With WrestleMania and those pesky Raw Divas getting in the way of actual storyline progression for SmackDown just when it was getting good, it seems as though the writers of the blue brand have pressed the ‘reset’ button. Watching this week’s show, you’d be forgiven if you feel like you’re watching a rerun, because that’s exactly what it felt like. If you skip this week’s show, which obviously you aren’t because you’re reading this, you’d honestly not be missing anything because everything is as it was two weeks ago — even the match. There was nothing new to learn coming out this week’s show: Beth Phoenix still wants the Women’s Championship, Vickie Guerrero still has heat on her and Tiffany is still that young Diva opening our eyes to her surprisingly good in-ring ability.
In fact, the only new thing piece of information to take from this week’s show is that Vickie’s version of the frog splash is now the ‘Cougar Splash’ (Rarr!). Must-know information, I’m sure. Watch the backstage scene below:
Next up, it’s time for this week’s Divas match which is exactly the same match as two weeks ago. Funny how SmackDown only has four active Divas in the women’s division right now while Raw has like 11 and uses them for one minute each week. Can the Draft hurry up?
Watch the match below:
So for three out of three matches on television, Tiffany is wearing the same ring attire. Girlfriend is just begging for jokes about not washing her clothes and/or smelling.
McCool and Tiffany start things out with a lock-up and the Women’s Champion backs Tiffany into the corner and pushes her. She then boasts to Layla & Vickie in her corner but as she turns around, she finds a peeved Tiffany who hits her with a drop toe hold and an atomic drop. Tiffany tries to irish whip McCool into the corner, McCool reverses but she can’t move Tiffany so she instead goes for a kick to the gut. Michelle agin goes for an irish whip into the corner but Tiffany reverses and hits a one-legged variation of the monkey flip. Michelle lands in the corner and Tiffany runs at her to presumably hit a real monkey flip this time but Michelle manages to toss Tiffany who lands on her front pretty hard. Ouch!
Michelle goes for a cover but doesn’t get the pin. McCool then chokes Tiffany over the middle rope with her legs before smashing her head repeatedly against the canvas. The champ then tags in Layla and the duo hit a double-team move, a front leg sweep, that’s accompanied by a unison, “Sorry Tiffany.” Tiffany hits her head pretty hard on the map… this is becoming a regular occurence.
Layla grabs Tiffany by the hair and hits sort of a leg split slam similar to Melina and goes for a cover but Tiff kicks out. Layla then applies a chinlock with her knee digging into Tiffany’s back. Tiffany however, slowly gets up and slams Layla onto her back. She makes a dash for her corner and tags in the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix.
Phoenix storms the ring with a shoulder block and some double axe-handles on Layla. She then picks up Layla for an airplane spin and then hits her with a powerful clothesline sold beautifully by Layla. Beth then knocks McCool off the apron, but as she is distracted up gets Layla who goes for a beautiful spin kick but Beth ducks and locks in her Glam Slam for the win.
After the match, a staredown ensues between Beth and Vickie before Simply Flawless flee the ring.
Beth wins again. They tease Vickie being pissed off again. Michelle escapes from the clutches of Beth Phoenix with the Women’s Championship again. In a way, I guess it’s a good thing that they’re backtracking and re-selling the story that they laid down a few weeks ago. I mean, it did get overlooked by the last-last minute crappy WrestleMania push. However, I highly doubt that this was WWE’s intention. It really just seems like a case of these Diva storylines reaching a peak and then just going around in circles for weeks before a pay-off is to be had — they did it with Melina vs Michelle, they did it with Mickie vs Michelle and now this storyline too.
Because the Divas are usually an afterthought and added to pay per views after they’ve taken care of giving spots to the guys, it’s unlikely that there’s an end game in sight for a pay off match i.e. Beth vs Michelle. If they were to do a PPV match between these two at Extreme Rules in three weeks, it probably wouldn’t be finalised until a week or so [if that] before the event and thus, we’ll probably be going around in circles until they have that title match finalised. It’s the big curse that plagues most of these Diva feuds, no matter how hot they start they soon fizzle out and it’s something I really hoped wouldn’t happen here. The momentum behind Beth right now is crazy, they should definitely capitalise on that push her into a Women’s Title match against McCool. The longer they wait, the quicker that momentum begins to die down.
As for the match, it wasn’t bad at all. All four Divas worked well, Layla again was extremely crisp and clean in her execution of moves [that spinning kick] as well as in her selling. Tiffany took the ‘Maria role’ this week, taking a big beatdown from Lay-Cool and not really shining as much herself. She did a good job in that department this week.
Other than that, there’s not much more to comment on. Let’s hope we get some advancement next week.
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51 Comments
I think you summed it up perfectly, Melanie. Not a bad match or anything, but it didn’t really accomplish anything that wasn’t accomplished 2 weeks ago.
It was a good match. It was 100% a step up from raw. I think everyone did a good job. And to be honest, i don’t think we will see a major change until the draft later this month. but i do hope we see something different next week.
I really like Tiffany. I think she’s better than Maria, Kelly & Eve.
Wow. Except for the Glam Slam that Beth delivered to Mickie about a month ago and the one she delivered to Alicia Fox at Mania’ I think that was one of the best Glam Slams! Nice match, however it’s nothing we really haven’t seen. 3/5
I’m kinda hoping for Extreme Rules we have Beth vs Michelle either a No DQ or Falls Count Anywhere and Mickie interferes trying to help Beth and ends up costing McCool the match, and the title, setting up the Triple Threat feud again. Like that idea very very much. :)
LOL @ that backstage segment!
McCool and Layla are.. annoying now, they’re acting too immature.. so weird and whiny..
The match was ok, I thought Tiffany did better the other 2 times..
They could do with a twist with this title, I want the draft to mix it up a little, I think Beth will win the title and go to RAW and Maryse will keep her title and go to Smackdown! MAYBE..
i think it’s funny that SD has all the power house Divas on they’re roster (Serena, Beth, Natalya) but only uses one, i hope SD get 2 Divas in the draft a heel and a face, after all it’s not like they’re needed on Raw right now
the match was good, but it just feels like they’re dragging this on till the inevitable Beth vs Michele tite match, it looks like the old Piggie James story is advancing to calling Beth a man…..woo……
@Voldermaart I agree Tiffany is a lot better than Kelly, Maria and Eve. I feel that it all goes back to her understanding of the basics. When was the last time you saw a woman perform an Atomic Drop? I mean Yay! It’s awesome that she is dedicated enough to learn from the ground up, instead of trying to be flashy and only having those moves to relay on. I give her two Big thumbs up! :D
Nice Extreme Rules idea Charlierogue26, I like it. :)
On to the column, you were nice and funny in this column Melanie, great read.
The match was nothing memorable, but I love how good Layla is becoming, her spin kick was slightly off on the timing, yet it looked great. Beth’s Glam Slam also looked good as did her Clothesline after the Airplane Spin, probably due to Layla’s selling though. Let’s hope for more build-up next week. :)
It was a nice match. Everyone played there part. I loved Team Flawless ring attire. I really liked Tiffany’s one legged monkey flip as well. I think Tiffany is holding her own in the ring pretty well. It wasn’t the best match this but good anyway
If there was a women’s championship match at extreme rules with beth coming out on top I think it would solidify the possibility of McCool moving to RAW. But with McCool on RAW with Maryse, who would be number one heel?
Jack Swagger is so SEXY! Lay-Cool and Vickie are funny as hell.
The match was boring.
Serena. You forgot to mention that she was given mic time on Smackdown! She got to talk for quite awhile during the SES interview. Its what the divas need most, and that’s opportunities to talk, that way people will get to know their personas better.
The match was fine, not to diffrent from the last one.
One thing ive noticed is as far as i can remember Layla has never had any offence against Beth. Whenever these two are in the ring together Beth squashes layla without even getting a hit lol.
The draft needs to hurry.
Falls count anywhere would be perfect for Beth Vs McCool. Layla could interfere, along with Vickie, making it seem in the end like she defeated 3 women to win the title!
Maybe it’s just me but I’m getting sick of LayCool. Neither girls are exciting enough to keep the tag team going. It’s just dragging on now and I honestly wish we could see someone other than Michelle hold the title.
This match would have really been the same if Michelle & Layla both wore the same outfits from weeks ago also…
Yeah smae old same old , I just hope they dont try to hold anyting off nd just have Beth vs Michelle at Over The limit or Extreme Rules. I would have Michelle retain at Over The Limit. Then have Beth win at Extreme Rules.
I bet you nxt week Michelle pins Beth…it has to be its in the cycle…The faces win 2 weekz in a row so the heels have to win or get even nxt week..
yeah Lay-Cool is starting to bore me too , It would be nice to see Natalya get in the mix , nd bring mickie bak nd make it a fatal 4 way….this cat nd mouse chase is getting old….
When are the sleepers (Natalya and Serena) going to be activated? Purely a rhetorical question, as I realize they’ve got other things going on.
Look at Layla . . . WTF i cannot remember when the last time she did WRESTLING MOVES
ONE kick huh ??Other girls in WWE can pulled out any kicks better than her
She’s one of the worst Divas that i’ve ever seen in WWE
She’s at the same level with Maryse
SHE CAN’T WRESTLE – that’s all
Much better match than the last time. Love Layla’s selling of the Glam Slam. I think adding Vickie to Team Laycool has been great. And I must say, because it can’t be said enough, I love Vickie. LOL
I love how michelle literally had to carry layla backstage following the glam slam.
Is it me or did LayCool sorta take a step back this week? The backstage segment wasnt really flowy, it looked awkward.
@rizistyono
I kind of agree, I just cant take to layla at all in ring wise, but I think you can tell she works hard at it so props to her there.
Michelle and Layla should go back to being badass Team Laycool, with some funny moments thrown in. They are pretty funny though, and you can tell Michelle had improved on the mic.
Cougar Splash. LOL.
Tiffany impresses me more and more all the time.
i think we’ve definitely found this year’s one to watch in tiffany. it’s probably because i was expecting crapness from her, but she’s definitely shaping up to be a solid performer in the ring.
as for laycool, i agree with most of you on how stale they’ve become. it’s just the same old, same old. which actually makes me apreciate the beautiful people more as they’ve been doing the same old schtick for a couple years now and it’s not boring.
idk why everyone thought tiffany was going to be bad some of her fcw matches were good…all she needs now is a new ring attire and finsher and i see her as DIVAS champion
This match is good. Tiffany has proven to be qute a good diva and she is better then some of the girls on Raw. I really hope that Michelle distances herself away from Layla & Vickie soon because she is starting to really lose the look of a dominating champion. When she first feuded with Melina, she was a full on assault pissed off character but now she seems to be a child in a grown woman’s body. I may not be her biggest fan but her acting like a child is stupid
I wish they’d let Layla pick up a win every once in awhile. Decent SD, did seem like a rerun though like you said Melanie. Lay-Cool has been a little boring lately, hopefully they can do something big to humiliate Beth which will furthur the feud between Beth/Michelle. I like Vickie but I don’t like the fact that she seems to be the “star” of this feud. It should be Beth & Michelle feuding over the Womens Title but instead they seem to be pushing for Beth vs. Vickie. Michelle is my favorite diva but I hope she loses that title in a month or so to Beth.
I hope something good happens next week since Teddy Long was watching. Hopefully, they get a PPV match.
The thing about Tiffany is that she does have a clear undertanding of the basics on the mat. She knows how to execute the headlocks, schoolboys, shoulderblocks, suplexes, etc etc. That’s why I believe she will, or even already has, surpassed many of the girls form the current generation. And I find her FCW matches to be quite good, unlike everyone else.
This match was basically a rerun as stated, but I liked it. The cheers for Tiffany were obviously canned, but I could buy Beth’s cheers a bit. I don’t know why WWE has made this feud more Vickie vs Beth instead of Michelle vs Beth, but they need to switch it up real quick.
As for Layla, I really, really, really wanna’ see this girl with the championship soon. I want to see her turn on Michelle in the middle of an important championship match by either costing her the title or getting her disqualified. This could then lead to a nice, long on screen feud between the two. We already know they have good chemistry as seen in 2008, but they have both improved leaps and bounds since then. Their matches could be epic if given the chance. This could also lead to a breakout star in one Miss Layla El, who is now one of my favorite divas. I would definitely want to see Layla win the championship in the end, as a FACE by the way.
TrishMelinaFan- Layla is not championship material, she’ll probably be like the Torrie wilsons and Marias and never win a title. She is a good sidekick but she’s not a believable champion, not even divas champion. I don’t even think Layla has ever had a championship match before, that kinda tells you what they think of her
i thought this match was the exact copy of their match from 2 weeks ago, it’s obvious they’re running out of ideas
LAYLA FOR DIVAS CHAMP!
RKOyou – Why isn’t Layla champ material? She has charisma, sells her buns off and knows her limitaitons from a physical stand point. Michelle is the antithesis of charisma, she doesn’t sell because she never lets her opponent do moves on her, and tall skinny people shouldn’t do power moves.
Yeah. I wasn’t a fan of Layla pairing up with Michelle last year and I still ain’t a fan. Michelle is still killing any hope the SD divas might have. I don’t see how anyone can deny that. Heck, she is even started killing the heat VICKIE gets! VICKIE!
Why can’t Taker bang someone who is worth a push? =(
Lame.
I can not STAND Michelle & Layla anymore! (And I’m Michelle’s biggest fan!) I love them both separately, but seriously…IT’S ENOUGH ALREADY! This year’s draft needs to come about right now!! And if they don’t get separated, I we have another year of this…well, I’ll probably still be her biggest fan. MICHELLE, LAYLA…CUT IT OUT!
….go beth.
Hmmm, could Simply Flawless use a male member? Maybe Jack Swagger is going to become a part of SF. He could use a manager, maybe Vickie?
What was that little dance move Michelle & Layla did in the beginning? lol
It was weird.
Well it’s actually not shown in the video since Michelle/Layla’s entrance is cut out, but did anyone notice they put their hands in front of them, then turned around? (It was funny, looked like they were dancing) :D
RKOyou-I strongly disagree with that statement…
Speaking of the draft I really hope Gail, Jillian, Katie & Savannah get moved to Smackdown
And I Hope Tiffany gets moved to Raw
Btw I am really impressed with Layla she is busting her ass and it’s paid off she has become such a great wrestler. I mean she has the whole package a Smokinh hot body, Sells moves so well, executes moves so well and is great a her character
Infact Layla for Women’s Champ I mean if Jack Swagger can win the World Title anything is possible
i see layla getting the divas championship soon she does have the whole package RKOyou i think your the only one who thinks shes not championship material…WWE just need to cut her from the side kick role to a decent singles wrestler
LayCool are nailing their gimmick down pat. Even if they’re being accused of copying TBP, LayCool are doing it waaaaaaybetter than them. TBP are bordering Melina territory as far as bad acting goes. Michelle and Layla, along with Vickie, are great.
I like how Layla’s character and wrestling is evolving. The only thing I hate is her entrance thing with the top rope lean. It doesn’t work for her, especially in a tag team intro.
I really do like Tiffany. I like her move set alot. BUT that ouuutfit neeeeds to G.O.
I cant stand looking at it anymore! I really think something a bit more athetic in a really pretty light blue would look nice.
I hate the default “barbie” colors they put on blondes….especially when bottle colors (deep reds, blues, an greens) always look much better.
@ RKOyou
How isn’t Layla championship material? Is she any worse than Maryse, she’s pretty much on the same level in wrestling & she’s just as, if not more, charismatic, plus it’s not like the Diva’s title has some great lineage where her winning it would tarnish it. Should she win the Women’s title? No, but I wouldn’t complain if she won the Diva’s title, even short term.
How isn’t Layla championship material? Is she any worse than Maryse, she’s pretty much on the same level in wrestling & she’s just as, if not more, charismatic, plus it’s not like the Diva’s title has some great lineage where her winning it would tarnish it. Should she win the Women’s title? No, but I wouldn’t complain if she won the Diva’s title, even short term.
@MaxPower
I can see what you mean, but I think that even if layla had the chance, the fans wouldn’t really warm up to her that much. She has continuously been shown up by her fellow athletes, e.g. in Extreme Exposé, by Kelly Kelly, and by Michelle McCool here on SmackDown. I would go along with the Torrie Wilson statement, but not completely: Layla can put on good matches with the stronger trained athletes, e.g. Melina, Mickie, Beth, but Torrie Wilson was considered (and is still to me) the everlasting face of the SmackDown Divas Division, whereas Layla couldn’t be at that level. Additionally, taking the Torrie Wilson statement into context, Layla, therefore, much like Torrie, won’t be champion, primarily because she is constantly being outshined. Therefore, I feel that it would be more fitting to call Layla this Era’s Nidia: not really in the spotlight, and acts as the backup Diva to the main Heel or Face.
Onto the topic of Layla and Maryse. The only way to compare is to watch both a match of Layla/Maryse vs. Kelly and then Layla/Maryse vs. Melina. I think that it is perfectly valid to claim that in both cases, Layla put on a stronger match than Maryse (hey, at least her match vs. Kelly actually had a sense of stucture). Maryse can only work well in tag team matches, and the bigger the tag team match, the better e.g. Survivor Series RAW vs SmackDown Divas… except the WrestleMania replay from RAW.
This week’s match was average, verging on just below because of the repetativeness. Maybe a Singles match between Layla and Beth (because Tiff vs. McCool has been done, and Tiff vs. Layla would’ve looked horrible), Plus, where was Mickie James: she seems to have recovered, yet still has to reappear on SmackDown. Soon, I predict Beth/MIckie/Tiffany vs. Simply Flawless in a 6 Diva Tag. It’s been ages since we’ve had 6 Diva Tag matches, and they remind me of the time on RAW when we used to have them to no end, i.e. Trish/Mickie/Ashley vs Vince’s Devils.
@ebmich – how can you say Michelle is still killing any hope the SD divas might have!? she is the main reason why the sd divas are worth watching! she might not be the best wrestler but she’s definately entertaining! and how can she not have charisma when she’s the champ? :/
i agree with RKOyou Layla is’nt champ material! i love her as michelle’s sidekick although honestly i think she’s startin to make michelle look weak :/
oh yeah and Tiffany is pretty good in the ring her and michelle have some great chemistry but she needs to lose that outfit now!!
The first thing I think when someone brings up Layla as Champion is “hell no!” But then I ponder for a moment and think about how great she is as a performer, she has awesome charisma, a far broader move set then Maryse and has had a pretty decent push as of late due to being part of Simply Flawless, she sells almost flawlessly and is gorgeous. I would like to see Michelle lose the title to Beth at Extreme Rules, then Laycool moved to RAW where Layla can turn on Michelle and after a rivalry with Michelle can feud with Maryse and eventually win the divas title. :)
TaraFan19 wrote: “Infact Layla for Women’s Champ I mean if Jack Swagger can win the World Title anything is possible”
You talk as if Swagger is some jabroni. He is one of the best technical wrestlers in north america with a legit background in amateur wrestling, and he has the potential to be the next kurt angle or mr. perfect. Additionally he has an impressive physique which adds some credibility to any title reign. His title run in ECW was also one of the most entertaining title runs of the past few years. Your comment would’ve made more sense if you would’ve substituted Jack Swagger with Drew McIntire…
Tiffany looked great! BTW…..she was wearing something different on the FCW clip so back off on the “she smells” comments! : )
I doubt with the work wwe creative has done on getting Beth and Mickie working the same side ,they would cause Mickie to sort of step on Beth’s toes to get another Championship title to her name.It just wouldn’t make sense.Those 2 are working to-
gether so well,it’s a breath of fresh air.Seeing Beth like is this last weeks Smackdown
match and how Beth is allowed to be a more dominate diva is makng Vickie look like she knows better then to tangle with the GlamaZon.And with the draft coming up and Extreme Rules coming up it doesn’t look so good for LayCool or Vickie.If Layla gets
drafted .It means the ending of LayCool.Or they could have Extreme Rules and with Beth wining the title and the very next night on the Draft,draft Michelle to raw with out ever giving her a rematch.an all Diva’s an subject to the Draft.But the Women’s title stays on SD.Heck Beth just came over in Oct 12th and I doubt she’d be touched After all look on long Michelle has been on SD.And having Michelle on Raw adds to the excitement of Raw Heels.No saying Beth’s immune to the draft ,it’s just that she’s getting a lot of character progression and it’s been very good for Beth.Mickie,It’s nice to see her back in the ring working with Beth It’s a very good story line between them wwe creative has done an execellent job on that.Those two working together is what .
the diva division needed .Two of the wwe top diva’s working side by side.