Hello there, and after a short delay due to Hurricane Isaac, we bring forth to you your Raw Redux. It was a solid week for the Divas, as Layla squared off against Natalya in preparation for her upcoming challenge with #1 Contender, Kaitlyn. Other than that, we also got a pretty insane(ly awesome) segment between Queen Diva, Vickie Guerrero and General Manager, AJ Lee that is sure to spark a fire under both of them for the future. Alright, let’s get underway!
We head to the ring as Natalya stands posing in the corner. Following the entrance of her opponent, our Divas Champion, Layla; the Queen Diva, Vickie Guerrero informs us all to excuse her as she steps out as well. Vickie informs us that she has a special announcement to make once the match is over. The bell rings, as Layla and Nattie lock up… sort of, as Natalya takes her down right away and they exchange holds. Natalya shoves her back and kicks her in the face, as Layla breaks a pin attempt. Layla with a bridging roll up for another two count, before scoring with the corner crossbody.
Layla attempts a wrist lock, but Nattie holds onto the ropes. After pulling her opponent off, Layla breaks out in some dancing yet again and buttbutt’s (if that’s a word) Natalya out of the ring. The champion tries to slide out, but Natalya traps her in the ring apron and takes the advantage. She goes for the Sharpshooter, but Layla kicks her out. Nonetheless, Natalya continues the dominance and attempts a suplex, but Layla counters into a Small Package for a two count. Once up, she scores with her new “Bombshell” roundhouse kick finisher for the win.
Soon after, Vickie Guerrero basically kicks Layla out of the ring, as our fun loving Divas Champion obliges with Vickie’s “be gone” mentality. The Queen Diva then goes on to run down what a horrible job our GM, AJ Lee is doing, especially the stipulation last week where Dolph Ziggler could have lost his Money in the Bank contract. She dubs this a misuse of power, and “completely unfair!” Vickie claims no one has the guts to speak up to AJ… except for her, so she begs the Board of Directors to put Raw back in her hands! After calling AJ a mentally deranged child, our GM’s music hits to a tremendous ovation, as she skips out in her finest business suit. She circles the ring and then steps inside, where she notions to be handed the microphone. As Vickie does so, AJ proceeds to slap her across the face and pounce on her! Catfight! AJ pulls no punches as they brawl around the ring until Vickie manages to slide out and scurry up the ramp to the back! AJ is left in the ring making her wonderful crazy chick faces as the crowd chants “YES! YES! YES!” in support of her!
Thoughts: What an interesting night! In terms of the match, I thought Layla and Natalya did fine together, but they were definitely overshadowed by Vickie being there so it kind of took away from what they were trying to do. I’m not personally a fan of Layla dancing in her matches, but I don’t blame her at all because she’s not given any time to show personality so she’s trying to incorporate something different which I can appreciate. As always, I love Layla and Natalya’s chemistry, but it can’t compare to their Superstars showing a few weeks ago (obviously due to the time). Speaking of time though, I’m again happy with what we got in terms of the time allotted. Singles matches on Raw don’t need to be 10 minutes for me to be into them, and to be honest, unless it’s someone the crowd connects to, singles matches that go a long time can feel very slow. Two to three minutes for a singles match on Raw, diva wise, is fine by me because it doesn’t feel that short when you’re watching it.
Now, Vickie and AJ completely owned it out there. I always felt like you can accomplish more in a segment than a match when it comes to the Divas, and I think that was sort of proven tonight. The crowd reception to AJ was stellar, and pitting her against one of the most over heels is only going to further it. I would absolutely love an AJ/Vickie feud, sort of like when Stephanie feuded with Sable during her reign as GM. Obviously this will be different because it would be for the role of authority and not Vince’s daughter vs. Vince’s mistress (one of my absolute favorite storylines ever btw), but I think using AJ and Vickie against one another could definitely bring the crowds into Divas if you then use them with other females when it’s over. They aren’t dropping the ball with AJ like they did Eve, which is phenomenal because as much as I loved the Summer storyline with Punk, Bryan, Kane, and her, that thought always ran through by head of if she would be on the backburner in a few months. Thankfully, that’s not the case and I hope to see more of the GM vs. the Queen Diva in the future!
58 Comments
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I loved the night a lot of divas had tv time
The match vivkie n aj
Vivkie did steal attention from the match but it was worth it at the end when she had her cat fight
Its going to be aj vs vickie soon
And I’m hoping nattie vs kaitlyn after she wins the title
Eve is going to collide with teddy soon
lucky1now Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Sorry for the muliple post my phone is acting up :/
Choko Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Why?
magicmike191 Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
I know my iPad is saying u doubled posted this comment sad!
Choko Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Lucky1Wow answer!
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I loved the night a lot of divas had tv time The match vivkie n aj
Vivkie did steal attention from the match but it was worth it at the end when she had her cat fight Its going to be aj vs vickie soon
And I’m hoping nattie vs kaitlyn after she wins the title
Eve is going to collide with teddy soon
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I loved the night a lot of divas had tv time The match vivkie n aj Vivkie did steal attention from the match but it was worth it at the end when she had her cat fight Its going to be aj vs vickie soon And I’m hoping nattie vs kaitlyn after she wins the title Eve is going to collide with teddy soon
BAD KHARMA Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Why did you put the same comment 3 times?
lucky1now Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Phone acting up my bad
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I just hope Kaitlyn doesn’t win the title.
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I thought the match was just fine. Not as good as the Superstars one but there was more time there and there wasn’t the distraction of Vickie being around. I would have rather have her come out after. The post match catfight was good though and I loved the reaction AJ got from the crowd. I agree with accomplishing a lot more in a segment than in a match. More character can be shown through a segment (as long as it’s not a USELESS one). Backstage ones, in ring ones…that’s how AJ developed into what she is now and more divas need that opportunity. Even as simple as a post match attack would be a step in the right direction.
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Pretty decent showing for the divas.Natalya and Layla definitely have great chemistry in the ring, and it showed in their match.This match was good, but the one they had on Superstars was better.I’m really loving how WWE is building up this storyline.Layla facing Natalya to not only build momentum for her future title defense, but also because of the comment Natalya made to Layla on twitter.I kind of wish they didn’t have Vickie come out before the match.It would’ve made more sense if they had waited for her to come out ’til the end because then it wouldn’t have taken away from the match.ANd the catfight between AJ and Vickie was GOLD!I’d love to see them face each other in the match where AJ puts her GM position on the line and Vickie puts her job in WWE on the line.
Btw,is it just me,or did the crowd suck?I felt like the crowd had no enthusiasm at all!I hate when crowds suck.
WhalenX12 Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
They don’t give a shit D:
Lily Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
It did suck but the crowd was amazing during the battle royal.
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We had layla natalya aj vickie and aksana had that cobra thing lol, no matter what more divas on tv is awesome!
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I can definitely see an Aj vs Vickie “Winner takes Raw GM Match”, and Vickie being like “Excuse me! Excuse me! let me introduce you, my daughter and new WWE RAW DIVA! Raquel”… and she wins for her mommy, and Vickie pushes her for the WWE Divas Championship that hopefully would still be in Layla’s waist… :D
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I know people will let it go because its Vickie, but she really just crapped all over that Layla/Natalya match. Forcing the camera to stay on her rather than the match, and basically saying ‘this sucks’ before they even get a chance.
Its just not cool anymore.
Raekon Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
I agree. :/
It brought back the feeling I had the whole time when Cole were always commenting the divas matches bad and even ruined the final match between Naomi and Kaitlyn in NXT only so he can get over as a heel.
Hope hey won’t put Vickie down there to do the same again and that AJ explains the attack as being upset because Vickie allowed herself to ruin the programming rushing the divas match only so she can do her announcement.
This would at least not allow her to do it again while further a feud between her and AJ.
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I swear these crowds are ruining the diva matches. They simply don’t give a f*ck and I’m honestly surprised since I expected Layla to be at least somewhat over, but she isn’t at all. I blame her theme music as half the problem, the other half being her inconsistant booking.
Did anyone notice during Brodus clay’s entrance, that Naomi got more camera focus than Cameron?…could this be the result of Naomi’s great peformance with Natalya and Cameron’s idiotic decision making? I think it’s possible xD
iLUVValets Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
But when you think about it though, none of the divas besides Beth, Nattie, And Kelly have unique distinguishable themes, everyone elses theme is just generic girly pop music.
WWFoverWWE Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Yeah, but Layla’s theme doesn’t even sound good. It fit Tiffany, but it’s not working at all for Layla. “You’re not enough for me” even fit Layla better.
BAD KHARMA Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Tamina has a really good theme aswell!
Raekon Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Agree about the themes, if you compare the knockout themes in TNA with the Divas ones you can really say that the Knockouts themes are great while the Divas ones are missing the power or uniqueness a theme needs to really stand out.
FrankNFurter Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
“Naomi got more camera focus than Cameron?”
Yes I thought I was only one who noticed! The first time that has ever happened, usually she is cut out of the camera angle or Brodus is blocking her in a segment. I’m positive it’s because of her highly praised match with Nattie.
Marshy Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
Sooner or later further down the road that the more that the camera will be focus on Naomi that the more to feel that Cameron will start to feel a bit of jealously over the fact that Naomi is getting more camera focus or that Naomi is just itching to wrestle that she is getting a bit tired of dancing and escorting Brodius Clay down to the ring that one of these days that when Naomi and Cameron are standing on the ring apron, while Cameron is standing on the ring apron with her back is turn to Naomi,well Naomi have decided to attack Cameron or vice versa that Cameron have decided to attack Naomi while Naomi back is turn to Cameron.
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Vickie’s lucky she wasn’t around when Austin was GM. :)
And, off topic… Congrats to Michelle McCool for her new bundle of joy. The kid will be… FLAWLESS!
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The Santino/Aksana thing is stupid but at l.east the Cobra has good taste
The Layla/Natalya match was good but I hated having Vicki bury the match
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Solid match, Vickie was very distracting though.
However, the positives are that the Divas have been wrestling on Raw and Smackdown for three weeks in a row and the matches have (with the exception of the Battle Royale) been solid. This is a good thing for the Divas. They’re getting more of a chance to shine. Baby steps.
redsandman99 Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
I agree. Things are not going to be fixed all at once but things have been much better lately than they have throughout most of this year really. Between either not having matches or only 30 second matches, things are at least looking up a bit.
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Surprisingly……I don’t mind if Kaitlyn wins the Divas Championship. I have to say I’m shocked at her level of improvement. It ain’t stunningly…Michelle McCool improvement. But it’s a pretty steady rise considering I didn’t think she’d be great inside the ring. She’s gorgeous, she seems comfortable on the mic, has personality and is improving.
I’m not really pleased with Layla as a Champion. Although she *has* convinced me she can be a face, I don’t think the WWE is doing enough. Crappy entrance music, stupid dance moves…she’s really trying a little too hard with the bubbly baby face thing. She could be like Orton and be a slightly different degree of her personality, instead of fully morphing into smiling, laughing babyface. But I do love the fact that she’s (sorta) on TV consistently and winning matches nearly every week.
For the shoddy booking she’s receiving, she’s being booked as a strong champion.
All that we need now is for the WWE to actually do something better with their Divas. Sara Del Ray will be there soon, so maybe they’ll pick up the slack.
WhalenX12 Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
The crowd loves her. It’d be good for the title. Did you see the crowd’s reaction when she won the battle royal ?
If Layla wins, I’m wondering if it’ll make the fans hate her.
Marlon Eric Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
I’m glad Kaitlyn is getting over. Now she just needs the WWE to follow through with her. And she needs to stop looking/acting like a lost puppy during her entrances and be more confident.
Adam Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
The crowd doesn’t love Kaitlyn, lol.
Storm Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
I agree! I hear nothing from the fans during Kaitlyn’s entrance, she’s boring. I don’t hate her, but I don’t particularly like her either, I don’t even care if she wins the Diva’s Championship either, because the results will be the same, have Layla’s boring reign continue or start another boring reign with Kaitlyn… Eve, Tamina or Natalya should be in the spot light. ^^
Acrant Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
She’s slowly getting over I think.
Not bad because she’s never really been on TV up until a few weeks ago. She’ll be good.
Raekon Reply:
August 31st, 2012 at
@Adam
Since I’m not allowed to add links here, just copy and paste the following on youtube: WWE Smackdown 3/11/11 Kaitlyn vs Layla
Not the official one but the one recorded by a fan and uploaded by wwedivafan21
There you can see what a huge pop she gets and even before they announce that its her hometown she gets a good pop from the crowd.
She could had been over with the crowd for a long time now but the wwe never pulled the trigger and rather let her job her heart out on the main roster.
Now if they give her a real opportunity instead of making her a filler like they did with Tamina last year, she will grow with the crowd again and finally bring some credit into the title with proper feuds and storylines.
It’s all in the hands of the management though and how much time they give her as also how many restrictions they apply on her or how much freedom they give her in the ring and as a character.
Choko Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
LOL WHY WOULD FANS HATE LAYLA IF LAYLA WON? YOU ARE TALKING LIKE KAITLYN IS SOME SORT OF SAINT LIKE CM PUNK. FANS WOULDNT CARE AT ALL. IT WAS JUST THE CROWD THAT NIGHT.
Nostalgia Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
random, but you’re cute!
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Doesn’t anyone else notice how good the Diva’s matches are without Eve and Kelly?
The Layla vs Foxy match on Superstars was really good too.
Marlon Eric Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
…To be honest with you, I have to agree. I know Kelly is shit in the ring but Eve is a really strong wrestler/character also. But I’ve noticed lately, there hasn’t been many good matches she’s been in. Dare I say, the last good match I seen her in was the Alicia Fox/Eve PPV match. But I’m sure sure’s had other good ones.
Kaitlyn Versus Her a couple weeks ago on Smackdown was decent. Nothing stellar but OK.
BAD KHARMA Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Did you saw Eve vs Beth at Veangence?
Isobel Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
I was thinking the same thing Bad Kharma.
flash1086 Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
Thats because Beth has the ability to carry any bad wrestler to a decent match. She did that with Candice, Kelly (Night of champions) and Eve. But when Eve is with someone just as bad, the match is sloppy and forgetable. A match without Eve or Kelly are solid.
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Good match. Love Layla in the ring, it’s incredible what a great wrestler she turned out to be. Natalya was good as well as always.
The amount of exposure AJ is getting is really bothering me though. She’s already over, she didn’t need to attack Vickie. Layla should’ve been the one to do that as she could really use and opportunity like that to get over. AJ is already showcased prominently and is given so many opportunities to get over, which she has, and that’s great. But an opportunity like this should’ve gone to Layla, I’m sure it would’ve gotten her over.
Isobel Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Agreed 100%. They dropped the ball with Layla here. She could have gotten over if she was the one that attacked Vickie or at least just slapped her.
lucky1now Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Yea that staredown didn’t do anything the crowd wanted her to hit her
Acrant Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Everyone knows Vickie has the best feud chemistry with AJ’s bff, not AJ.
flash1086 Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
Layla had a huge opportinity to get over when she cameback and beat a heel bellas. AJ gets crowd reaction because she has charisma. Layla is only charismatic as a heel.
Adam Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
She was over when she first returned, but she lost that after not being on TV very often. And it’s not like the Bellas were very over as heels, not like Vickie, so your comment is kinda stupid.
And Layla isn’t only charismatic as a heel. You don’t just lose your charisma. It’s more that WWE doesn’t let her show her charisma because they don’t give her opportunities to, i.e. beating the crap out of Vickie, like I said.
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So Michelle Mccool had a baby girl. Anyone wanna report that?
perceval Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Pretty name, too: Kaia Faith Calaway.
Choko Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at
Michelle: You know, gurl, I used to make history all the time.
Baby: How?
Michelle: I became the first ever divas champion
Baby: What is a diva?
Michelle: Look at me
anyone who wants to continue this can.
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Natalya should go for the divas title after Kaitlyn..she is awesome…Loved the match and the segment :D
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Wasn’t fond of the Diva match being dismissed, given the girls were clearly trying to retread through their entertaining bout on Superstars. And, honestly, I find the AJ role to be pigeonholed at this point.
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i love laylas new move!!
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Match was alright. Vickie being out there and looking bored felt a bit disrespectful. It was close to the time Michael Cole did something similar. At least this time Layla got a stare down.
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I don’t know why vickie had to come out for?? the way she acted was disrespectful as well..I don’t know why aj got to come out & attack vickie why couldn’t layla & vickie get into it….
redsandman99 Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at
Because they seemingly want Vickie and AJ to feud for the GM position.