Barbara Jean Coba (néeBlank; January 15, 1987),[4] known professionally asBarbie Blank and by herring nameKelly Kelly, is an American model and formerprofessional wrestler. She is signed toWWE, as an ambassador.
Blank has a background in gymnastics and cheerleading, and worked as a model forVenus Swimwear andHawaiian Tropic. In 2006, Blank was signed to a contract byWWE and, after training inOhio Valley Wrestling, she debuted on theECW brand in June 2006 as "Kelly Kelly". Primarily appearing in a non-wrestling role, she was a member of Extreme Exposé withLayla andBrooke Adams. Beginning in late 2007, she began participating in more wrestling matches, and unsuccessfully challenged for both theWWE Divas Championship and theWWE Women's Championship on multiple occasions. In June 2011, she won the WWE Divas Championship, commencing a four-month reign. She retired from WWE in 2012, but has since returned for occasional appearances and matches. On theRaw Reunion special on July 22, 2019, she pinnedGerald Brisco to win theWWE 24/7 Championship, becoming the first woman to win the title. She is a two-time champion in WWE and has stayed ababyface during her entire tenure in the company.
Blank has also appeared on a number of television shows and was a main cast member of the reality television programWAGS. She made her film acting debut inDisturbing the Peace, which was released on January 17, 2020.
In 2006, while working as a model, Blank was seen byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) officialJohn Laurinaitis, who was interested in signing her to a contract.[1] WWE contacted her modeling agency and invited her to theirdevelopmental territory,Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), for a tryout. Despite having no previous wrestling experience she was offered a contract, which she signed in May 2006.[9][1][8] Even after being called up to the main roster she continued to fly back and forth to OVW's base cityLouisville, Kentucky, once a week to work shows; first as aring announcer andreferee, then as a wrestler.[10] One of her first matches took place at the September 6 television tapings where she participated in a Women'sbattle royal won byODB.[1][10] In late 2007, she also made an appearance inFlorida Championship Wrestling, WWE's new developmental territory.[9]
Blank debuted for theECWbrand as Kelly Kelly. Originally, she was to be named just "Kelly", but herring name was expanded to "Kelly Kelly" by WWE CEOVince McMahon.[11] She made her debut on the first episode of the weekly television program on June 13, 2006, becoming the youngest Diva on the WWE roster, aged 19.[3][12] Hercharacter, anexhibitionist, was introduced performing astriptease for the crowd.[8][12] The next week, while performing another striptease, Kelly was interrupted by heron-screen boyfriend,Mike Knox, who came to the stage and covered her with a towel before dragging her backstage.[8][13] Her stripping became a weekly segment known asKelly's Exposé and usually followed the same routine; Kelly would dance and strip until she was stopped by Knox.[14][15] Knox began forcing Kelly to accompany him to ringside so he could keep an eye on her, making her hisde factovalet.[14] As a result, she found herself involved in thefeud developing between Knox and his tag team partnerTest and the team ofTommy Dreamer andThe Sandman. This included her being inadvertently hit with a cane by Sandman when Knox used her as a shield.[16] She made her ECW in-ring debut on the August 22, edition ofECW During an extreme bikini contest segment betweenTorrie Wilson and herself, Test and Mike Knox interrupted the contest stopping Kelly before she had a chance to disrobe. LeadingTommy Dreamer andSandman to come in through the crowd, Sandman took the mic and challenged Test, Knox and Kelly in asix-personmixed tag team match.[17] Kelly, Knox and Test went on to lose to Dreamer, Sandman, and Wilson.[18]
Kelly and Knox progressed into a storyline withCM Punk in September, in which Kelly developed a liking for Punk, flirting with him and watching his matches, and Knox became increasingly jealous.[19][20][21] This led to a match between Knox and Punk, during which Kelly cheered for Punk.[22][23] AtDecember to Dismember, Kelly and Knox facedAriel andKevin Thorn in a mixed tag team match, during which Knox refused to tag in before leaving her.[24] On the following episode ofECW, Kelly defeated Ariel with aroll-up in her first singles match. Afterward, Knox made his way to the ring with flowers, but ended up performing his signatureswinging reverse STO on her, ending their relationship and giving her a scripted injury—removing her from television for six weeks.[1][25]
She returned on January 16, 2007, to announce she was newly single and bringing backKelly's Exposé.[26] The following week, she joined forces withLayla andBrooke to formExtreme Exposé.[27] The trio performed a weekly dance segment onECW for the next several months.[9] On November 1, Brooke was released from her WWE contract, and Extreme Exposé dissolved as a group.[28] This left Kelly and Layla to enter an ongoing rivalry with more active wrestling roles.[8] On the October 29 episode ofRaw, Kelly won a battle royal to earn a match against theWWE Women's Champion,Beth Phoenix. Kelly lost the match the following week onRaw.[29][30] Kelly continued to feud with Layla, and they were on opposite sides of a 10-Diva tag team match atSurvivor Series, which Kelly's team won.[1][31] In April 2008, Kelly was part of the losing team in a five-on-five Divas match at theBacklash pay-per-view.[32]
Various storylines and championship pursuits (2008–2011)
In July, Kelly was moved to the Raw brand and debuted for the brand by teaming withMickie James to defeat Layla andJillian Hall.[33] She quickly became involved in a feud with Beth Phoenix, facing her on multiple occasions in both singles and tag team matches with a variety of partners, including Mickie James andCandice Michelle.[9][34][35] In September, Kelly transitioned into a feud with Phoenix's ally, Jillian Hall.[36][37][38] At theSurvivor Series pay-per-view in November, Kelly was part of the victorious team in a five-on-five elimination match. During the match, she eliminated Victoria, before being eliminated byMaryse.[39] The following month at theArmageddon pay-per-view, Kelly teamed withMaria,Michelle McCool, and James in a winning effort against Hall, Maryse, Victoria, andNatalya.[40]
Blank posing on the turnbuckles in 2008
On the May 18 episode ofRaw, Kelly won a battle royal to become the number one contender to theWWE Divas Championship.[41] The following week, she challenged Maryse for the championship and won by disqualification, with Maryse retaining the title.[42] Kelly lost a rematch by pinfall two weeks later on June 8.[43] In June, she competed in afatal four-way match to determine the number one contender, but the match was won by James.[44] Throughout the remainder of mid-2009, Kelly unsuccessfully competed in several number one contender matches.[45][46]
At theBragging Rights pay-per-view in October, Kelly,Gail Kim, andMelina comprised Team Raw, but lost to Team SmackDown (Phoenix, Natalya, and McCool).[47] The following month at theSurvivor Series pay-per-view, Kelly participated in a five-on-five elimination match, which her team won. She eliminated Layla before being eliminated by Phoenix.[48] In January 2010, Kelly participated in the tournament to determine a new Divas Champion, after Melina was forced to vacate the championship due to injury. She was eliminated byAlicia Fox in the first round.[49] Throughout early 2010, Kelly was involved in several backstage segments with theguest hosts ofRaw.[9] AtWrestleMania XXVI, Kelly teamed with Phoenix, Kim, James, andEve Torres in a losing effort to McCool, Layla, Maryse, Fox, andVickie Guerrero.[50] The following night onRaw, the teams faced off in a rematch with the opposite result.[51] The following week, Kelly took part in a 10-Diva Dress To Impress battle royal, to determine the number one contender for Maryse's Divas Championship, but the match was won by Torres.[52]
During the2010 WWE Draft on April 26, Kelly was drafted to theSmackDown brand, making her the first drafted female wrestler on television.[53] She quickly began to feud withLayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla), and gained an ally inTiffany.[54][55][56] After defeating both Layla and McCool in singles matches, she received anotherWWE Women's Championship match at theMoney in the Bank pay-per-view in July, but was unsuccessful.[57][58][59] On August 31, Kelly announced that she would be a mentor onseason three ofNXT, withNaomi as her rookie.[60] Throughout the second half of 2010, Kelly continued to feud with LayCool, and gained an ally in Natalya in October.[61][62][63] In November, Kelly'sNXT rookie, Naomi was named runner-up to the winner,Kaitlyn during the season finale.[64]
On January 30, 2011, at theRoyal Rumble, Kelly prevented the acting general manager Vickie Guerrero from interfering in theWorld Heavyweight Championship match betweenEdge andDolph Ziggler.[65] On the followingSmackDown, Kelly and Edge defeated LayCool and Ziggler in a two-on-three handicap match to retain Edge's World Heavyweight Championship by executing Edge's finisher, the spear, on Layla and pinning her. Afterwards, Guerrero fired Kelly in storyline, after she had banned Edge from using the spear the week prior.[66] At theElimination Chamber pay-per-view later that month, Kelly was re-hired by SmackDown general managerTeddy Long, and made her return by attacking Guerrero. She was stopped by LayCool, who were in turn stopped byTrish Stratus.[67] The next week, onSmackDown, Kelly and Edge defeated Guerrero andDrew McIntyre in a mixed tag team match, causing Guerrero to be fired in storyline per the pre-match stipulation.[68]
On April 26, Kelly was drafted back to the Raw brand as part of the2011 supplemental draft, where she received apush and began feuding withThe Bella Twins.[69] On May 22 at theOver the Limit pay-per-view, Kelly unsuccessfully challengedBrie Bella for the WWE Divas Championship.[70] The following month, on thePower to the People special edition ofRaw on June 20, Kelly won a fan vote to determine the challenger for the Divas Championship that night. Kelly went on to win her first WWE Divas Championship by defeating Brie Bella.[71][72] Her win later garnered her aSlammy Award for Divalicious Moment of the Year.[73][74] At theMoney in the Bank pay-per-view in July, Kelly made her first title defense by defeating Bella in a rematch.[75] On August 1, Phoenix won a battle royal to become the number one contender to Kelly's championship, and afterward attacked Kelly to provoke a feud.[76] Kelly successfully defended her championship against Phoenix at bothSummerSlam andNight of Champions.[77] Kelly lost the championship to Phoenix atHell in a Cell in October, ending her reign at 104 days.[78][79] In rematches onSmackDown and atTables, Ladders & Chairs, Kelly failed to regain the title.[80][81]
Kelly spent early 2012 participating in several tag team matches.[9] AtWrestleMania XXVIII in April, Kelly andExtra correspondentMaria Menounos defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve in a tag team match.[82] In June, WWE granted Kelly a period of time off, and she returned onRaw on August 6, defeating Eve.[83][84] On September 28, 2012, Blank was released from her WWE contract.[85] In a December 2012 interview, Blank stated she needed time off to heal a neck injury, and had plans to model.[86]
Blank returned to WWE on February 13, 2017, by being featured in a backstage interview for WWE's official website duringRaw.[87][88] She later appeared duringWrestleMania weekend, including at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and appeared on an episode of theWWE Network exclusiveTable for 3 alongsideMaryse andEve Torres.[89][90]
On January 22, 2018, Blank appeared at theRaw 25 Years special, being honored as one of the historic women of WWE.[91] A few days later, on January 28 at theRoyal Rumble event, Blank competed in the firstwomen's royal rumble match, where she entered at number 19, and was eliminated byNia Jax.[92] In October 2018, Blank participated in a battle royal at WWE's first all-female pay-per-viewWWE Evolution, in which she was eliminated byMandy Rose.[93]
On the January 7, 2022, episode ofSmackDown, Blank was announced as a participant in the women'sRoyal Rumble match at thenamesake event.[99] In what was her third appearance at the Royal Rumble, she entered the match at number 4 and was quickly eliminated bySasha Banks.[100]
On May 25, 2025, Blank made herTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling debut as aheel, performing under her real name during TNA'sBorder Brawl event, where she served as the ambassador for the USA team who competed against Canada.[104][105]
In August 2007, all three members of Extreme Exposé took part in a photo-shoot forFHM.[118] In 2011, Blank was ranked number 82 inMaxim'sHot 100, being the first woman from WWE to appear on the cover ofMaxim magazine.[119] Blank was later featured on both the front and back covers ofMaxim in December 2011.[11] In 2012, Blank ranked number 38 inMaxim'sHot 100.[120][121][122]
Blank was one of the cast members of theE! reality television seriesWAGS, which began airing in August 2015 and features a look into the personal lives of thewives and girlfriends of sportsmen.[123] The show was canceled in 2018.[124]
Blank made her acting debut on the January 30, 2017, episode ofDays of Our Lives, appearing in a scene as a waitress who gives information to one of the show's main characters.[125] Her film debut came in 2020'sDisturbing the Peace, as Amanda.
On August 16, 2020, Blank unveiled her new YouTube channel which featuresvideo blogs on her daily life.[126]
In February 2018, Blank's father Ron died.[137] In 2019, Blank founded a non-profit charity with Drs. Shawn Carbonell and Luzanne Otte namedCureGlioblastoma, the same disease her father died from. The purpose of the charity is building awareness and solutions for brain cancer.[138]
On May 29, 2020, Blank got engaged to bodybuilder Joe Coba inSedona,Arizona.[139] As of August 16, 2020, they reside inCalabasas, California.[140] Blank and Coba married on April 9, 2021, inOak Glen, California.[141][142] Their wedding was featured on theBrides magazine.[143] On March 28, 2023, Blank announced that she was pregnant with her first child.[144] In April, she revealed she was expecting twins,[145] giving birth to them on September 10. She gave birth to son Jaxon Matthew and daughter Brooklyn Marie.[146]
^MacKinder, Matt (July 5, 2006)."ECW: RVD goes 0 for 2".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^MacKinder, Matt (July 19, 2006)."ECW: Battle of the giants".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^MacKinder, Matt (September 20, 2006)."ECW: Royalty meets Extreme".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^MacKinder, Matt (November 1, 2006)."ECW: Going ape on SciFi".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^Plummer, Dale (October 30, 2007)."Raw: DX together yet again".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^Plummer, Dale; Tylwalk, Nick (April 5, 2010)."RAW: Cena's not on the A-List".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^Plummer, Dale (April 26, 2010)."RAW: Feeling a draft".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. RetrievedApril 27, 2010.
^Hillhouse, Dave (July 3, 2010)."Smackdown: Sweep the leg!".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. RetrievedMarch 1, 2011.
^Hillhouse, Dave (December 18, 2011)."TLC: The trouble with tables".Slam! Sports.Canoe.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. RetrievedDecember 19, 2011.
_in_Chile_2008.jpg)
.jpeg)
,Cagematch