RAW Redux – April 29, 2008

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RAW Redux is set to become a regular feature here at Diva Dirt, so on with the thoughts on last night’s show:

Thoughts & Reactions
I was bittersweet with this week’s RAW. On one hand, you had a 12-Diva rematch and on the other hand, you had Katie Lea‘s in-ring debut. I think it was a huge risk – and a bad choice – to have a rematch of the Divas match from Backlash. Going into that match, we were all very uncertain and uneasy because it could’ve gone the totally wrong way, thankfully WWE pulled it out of the bag and put on a pleasantly surprising and good match up. But then to do the very same match the next night, when the first one was so touch and go, I just knew last night’s match wouldn’t be very good and in truth, it wasn’t. It wasn’t a very good match, didn’t achieve the things that the first match did on the pay per view – and actually, has hindered storylines not developed them. What possible reason is there for Team Mickie to win other than because the heels won the night before? This storyline is meant to be centered around Beth Phoenix and Mickie James, having Beth win at Backlash had her come off strong and sent the message out there that she was coming after Mickie and the title. The very next night, Mickie gets one over – it doesn’t leave much room for the storyline to go anywhere. We’ll have to see what they do (if anything at all) next week to develop the obvious rematch at Judgment Day.

One more thing, what is with the face Divas acting like heels? Cherry getting in the ring breaking up the count and Michelle kicking Melina? I don’t get the logic behind that.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the aspect of Katie Lea and Paul Burchill teaming up. It had shades of Essa Rios and Lita, which was a great gimmick while it lasted. Now, I know this is just rehashing that old gimmick but if it gets Katie in the ring and gets her and Burchill over, I’m all for it. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of Katie thus far, I hope it’s not too soon before she gets involved in the women’s division! Hopefully this gimmick will continue for a little while longer, with Katie and Burchill teaming up in 2-on-1 matches. Katie is the star of this duo if you ask me, Burchill’s head is up on the chopping block – Katie can easily be integrated into the women’s division, hopefully WWE has enough sense to mix her into the fold.

All in all, it was a really blase week for the Divas on RAW. Hopefully SmackDown! kicks it up a gear this Friday night!

Individual Assessments
In this portion we will look at each of the Divas individually and the role they played, adding more thoughts yadda yadda:

Ashley: While most would hit the gym and work out, in the 24 hours between Backlash and RAW, Ashley got her hair did. The crazy ass extensions are so 2005. As much as I hate to compliment her, she looked much better with short hair.

Beth Phoenix: Just one night ago, Beth was a dominant force… 24 hours later, she didn’t make much of an impact.

Cherry: Is WWE trying to develop a Cherry naughty streak? At Backlash she goes over to the heel Divas side and pulls down Natalya and last night, she gets in the ring and breaks up the count. I don’t know how they’ll explain a face Diva acting heelish… actually, they probably won’t explain it at all.

Jillian: Poor Jillian, couldn’t they have had Layla do the job? Is Jillian the go-to girl for jobbing?

Katie Lea: I’m looking forward to see if this gimmick sticks, I liked the intergender aspect. As I said above though, get her involved in the women’s division!

Kelly Kelly: Kelly continues to dip into Candice Michelle’s wardrobe and look horrible. During the rush at the beginning did anyone else lol at how Kelly was just standing around doing nothing?

Layla: Two nights in a row, Layla has done nothing.

Maria: Correction, two nights in a row Layla and Maria have done nothing. Maria wishes it was still March.

Melina: Melina played more of a role than she did at Backlash, stepping up and certifying herself as Beth Phoenix’s Number 2.

Michelle: On the other hand, at Backlash, it was Michelle who played up her role as Mickie’s #2 while Melina didn’t. The roles were reversed on RAW.

Mickie: Yeah we get it, Mickie’s Champ, she got the win… Not much else to say.

Natalya: Natalya stood at ringside doing a whole lotta nothing, on the bright side she only debuted a month ago and has appeared on 4 SmackDown!s, 2 RAWs and one pay per view.

Victoria: Victoria did all the work in that headscissors “by Kelly”, all the blonde one did was go along for the ride. Victoria is a consummate professional coz I woulda dropped her on her head trying to make herself look good at my expense.

Fashion Focus
The Good: Melina looked gorgeous with her hair tied back, just gorgeous. Other than that, no fabulous fashion choices on RAW.

The Bad: Kelly tops the list for a second night in a row, give Candice her ring wear back. Beth, Mickie and Natalya weren’t dressed to impress on RAW either.

The In-Between: Layla looked in-between, I don’t think green is her colour. Jillian continues to insist on wearing a skirt, but it looked better with a black top. Maria and Michelle, I’m sure I’ve seen them wearing their attire before, therefore they get a passing mention as looking okay.

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