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WWE has announced that Ronda Rousey and Sonya Deville will be among a group of six cast members on the upcoming ninth season of Total Divas.
The addition of three new featured personalities, including the returning Carmella, comes following the news that Lana and Paige will no longer appear on the show.
Starting on October 2, Total Divas will also see three Superstars return from the previous season – Naomi, Natalya and Nia Jax – while Brie Bella and Nikki Bella will only make guest appearances in future episodes.
With Lana, Paige and both Bella Twins moving aside, let’s take a look through the six-year history of the E! reality show to find out exactly why 14 previous cast members were replaced.
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#14 and #13 The Bella Twins
Brie Bella and Nikki Bella have been the two main cast members on Total Divas since the series began in 2013, with Brie’s family life with Daniel Bryan and Nikki’s relationship with John Cena often being the featured storylines.
Despite retiring from in-ring competition in early 2019, the Bella Twins are still very busy with other commitments outside of the squared circle, including their podcast, wine business, clothing line, YouTube channel and the Total Bellas TV series.
Nikki told People earlier this year that their filming schedule with Total Bellas made it difficult for them to appear as regular personalities on Total Divas.
“Brie and I have been with the franchise from the beginning and have literally put our hearts and souls and our lives on TV… We filmed all year long. When other people would get breaks from the reality cameras, Brie and I would be filming the next season of 'Bellas' and then we’d go straight into 'Divas'.”
Now that both Bellas have been replaced, Natalya will be the only person who has appeared as a cast member on every Total Divas season when the ninth season starts in October.
#12 Eva Marie
Eva Marie appeared on every season of Total Divas between 2013 and 2017 before mutually agreeing to leave WWE in August 2017.
The former NXT Superstar has mentioned in various media interviews since her departure that she could see herself returning to the company one day. However, for now, she is focusing on her acting career outside of WWE and Total Divas.
#11 JoJo
An original cast member on the first season of Total Divas, JoJo did not feature at all on the second season of the show before appearing sporadically in every other season.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho in 2014, Brie Bella explained that JoJo likely left the show after one season due to her age – she was only 19 at the time – while Cameron said the ring announcer had “star quality” but struggled to shine as much when the cameras were on.
#10 Cameron
Cameron was among the most prominent personalities on the first three seasons of Total Divas. However, after appearing as a guest on the fourth season, she did not feature on the show again and ended up leaving WWE in 2016.
Although it has not been fully explained why she left Total Divas, the former Funkadactyl asked to return to NXT in 2014 because she wanted to improve as an in-ring competitor.
Every other Total Divas star competed on the main roster at the time, so it is possible that there would have been a clash with filming schedules.
#9 Summer Rae
Summer Rae appeared as a cast member on the second and third seasons of Total Divas before featuring as a guest in the next three seasons.
One of the most memorable moments in the reality show’s six-year existence came when Summer slapped Natalya in the face at her home, while Fandango’s former valet also had a fallout with Brie Bella.
Speaking in a Ring the Belle interview in 2019, Summer said she was portrayed as “horrible and really mean” on the show, which explains why she left after just two seasons.
#8 Rosa Mendes
Rosa Mendes often appeared in scenes alongside Paige and Alicia Fox during her time as a cast member on the third and fifth seasons of Total Divas.
In February 2017, WWE announced that Mendes had left the company and retired as an in-ring competitor following the birth of her child.
Primo & Epico’s former manager told WWE.com that she loved the attention of having cameras following her on Total Divas and she could see herself returning to wrestling one day.
#7 Alicia Fox
A member of the cast for three seasons, one of Alicia Fox’s most memorable moments came when she opened up to her fellow Total Divas co-stars in 2015 about how she struggled to cope with her emotions after splitting up with Wade Barrett.
The former Divas Champion left the show after the fifth season and later explained to Lilian Garcia on the Chasing Glory podcast that she did not like seeing how she came across on television when she watched episodes back.
#6 Paige
Having returned to the Total Divas cast for the eighth season in 2018, it looked as though Paige would remain part of the reality show for the upcoming ninth season in October. However, she was not listed among the 2019 cast members in the recent announcement from E! and WWE.
It is not clear why The Kabuki Warriors’ manager is not going to appear in future episodes, but it is worth noting that she was doing a lot of media for “Fighting With My Family” when Total Divas was being filmed.
#5 Mandy Rose
Nowadays, Mandy Rose being cast as a Total Diva would not be controversial at all. In 2016, however, before she had made a name for herself in WWE or even NXT, a lot of people questioned whether E! had chosen the Tough Enough runner-up as a cast member due to her looks and not because of her potential to be a future star.
As it turned out, Rose has gone on to become a prominent member of the women’s division on SmackDown Live, and she told The Wrap recently that being on the fifth season of Total Divas was a “really good opportunity” and “learning experience” for her.
#4 Maryse
Maryse returned to WWE as an on-screen manager for her husband, The Miz, after WrestleMania 32 in 2016, and it did not take long for her to become a personality on Total Divas.
The former Divas Champion proved popular in her role as a cast member in the sixth and seventh seasons, prompting the USA Network to give her and The Miz their own show, Miz & Mrs, which is now in its second season.
#3 Lana
Lana, a Total Divas personality in each of the last three seasons, revealed in an emotional podcast appearance on Chasing Glory in early 2019 that she was told that she might receive her own spin-off series with Rusev.
However, she was then informed by WWE Producer Kevin Dunn that the E! executives took a poll and found out that she and Rusev were “strongly disliked” by the network’s demographic, so they were dropped from the show.
#2 Renee Young
Before becoming a commentator on Raw, Renee Young combined her duties as a host and backstage interviewer by taking part in the sixth season of Total Divas.
One of her most famous scenes came when a man stole her hat and her husband, Jon Moxley (formerly known as Dean Ambrose), chased after him and got it back.
Speaking to Lilian Garcia on Chasing Glory, Young explained that it was difficult being on the show because Moxley is a private person and she did not want to make him do things he did not want to do.
#1 Alexa Bliss
Like Renee Young, Alexa Bliss only appeared on one season of Total Divas before leaving the show to focus on her other WWE commitments.
The five-time Women’s Champion said on Chasing Glory that she enjoyed being a cast member but she struggled to find enough time to do media with WWE and also promote Total Divas.
“I was Raw Women’s champion at the same time, so when I wasn’t filming Total Divas I was doing media for something else, and if I wasn’t doing media I was doing Total Divas. I felt like I would have enjoyed it more if it was one or the other.”
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