Earlier this week, WWE announced that the victim of the ‘original screwjob’, Wendi Richter would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April. Coincidence, then, that in the same week another Diva is the victim of a modern day screwjob. That Diva is Mickie James, a who woman who seemingly had the odds stacked against her this week on SmackDown. See the drama unfold below:
The odds didn’t look good last week, when Vickie Guerrero announced that Mickie would defend her Women’s Championship against Michelle McCool this week with Guerrero serving as guest referee. Factor in Layla at ringside and you had to wonder could Mickie unleash her inner ‘Super Cena’ to overcome the odds? Many, including I, expected Mickie to somehow retain the title. So imagine my shock and awe when I read that McCool had taken the title from James just three weeks after losing it at the Royal Rumble. Vickie Guerrero, who has proven to be quite the thorn in many a Superstar’s life [just ask Edge], can now add Mickie to the list of stars she’s screwed over.
We begin with Guerrero being introduced as the guest referee to a chorus of deafening boos. She’s followed by the challenger, McCool and run-in buddy Layla, sporting new red hoodies. The champion, James is last to enter the arena. Vickie holds up the Women’s Championship before the bout begins in a rather official manner. Nice touch.
As the bell rings, Michelle and Mickie look up before Michelle applies a side headlock to the champion. Mickie throws Michelle against the ropes but she comes back with a shoulder block and knocks the smaller statured James to the canvas. Michelle goes against the ropes again but is met by a dropkick from Mickie followed by a low dropkick. Mickie then paces towards McCool but is met with a kick to gut. McCool throws Mickie into the corner, Mickie this time is the one to hit Michelle with a kick to the gut. Mickie then hits a neckbreaker on Michelle and goes for a pin cover. Convienently, Layla jumps up on the apron and referee Vickie is forced to deal with the intrusion while Mickie in the ring, could have pinned Michelle to retain.
Mickie has words with Vickie before Michelle sneaks up on her from behind and tries to throw her out of the ring, instead Mickie counters and throws Michelle out of the ring through the ropes. Here’s where things pick up. Mickie hits a baseball slide on McCool followed by an elbow. Mickie then struggles to use the apron for a couple of seconds to hit her patented headscissors but eventually connects. Great, great selling from Michelle. We then get some shrill shrieking from Vickie telling the pair to get back in the ring. Mickie takes no notice and hits Michelle face first into the barricade before rolling her back into the ring.
As Mickie gets up on the apron, Layla distracts her and Mickie kicks her. Michelle slides back out of the ring and grabs Mickie’s leg, throwing her off the apron onto the floor outside. Mickie seemingly hits her face on the floor… ouch! Michelle now in control, rollows Mickie back into the ring, mounting her and smashing her head against the canvas.
As the action continues, we cut to backstage where Beth Phoenix after weeks of absence has finally re-appeared! Yay! Beth — with a flowered hairband [really Glamazon-like, Beth] — is watching the championship match unfold. The insinuation here is that she wants a piece of whoever wins the belt. We want to see it too, Beth!
Back at ringside, Michelle lays in a kick to a fallen James and continues to kick her, keeping her on the ground. Michelle signals her finisher but in the corner, Mickie has managed to get to her feet and kicks Michelle in the stomach. Mickie fights back with forearms but McCool lays in knee strikes to Mickie’s stomach. Michelle sets up Mickie for her finisher, with Mickie in powerbomb position, she begins fighting back with punches to the head and then hits a hurricanrana on McCool.
Mickie begins mounting a comeback with a clothesline and forearms but is then hit with a belly-to-belly suplex by McCool. Michelle goes for the cover but as Vickie tries to get into position for a pin, she somehow falls through the bottom rope onto the floor outside. Time for some Layla comedy as she comes to Vickie’s aid and rubs her bruised butt for her. Meanwhile in the ring, McCool is aggravated and perches on the ropes trying to find out what’s going on. Mickie from behind rolls her up and screams for Vickie to get back into the ring. Vickie gets back in the ring, taking her sweet time but instead of going for a pin — slaps Mickie across the face!
Mickie begins screaming at Guerrero but out of no where is hit with a big boot from Michelle who covers her for the 1, 2, 3 and becomes the new WWE Women’s Champion!
After the match, Guerrero celebrates with Layla and the now two-time Women’s Champion, McCool.
So… where do we begin? This was an extremely strong episode of SmackDown for the Divas with plenty of drama that should have interesting ramifications for coming weeks. Vickie screws Mickie out of the Women’s Championship. Beth Phoenix watching on. There’s so much going on here that should make for must-watch television over the next few weeks.
The match wasn’t as good, I felt, as the match at TLC last December but I particularly loved the spots on the outside — it had some of that aggression that we expect to see in a PPV-caliber Women’s Title match. I appreciate the effort there. I thought both Divas were solid in the ring but the match lacked a certain oomph until the explosive ending.
The whole situation with Mickie and Vickie has been interesting to see unfold over the past few weeks and I’ve said plenty of times in the Redux that I like the idea of Vickie getting involved. Last week, I feared that Vickie may herself challenge Mickie for the Women’s Championship but with her now aiding McCool to the belt, we can wipe our foreheads! I’d much rather see Michelle as champion than see Vickie potentially feud with Mickie. At least now, it grounds the storyline to the girls that can wrestle with Vickie acting as a plot device.
So Mickie’s three-week Women’s Championship reign comes to an end. I know a lot of people are going to be annoyed about that and yes, I think it’s awfully short but I think it’s also exciting at the same time. While Michelle held the title for a long time and it seems too early to give her another run, I felt she was a strong, entertaining champion and I think it makes more compelling television to see the likes of Mickie and hopefully, Beth chase her for the belt. The question here is whether Mickie will again chase for the title. With her music career and supposedly tenuous position with WWE management, it does seem like a possibility that this could have been her final title run in WWE. Does WWE know something that we don’t? Time will tell. It just seems to me that with all that they did to Mickie, all the fat jokes etc., they had to reward her with the Women’s Title at the Royal Rumble in a ‘good prevails’ sort of way to put that storyline into context, but they never intended to really give her a lengthy title run. So I feel like this may have been in the works all along — to give Mickie the belt as a device to put that storyline into context but then take it off her sooner rather than later. If my theory is correct, I just find it extremely shady.
My guess is that this is the end of the line for Mickie in the top title storyline, being pushed to the backburner for Beth Phoenix. The emphasis of Beth Phoenix watching on to me suggests that she may be the next challenger in line for McCool’s title — perhaps she’ll take exception to the way that Michelle won the belt? I’ve really enjoyed the development of Beth, that is until they dropped her randomly a few weeks ago. With her now back, I would like to see that development in her character continue because she has a great tweener quality to her.
I think they may split off now into two Diva feuds: Michelle vs Beth for the title and Mickie vs Vickie in a grudge feud. Both of those excite me, the Mickie/Vickie feud moreso now that the title isn’t involved. Meanwhile, Beth vs Michelle, I mentioned at the beginning of the year is my dream match for WrestleMania 26. Fingers crossed.
In all, this week’s show was either good or bad depending on who you’re a fan of. For me, I’m excited to see Michelle as champion because I find her entertaining as champion and I think with her alignment with Vickie, she’ll be that much more amped up. I do feel bad for Mickie but I think she still has a great storyline coming with Vickie Guerrero who is an absolute heat magnet. The most over Diva versus the most hated ‘Diva’, should be great.
RSS
Email
Twitter
Tumblr
Facebook
YouTube
72 Comments
People often talk about a babyface Beth (which I personally would find boring) but I would be surprised if in the end it was Layla. Not saying it WILL happen, but if it does I would not be surprised. They will need a top face to take over after Mickie leaves and Layla has what it takes to be that. In my opinion.
Forgot to say that I noticed they were skirting the PG line at points in this match and I hate that I can’t trust crowd reactions on these taped shows. I can’t stand that tool Striker and his asinine/racist comments.
the interesting thing is..from this point anything could happen i mean layla may turn on mccool,mickie may keep fueding with mccool,beth may finally step on the plat
but honestly i think it was goin to be much better if beth attcked all the divas during the match ending it with DQ…so the three of them keep involved together
@ScottL does the name Trish Stratus ring a bell ? she was the star of the divison for years ! smackdown is lacking divas, theres not much they can do.
REYSTYLE94: What a wonderful show of ignorance. I’m not a big fan of Mickie but what you’re saying is simply ridiculous.
First of, if a person is undergoing something as extraneous as wrestling, they would not be so quick as to show that much physical deficiency in just a short time. The body does not react that way to transition, CHILD. Perhaps Mickie was merely having a bad day. Perhaps she was exhausted given all the things she’s handling. The mere fact that you are making a mountain out of this molehill is laughable. Ever considered her body form, the endomorphism of it? Ever considered her metabolism? Ever considered the possible untold things behind her life that can very well affect the fact that she wasn’t able to yell “Come on?”
I suggest that you educate your self on the human body, REYSTYLE94, before you make such easy assumptions that any 3rd grader can make. There are too many factors to deal with in the human body than a simple “eat more gain weight” scenario.
But on the plus side, I’m glad that the machine of the WWE still has but a few cogs that can construct sentences properly… albeit the content of course. ;)
I’m done with you. :)
Anyway…
KALDERINA: I agree with you regarding Michelle McCool. Both statements regarding what she can still learn and what the WWE is doing to her is on point. :)
mickie should’ve never got the title it should’ve gone from michelle to beth!….then in a year back to michelle again lol
but w/e im soo happy mccool is champ again! and beth will probs to turn face and be champ next! and i have a feeling piggy i mean mickie will get released!
some of y’all are like Michelle gets no reaction what so ever, i mean other then Mickie&Maria&Melina&Kelly no one gets a reaction…. Maryse just gets a reaction for her looks not for her personality if you watch her matches the crowd isnt behind her, they are basically givin her an ovation when she enters…. It often is to blame @ creative, look at Gail no one even remembers her, she could easily be the top face alongside the others… Eve doesnt get your typical face reation either..
I dont know what the problem is on tv-tapings but @ house-shows a lot of heels get huuuge reactions, Last time i checked Michelle & Jericho got the most heat, and if you get heat like Jericho…. i think that says a lot.
To Be honest Im glad that Michelle is champ again! I Love Mickie to bits!! Shes my Fav Divas since the day she started but what Mickie needs is a change! She needs to realese the inner psychotic mannerisms she once had in her! She doent have to be Heel to be psycho does she????
Ive red many things about Mickies character being boring, stale, even overrated!????? EHHH? Mickie isnt not overrated tbh with ya! Id actualy say she was underrated the wrestling moves etc she shown in the Indies..why dont WWE let her do this now to up her predictable move set.
A good match Dont know why Vickie bitch slapped Mickie but :/ Mickie is Mickie and she will get her revenge!
I also like now that Vickies with Lay-Cool, Laylas kinda getting pushed aside, dont tknow if she is but Michele has got managemtn with her now, so Shes like Layla i dont need you i got some one better.
Anyone contemplated Natalya becoming a Women’s Champion? Why not add her to the mix- now that Maria’s gone, she’s only a Manager to the Hart Dynasty, and a Women’s Championship reign could really get her over.
All I can say about this week is that I LOVED it! It was spectacular show for the diva’s! Lotsa drama, good solid wrestling, I just loved everything about it! All I can say is keep up the amazing work ladies and wwe because this is just brilliant!
“First of, if a person is undergoing something as extraneous as wrestling, they would not be so quick as to show that much physical deficiency in just a short time. The body does not react that way to transition, CHILD. Perhaps Mickie was merely having a bad day. Perhaps she was exhausted given all the things she’s handling. The mere fact that you are making a mountain out of this molehill is laughable. Ever considered her body form, the endomorphism of it? Ever considered her metabolism? Ever considered the possible untold things behind her life that can very well affect the fact that she wasn’t able to yell “Come on?”
I suggest that you educate your self on the human body, REYSTYLE94, before you make such easy assumptions that any 3rd grader can make. There are too many factors to deal with in the human body than a simple “eat more gain weight” scenario.”
What makes you such an expert? All I can say, is that when she arrived to WWE, she was fit and had tons of passion. Now she seems to be losing it, therefore not caring about her body image. If you can honesltly tell me that you did not see a change from Mickie this week to when she first started, you’re either blinded by ignorance, or incapable of assessing one’s body image. And so what if she had a rough day? What does that have to do with anything? She shouldn’t be partaking in strenuos activity if she knows she has a match later that night. If I was WWE, I would be pissed that one of my workers isn’t the same image she was when she was hired. It’s the same thing as getting older, it changes your look and character, and isn’t what you were looking for. When a model gains weight, pink slip immediately.
Like I said, I don’t have a problem with her weight, it’s when it affects her stamina and wrestling ability that it bothers me.
And why is it that as soon as someone responds to a statement negatively, they say, “I’m done with you”? Is that because you know your wrong and any response will likely dethrone your previous argument? I certainly think so. So when you read this, you better think about your comments, and truly think whether you were right, or just blurting anything to stand up for a liked figure.
And to prove your being delusional, here’s what someone else wrote a dirtsheet site, regarding people that should be released.
“Good list, get rid of them…. waste of fu##ing space… add Carlito and a few more Divas to it
Seeing Piggy James go would please me… she’s supposed to be losing weight, but OMG did she have an overhang….
Piggy James 2020 trying to work a new gimmick! Figgy James lol”
After the figgy comment there is a picture of a large woman wearing a suit with a big F on the front of it. So there’s my proof, you’re blinded by your love for Mickie, and it’s not even my words, so I have a witness per se.
Sd! tonight proved why it is the top show in WWE, and why it’s the top show right now for Women’s Wrestling. The segment this week featured everything that makes an excellent segment; solid wrestling, intense drama and then a little bit of humour to act as the cherry on top. When Vickie fell out the ring and Layla was rubbing her arse, I literally laughed out loud. The whole segment was nicely done, and the outside action added another factor into the match and outside action seems to be frequently used in Smackdown!’s Diva matches, so that can only be good thing.
In terms of build up, I’m not sure where this could be going. I think we may see WWE’s most loved Diva vs WWE’s most hated Diva in Mickie vs Vickie at Mania. Then, I see mini fueds between Maryse and Gail and Beth and Michelle up until some form of cross-brand Diva match, either a Battle Royal or Tag Team Match.
Lady Sheamus wrote:
“”People often talk about a babyface Beth (which I personally would find boring) but I would be surprised if in the end it was Layla. Not saying it WILL happen, but if it does I would not be surprised. They will need a top face to take over after Mickie leaves and Layla has what it takes to be that. In my opinion.”"
first,you should give Beth a chance to prove her ability as a babyface Diva instead of already stating that she would be boring…..and about boredom it couldn´t be worst that her last times on Raw.
yes,they need a top face Diva now,a credible one with a strong personality.Beth can perfectly get crowd reactions from the crowd if the creative gives her the right context.
I didn’t read the comments, but calling this a screwjob is kinda weird to me. Yes i know its a storyline screwjob, but I only use the term to cases like Wendi or Bret, where they change scripts and decisions without informing them. Anywaysm I liked the match and even though Im sad about the title reign of Mickie being so short, Im happy because there’s a chance that Beth might become the number one contender and the next champion.
“I can’t stand that tool Striker and his asinine/racist comments.”
100% agreed. is wwe telling him to be racist? is he doing it without realising? if people were to believe everything he said, gail kim would be a vietnamese prostitute and mickie would like in a wigwam. he’s a disgrace.
*live
i recheck everything i type but it’s only when i hit submit i find a typo =/.
what was striker saying ? i watch smackdown! on mute lol
I didn’t hear racist remarks either. The one who should be fired is King, he sucks as a face so either turn him or get rid of him. He doesn’t know any superstars besides RAW superstars and just says “Ooh puppies!” when the divas come on. Go become mayor of your crappy town.
Baby wrote: “@ScottL does the name Trish Stratus ring a bell ? she was the star of the divison for years ! smackdown is lacking divas, theres not much they can do.”
Trish was over. At times, the most over Diva in the WWE, so you can make an argument for pushing her to the moon. Although there were times I thought she had the belt too log.
My point about Michelle is the resources put into her push haven’t paid off with her gaining heat or furthering the division. She’s had a long run at the top. Trish, and Mickie and Melina for that matter, at least got a reaction to justify the push.
Oh, and another thing, a lot of people are whining about Mickie being psychotic again, well you got a bit of a treat at the end due to Mickie screaming at Vickie. I’m not saying that that’s fully psycho but, you know! :^)
With everything going on in the ring Mickie, Michelle, layal and of course the referee
Vickie ,you’ve got know anything is possible.Figured that Mickie was due for a
screw-job and she got it.Vickie said Michelle was due a rematch.She got one.But then go to backstage and you see Beth standing they’re watching the match.Beth doesn’t
have to say a thing.You’ve got to know Beth is gonna go after Michelle.But just
having Beth standing there just watching in itself speaks volumes.Beth had made it known that she’s coming after who-evers got the Belt.She plays no favorites and I like that.Beth since Maria is now gone would really be over as a face and a Dominate one at that.