With last week being a bust, Diva-wise, there was considerable hope (at least on my part) that the Divas would have a significant part on the big, 3-hour Draft episode of Raw. While the actual Draft picks didn’t go the way we expected or hoped, it was the action inside (and immediately outside) the ring that surpassed expectations.
This go-round, the WWE went with a new route on Diva Draft picks. Instead of any match during the night putting a Diva up for a switch, it was only Diva matches that made them eligible for the Draft. Unfortunately, since we (like most weeks) were only treated to one Divas match, that meant we only had one girl get drafted tonight. And, for being the solitary Diva drafted during the show, it was a pretty underwhelming choice, in my opinion.
But before we get into the Draft pick, let’s see how it came to be. Michelle McCool and Layla (as always, with Vickie Guerrero) teamed up to represent SmackDown, and rivals Eve Torres and Maryse repped Raw. The winning team, of course, would win a Diva Draft pick for their brand. Watch the match to see which brand is down a Diva:
Most people’s reactions to finding out that Eve and Maryse were teaming centered on shock. Of course, these types of “strange bedfellows” matches have happened before, but not usually with such a tight-knit team as their opponents and with so much at stake. Still, they played it off to perfection, with Maryse breezing right past happy-go-lucky Eve as they made their entrance, even giving her one of the “talk to the hand” gestures as she led the way. Funny though, that they’re still pretty color coordinated.
Layla and Eve start out the match, with Layla doing some calisthenics to get.. warmed up, I guess? Eve kicks her in the stomach and gets us down to business. She grabs Layla in a side headlock, but she powers out and shoves Eve into the ropes. On the return, Eve blasts Layla shoulder-first and goes for an early pin, getting barely a 1-count. Again, Eve latches her into a side headlock, and again Layla jabs her in the side to get free. Eve maintains control, however, whipping Layla into the corner and eating boot when she charges towards her. Layla does some charging of her own and Eve leaps up and over her in a move that could’ve ended with pelvic bone to the forehead sans a few inches in Eve’s leap.
Eve whips Layla into the same corner, hitting her with a flying clothesline. Layla crumples to the mat, setting her up for… the Bronco Buster!! Only kidding.. Just trying to see if you’re paying attention. In actuality, Eve pulls Layla to her feet, wrenching her arm and bringing her over to her corner. Maryse, however, has no intention of tagging in, and instead tags Eve’s stomach with her boot. But technically, that counts at a tag. It’s physical contact! But you know me, I’m a purist..
Eve does’t take this lying down and exits the ring, getting into a knock down, drag out fight with Maryse at ringside. It’s a great fight and feels real, realer than anything they’ve done together previously. This makes me hope that they really do continue their feud, because this proves that they have so much they can do together that they haven’t gotten to show yet. This the perfect way to utilize Maryse’s arrogance while keeping it somewhat fresh.. I mean, you’ve see one hair flip, you’ve seen them all, right? But this is a new way to go about putting heat in your feud, and the girls pulled it off beautifully.
Eve eventually gets control of the scrape and tosses Maryse into the barricade. Hey, if she’s dead set on being motionless at ringside, at least she’s not taking up space on the ring apron. Eve gets back into the ring, but before she can get to her feet Layla pounces on her, hitting a low dropkick. She hits Eve with another kick and goes for the pin, getting a 2-count.
Layla pounds Eve’s face into the mat, taking advantage of her vulnerable state to tag in Michelle. They double-team Eve, with Layla whipping her right into a clothesline from Michelle. Michelle goes for the pin, but only gets 2. With a fistful of hair, Michelle slams Eve to the mat and bashes her head against it. The ref complains, and she distracts him by playing innocent, all the while choking Eve with her shin pressed against her throat. She lays a boot into Eve’s midsection, letting her gain her bearings against the bottom rope while she taunts the fans. Eve gets eye level with the second rope when Michelle resumes her attacks, perching on the second rope and choking Eve against it. While Michelle distracts the ref, Layla gets a few licks in, standing on the back of Eve’s neck and choking her against the bottom rope.
Michelle gets Eve locked into a reverse choke, holding on with tenacity while Eve tries to battle out, repeatedly kneeing Michelle in the head. Michelle holds on, though, and switches the hold into the standing position. Michelle tries to power it into an attack, but Eve takes the momentum, flipping backwards and reversing the move into a reverse neckbreaker. Eve goes for the pin, but gets a close 2-count. Both girls try to regain their wits, and Eve considers tagging in Maryse, but thinks better of it, instead going on an offensive streak, eventually hitting Michelle with a neckbreaker. She goes for another pin attempt, and again only reaches the count of 2.
Eve runs the ropes, and Maryse smacks the back of her head for a unique tag. See? I told you! Physical contact counts! Eve protests but evnetually leaves the ring, Maryse taunting her, thinking she’s going to pull out the win for her team. Once she’s done posing, she turns around, right into a big boot from Michelle. She’s out for the count, and Michelle pins her for the win and the Draft pick.
Laycool celebrate as the pick is announced. And…. Kelly Kelly is moving to SmackDown! Well, it’s certainly underwhelming for us who were expecting something along these lines. Still, Laycool plays it off well, taunting Kelly a bit from afar and celebrating, almost like they have a new plaything to taunt and toss around. Fresh meat!
Kelly either ignores this or simply doesn’t play it off well, and she simply smiles to the crowd and departs. It’s not something that instills excitement in fans for her move to SmackDown, with her simply ignoring the Mean Girls that are practically licking their chops with the hazing possibilities. I know that that wasn’t the priority with this moment, as it was Kelly’s moment to shine and soak in the fan adoration, but I can’t help but picture a similar scenario occuring if a Laycool/Kelly feud were to happen. Sure, she’s good at playing the ragdoll underdog, but can she take the insults and fire back with some of her own? Surely, smiling politely isn’t going to do the trick.
Still, this move will probably do wonders for Kelly’s career. Lately, she’s been stangnant on Raw, and a move to SmackDown could really rejuvenate her babyface potential. SmackDown gets their fan-favorite replacement for Mickie James (whether you think that’s a fair trade or not) and Kelly gets more opportunity to wrestle and expand her character. We all know SmackDown’s more friendly in that department, after all. It certainly is better for building character than Raw’s blink-and-you-miss-it segments.
But as I say that, this Raw gave us so much more than that. The match was of a decent length, had good wrestling, and told an interesting story. Eve and Maryse, as I mentioned earlier, played off each other better than they ever have, and Eve transcended that “bland babyface” role we’ve been wanting her to shake for a while. Maybe it’s the “SmackDown touch” or the fact that the show was 3 hours long, but the fact is that we saw the most entertaining Divas segment on Raw in some time. It goes to show the writers than, given enough time and a decent setup, the Raw girls can really entertain you.
While Michelle and Layla did the heavy lifting wrestling-wise, Maryse and Eve were easily the stars of that match, with their fight outside the ring and squabbles over tagging in bringing an engaging dynamic to the match. This is what we need more of on Raw, and I honestly believe that they can pull it off without the SmackDown presence. It was entertaining, was forward-thinking, and served a purpose. That’s like an A+ on my Raw grading scale, given the crappy state the show has been in for the past few months, so you could say that Raw definitely got it right this week. Whether it sticks or not is the question.
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34 Comments
No mentioning of the “we want mickie” chants?….
and no, I do not think kelly even comes near a replacement for mickie…
But in the end, it was a good match and glad to see it went over the 2 minutes mark… But right now I could care less for the draft or what any divas have in store… I really mis mickie already…
I think it was a good match. Probably one of the better diva matches we have seen on raw in quite some time. This week proved that the raw writers can give us a decent raw segment. I guess only time will tell if this was a one time thing or if this is the beginning of the diva division slowly improving.
This match was pretty good. I think that Michelle bring out the best in divas like Maria and Eve. I think Eve did great in this match when Michelle was in it. This match was pretty long for a diva match on RAW. The action between Maryse & Eve was pretty good, but both of ‘em looks so freaking orange,ewww.
LOL@ Kelly, she looked so clueless. But I think they’re trading Kelly on RAW for Tiffany. 9 out of 10 Tiffany would be draft to RAW today.
Good match. I agree with you on Kelly, she just looked stupid standing at the top of the ramp smiling while Lay-Cool goaded her, lol.
This match was awesome! I’m really hoping RAW writers continue building on Maryse vs Eve, Eve looked really amazing in this match, I found her entertaining. A complete first for me! :D I’m hoping the divas division gets shaken up a bit more tomorrow. Possibly with Michelle and Maryse swapping. Melina is likely to get swapped, ala Candice Michelle last year… I just hope she doesn’t suffer the same fate.
When I saw Kelly’s name I was like “Seriously? This is like the top diva?” All do respect to her, I think a more upper card diva should’ve been drafted at the actually televised draft. Kinda like Torrie Wilson back in ’07.
That match however was probably the best on Raw so far this year! It was awesome! The diva’s might actually get used for storylines again, rather being used as slaves (being throne in bikinis, lingerie, sexy dresses ect.) so this going to be pretty cool. Especially since Eve and Maryse are both younger divas.
What they should have did was draft Layla , it would have been so funny to see the look on their faces…Priceless lol!
Im glad mayrse got pinned b cuz if Eve got pinned i would have been pissed i mean The New Divas Champ pinned already…other then that it was longer than other 2 minute Raw matches , Eve did really well loved the Reverse DDT and Neckbreaker..
Nd kelly kelly was just swaving nd smiling , u can just tell she is gonna get beat up by Michelle….lol what a loser…but im glad she moved though even though i dnt like her SD maybe a tyme for her to shine
i had a feeling Kelly would go to SD, I’m glad actually she was always better on the blue brand.
there are so many blonds on SD now Kelly, Beth, Michelle, Tiffany, Natalya oh well we’ll have to see what the online Draft brings *waits anxiously*
wouldn’t it have made more sense to chant “we want Mickie” on Smackdown?, jus sayin
oh wait i forgot they were in her home town
Eve was amazing, and shut alot of people up who were saying she wasnt good enough to be champion. It looks like thosde 10 notches have been turned up. Over all good match/segment. Loved the outside brawl. Classic
Actually Erin, as I look back at the video, kelly did actually wave with abit of a cocky smile, i mean she could of done more but ya she did at least notice they were there so…. i mean why kelly, why not gail or alicia but whatever, i mean besides mickie, kelly kelly is the most popular diva and she is not exactly a bad wrestler i mean on a scale on one to ten we would all probably give her a 7 tops.
Not a bad match but maryse is so boring now. Im hoping that rosa, jillian and maryse gets drafted to Sd. Then Natalya and tiffany to raw.
I’m not going to give a lot of credit to Maryse or Eve, because I believe that the difference was made because of Laycool. They need better wrestlers on RAW for the girls who are still a little green to turn better.
MICHELLE FOR RAW! (even if they kill they’re character)
I wonder if it was the RAW writers who did this, or the SD! ones.
I thought they had a solid match, that was actually given more time than usual (luckily). Eve showed why she should be given a chance as champ because the girl has improved tremendously.
Kelly getting drafted: I wasn’t hugely suprised. She’s had next to nothing to do on RAW, and of all the women I expected to go to SD! she’s the most over with fans so it makes sense she’d be the one used on the live show.
I was suprised that the Mickie chants were so quiet to be perfectly honest. Mickie is always over big in Richmond Virginia, so I was expecting them to crap all over this match. Instead they chanted quietly for a couple of seconds and it died down.
Btw, THE HART DYNASTY ARE CHAMPIONS.
Why not mention that? Its a good thing for Natalya. Being valet to champions is different than being just a valet. Look at Melina. For a long while she was just the MNM manager and an occasional wrestler. She will get way more time on TV and sooner or later she will fight Serena for sure.
lovely
kelly being drafted on the live show is one big bowl of weird. does that mean neither laycool, maryse or eve are moving? or anybody seen as “higher up” by wwe on the diva hierarchy than kelly? (beth, melina, gail)?
makes me worry that the other picks will be for the lesser seen divas – rosa, tiffany, bellas. =/
“She will get way more time on TV and sooner or later she will fight Serena for sure.”
ooh, i’d love to see a nattie/serena feud! wwe doing an eventual hair vs SES membership match or something between the two could be pretty awesome.
I feel bad we didn’t mention Nattie and the Hart Dynasty on the post show. It really was a great moment of her and her boys as well, and they deserve all the props in the world. It’s a longtime coming for those boys to get that gold. They’re the only legit tag team left right?
I love how Nattie always steals their spotlight in matches too, hehe. She’s soooo good at valeting them. She definitely knows how to get people solidly behind her.
Yes I’m blonde. SES is a legit team too, haha
Good match for Raw standards. I do think it was LayCool that made the difference in this match. As for the draft pick I wasn’t expecting to be underwhelmed so much, I wanted a big name like Michelle or Maryse and we got Kelly. Its obviously a move that was needed but if Kelly is the biggest diva trade this year it has me worried that not many Divas will switch and we may be stuck with the same old fueds for a few more months.
This match was really well done, I’m trully impressed. There are so many things to talk about but I like what this does for Eve. The DD team and alot of us here have been saying that we have a champion that really we don’t care about. I like to think that this match, in being left to fend for herself by Maryse and trully taking the abuse, makes us empathize with her situation. I know does for me (then again, I’m an Eve mark so I would anyways). For a sec I thought the crowd was trying to get behind her while she was in the dragon sleeper, but it was probably the Mickie chants right? haha.
such a good segment! People will actually care about eve vs maryse now. Laycool’s entrance and overall antics make me laugh
Hmm… Kelly? Not what I was expecting, but whatever. My only problem is that Kelly and Tiffany could be too similar, and one will get lost in the shuffle – most likely Tiffany, because management seems to love Kelly. I hope this isn’t the case, as Tiffany shows great potential.
Anyway, good match, and nice to see the Maryse/Eve tension is still there.
This match was pretty good. One thing I never seem to understand is why would Eve would just stand there, throwing her arms in the air, while Maryse gets pinned? Unlike back in the days, where interruptions were made, Eve just let it happen. WWE writers really need to work on that.
@sasyazn
Is it possible Eve was tired of Maryse’s antics and just didn’t care at that point? I agree the announcers should’ve said something to explain what was going on.
Well hopefully smackdown will keep tiffany an laycool and maybe Rosa will be a new member of laycool. smackdown needs more divas active anyway
I think Maryse and Eve wanting to beat the crap out each other made the match… That and Eve finally managed to hit her double dropkick spot without botching. That’s gonna be a big fued for the Raw Divas. I can’t say I am happy about it, but damn if they ain’t trying to bring the intensity out of each other.
Awesome match from the Divas, I really hope that they keep this up in the long run. I mean they really brought some fire into the Eve and Maryse feud in one segment, I’m extremely excited to see the match.
I always get a kick out of that kid right when Michelle’s music starts is like BOOO
Lol! I watch the match few more times and you can see Michelle react to the ”We want Mickie” chants and said “Here is Piggy” I laugh because I thought they suppose to Ignore it . Anyway there is something in Eve’s first weeks as champ that reminds me of Candice. For Example Candice Beat the arrogant girl/Melina.Eve=Maryse.Then their week or first day was disrupted by something in this case Eve=Volcano and Candice=The Benoit Family Tragedy. Then they finally meet their rivals and they brawl with Candice slaming Melina in the barricade and Eve same with Maryse. I know it is kind of stupid to think of something like this, but is something random I like to point out.
Maybe they will have a Random/Unpredictable Diva Trade.
It was a Divas match. The fighting and the yelling and screaming and arguing made me think of girls in high school. But I did like how when Maryse kicked Eve, at first Eve looked sad but then she stepped out and handled her business! I liked the “We Want Mickie” chants. And I saw Eve’s tan line thanks to McCool and I’m not cool with that. lol
lol@ Matt and his “admiration” for Vickie, especially the growl at the mention of her being a cougar. I’ll give him only that much.
I was dying from laughing when the chant broke out, and Michelle turned around and said “Where’s Piggie”