IGN Countdown 40: Maria

[Smacktalks]

SIGNATURE MOVES: DDT 17, Woman's Slap 4

FINISHERS: Running Bulldog, Corner Bulldog

ABILITIES: Referee Shield, Steal Taunt, Possum Pin

She's bubbly, she's beautiful and she's an object of desire for many men. She's Maria, and she's darn proud to call herself a WWE Diva. While many may think she's ditzy or absent-minded, there's one thing that's well-known: she's hot.

But hey, she wouldn't have it any other way. Maria has won many beauty pageants in her time, but she's not just all beauty. From kickboxing to sewing to dancing to working on cars, Maria's areas of expertise make her one of the best-rounded Divas in WWE.

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After years of entering beauty pageants and an education at Northern Illinois University, the Ottawa, Ill., native struck it big by nearly making it to the end of the 2004 Diva Search. While she didn't win, our fans felt an immediate connection to her, and she quickly made her way to Raw as a backstage interviewer who wasn't afraid to ask any question, from the hard-hitting to the quirkily obvious. And of course, she looks great doing it, perhaps no more so than when Eugene doused her with chocolate milk after winning the World Tag Team Championship that year.

Since her debut in WWE, however, Maria's role has expanded by leaps and bounds. At first, she was tentative to step into the ring, but to this day she continues to learn the ropes and develop into an exciting and skilled performer. She also can be seen (or read, as it may be) lending her auto expertise to our fans in her very own WWE Magazine column every month. Another magazine our fans might be interested in perusing is the April 2008 issue of Playboy, in which Maria showed our fans what's under her hood, namely a racy chassis and va-va-voom curves.

If there's one other thing for sure about Maria, though, it's that while she radiates beauty, the girl her friends call "Boop" won't stop honing her craft until she wears the Women's gold around her waist. So watch out all you stars and studs in the locker room, because you never know when you're going to get your dose of Maria.

Source: WWE.com