| “ | You were always a horrible friend! | „ |
| ~ Melina's constant words to Gail Kim. |
| “ | I never forgot! | „ |
| ~ Melina after turning heel and attacking Mickie James in 2015. |
Melina Perez is a retired female professional wrestler, best known for her six year tenure in WWE, where she has held the Women's Championship three times and the Divas Championship twice. She has been both a face and a heel in her WWE career, but she has spent most of her time as a villainess.
WWE[]
Melina started out as the evil centerpiece of the tag team known as MNM back in 2005, and in that role, Melina managed her team to three tag team championships. Her diabolical acts included kidnapping Trish Stratus and challenging her to a Women's Championship match and attempting to seduce Dave Batista into turning down a tag team opportunity against her boys. When that didn't work, Melina threatened to sue Batista for sexual harassment and enlisted Mark Henry to take him out. She was "fired" from SmackDown after she slapped General Manager Theodore Long.
Melina was moved to Raw, where she would eventually win her first Women's Championship. She then started targeting the Divas who posed for Playboy and would trash them and beat them down. Melina held two Women's Championships as a villainess and would align with Beth Phoenix in her continuous crusade against Playboy. The alliance ended in May 2008, as did Melina's first run as a villainess.
A confident Melina woman-handles a defiant Trish Stratus, firmly in control of her opponent. Trish grimaces, frustrated by Melina's strength and tenacity.
After two years as a babyface, Melina's villainous persona returned at the end of 2010 after she was defeated by then-WWE Divas Champion Natalya Neidhart in a singles match. When Lay-Cool entered the ring and attacked Natalya, Melina walked to the back instead of returning to the ring to help her. After becoming #1 Contender for the Divas Championship, Melina turned heel and delivered a slap towards Natalya. In an unaired promo two weeks later, Melina laughed evilly and stated that she slapped Natalya because she "sometimes gets emotional." In her second run as a villainess, the evil Melina later accused Gail Kim of being a "horrible friend" for unknown reasons on numerous occasions. Melina's second tenure as a villainess ended when she was released from WWE in August 2011. During her time in WWE in 2008, Melina was one of four Divas who appeared as trainers in an episode of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club, doing so along with Mickie James, Layla El, and Kelly Kelly. In the episode, which aired on April 13, Melina was somewhat portrayed as the villainess, mainly due to her heel persona at the time, and acted strict to the participating celebrities, slightly similar to Jillian Michaels.
Independent circuit[]
Melina as a hidden villainess in MCW
After her WWE release, Melina competed on the independent circuit, beginning with an appearance at WSU's Breaking Barriers II as a babyface in a winning effort against Lexxus on November 19, 2011. Melina portrayed a heel in her last indy appearances for Northeast Wrestling, where she split a pair of matches against Velvet Sky, and in Puerto Rico, where she won two out of three matches against Velvet.
On June 19, 2015, Melina appeared as a hidden villainess at Maryland Championship Wrestling's Ladies' Night event, her first wrestling appearance since 2012. Melina served as the heel enforcer of the main event: an MCW Women's Championship match between Amber Rodriguez and Mickie James that was officiated by Lisa Marie Varon. After Varon was accidentally knocked down by Mickie, Melina entered and appeared to be on the verge of making the three count in Mickie's favor. only to attack Mickie and reignite their WWE rivalry, revealing herself as a villainess. After her heel turn, the evil Melina continued attacking Mickie and delivered her Last Call finisher before unleashing her Primal Scream. Melina was later on the receiving end of a Widow's Peak from Varon, and Mickie went on to win the match and the title.
Melina made a surprise debut for Lucha Underground on August 5, 2015, when she interfered in a match between Johnny Mundo (the former Johnny Nitro/John Morrison) and Alberto El Patron. Melina attacked El Patron and helped Mundo defeat him, reuniting the pair as villains for the first time since their WWE days.
Melina was mostly portrayed as an arrogant and egotistical villain during her first stint as a heel from 2005-2008. In her second run as a heel, Melina was portrayed as dark and sinister at times.
Gallery[]
