Hundreds of WWE fans packed the aisles of the Books a Million bookstore in downtown Washington, D.C., Monday morning before Raw invades Verizon Center, to greet sizzling WWE Diva and Playboy’s newest cover girl, Ashley. Their excitement – all innuendoes aside – was evident by the cheers, chants and multiple copies of Playboy waiting to be signed.

“The last time I was here was SummerSlam [in 2005],” Ashley told WWE.com, adding that she was surprised how much time had elapsed since her last visit to the nation’s capitol. “Catching up with fans I haven’t seen in a while, and today being the day [my issue] of Playboy gets released everywhere, along with the positive feedback I’ve gotten....it’s a great day all around.”

One particular fan whom she hadn’t seen in a while was Kyle Burris, a Virginia native who drove an hour up to D.C. so he could grab an autograph and get some pictures with the Diva and give her an update on his website.

“I’m a big Ashley super-fan,” Burris said. “On July 4, 2005, my website devoted to Ashley opened, and right now I have 25,000 different pictures on the site; I update it every day.”

Although Burris has eyed thousands of photos of the SmackDown bombshell, even he admitted that her Playboy pics were hot enough to raise more than a few…eyebrows.

“The magazine came out really good this year,” he commented. “I was impressed.”

So was Steve Vekony, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army who took a few hours out of his workday to get his son, Steven, a very special gift for his birthday.

“Steven knows Ashley from watching WWE, and her signed Playboy cover will be a great birthday present,” he said. “He’s a big fan.”

That said, the autograph session was far more diverse than a guys-only event; mothers brought their daughters, while some girlfriends accompanied their boyfriends, as in the case of Christine Hudlow. She and her beau took a three-hour drive for Ashley’s meet-and-greet, and they didn’t leave disappointed.

“Ashley was so nice,” said Hudlow. “She really appreciated her fans.”

Such compliments are mutual from Ashley’s point-of-view. As much as her fans love meeting with her, she looks just as forward at saying hello to them as much—if not even more.

“Meeting face-to-face, having personal communication with the fans…I love doing things like this,” she said.

To see why WWE fans are flocking to newsstands in herds, check out the April issue of Playboy, on sale now. If you like super-sexy, classy pictures of one of the hottest WWE Divas in sports-entertainment, this issue is tailor-made for you.