Joe Millionaire's Evan Marriott: Professional Wrestler?

We knew going into it that Evan Marriott of Joe Millionaire was not who the women thought he was - heck, that's the premise of the whole show. But as more and more information comes out about him, it turns out he isn't even who the viewers have been told he is!

First we heard he was not just some "ordinary Joe" construction worker, but also a model who has been paid, for example, $1000 for an underwear photo shoot. We already knew he had a very minor (one line) role in a soap opera. Then information has come out questioning whether he really could possibly be making only $19,000 a year in construction. But the newest information is even better.

1Wrestling.com recently announced the news that in 2001, Evan was on his way to a career in professional wrestling! In a brief article (you can click here to see it - but be warned, that site has TONS of pop-up ads!), the site notes that Marriott trained at the Ultimate University wrestling school in Southern California run by Rick Bassman. According to a note on the site from Bassman, Marriott is easy-going, humble, and ready to help out his friends (which goes along with what his fellow construction worker said at the beginning of the first episode). Bassman adds that Marriott was a natural when it came to wrestling (maybe he should have been on Tough Enough instead). It is unclear as to why, if he was such a natural, Marriott didn't actually go into professional wrestling instead of the construction work he has apparently been doing.

With each revelation like this, Evan Marriott becomes less and less of the "ordinary Joe" he is claimed to be, and more and more like a publicity-seeking celebrity wannabe. His innocent-looking tousle-haired charm looks more like an act - the same sort of act he put on as a model or a wrestler. He says he wants to find a woman who likes him for who he is - but just who is he? He plays different roles, but who is the real Evan Marriott? Is he the sleek and sexy underwear model? Is he the simple construction worker? Is he the big and buff professional wrestler? I rather doubt we will find out on this show.

Does it matter? Well, this is supposed to be a form of reality TV, though of course the "reality" portion took a bit of a hit with the $50 million lie. Still, it focuses on the actions of the ladies who are after Marriott, and also on Marriott himself. From the footage we've seen that will come later, it looks like Marriott becomes a bit conflicted about the lie he is living. But what about all the different personas he has created?

I have to wonder if Fox was aware of all the details in Marriott's background before they brought him on to be their title character in the show. If so, we have to ask ourselves if there are so few "real" people left in the world, or if everybody who would like to be in such a show is doing it because they have Hollywood dreams. If they didn't, we have to wonder how they managed to miss it.

Either way, I'll still be watching - mostly because I have so far found it quite funny. Evan is definitely not who the women think he is, and he apparently isn't even who the audience has been told he is, but so far at least, he has been damned entertaining. Perhaps for the next dates we'll see a bodyslam or a pile driver. Or maybe we'll find out yet another profession that our jack of all trades was involved with. Actor, model, wrestler - and that's only the information from the first two weeks of having the show on the air! What could be next? We'll just have to wait and see.

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David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.