It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments.
Steven: My pick for the Rumble Rewind is a match that most Diva fans would probably like to forget: Mickie James vs Ashley Massaro at the Royal Rumble 2006. While it wasn’t the most technically (despite what Joey Styles says), it served as a crucial point in one of the most memorable Diva storylines of all time.
Women’s Champion at the time, Trish Stratus was the special guest referee for this match and was in quite a strange position. While Trish had promised to call this match right down the middle, Mickie had been becoming gradually more aggressive in pursuing her idol, even going as far as assaulting Trish’s ‘protege’ and ‘best friend’ Ashley in the process.
At the start of the match, it was pretty obvious that this wasn’t going to be the greatest match in terms of ring work, but I think it’s best achievement was the story it told. Mickie showed some aggression, utilizing the ringpost as a weapon and such, but it was Ashley’s mean streak that surprised me. Athough she was a face, Ashley used some some textbook heel tactics such as hair pulling and closed fist punching, leading to Trish physically restraining her several times. The fact Ashley was so upset about Mickie’s actions, that she was blatant disregarding the rules was pleasantly surprising. It made it seem as if Ashley was emotionally invested in this match, which is always a good thing.
The icing on the proverbial cake would have to be the ending. Due to Trish’s officiating, Ashley was distracted and fell victim to a nasty (and not in a good way) powerbomb. Mickie went for the pin and Trish almost couldn’t bear to make the three count. Once again, Mickie oversteps Trish’s personal space, attempting to celebrate with her hero. Trish pushes her away in annoyance and Mickie takes her leave.
I would say this is the point when Trish stopped seeing Mickie as a nuisance and starting seeing her as a threat, not only to her title but to her overall. As I said, it wasn’t the best match we’ve ever seen from the Divas. In fact, it was far from it, but it told a story and got us interested which is more then we can expect from Diva matches these days.
Discuss your memories of this match in the comments.
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16 Comments
Thank Goodness Mickie won , I miss this Mickie the PHYSCO!
Ashley was always a train wreck waiting to happen….
Ashley by far has to be one of the most stiffest workers in the ring I have ever seen. The forearms were a mess….but anyways okay match for what it was nothing memorable imo…….Anyone going to post the Chyna vs Ivory royal rumble match?
I liked this too, it was a great storyline, and i loved the story the match told, and like you said, it isn’t the best match of all time (and no one claimed it was) but, it was’nt too bad, i think this match was mainly meant to propel the storyline further anyway…
Ashley was as bad as i remember her. Mickie was great though, she used a lot more different moves back then.
Oh God…Ashley is just not right in a ring.
And I mark out like crazy every time psycho Mickie is on my screen so,yeah.
This was a horrible match,but whatevs.Maybe the quality of the video made it look worse than it actually was,but I can’t stand seeing Ashley wrestle.It’s like torture.She was always more of a mic person,though…
This was a great way to build up to Mickie and Trish’s match at WM
this is when the divas still had real matches at WM….
This match was…watchable. i miss mickie’s wackjob days tho and by watching this match i just noticed that no diva search WINNER has ever held gold SMH.
this match wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either, love the aggressive side of ashley though
Even the fans there turned on Ashley.
WOW mickie looks nothing like she did in 2006. Man Ashley sucked big time but, if you guys remember Ashley got her revenge like 2 weeks later by beating mickie in another match with Trish as a Ref again
Nice match from a storyline perspective. Come to think of it, most Diva Royal Rumble matches have been well engrossed in a storyline. Sable vs. Luna, Trish Stratus vs. Jazz, Torrie Wilson vs. Dawn Marie, Mickie James vs. Ashley, etc. Tonight appears to be no exception and hopefully it will be as fun to look back on as these matches have been.
weird they did the same stare as they climbed in the ring and rolling arm lockup in the mickie james vs michelle TLC match, the psycho Mickie story line is my fave, its probably the best both Trish and Mickie have done IMO
@paparazzi8oB wasn’t Candice Michelle a diva search winner? she won the title
i love Trish’s ref gear it looks cool
Ashley was the WWE equivalent of Lacey. A pretty blonde that can’t wrestle but somehow is a part of TV. I do agree that this did steer the Trish/Mickie feud into WM!
I wish that there was more storywriting than this for the divas and KOS
best ashely match evar!
hahaha
i love mickie =]
i miss that mickie.. the psycho chick. ashley reallyy sucked as a wrestler. mickie really got ash in this match.:P