This week’s SmackDown saw the WWE television in-ring debut of one Serena, a Diva who has been much buzzed about ever since she was signed to a developmental contract last year. Why? Because Serena, prior to WWE, was one of the most talented young things on the independent circuit and shot to the top of the card in SHIMMER. The time has finally arrived for Serena to step into the WWE ring in a mixed tag also featuring Kelly Kelly.
As background context to this segment, in an earlier backstage scene, Luke Gallows and Serena were told by their stable leader CM Punk that if they didn’t win tonight, they would be kicked out of the Straight Edge Society. Would Serena and Luke go the way of the dodo and er, Darren Young from Monday night? Let’s find out…
Serena is billed as having trained hard over the past few months under the tutelage of Punk. We’re to believe that she has no previous wrestling experience and is a beginner in the ring.
Say what you will about the Big Show’s in ring work (*cough*), but for Kelly to be teamed up with one of the SmackDown brand’s top stars is a big deal and a huge coup for her. After all, the most that the Raw Divas can muster up is teaming with the Superstars roster.
We kick things off with Show and Gallows but Gallows quickly tags out to Serena which means it’s Diva time! Kelly goes to lock up with Serena but get a kick to the stomach and an elbow across her back. Serena picks up Kelly and begins screaming in her face but K2 uses her legs to kick free of Serena’s hold and hits her with a couple of really flimsy looking forearms. (Need some work on that K2). Kelly whips Serena into the corner, riles up the crowd and goes for her handspring elbow. Serena, meanwhile, sees the move coming and clubs her opponent over the back, knocking her to the ground.
Kelly tries to crawl to her corner to tag into Big Show but Serena kicks her swiftly in the midsection keeping her down. She goes for a pin but no dice. Serena then picks up Kelly only to club her across the back and right back down to the canvas where she then hits her with a couple of knees between her shoulder blades also. Another pin attempt but K2 kicks out. Serena taunts Kelly a little bit before taking the time to do a ‘Straight Edge salute’.
Serena then applies a submission hold as the crowd gets behind Kelly. The blonde rises to her feet and begins fighting her way out of the hold, hitting a jawbreaker on the Anti-Diva. Kelly stumbles to the corner, Serena tries to run at her but Kelly moves and Serena meets the turnbuckles. Kelly hits her with a Thesz Press next before straddling her neck and smashing her head against the canvas — except Serena’s head never actually meets the canvas. Well, this is awkward…
Kelly then hits her whirly-bird head scissors, but again, this one didn’t go well either. Serena didn’t land in the usual forward roll fashion, rather kind of stumbling on her side. Another iffy spot.
Kelly then kicks Serena in the midsection, hits the ‘X Factor’ and goes for a pin. Gallows, however, pulls her off Serena which results in Show getting involved in the match too.
In the midst of a fray outside the ring, Kelly goes for the K2 but Serena counters and hits a modified version of the ‘Go to Sleep’ connecting with Kelly’s midsection instead of her head. Serena wins!
So Luke & Serena live another day under Punk.
If I’m totally honest, I’m excited to see Serena debut in the ring and get the win, but the match didn’t do much for me. The two iffy spots were very noticeable to me — particularly Serena’s head not even touching the mat. The rest of their work together was fine and there were no miscommunications between the two which is a definitely plus — especially when you have two girls who haven’t really worked together before. But what they put together in the ring wasn’t memorable to me save for Serena’s finisher. Having seen her work elsewhere, Serena felt watered down in this match.
However, I have a theory — perhaps Serena’s style and move set were toned down due to the fact that she’s supposed to be portaying this girl who has only been wrestling a few months. Matt Striker noted how she had been training for the past few months since she debuted on SmackDown, so perhaps they wanted her to be more realistic and not have a technical, balls-to-the-wall match that we know she can right off the bat?
Still, it wasn’t a terrible match by any means. It was an acceptable.
Elsewhere, we had Michelle McCool and Layla in a backstage segment. Regardez:
The scene opens with Layla and Michelle boasting about what they did to Melina at SummerSlam. Layla says that Teddy Long is looking to punish them for what they did because he wasn’t happy. Michelle dubs Melina, ‘Lady Wawa’… Get it?
Layla mentions that they have something planned for Melina, because it’s “Flaw…” — oh wait, must check no one’s listening — “… less!”
After they leave, it’s revealed that Hornswoggle has been posing as a plant and has heard everything they said. Someone really should file a sexual harrasment suit against him…
What do Layla and Michelle have planned for Melina? Will we find out on Raw? To be continued in the Raw Redux with Steven…
RSS
Email
Twitter
Tumblr
Facebook
YouTube
86 Comments
That LayCool segment was weird because apparently a plant can blend in quite well with a locker room. Oh boy, let’s hope Hornswoggle doesn’t get involved with this storyline :(
The Serena match was ok, I guess. There were some iffy spots like the hurricana, but I will say that the Thesz Press would have sucked anyway even if Serena’s head touched the mat. That has always been a stupid wrestling move to do imo and one of the reasons why I can’t take Kelly seriously as a wrestler. Her moveset can be so laughable sometimes. Also, since Serena hasn’t wrestled in months, she might have been rusty. Oh well, hopefully this isn’t the last time we see her in the ring wrestling.
agree about the match. maybe i was looking forward to seeing it so much i over hyped it in my head or something? but it really didn’t work for me.
i do feel a bit sorry for kelly the character. she had that rather impressive (by her standards) title match against layla and seems to have just disappeared from the title scene. granted there really isn’t a title scene right now, but going from that to wrestling serena in some oddly put together match is a definite step down storyline wise.
regardless, i’m glad to see serena finally wrestling, however unimpressive it was. her being in a feud with the much loved by fans kelly is a great start for her, especially if she finally does get to break off on her own.
Kelly was selling Serenas offense terribly. Those knees made it look like they dudnt even connect. Little dissapointed but Melaine’s theory makes sense. Not the best way to debut but at least it was more of a divas match than a mixed tag. And it gives Kelly something to do.
I kinda liked the match.. hahha… maybe its cause I like Kelly…
In the spoiler it said the crowd didn’t like the match but Kelly pretty much got a pop…. love that she is getting a pop…
Serena’s finisher I wasn’t so happy about… maybe its the divas thats why wwe wouldnt want Serena to get a knee into Kelly head so the midsection would do…. still not happy abut that move…
I hate that when Kelly was slamming Serenas head… the head didnt really hit the canvas.. But It was a good match.. Atleast the Divas had more time than the guys
Maybe Hornswoggle is planning on spying on Laycool because Melina or Teddy hired him to snoop around… or whatever…. just hope Hornswoggle doesn’t get involved during Laycools matches…
Good night for the SD ladies. I like how they fit Lay-cool in a segment that didn’t take away from the mixed tag match and it also progressed the ongoing storyline between Melina & Lay-cool.
Mixed Tag Match: I loved that they actually gave most of the in ring time to the divas and the men were the outsiders on this. I would love to see this mini feud progress between Kelly & Serena, they seem to have some chemistry. A few iffy spots; but I still enjoyed this match and the fact that Serena has finally debuted in the ring!
Lay-cool Segment: I always enjoy the segments they put together, it moved the storyline on but it also made a hilarious segment apart from Hornswoggle being there; go away. I love when they’re like “FLAW…less!” It just cracked me up.
I can’t wait to see what is in store on RAW. Great write up Melanie! “Lady Wawa” xD
oh! and just on the kelly/serena head meets mat move, before people start shouting “omg botch lolz” and the like, let’s just remember that serena has no hair, i’m sure if she did her head not meeting the canvas wouldn’t have been so obvious. it’s not as if kelly really pounds her opponents head into the mat with everybody else. still, it’s an odd move for a face to have.
That is who people have been proclaiming about for months? She didn’t strike well and she didn’t try to sell. People really need another one of those wrestling weekly?
Didn’t care to watch the LayCool segment. They are horrible every time.
The tag match was kinda standard. Solid enough, but nothing spectacular. We’ll see what Serena’s made off soon enough, provided they push her in an in-ring capacity.
Likewise, the Lay-Cool segment was alright. I just hope the feud isn’t going to be based around Lay-Cool making fun of Melina for crying though, because that could get old fast. Hopefully we see a much more mean-spirited Lay-Cool, because it’s like they’ve been on hold for months. I wanna see some genuine intensity and anger here…hopefully Melina will erupt and bite back hard.
Agree w/ohiofan1 regarding Hornswoggle.
Honestly, it was just an aiight SmackDown, the highlight being Striker coming on to Cody on commentary. That was cute.
*of
Math was o.k. and im liking Serena’s gts.
Question. Doesn’t she use this version in fcw?
lol…sexual harassment suit.
The match was, eh. My issue was when Kelly was trying to “slam” Serena’s head into the mat, it was not even close to even looking like it was hitting it. The finisher didn’t bother me that much, but that’s just me. You don’t normally see the Divas in these kind of matches longer than the guys, usually it’s the other way around.
Laycool, I always love their segments. Layla is so adorable, I cracked up when they were like FLAW…and Layla had this funny look on her face as she was looking to make sure no one was there…less. Hornswoggle must go away, I really hope he has no part in this storyline.
PS: Kelly was looking cute tonight too, loved her hair. Oh, and Punk looks nice with his hair like that, I just wish he’d shave that beard :#
My gilr looked good tonight but like Kaledrina said it wasnt a botch just Serana doesnt have any hair so its harder to do and It was a bad angle.
Oh well My girl looked HOT
why is hornswoggle back on my screen why?!
Laycool segment: I enjoyed it, but i normally enjoy there segments so thats par for the course. I loved the little pinky swear at the end :) my and my mates still do that sometimes, old traditions die hard lol.
Tag match: Not that good for Serenas debut, shame as i was looking forward to seeing her in the ring. Still it looks like they are setting up a storyline with her being Punks “favourite”, and she seems the most infatuated by him out of the SES so hopefully she will get more ring time and a proper storyline soon.
And Teddy wasn’t happy about what Lay-Cool did to Melina? Lol, wasn’t he the one who she slapped hard across the face back in 2006? And didn’t he fire her?
Haha, oh well.
Mixed tag match- The match was ok, not great but not bad. Who else agrees with me that Kelly needs to stop using the Thesz Press?? For one, her opponents head never hits the mat, and secondly it always looks like Kelly’s humping them. I love Serena’s version of the GTS. Hopefully when she’s out of the SES storyline, she can go back to her Spear finisher that she had in OVW.
Laycool Segment- All I can say is this; What a waste of time.
Lady Wawa is so fitting. Love it! It’s weird watching Serena wrestle like she’s some kind of newbie. But the way she navigates that ring and the way she bumps shows she’s far more advance than what Matt Striker would want you to believe. I like the gut buster, a little homage to Punk but it’s not finisher worthy me thinks.
I definitely hyped his matched up in my head too much. While i like the fact that the divas where the main wresters in this match and that Serina got the win, nothing else really happened, a few kicks, a chock hold and the usual kelly kelly moves. I just thought we would see more of serina.
Was that the same finisher she used when she was in fcw?
Glad to see serena wrestling in Sd. Kelly is hot as always.
Laycool segment was interesting and funny. I got a trivia, in filipino the word “wawa” means poor like poor lady…. hhahahahah
It was exciting to see Serena finally get to wrestle! The match was iffy but I was loving the heat Serena was getting after the win. I’m also glad the focus was pretty much solely on Serena/K2 instead of the guys.
Honestly though, my favorite moment of SmackDown (Diva’s wise) the entire night was Jack Swagger talking at Rosa and her not paying attention. I seriously laughed out loud and the fact that the crowd even reacted to Rosa (even if it was sound bite add-in) was awesome lol. Love her!
With Kelly in the match, I wasn’t really expecting much.
However, it’s really good to see Serena in the ring (FINALLY). Hopefully she’ll have some opponents that can actually wrestle in the future.
the segment was going very good to me till Hornswoggle appeared…it was a big turn off to me…if he will be involved it means a very stupid storyline is on its way
the match was okay and i agree with the fact that serena was supposed to look not very good in the ring plus it was her first match on SD!
i did’t like the head smash erither and it was a very strange botch..and the finish looked weird for some reason!! it connected badly so it really hurt kelly or it didnt connect at all im not sure!!
I love how Serena sells Kelly’s moves…. I also loved Kelly’s sitout facebuster.. very cool…. and I do think Kelly is a good performer…. i hate that a lot puts her down…
Plus.. I’m really hating what WWE has done to the Womens Title…. everything Lita, Trish, Molly, Chyna, Beth, Mickie and Melina has worked for it… and now… It’s in half…. I just hope the title will be put back to its natural form…. so stupid they split it…
@fanboy Finally Im not the only person who likes Kelly on this site
Lol.. I’m a Kelly fan since 2007…
It was okay!
lol Im fan since the beginning ’06
Wasn’t bad. I enjoy just looking at Serena in the ring, maybe she’s that good? Haha, nah, but she’s great. She’s beautiful even without the hair. And I can’t wait for her to get in on the Womens Championship picture. She’s going to be a great Womens Champ. Kelly isn’t horrible by any means, but honestly I wouldn’t call her good. She’s okay. She would probably get murdered in SHIMMER…but she’s alright in WWE.
And she’s going to get better if they let her train with Serena, McCool, and other wrestlers some more. Why don’t they just hire Ivory and Jacqueline to help the girls out? Its a billion dollar company for crying out loud, would it kill them to rehire them to train the models?
Anyway, the LayCool segment was lame. I won’t blast it yet, I want to see where this is going. Just please no unification. Too bad you guys didn’t add the Rosa segment, now I have to watch the whole show..its airing just now here in Texas. 10pm to 12am.
whats with hornswaggle do they want him 2 be the next womens champion i can hear it now
and the new wwe womens champion hornswaggle
and the match was ok to good hope we see a mini feud between kelly kelly and serena
I don’t think the head pound is a weird face move. It’s…. a head pound….back in the day every woman did it! Stacey and Torrie Wilson used to pound each other’s heads to the mat. It was what they did…and it’s no more of a “heel” move than when Trish would do that but punch instead.
Silly rabbits.
Anyway, the make was cool. I didn’t think it was bad at all. Sure, her head didn’t hit the mat, but this isn’t the first time someone’s head didn’t hit the mat during a head pound thingy. If I hadn’t read the actual review before watching the match, I wouldn’t have noticed any of that.
Ebmich: “That is who people have been proclaiming about for months? She didn’t strike well and she didn’t try to sell. People really need another one of those wrestling weekly?
Didn’t care to watch the LayCool segment. They are horrible every time.”
Seriously? Watch Serena in Shimmer Ebmich, then see if you still feel that way. Her debut was a ‘random woman’ coming out of the crowd; the commentators said that Punk’s been “training her for months” – so of COURSE she’s not going to look like gold! Good grief! Watch some of her past matches before making a judgment.
And we know you don’t like LayCool. That’s established.
Anyways. Serena’s a five year vet, she can wrestle rings around Kelly so it’s kinda galling to see her have to dumb down her move set. But if this gets her in the ring…gotta take the good with the bad. At least she didn’t have to lose to K2. And although the Hornswoggle thing is creepy I can see them setting him up as a spy for Teddy. That makes sense. Otherwise I don’t want him NEAR the women’s division. We’ve had enough of that. And as far as that whole head smash, that was on Kelly. It wouldn’t have matter if Serena had hair or not, if you’re not fully slamming a person’s head onto the mat, it’ll look bad with or without hair. And Serena’s supposed to not look polished in the ring as has been noted.
“Plus.. I’m really hating what WWE has done to the Womens Title…. everything Lita, Trish, Molly, Chyna, Beth, Mickie and Melina has worked for it… and now… It’s in half…. I just hope the title will be put back to its natural form…. so stupid they split it…”
i completely agree and i find it really disheartening that a massive majority of diva fans don’t seem to care that something so cardinal to the division is literally in pieces.
“Plus.. I’m really hating what WWE has done to the Womens Title…. everything Lita, Trish, Molly, Chyna, Beth, Mickie and Melina has worked for it… and now… It’s in half…. I just hope the title will be put back to its natural form…. so stupid they split it…”
yeah agree
when i saw the womens wrestling title spit in half i was offended and thats an insult
i saw this match yesterday since i live in australia and sure this wasn’t such a spectacular match but serena looked really good, the way she sells irish whips into the turnbuckle and kelly’s kicks looked very real. The hurricanrana wasn’t really that much of a botch, when you think about it there has been worse.
i mean im not happy that they split the belt but im not totally outraged cuz i mean its not like that is the ONLY belt to bear that name the prestige is more about the title of being the women’s champ then the belt itself i mean i feel like this is just the first step in the wwe redesigning the belt which is another thing im not shocked about
“i feel like this is just the first step in the wwe redesigning the belt which is another thing im not shocked about”
if that does happen, here’s to hoping it doesn’t turn out looking like a giant penny a la the new tag titles.
lol i wouldnt want the womens belt to look like that but i have to say i LOVE the new tag belts i think they look awesome
i think we need to say heres to hoping the belt doesnt have unicorns and rainbows on it and that it has a black strap cuz i think that would do more to kill the prestige then it being split in half has lol
Has the Thesz press into head bang thing ever actually worked? Like I don’t actually remember it looking like a dangerous move… it’s more of a “I’m frustrated with you so I’m going to shake your head.” Serena is an amazing performer. Whether this was her dampened down or ring rust or whatever I see so much potential in her! She’s still so young and she’s a 6 time OVW Women’s Champ. I’m hoping to see Serena slowly creep her way through the division and maybe feud with the Glamazon for the title once she’s done with Laycool.
I’m hoping for the plan to be “Oi Melina, Michelle challenges you to a match at NOC,” and then Melina says “k but I get to choose Layla’s opponent.” That would be interesting, a kinda pick the other champs poison scenario. I never get tired of Laycool, I’m actually enjoying what they bring to the table.
On the whole title being broken thing, it pisses me off but isn’t the WWE changing it’s logo? So like… most of the titles will be changing? I just hope, like Kaledrina said – “it doesn’t turn out looking like a giant penny a la the new tag titles.”
I LOVE serena but she didnt impress anyone except for that GTS tonight. Kelly…all i can say is learn some new moves or make WWE show you your other moves , can’t believe iv never noticed this before since recently i was a BIG kelly fan baack in the day till’ alicia came along. She should be a valet and have Aj Lee take her place, serena and Aj have alot of chemistry together.
Why is everyone making a fuss about the title its obviously fake when another diva wins it then they’ll give the real one back, dont worry and plus it gave the belt more ‘history’ which is a good thing. Don’t forget it has been held by botch queens like the Kat and debra and stephanie mchanon and the belt still went on to good history they just shouldnt give it to a rookie diva yet melina or beth should stay champion for a while.
thank you Laceyfan although i loved Stephanie’s reign i thought it was awesome (not because she deserved it but because her character was amazing)
@THETommytommy
That’s such an awesome idea..choosing each other’s opponent i rather have melina vs michelle and layla vs beth or better ..gail. I would look so much forward to michelle vs melina again at NOC i think the reason to this is because WWE know last year at NOC the womens title match ranked top ratings so they think another match but a bit more hardcore would be amazing.
-off topic-
Didnt 2O1O go fast?!!!??!
never relized how small serena is,
Also when serena leaves the SES she should go back to her FCW look with the hat too.
Didn’t serena used to do that divining monkey flip back in SHIMMER ?
i personally think serena should stay bald i think she pulls it off amazing u cant say that about all women but she is beautiful bald
I also loved Stephanie McMahon’s Title reign. That would be the only exception for me. Her heel character was awesome. And I loved that her and Tori would rule the womens division. Those were the days.. Ofcourse the worst was Harvina, Debra, The Kat, and Moolah’s 4th reign when she pinned Ivory. It was silly and not necessary. I mean, wasn’t Victoria beating the crap out of her the night Lita returned? I didn’t enjoy Moolah and Mae getting womanhandled by all these young girls. Poor Moolah, she was always a trooper.
Also, I haven’t seen a whole lot from Layla as a Champion. But I guess that’s because her and McCool are co champions, well in their minds. Can’t wait to see what they do. They should just leave Layla as Champion and award them a pair of Womens Tag Team Titles as well! That way we’re all happy.
“They should just leave Layla as Champion and award them a pair of Womens Tag Team Titles as well! That way we’re all happy.”
NOOOO!!! I dont want diva tag titles… It would be so like TNA.. and it wouldn’t be nice…
plus I read here in some of the comments that WWE might be re designing the Womens Title…???? OH GOD PLEASE DON’T…. when I frist saw the Divas title back in 2008… I was like… WTF???!!! a silver and purple butterfly???? and seeing the new tag titles and it does look like a coin….
Just hope the Womens Title stays the same… not split, and not redesigned
I honestly can’t stand Kelly as a wrestler, the only time I actually like her was when she was getting squashed by Beth Phoenix or when we all thought she was going to pose for playboy. She needs to either start learning to wrestle or go back to being eye candy cause I’m not buying her as a legitimite wrestler when the only wrestler thats actually worse than her is Tiffany and even then she is barely better.
The women’s division owes a lot to Stephanie. Her parading around with the title and refusing to defend actually got people interested in the title, which was pretty unheard of at that point. Remember how huge the crowd popped when Lita beat Steph?
“Was that the same finisher she used when she was in fcw?”
In FCW she used an inverted front powerslam, called the Mancini code (or the Dominator, as its known from Bobby Lashley). She probably isnt allowed to use that one, because its too similair to beth’s slam.