It’s the return of the Armchair Creative Team! You’ve probably heard of the term ‘armchair quarterback’: someone who sits on the sidelines and feels they know best. Similarly, the Armchair Creative Team is our own spin on that term, as we lend our ideas to WWE’s Creative Team for possible storylines. Okay, it’s a trillion percent likely that none of our ideas will ever come to be — but there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasizing!

This time, we tackle who should win tonight’s Divas battle royal and face Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship at SummerSlam. At the end of the feature, you can vote for your favorite idea. As always, share your own ideas in the comments.

Cryssi’s Idea
The number one contender battle royal is truly an open debate with tons of possibilities, but I’m sticking to my gut and going with the sexiest of the sexy, Maryse. I see the final four of the match being Raw Divas – Beth, Nikki, Brie, and Maryse – and towards the end we’ll have the shock of Brie eliminating Beth. While Brie is taunting Beth as she makes her way up the ramp, Nikki will take the opportunity to dump her sister out. Outraged and shocked, Brie will flip and a screaming match between the sisters will erupt. Maryse will sneak up behind Nikki, take her out, and become the number one contender. On commentary, Kelly will take off her headset and stand up, picking her title up, and nodding up at Maryse. Maryse will flip her hair, talk some mess, and motion that the belt is coming with her.

Fast forward to SmackDown where Teddy Long’s new assistant, Zack Ryder, has invited the Raw girls to a pool party. Everything will be fine and dandy as they all hang out backstage with Ryder. Then later on in the night, Maryse will step up to Kelly and ask where the title is. They will have some words and Maryse will splash Kelly with some water. Kelly will tackle Maryse and they’ll fight. All the Divas will have to break it up and Maryse will make some harsh declarations towards Kelly in French. Kelly will just be like, “Yeah, whatever.”

Monday on Raw, the girls will have a chance to pick the other girl’s opponent. Maryse will select Melina. Kelly will select Beth. Melina will get the first victory over Kelly thanks to interference by Maryse, and later on in the night, Maryse will fall to the Beth thanks to distraction from Kelly. While Maryse is recovering from the Glam Slam, Kelly will climb in the ring, stand over Maryse, and raise her title in the air. Later on that night, towards the end of Raw, the tail-end of a backstage fight between the two will be captured.

Heading into SmackDown, I’d have a nice little tag match take place. Maryse and Alicia versus Kelly and Natalya. I’d have the heels go over here with a severe beat-down coming to the faces. I’d have Maryse take the title, and take it all the way to SummerSlam with her. Maryse would be awesome carrying around a stolen championship. And that’s how I’d book the Divas going into SummerSlam.

Erin’s Idea
I’ve picked Beth Phoenix to win the battle royal and that, with the WWE’s distaste for babyface/babyface title feuds, would of course call for a heel turn. The battle royal itself would prompt the heel turn, unleashing a very vicious and intimidating new Beth. With only a week and a half to spare the feud would span both Raw and SmackDown, calling for Beth to scare the hell out of Kelly in various ways, whether that would be through destroying fellow Divas in random matches or cornering Kelly backstage and reminding her that she no longer has empathy. The new Beth Phoenix doesn’t empathize or pity. She just destroys and takes what is hers. She is sick of seeing the belt “disgraced” by the likes of Barbie doll wrestlers like Kelly and Brie, and has finally decided to put all of her efforts toward taking the belt and restoring it to a place of honor. A whole long program based off of these feelings could be easily devised, but alas, we’ve only got a few precious days before the actual title match, so I think what they could mainly accomplish is a sense that Kelly is very much the underdog and that Beth, suddenly stripped of her sense of morality, will stop at nothing to get the belt around a waist that deserves it.

Melanie’s Idea
My pick for Kelly’s SummerSlam opponent is none other than the Foxy one herself: Alicia Fox. After being on quite a roll over the past few weeks, it would come as no surprise to see Foxy win the Divas battle royal on Raw and go on to face K2 at the biggest party of the summer. But it’s after the battle royal where things really heat up.

On SmackDown this coming week, Alicia would be interviewed backstage about winning the battle royal and facing Kelly at SummerSlam. Alicia would take fans on a trip down memory road, telling them how she and Kelly were both signed at the exact same time, but Kelly has always been the golden goose and she’s always been in the background. Where are her 7/11 cups? Where is her place on the Maxim Hot 100? Alicia is clearly not a fan of K2. Fox will say that she’s finally figured out how to be the golden goose and at SummerSlam, not only will she take the Divas Championship — but she’ll also take Kelly’s beauty away from her.

The next week on Raw, a replay of the Alicia segment is shown while Kelly is in the ring ready for a match. As the replay ends, we cut to Kelly who is clearly shaken by Alicia’s cruel threat. Kelly goes on to defeat one of the heel Divas, i.e. Melina or Brie, but is ambushed after the match by Alicia. Fox attacks her from behind and lays her out with the scissors kick. Sending the ultimate message, Alicia picks Kelly’s face off the mat and tells her that she’s going to wreck that pretty face in six days time.

On the final TV show before SummerSlam, SmackDown that Friday, Alicia would be in action now — making quick work of either Kaitlyn or AJ. After the match, Kelly’s music would hit and she’d come down to the ring for a face-to-face with Fox, not backing down and showing she’s a fighting champion. Kelly and Alicia would get in each other’s faces and exchange slaps, but before things can go further, Alicia’s cohorts, Tamina and Rosa Mendes would come out to the ring and attack Kelly. After a three-on-one beatdown, Tamina and Rosa would hold up Kelly as Alicia hits her with a running big boot to the face. Admiring her handiwork, Fox would have the upper hand over K2 going into Sunday’s show. But can she finish the job at SummerSlam?

Which idea did you like best? Which would you most want to see? Vote below!

Remember to share your own ideas in the comments!

It’s the return of the Armchair Creative Team! You’ve probably heard of the term ‘armchair quarterback’: someone who sits on the sidelines and feels they know best. Similarly, the Armchair Creative Team is our own spin on that term, as we lend our ideas to WWE’s Creative Team for possible storylines. Okay, it’s a trillion percent likely that none of our ideas will ever come to be — but there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasizing!

This time we tackle how WWE should handle Awesome Kong’s debut to the company. Three of our writers have weighed in with their storyline ideas. Which one would you most like to see come to life? Read the three pitches and then vote! And as always, you can share your own ideas in the comments.

Cryssi’s Idea
So playing off something I heard about there potentially being a female Nexus member… here we go. Over the next few weeks and post Royal Rumble, the Nexus under the guidance of CM Punk leave the WWE in a wake of destruction. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel take the Tag Team Championships back from Santino and Kozlov, while David Otunga ends up feuding with and winning the United States Championship from Daniel Bryan. CM Punk has entered into a feud with Randy Orton, the new WWE Champion after he defeats the Miz at the Royal Rumble, and one night during the ending segment of Raw after a horrible Nexus beatdown of Randy Orton, Punk cuts a promo saying that the Nexus will soon become the most dominant force professional wrestling has ever seen. His goal is to have every championship belt on Raw inside the Nexus and because he won the Royal Rumble, the WWE Championship will be his at WrestleMania. He lets those words linger and says that of course, there is one other championship. It doesn’t mean much, but it’s a title and he wants it inside the group as well. Yup, it’s the ‘butterfly belt’ that Natalya is still wearing around her waist.

He talks about how impressive she was in beating Melina at the Rumble, and wonders out loud exactly which Diva is worthy enough to bring the championship to Nexus. In the end, Punk declares that the shameless Divas of Raw are not good enough. They’re just ‘flimsy little gold-diggers who signed their contracts simply to gain their fifteen minutes of fame’. The woman who is going to bring gold to the Nexus is someone who can not only destroy every single bleached blond (and brunette) on the roster, but she can also stand toe to toe with any man as well. Punk flashes his trademark smirk to the crowd and points at the stage where a piece of deliciously devastating music begins to play over the PA system. The lights dim and the spotlight rises, and Awesome Kong makes her way onto the stage… and she has her hand wrapped around the throat of Natalya! She drags Natalya to the ring, who is desperately trying to fight her off, and Kong tosses her inside like a rag doll. The Nexus boys scatter and Kong takes center stage. Natalya is coughing and gasping for air, but Kong just pounces on her. She beats the living daylights out of Natalya and puts her out of her misery with an Awesome Bomb. She places her foot on Natalya’s chest, takes her Nexus armband from her pocket, slips it on and raises her hand in the air like a salute. The crowd is stunned speechless. The boys salute her back. And CM Punk stands there nodding in approval. Kong reaches down and picks up the Divas Championship, which she had brought with her to the ring along with Natalya, and she places it across her shoulder. She spits down at Natalya and says one simple word; “Mine.”

Erin’s Idea
After Melina defeats Natalya at the Royal Rumble and becomes Divas Champion, she plays up her heel character, becoming more cocky and arrogant. She takes her “slap happy” thing to another level, embarrassing Divas left and right by smacking them in the face backstage, after matches, etc. The slapping becomes her “thing”, and she plays on it by “warming up” her hand or wearing a glove. This goes on for a bit until, in the middle of a self-congratulating backstage interview following an easy victory, she bumps into a nameless woman. Not seeing or noticing who she bumped into, she yells at the faceless peon for making her drop her Divas Title, her back turned until she reaches the end of her tirade, turning around and coming face to face (face to chest?) with Kong. She’s intimidated, but, being cocky, she goes to slap her to ‘teach her a lesson’. Instead of blocking it, Kong takes the slap, but does not react–she doesn’t even blink. Shocked, Melina tries again, with the same result. Flabbergasted, Melina just stares at Kong, asking “Who the hell are you?” Instead of answering, Kong slaps Melina, sending her to the floor like a ton of bricks. Kong takes the belt, hoists it on her shoulder and walks off.

The ensuing weeks will deal with Melina trying to get her belt back, but being too intimidated by Kong to get close enough to take it. This could be played straight with a touch of humor. Kong becomes less of a voiceless monster as the weeks progress, playing Melina’s intimidation for laughs. Eventually, we learn who Kong is, she gets mic time, and, exasperated at her inability to possess her own title belt, Melina soon agrees to defend the championship at WrestleMania. But, in a sense, she’s battling to get her belt back–Kong’s just competing to keep it. The feud would be largely out-of-the-ring encounters with their first match (singles or otherwise) taking place at WrestleMania. The aims of the feud would be establishing Melina as a heel once again and introducing Kong as a monster in the expected way, injecting her with babyface personality as the storyline progresses.

Melanie’s Idea
Awesome Kong is not just a threat to the babyfaces (assuming she is a heel), but a threat to the entire Divas division. As such, much like her role in TNA, she should be played up as the monster that doesn’t give a you-know-what about anyone. It’s safe to say that with someone of the magnitude of Kong, you’d want her in your title picture as soon as possible and that is exactly what I suggest…

I’d place Kong’s debut at the Royal Rumble later this month. Sure, some would like to see her debut in the Rumble match itself but I’d much rather see her make her mark upon her debut. (There’s always next year for the Rumble!) Following a hard fought title defense against Melina at the Royal Rumble, Natalya would be celebrating in the ring — a little out of breath — when all of a sudden the lights go dark. When they turn back on, an unidentified figure (to the announcers) would appear at the top of the ramp-way.

Making a beeline for the ring (or more importantly, who’s in it), Kong walks down to the ring with authority as Natalya realises she’s coming for her and tries to put up a fight, showing the fans what a true, fighting champion she is, but Kong overpowers her. In a display of her unique presence, Kong would throw Natalya around the ring like a rag doll before hitting the exclamation point: the Implant Buster.

Making her statement on the WWE — and the Divas Champion — the fans/announcers would be left to wonder who this new mystery woman is. “Can she even be called a Diva? She’s a monster!”

The next night on Raw, the footage from the Rumble would be recapped by the announcers and it’d be announced that Natalya isn’t at the show tonight due to the harsh beating she took. Then, the lights would flicker and the Anonymous Raw GM’s laptop would buzz. The GM’s email would say that he hopes the fans like his latest signing, confirming Kong’s identity as whatever name they give her. Following this, it’d be time for our standard two minute Diva match between any combination of Divas. (Take your pick.) Halfway through the match, the lights would go down and Kong’s new music would hit. Once again she’d make her way down to the ring, and this time annihilate both of the Divas involved in the match.

Kong’s path of destruction would continue for a couple of weeks until Natalya returns to Raw and makes a gutsy challenge. Showing what a fighting champion she is, she challenges Kong to a match ‘anytime, any place, anywhere’. Of course, Kong is only too happy to accept and it’s on at Elimination Chamber in February. In a non-title match, this one is all about the fight — Natalya tries to show she’s not intimidated by Kong but is generally overpowered by the monster Diva. Natalya would try and try to fight back, not giving up but realizing the task of defeating Kong may be too much for her, her friend and fellow ‘Sister of Destruction’, Beth Phoenix would come out and throw in a white towel ending the match.

Unable to defeat Kong — but never backing down — Natalya would challenge Kong again, this time for the Divas Championship at WrestleMania. In the lead-up to the show, we’d see Kong work her way through a series of Divas — both heels and babyfaces — to the point where the entire Divas roster takes a stand against Kong on the final episode of Raw/SmackDown before WrestleMania. All of the Divas unite, come down to the ring and say they’re here to bring the fight to Kong. A huge brawl would ensue with Kong taking out Divas left and right but eventually all of the Divas would begin to wear her down and Natalya would get the upper-hand by leaving Kong laying in the ring.

However, come WrestleMania, Kong’s reign of terror would truly begin when she’d defeat Natalya for the belt and move onto her next victim… er, I mean challenger.

Which idea did you like best? Which would you most want to see? Vote below!

Remember to share your own ideas in the comments!

This Monday’s 3-hour Raw is billed as a “viewer’s choice” show, with the fans determining what happens based on who and what they want to see. The extent of the viewers’ actual power is likely small, but it presents an opportunity for Diva fans to tell the WWE what they want to see. Of course, Melanie and Erin have a few ideas of their own–read through them and vote for the one you’d vote for this Monday night:

Melanie’s Ideas

Viewer’s Vote for #1 Contender — We all have our favourites and we all want to see our favourite in a title feud or get a title shot. My idea would be to allow the so-called WWE ‘Univese’ to vote for which Diva faces Eve Torres later in the night for the Divas Championship. And I’m not talking about a rigged vote either. I’m talking about a legit vote as they did with the Diva of the Year last year and as they’ve done in the Halloween costume contests over the years. This could be a way to really put the power in the fans’ hands: Will they choose the obvious favourite, Gail Kim? Or will the WWE Universe swerve us and go with Maryse? Regardless of whether or not she’s a heel, Maryse is incredibly popular amongst the fans at home who would vote via WWE.com. If it’s a real, legit vote, I think the result could be extremely surprising. With no Melina, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly or Maria, there’s no clear cut most popular Diva on Raw. It’d be really telling of how the fans think to see the winner of the poll become the #1 Contender and face Eve on Raw. I think the result would be shocking… I’m not convinced that Gail would win it, despite being the obvious ‘babyface choice’. The competition would be wide open to all of the Raw Divas, which would make the result that much more exciting. Could you imagine Brie Bella winning and challenging Eve? The shock value would make Monday’s Raw extremely buzz-worthy.

Lay or Cool? — Option number two for me is the fans voting which of the co-Women’s Champions compete in a champion vs champion match against Raw’s Divas Champion, Eve Torres. We know that SmackDown will be part of the big three-hour Raw and Lay-Cool always seem to pop up whenever we have one of these interpromotional events. Will the fans vote for Layla vs Eve or Michelle vs Eve? Like the first option, the vote really could go either way.

Raw vs SmackDown –Putting the power in the fans’ hands, the WWE Universe could decide which Raw Diva faces off against which SmackDown Diva in an interpromotional match. You could even have all the other Divas at ringside, lumberjack-style. Continuing my trend, there’s no clear cut winner for each side because the usual top dogs [Melina, Mickie, Beth etc.] aren’t around. Who would get the vote for Raw and who would get the vote for SmackDown? It’d probably come down to popularity which means we’d likely see Kelly Kelly in action for SmackDown, but which Raw Diva will the fans vote for?

Erin’s ideas & reader poll after the cut:

Erin’s Ideas

Battle Royal for Title Shot — I’ll give credit where credit’s due; Cryssi had this idea on last Monday’s Post-Raw Show, and I liked it so much that I decided to put my own spin on it here. I’d like to see, near the beginning of the show, a battle royal featuring Divas from both Raw and Smackdown. In a perfect world, this battle royal would be given a generous amount of time and would feature at most 5 Divas. The choice of Divas would address current feuds while giving deserving, underutilized Divas a shot at the spotlight–Maryse (addressing her feud with Eve), Gail Kim, Natalya, Kelly Kelly (addressing her budding feud with Laycool), and Alicia Fox. Now, the winner would get to face the champ of her choosing — it being a Supershow gives both brands equal footing and thus gives Divas a chance to reach across the brand lines.

So, if say Gail were to win, she could choose to take on Michelle McCool and Layla. Gail wrestling co-champions would in itself be interesting, but it would be a unique opportunity to see Divas who don’t often get to interact face off in a high-stakes situation. By the end of the night, the brand lines could be shaken, and that is something many people feel needs to happen with the Divas. It would be a creative and exciting way to pull off some switcheroos without going through the process of an impromptu Diva Draft.

Lay-Cool At Odds — Fans aren’t fond of Lay-Cool’s catty ways, that’s for sure. One thing I think the general audience would make happen if they could would be to force these two to face each other and determine a true Women’s Champion. The audience, having seen them terrorize Mickie, Beth, and now Kelly would love to see them take their own Mean Girls tendencies out on each other. Michelle might think, in her arrogance, that Layla would lay down for her but Layla, in her own arrogance, could refuse to do so. Hidden tension is then manifested, and a real match commences.

I think it’s still a little too early to bring an end to Lay-Cool or this co-champ storyline, but it would be interesting to see them forced into a situation where they have no choice but to put aside the sisterly bond and show who really is the alpha dog. Things could resume as normal afterwards, and I’m sure they’d find some loophole that would maintain their co-champion bond, but for the night, that would make for quite an interesting bout.

Champion vs. Champions — WWE loves to pit champ vs. champ, and in a situation as unique as this, it might be too tempting for the fans to resist. Eve is the lone Divas Champion while Lay-Cool co-hold the Women’s Championship. The fans would probably not vote for the babyface to take on two heels, but it really does utilize both brands in a way that could advance two potential feuds, so I’d be all for it. Maryse could be present to take advantage of Eve’s disadvantage and thus reignite a little fire in their fizzling feud, and Michelle and Layla might find themselves at odds when one or the other wants to claim the win.

It also gives Eve a little more babyface sympathy from the fans in being double-teamed by the nefarious Lay-Cool while giving the Womens Champions heat in relishing the chance to double-team the “goody-two-shoes” fan favorite.

So, which idea do you prefer? Vote for your favorite below!

With Melina‘s ACL tear confirmed, the Armchair Creative Team is taking a look at how Raw can go forward in Melina’s absence. Many things need to be considered, chief among them the fate of the Divas Championship. So, how should they proceed? Erin and Melanie have a few suggestions.. Read them and vote for your favorite below!

Melanie’s Idea

A Babyface Swerve — With Melina expected to forfeit the Divas Title on Raw, it seems a new Divas Champion will be crowned on the same night, perhaps in battle royal fashion. Given that Melina was last feuding with Maryse, it seems she would be the obvious choice to win the belt. But… How about WWE makes it less obvious and goes with a babyface winning the belt instead? With everyone expecting Maryse to win the title, I’d much rather see an exciting swerve that could set up a new feud instantly.

Last year on SmackDown, Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio was suspended due to the Wellness Policy, while in the middle of a feud with Dolph Ziggler. However, WWE swerved fans by having Mysterio drop the title to John Morrison instead of the expected switch to Ziggler. The move led to an instant replacement feud between Ziggler and Morrison.

Going on that basis, I’d love to see WWE swerve us and give the belt to a babyface with Maryse then seething with rage and targeting the new Divas Champ as she did with Melina. Ideally, this role would go to Gail Kim who seems to be the most competent wrestler on the brand to replace Melina. However, knowing what we know about WWE, it’d be just as likely to see Kelly Kelly take the spot — WWE loves her, she’s higher on the totem pole than Gail and this could be the opportunity she’s been waiting for. Up until now, she’s always had a Melina or Mickie to play second fiddle to while bubbling under as someone WWE wants to push for the belt eventually. This seems like the time do it.

With Raw now more of an entertainment-based Saturday Night Live-esque show, there isn’t an immediacy to have your top babyface be a great worker as the matches for the Divas are usually 2-3 minutes and/or gimmick matches. Kelly, as seen on Raw last week, works well within those confines. As green as she may be, Kelly has proven that she can be relied upon for shorter length matches. It may not be ideal for us as fans, but WWE seem high on her and she is popular with fans.

Whether it be Gail or Kelly or even a third party, I’d prefer to see ‘the babyface swerve’ as it’ll give the opportunity to establish a new top babyface and push one of those ‘bubbling under’ Divas into top Divadom. Giving the belt to Maryse, who is already a top Diva, seems redundant.

Erin’s idea & reader poll after the cut:

Erin’s Idea

Natalya Gets Her Due — We’ve reported on the news that Natalya will be appearing at this Monday’s Bret Hart-infused Raw due to the Hart blood running through her veins, and it was even suggested by Melanie that Natalya could take the Divas Championship in a shocking win. Personally, I would love that, but I would prefer that Natalya actually earn the title in order to avoid the inevitable “she doesn’t deserve it” backlash.

In order for this to happen, I feel that Natalya should be brought onto Monday’s Raw as a babyface, introduced by Bret. That shouldn’t be hard to accomplish, given that Bret will likely be brought in as a good guy. The Hart Dynasty can use his good will with the fans to go good as well, and Natalya can get an instant face turn by simply associating herself with her legendary kin.

I feel that the WWE might take the easy way out of the Melina/Maryse feud on Monday and have Maryse win the Divas Championship in a sneaky, underhanded way that would gain her more heel heat– say, cheating to beat Melina without having her injure her knee any further or cheat her way through a Battle Royale–and have her be the snotty heel champ that Natalya could face off against. It would be an interesting way to introduce Natalya into the Raw fold and provide a new, capable foil for Maryse.

Throughout this feud, Natalya’s profile would be raised significantly and, in my opinion, the end goal should be crowning Natalya Divas Champion. We here at Diva Dirt have long felt that a championship win is overdue for her, so it should be handled in a way that wouldn’t be tarnished by a hasty win. Sure, Bret could show some favoritism towards Natalya with his guest GM role, but it should be in a way that introduces her into the fold in an impressive way, not just literally handing her the Divas Championship.

So, which idea do you prefer? Vote for your favorite below!

[poll id="496"]

With Maryse’s return looming, Armchair Creative Team gets a dust-down as we ponder what the future could hold for the former Divas Champion. As one of the most anticipated comebacks in Diva history — depending on who you ask — will Maryse’s comeback be a Melina or a Candice? We weigh in:

Feud with Divas Champion, Melina — Perhaps the easiest and most probable option is for Maryse to come back and feud with the current reigning Divas Champion, Melina. This one pretty much explains itself, right? Melina is the Divas Champion and top babyface, Maryse is a former Divas Champion, coming back from injury and likely will be the top heel — it writes itself really.

Create an alliance with Alicia Fox — While the above idea is probably the most WWE’s creative team’s creativity extends to, I have been pondering a different route to see Maryse feud with Melina. What’s worse than one Diva on your trail? Two! As two of the fastest rising Divas in WWE, how about creating a Diva duo with Maryse and Alicia? Not since Vince’s Devils have we seen a group in WWE and while The Beautiful People seem to have that market cornered in TNA, it’d be refreshing to see something like this in WWE. Alicia and Maryse are young Divas on the cusp of top Divadom, it would make sense for them to team up and take out the veteran Divas Champ. Instead of a straight one-on-one feud, you could have both Divas attacking Melina and being a general thorn in her side. Throw in some of those rare promos to explain the new tandem and get over that bitchy heel nature.

Feud with Eve Torres — Instead of starting out right at the top, like most expect her to, why not have throw fans a curveball and have Maryse work her way up? Rather than starting out straightaway in a feud with Melina, have her go through Eve Torres first. Both Eve and Maryse are Divas on the rise and have bright futures in WWE. With Eve now on Raw, you could have Maryse come back and claim not to know who she is [even though they worked together on SmackDown] and say she’s back now and Raw is her turf. Superiority is something Maryse does best and it would give Eve a bit of a rub, working with the ex-Divas Champion.

So what do you think? You’ve read the ideas and now you get to vote!

[poll id="441"]

Armchair Creative Team is back! This time, we are booking Bragging Rights, the brand vs. brand PPV that takes place a week from this Sunday. This event offers rare opportunities for Raw and SmackDown Divas to go toe-to-toe, and the landscape is even more completed given this past Monday’s drafts. We’ll try and sort that out and offer you some interesting options. As always, read our match ideas & vote for your favourite!

Melanie’s Ideas

Jillian & Melina vs Michelle McCool & Mickie James — This match would pit the Divas Champion & Women’s Champion against each other, but just to make things a little interesting also team them up with their rivals on their respective brands. It’s all but a given that Mickie will likely be Michelle’s next challenger for the Women’s Title while we have heard that Jillian will receive a push for Melina’s Divas Title. This match would force the unlikely teams to work together to represent their brand but also could serve some storyline progression in their individual feuds.

Beth Phoenix vs. Melina — Giving us another match between these two former rivals, this could be an unexpected surprise match for the Bragging Rights pay per view. To set the scene: Beth Phoenix, the Glamazon, comes to SmackDown and doesn’t want to play second fiddle to the Women’s Champion. Thus she takes the pay per view spot to prove that she’s the alpha female on SmackDown, going against the Divas Champion, Melina. If Beth wins, it sets her up nicely, giving her something to brag about on her new home and brings her out of Michelle’s shadow as a co-#1 heel rather than #2 heel.

Melina vs. Mickie James — Melina vs Mickie would be a battle of the babyfaces. There’s a lot of brand pride at stake for the Divas, but there’s also the chance to establish either one as the top babyface Diva in the entire WWE. They could it explain it as WWE’s two most popular Divas battling it out to determine who is the best Diva in the company as well as fighting for their brand. This one would likely draw a big reaction also, as both Divas have proven to be highly popular with the crowd — put them together in front of a live crowd, and they may just tear down the house.

Erin’s ideas & reader poll after the cut:

Erin’s Ideas

Now you’ve read all the ideas. Have your vote below:

[poll id="429"]

Armchair Creative Team is back! And this time we are booking this Friday’s SmackDown 10th anniversary special. Considered the ‘season premiere’ of SmackDown, the annual special usually features tri-branded matches and Superstars and Divas from all three brands. Last year, we had a champion vs champion match when then-Women’s Champ, Beth Phoenix defeated then-Divas Champ, Michelle McCool in a singles match. If this year’s main event is anything to go by, it looks like this year’s ‘season premiere’ will feature more of the same interpromotional goodness! As always, read our match ideas & vote for your favourite!

Melanie’s Ideas

Champion vs Champion: Michelle McCool vs Mickie James — Pretty much following the formula from last year’s SmackDown season premiere. SmackDown’s own, the Women’s Champion Michelle McCool would face the Divas Champion, Mickie James in a singles match. And perhaps like past champion vs champion matches, you could even have the entire Divas roster serving as lumberjacks. Unlike past champion vs champion matches, this one would be even more about brand pride than ever before! Both Mickie and Michelle are born-and-bred on their brands, Michelle has been with SmackDown for her entire career and Mickie, the same on Raw. The brand pride these two would be fighting for, therefore, would be that much more amplified. They have shared some good chemistry in the past and this would be a dream match of sorts.

Melina & Mickie James vs Alicia Fox & Michelle McCool — Perhaps my personal favourite idea is to see these two dream teams back together again! There’s storyline progression to be had here, plus also nostalgia to be served. Melina is pretty much the #1 Contender for McCool’s Women’s Championship and same for Fox to James’ Divas Championship. Thus, this match would be in keeping with storyline. However, there’s also some fun personal history here. Before being drafted to SmackDown, Melina & Mickie’s friendship on Raw was really cute to see and they worked so well as a tag team. Meanwhile, Alicia Fox has made good after that brief period as Michelle’s understudy on SmackDown — she is now the #1 Contender for the Divas Title! For old times sake, why not reunite mentor and student? Could be a great interpromotional match.

Beth Phoenix vs Michelle McCool — Arguably, the two top badass heels in WWE right now. This would be a rematch from last year, when these two faced off as Beth put Michelle out with the Glam Slam. This year however, times have changed — Michelle is now rivalling the Glamazon in the bad girl stakes. This could make for an interesting matchup and show much progression from their match last year as both are now on a more even playing field.

Erin’s ideas & reader poll after the cut:

Erin’s Ideas

Now you’ve read all the ideas. Have your vote below:

[poll id="423"]

We’re backkk! Yeah, I know we just did this yesterday but we can’t help ourselves. The armchair was calling us! Today we’re puzzling over the possibilities for tonight’s rumored Raw Roulette special. As most of you know, this is the one night where a spin of the wheel (and a predetermined stop) determines the stipulation of the matches. We’ll take our best shot at booking–two matches each–a show that is known to be one of the most unpredictable events of the year.

Melanie’s Ideas

Submission Match: Gail Kim vs Mickie James — I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, do you have a Gail and Mickie fetish?” I know I got all up in the Gail-Mickie action in the SummerSlam post too, but what can I say? I want to see these two Divas have great matches so we can act like last week didn’t happen. With two such talented Divas, especially the technical Gail Kim, a submission match could make for an exciting match filled with tense moments. Gail Kim’s Flying Dragon in particular would be quite the picture on Mickie James. I wouldn’t make this for the title, but rather a non-title match with Gail perhaps getting the victory using the Flying Dragon and earning herself another Divas Title match at Unforgiven Breaking Point?

Contract on a Pole Match: Beth Phoenix vs Gail Kim — Gail Kim may be Mickie’s current #1 Contender, but Glamazon Beth Phoenix is notching up victories and strong showings left, right and center. Why not have them duke it out for the next #1 Contendership? Having blown her last shot, I feel like Gail should have to earn another title match rather than have one handed and Beth, who has had lots of wins of late including last night at SummerSlam, seems like the perfect contender. WWE loves their pole matches so it seems like the best Raw Roulette stipulation for such an affair.

Erin’s ideas & reader poll after the cut:

Erin’s Ideas

Strange Bedfellows Match: Mickie James & Rosa Mendes vs. Gail Kim & Beth Phoenix — These matches are a rare opportunity to see two wrestlers–who under any other circumstance would be at each other’s throats–team up. Granted, neither team doesn’t seem to have deep-seated hate for one another, but it would be interesting to see the heels and faces forced to work together, with style clashes and attitude clashes out the yin-yang. The bit of history between Rosa and Beth would make for an interesting face off. But, most of all, it could help establish a lot more heat between Mickie and Gail in a roundabout way. If the WWE really wants to make this a feud and has a Divas Championship rematch in mind (and I hope they do), this could be the perfect way to send it in a more hostile direction. The match could start out as friendly competition but slowly morph into an all-out brawl, any trace of competitive sportsmanship abandoned. Let’s hope last week’s fiasco doesn’t discourage them from taking this feud forward.

Blindfold Match: Jillian vs. Alicia Fox — The little bit we saw of these two last week showed that they have a bit of history hanging out backstage together. Okay, so it was a few seconds, but whatever. If Jillian busts into the GM’s office, demanding a match after last week’s humiliation at the hands of DX, a spin of the wheel could land on something that would suit her role as the resident comic relief Diva–a blindfold match. Alicia could be on her bad side for laughing at her garbage-related misfortune, thus being pegged as her opponent. She could add to the hilarity by cheating and running circles around Jillian in the ring, even with the sight handicap. I’d love to see Alicia prove that she can be a true heel by sneaking her way to a dirty victory.

Now you’ve read all the ideas. Have your vote below:

[poll id="407"]

The Diva Dirt armchair creative team known as Erin and Melanie strike once again, this time looking at what could have been at tonight’s SummerSlam pay per view. As we all know, the Divas were bumped off this year’s card despite a few possible matches being discussed.

Needless to say, we certainly won’t be bothering with tonight’s event, call me crazy but Randy Orton vs John Cena for the umpteenth time is about as exciting as rabies.

But let us speculate over what could have gotten us excited — the Diva possibilites! Erin and Melanie offer their options from Raw & SmackDown below:

Raw

Divas Championship: Gail Kim vs Mickie James — The first match was originally on the SummerSlam card however was bumped off and put on Raw this past week. In hindsight, it probably was a good thing because I’d hate to see that botch on a pay per view. That said, I feel this match is pay per view caliber and deserves to be billed as such. These two Divas are two of the best that WWE has to offer and as such, they should be considered more PPV worthy than every Kelly, Alicia or Rosa. Perhaps bill this as a rematch from the match we saw on Raw, like they did with the MVP-Swagger match.

Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix vs Gail Kim vs Mickie James — The other possibility is to throw the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix into the mix. While Gail Kim may be the #1 Contender, Beth Phoenix [along with Jillian] has a tag team victory over these two Divas and has been quietly working herself back up to title stature in the background. We saw the prominence of the Glamazon in the fatal four-way match a few weeks ago and also a big win over Kelly Kelly on Superstars this past Thursday. Having three talented girls in the ring is surely better than two?

Divas Championship Battle Royal — I’m not a huge fan of battle royals but I feel that SummerSlam or any of the ‘big four’ pay per views are likely to be booked with multi-woman matches rather than singles matches — just look at April’s WrestleMania 25. Part of this match is due to nostalgia, I feel like it’s been a really long time since a title was defended in a battle royal. Having all of the Raw Divas in a battle royal would likely be less time consuming than a singles match that WWE seems to want to avoid putting on a SummerSlam card [as noted in the past] and would give all the girls involved their SummerSlam payday. For us, we know that this group of girls can work together from past multi-Diva matches and it could be pretty fun in that sense. I’m not suggesting that Mickie lose her title in a battle royal but defending it successfully would add more value to her title reign as she has beaten all of the Divas on Raw.

SmackDown options & reader poll after the cut:

SmackDown

Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool vs. Melina — We still don’t know the severity of Michelle’s injury or if she’ll be back in the ring soon, but if we assume that she’s well enough to wrestle, it wouldn’t be too far fetched for the WWE to slap a last minute match together. Michelle and Melina have numerous weeks of buildup, so to make a match with Michelle only back a week wouldn’t be as absurd had this feud been much newer. Plus, these two are able the manufacture heat like nobody’s business so a match, even with fractured buildup, has every chance to be a showstopper.

Melina vs. Layla — Layla’s coming into her own on SmackDown as of late, and her recent match with Melina exceeded most fans’ expectations. If Michelle is not well enough to wrestle, why not use her “message girl” (sorry Michelle, I like the term) to wrestle for her? Have Michelle present at ringside to add that extra level of excitement, but let Layla and Melina go at it one-on-one. Of course, Melina would be distracted by Michelle’s presence, but the match would still be focused on her and Layla–let’s not insult Layla by having Melina abandon the match in favor of pounding Michelle. This would achieve two things: it would raise Layla’s profile as a heel and keep the fire burning on Melina and Michelle’s feud. They’d have to explain Michelle’s inactivity with something more than a mere “vacation”, though, but I’m sure they could come up with something (Michelle: “Melina hasn’t earned a match with me yet!”).

Fatal Four Way for the #1 Contendership: Melina vs. Layla vs. Natalya vs. Eve — Let’s say they’re buying time for Michelle to fully recover. She could steer clear of in-ring action, but promise a future championship match to whoever proves themselves worthy. Thus, we have ourselves a #1 contendership match. In it we could place two of the brand’s rising stars: Layla and Eve. Melina, of course, would be in the mix, itching to get her hands on Michelle at all costs. Natalya could be included as well, perhaps as an informal welcome to SmackDown’s division–she’s been inconsistently wrestling on the show for a while now, but hasn’t been given a solid spot in the division, so this could help remedy that. Each Diva gets PPV exposure, and Michelle, acting high and mighty at ringside, gets to observe her competition and perfect her cocky heel act. Will Melina earn a the match with Michelle she’s been dying for? Will Eve or Layla get that golden opportunity? Will Natalya emerge as a contender out of nowhere? So many possibilities, all combined into a single match, decided by a single pinfall.

Now you’ve read all the ideas. Have your vote below:

[poll id="404"]

Oh, we Diva Dirt writers. Always a step ahead of WWE’s own Creative Team, thinking up solutions to problems that they have yet to even acknowledge. Okay true, we don’t have five hours of television to write every week so I guess we should cut them some slack, but these are the guys that thought Ashley headlining WrestleMania was entertainment, so forgive us if we’re quick to offer criticism on their ‘hard work’. Heard of ‘armchair casting directors’? Y’know, those guys who sit behind their computers and offer their opinion [without being asked] on which up-and-coming actor or actress should play the latest obscure superhero character that hasn’t been done yet. Well we consider ourselves an ‘armchair creative team’, those girls who sit behind their computers and offer their opinion [without being asked] on WWE’s booking.

With all the hubbub surrounding the current SmackDown situation, we thought we’d pull up an armchair, roll our sleeves up and see if we can’t solve this problem. Women’s Champion Michelle McCool‘s status remains in doubt after suffering an injury over a week ago at a SmackDown house show. The result has lead to widespread speculation about whether Michelle will be back soon after a short resting period or if she’s going to be out for a lengthy period. It seems the current uncertainty surrounding the Women’s Champ is far more interesting than the stuff they actually book for TV.

Well our Diva Dirt editors, Erin and Melanie both have their own solutions for this division-crippling conundrum:

Erin’s Solution:
Okay, so my plan has a lot of “what if”s. What if Michelle keeps the title? … What if Michelle is only out for a short period of time? … What if Michelle is out for the rest of the year? I’m going to try to find an answer to this problem while bearing those in mind.

What if Michelle keeps the title? If the WWE has no desire to write into the storyline that Michelle must vacate the title or defend it crippled, then we’re stuck with a champion-less SmackDown. The WWE pulled a similar trick when Maryse was injured last year, but her stint on the disabled list was a short one. If Michelle’s injury keeps her out considerably longer, we could see the division in suspended animation, with everyone just biding their time until the champ comes home. Hopefully, if that were to happen, the WWE can still cook up a decent storyline not involving the defense and chase of the Women’s Championship.

What if Michelle is only out for a short period of time? If Michelle’s injury is minor, and thus only requires a few weeks on the sidelines, perhaps they could keep her in the fans’ minds by using her in a non-wrestling capacity. Now, I know that traveling cross-country isn’t exactly feasible on a bum knee, so these could be handled with weekly video packages or “video diaries” taken at home directed towards Melina, with Michelle updating Melina on her status in a very sarcastic and oh-woe-is-me way. This could bring a bit of humor to the feud while allowing Melina to seethe, taking out her frustrations on unlucky opponents week after week until Michelle finally returns. She can maintain her heel heat whilst continuing her feud with Melina, which had been pretty hot before her injury. You could even bring Layla into the fold by having her act as a “liason” for Michelle and give her more screen time and room for her heel character to grow.

What if Michelle is out for the rest of the year? We could stay in that same storyline, except after a few weeks of agonizing frustration, Melina takes a trip to Michelle’s house, beating her down in a fashion that you rarely see a babyface do. It would make the feud that much more compelling, in seeing the face act with malicious intent rather than be passive or sympathetic. It’s very Stone Cold Steve Austin, but if anyone could pull it off, it’d be Melina. She could then steal Michelle’s belt, and parade around with it, effectively branding herself as unofficial Women’s Champion. What could Michelle do about it? Not much, and that’s what would make it so frustrating for her–you would never know if Michelle would show up one week, unannounced and hobbling, intent on getting her property back. In the meantime, Melina could feud with some lesser-used heels, such as Natalya or Katie Lea, giving them the screen time they deserve and don’t usually get. In Michelle’s absence, deserving Divas can get the exposure they wouldn’t get otherwise, sort of making lemonade out of the lemons we’ve been dealt. When Michelle finally returns, the title situation could be settled with a big, winner-takes-all match (technically, Michelle is still champ, but the months of absence have sort of put it in limbo, a GM decides). Boom! You have instant month-long buildup, and Michelle didn’t have to step foot in a ring. Tension was built, the stakes were risen, and all in a way that allows Michelle to recuperate on her own time.

Melanie’s idea after the cut:

Melanie’s Solution:
There’s a lot of uncertainty right now about Michelle’s health; does she just need a few weeks at home or is it more serious? We don’t know and WWE doesn’t seem in a big hurry to tell us, so thinking of a solution is hard when you don’t have the groundwork. But like Erin, I believe that there should be different solutions for different situations.

If McCool has simply tweaked her knee and is out for a short period, let her stay at home and rest. I wouldn’t strip her of the Women’s Championship because let’s face it, it’d mess up the flow of the division and a few weeks won’t hurt a la Maryse’s injury in late December/early January. In the meantime, they could do something different to pass the next few weeks. I’ve noticed Melina’s former beau, John Morrison is currently involved in a feud with the Hart Dynasty — they could have a ‘mini-feud’ consisting of tag team matches and an eventual singles match between Melina and Natalya, perhaps. Then when Michelle is ready, they could have her come back and insert herself right into the mix and bring the Women’s Title into the fold. Rather than feuding with just Melina as she has been doing, she’ll have inherited Nattie too by way of their feud in her absence, which brings us fresh match possibilities and an eventual three-way for the title.

But all signs are indicating that Michelle’s injury is pretty serious, judging from the correspondence we received with one of our contacts last night. In that event, I believe the best thing they can do is vacate the Women’s Championship as soon as possible and allow a new champion to be decided, to keep the division going. I would hope that they have all the information they need on McCool’s injury by tomorrow night’s taping and can make an informed decision i.e. strip her of the title at the taping. You could then have General Manager, Teddy Long announce a battle royal at SummerSlam to determine the new champion and given the shallow pool of talent on SmackDown, as we have talked about in the past, allow the ECW Divas to compete for the title and have them in the match too.

Allow me to explain my reasoning; first of all, let’s be honest, the Women’s Title isn’t seen as a ‘major’ belt in WWE so there’s not an immediate need to crown a new champion right there and then on SmackDown like there would be with the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship. Having the battle royal at SummerSlam would give the fans their much-wanted Divas match, as we have reported that WWE had scrapped plans for a Divas match on the PPV. By having a battle royal, it’s not exactly a time consuming match and we all know WWE loves to offload all the Divas in one short battle royal. It wouldn’t be taxing to book or as consuming on the event as a standard one-on-one match would be. And it certainly seems like they didn’t want to go for another one-on-one Divas match for SummerSlam.

This also adds some importance to the belt and the new champion, by having the title decided on pay per view and especially one as big as SummerSlam. Rather than giving this away on TV, putting it on PPV would make it mean more to the fans and to whichever Diva wins the belt at the event.

Finally, putting the title match at SummerSlam which is still two weeks away, allows time for the division to re-grow. If they had the battle royal on SmackDown this week, you’d have Diva A win the title and the next week randomly begin a feud with Diva B. By having a couple of weeks to build up, they could tease tension among the Divas by having them compete in different combinations of matches; having tag team matches and singles matches using the Divas of SmackDown and ECW, it would show competition among the Divas as they all want to win the title. Those who pick up wins in their matches would be given a leg up and come across as strong contenders to win the gold in the eventual battle royal.

Coming out of SummerSlam you have several feuds you could do using the new champion and her battle royal rivals, enough to fill in the time until Michelle comes back.