Eva Marie
Natalie Eva Marie Nelson is an American media personality, professional wrestler, model, actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her tenures in WWE from 2013–2017 and 2020–2021, where she performed under the ring name Eva Marie.
In 2013, she signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to begin her training. In July 2013, she made her main roster debut and became the manager of The Bella Twins later that month. She also began starring in WWE's reality television series Total Divas as part of the main cast. In mid-2015, she started to wrestle on WWE's developmental brand, NXT. In April 2016, Marie returned to the main roster, officially becoming a part of the SmackDown brand in July 2016. She left WWE in August 2017. That same year, Marie made her film debut in Inconceivable. The following years saw her taking on several other projects, which included appearances in multiple television shows and launching a fitness program, in addition to a fashion line, under her NEM brand. After signing a new contract with WWE in late 2020, Marie returned to the promotion in June 2021 on the Raw brand. In November, it was reported she had been released during a mass layoff, just as she had been written off TV to resume and focus on her acting career, similarly to her previous exit from the company.
Early life
Natalie Eva Marie Nelson was born in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Walnut Creek, California, the youngest child of Barry and Josie Nelson. Her mother is Mexican, while her father is Italian. She has three older brothers and was raised in Concord, California. She wanted to become a professional soccer player, although her plans were put on hold when she suffered an ankle injury in her senior year of high school in 2002. Eva Marie, who played as a striker, recovered and continued playing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, where she received her associate degree in art.She received Junior College All-American honors and transferred to Arizona State University, although a lack of self-confidence led her to stop playing. She transferred to California State University, Fullerton where the soccer coach persuaded her to play again. However, her National Collegiate Athletic Association eligibility had expired due to their "five-year clock" rule. Eva Marie later said that "I wouldn't have run into that problem if I just believed in myself from the start. Now that I'm older, I know it's so much better to have tried and maybe you fail, then to have never tried at all." She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in business management and a minor in human resource and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in modeling, acting and promotional work.
Professional wrestling career
WWE
Main roster (2013–2015)
Eva Marie has said that she came across a casting call for WWE "by chance" and, after impressing talent scouts, won a four-week tryout. She then signed a developmental contract and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, to begin her training. In May 2013, she joined WWE and E!'s new reality show entitled Total Divas, that would show behind-the-scenes footage of select WWE Divas and a look into their personal lives. She was also promoted to the main roster, having had just two weeks of formal training, which Eva Marie called a "whirlwind experience" which "changed my life immediately." She dyed her natural brown hair bright red and adopted her ring name. Eva Marie made her main roster debut on the July 1 episode of Raw, in a backstage segment along with her fellow Total Divas co-stars. Eva Marie accompanied Natalya to the ring on the July 4 episode of Superstars, where she defeated Naomi.Eva Marie, along with the cast of Total Divas appeared on MizTV on the July 22 episode of Raw, where she slapped Jerry Lawler, claiming to make a name for herself and establishing herself as a heel in the process. Upon the debut of Total Divas program in July 2013, The Bella Twins began feuding with their co-star on the show, Natalya, with Eva Marie becoming Brie's valet. She also was her partner at Summerslam Axxess in a tag team match against Natalya and Maria Menounos. The cast of Total Divas then transitioned into a scripted feud with WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee, who mocked the show and cast, turning both The Bellas and Eva Marie faces in the process. Eva Marie competed in six-woman tag team matches, including when Eva Marie gained an upset victory over Tamina Snuka by pinning her, garnering her first pinfall victory. Continuing their feud into November, the Total Divas defeated the "True Divas" in a traditional elimination tag team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, and again on the subsequent Raw.
File:Eva Marie at WM30.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Marie wrestling Nikki Bella at the WrestleMania XXX event in April 2014
Eva Marie made her return to WWE after a nearly three-month absence on the February 14, 2014 episode of SmackDown, defeating Alicia Fox in her first singles match on WWE television. The match, however, was cut from the broadcast. After returning in early 2014, Marie began regularly participating in tag team matches, including getting a win over AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka. On April 6, Eva Marie made her WrestleMania debut, competing at WrestleMania XXX in the 14–Diva "Vickie Guerrero Invitational match" for the WWE Divas Championship, which was won by the defending champion AJ Lee. In late May, Eva Marie was placed in a feud with the returning Summer Rae, who had cost Eva Marie a tag team match, leading to Eva Marie defeating Summer Rae in her in-ring return after an interference by Fandango and Layla on the May 26 episode of Raw.
Eva Marie was then placed in a feud with Divas Champion AJ Lee, facing AJ in two non-title matches on SmackDown and Raw, which AJ won. In July, Eva Marie turned heel when she became involved in Stephanie McMahon's ongoing storyline with The Bella Twins by regularly participating in handicap match as a part of McMahon's punishment against Nikki, including picking up the win for her team after a DDT. Eva Marie also participated in a staged match which ended in a beat down when Eva Marie and Alicia Fox attacked Nikki. Eva Marie made her first appearance on NXT on August 7, where she was defeated by Bayley. She faced Divas Champion AJ Lee in non-title bouts on the August 11 episode of Raw and August 15 episode of SmackDown. She emerged victorious via pinfall and countout, respectively, following distractions by Paige.
On November 9, after a month of inactivity, Eva Marie wrote on her Instagram account that she was recovering from an injury. In the Total Divas episode "Twin Leaks", which aired on January 18, 2015, this injury was revealed to be a rupture in her breast implants. Eva Marie returned on the March 9 episode of Raw, accompanying Summer Rae to her match against AJ Lee. She went on another hiatus shortly after in order to train with former WWE Tag Team Champion Brian Kendrick.
NXT (2015–2016)
Eva Marie made an appearance on the June 3 episode of NXT, stating that she was looking forward to competing in the NXT women's division, while the NXT audience was heavily booing her. In a backstage segment with NXT general manager William Regal on the June 24 episode of NXT, Regal said he needed to see some proof that Eva Marie was ready to compete in the women's division. On the July 22 episode of NXT, Eva Marie defeated Cassie in her in–ring debut. Eva Marie then began competing at NXT live events where she ignited a feud with Carmella. This led to a match between the two at the special August 26 episode of NXT, which Eva Marie won. Eva Marie then continued her winning streak, defeating the likes of Billie Kay, Carmella, and Liv Morgan. On the November 18 episode of NXT, Eva Marie challenged Bayley to a match for the NXT Women's Championship, which she received a week later, but was unsuccessful in winning the championship, despite interference from her ally Nia Jax and referee Charles Robinson. Two weeks later on the December 9 episode of NXT, Eva Marie accompanied Nia Jax to challenge Bayley for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: London.On the January 13, 2016, episode of NXT, Eva Marie competed in a number one contender's battle royal, which was won by Carmella. On the February 10 episode of NXT, Eva Marie attempted to get her revenge on Carmella by attacking her and Bayley with Nia Jax, until Asuka made the save. Eva Marie and Nia Jax subsequently went on to defeat Bayley and Carmella in a tag team match on the February 24 episode of NXT. After a brief hiatus, Eva Marie made her return on the April 27 episode of NXT, losing to the NXT Women's Champion Asuka in a non-title match, on what would be her last match in NXT.
Return to main roster (2016–2017)
On the March 28 episode of Raw, Eva Marie made her return to the main roster as a face helping her fellow Total Divas co-stars over an assault against Lana's then-allies; Naomi, Tamina, Emma, and Summer Rae. As a result, a 10-Diva tag team match between the Total Divas team and the newly dubbed team B.A.D. & Blonde was scheduled for the WrestleMania 32 pre-show. At the event on April 3, Eva Marie's team won after Naomi submitted to Brie Bella.Following a hiatus from live television and after being drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2016 WWE draft on July 19, Eva Marie made her first appearance for the brand on July 26, where she debuted a new long introductory entrance while confronting the brand female talents, re-establishing herself as a heel. Throughout August, Eva Marie began faking multiple unfortunate events in order to avoid in-ring competition. On August 18, she was suspended for 30 days for violating the company's wellness policy. Eva Marie said that she tested positive for Adderall and had a prescription for the medication, but submitted the paperwork after a WWE deadline. She was replaced by the returning Nikki Bella at SummerSlam on August 21 as part of a six-woman tag team match.
By February 10, 2017, Eva Marie had begun pursuing interests outside of wrestling and began removing WWE references from her social media accounts. In July, it was announced that she would not be returning to the seventh season of Total Divas. On August 4, 2017, Eva Marie announced that she and WWE had parted ways.