For weeks we’ve been following the Divas Championship tournament, with all its stops and starts. Two weeks ago we finally made the match-up for the finals, but getting to that match has been harder than it seems. Many of us want the WWE to just get it over with, as it’s been obvious from the start that Maryse will be walking away with the title. Thus, it’s been some acute form of torture to see the WWE stretch this thing out as long as possible. This week was no different, and on top of it we got some bad good news: the finals will be taking place in less than two weeks at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Until then, we’ve got two Raws to fill, and you better believe it that the WWE will give it as little build up as possible:
See? We’ve been treated to a random match between Gail Kim and Jillian, which kind of sneaks up on us because no one was given an entrance, and the match wasn’t even announced. Hey, they’ve gotta free up time for all the Shawn Michaels angst and John Cena beatdown replays! Maryse, of course, is on commentary, making this impending finals match-up even more of a laughing stock. You’d think the WWE would get that doing it this way makes it look like Maryse is the champion, scouting her challenger in Gail. I’m sure they notice, but just don’t give a shit.
In the ring, Gail and Jillian start with a tie-up, Jillian taking control and backing Gail up against the ropes. Gail slips through the ropes, falling to the outside. Jillian tosses her back into the ring and goes for a pin, getting a 1-count. She whips Gail into the corner and gets an elbow to the face when she goes for an attack. Gail climbs to the top of the turnbuckle, but Jillian sweeps her feet and knocks her all the way to the mat. Another pin, another 1-count.
Meanwhile, on commentary, Maryse talks about how much more sophisticated Raw Divas are in contrast to what’s been going on on SmackDown with Mickie James. Complain about the fat jokes all you want, Maryse, but at least they’re given more than 3 minutes of screen time. Maybe the Raw Divas should start having food fights.. Jillian pounds Gail’s head onto the mat and hoists her up, but Gail slips free, hitting the Eat Defeat. She pins Jillian for the win.
The match, which was literally ONE MINUTE long, was as good as any match could be with such a ridiculous time limit. I give boatloads of credit to Jillian and Gail for making such a joke of a match interesting and fun with what little they were given. Funny, though, that the post-match promo was longer than the match itself. Maryse, get priority? Never!!
In this promo, Maryse tells Gail that she’s looking forward to their match in 2 weeks and hopes that it is great. She then speaks in French, saying, “Gail, I just wanna say that you smell garbage at a 100-feet around.. Seriously, you stink! You look like a poor little girl, I have pity for you. You’re miserable.” (thanks to Zackitty on Twitter for the translation). Gail can’t understand this, but she reluctantly shakes Maryse’s hand afterwards. Maryse wishes her luck in the match, and departs.
The whole booking for this tournament has been so inconsistent and half-assed that I’m really not surprised that this point. It’s as if the WWE isn’t even trying to hide that Maryse is the one they’re pushing to the title. If they don’t give two shits about this tournament, why are they even putting the finals on a PPV? Why not get it over with a quick match on Raw if it’s that much of a hassle to book for? I suppose stretching it out this far lends them time with which they can avoid actually booking a feud. Meanwhile, we get even shorter matches than we’ve become accustomed to (I mean really, 1 minutes??) and Maryse gets to insult Gail on the sly. I wonder what language-hidden insult Maryse will come up with next week?
This just proves how low of a priority the Raw Divas are. Even with something that is supposed to be exciting and different–a championship tournament–it’s given embarrassingly little screen time and seems to be tossed together in the minutes prior to the show. I suppose the Gail/Jillian match was only fortunate enough to make it on the show because they found some extra time in between the multiple Triple H/Shawn Michaels bitchfest segments and replays of Batista’s beatdown on John Cena. Its this kind of lack of effort that makes it tough for Diva fans to even care about what happens on the show. I know that I find it laughable that I’m putting any effort into writing this Redux when it’s clear that the WWE is treating this storyline as an afterthought, something they can throw on TV if there’s extra time. It’s fitting, though, that on Diva Dirt Raw has become an afterthought of sorts to the exploits of the SmackDown Divas. I don’t even think the two brands are competing for our attention anymore, because if so, it’s one hell of a one-sided fight.
Food for thought: Do you think the Maryse/Gail match at the Elimination Chamber PPV will be given decent ring time?
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62 Comments
What an idiotic show this is becoming.
the fact that these (underrated) divas are working their asses off working a match that is so pointless pisses me off.
I’m upset about the lack luster matches, the short periods of time and the obviousness of Maryse winning the championship but as a wrestling fan in general, I’m not going to hate on the whole product because of it. As someone who wanted to be a diva at one point, it is heartbreaking to see what it has become but I’m not going to shit on the rest of the things in the show because of it.
I enjoyed Raw despite the lack luster Diva moment(s) and I find it’s storylines compelling, at the moment. At least the Shawn Michaels one. And we needed those segments to build up his tear down of himself. I won’t allow my love of the divas to blind me in such a way that I can’t even enjoy the product in itself. Flaws & all.
Someone at Divas-Heaven, said it best, when he said: “If someone wants wrestling companies to enjoy then watch and take the good with the bad.”
WHAAAAAAT?
The ‘Maryse trash-talking her opponents in French’ idea is getting dull. And the match itself was truly awful, purely because it was so short. Nobody could give this a thumbs up, surely?
I hope that when we have an actual champ, maybe we’ll get an actual storyline, much like Smackdown.
Then again, wishful thinking, huh?
Maryse’s actions make no sense. At first, she says what SD! divas are doing is embarrassing, but then she speaks in French, saying something ala ‘Mean Girls’. At least the blue brand can write a storyline. The RAW creative team needs to wake up. Things are never good when half of the show is filled with needless replays
LMFAO. As somebody here said, It’s funny to see how WWE makes a feud that ends in a PPV match (and I like it!), WITH a promo, and they just make a 1 minute match for the RAW divas. I mean, everybody prefers to watch 100000 promos about Batista doing the Batista Bomb than a +5 minutes diva match. If this keeps like this, I don’t care about RAW anymore. I waste my time for, what? For watch a lot of wasted talent and for watch 2 twins next to/following the guest host? No.
Maryse is so hot….thats my comment on this whole segment haha
“At first, she says what SD! divas are doing is embarrassing, but then she speaks in French, saying something ala ‘Mean Girls’.”
That’s the idea. She’s putting on an act in hopes that Gail starts thinking more about what Maryse is up to than winning the title. Plus, it makes Maryse look like a liar and a hypocrite, qualities all good heels should have.
Having in mind Gail doesn’t understand what she says, it makes no sense
“Having in mind Gail doesn’t understand what she says, it makes no sense”
What doesn’t make sense? Maryse is lying and putting on an completely phony act, hoping that it will get Gail to not have the kind of focus on the title match that she should, therefore making Gail easier to beat.
“Having in mind Gail doesn’t understand what she says, it makes no sense”
That’s the entire point. She puts on an act in front of Gail in hopes of gaining her trust while being able to mock her to her face knowing Gail doesn’t understand French.
Most interesting thing about this whole match/segment was Maryse talking about the SmackDown Divas and what they’re doing is disgraceful. It’s always interesting to refer to the other brand and what goes on there.
Wonder if Michelle McCool has anything to say about Maryse.
Melanie Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
I’m also more intrigued by the comments about SD in the past 2 weeks. Perhaps some build to ‘Mania? I really hope it’s not though. Perhaps champion vs champion, but I don’t think we want to see Mickie vs Maryse again.
They aren’t even trying to make Gail relevant on RAW. I’m praying that she is drafted to SD! during the draft. I just want it to seem less obvious as to who is getting the belt but i think we all kinda knew from the start. After all, Maryse was the one chasing Melina before she got injured. WWE could have done something SO much more exciting & thrilling with the divas this week but whatever. I guess they don’t care so should we? Did anyone see that thing fall on Bret at the end of RAW? I hope he’s okay. :(
I have no idea what WWE has planned for the divas at wrestlemania but it can’t be good since the past 3 manias the divas matches have sucked BIG TIME. I’LL TAKE ANYTHING over another divas battle royal because i really don’t wanna relive the disgrace that was last year
I would be down for a divas champion vs. womens champion match but I don’t wanna see Maryse vs. Mickie again
(sigh) WWE never does what the fans wants
On the plus side even though we all know Gail won’t win the divas title, at least she’s been getting all these wins as of late
I think that the match will be reasonably longer than last night’s RAW (obviously) but only because Maryse is involved- WWE has to give Maryse the longer matches. It’s quite obvious even in the space of a 1 minute match that Gail Kim & Jillian Hall can put on a good strong feud, and I’d personally much rather see Gail vs Jillian at Elimination Chamber primarily because they have a similar in ring style.
That’s what Maryse said :
“I know you don’t believe me but I just want to tell you that you smell garbage at a 100-feet around…I look at you and all I can see is a little girl who makes pity, you are nothing gail, nothing”
RAW is becoming a joke in every way possible. I mean, a one minute match?! That’s not even long enough to get a snack and go to the bathroom!
At least they aren’t pushing Maryse into some kind of bizarre face turn. This isn’t a feud, this is Maryse telling Gail she’s trash and Gail not noticing. Maryse is the next Divas Champion although I’m still hoping that Gail pulls off an upset and Maryse goes psycho! That’d be fun! Please Vince! PLEASE!
and Gail Kim gave up TNA and a reputation in wrestling for this crap … bad move Kim … very bad move.
“LMFAO. As somebody here said, It’s funny to see how WWE makes a feud that ends in a PPV match (and I like it!), WITH a promo, and they just make a 1 minute match for the RAW divas. I mean, everybody prefers to watch 100000 promos about Batista doing the Batista Bomb than a +5 minutes diva match. ”
That’s because Raw is the “A-Show”. It’s live and WWE cares much more about Raw than Smackdown. The Divas are not important. They can easily cut the divas off the card for the superstars. But that really pisses me off. They can’t even give the divas at least 7 minutes. This just shows how the divas are treatent
This is terribly sad. I mean the match itself was actually really good even if it was short. It was far better than any 5+ minute match they could put Maryse in. I feel that they “have bigger fish to fry” on Raw and arent going to worry about this. Sort of like when you have a really hard class in high school and put other classes off. Thats what it seems Raw’s creative is doing. Since they have to come up with compelling story lines for people such as Cena, they really don’t want to think things through with tthe Divas. Smackdow is far better, but I like the Divas less…this trade haas been bad! I feel Gail, Eve, and Melina (when she has healed) should be traded straight to Smackdown!
Gail Kim IS ALL I watch RAW for…
Well I ONLY watch her on YouTube as the time zone sucks, but I only have interest in her, Savannah and Shelton, Christian and Yoshi Tatsu..
What makes me laugh is the way Maryse is! Shes kinda making herself looks stupid. Last week she was saying how Smackdown is poor for the Mickie/Michelle/Piggy James fued and that her and Gail should make RAW worth watching…Maryse ate her words saying what she said to Gail.
I actually hope Gail wins….Maryse is all talk, nothing to back herself up with whereas Gail one the other hand hardly says anything but has the ability to get far.
i know it won’t happen, as its painfully obvious that maryse is getting all the spotlight in this ‘fued’ but i really want maryse to say something horrible in french again next week to gail then gail to respond in word perfect french before slapping her. at least it would be slightly different!
Pathetic.
I’m still gonna root for Gail to win,though.I would love to see Maryse spaz out,and the shock factor would be awesome…for some,anyways.
I might be being a bit thick here, but I dislike this whole Maryse talking French thing. It’s supposed to push her as a heel character, as she’s saying nasty things whilst acting sweet and friendly. But how does the casual viewer know that? I never know what she’s saying, although it’s implied that it’s nasty, and I rely on sites like this to tell me and confirm that it was insulting. Your viewer with, lets say, less than our interest in the Divas division, is just seeing Maryse being nice and talking some French, don’t know what she said, oh well, don’t care, kinda thing.
When i commented on the Raw response earlier, I’d only seen the WWE.com video of this match and assumed it had been shortened. But seriously what the f**k was that. like, that is a joke of a segment. The thing should have just been given more time and put on Superstars. RAW was a good episode I thought (for once) other than this utterly appauling apart. What on earth are WWE thinking.
I just have a feeling that the writers realized how f’n stupid the Piggy James storyline wise and how it DIDN’T help ANY involved. I think they are planning something big. They actually announced a Divas title match with more than a week to go before the PPV. Normally we find out there’s a title match the Raw or SD before the PPV.
Maryse’s character has taken an interesting twist. She isn’t going all bug eyed and crazy lookin’ when talking French. I think if they keep her wrestling matches in the same format, which is smart btw, at the PPV.. Job well done.
I don’t get Diva fans. They mark out of that stupid Michelle/Layla dumb act and call it “genius!” Despite Michelle and Layla killing the crowd dead everytime. Yet, a heel with real personality and a match style that will get the crowd into it if the face does their moves right is deemed “useless”.
Pro wrestling isn’t just about doing moves because you can do them. That is why a lot of Diva matches don’t go over well. It is just a bunch of moves.
I love Maryse!
There is nothing to b surprised abt its just typical Raw…short matches…but no entrances is a new thing.
I also hope there isnt a Champ vs Champ match at wrestlemania pl I dont wanna see Mickie vs Maryse again. I wanna see a real match where I know both divas willl be serious and not just one. Mickie vs Michelle vs Beth should take wrestlemania or Natalya vs Mickie , Michelle vs Beth , Beth vs Natalya vs Mickie vs Michelle. Typically SD matches where we know there willl be story progression
Im imaginin somthing very nice wrestlemania is known for making history giving Superstars a stage like no other the best of the best walk that line. What if some how some way Gail pulls out the Victory and we do have a champion vs champion match at Wrestlemania even though Gail and Mickie may have meet once before and we all know how that turned :( but people deserve second chances and i know that Mickie and Gail both avid wresters would have an epic match at WM26 I can just see it now high flying oh i would die if this dream came true…..
Yet another segment where Maryse gets no reaction. LOL! I keep hearing about how she is such a great character and that the fans care. But there were crickets for this whole segment. So, the WWE is pushing a non-over woman who can’t work over a woman who also isn’t over but can actually work? LOL!
I don’t want the trend to continue but maybe a one minute squash match works in this case. It’s putting Gail over big time. Whereas Maryse has the mic time and devious ploys to empower herself, Gail has her strong ring work and record. It appears as though they’re booking it so both they both look good going into the PPV.
And, usually when someone speaks to me in a language I can’t understand, it doesn’t mean good things. I’m waiting for Gail to pick up on this. She’s suspicious so she’s not totally oblivious, maybe next week if Maryse repeats the act she’ll give her the old “What’s up wit dat?”
“Yet another segment where Maryse gets no reaction. LOL! I keep hearing about how she is such a great character and that the fans care. But there were crickets for this whole segment. So, the WWE is pushing a non-over woman who can’t work over a woman who also isn’t over but can actually work? LOL!”
Crowd not understanding what is happening = silence. Same thing happens when Beth Phoenix attacks faces and heels in the same segment.
Gail should have diss her in korean!!!
@THETommyTommy – This is exactly what I was thinking that could happen, that Gail could win and then Maryse goes psycho. Psycho characters are SO much more interesting (at least to me), and then there might be some justification for how Maryse’s character acts already. She’s half-way there! :)
And I agree about the language thing. Unfortunately, there are too many Americans (not absolutely all, but still) who don’t have so much as an interest in other languages, so I think the situation would be similiar to what flytoadream said. One might assume that she’s saying something nasty (it’s an old gag) but for those who don’t really care it may be like previously described.
And @Jamal – Agreed.
i missed the match, damn my need to blink!
“Crowd not understanding what is happening = silence. Same thing happens when Beth Phoenix attacks faces and heels in the same segment.”
Yeah, but she got zip when she was speaking English too. Not to mention the crickets, when she made her way from the announce table to the ring. It’s obvious that the only people who care about Maryse and her character are online fans. I’m still waiting for someone to point me in the direction of these massive heel pops of hers. LOL! Youtube maybe?
“Yeah, but she got zip when she was speaking English too. Not to mention the crickets, when she made her way from the announce table to the ring. It’s obvious that the only people who care about Maryse and her character are online fans. I’m still waiting for someone to point me in the direction of these massive heel pops of hers. LOL! Youtube maybe?”
Maryse’s promo had no chance of getting a reaction. The first part of the promo was Maryse acting totally out of character, then the second part wasn’t in English. Judging by all of the “Wait, Maryse is a babyface now?” comments I’ve seen online since Raw, it seems like a lot of people didn’t get it at all.
Maryse has gotten babyface pops for her entrance, but no one said she gets huge heel heat. Why would she? She’s pretty, doesn’t say anything bad about the fans, can be pretty funny, and WWE hasn’t had her do anything all that bad to babyfaces. Not much reason to boo a character like that.
Personally I love this!! Now this isnt exactly Smackdown scripting or anything but way to make Maryse look like a total bitch and make Gail Kim come across as a dominant face and skilled wrestler (like she is) by defeating jillian in like 60 seconds!! Good little build up short but effective. Lets not forget that is all a build up, whoever walks away Divas Champion there is gonna be a feud to follow as there isnt really another credible face to step up right now until Melina comes back, so this should mean title reign for Gail soon!
“Maryse has gotten babyface pops for her entrance, but no one said she gets huge heel heat. Why would she? She’s pretty, doesn’t say anything bad about the fans, can be pretty funny, and WWE hasn’t had her do anything all that bad to babyfaces. Not much reason to boo a character like that.”
And that’s my point. We’ve got a heel that can’t even get jeered. LOL! And the only reason she gets any sort of babyface reaction seems to come from her “sexy act”. I guarantee if Gail or Eve were to come out the same way they’d get the catcalls too. That’s why the fans stop caring after the entrance and posing is done.
im afrad that the match will be as bad as the booking :S
“And that’s my point. We’ve got a heel that can’t even get jeered.”
Why should she be jeered? For being hot? For being pretty amusing with her over-the-top act? For never showing hostility towards the fans? For not doing anything that bad to babyfaces? I would agree if you were making this point about Laycool, as WWE has given the fans every reason in the world to hate them yet the crowd is still silent. With Maryse, the fans have no real reason to hate her.
chrisP: You bring up a point that I’ve been thinking for months. I truly believe that if Maryse (or almost any heel other than Michelle to be brutally honest, including her sidekick Layla) had been given the exact same offensive material and huge amount of TV time that Michelle was given for all those months with the Piggy James stuff, they would have made a lot more of it and got much more heat. I mean at this point, is Mickie really anymore over as a face, or Michelle as a heel, than they were 6 months ago before that all started?
That being said, even as it stands now, with barely a fraction of the effort put into it, I mean Gail gets one minute matches and Maryse gets 30 second promos each week, I will still be stunned if they don’t get a better or at least equal crowd reaction than all the Michelle-Mickie stuff got even with all the build behind it. If that does end up being the case, it’s saying a lot, either about their writing or the people they choose to push…
RAW has turned into a complete joke. It was pretty bad with Melina at the helm, but now the writers have basically given up on booking a quality division. The divas on RAW are absolutely heatless, and the writers have done them zero favors. The best thing would be to put the title on Gail and have her run through Katie and Jillian for a few months. After, of course, Gail makes an attempt to carry Maryse at Elimination Chamber.
This division can be salvaged, but the effort just isn’t there.
“RAW has turned into a complete joke. It was pretty bad with Melina at the helm, but now the writers have basically given up on booking a quality division. The divas on RAW are absolutely heatless, and the writers have done them zero favors.”
I don’t understand singling out the Raw Divas for being heatless, as if the crowd doesn’t go completely silent when Michelle, Layla, or Beth show up. Raw doesn’t have a storyline, Smackdown does, but the reaction is the same: apathy.
Did anyone else find Maryse calling Gail ‘girl’ completely hilarious! I was laughing so hard… Don’t think thats what Raw wanted to achieve realy was it. Oh well! Now I’m wondering why I stayed up so late to watch this??? BORING….. C’mon Raw give us something!!!!
On saying that the match was good? as short as it was. Can only hope were going to get a little more build up next week?? Or am I just clinging to straws at this stage….
The fact that Gail is winning matches, whilst Maryse is talking trash is another nail in the coffin at the fact Maryse will win the title. Commentary will play off the fact that Gail has had a winning streak and a majority of the victory over Maryse, trying to big up the chances that she might win- though we all know this isn’t happening.
I’m hating the Maryse show at the moment, yes I do criticise her a lot on here. I don’t hate her, I just think she’s force fed to us way too often. Even if there’s no Diva action, there’s always room for Maryse- it irritates me. I think Gail’s moment in the sun, set on her first match- after she won that title. As soon as she lost it, she pretty much lost it all with WWE. I only wish something would happen that would shake things up on the road of predictability.
No heel WWE diva is going to get consistent heat, and the sooner diva fans realize that, the better. However I’ve actually seen Michelle, Layla, and Beth get the crowd involved. Part of that is more favorable booking, which is why I criticized RAW’s writers. But hell, Mickie/Michelle at TLC had more crowd energy behind it than any match I’ve seen involving Maryse. And that includes her own match with Ms. James. The same goes for the now classic “good-bye celebration”. Laycool garnered quality heat. Certainly more than I’ve ever seen from the likes of Maryse.