This week on Raw: Beth Phoenix regained focus after an upset loss last week, scoring a win over Kelly Kelly and Candice Michelle with her partner Jillian. Plus in intergender action, the Burchills lost to Mickie James & Jamie Noble while Layla and King William Regal looked on.
Thoughts & Reactions
After a lackluster few weeks, things were a little better this week but not enough to make me that interested in this week’s Raw. I liked that Beth got an emphatic win this week, regaining her focus towards the Women’s Championship match at No Mercy. Her win killed two birds with one stone: A) it tied in with her ‘mini-feud’ with Kelly, who got a fluke win over her as Beth pinned Kelly and B) it sent a message to Candice ahead of their title match. I didn’t like that they had Beth and Candice start out the match straight away pretty much giving away their pay per view match, shouldn’t you try and keep them apart and have them get in a hot tag? The whole booking for this ‘feud’ has been lackluster, so why start making sense now! The work was fine for most of the match, but I really wasn’t into the first half of it, it just seemed to plod along between Candice and Beth then Candice and Jillian. Candice continues to look uncomfortable in the ring since her comeback, but she has never really had much ring presence if you ask me.
The interesting dynamic of this match was how would Kelly and Candice work together? Sufficiently, I would say. When the match was announced, I didn’t think this duo would work out, you’d need someone like Mickie to lead the tag team, both these Divas are still learning. They worked together well. One thing I observed which I certainly didn’t expect is that Kelly, who has had less opportunity in the ring than her partner, was the ‘Mickie figure’ in this match. The Diva who got the hot tag, fought off both the opponents etc. while Candice did most of the brunt work for most of the match as the ‘weaker Diva’. You would think, considering WWE considers Candice to be their top Diva, she’d be doing the superhero-like hot tag – especially considering the fact that she has a title match this Sunday. However, I think Kelly worked in the role very well and lit up a match that otherwise plodded along, when Kelly tagged in, things picked up in the way that they usually do when Mickie tags in. I would say Kelly has a certain quality about her and I really picked up on this last night, I can see this girl going really far. To me, she seems to be creeping up on Candice and outdoing her in terms of matches, fan response etc. even though Candice is the one WWE wants to push. I can definitely see Kelly continuing to grow and eventually become the top Diva to succeed Trish which is what Candice had been groomed for. Kelly got way bigger pops than Candice, I’m not usually one to go by the crowd, but it was really hard to miss on Raw last night – Candice even got some boos. Not a slight to Candice, but Kelly has more of a likability factor than the former Women’s Champ and is proving to be more well rounded. It’ll be interesting to see how Candice and Kelly’s careers intertwine and mould around each other, to say the least.
As for the intergender tag match, as always good fun. It was great to see Mickie back on Raw, though I’m happy for her to remain in the background and let other Divas get over. If and I mean only if WWE can somehow work her into this storyline with Jamie Noble and Layla, then I’m all for Mickie to come back as a full time character but after the past few months, I think Mickie has run her course and needs to make sporadic appearances and not be burned out completely. I wouldn’t mind seeing a tease of an eventual match between Noble & Mickie vs Regal & Layla. The three different couples on show during this match made me think I was watching some sort of swingers party lol! Layla and Regal looked really good in that throne =)
All in all, not a bad week for Raw. I do like that we got to see more utilisation of all the Divas, very SmackDown-esque but I don’t think Raw has fully redeemed itself in my eyes. We’ll see what happens at No Mercy and going forth.
Individual Assessments
In this portion we will look at each of the Divas individually and the role they played, adding more thoughts yadda yadda:
Beth Phoenix: Beth gained a lot of traction going into No Mercy.
Candice Michelle: For someone with a title shot in six days, I don’t think Candice is ready.
Jillian: Jillian should tape last night’s Raw and lock it in a vault, it may be one of her only wins ever.
Katie Lea: Katie is becoming Jillian #2 and it’s a shame, she has potential…
Kelly Kelly: I think Kelly has started a movement, the fans are behind her, she’s getting good. It’s only a matter of time before the Trish effect takes place. It’s happening slowly but surely which is what I like about it, WWE is still pushing Candice and have yet to realise that Kelly’s where the money is. As soon as they do, she’ll be pushed to the moon and back like many before her so I’m savouring this right now.
Layla: I love her, if nothing else.
Mickie James: Nice match, the crowd was into Mickie’s return too.
Fashion Focus
The Good: Layla looked divine. I kinda digged Kelly’s outfit on her.
The Bad: Candice.
The In-Between: Everyone else.
Digital Photos (Courtesy of WWE.com)
SANTINO (W/ BETH) VS. BATISTA
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49 Comments
Thanks for this. Just discovered your website, and sure am glad I did. Terrific writing, and analysis.
Spot on. Agree all the way. BTW, yet ANOTHER Lena shoot is up.
Is it just me, or is Candice starting to look mighty old nowadays.. especially the way she’s been dressing and doing her hair.. eek. I guess it’s good she’s celebrated a birthday.
Kelly is becoming my new favorite. She’s the most improved, and is definitely “where the money’s at”, like you stated Melanie.
ok jillian was so fucken funny backstage with jamie noble i almost peed my pants i swear
i like the way mickie returned i hope she goes and fueds with layla so we can finally see layla in a match
kelly kelly is improving so much during her match i thought she outshined candice
also are u gonnad do a smackdown redux?
just wonderin
u guys shouldve mentioned the part during the match wen candice was in the corner with her legs on jillians shoulders and jillian dropped her on her face,i thought she was actually hurt(probably was)cuz of candices reaction to the impact of the mat hitting her face,i thought they were going to stop the match,i was like o god now she cant find Sunday
i think kelly will be in WWE for a while…!!!!
which im all good for concidering that most fans love her now-a-days
onto the intergendered match…i loved it!!hopefull we see layla & regal vs mickey & noble soon!!!
the divas tag match was okk!
what i thought was really stupid, though, was that kelly was the real worker in this match, Candice wasnt really working it for me!
Jillian should be on tv more often, i mean a match and promo…WOW!!!!…and im still mad that she didnt get her own entrance while kelly and candice came out seperatly!!!
Beth is a very dominantt champ…
but i still think that this sunday nights match should reallyy be…beth vs kellyy…because kelly deserves atleast a tittle shot!!!
Was it just me or did it look like Mickie James got another boob job while she had time off?
A little off topic, but did anyone else catch Santino’s conversation backstage with “Frank”. Judging by what he said and his reaction when he saw Beth, I would say he was speaking to a woman. I’m guessing that Roucka is gonna get called up. I originally thought of her when Santino said he had a new girlfriend coming up from developmental. But what does this mean for Beth? Face turn perhaps? Hmmm
I’m glad to see Mickie back in action =] I’ve missed her.
Kelly impressed me… like Melanie said, she was like the Mickie ‘figure’ in this match. I quite liked Kelly’s outfit last night and I’m glad to see her out of that crazy outfit she was wearing for the past 2 months or something… I obviously wasn’t too into that ring attire.
Also, I’d like Candice better if she were a heel =/… doesn’t seem likely though.
=]
i think kelly kelly did awesome. she’s improved so much and shes still so young so shes got an awesome career ahead of her.
i also think jillians promo was really funny and she looked good in the ring..she really deserves a push though.
everyone else wasn’t bad but i hate that they make Candice such a big star..she really isn’t all that great and im waiting till wwe realizes it
Candice’s attire was probably the best last night. But go figure it would be cnsidered bad. <_<
Kelly got the hot tag since she was going to be pinned. The hot tag is usually the last tag in a match and they weren’t going to have Beth pin Candice.
Kelly was not better than Candice last night. Kelly did two spots, one that took her 20 seconds to do and the other was overdone and basically done by Beth. Her offense was weak and the only thing she bumped right was the Glam Slam. Other than that, Kelly still doesn’t look good out there.
Candice did fine last night. Not great but she did fine. I like how they’re not making her out to be Super-Candice.
More than likely the work between Beth and Candice on RAW (which was decent) will be better on No Mercy. WWE usually books the good stuff for PPVS.
Since WWE stressed on Santino costing Beth her matches, I see a new women’s champ this Sunday.
Candice didn’t get booed last night. The audience said TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO when she interrupted the crowd.
Just wait until Kelly starts getting big matches and more than just short matches with Beth and in tag matches. Let her do a 1o minute matches like the other divas have done, let her have a big match that isn’t on RAW and that requires her to work fully. You’ll start to see the flaws. There’s a reason as to why Candice worked most of the match last night.
i really didn’t like the diva match.i though it looked kinda sloppy.oh & what were the fan chantng during the divas match.all i heard was we want…..
I much prefer Kelly to Candice, Candice looked sloppy again while Kelly simply seems to have “something” about her that I really like seeing. What distracted me though was how hideous Jillian looked. She looks like she’s wearing a mask. She needs to really lay off the botox and the plastic surgery.
@ Mike: Must you always be so negative about every other diva. In the short time I have been visiting this site I have noticed that you rarely have anything good to say about any diva save for Candice. I’m sure you can find a way to be a Candice without being so biased. I must admit I’m sorta a Mickie Mark, but I have no problem criticizing her her when it’s due, and I definately don’t take offense when Erin, Melanie or any other person on this site makes a critical comment about her. Mike don’t act like a mark, and we’ll stop treating you like one.
Dani, the fans were chanting “We want puppies” during the match which tends to happen when they’re less interested in what’s going on in the ring as opposed to who.
I always say nice things about other divas. Just not here as I think it’s been done enough in the main post.
I’d like to see Kelly get the push Candice got last year, working house shows 3 nights a week. I’d like to see her put in as much time as Candice did last year and I’d just love to see her perform in 10 minute matchesm, not only at house shows, but RAW, and PPV’s as well.
Then let’s see how well she holds up. Sounds good on paper until it actually happens.
Look at Maria last year. So many fans wanted to see her pushed. WWE tried it and saw how horribly she was performing in bigger matches and how she couldn’t handle the huge schedule.
Some people just don’t look into things good enough. There’s more to a push than just wrestling on RAW and working house shows once in awhile.
Just let Kelly do half of what Candice did last year and I bet she wouldn’t last.
“Candice’s attire was probably the best last night. But go figure it would be cnsidered bad. <_<”
*Rolls eyes*
@ it seems kinda early to say that Kelly would be able to handle a big push. Kelly has only been in the WWE for 2 years. Half of that time was spent dancing(badly), and doing bikini contests. However in the last year she has has come farther than Maria and, dare I say Candice. While her moves may be flashy and often halp by har more experienced opponents, Kelly manages to put on a good match and keep the fan behind her. While I can’t say whether she can or cannot handle a big push, she definately deserves one more than Candice or any other diva on the roster at this point. Two single wins in five weeks over a champ and no title shot yet? I don’t get it.
I agree with your Kelly Kelly thoughts, She is going to be huge one day. Which is good because she is so young that she will be around for a long time. It won’t be long until she starts winning matches without having to do a roll-up. Hopefully we will see the K2 sometime soon.
I love Candice’s outfit though. And I think that she is getting better. I don’t think she will win at Unforgiven though. I think that Candice winning is too predictable.
Actually yeh, I kind of liked Candice’s outfit too…
Anyway, just as I predicted Beth over Kelly. To be honest, this was the best way the match could go down. Beth over Kelly allows the Glamazon to gain some momentum, solidify Kelly’s wins as ‘luck’ and makes Candice look like she has a mountain to climb on Sunday.
Melanie, can we have a Smackdown Redux? Surely last Friday’s Smackdown wasn’t as good as Raw, with that boring-as-hell tag team match. Poor Vicotria and Nattie :(
(Side-note: I just realized Natalya hasn’t been pinned yet since her debut :) )
Candice deffinatley isn’t winning the title at No Mercy. If she does, I’ll be very surprised. I don’t see her winning it just yet, but she will win it soon enough. That’s a given.
The intergender match was great! Layla looked really pretty, but I would like her to wrestle. Mickie’s little return was good, too. I don’t like that brown outfit, though. That’s the only one I really think is ugly. Katie did great as usual, too bad she’s becoming a jobber. =/
The tag match was alright. I think all the girls did good. Kelly no doubt is improving, but I don’t see her being pushed right now. Candice, I thought, did a good job. You can’t deny that she has improved, but she’s still not the best. Beth, did good as usual. Jillian did well, and I’m glad she won. She needs that botox taken out of her face, though.
I love how the crownd was chanting “We want Kelly!”
The only thing I heard the crowd chant was “We want puppies!” xD I didn’t hear much else.
lol Krystal, the “we want Kelly” chant starts at 4:49 -5:08. You can’t really tell in the video, it was pretty clear on tv lol
They were actually chanting “we want austin”, NOT “we want kelly”.
HAHAHA at the biased entry.
And Kelly is not the next Trish. Trish was dedicated to her craft. Kelly’s matches are boring, sloppy and dull.
candice and beth going into this match aint lookin so good right now
but i just LOVE jillian and her singing its really not that bad anymore not the singing but the gimmick its growing on me!
I didn’t really like Candice’s outfit I like
the OUTFITS THAT SHE USED BEFORE
thanks manda.so the fans were chanting we kelly and we want puppies.it was really hard for me hear on t.v.
This week’s RAW was good,
just for the simple fact that ALL the divas were on this week. {Applause!}
Its about time we see Mickie involved in something else besides the Women’s Championship. I liked her outfit personally.
Like Melanie said, I wouldn’t mind Layla/Regal vs Mickie/Noble…sounds like a good match with the right booking.
Candice and Kelly Kelly vs Beth and Jillian….
I thought that Kelly did good in this match and she’s rapidly improving!
Candice, I mean we all know that she returned from an injury, but she doesn’t look like she did last year, I dunno. I must say that her outfit was different in the color and design and it wasn’t ugly.
Hopefully, the No Mercy match is a good one.
Beth is always good in the ring and I like how she does the chicken wing into the glam slam!
Jillian FINALLY won a match! I seriously encourage her to halt the collagen injections, it makes her look less attractive, she looked prettier in her OVW days.
The match was okay. I liked Kelly’s outfit, and she did look pretty good in the match. I hope they don’t push her too fast, and ruin her, she could have a bright future. I still don’t care about Beth/Candice. They have done enough to make anyone care about the title match. And Jillian, PLEASE lay off the surgery!!
The tag match was ok, some sloppy and boring work from Candice, is all she can do punch and kick? she cant sell moves either. Jillian got in some offense and looked/came off great, the promo was well done too, she needs a push. I agree when u say kelly kelly needs the push over Candice, her feud with Beth is more interesting either way.
This was one of the best Raws I’ve seen in a long time, I was extremely satisfied. And not just that but I was thrilled that the Divas where all over Raw, how often does that happen? The match was lengthy and well done, nothing you can say could change my mind, I haven’t been to warm to Diva matches since Trish retired and Melina has been injured.
Beth Phoenix destroyed Michelle McCool with the help of outside interference from Maryse… Pretty understimulating match..
Ahh, I can’t wait for Roucka to come in. She’s great on the mic and her and Santino together will be awesome. :D
Ok diva tag match, was pretty boring until Kelly got in on the action though. Candice’s outfit was so tacky though. Layla looked hot. :D
For anyone interested, spoilers for Smackdown are up. Click my name to see.
@ Rawr: LIES!!!!!!!
LAyla was mighty hot Monday!!! The best looking natural woman on the entire roster.
I thought the tag was alright. Glad to see jillian win for a change, and I think Kelly did good. I 100% agree that Candice didnt look remotely ready for a title match on Sunday. She looks so botchy, has way too much ring rust to overcome, and the crowd was completely dead from entrance to anytime she was in the ring. I agree shes not looking her age lately and its not interesting to watch her at all. I have NO clue why the WWE is doing this. Kelly by all rights should be #1 contender..she may have gotten lucky wins, but theyre wins and no different than the way Mickie beat Beth.
The “we want puppies” chant pissed me off more than anything. ;|
I think that Candice looks more plastic than Jillian..
I think its funny that the “We want Puppies” chant died for years. Then suddenly Candice comes back wearing these horrible outfits and suddenly the chant is back. WHENEVER she is in the ring.
Candice attire was great IMO, as well as kelly. and I heard when candice interrupted the pin was TWoooooooo not Boooo, I even seen a fan or two put up the two fingers in the crowd, if it was boos, they would have booed candice throughout but I didn’t hear nothing…
lol Katy, why would they chant “we want austin” =/ you and clearly hear Kelly
^ Because they wanted Steve Austin to be HBK’s partner in the main event.
Im pretty sure the cants were “We want Kelly ”
Just Listen Closely. And I agree. I would like Kelly more than Candice!
jillian must get a push…n candice is very overrated did u see her ovr in the game?!
I also heard the ‘WE WANT KELLY KELLLYYY!’
The fans were chanting we want puppies. There were a few sparse kelly kelly chants, but most of the chants were for puppies.