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Joy Giovanni

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Joy Giovanni
Giovanni in April 2005
Born (1978-01-20) January 20, 1978 (age 47)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouse(s)Joseph Giovanni
Children2
Websitejoyfulmedium.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Joy Giovanni
Billed height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Billed fromBoston, Massachusetts
Trained byDaniel Puder, Fit Finlay, The Undertaker
DebutNovember 2004
RetiredJuly 2005

Joy Giovanni, born January 20, 1978,[1] is a retired Italian-American actress, model and professional wrestler, who is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she worked on the Smackdown! brand. She was the first and only winner of the WWE's Rookie Diva of the Year award.[2]

Modeling career

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In 2001 Giovanni would win the L.A Model Expo.[3] She would regularly pose as a swimsuit model. She would also compete in the 2004 and 2005 Lingerie Bowl events apart of the Los Angeles Temptations.[4]

Giovanni would also pose for Bench Warmer trading cards in 2004 and 2005.[5] She would also be a guest judge for the G4 show Video Game Vixens.[3] She would feature in 2005 direct to DVD WWE special, Viva Las Divas.[6] She would also feature in the WWE 2005 SummerSlam diva car wash photoshoot.[7]

In 2006 Giovanni would land a role in Avenged Sevenfold's music video, Beast and the Harlot.

Acting career

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Giovanni would make cameo appearances as an extra in television shows; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Monk, NCIS and Entourage in 2004. In 2004 she would also appear in the film Instinct vs. Reason, in 2005 she would play an air stewardess in the film When All Else Fails.[3]

In 2007 Giovanni starred in the Rolfe Kanesky film; Pretty Cool Too, as June.[8]

Professional wrestling career

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World Wrestling Entertainment (2004-2005)

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Giovanni would first appear for the WWE participating in the WWE 2004 Diva Search, where she would ultimately place third. Despite being eliminated, WWE would sign her to an official contract just a few days after her elimination,[9][10] which aired live on the September 13 episode of RAW.[11] During the WWE Diva Search, she would take part in the WWE Diva Dodgeball game at the WWE 2004 SummerSlam PPV apart of the winning team, Team Diva Search.[12]

Giovanni officially debuted on the Smackdown! brand in November of 2004 as a massage therapist and also acted as a special guest timekeeper.[3] On the November 11 episode of Smackdown, Giovanni and Big Show hosted a Thanksgiving party, only to be confronted by Luther Reigns, who would hit Giovanni in the face with a pie, prompting a food fight in the ring. She was later confronted by Luther Reigns again, who tried to force Giovanni to go on a date with him, causing Big Show to save Giovanni, this promoted Giovanni to become Big Show's valet and became apart of the main storyline of Smackdown!. Giovanni would begin feuding with Amy Weber, they would get in to a catfight on the December 16 episode of Smackdown! after Giovanni gave John "Bradshaw" Layfield a candy cane at ringside.[11] On the January 6 episode of Smackdown! Giovanni refused to sign Carlito's petition, resulting in him spitting an apple in her face. On the same episode of Smackdown! Kurt Angle was tricked in to walking in to Giovanni's locker room by Amy Weber to scare her during a shower which caused her to run backstage in a towel in to Big Show's arms. This prompted Show to chase Angle to the ring in defense of Giovanni and attack him, it would then be revealed as a trick by The Cabinet to get Show and Angle angry with each other.[13] On the January 13 episode of Smackdown! Giovanni and Weber would get in to another catfight, Smackdown! general manager Theodore Long would schedule a singles match between Giovanni and Weber, banning Big Show and John "Bradshaw" Layfield from ringside, Giovanni would not show up to the ring for her match therefore losing by forfeit to Weber.[14] Later on in the episode it was revealed Giovanni was kidnapped and discovered bound and gagged in John "Bradshaw" Layfield's limousine trunk by Kurt Angle to prevent the match from happening.[15] On the January 20 episode of Smackdown! Angle was forced to issue an open apology to Giovanni, but when Big Show came down to the ring, Angle tried to leave only to be ushered back by The Cabinet, this turned out to be another ploy as Angle and The Cabinet all attacked Big Show. On the January 27 episode of Smackdown! Giovanni would throw a strawberry milkshake in Weber's face after overhearing her badmouthing Giovanni to the other Smackdown! divas. Giovanni would also hit Weber over the head with a fish bowl, resulting in her being removed from the Smackdown! arena.[16] After Weber's abrupt departure from WWE in February 2005 due to an incident during an overseas tour, their feud was suddenly dropped.[17][18] Giovanni stated in a 2023 interview with Ring The Belle, that she and Weber were working towards a singles match at the 2005 No Way Out PPV.[19]

Giovanni would go on to win the first and only WWE Rookie Diva of the Year contest hosted by Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson at the 2005 No Way Out PPV, defeating rookie divas; Lauren Jones, Michelle McCool and Rochelle Loewen. The contest included 3 competitions; an evening gown competition, a talent contest in which she massaged host Torrie Wilson, and a swimsuit contest. Giovanni would win with over 65% of the votes.[2] After winning the contest Giovanni and the fellow Smackdown! divas would become involved in brief feuds with the villainous Smackdown! divas; Dawn Marie and Melina. At WrestleMania 21 Giovanni would appear in multiple promo videos; including a Taxi Driver parody,[20] she would also accompany the WWE 2005 Hall of Fame inductees to the WrestleMania stage. She began training to wrestle with Fit Finlay and The Undertaker[21][22] and began appearing sporadically on Smackdown! in backstage segments with other wrestlers or in bikini and lingerie contests, including one on the April 7 episode of Smackdown! where she would be the runner-up in a Viva Las Vegas Divas bikini contest to Torrie Wilson. Giovanni would then become a ring girl, appearing more regularly where she would shoot t-shirts to fans in the crowd or venture in to the crowd to meet fans with Torrie Wilson.[23][24] She would appear in the direct to DVD WWE Viva Las Divas special and be featured in the WWE 2005 SummerSlam diva car wash photoshoot.[6][7] She would make her video game debut as a playable wrestler in WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2006, apart of the Smackdown! roster and women's roster.[25]

Giovanni would be released from her contract due to budget cuts on July 6 2005, despite just signing a 3 year contract with the company.[26][27][28]

After her WWE stint Giovanni would make multiple appearances at wrestling conventions. Giovanni and Weber would release a DVD with Big Vision Entertainment in 2009 labelled Amy vs. Joy. The DVD focused on their WWE feud and featured bonus interviews and clips, including clips of Giovanni training for an in-ring debut with former WWE superstar and MMA fighter; Daniel Puder.[29][30]

Joy Giovanni making her entrance at WrestleMania XXV in April 2009, with legend divas by her side.

Sporadic WWE appearances (2009, 2018)

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Giovanni returned at WWE's WrestleMania 25 PPV event making her official in-ring debut for the company in a 25-Diva battle royal to determine the first WWE Miss WrestleMania and to celebrate 25 years of women at WrestleMania. Giovanni would be one of the legend divas to return for one night only alongside former WWE divas; Miss Jackie, Molly Holly, Sunny, Torrie Wilson and Victoria. Giovanni would be eliminated second by The Bella Twins.[31] She would also appear in attendance at the WWE 2009 Hall of Fame ceremony.

In 2018 Giovanni was referenced on the Smackdown! 1000 episode special in a rap celebrating 80 of the most memorable Smackdown! stars by American rapper Bodie.[32][33]

Personal life

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Giovanni is of Italian descent.[34] In 2010 she began working an internship for a chiropractor in Los Angeles, California, she also became recertified in massage therapy for a new business venture.[11] She opened a massage therapy business in San Diego, California in 2014.[35]

Giovanni has a son who was born October 20, 1998 and a daughter who was born November 19, 2000.[36] Giovanni and her long time husband Joseph Giovanni filed for divorce in 2021.[37]

As of 2025 Giovanni works as a psychic medium and tarot reader. She is active on all her social media accounts and is currently living in California. She also hosts a podcast titled Spirit Speakeasy.[38]

Filmography

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Podcasts

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Year Title Role Notes
2021 Amy Weber Unleashed Self; guest 1 episode
2023 The A2theK Wrestling Show Self; guest 1 episode
Ring The Belle Self; guest 1 episode
Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree Self; guest 1 episode
The Geena The Latina Show Self; guest 1 episode
2023- Spirit Speakeasy Self; host All episodes

Film and television

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Extra 1 episode
Monk Extra 1 episode
NCIS Extra 1 episode
Instinct vs. Reason Extra
WWE RAW Diva Search Casting Special Self; contestant TV special
WWE 2004 RAW Diva Search Self; contestant 3rd place, 9 episodes
Entourage Extra 1 episode
2005 When All Else Fails Air Stewardess
Viva Las Divas Self Direct to DVD
Video Game Vixens Self; judge 4 episodes
2007 Pretty Cool Too June
2009 Amy vs. Joy Self Direct to DVD
WWE: The Best of Smackdown! - 10th Anniversary 1999-2009 Self Documentary
2011 E:60 Self; guest 1 episode
2012 Undertaker: The Streak 20-0 Self Documentary, archive footage
2018 NCIS: Los Angeles Extra 1 episode

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role
2006 Beast and the Harlot Avenged Sevenfold Stripper

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2005 WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2006 Joy Giovanni Video game debut

Awards and accomplishments

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World Wrestling Entertainment

References

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  1. ^ "Joy Giovanni Pictures, Profile". Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "No Way Out results".
  3. ^ a b c d "AskMen profile". AskMen. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
  4. ^ "Photos and Pictures - Joy Giovanni of LA Temptation at the Lingerie Bowl 2005 Kickoff Party for the 2005 Lingerie Football League at Club XES, Hollywood, CA. 09-01-04". imagecollect.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  5. ^ "Joy Giovanni Cards | Trading Card Database". www.tcdb.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  6. ^ a b D, Mark (January 4, 2019). "Full Content Listing for WWE Viva Las Divas DVD | Wrestling DVD Network". www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "The Divas of SummerSlam: photos". WWE. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  8. ^ "Pretty Cool Too | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  9. ^ "Cagematch profile".
  10. ^ OWOW (July 9, 2008). "12/10/04 Internet News". OWOW. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  11. ^ a b c "Joy Giovanni".
  12. ^ "THIS DAY IN HISTORY: WWE DIVA DODGEBALL | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  13. ^ Sneha Jha (March 5, 2017). Joy Giovanni, Kurt Angle, Big Show Segment SmackDown. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "Dailymotion". www.dailymotion.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Big Show HD Collection (November 5, 2022). Big Show beats up JBL for kidnapping Joy Giovanni (WWE SmackDown!) HD | 2005. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ angeldoc3 (September 2, 2006). joy giovanni smacks amy webber. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Sharma, Ishaan (April 27, 2023). "How Bullying From Wrestlers Drove Amy Weber Out Of WWE, Explained". TheSportster. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  18. ^ "Amy Weber Reveals Alleged Harrassment From Edge & Randy Orton Caused Her To Leave WWE | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Wilkinson, Nick (March 18, 2023). "Joy Giovanni Talks 2005 WWE Release - "I Was Pretty Devastated"". Diva Dirt. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  20. ^ WWE (February 22, 2013). Batista, Big Show and others do their best "Taxi Driver" impersonations: WrestleMania 21. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "Joy Giovanni Recalls The Undertaker Teaching Her How To Bump | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  22. ^ "411MANIA". Joy Giovanni Remembers Learning How To Bump From The Undertaker. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  23. ^ 2016DivasMediaOldSchoolClassicVideos (January 14, 2016). 720pHD: WWE SmackDown! 02.10.05: Joy Giovanni. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "Dailymotion". www.dailymotion.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  25. ^ "Joy Giovanni". Thesmackdownhotel.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  26. ^ "WWE releases several Superstars". World Wrestling Entertainment. July 8, 2005. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  27. ^ Jr, Fernando Quiles (February 2, 2023). "Joy Giovanni Reflects On Her 2005 Release From WWE". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  28. ^ Cyrus, Mark T. (July 11, 2023). "Joy Giovanni Didn't Anticipate Being Let Go By Wwe A Year Into A Three-Year Contract". Bodyslam.net. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  29. ^ Martin, Adam (August 14, 2009). "DVD Review: "Amy vs. Joy"". WWE News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW Results. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  30. ^ amyweber (April 10, 2009). Amy Weber VS. Joy Giovanni DVD Trailer. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ "Joy wins 25-Diva Battle Royal for title of Miss WrestleMania".
  32. ^ Watch this unbelievable rap tribute to SmackDown 1000. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via www.wwe.com.
  33. ^ WWE (October 16, 2018). Rapper drops 80+ WWE references in SmackDown tribute. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
  34. ^ "Joy Giovanni Biography, Body Statistics, Facts". Famedstars.com. September 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  35. ^ "Meet Joy Giovanni of Zen Temple Wellness in Sorrento Valley". November 3, 2017.
  36. ^ joy giovanni [@joygiovanni] (October 20, 2014). "16years ago today my baby boy was born. I was blessed w a wonderful baby & now I am blessed w an amazing young man. Happy Birthday! I ❤️u!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  37. ^ "JOY GIOVANNI VS JOSEPH GIOVANNI". UniCourt. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  38. ^ "Joy Giovanni, Psychic Healer and Spirit Medium". www.joyfulmedium.com. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
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Media related to Joy Giovanni at Wikimedia Commons

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