Tonight’s Raw, being billed as a 3-hour, “viewer’s choice” show featuring wrestlers from both Raw and Smackdown, was destined to be a little cluttered, given how many elements were in the mix. Unfortunately, very little of that mixture consisted of Divas. In the whole span of three hours, the Divas (all 12 of them) took up about 4 minutes of time. That’s a “needle in a haystack” situation if I’ve ever seen one. But, there’s always hope that they make the most of the little time they were given. Did they? Let’s see..
The stipulation of the Divas match was, like the rest of the matches, determined the fans’ vote. The choices were either: a 6-on-6 Tag Team match, a battle royal, or a champion vs. champion match, which would pit Eve vs. Layla. The fans picked the battle royal, and I’m sure the WWE were glad for that (if the vote wasn’t rigged, which it probably was) because that means MORE DIVAS!!!~~~~~. Nothing can ever go wrong with fitting as many Divas as possible into a 4-minute slot, amiright?:
We start with the 64 12 Divas in the ring, and they all more or less pair off. A double-team by Brie and Nikki Bella sends Rosa Mendes flying out of the ring. Sucks for her, but it’s better than when she practically threw herself out of the ring in the last battle royal. Tiffany is eliminated next, falling from the top turnbuckle while pummeling Michelle McCool. Kelly Kelly gets knocked off the ring apron by Michelle while trading blows with Layla.
Gail Kim and Alicia Fox eliminate each other while tussling on top of the ropes, a modified hurricanrana taking out both the deliverer and the recipient. Michelle and Layla stop a Bella Twins attack on Maryse and eliminate the both of them with tandem dropkicks. Eve attacks Laycool, fighting valiantly and hitting some impressive spots before eliminating the both of them by shoving Layla into Michelle, causing them to slip through the middle rope.
Maryse and Jillian join forces to taken down Eve. Eve, again, fights back against two Divas, kicking at Maryse while Jillian has her up against the ropes (literally). Sadly, gumption isn’t enough to keep her in the match, and Maryse and Jillian irish-whip her through the ropes and out of the ring, eliminating her. Jillian is enthusiastic about being one of the final two, and even gets a double high five from Maryse. This harmony doesn’t last long, however, and Maryse, not liking the idea of being a double winner, kicks Jillian and tosses her roughly out of the ring. She’s the last Diva remaining, winning the battle royal.
I’m disappointed that the fans chose the battle royal, because, in my opinion, a champion vs. champion match would have been much more interesting. It would have been a decent push for both Eve and Layla. However, as it was destined to be, the WWE saw fit to shove every Diva into a 4-minute match. I have to say, though, that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Yes, there was random, sloppy action around the ring, but certain spots were interesting, like Gail and Alicia’s dual elimination and Eve battling back against two double-teams. Still, the ending confused me. Why push Jillian’s silliness when there’s a great opportunity to put Eve in the final two with Maryse and inject some much-needed fire into their fizzling feud? Clearly, tonight wasn’t meant to advance feuds, but with every week that passes by, Maryse and Eve’s feud is losing more and more heat. They need to act fast, or it will be a lost cause.
Another opportunity for great Diva action was thwarted when fans voted for Hornswoggle and the Great Khali to face the Hart Dynasty instead of the Uso Brothers. This would have set up for an inevitable confrontation at ringside between Natalya and Tamina, but we had to settle for a gag match and a rushed post-match attack. This attack lacked the fire of the last two encounters, but I’ll chalk it up to it being rushed. Hoepfully next week they’ll try something new–I mean, how many times can these teams fight each other without actually fighting each other? Several, apparently. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait much longer to see an extended confrontation between Natalya and Tamina; we all know Eve and Maryse isn’t going to be serving up that kind of intensity any time soon.
RSS
Email
Twitter
Tumblr
Facebook
YouTube
63 Comments
Maybe it will be a 6 Diva Tag Team Match with Gail Kim, Brie and Nikki Bella vs. Maryse, Jillian Hall, and Alicia Fox with Eve Torres as commentator in a 2 minute match. Also announcing a match between Eve and Maryse for the title at Fatel 4 Way.
Deeply dissapointing RAW. These past few weeks the Divas have been used well, in my opinion, but this week looked like the old days when any Divas was slapped together and rushed in an attempt to get them out of the way. The way Gail and Alicia were eliminated was really cool, though. I still believe that Gail should be Divas Champion with Alicia chasing the title. And poor Jillian. I know that was to emphasise that Maryse only looks out for number one, but still.
I’m feeling really sorry for Rosa. She’s actually pretty good in the ring nowadays and she’s just hot as K2 or Eve (actually hotter IMO) but yet she always loses, and in battle royals, she’s always eliminated first! Poor Rosa. She’s like a Latina Jillian. All that’s missing is a crappy singing gimmick!
Very dissapointing Raw as always, and it was a VIEWER’S CHOICE NIGHT FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!!! I see that 33% of the fans are absolute dumbasses and/or don’t care about the wrestling at all, the other 33% are little Cena fans 9 and under. And the other 33% didn’t watch Raw this week -_-
I mean, why the hell would you NOT vote for the Uso brothers!? Seriously! WHY!?!?!? I don’t even know why they were a choice god damn it!
But I did like Alicia and Gail’s little face off though. At Fatal-Four Way, they should have Eve defending against those two and Maryse! That’d be awesome!
The divas got about 8 minutes of time. Not four… Anyway I thought it was a fun little battle royal. I thought what would have been surprising though is if Jillian threw Maryse out of the ring. Now how awesome would that be? Jillian goes badass and feuds with Eve.
Raw was horrible tonight. It seems for the last few weeks, it has been this way. I don’t understand why the WWE would let the fans choose. Most of the fans now are little children. Obviously tonight proved that the fans don’t know their ass from their elbows. Because we totally want to see a diva battle royal and a male dance off :/
Why do the Bella’s always last so damn long in battle royals. During the Battle Royal at W25 they eliminated almost half of the people! I mean I know it’s strength in numbers, but it’s only two girls! It makes no sense! And that was back when they didn’t know how to wrestle either! Back to this match now. It would’ve made a lot more sense if they got eliminated BEFORE Kelly because she’s the one who’s getting pushed. How could the current top babyface be third or fourth eliminated? Wierd. And they could have lost before Gail and Alicia, because there is a slight chance that they might be getting pushed too.
maybe they can add jillian to this feud to bring some heat back in it……and have a triple threat at the next pay per view……and have jillian take the title and in comes melina for her returning feud with jillian again…..
Really not the best of nights for Raw. All things considered though it could have been a lot worse. I think its time we moved on from the Maryse/Eve fued, its lost most of its steam and Raw needs a fresh fued to brighten things up.
I was going to vote for champion vs. champion
match, but I remember that Torres was the
champ so I voted for the battle royal.
I knew that Mendes would be the first
to go.
I love how they had Alicia and Gail
eliminate each other. They had some couple
good spots in the match to. I hope Foxy
nose is okay because Gail landed right on it.
Did anyone notice that Torres, Layla,
and McCool was talking? I think that were
actually the worst part of the match becuase it
just came off awkward when Layla hit the
ropes and bounce back to Torres.
Omg! I really thought that
Hall was going to win.lol
But she’s always the last one
in the battle royel to get eliminate.
I’m happy that my girl won Maryse
but can WWE please drop the diva’s
championship to Foxy.
This feud is just over we all know that
those two are Vince girls on RAW. But can
they give Foxy sometime not like she’s a
Drew Mcintyre(who just can’t get over with a
storyline, winning streak, and mic time).
She just need mic times, Alicia’s move-set
is pretty good (like in FCW she was doing flips like
Molly Holly) and she have charisma.
To me Alicia have everything they
want in a diva looks, who can wrestle,
and charisma. But it seem like backstage its
50%-50% on her like Gail Kim. One
minute she’s getting a push next minute
she’s losing.
WWE is getting on my nerves, but the battle
royal wasn’t that bad besides the Torres and
LayCool moment.
or if they dont add jillian to the mix maybe they can turn savannah into an in ring worker with her feuding with maryse…..and bring melina back as a heel to go head to head with eve
Omg, I getting like Melina
talking to dam* much.
Basically can Vince give Alicia a
push not those little pushes they
gave her her last year.
ilovelita
June 8, 2010 at 7:02 am
The Gail Kim and Alicia Fox elimination reminded me of when Gail Kim tried to take out Victoria but she only got eliminated at the 2004 Taboo Tuesday battle Royal. And also when Maryse threw out Jillian Hall also reminded me of when Molly Holly threw out Stacy Keibler then Trish Stratus threw her out to keep the Women’s Title. That match also featured Jazz and Nidia, it was a school girl outfit battle royal. It was a better match than tonights battle royal.
Check it on YouTube!
Rosa is the bottom of the heap at the moment, its kinda sad to see her eliminated at the same time every battle royal. I wonder why Jillian stayed in so long, she always does. She is number two heel on RAW cause she nearly wins all the time. :D I think this was trying to put across that Maryse doesn’t give a shit about anyone, face or heel. She’s all about Maryse.
I think it should of been Raw vs Smackdown.
Gail Kim and Eve Torres vs Lay-Cool.
During the match, Eve is being isolated. She finally hits Layla with a reverse DDT and goes to make the tag. However Gail Kim just slaps her in the face allowing Layla to come from behind and hit her with a neckbreacker. However, Michelle tags herself in and steals the pin. Layla’s acting surprised while Gail is laughing and waving to Eve.
That could be the beginning to 2 feuds. A fresh new challenger for the Divas Championship and a start to the end of Lay-Cool.
“Eve attacks Laycool, fighting valiantly and hitting some impressive spots before eliminating the both of them by shoving Layla into Michelle, causing them to slip through the middle rope.”
I have to disagree. Everything Eve and Layla did togther looked awful, especially the last spot with Michelle upon elimination. Nothing about their actions were crisp and it seemed as though there was a lot of miscommunication. Not to be rude, but I suspect that if we saw the same work, but changed the variables in that moment (meaning the divas) from Eve and Layla to let’s say Kelly and Maria (who obviously isn’t a part of WWE anymore), the Redux would have torn them apart for those botches.
The fact that Champion vs Champion wasn’t picked demonstrates how little the general wrestling audience cares for Eve and/or Layla as champion(s). I assume people didn’t want to see the diva tag match just because it would have been a repeat of Wrestlemania: diva enters, diva finisher, diva enters, diva finisher, diva enters, diva finisher, etc. It’s sad that the booking has become this predictable.
Lmao I would have perferred the Champ vs Champ! I thought the Royal would be good but I should have known better.
Also I heard Layal , Michelle & Eve talking..
Layla:Michelle
Michelle:Huh ?.
Then Michelle kicks eve…lol
Poor Jillian why cnt wwe just give her another moment its not fair now we gotta see anothe boring Maryse vs Eve match…..when we could see Alicia & Gail fued for teh divas title or Gail & Jillian…..but nope….that aint gonna happen even if i wish it on my birthday which isnt until september….
I’m kinda convinced the best part of that match was Eve’s hair.
Trisha: you talk so much, please give somebody else some space to talk with.
as for this match, i’m glad that eve torres didnt win. she really sucks! how dare she eliminated team laycool- the best women in wwe. if it was a champion vs champion match, she will learn a lession about not crossing laycool. maryse should get that title back and shut that slut’s mouth for good. btw, gail kim is so ugly.
it was clear tht jillian and maryse will double team eve and then one of the will dumb the other…fullfill your fantasy divas battle royal…trish,molly and stacy wasnt it the same?!
I do like diva battle royals but this one was kind of flat. I don’t think it was terrible like alot of people but it wasn’t anywhere near great. the Layla/Eve/Michelle spot was awkward as hell but I still liked the elimination of LayCool. The highlight to me was Gail/Alicia. I did like how Layla got rid of Tiffany as well. I hope they are going to push her over Kelly on Smackdown. The end of the show was shocking but I still am kind of scratching my head over the whole thing.
well i know this has nothing to do with it ..Rosa is hot and all and I’m one of her few fans on here but…she’s got no ass. Sorry, I just think she should wear some baggy pants. And Erin, I love ur reviews we’re always on the same page.
Well we learned tonight why the wwe universe should never produce a raw show. IT STINKS! This was pretty bad up until the end with the nxt invasion.
“Why do the Bella’s always last so damn long in battle royals. ”
Well, I think they have proven they have the agility to be tossed over the top and land on the apron. Gail managed eliminate herself trying to be all fancy by going over the top rope. Just sayin’.
In the words of JR, that match was bowling shoe ugly. You can tell they were really trying, but yeah. I know people proclaim Gail as the greatest diva wrestler right now and I know a lot of people think Alicia has a pretty high ceiling. But I really want to know why they insist on doing “innovative” leg-scissors spots when they have never looked good. Seriously my first thought on their elimination was “Looks like Gail broke Alicia’s back with that. Sucks for her.”
I have no problem with the fact that there was little wrestling moves. It is a freaking battle royal. The goal isn’t to be out flashier the other people in it.. The goal is to chuck people out of the ring and/or save your own butt. I just hate when you have so many people just holding on to the ropes. It really slows down the pace. It is funny how the Divas seem to always have matches set up like they have more time they than do, but when the finish comes you can see it was clearly rushed.
pourquoi-bitch – I was measuring the length of the match, which was indeed 4 minutes long.
DarkMaverick87 – To each their own, but I felt the action was meant to look a little frantic, given the type of match they’re in and the fact that Eve was fending off two women. Either way, I certainly wouldn’t base my judgment on who was doing it instead of what they were doing, as you suggested.
Michelle Mccruel: “maryse should get that title back and shut that slut’s mouth for good. btw, gail kim is so ugly.”
Rude and uncalled for.
i still find it annoying that michelle mccool is the one front and centre and with the women’s championship in the image during the vote choices.
diva battle royals have never really been anything to look forward to, we don’t really get any actual wrestling, which is a shame, but by that same sentiment it wasn’t as disappointing as it could’ve been. the point of it all was a bit.. meh, though. there should only be battle royals when the winner receives something. and man, do i feel bad for jillian more than usual.
Michelle Mccruel, do you have a case of low self esteem or something? i don’t think i’ve seen a single comment from you where you’re not being disrespectful to somebody.
really? heels and faces coming out to Eve’s theme :/
we know what’s coming up on superstars, when Gail and Alicia got eliminated cole said “Gail & Alicia, these two have an upcoming match on WWE superstars this Thursday” :D
lol a nervous Jillian-”uh…uh…uh WINNERS!…. winners together!!!”
Raw is so predictable, i knew Maryse would win
@ Michelle McCruel- Dont you ever get sick of making nasty comments? If you cant say anything constructive please do us all favour and take your childish comments elsewhere.
Here we go again. Smh
^ I agree with RedHotVixen. Those kinds of comments are unnecessary and quite pathetic. Someone’s insecurity is showing.
I personally love battle royal’s, so I was quite happy with last night’s Raw. Jillian was hilarious at the end, bless her. :)
At 5:41, is it Jillian telling Maryse and Eve ‘We have to take our time’ or Eve telling J and M?
lol Tiffany drew inspiration from Snookie with her new hair do
“Michelle Mccruel”, why are you calling Eve Torres a “slut”, and Gail Kim is not ugly!
I don’t think that the vote was rigged, because this was the most obvious choice for the fans to pick. Laycool are the heels. Most fans only want to see them if there’s a chance they’re going to get beat up. That’s the point of being a heel. Let’s face it, everyone knows Eve wasn’t going to do that.
Plus, as much as I love Layla, I seriously doubt that a match between her and Eve would have been any good at all.
@Flytoadream-Yea I heard Layla and Eve talking about Eve throwing her out against Michelle, I was laughing at that.
Then I clearly heard Jillian giving instructions to both Eve and Maryse. Jillian is such a good leader. =)
BTW while on the subject, I can recall a couple of instances where I hear divas talking during matches.
Ivory/Lita-Survivor Series 2000
Ivory:”Stomps.” She begins stomping away at her.
Ivory/Trish Stratus RAW 2002 (Victoria at the announce table)
Ivory:”Ready?” She hits a side suplex on Trish.
Chyna/Lita Judgment Day 2001
Chyna to Lita:”Take a Dive!” Lita proceeds to take a dive lol.
Chyna to Lita:”Nail me!” Lita starts weakly punching Chyna(mounted)
There were other instances where I saw Trish talking but I couldn’t makeout what she was saying.
One was her against the Womens Champion Jazz. She was wearing a red outfit I think, and was bleeding from the mouth. This was on RAW of 03. While Jazz clutched her STF on her, Trish turns her head and says something.
During the Divas Battle Royale of 2004. Trish is also talking to Lita as Lita tries launching her to the outside. Right before Y2J makes his way down.
Molly Holly during a tag match on RAW/September 2003. Clearly shouts out to Lita, “Suplex!” And hits one on her. ;)
You know what kind of bugs me about this whole thing? That Trish Stratus even while green (during her rookie year of 2000) was able to be carried well through matches by Lita and the other women. They were short matches as well, but always more entertaining. I guess that’s because they had more character, personality and presence. Anyway, I see Maryse and I see a rookie Trish Stratus all over again. I guess Trish was just more focused and passionate. Maryse always seems to fall flat in her performances/both literally and figuratively-lol.
I don’t want to spark a debate, simply an observation and my own opinions.
Haha poor Rosa, hey but at least shes getting better…man she was awful when she first started last year, And damn shes so sexy! I was glad it was a battle royal! More divas the better! WhooHOOOOO! And Jillian at the end WE WON!! TOGETHER! CO-WINNERS!! hahaha…dumb blond it was funny haha
@flytoadream yep it was jillian
I see the same thing in Maryse that I saw in Trish as well, but I agree that Trish had her eye on the ball and Maryse doesn’t. I don’t think Maryse is really interested in being a wrestler but she likes the celebrity that comes with it. In all her interviews, she compares her lifestyle to that of a rockstar or actor. I highly doubt she watched wrestling growing up the way Trish did and I highly doubt she is interested in putting in the hours and months of training it’s going to take to get her to the next level. But maybe it’s not any of that, it could be because of the lack of interest on creative’s part. Maryse was doing really well a couple years ago, see her match with McCool for the Diva’s title at Unforgiven 2008, but now it seems to have fizzled. So it could be because of the move to Raw, who knows?
As for the actual match lol, the battle royal was a hot mess, literally. All the girls looked good for a change, but the match itself was pretty ugly. Lots of miscommunication throughout the match that became more apparent as bodies were eliminated. McCool was off her game, she was just everywhere in that match, sloppily kicking at everyone and sometimes just walking around. Layla was awkward with both Kelly and Eve, and I think that McCool botched their elimination because Eve threw Layla the same way she did when she eliminated them but McCool was down. That’s when it got awkward and Layla locked Eve in a headlock, which was a good save. Then here comes McCool with a sloppy kick and then they get eliminated. I’m glad that this wasn’t the champion vs champion because I think that Layla and Eve’s interactions in the past have also been awkward. Layla is good, but I don’t know if she can carry Eve, who isn’t bad but tends to rush things and miss spots. I think that would’ve been an ugly match. The six diva tag would have been the same ole same so it was pretty obvious (always is) that the battle royal would win. I’m glad Maryse was the lone diva standing and I like the Jillian/Maryse dynamic. They should make Jillian get revenge soon and attack Maryse or something.
Also, anyone else wondering how the Divas will factor into this new NXT storyline? It seems they’ll probably be facing the entire Raw and Smackdown rosters, so what’s going to happen with the ladies?
Diva Dirt should Block Michelle Mccruel If possible
I agree with KRoucka
Those comments are rude and uncalled for.
Alicia Had Decent Matches w/ Mickie&Melina For The Divas Title, But Now When Eve Gets The Title They Dont Bother Giving Alicia A Push When She Can Actually Defeat Eve and Win The Divas Belt, Plus Alicia Is Always Facing The Top Divas Melina,Gail,etc. Kellykelly is Like A Chew Toy For Alicia She Defeated her 3 Times. i Just hope Alicia wins a title by the end of the year.
Did anyone else noticed Layla’s ‘save of the night’ around 5:20? Clearly a miscue on Eve & possibly Michelle’s part. That was the first attempt @ throwing LayCool out the ring together & it didn’t pan out as planned. Either Michelle didn’t get up quick enough or Eve tried to toss Layla too early. Not trying to get anything going or spark a debate but just voicing an opinion. I’m pretty sure Melina noticed it because she tweeted Layla something about ‘saving a match’. Such progression from one of my favorite divas. Layla has improved leaps & bounds & she really should get the recognition she deserves. To stand ALONE as Women’s Champion to start. She has character & her abilities are growing everytime she’s in the ring! So impressed with Layla El. :D
I LOVED it! I love that the divas could take such a lame contest as a battle royal & make it interesting.
Plus, I totally disagree that they should’ve had Eve & Maryse as the final two. That’s what I thought they were going to do & that would’ve been just so predictable & boring. And who knows? Maybe Jillian will try to get back at Maryse for this & turn face again!
Yay to Layla saving that spot!
also i honestly cannot wait for maryse to turn face one day, she’s gonna be so damn popular
If she can get herself together in the ring maybe.