Today’s SmackDown Redux comes to you with a heavy heart and somber mood. The wrestling world lost an absolute icon today as “Macho Man” Randy Savage tragically lost his life in a car accident. If any of you are anything like me, you grew up watching him steal the show night after night. Savage’s talent, charisma, and personality made him the total package when it came to this sport as far as I’m concerned. His matches with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and a young, brash Shawn Michaels are instant classics that will live in my heart, the hearts and minds of many others, forever. For me personally, Savage was the last remaining childhood hero that I had. I’ve watched all the others have their lives end far to soon, most notably Owen Hart. I was watching In Your House that night and I’ll never forget what I saw. If we can learn anything from the events of today, and from the past, it’s that life is way to short. It can be taken from you in an instant. You’ve truly got to cherish every moment and live like it could be your last. Rest peacefully, Macho Man.
When things like this happen, I always find a comforting perspective. I’ve wasted my time for the past few weeks bitching and complaining about everything that is wrong with sports entertainment. I’ve written it off, refused to see the bright side, and have just basically been on a rampage about everything. I definitely stand by everything I’ve said, but I feel bad for wasting my time, and yours for that matter, by raging. At the end of the day, who cares who has a title? Do win and loss records really matter? Whether you’re a main-event megastar that the company is centered around or you’re a young hopeful paying your dues in the developmental system, you’re risking your livelihood with every step you take in that ring. You’re giving it your all whether you have two minutes of television time or thirty minutes. Sports entertainers are still pro wrestlers. They’re still athletes who work their asses off to be as gifted as they are and to look the way they do.
In my ridiculous and jaded sense of reality that I’ve been living in since Extreme Rules, I had forgotten that. And for that, I’m truly sorry.
Tonight’s SmackDown is a good example of how something great can be made despite having very little. Reigning Divas Champion, Brie Bella, took on the soon-to-be (I hope) Queen of SmackDown, Natalya, in a great little match that helped make Brie look strong going into Over The Limit where she’ll defend her championship against, Kelly Kelly. Lets take a look at how it all played out.
We open up with cutie pie Todd Grisham backstage with the champ and her sister, Nikki Bella. Todd begins the interview by asking Brie why she left Nikki to get destroyed by Kharma on Monday. Brie defends herself by saying she didn’t do anything wrong and that she attacked Kharma first. Nikki interjects that the only reason Brie even went after Kharma is because she knew Nikki was going to jump in next. Nikki also called Brie out on leaving her, and she’s not to thrilled by it. Brie cuts her eyes at her sister and says that she knows Nikki would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed. Nikki gets this look on her face and then admits that she would have. Satisfied, Brie starts to rant about how she now has to face Kelly Kelly at Over The Limit (they showed a graphic for the match right before the interview began) and on top of that, she has to go into battle with the “wench” Natalya. She wants her and Nikki to get back on the same page. Nikki says they were never not on the same page. That brings a smile to Brie’s face and the sisters lock arms and walk away. Todd wishes them good luck and we go to a commercial break.
Backstage segments for Divas are rare and this one was definitely a treat. The Bellas have great characters and watching their banter in the opening seconds of the segment was great. They’re rock solid when it comes to oozing attitude, and I love the fact they blatantly admit that they need each other to win more or less. We’ve not seen the Bellas on television nearly enough since Brie has been champion and it’s really unfortunate. Absolute gold could have been made from them as champions, and I hope that if Brie does lose on Sunday, another title reign is in her future. Nikki’s too!
The match begins after the commercial break and the twins are out first. Brie is proudly holding onto that title and Nikki plays it up. They get inside the ring and when their music fades, Natalya’s music starts to play. The third generation Diva makes her way out and Brie just glares at her the entire time. She also keeps that title high in the air which makes me lulz. Nattie taunts the crowd once she’s inside and the bell rings to begin the match. The girls lock up and Natalya tries for a scoop slam. Brie wiggles out and pushes Nattie towards the turnbuckle. Natalya stops the momentum easily, turns around, and both opponents lock eyes. Brie calls Natalya a loser, while the blond Diva just smirks. Natalya takes down Brie with a headlock, but the Arizona native is about to lock her legs around Nattie’s head to reverse it. The crafty Nattie bridges out and again we have a staredown between the two. Love this!
Brie is the first to strike, or try. She swings wildly at her opponent, but Natalya ducks and locks her arms around Brie’s waist. The younger twin fights her way to the ropes, wraps her arms and legs around them, and that forces Natalya to back off. However, Nattie rolls back towards Brie, who is waiting, but Natalya gets the upper-hand by taking Brie down into a lateral press. She goes for the cover but only gets a two count.
Nikki, clutching the title, looks worried for her sister especially when Nattie decides to try for the Sharpshooter. Brie scrambles to the ropes, fights off Nattie, and rolls to the outside. Natalya goes for it but Brie is able to bound Nattie’s neck off the ropes and finally catch a break. With Nattie down, Brie rolls back in and immediately goes for the other girl’s arm. She works it over for a few seconds before Natalya muscles her up on her back. It’s easy to see what happens next. Natalya falls backwards, crushing Brie underneath her, and now both girls are hurting.
It’s the champ that gets up first. She tells Natalya to bring it and once Natalya is up, she slaps the hell out of Brie. Brie goes flying back (love the dramatic crowd gasp!) and when she whips around, she is pissed. She looks to take Natalya’s head off with a clothesline but again she misses, and Brie is forced to eat a wicked shot from Nattie. The champ still refuses to stay down. She gets back up and tries to fight, but after a reverse whip that didn’t work out or something (excuse me, I’m incredibly overwhelmed by all the wrestling to be honest), Brie ends up on her back again because Nattie has hit her with her spinning clothesline signature move. Nattie, bless her, is still selling the work that Brie did on her arm earlier, and like a trooper she shakes it off. She goes for an extended powerslam, and for Brie, I’m sure it fells like an eternity. When she finally hits the mat, it sounds so painful, and Brie cries out in pain. Natalya keeps up the offense with a flying snapmare that forces Brie into a groggy sitting position and she follows it up with a dropkick to the back. Natalya goes for the cover, but Brie somehow gets out of the pinning predicament.
Natalya seems shock that she wasn’t able to get the pin, so she decides it’s time to put Brie away. Brie goes for the ropes and Natalya follows her. She begins pounding away on the champ in frustration and Nunzio is forced to make Natalya back up. Natalya forces her way past him and goes for Brie again, who once again sticks herself between the ropes. Nunzio has to physically restrain Natalya and that gives the chance she’s been waiting for. She cheaply kicks Natalya in the knee, which drops the powerful Diva down. Then she throws Natalya into the turnbuckles. Natalya cries out in pain and that gives Brie the chance to hit her finisher. She gets a clean victory over the former Divas Champion and Nikki climbs into the ring to celebrate. The twins embrace each other and Brie basically looks like a million bucks going into Over The Limit.
What a great match. The Bellas are NEVER given enough credit for just how good they are in the ring. The haters bash them for no reason whatsoever and it’s so annoying. The chemistry between Natalya and Brie was ridiculous. This should have been a pay-per-view match because I’m actually salivating over the thought of what else they could have done with more time. The Bellas should have had their title reign on SmackDown because they were booked better in one night than they’ve ever been on Raw. I loved this match so much.
And lets be honest, is it even possible for Natalya to have a bad match?
Great job to all three girls. I surely hope Kelly Kelly can put together something great with Brie for Sunday. Their first match wasn’t impressive. I’m going to hope for more come Sunday, especially after seeing how well Brie and Natalya worked together. No pressure!
See you guys on Sunday.
82 Comments
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Preach it Cryssi! I completely agree with what you had to say about The Bellas!
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CRYSSI I ALWAYS LOVE YOUR REDUX XD.. Btw i agree with you about the bellas. and actually Natalya is one of the veteran divas that can makes other “rookie” looked decent :)
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I agree with what you said to begin with, and you put it brilliantly. I don’t think the Superstars and Divas (especially the Divas) are given enough respect for how hard they work and how much they put themselves through to entertain US. Even the “models” we have now who came in with no experience have for the most part worked their asses off and have come a long way in the ring, especially considering the amount of time they’re given. That goes for the Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, Layla, hell, even Rosa tries her very hardest.
Onto the match. Working with someone like Natalya is something all the girls should try and do at some point. There is so much to learn from her and she always makes her opponents look so good. This was a great match, no “carrying” or whatever, both ladies put an even amount of work into it. No bad, sloppy spots at all.
I think the problem with Divas matches is that they are usually so rushed. Especially on Raw. That’s why the less experienced Raw Divas usually come off badly in their matches. They have to rush through spots and put together an entertaining match in less than 60 seconds, leaving no room to really make it clean. That’s why on Smackdown, the girls usually come off better. I don’t think the people here normally consider that and are way too hard on these Divas.
This match really made me change my mind about Brie. Her title reign may suck, but damn, that girl has worked hard to improve and HAS improved. We need more matches like this, please! I usually critisize the Bella Twins for being boring and basic in the ring, but this match definitely changed my view there. I hope they all carry on working and improving, because the crop of girls they have now is the best they’ve had since before the Diva Search started.
I wish Brie and Kelly good luck this Sunday. They are both talented girls and should do everything they can to put on a great match. They are more than capable of doing it.
Great write-up!
at
Glad to see someone finally giving The Bellas some credit! Everywhere i look, all i see are haters bashing on them for reasons unknown! Most of the hate boils down to the fact that “they cant win a match without Twin Magic”
Correct me if i’m wrong…but isn’t that their gimmick! And a successful one at that! And how many other twins, or look a like teams have used the old switcharoo to get the W! Yet Brie has been booked as a weak champion, up until this match! And she didnt even need to use Twin Magic!
I have always been a fan of The Bellas…and i think they really shine as heels! Both are playing the heel role quite well! And glad to see one of them as champion! I kinda hope she retains at Over the Limit! But i think in order for whatever they are doing with Kelly and Kharma to progress, they need to put the title on Kelly! I hope i’m wrong though…for the sake of Brie’s title reign! It hasn’t been long enough yet!
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I LOVED THIS MATCH…i always defended the bellas during nxt thats when i knew they had potential & i wish they where booked like this before their short feud with eve till now with the title…
Nattie makes ANY diva look great & i bet when we get rosa vs nattie it looks pretty decent..
i just think on raw theirs no clear diva too push..kelly isnt anywhere near as good as she should be by now in-ring but has charisma,maryse has personality but hardly any wrestling ability,eve can wrestle but they dont want to develop her character at all,beth can wrestle & is over as a face but i guess they just dont want to push her as the top face..the other divas are basically jobbers on raw..
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the only thing is they’ve been having kelly beat them in every match they’ve had if anything the bellas have to win this match & on wwe.com their teasing kHARMa interference so maybe she’ll cost kelly the title which than sets kelly off & kharma just goes threw her…
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see i say this for a reason. smackdown is the better brand for divas, the bella’s well brie was actually booked like a champion. bellas actually got a promo and decent amount of ring time. im nattie’s huge fan she is my favourite along side with michelle mccool! i used to root for michelle all the time but now im gonna mark for nattie, shes amazing!
and she made brie look like a wrestler lol!! the match was solid IMO, no botches it was great.
the bellas IMO aren’t to great of wrestlers but they’re decent, they’re better than maryse kelly rosa etc. they’re young and they have plenty of time to improve. kelly is a different story, after 5 years shes still the same. anyway im not too sure how the match was go at OTL, cos both brie and kelly aren’t too experienced, these girls work well if they have a veteran carrying them wie’ll just have to wait and see!
i hop brie returns tho, since it is her first title defense. she hasnt been booked properly as champ. i say give her a longer title reign
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Nattie really knows how to make those 3 minutes matter. She actually tries to make the matches entertaining, despite the fact that they’re given so little time. The rest of the women should learn that lesson.
I’m glad Kong didn’t come out and attack this week. I say Nattie, Gail and Beth will actually put up a fight against her.
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I have to say, Brie really held her own in that match.
I like that the Divas were given more time in the match, and a nice little segment before hand.
This match made Brie look like a believable champion, and made her look strong entering Over The Limit this Sunday.
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I really liked this match ,Like everybody said before me this made brie look like the CHAMPION SHE IS from the promo to the end of this match soo congrats to both brie and natalya for this match
&&as for OTL I wish brie and kelly the best ,I really hope they put on Decent match :D
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kinda weird how they advertised the divas championship after all major championships…they will usually do that in a divas match or something
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The Bellas are solid enough, but they’re boring to watch. I don’t feel like they have any real presence at this point. I know it’s hard for any Diva’s Champion to really shine, but Brie just doesn’t feel like a champion at all. Nattie was great, but that’s a given.
And for the first time I actually understood why people are so quick to praise Nikki over Brie. In the promo, Brie just looked a lot less comfortable, whereas Nikki was having fun. I wish they’d stop with the hand gestures though.
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well, this match should shut up all of those Bella Hates, up, because this just proved that the Bellas can hold there own, and wrestle with the best, loved the match, and promo, and it was a awesome build, i loved smackdown :)
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I think the main thing is on Smackdown (and Superstars) is that it’s taped. WIth Raw, the Divas stuff is usually the thing to get sacrificed for time if they go long earlier in the show (which seems to happen more often than not). It was one of the better non-PPV Divas matches in the last few months I thought.
As to the promo- anyone think Nikki will cost Brie the title Sunday? They’ve teased a breakup before…and Nikki may not have 100% forgiven Brie for running off while she got Kharmalized…
As for Kharma- I think it’s a given she’ll be a factor, but in what way and when?
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Lol I hope i see Kelly as champion when i go to raw August 1st… maybe she can keep the title that long. This match wasn’t bad thanks to Natalya… wasn’t VERY sloppy.
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I have always been a fan of the Bella’s. I think the heel turn was exactly what they needed, because they are excellent at heels. I was really impressed with Brie, I have to admit I think Nikki is better than Brie, but she did excellent in her match.
I love the little things that the Bella’s do though. During the promo, and ring entrance if you notice Nikki keeps selling her injury from Kharma’s attack on raw. I thought that was really cool because Nikki is the only person that we saw get attacked by Kharma and then be on TV again.
I’m torn for Sunday, I like Kelly and want to see her as a champ, but I also like the Bella’s and wouldn’t mind a longer reign for them.
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For the first time in a… Sorry, for the first time ever, I actually enjoyed a Bella twin wrestling. The proverbial pig must have flown.
By all means the twins aren’t going to be mistaken for ring technicians, but they have a fair level of ability and a lovely sense of how to imbue persona with wrestling. This match more or less reinforced my opinion that the Divas Championship should stay on Smackdown. I’d also like to see it defended more on Superstars.
Addressing the absence of Kharma, I can only think it wasn’t to detract from Brie as a considerable obstacle for Kelly this Sunday. It seems crystal clear to everyone that her first title win in the WWE is a dead very at Over the Limit, so I guess it’s best if they at least attempt to make it feel like an achievement.
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I cried about the death of Randy, I’ll always remember being a little girl in Saga, and watching Randy Savage on T.V, and despite not understanding what any of them were saying because I coulden’t even speak english, he always intrigued me, everything about him I enjoyed. He was the American Dream for a little Megumi, R.I.P Macho Man.
Onto more happy stuff, I’ve been a Bella mark since the beginning, and I loved how well they did in this match. Although I will always rally about how the Twins are equal and none is better than the other, People will always seem to have the same mindset that Nikki is better simply because she was the heel. I loved Natalya’s gear, and I just noticed the pink extension in her hair is gone. She’s looking great.
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Now perhaps its just me, but what exactly was the point of bringing a Raw Diva to Smackdown who has no real beef or tension with the Smackdown Diva that they’re facing? I don’t know if this was all done to give Brie the momentum going into Sunday so that Kelly can take the title away from her (even, though I do believe Kelly still has the momentum after pinning the Bellas twice in a row) or what? And, perhaps I’m just upset and wondering about all of this because Smackdown doesn’t utilize their Divas well, anymore IMO. The last babyface Diva that went really over was Mickie James. Beth and Kelly didn’t go over nearly as well as her in term means of storyline-wise. Though they did do pretty well with the Kelly/Edge thing. It’s pretty much been a Laycool show over on Smackdown and now that Michelle is gone and Layla is face, they really could use a top heel over there. This would be a great time for them to start using Rosa in some way, or building up Kaitlyn who has been working house shows as a heel in the past. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but for once in a long time – Raw is back to being the A show while Smackdown is the B show. They have no belt, no actual storyline or anything going on right now. Meanwhile, we get a daily of 2-3 minute Diva-ness on Raw and they’re the ones holding the belt. Maybe it’s just me, but something seems a little off with all of that? >.<
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@beliEVER maybe they should turn natalya back to a heel so she could have a feud with layla loll
Or natalya could stay as a face and have a storyline with alicia loll
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Loved ur words Cryssi..u know this is the first time since Torrie left WWE that i feel okay about not seeing her a champ at least once..its all scripted and i and her true fans admire her work after all so who cares!!
R.I.P Randy Savage..i didnt have much time to watch him but from wht i saw he was a great wrestler
as for the night,the segment was weird..i dont know why WWE always put the Bellas in so random segments but i like them and think they dont suck with all these unorganized segments they got!!
i liked the match so much both did great..i wish The Bellas keep the title and start a real title reign cause they didnt have it yet
kinda sad Kharma didnt appear…
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@BeliEVEr: I agree. If anything, the fact Nikki was back on screen so soon after Kharma flattened her makes one think Eve could have got her rematch before Brie headed into Over the Limit.
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beliEVEr, i understand but IMO i still smackdown is the better show for divas, this week shows it. the thing is wwe havent done anything to build up the smackdown divas roster properly like they had done in 2009/10. they hav more divas on raw and now kharma. they have more talent on raw. on sd they have talent but the faces and heels ratio is messed. thats why they dont have good feuds going on atm. to make it worse the divas title hasnt been on sd for a long time. its only exclusive to raw which is BS. laycool only had the title and no one else was given the opportunity ever since on sd.
sd needs the divas title so that they can have new #1 contenders, new feuds and new champions on the brand, like natalya and alicia.
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@beliEVEr
Now perhaps its just me, but what exactly was the point of bringing a Raw Diva to Smackdown who has no real beef or tension with the Smackdown Diva that they’re facing? I don’t know if this was all done to give Brie the momentum going into Sunday so that Kelly can take the title away from her (even, though I do believe Kelly still has the momentum after pinning the Bellas twice in a row) or what?
You pretty much answered your own question. Brie needs momentum going into OTL, because before then she hasn’t one a match since becoming Divas champion. I find it interesting that this is the WWE decides to not have them to use Twin Magic. WTF?
The should be having the Bellas do crazy stuff like; every title match is a 2-on-1 handicap. This would have been the perfect setup for them the face Kharma making it a fair fight.
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Natalya is so talented. She’s one of the only few veterans in the WWE who can push over younger talent. She’s the one WWE should be pushing right now. WWE need the womens title back down on Smackdown.