Night of Champions left us with one mysteriously “injured” Diva and a new champion in the form of Eve Torres. Those who didn’t see that coming from a mile away have clearly been living under a rock for the past six months, give or take a few. Eve has been on fire since making out with John Cena back towards the beginning of the year, and many of us thought it would only be a matter of time before she was crowned champion again. After an incredible title match with Layla, the new champion got a chance to step back in the ring. This time her opponent was the rarely seen Glamazon, Beth Phoenix. Let’s take a look and see what went down.
The match kicks off with Eve attempting to get Beth to shake her head. Beth obviously knows better than that. Is it just me or does the referee look like Brad Maddox? Am I turning into Bobby and simply wishing for a FCW superstar to make the main roster? Or did they just go down to the local high school and pull some guy from gym class, and ask him to ref on Raw? I’ve never seen this kid before and that disturbs me.
The girls lock off after the busted handshake attempt and Beth draws first blood by knocking Eve to the ground. After that, they jostle back and forth for position until Eve grabs onto a side headlock. Beth battles out and whips Eve into the ropes. Eve pulls a nice little move but ends up paying for it thanks to her hesitation. Beth knocks her down and begins to pound on her. Eve scurries to the ropes but it doesn’t matter. Beth yanks her away. This eventually leads to a Glam Slam attempt by the Buffalo-native, but Eve kicks Beth in the knee and that forces the powerful blond to let the champ slip from her grasps. It doesn’t take long for Beth to recover, though. She ends up punishing Eve a little more, before Eve is able to slip away from Beth.
Beth ends up slamming chest first into the turnbuckle and that allows the manipulative champ to use Beth’s disadvantage to her own advantage. Eve rolls up Beth and gets a nice little victory. She slips out of the ring, celebrates her win, and makes sure she shows Layla the title.
Not a bad match given the short amount of time. Beth and Eve work really well together, and I think Layla did a great job on commentary this week. JBL really laid into her and she had the perfect responses to his criticism. It was also nice to hear her say that she was really upset that she lost to Eve. I also love how everyone working at the broadcast table put over the Kaitlyn injury angle. It gives me hope that isn’t going to get dropped and when Kaitlyn “heals” she will get a chance to face Eve for the title. I would really like to see that match taken seriously and given some time. For some reason I think both of those two could work something nice if given time to plan and execute.
Not much on the Diva front tonight. Our sweet little AJ Lee made the main event match, and that’s about it. Queen Vickie managed Prince Dawlf to a much needed win over Santino. Just an okay Raw, but after a great pay-per-view, that’s usually what happens. We’ll just have to wait and see if SmackDown gives us anything.
Until next time… Cryssi out!
30 Comments
at 8:09 pm
Layla is one hell of a commentator, the match was cool for what it was, seemed a little odd or off for some reason though.
Matty Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 8:14 pm
This.
Would love to hear more of Layla, preferably on the microphone but I have loved her the past few weeks on commentary – her and The Miz had a lot of chemistry together!
at 8:18 pm
They’ve got 6 weeks before the next PPV, so there’s time to build this storyline- and decide who they want to be the attacker (it it’s Eve, it’s a copout. If it’s a current Diva, I’d go with Natalya, as there were some issues between her and Kaitlyn. If they want to have a new Diva debut- I know some are saying Sara Del Rey, but I think Paige would be more interesting- wasn’t her character during the last couple of months before FCW changed over to NXT an expert in finding out weaknesses of opponents?). And I also think Teddy Long is going to get involved somehow, at least on the SD shows- he’s had issues with Eve for months for various reasons.
at 8:18 pm
Alright for what time there was. I’m glad that they played up the Kaitlyn injury angle up on commentary. Hopefully more comes from that. Clearly a Layla/Eve rematch is coming but the question is when. The next ppv isn’t for six weeks so I’m going to guess they’ll have it on one of these upcoming Raws.
at 8:30 pm
I LIKED THE MATCH IT WAS GOOD HUT NOT BEST SHOWING BUT WITH EVE GOING OVER BETH IT.IS MAKING HER LOOK STRONG AND I LIKE HOW SHE IS STILL KEEPING THE HAPPY GO LUCKY ACT GOING BECAUSE IT BRINGS DEPTH INTO HER CHARACTER BUT THE CROWD NEEDS TO SORT THEMSELFS OUT THEY DIDNT FEEL INVOVLED WHICH IS A SHAME I KNOW U CANT KEEP EVERYONE HAPPY EVERY MINUTE BUT DO SOMETHING TO GET THEM INVOVLED IN THE STORYLINE
art Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
why the caps???…
at 9:12 pm
I’m a little shocked that you didn’t mention the return of Cameron. I know that she isn’t a huge deal, but figuring we all thought she was gonna get fired since they took her off of a signing that occurs a week after her suspension is over, I think it’s at least a little newsworthy.
at 9:32 pm
im glad that the divas are getting something
the match might have been short beth and eve could have had a better match
but they are continueing with whats going on layla was at ringside saying eve is fake they brought up kaitlyn eve is still doing her act hopefully this works for the fans to notice them
i have a feeling whoever is behind the attack is natayla
at 9:59 pm
Beth & eve have on off matches & this was off…nice to hear laylas voice & wish they’d let her talk on the mic…..
Im hoping by the next ppv kaitlyn is back from her “injury” & it sets up a 3 way with eve,layla & kaitlyn…..
redsandman99 Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
I hope so too. They do have six weeks until the next one so there’s time to bring Kaitlyn back and reval Eve as the mastermind or attacker.
art Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 12:23 am
true & i read kaitlyns going to be wearing a brace so she should be back soon….
at 10:16 pm
So,…Beth Phoenix,…”the Glamazon”,…is now the jobber-de-jour for the divas division.
Isn’t this what they did to Victoria right before they let her contract expire?
Not to mention Gail Kim.
Jcott3 Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 5:51 am
Actually, I think that’s Natalya’s job. Before her, it was Jillian, then Victoria, then Molly Holly, and so on.
Also keep in mind that WWE tends to have the faces win regularly. In this case, with two heels, they had the champion (and current ‘it-girl’) retain.
at 10:27 pm
Beth as a dominant diva is far beyond like the dinossaurs existing on earth…..her moveset is more basic like hell,she´s there just…for being there.
a random match that did nothing to me…..i guess Beth will job to Layla next time,with Eve on commentary….
DAFereldan91 Reply:
September 20th, 2012 at 1:42 am
Sad but true.
at 11:00 pm
I Might Know Who The “Mystery” Figure That Attacked Kaitlyn. It Was Eve, I Mean 2 Weeks Ago On Raw She “Injured” Kaitlyn’s Leg & Picked Up The Win! & If Eve Was The Attacker, Hopefully WWE Will Release A Video Of Eve Attacking Her.
at 11:16 pm
The match was bad and just plain un-interesting.
Layla showing she is the batman of the WWE with her detective skills.
They have 6 weeks…good gawd 6 weeks to make this interesting..because if all they are gonna do is have EVE trot out and gleem with those laughable DDP like teeth..this is gonna get real old real quick..like next week quick.
art Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 12:25 am
“Layla showing she is the batman of the WWE with her detective skills.” & ” if all they are gonna do is have EVE trot out and gleem with those laughable DDP like teeth.” seriously made me laugh…..
at 12:06 am
Can’t believe they teased AJ vs Paul Heyman. That’d be universe-destroying epic.
AJ won’t be GM forever. Give her a war that lasts more than 2 weeks.
at 12:52 am
anyone else think there’s a possibility layla was actually behind the attack? that would make a much more interesting storyline and be a nice little swerve
at 2:10 am
I never used to, but I am loving Eve! She’s very impressive in the ring, love her phony fake nice facial expressions and she’s so good on the mic. I can see why WWE is building the title around her right now. This will be good for Kaitlyn, who will likely take the belt from her later this fall, as the build up for this storyline is really good.
Essex Boy Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Agreed!
at 2:15 am
I like the subtlety of Eve’s heel character, even if her audience heat has somewhat galvanised. A good way to progress here would Layla embarking on a crusade to reclaim her title, with Eve becoming increasingly more villainous in the process. Layla, I don’t care what anyone says, has the goods to be a top babyface representative of the Divas division: her flop as champion was little to do with her capability, but the lack of depth in her material. These two can work extremely well together, providing they are given the chance to develop a nicely scripted rivalry.
at 2:37 am
I’m starting to actually think Layla attacked Kaitlyn.
“Friends wrestling each other for the title” never ends well.
at 2:49 am
So, the whole AJ and VIckie angle is dead then?
at 3:26 am
Poor hoeski chant never materialized, but it tried. Just a reminder of how much heat she has lost since she became the top heel Diva. The match was so “meh”, no chemistry between the two tonight at all, it was basic and sloppy. I guess it did what it was supposed to do though, so kudos?
at 1:38 am
Deny it all if you may, but Beth has turned into an outright jobber. Poor Beth and Nattie.
at 4:55 am
I can’t wait until this act with Eve is completely over, I thought it was suppose to be over after Sunday but I guess they’re still having Eve portray this “good girl / good sportsmanship” facade which is kinda’ annoying and tiring at this point. I’m sure it’ll probably come to an end after it’s revealed who attacked Kaitlyn which probably will be revealed to be Eve, it’s just during Layla and Eve’s NOC match, I felt like everything really picked up after Layla shook Eve’s hand and then Eve kicked her. When Eve became more aggressive and relentless it was just amazing. It reminded me of the Eve we saw when she faced Natalya as a heel on Smackdown. It just adds more personality to the match because Eve has Trish-like ways inside the ring that are great to watch.
As for the match, it was kind of unforgettable. Someone said Eve and Beth have hit and miss matches and it’s true, they do. I think this match was more so just to further progress the Eve/Layla feud which it did. The match was just filling in for that purpose. It would be great to see this turn into a Eve/Layla/Kaitlyn triple threat match at HITC, but if somehow WWE could find a way to replace Kaitlyn with AJ, then that would be a true perfect match, IMO anyway.
at 4:22 pm
No I don’t think Beth jobbed out to Eve.The champ always has to go over .It would have been the same if Beth had been the Diva’s champ.And this match on Raw also was a way to say that Beth is back from her time off.And Naturally Beth sold well.And I do look for Beth to get in a fued with either Eve or Kaitlyn in the near future.So everything fit I think.This isn’t a sign that Beth’s contract is over with.The can now with Kaitlyn being off with Injury they can now get Beth in some type of fued so’s that Beth can go for the Diva’s title again.And it is great that Beth was back ahead of time instead of middle of OCt which was reported about several sites .That I assume were all wrong.
at 12:23 am
Let’s not forget that it was John Cena who essentially MADE heel Eve and got her that immense heel heat to begin with. Now that her storyline with Ryder has been dead for a while, her heel heat is pretty much nonexistent. I mean, on TV she’s somewhat watchable, but I think it’s time for them to pair her up with someone to regain that heel heat. And btw, I really think that Layla has what it takes to be THE top babyface of the diva’s division and possibly eclipse Kelly Kelly (dare I say). Let’s face it, Layla’s prettier, a FAR better in-ring performer, and actually puts forth an effort to get the crowd into her matches whenever she gets screen time. Hopefully WWE lets Layla dance more since that’s pretty much what got her over with fans during her “Diva Search” days.