Ashley Massaro

Ashley Massaro was a former WWE wrestler, reality television contestant and model who was adored by legions of hardcore wrestling fans before her untimely passing in May of 2019 at the age of 39. Born and raised in Babylon, New York, you might say that Massaro was destined to become a professional wrestler. Both her father and brother were amateur wrestlers, so Massaro grew up watching and learning the sport. After attending State University of New York at Albany, where she received her B.S. degree in Communications, Massaro embarked on a career in modeling. By the early 2000s she was winning beauty pageants in Hawaii, and also appearing on the cover of magazines. Massaro's big break came in 2005, however, when she won the WWE Raw Diva Search. With the big win, Massaro was awarded a one-year contract with WWE worth $250,000. Massaro stayed with WWE for the next three years, from 2005 to 2008, where she became a familiar face on the show's multitude of broadcasts, while earning numerous fans in the process. During her tenure at WWE, Massaro was able to branch out by appearing on the cover of Playboy and also serving as a contestant on the fifteenth season of the long-running reality show Survivor. After leaving WWE in mid-2008 to care for her ailing daughter, Massaro became open about her struggles with depression and mental health issues. Ten days before her 40th birthday, on May 16, 2019, Massaro was found unconscious at her home in Suffolk County, New York. Massaro was administered CPR on the way to the hospital but was later pronounced dead. Her death was reported by the police as "non-criminal," and media reports later revealed the cause to be suicide by hanging. A few days after the announcement of her passing, WWE paid tribute to Massaro's life and career by projecting a large graphic of her during its "Money in the Bank" event.