Diva Dirt’s Topical Barometer: Highs & Lows for the Week of October 19th

Key: Hot; this was well done. Tepid; this was middle of the road. Cold; this was miserable.

Diva Dirt prides itself on original content, which is why we have totally jacked a fabulous idea from Alan Carr — the topical barometer! Every week, we’ll be looking at the highs and lows and finding out where they rank on our topical barometer. What’s hot? What’s tepid? What’s cold?

Tara & Kim Couture Altercation, Bound for Glory
Tara got a shock at Bound for Glory last Sunday when MMA fighter, Kim Couture showed up in the crowd! The duo got into an altercation that has lead to conflicting reports as to whether it was all an angle or whether it was real.
Verdict: Tepid. I thought the angle at Bound for Glory looked good and came across well, but the lack of follow-through and conflicting reports on what was going to happen here have lead this feud to drop from being ‘hot’ to ‘tepid’. Though TNA seems to have gone to the trouble of bringing in Kim Couture, none of the MMA press or wrestling press for that matter, were too favourable of the angle. Then there’s the lack of mention on TNA Impact also. It looks as though this was a one-shot deal that served very little purpose.

Daffney Goes Through Barbed Wire Table, Bound for Glory
Fearless TNA Knockout, Daffney went through a barbed wire-laden table at Bound for Glory last weekend, marking yet another crazy bump that she has endured in the past year. Since joining TNA, Daffney has been part of several crazy spots and this one was perhaps the biggest yet.
Verdict: Hot. While I must be concerned for her health, for Daffney to take part in yet another spot of this caliber should be praised. This was a ‘holy shit’ moment that rivals some of the craziest spots performed by the male stars in WWE and TNA. Daffney truly does deserve an award for her fearless nature.

Diva Dancers, Monday Night Raw
Welcome to Raw, Eve! It was disconcerting to see Divas that can wrestle like Eve Torres, Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly relegated to ‘Diva dancers’ on Raw, this past Monday. Serving as Snoop Dogg’s Diva escorts, Eve, Gail, Kelly and the Bella Twins danced in the ring with the hip hop star like video vixens.
Verdict: Cold. If you consider the wealth and talent that Eve and Gail have, it seems pathetic to rub them with the same brush as the Bella Twins. No offence to them, but the only reason they were brought to Raw was to serve as eye candy for the guest host of the week. On the other hand, Eve, Gail and Kelly have carved out decent careers as wrestlers and as such shouldn’t be treated as glorified dancers.

More after the cut:

Kelly Kelly def. Gail Kim, WWE Superstars
Hometown girl does good, as Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim had a surprisingly good match on WWE Superstars this past Thursday night. While on paper, Gail Kim losing to Kelly may look bad — in execution, it played out far better than one could have hoped. Given more time than matches on Raw or SmackDown, this was perhaps the surprise sleeper hit of the week.
Verdict: Hot. Kelly held her own against the veteran former Women’s Champion and Knockouts Champion. Singles matches are usually her achiles heel, but here her style meshed well with that of Gail’s leading to a match of decent length that told a story too.

The Meanest Girls, TNA Impact
TNA debuted a reality show for The Beautiful People on Impact, ‘The Meanest Girls’. The first ‘episode’ saw TBP get into a food fight with Saritaylor backstage. For fans of the segment, don’t fear — ‘episode’ two airs next week! We can hardly wait…
Verdict: Cold. In the context of TBP, it makes sense but it just came off poorly executed and stupid. We’ve had talk shows on wrestling shows and now we have reality shows too? Perhaps instead of putting TBP into segments like this, we should strengthen them as a wrestling team and have them compete in actual matches. This fell flat and came across convulted.

Kristal Lashley’s Impact Debut, TNA Impact
Former WWE Diva, Kristal Marshall — now Kristal Lashley — made her debut on TNA Impact this week. Seen in the audience of the Impact Zone, Kristal became the object of Scott Steiner’s desires as he put his hands all over Bobby Lashley’s baby mama.
Verdict: Tepid. Kristal is a beautiful girl and has a lot of personality as we saw in WWE, thus I don’t mind her coming into TNA. But this isn’t exactly the way in which I’d have her debut — in a storyline where old geezer, Scott Steiner fawns all over her. Kristal had shown development as a wrestler in WWE, why not have an African-American Beautiful Person? God knows her body is banging! Must they all be caucasian and blonde?

Awesome Kong vs Raisha Saeed, TNA Impact
Awesome Kong annihilated her former manager, Raisha Saeed as the pair’s two-year relationship came to an end on Impact. Kong and Saeed had a short but decent match but the real gasp moment came when Kong power bombed Saeed off the stage.
Verdict: Hot. Saeed & Kong’s near two-year relationship has been one of the most effective managerial storylines in Diva or Knockout history. Saeed served as a great mouth piece for Kong and we’ve all been waiting for that eventual match-up and dissension. This spot did not disappoint, as the Knockouts once again push the boundaries with another death-defying spot.

Layla vs Mickie James, SmackDown
Mickie James made her SmackDown in-ring debut this past week, defeating Layla in a back and forth match. The Diva, who had spent her entire career thus far on Raw, it seemed had a point to prove to all her naysayers backstage.
Verdict: Hot. Mickie brought the heat [no pun intended] in her first outing for the blue brand, proving that her work ethic is still there — she just needed to be pushed. Working with Layla, who herself is coming into her own, was a great start for Mickie. Layla has a quality unlike most Divas which makes her opponents look like a million bucks and she really shined for Mickie on SmackDown. Both Divas did a great job.

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Tags Brie Bella Cheerleader Melissa Daffney Eve Torres Gail Kim Kelly Kelly Kharma Kristal Marshall Lacey Von Erich Layla Madison Rayne Mickie James Nikki Bella Tara Velvet Sky