbed to a backslide pin by Candice. Melina, furious at this, contributed to a triple team on Candice. While Beth and Jillian held her, Melina took her down with a seated senton, leapfrogging over Jillian. The three continued their beatdown, but were soon chased out of the ring by Mickie.

The next week, Melina and Mickie faced off, with Beth and Candice at ringside. Melina is intially distracted by Candice, but soon takes control and locks Mickie in a chinlock. Mickie fights back, and hits a hurricanrana, but is distracted by Beth. She hits her with a dropkick to the outside, but with her preoccupied, Melina attacks and hits her split-leg finisher for the win. The Great American Bash 2007 followed, and Melina looked to win back the Women’s Championship from Candice. In a competitive match, Melina and Candice pulled out all the stops, going move for move until Candice hit a string of offense on Melina, landing subsequent clotheslines, a dropkick, and a crossbody, all unable to pin Melina. Melina then hit a split-legged neckbreaker, but that too was unable to win the match. Candice counters, but misses her spinning heel kick. She does hit a jawbreaker and lays out Melina with her new move - The Candy Wrapper - smashing Melina’s face on the mat. This was enough for the win, and Candice retained her championship. On the July 23rd, 2007 RAW, Melina & Beth teamed up for the first time in a match against Mickie & Maria. Maria’s beau, Santino Marella, was ringside doing commentary. Following some cheating by Beth & Melina, Santino seemed to have enough, tripping them up and allowing Maria to take Melina out with a bulldog and pin her for the win. In a Six-Diva tag match the next week, Melina, Beth, & Jillian faced Candice, Mickie, & Maria. The trio proved to be a formidable one, teaming up on their opponents several times and using their partnership to their advantage. Admist a melee between the six Divas, the referee’s distraction allowed Jillian and Melina to double-team Maria, planting her with a modified version of Melina’s facebuster for the pin and the victory.

The following RAW, on August 6th, 2007, Mr. McMahon started his search for his illegitimate child, and Melina was soon added to his list of suspects. At the August 18th, 2007 Saturday Night’s Main Event, the Coach introduced Melina as Vince’s possible daughter. Both he and Melina refused to believe this, as it was implied that the two had an intimate encounter on the previous 4th of July. Melina told Mr. McMahon that if she was his daughter, she’d take him for all he was worth. The following RAW, Melina & Beth lost to the team of Mickie & Candice, and before the match, RAW GM William Regal announced an interpromotional Divas Battle Royal for the #1 Contendership to the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Later in the night, upon hearing that his child was in fact a male, Vince spoke with Melina, inquiring about her angry comments towards him, and possibly hinting towards them having some sort of affair now that he was sure that they weren’t of blood relation. Nothing has come of this yet, but it’s too soon to tell if Melina will play a further role in this McMahon family-filled storyline, given that she has been phased out of the Women’s Championship feud for the time being, following the SummerSlam 2007 Divas Battle Royal, where Beth Phoenix won the shot at Women’s Championship and seemed to be poised as Candice’s next opponent.

Next, Melina took a step in the direction of a possible McMahon family feud. On the September 3rd, 2007 edition of RAW, Melina spoke with RAW GM William Regal about her aforementioned “meeting” with Mr. McMahon, eliciting disgusted looks from Regal as she whispered details into his ear. When she turned around, none other than Stephanie McMahon was standing behind her. She raised her hand to slap Melina, but stopped, prompting Melina to turn around, this time faced with Linda McMahon. She attempted to apologize to her, but only got a slap in the face for her troubles. While the McMahons moved on, finding the identity of Vince’s illegitatimate child - the leprechaun Hornswoggle - Melina returned to Diva action, teaming up with Jillian Hall to take of the team of Mickie James and Candice Michelle on the September 17th, 2007 RAW. While #1 contender Beth Phoenix looked on, the Women’s Champion and Mickie James defeated Melina and Jillian, the “songstress” getting pinned following an uprettier by Candice.

The following RAW, on September 24th, 2007, Vince McMahon, in an effort to get closer to his “son”, presented Hornswoggle with a Diva who had an interest in him. Melina appeared, telling him how cute she thought he was. He pounced on her, and when he was finally put under control, she left the ring with him, hand-in-hand. Later that night, Melina spoke to Jillian Hall backstage, admitting that she lied to Hornswoggle and that it was all apart of the deal made with Jonathan Coachman, who promised her a Women’s Title shot for her torubles. With that, she went to shower off the “stink” Hornswoggle left on her. Whilst in that shower, Hornswoggle showed up, sneaking a peek. When Melina realized he was there, she screameed, and was chased by him through the backstage area in her towel. The next week, on the October 1st, 2007 RAW, Melina warmed up for her future Women’s Title shot, taking on Mickie James. Mickie rolled up Melina for the win when she was distracted, spying Hornswoggle under the ring apron. Following her loss, Melina chased him under the ring. Hornswoggle emerged first, brandishing Melina’s tights. Melina screamed at him from behind the ring apron, and he ran off, leaving her high and dry. The next week, Melina teamed up with Jillian Hall & newly crowned Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix to take on Mickie James, Candice Michelle, & Maria. Melina’s team was defeated, but in one positive note, Hornswoggle was not present to cause more humiliation for Melina.

The night after Beth defeated Candice for the Women’s Title at Unforgiven 2007, she, Melina, & Jillian were defeated by Candice, Mickie, & Maria. The following week on Heat, Melina and Mickie faced off in a lenghty, competitive match. Mickie defeated Melina with the Mickie T. Continuing their feud on the October 22nd, 2007 edition of RAW, Melina teamed up with Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch to take on Mickie James, Paul London, & Brian Kendrick. Melina’s team lost after Murdoch took a blow for Mickie James. The night after Cyber Sunday 2007’s Halloween Costume Contest, in which Mickie James won the fans’ vote, the Divas took part in a Halloween Battle Royal. Eventually, Melina and Mickie met up, fighting each other on the apron. They struggled to hold on, trading blows, until Melina had had enough, eliminating both Mickie and herself by planting Mickie outside of the ring with a spinning facebuster.

Melina and Mickie continued their rivalry on the November 9th, 2007 edition of Heat, facing each other one-on-one. The match was just as competitive as their last, and came to an upbrupt end when Mickie laid the “kiss of death” on Melina and knocked her out cold with a roundhouse kick. They competed against one another again on the following RAW when Melina teamed up with Jillian Hall & Layla to take on Mickie, Michelle McCool, & Kelly Kelly. Mickie got the win for her team in the same manner she defeated Melina on Heat when she laid out Layla with a roundhouse kick. The following night, on the November 13th, 2007 edition of ECW, Melina teamed up with Layla again in a match against Michelle McCool & Kelly Kelly. Michelle pinned Melina for the win after a rough shoulder kick.

In a 10 diva tag match at Survivor Series 2007, Melina took the loss for her team, taking a roundhouse kick from Mickie. The following night on RAW, Melina teamed up with Jillian Hall to take on Mickei James and Maria. Jillian fell to the same fate as Melina did the night before, getting pinned following Mickie’s roundhouse kick. The next week, Melina faced Mickie in a #1 Contendership match, with Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix at ringside. After a few minutes, Mickie pinned Melina following the Mickie T, becoming the new #1 Contender. On the December 3rd, 2007 edition of RAW, Melina teamed up with Beth, defeating the team of Mickie James & Maria. The next week, Melina skipped the in ring action to help interrupt a McMahon family photo. Triple H brought her out as part of a group of McMahon’s “love interests”, alongside Sunny, Mae Young, and many other interesting selections.

The annual “Santa’s Little Helpers” match took place the following week, and Melina’s team, consisting of Victoria, Jillian, & Layla were defeated by Mickie, Michelle, Maria, & Kelly. Two weeks later, on New Year’s Eve, Melina had her first shot at the Women’s Title in quite a while, competing in a triple threat match with Mickie James and Beth Phoenix. Beth came out victorious, retaining her title. The next week, the wrestling was much less highlighted as Melina, Jillian, Mickie, Maria, and the newly returned Ashley competed in a Lingerie Pillow Fight as part of the RAW Roulette stipulations. Ashley came out victorious, pinning Jillian with some help from Mickie and Maria. The next week, on the January 14th, 2008 edition of RAW, it was back to traditional wrestling when Melina, Jillian, & Beth took on Mickie, Maria, & Ashley. Beth pinned Mickie, and the heel team stood victorious.

Melina seemed to be heading into another Playboy-themed rivalry, and in an unaired segment during the January 21st, 2008 RAW, Melina and Jillian confronted Ashley about Playboy rumors concerning Maria. The next week, Melina faced Maria one-on-one. Maria reversed a pin attempt by Melina, sitting on Melina and getting the pin and the win. Two weeks later, on the February 11th, 2008 RAW, Melina faced Maria again. With Jillian at ringside, Melina scored the pin on Maria, rolling her up as she was distracted by Jillian laying a kiss on Santino. Melina wasn’t so lucky on the following week’s Heat on February 22nd, 2008. She took on Mickie James, and after an intense, back-and-forth match, Mickie hit the Mickie T and scored the victory over her arch rival.

That Monday, A WrestleMania 24 match was announced. “BunnyMania”, as it would be known, would pit Melina & Beth Phoenix against current & former Playboy covergirls Maria and Candice Michelle. In an unaired video posted on WWE.com, Melina confronted Candice, insulting her and getting a slap across the face for her troubles. A week later in a similar WWE.com video, Melina and beth were seen discussing WrestleMania when Santino, Maria’s ex, showed up, claiming to have a plan for the two of them. On a Heat later that week on March 7th, 2008, Mickie and Melina had a rematch with Beth Phoenix in Melina’s corner. With some distraction by Beth, Melina hit Mickie with her finisher and pinned her. Following the match, the duo looked to send a message to their WrestleMania opponents, picking up Mickie and decimating her with the Doomsday Device. That following Monday on RAW, March 10th, 2008, Melina took on Maria in watch she dubbed a “WrestleMania pre-match”. Santino came to ringside late in the match, distracting Maria enough for Melina to hit her finisher and score the win. Beth took out Candice, who was also at ringside, and the three celebrated together.

On the next week’s Heat, March 21st, 2008, Melina once again faced Mickie. As before, Beth played an integral part, distracting Mickie so that Melina could roll her up for the pin. Going into the last week before WrestleMania, Melina and Beth proved to be a formidable duo. The following Monday, it was announced that due to Candice aggravating her collarbone injury, Ashley Massaro would take her place in the match. She made her presence felt when she interrupted Melina’s match against Maria, which soon morphed into a 6-man intergender tag team match with the addition of Santino Marella and Jerry Lawler. Santino pinned Maria to get the win for his team and he, Melina, and Beth celebrated, triumphant going into WrestleMania 24.

WrestleMania 24 soon came, BunnyMania arriving with it. Melina & Beth showed a measure of dominance over Ashley & Maria and eventually defeated the Playboy covergirls with some help from Santino. The duo left victorious as Santino was met with a clothesline from “Master of Ceremonies” Snoop Dogg. The next night on RAW, Santino was to go one-on-one with Maria, claiming that he had to teach her a lesson. He said that the Divas weren’t worthy of performing at WrestleMania, or at all for that matter. Just as the match began several Divas, including Melina, stormed the ring, attacking Santino and allowing Maria to pin him for the win.

On the next week’s RAW, April 7th, 2008, Melina reunited with Jillian Hall, teaming with her to take on Mickie James & Ashley Massaro. Mickie pinned Melina after a competitive exchange near the end which saw Mickie planting Melina with the Mickie T. On the following week’s Heat, Melina and Jillian Hall took on Maria & Ashley Massaro in a “BunnyMania” rematch of sorts, and just like its predecessor, this match ended with Melina’s team on top after she pinned Maria with her inverted leg drop. On the next RAW, on April 21st, 2008, the face and heel Divas had a face-off, with Beth Phoenix and newly-crowned Women’s Champion Mickie James leading the groups. Words were exchanged, and soon the Divas broke out into a brawl, with the face Divas clearing house.

A match was made for that Sunday’s Backlash, with Team Mickie taking on Team Beth in a 12-Diva Tag Team match. Team Beth came out on top after Beth pinned Ashley. The next night on RAW in a rematch, Team Mickie was victorious, as Mickie pinned Jillian. The next week, on the May 5th, 2008 RAW, Mickie and Beth faced off in a Women’s Title Lumberjill match, with their respective Backlash teammates surrounding the ring. Towards the end of the match, Melina attempted to hit Mickie with her Women’s Championship belt, but accidently hit Beth instead, costing her the match. Following the match, Beth appeared to be very unpleased with an apologetic Melina. The following Monday, Melina & Beth attempted to put this behind them, teaming up against Mickie James & Maria. Soon, though, a miscommunication angered Beth and she left ringside, leaving Melina high and dry as she was pinned by Mickie. Backstage, Melina questioned Beth on her actions, and the two soon broke out into a fight, with Beth getting the upper hand before referees tore them apart. Later, a Triple Threat match for the Women’s Title was announced - Mickie James would defend her Women’s Title against Melina and Beth Phoenix. The action came to a head at Judgment Day 2008. In a hard-fought, impressive match, Mickie pinned Melina to retain her title.

The next night on the May 19th, 2008 RAW, Melina joined the commentary team, watching as Beth took on Maria. Beth defeated Maria handedly, and stared at Melina briefly before leaving. Melina chased after her, attacking her on the ramp before Beth tossed her off, slamming her onto the ramp and leaving with a smile on her face. On the next week’s RAW it was announced that Melina and Beth would compete in an “I Quit” match at that Sunday’s One Night stand PPV. Melina took on friend Jillian Hall, who sided with Beth, and defeated her with the California Dreams submission hold as Beth watched on from the commentary desk. At One Night Stand, Melina put up a valiant effort, but ultimately submitted to Beth via a painful submission hold.

On RAW, Melina looked for revenge as she teamed with former foe and unexpected partner Mickie James to take on Beth Phoenix & Katie Lea. Melina had her sights set on Beth, and tore at her when given the opportunity, only to be slammed to the ground, furthering the pain in her back. Mickie was eventually pinned by Katie Lea following some interference by Beth. Next week, on the June 9th, 2008 RAW, Beth was defeated by Mickie James, and Melina attacked Beth after the match. She hit a face plant from the top turnbuckle, leaving Beth lying. On the next RAW, Melina took a week off from her feud with Beth to compete in a “Summertime Beach Bikini” contest. She was not victorious, but still obtained plenty of fan appreciation. On the June 23rd, 2008 RAW, Melina & Mickie teamed up again, facing SmackDown duo Victoria & Natalya. Victoria tossed Melina to the outside and Melina landed on her ankle, stopping the match and ending it in a double disqualification. Melina required referee assistance to leave ringside, and was later seen receiving medical assistance.