Ashley Massaro

Ashley M. Massaro (May 26, 1979 – May 16, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, reality television contestant, television host, model, and radio personality. She was best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and for her appearance on Survivor: China.

Massaro made her debut in WWE after winning the WWE Diva Search in 2005. She was firstly incorporated into the Raw brand, where she had her first wrestling feud against Vince's Devils (a villainous female stable) while aligning herself with Trish Stratus to defeat the team. With Stratus, she was involved in another feud with the then-debuting Mickie James, who was obsessed with Stratus and jealous of Massaro's friendship with her, attacking and causing her to lose matches. Massaro was later drafted to SmackDown and became the valet for the WWE Tag Team Champions, Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Her most high-profile matches were a WWE Women's Championship match against Melina at WrestleMania 23 and a Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjill match at WrestleMania XXIV.

Massaro left WWE in July 2006. During her tenure in the company, she had appeared on the covers of several magazines, including the April 2007 issue of Playboy, and also made appearances on television and in music videos. In addition, she spent the last two years of her life working as a radio DJ for 94.3 The Shark.

Early life
Ashley Maria Massaro was born in New York City on May 26, 1979. She was raised in Babylon, New York, where her brother, father, and uncle competed in amateur wrestling. She graduated in 1997 from John Glenn High School in Elwood, New York, and received a BSc in Communication with a minor in Business from the State University of New York at Albany. She moved to wrestling later on, but it didn't last long as expected.

Professional wrestling career
Massaro initially found out about World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) 2005 Raw Diva Search when she met a WWE casting director during a swimsuit pageant. After beating the seven other chosen finalists, Massaro was declared the winner on the episode of Raw which aired on Monday, August 15, 2005. Her winnings included $250,000 and a one-year contract with WWE.

Feud with Vince's Devil and Mickie James (2005-2006)
A week later on the August 22, 2005, episode of Raw, Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson attacked Massaro after pretending to welcome her to the brand. Massaro's storyline feud with Wilson and Michelle continued over the next couple weeks, as the duo, along with their enforcer Victoria (dubbed as the "Skankateers" by commentator Jim Ross), made things difficult for Massaro. Massaro made her in-ring debut on the August 29 episode of Raw, in a losing effort to Victoria. On the September 5 episode of Raw, Massaro was defeated by Wilson due to interference from Victoria and Candice. Massaro evened the score on the September 12 episode of Raw when she brought out the returning Trish Stratus (who then turned face), and the duo proceeded to attack them. On the September 18 episode of Raw, The pair defeated the trio—who became known as the Ladies in Pink (and later Vince's Devils). This led to a tag team match at Unforgiven, where the team of Stratus and Massaro defeated Wilson and Victoria. The following night on Raw, Massaro accompanied Trish where she defeated Wilson. After the match, The duo were attacked by The Vince Devils. The feud continued into WWE Homecoming, where Stratus and Massaro defeated Wilson, Candice, and Victoria in the first ever three on two Bra and Panties match by stripping all three of their opponents. Massaro continued to wrestle matches through the rest of 2005 and was involved in the annual Fulfill Your Fantasy Diva Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday for her first shot at the WWE Women's Championship. Massaro eliminated Candice Michelle before being eliminated by Victoria.

On January 8, 2006, at New Year's Revolution, Massaro won the first ever Bra and Panties Gauntlet match by being the final wrestler left still wearing her clothes. Following WWE tradition, to please the fans, she removed them herself before making her exit. Through the early part of this year, Massaro became the victim of a series of attacks from Mickie James. At Royal Rumble on January 29, James defeated Massaro with then Women's Champion, Trish Stratus, as the special guest referee. Massaro got her revenge one week later by pinning James in the rematch on Raw. On the February 20 episode of Raw, however, Massaro suffered a fractured left fibula while being eliminated from the Women's Battle Royal, and her feud with James was cut short. She underwent surgery to insert a five-inch metal plate and eight screws into her leg. During her recovery, Massaro still occasionally appeared on Raw as part of the Stratus/James feud, albeit in a non-active role. Massaro returned on the March 20 episode of Raw, being kidnapped by James to lure Stratus in to saving her but James was successful and attacked Stratus.

Smackdown / Final wrestling association (2006-2007)
Massaro returned to television on June 2, this time on SmackDown!, as a special guest commentator during the Kristal Marshall versus Jillian Hall match. On the edition of June 9 of SmackDown!, Massaro defeated Kristal, Jillian Hall and Michelle McCool in a bikini contest. Massaro later aligned herself with Hall, and they feuded with McCool and Marshall. Massaro won her SmackDown! debut match on July 21, when she teamed up with Hall to defeat McCool and Marshall. At The Great American Bash, Massaro won the Fatal Four-Way bra and panties match by removing all of her opponents' clothing. On the edition of August 4 of SmackDown!, Massaro broke her knuckle in a match against Marshall.

Massaro, Paul London, and Brian Kendrick defeated Idol Stevens, KC James and Michelle McCool in a Six-Person Mixed Tag Team match. Following the victory, Massaro became the valet for London and Kendrick, accompanying them to the ring for their matches on SmackDown! and pay-per-views. On the October 27 episode of SmackDown!, Massaro participated in a "Trick or Treat Battle Royal" which was won by Kristal. On the edition of December 19 of SmackDown!, Massaro teamed up with Layla in a winning effort defeating Jillian Hall and Kristal in a tag-team match. On the edition of January 2 of SmackDown!, Massaro competed against Hall in a winning effort. On the January 26 episode of SmackDown!, Massaro teamed up with London and Kendrick in a losing effort to the MNM (Mercury & Nitro & Melina) in a six-person mixed-tag-team match. During the edition of February 16, 2007 of SmackDown!, Massaro unveiled her Playboy cover. Surrounding the release of the magazine, Massaro engaged in a feud with Jillian Hall, who was envious of the attention Massaro received due to the Playboy cover. At No Way Out, Massaro won the first ever Diva Invitational by removing her top to reveal her breasts which were covered with Playboy bunny pasties.

Massaro also began a feud with then WWE Women's Champion, Raw's Melina, who was angry over the publicity Massaro had been receiving because of the cover. On the March 9 episode of SmackDown!, the rivalry was taken to the next level when a catfight broke out on the inaugural edition of Miz TV. On the March 16 episode of SmackDown!, Ashley teamed up with London and Kendrick in a losing effort to the MNM (Mercury & Nitro & Melina) in a six-person mixed-tag-team match. On the March 23 episode of SmackDown!, Massaro would get a catfight after Melina attempted to make an interference during Kendrick and Paul's match with MNM. On the March 26 episode of Raw, Massaro teamed up with Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle in a winning effort defeating Melina, Hall and Victoria. At WrestleMania 23, Massaro unsuccessfully challenged Melina for the WWE Women's Championship in a LumberJill match to retain her title.

After WrestleMania, Massaro continued as a valet for WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick. In storyline, on the April 13 episode of SmackDown!, Massaro was attacked by Jillian Hall. In reality, Massaro had loosened a screw in her ankle, which had been inserted the previous year after she legitimately fractured her tibia and fibula while in a battle royal. Massaro returned on the March 5, 2007, episode of SmackDown!, helping McCool defeat Hall after she distracted her. This return was short lived when on the edition of April 7 of SmackDown!, Massaro was suspended indefinitely after accidentally spilling Vince McMahon's coffee on him. In reality, Massaro was taking time off to participate on the show Survivor.

Personal life
Massaro had one child, a daughter named Alexa. Massaro had several tattoos, including a black and pink nautical star on the back of both of her elbows, a pink and red dragon surrounding kanji lettering that translates to "Trust No One" going down the right side of her torso, symbols on the small of her lower back, and a butterfly on her right hip. She also had several piercings, including a Monroe and snakebites.

Death
On May 15, 2007, Massaro finished replying to fanmail but did not show up for work at WWSK-FM later that night, prompting another DJ to fill in for her. At 5:23 a.m. the next morning, paramedics responded to a rescue call and discovered Massaro unresponsive at her home in Smithtown, New York. When they arrived at the hospital, she was pronounced dead, 10 days before her 40th birthday.

On May 19 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, WWE paid tribute to Massaro's life and career by projecting a graphic of her at the start of the show. Visitation for Massaro was held that day and the next at the Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown. On May 21, she was buried at the Saint James Episcopal Church Cemetery in St. James, New York.

Some news outlets, all citing the website TMZ, stated Massaro's death was a suicide. Others, including CNN and The Nation, did not. The Suffolk County medical examiner's office did not release an official cause of death, citing a New York state privacy law that allows withholding information that "would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy".

Massaro was set to take part in a suicide prevention music video by her WWSK co-worker Brian Orlando, who had recorded a song with Brandon B. Brown, Vinnie Dombroski, and Kevin Martin. Following her death, Orlando scrapped plans to release the video. With her family's blessing, it was released in July 2020.