If last night was any indication, the WWE better start watching their backs. No, I’m not talking about the competing returns of Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan–I’m talking about the Divas vs. the Knockouts. Both live shows saw action from them, and I believe (and, from what I can tell, this is the consensus) the Knockouts provided the more entertaining wrestling. No, this Raw Redux will not serve to bash the Divas. Rather, it will be an explanation of how they can amp up the excitement in order to avoid being upstaged by the competition again in the future, should such a “Monday Night War” occur again.
The show certainly started with some promise. With Melina‘s ACL tear (and the fact that she will be out at least until July), it was sort of a “take lemons and make lemonade” situation–with Melina forced to vacate the Divas Championship, it gave way to an 8-Diva Divas Championship Tournament. Tonight marked the start of the tournament, with the opening bout pitting the self-crowned #1 contender Maryse against Brie Bella. Watch below to see who advanced in the tourny:
I appreciate that the WWE actually acknowledged Melina’s injury on screen. I mean, they didn’t have much of a choice, but it’s leagues better than the “battling depression” excuse they used for Maryse’s 2009 absence.
Maryse makes her entrance, as does Brie (with sister Nikki in tow). As they are dressed exactly alike–Nikki in tights–it’s quite obvious that they’ll try to pull the old Bella switcheroo. I wish there were a less obvious way to pull it off, I guess it’s easier to assume that the officials are idiots. They start the match with a tie-up, Maryse taking advantage and forcing Brie against the ropes. Maryse gets a handful of hair and the referee makes her back off. She does, but not before pie-facing Brie. Brie doesn’t take this insult lying down, chasing Maryse and stopping her from escaping the the outside.
Brie backs off and Maryse exits to the ring apron, trotting on it and doing her hair flip. Brie has enough and drags her back into the ring, batting her in the face for a bit of payback for the facial delivered earlier. She tosses Maryse into the corner and works on her a bit before Maryse shoves her off. Brie delivers a kick to the midsection, tossing her around the ring a a few times by the hair before hitting a leaping snapmare. One dropkick later and Maryse heads for the outside again, looking for some separation via the ropes. Maryse obviously is lacking in peripheral vision, as she doesn’t notice Nikki right beside her, and Nikki grabs her by the hair, slamming her face-first into the announce table.
Brie returns Maryse to the ring, rolling her up for a pin attempt. Maryse kicks out at 2 and takes advantage of the match the moment she gets to her feet, delivering a few blows to Brie before irish-whipping her into the ropes. Brie kicks Maryse on the return, running the ropes and ducking a haymaker from Maryse. She attempts to leap on the ropes but can’t quit get the momentum to get there, but Maryse covers the botch well by attacking her immediately, hitting her on the back and sending her to the mat. Maryse attempts a pin, but gets a 2-count.
She drags Brie by the hair, pulling her closer to her sister’s position on the outside. She roughs Brie a bit and gets a scolding from the referee, during which Nikki switches out with Brie. Maryse notices this (Finally, someone does!) and laughs at this attempt to outsmart her, kicking Nikki in the stomach and immediately hitting the French Kiss for the pin and the win. Maryse advances in the tournament! As she exits, she is confronted by the Miz, who goes on some spiel (summary: “I’m awesome.”). She exits, tossing her hand in her general direction in response–couldn’t have said it better myself!
The match wasn’t bad at all, considering the relative inexperience of both sides. But compared to the Knockout action taking place in the same night (this match even snugly fit into the commercial break of the Knockouts Tag Team Title match), it sort of paled in comparison. Maybe a more exciting start to the tournament could have helped them in the Diva/Knockout head-to-head, but 2 heads (or, in this metaphor, matches) are usually better than 1–the fact that they were both title matches certainly didn’t hurt. TNA also had 3 hours for their show, so the Knockouts certainly had more time to work with. Hoga still monopolized Impact, but that extra hour certainly gave the Knockouts more breathing room. Bret Hart monopolized Raw’s 2 hours (more deservedly so than Hulk, in my opinion), putting the Divas’ back again the wall, time-wise. Thus, I’m surprised they even got the time they did, and Maryse and Brie did decently with the time given, I’d say.
If the Divas want to prevent being usurped by the Knockouts (if they haven’t already) they need to be given more ring time. Tonight was an obvious indication that more time often results in better wrestling. The ODB/Tara match was deemed a disappointment due to its meager length, and the Tag Title match, given much more time, was deemed match of the night by many. Now, this is entirely up to the bookers, of course, but I can only hope that they take notice to how differently the Knockouts are treated in comparison to the Divas. The fact that the Maryse/Brie match fit perfectly into a commercial break during the Tag Title match says a lot, and the more favorable reaction towards the Knockouts says a lot as well. Bookers, if you want the fans to give a damn about the Divas, you should give a damn about the Divas. It’s as simple as that.
But back to this match–everyone saw the Bella switch coming from a mile away, but I like that Maryse noticed it and thus didn’t look as lame as others have in her position. Though, the match’s outcome was entirely predictable–I mean, how could one of the Bella twins, who haven’t wrestled in weeks, defeat the Diva they’ve been building up in those weeks? Tournaments are meant to be a bit more exciting than that, and I hope the remainder of the tournament isn’t as easy to predict. For one, I think it’s likely that this tournament is nothing more than a drawn-out path to victory for Maryse. If so, I’ll be pretty disappointed–they could have accomplished this easily with a Battle Royale, awarding Maryse the Divas Championship.
I hope they take this opportunity to swerve us a bit and give the belt to someone else, but I’m holding to my instincts and predicting that Maryse will come out on top, in which case this tournament would be nothing more than the writers buying time to figure out what exactly to do in Melina’s stead. Think of it–they’ve got a few weeks off of actual Diva booking! I’ll try and stay optimistic, but at this point, to me this tournament is nothing more than a victory parade for Maryse, paved with the laid-upon bodies of Raw’s Divas. Don’t call me a cynic; it’s just elementary, my dear Watson.
[poll id="504"]
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51 Comments
Maryse’s “oh no the hell they didn’t” look was priceless!!!
well that was shit
I dont think the bookers care if the Knockouts are doing better than the divas. As long as the male stars on RAW do better than the TNA stars they are happy (unfortunately).
The ratings breakdown of both matches will be interesting since they took place at the same time. If the Hamada/Kong match scores relatively high, compared to a relatively low rating for Maryse, then they MIGHT change things around for the divas in the future.
Did anyone else for that brief second when Brie botched and went on the ropes go “Shit its that Jackie Gayda match all over again” haha
I don’t really understand why they had Brie control Maryse for so much of the match. It’s one thing to make sure Melina, Gail, or even Kelly look strong before losing but protecting Brie Bella isn’t necessary. I liked the finish, though, as the Bella switch not working was long overdue, and a heel who is getting pushed shouldn’t fall for it.
shit shit shit two untalented divas more in cheats and fashion
Really bad match and boring to boot. I really hope the WWE swerves us because the idea of this being a breeze for Maryse is depressing. LOL
I have to say that I thought the whole of Raw was pretty good but yet again the 2 minute diva segment really disappointed me!
I really was hoping to see something exciting or shocking seeing as Bret Hart was a guest host this week too! I can’t believe Hart Dynasty weren’t even included onto Raw! I was really building my self up for a big battle royal where the champion would be crowned that night! But, unfortunately, I had a feeling that WWE would create a tournament just to buy some time! I do have a feeling that Maryse is going to get the title, hence why couldn’t they have just done a battle royale, but thinking about it, you never know with WWE and I have a feeling possibly Kelly or Gail both have a shot at causing that upset. I mean in my opinion, I think it would make a rivalry between Maryse/Gail or Maryse/Kelly even more interesting!!
I think it’s about time WWE stopped pissing Gail Kim about and finally gave her that title! She’s well overdue and she is the most talented diva left on Raw now! I didn’t think the match between Maryse and Bella was bad at all, but too short. Anyway the next couple of weeks should be interesting for the tournament, hopefully, jus hope we are all in for a shock!! Go Gail Kim!!
Melanie Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
To be fair, Brie didn’t do as badly as I expected. I actually think she stood out more than Maryse.
The Miz…rather attractive i must say off topic!
To be honest, I usually strongly dislike the Bellas, but I was actually impressed with this little performance from The Bellas (namely Brie) whilst it was still the usual monkey flip it was still about five more moves than Maryse pulled off in the match. Overall, however I still enjoyed the match, the way that The Bellas were foiled for once and Maryse’s reaction to it and Nikki’s attack on Maryse. I think if the Bellas were alligned with some heel rather than the GM’s and given more ring time, they could let go of the image they have around them.
Also whilst everyones going on about KO’s vs. Divas, I don’t actually think this match was that bad even if it was filled with more mouthing off than actual wrestling.
Lol, at 3:01 you can clearly hear Brie say ‘oh shit!’ as she botches.
it was more of a “oh shh–” than anything…
it’s nice to see the bellas being aggressive and when it comes to wrestling, they hold their own.
terrible match,where else can you see 2 non talented female wrestlers,TNA may have shit booking but at least there wrestling is good,Raw has predictable/normal booking but there divas matches suck
NEXT!!!!
What a suprise? RAW was a short, hot mess. As much as Maryse and the hotter Bella look good, that didn’t help the match at all, with the exception of Maryse’s cover. The match was even botched and it only lasted around 2 minutes which was a total fail on the part of Brie. Let’s hope if Maryse is getting the title, she can least win it in a credible match and not some 2 or 3 move offensive flurry of crap.
the people who keep saying these girls are untalented are so lame. they’re working hard and doing a decent job. they’ll only get better.
Outside of whatever that was suppose to be when Brie threw herself to the top ropes, I liked the match. For everyone who claims Maryse is worthless because she “can’t wrestle and only flips her hair”, explain why when Brie and Nikki were taking their shots, the crowd was getting into it?
The ending was great. It’s funny how you need a friend to help you count on fingers how many Divas do a drop kick in their match but you don’t even need a full hand to count how many of them can make you laugh.
LOL @ this match! Kristal talking on the mic last night was far more entertaining than this crap.
This was a crapfest pure and simple. That botch Brie did on the ropes really reminded me of that mixed tag match with Trish and Jackie Gayda lol. Shockingly, Brie looked better than Maryse did. Anyone else notice how out of breath Maryse was?? A 2 to 3 minute match and she was already looking very tired.
What trips me out is that some people wanted this trainwreck to be even longer. Could you imagine Brie and Maryse botching for 10 minutes, instead of 2? LOL! It’s funny because these shorter matches are supoosed to make these women look better. Instead, they’re not even skilled enough to go even that long without exposing themselves. SMH.
Was I the only one who didn’t think that this match wasn’t half bad? I thought it could of been better. But, how long have The Bellas been the escorts for the guest hosts? They probably just have some ring rust.
I agree Adam.
Besides, if people think this was bad because it was two inexperienced wrestlers, can someone please explain how Melina and Jillian messed up for a month gets a pass as them having an “off night”. Or what about that Mickie vs Gail match? That was a train wreck as well.
Personally, a bad match is a bad match. The thing that works in the favor of a Gail Kim, Melina, or Mickie James though is that they have proven themselves in the past as being able to go and have put on some good to great matches. Maryse and Brie? Not so much.
Man, are all of ya’ll on your periods? lol
The match wasn’t THAT bad as you guys are making it seem like…they managed to have 1 minor botch with 2 inexperienced wrestlers…not bad at all! And I don’t even care for maryse or the bellas at all…I’m just keeping it real.
Oh btw…there’s a video on youtube of all the superstars going out to honor bret hart…and the hart dynasty was there…i don’t know if they televised that at all.
Anyways….im not anticipating maryse beating gail kim…but its bound to happen :( And I kinda have a feeling it will be maryse vs. kelly in the finals…with kelly coming out on top
fartycow- its on wwe.com too. :D
ohh and they had hart dynasty backstage so bret could have someone backstage he trusted.
i didnt like the match at all but to be honest i belive in maryse and i also think tht the bellas r not so bad thier only problem is the booking
For the women involved I guess it was an okay match. I’m a semi fan of Maryse so I just wish they let her do more in her matches. There was no reason to have Brie out of all people woman handle her. I really don’t have any feelings towards the Bella’s be it good or bad. They are kind of just there for me. I do think they both need to be split and put on different shows. I do think they need to give them their first theme back. Either that or the faster version of this one from SvR 2010.
Bad match.
Lovely expression from Maryse (Ys’ know,the,”Oh hell no,these bitches did not just go there” look).
And I’m so happy Mary took those fugly ass extensions off.
I laughed as Maryse made the Bella twins look good. I found myself impressed with them for a moment… and then I remembered who they are.
It was a decent match in comparison to previous bouts the Bellas aren’t half bad… probably cause there’s two of them hahaha
Fartycow – People are entitled to their opinions. You asking if people are on their periods, and you stating that you didn’t think the match was bad is your opinion, so you don’t need to insult the other users inorder to state your opinion. The match in my opinion was terrible and I’m a Maryse fan, you don’t have to agree with me, but making it seem as though your opinion is the most important is childish, don’t you think? Not everyone’s going to agree with you on how the match took place, and not everyone ever will, so you just have to learn to live with it.
THETommyTommy – Agreed. Maryse improvised and that’s the only reason why the match was even bad and not horrid in my opinion, lol. But, I doubt we’ll see the twins in action again, it’s not like they’re always in action anyways. :D
The Match was’nt that Bad…I mean I was expecting Botchamania but it din’t they were going slow and they didn’t look that bad. I think it’s very obvious to pick the KO match over this one considering the KO have more skills and experience but I could have been worse!
In the latest WWE Poll “which Diva deserves the vacant Diva Championship” ….Gail Kim is leading with 43.67% of the vote against Kelly Kelly in second place with 43.26% and Maryse with 3.44% … this is after 17,184 votes have been cast.
Maryse Advances (:
Its only a matter of time until u haters? take a back seat to the NEXT WWE Divas Champion (:
Nikki Bella needs to loose some weight, looks likes we got another case of Piggie James :p
Look at her kidney area on and around her back, its like rolling into itself. she looks like she had a minor struggle flipping backwards over the ropes.
Uhm, FYI: just because a diva hasn’t had a match on RAW in awhile, doesn’t mean she’s suffering from ring rust.
The Bellas in this case, have frequent matches on the house show circuit and are still training down in FCW on their days off. So, no – ring rust isn’t the correct answer.
I totally agree with you Melanie, WWE Divas need more on-air ring time. The match wasn’t that bad, but if the WWE officials would just do that, then it would make their Diva showcasing more better.
TBH i thought the match was pretty good
both divas did ok with the time they were given
a couple botches but pretty good none the less
haha im glad someone finally didn’t fall for the switcheroo lol
Was it just me or did anyone else feel like throwing up when the Miz started speaking french? Hes got the voice of a perverted uncle. *shivers*
The match wasn’t THAT bad. I mean if they were actually given the opportunity to be in the ring for more than 3 minutes maybe they’d train harder to put on better matches. Like, I think they really do try it’s just WWE never gives them an opportunity to show everyone how bad they really want it like they do with the male wrestlers.
Anyway, I loved the look on Maryse’s face when they switched. Finally someone noticed :)
And, I hope Maryse wins the tournament because no matter how terrible you think she is (which she’s not) she’s better than a lot of the other divas.
PS i agree with Bee_Miller lol. He sounded creepy plus he had a bad accent and I couldn’t even understand what he said
Anyway, I no longer have high expectations for Divas matches, particularly those on RAW cause it’s more than apparent WWE and the wrestlers themselves’ll keep giving us something to complain about. The match was fine for those involved but other than that as far as matches go…
@litaluva06 – Nikki Bella does not need to lose weight. That they come out wearing stuff that exposes their midriff shows that the Bella Twins certainly don’t think they need to. Who are we to say they do?
In the “Who deserves the vacant Diva Championship” WWE POLL … Gail Kim is leading everyone with 57.64% of the vote. Maryse is in second place with 22.09% and Kelly Kelly in third with 17.07%. 98,413 votes have been cast … Congratulations Gail.
haha not suprising, a totally shit match! neither of them can wrestle! maryse really needs to be up against people who can actually wrestle (melina) to make her look good!
Well the Knockouts owned the Divas on Monday. And the SD side things is being much better booked and more interesting right now.
Short, lame match. If anything I like Maryse for not falling for that lame Bella switcheroo. How the hell are those twins gonna be considered faces when they: 1. Pull the switch all the time; and 2. Nikki slammed Maryse’s face into the announce table. Maryse seeing that switch and then taking matters into her own hands made me smile though lol.
Thing is, the Bella’s get way too much offense in most of their matches. Maryse could have just squashed Brie here because she and her sister are just arm candy for the weekly guest hosts. At least when Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly jobbed to her, they still looked strong as they are more credible in the ring.
Oh and can the Bella’s look even more of a hot mess with those awful red outfits and terrible entrance music?? Brie looked OK but at about 3:00 mark she botched a move and you could hear her saying something.
In their defense, WWE is calling the shots for them, Vince liked what the Bellas did with Bob Barker and moved them to Raw to continue being arm candy, they’re not in the ring that often and they have picked up wins against Victoria and Natalya, if Maryse had just squashed them I’d see it as an insult that they can score victories over talented stars like them and lose to Missy Five Moves. Its unlikely they’ll be in the ring that much through 2010 so just grin and bear it, most people have said the Bellas outperformed Maryse in the match. Also about botching, to be honest had Brie not muttered ‘Oh Sh..’ then most people would’ve just thought she countered the move, it wasnt on the Gail and Mickie scale, botches happen to most people, Homicide apparently botched a move, you can pinpoint Brie in particular as the anti-Christ as if it has never happened before. For a green Diva, she performed alright.
Okay hell must’ve frozen over because I defended the Bellas there, but seriously credit where credits due. In terms of WWE vs. TNA in Diva and Knockout singles matches I preferred this one. Tara and ODB was talked over by irrelevant matters to the match, it felt stodgy throughout and the ending was less than impressive, even with Tara’s ‘exciting’ Poison plantation which is almost as stale as the Bellas switch.
I think it was Maryse who botched that move. To me it seemed she was supposed to hotshot Brie, but forgot and instead went for a clothesline which Brie ducked on instict and then didn’t know what to do from there so she jumped to the ropes.
It was one minor botch and people suddenly refer it to the Jackie Gayda match, I mean come on people, that match had tons of huge botches which had the crowd booing becase it sucked so bad.
At least it’s not as bad when Mickie was on RAW, every match was slow-paced, botch-filled, and had me cringing with each of her moves.
I didn’t like the match. I just didn’t like it at all, nothing good about it to be honest.
Maybe it was from the above picture of.. idk if that’s Nikki or Brie.. that Sunny say they were getting chubby.
Everyone’s entitled to what they think of the match. Just because someone doesn’t like a match, that doesn’t mean we’re criticizing or being mean. We just don’t like the match. And to be quite honest, most of you didn’t like it either until Melanie/Erin shared their perspective. Then all of a sudden it’s a different story. So a match is a match. Everyone gets something different from it.
Sarita, Taylor, Kong & Hamada completely raped Brie & Maryse last Monday. Metaphorically, of course. ;)
Seriously, this match was lousy and Brie’s botch on the ropes was @#$%ing horrendous.
@MarBu 13 – There you go.