General Features

Never ones to pass up the opportunity to mingle with the superstars, we caught up with WWE rookie Cody Rhodes and beautiful Diva - Maria - hours before bell time.

Both stars had unconventional routes into the wrestling business and have had to respond to allegations of not paying their dues.

As Cody Rhodes - son of legendary wrestler 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes - told us:

"It's partially true - I got my job by a phone call. But the moment I got it, the moment I signed any piece of paper with the WWE logo on it, I started working as hard as possible.

"When (my dad) Dusty stopped working for WWE and started with WCW we had to move around. He was later released by WCW - we had to deal with that. He worked on the independents and I followed him to watch his money and take care of him.

"As soon as we got in range of an arena he became a different person. He didn't want me to get any special treatment."

Similarly Maria Kanellis - know simply by her first name on television - endured her fair shair of flack from fans and co-workers.

She landed a WWE contract by failing to win the WWE Diva Search in 2004 - an X-Factor knock-off where contestants are voted off by the television audience.

"I remember when I was in the Diva Search and most of the girls had no idea what wrestling was about but fortunately I did.

"(I took the view) that if you want to hate me for not paying my dues then that's totally fine because I respect this company so much that I never wanted to do anything to hurt it.

"I'm sure it's not the same as taking bumps in a ring but at the same time I was still sleeping in my car so I felt pretty s****y!"

Get Maria's views on the 2007 Diva Search, why she hasn't met any of the girls and the injuries plaguing WWE by clicking the link at the top of this page.

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