Why Candice Michelle Was Released By WWE In 2009, Explained
Mia Lopez
Published Mar 28, 2026
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Candice Michelle joined WWE in 2004. She was part of the Raw Diva Search competition but didn’t make it to the top ten. Despite that, Candice was offered a contract as eye candy in WWE. She became popular because of her GoDaddy Super Bowl commercial in 2005, and this led to WWE giving her a push which only lasted for some time. Surprisingly, Candice was released in 2009, after working for the company for five years. But what led to WWE's decision to release her?
RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About WWE's Candice Michelle
Multiple Injuries Led To Candice Michelle's WWE Release
While at first, Candice was being used only as eye candy in WWE, she later improved her skills and became a better wrestler overall. This led to her winning the Women’s Championship at Night Of Champions 2007 and becoming the first wrestler from Diva Search to do so.
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The same year, on the October 22 episode of Raw, Candice faced Beth Phoenix in a best two out of three falls match. During the match, Michelle ended up injuring her collarbone from a move and she was out of action for a little over three months. She also suffered a concussion that night, and the referee Mike Chioda handled the situation very poorly. Right after Candice came back, she suffered the same injury again. It happened during a tag team match with Maria against Jillian Hall and Victoria. This injury was more damaging than the previous one and required surgery. It could’ve been avoided if Michelle had taken some more time to recover before coming back. She was supposed to be out for six months but somehow managed to return after convincing the management despite not having her collarbone healed completely.
She returned over five months later and worked matches without any issues, but some time later, she suffered another injury and this led to her eventual release from the company. A few years back on the Why It Ended podcast, Candice talked about this and said:
“After I shattered the collarbone I was training once again trying to get back too soon. I was doing double Krav Maga, 4-hour training a day. And then I landed on the donut of the bag and I tore 2 ligaments on my ankle. I’m already on injury release and they know I’m trying to get back. I was just overdoing it. I wasn’t listening to my body. I was just listening to my mind and not wanting to lose my spot that I had that I had worked so hard for and then that was when I got the call after that.” (h/t wwfoldschool.com)
When Candice first arrived at WWE, she was considered “the Hollywood girl” by everyone in the locker room, but she proved that she was no longer an outsider and became one of the most improved wrestlers on the roster.
WWE Had Reportedly Given Up On Candice Michelle Months Before
Around that time, many fans speculated that her injury probably wasn’t the only reason she got fired. There were reports that WWE had already given up on her and was using her to get other talents over because she was so prone to injuries. There was also a rumor that WWE released her because she didn’t look “Diva-like” anymore, as she had gained weight. It probably didn’t help that Michelle had openly indicated she might not renew her contract in October 2009 as she wanted to do acting and modeling.
Some years back, she returned to WWE during the Raw Reunion episode and won the 24/7 Championship. She was also advertised for Raw Legends Night, but she was never contacted about making an appearance.
