Tonight at Vengeance, Divas Champion Beth Phoenix defends her title against Eve Torres. Leading up to the match, we’re going to take a look at other memorable matches at Vengeance and the various October PPV events.

The designated October PPV has changed its name often, from Taboo Tuesday to Cyber Sunday to Bragging Rights and finally to Vengeance. This rewind will look back at when the PPV was called Breaking Point.

2009 | The October PPV was most recently known as Bragging Rights, the event that pitted the two WWE brands against one another. 2009′s event featured a cross-brand Divas tag team match, in which Team Smackdown (Beth Phoenix Michelle McCool and Natalya) took on Team Raw (Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly and Melina):

Remember this match? Tell us your memories of it…

It’s fair to say that WWE pay-per-views are either hits or misses. The events are either successful surprises or true epic fails all around. Bragging Rights was no exception. For once, it fell into the positive category as the WWE put together a strong show on all accounts, and for us Diva fans, we were treated to something truly special. The decision to put Layla in the ring against Natalya was met with some skepticism and a few eye-rolls, but judging from their SmackDown interaction it had all the ingredients to make a yummy recipe. To say Natalya versus Layla delivered would be an understatement. They put together a gorgeous, pure wrestling match that told a story and left everyone wanting just a little more. Michelle McCool once again put on a flawless performance on the microphone and on the outside of the ring. And to add the icing to this already delicious cake, Aksana and Maryse got involved in the Bragging Rights action by fighting for their men during the Goldust/Ted DiBiase grudge match.

What a night.

The match us Diva fans waited patiently for all night kicked off in grand style. Lay-Cool made their way to the ring and they had microphones in their hands. Layla and Michelle walked out on stage where Layla promptly demanded that the sound techs in the back cut their music. Once it was quiet, Layla turned to Michelle and with a cheeky little grin, she told her BFF that Natalya was no doubt excited to have a title match in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Michelle looked confused and wanted to know why Natalya could be excited over such a thing and Layla simply pointed out that Nattie would be at home amongst all the stupid accents. Massive heat for that comment. Michelle chuckled and began to imitate the accent in question. She said the men in Minnesota like their women larger because it’s so cold. Layla agreed and said that by the looks of things, it got extremely cold in Minnesota. Cue the collective “brrrrrrrrrrrrr”. Lay-Cool got inside the ring and Michelle continued speaking. She said that the comfortable surroundings won’t help Natalya out tonight. She’s going to need more help than that because tonight, they (Lay-Cool) will beat Natalya faster than they can delete all those text messages they keep getting from Brett Favre.

Real Talk. Ewwwwwww. Stop. According to Lay-Cool, Favre is doing nothing but embarrassing himself. Both members of Lay-Cool agree that Brett can’t help himself when it comes to them because they are flawless. They started to check their reflections in their championships when Natalya’s music hit. The third generation Diva walked to the ring with a smile etched across her lovely face. The commentators went over the fact that this match was for the WWE Diva’s Championship (apparently they’ve dropped the ‘unified’ part) and Natalya played to the crowd. Both girls got ready for the match and when the bell rang, Natalya and Layla started to circle one another. They went for a lock-up but Natalya effortlessly scooped up Layla and grounded her. She tried to work over Layla’s arm, but the British-born Diva was able to reverse it into a headscissors. Natalya was able to spring out of it and land on her feet, but Layla responded with a swift kick to the back of Nattie’s thigh. Layla took hold of Natalya’s wrist and started to twist it, but Natalya flipped through it, reversed it, and got Layla up in the air. While holding Layla upside, Natalya showed off her strength by doing a few squats, an homage to her late uncle, the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. She planted Layla in the mat and went for a cover. Layla kicked out right before the two.

Natalya brought the two of them to their feet and locked her arms round Layla’s waist. Layla screamed like a banshee and started to struggle against Nattie’s grip. Layla tried to fight her way to the ropes, but Natalya ripped her from that safety net. But Layla was able to land an elbow to Natalya’s face and subsequently dropped her to the outside of the ring with a dropkick. Natalya landed hard on the outside and Layla seized the opportunity to collect her bearings. When she went to the ropes, Natalya was waiting and Layla found herself hurled from the safety of the ring to the outside. Natalya picked Layla up and tossed her back inside the ring. With the referee distracted by the screaming co-champ, Michelle tried to assert herself in the match. Nattie deflected a kick and sent Michelle back first into the guardrail. The crowd gasped at the sheer force of the impact and Michelle crumpled to the mat. Natalya went off on her blond rival and turned her attention back towards the ring.

Layla was waiting and she attempted to lift Nattie back inside by grabbing a handful of hair. The referee pulled her off and that allowed Michelle to gingerly sneak up behind Natalya and jerk her off the apron. The back of Natalya’s head bounced off the mat. With Natalya down, Layla went back to the outside and successfully tossed her opponent back inside the ring. Natalya was on her knees holding her head, and Layla followed up Michelle’s interference with a nice drop kick that sent Nattie’s face into the canvas. Layla went for the cover, but Nattie was able to power out.

Wanting to keep her offense going, Layla decided to lock Natalya in a submission move. She grabbed the arm and put Natalya in a gorgeous modified surfboard submission hold. Natalya withered in the hold for awhile, pain obvious thanks to the look on her face, and she finally started to pound her fist against Layla’s thigh in desperation. Layla let up on the hold and Natalya squirmed free, only to get on top of Layla. Layla locked her legs around Natalya’s waist and started squeezing her. Natalya tried to fight free but Layla reached up and slapped her right across the face. That proved to be a mistake for Layla, because Nattie fired with a slap of her own and brought Layla up. The co-champ found herself planted into the canvas thanks to another beautiful slam from the Calgary native but Nattie was unable to immediately follow it up. Once she finally went for it, Layla caught her and the two girls exchanged blows. Natalya finally gained the upper-hand with a nice looking clothesline that sent Layla sprawling. Natalya went for another cover, but Layla once again kicked out.

Both Divas got back to their feet and Layla struck Natalya with a kick to the gut. Layla was able to whip Natalya into the ropes, but Natalya came back with a clubbing blow to the back of Layla’s neck. She followed it up with a double underhook suplex and two clothesline each time Layla got back to her feet. The third time Layla attempted to stand, Nattie caught her with a devastating right hand. Natalya tossed Layla into t he corner right after that and charged the other girl, but Layla got her foot up just in the nick of time. Natalya staggered back but caught Layla with a dropkick. Natalya went for the pin and this time, Layla BARELY got her shoulder up. Both girls once again worked their way back to their feet and Natalya spun around to deliver her fancy trademark clothesline. Layla crashed and burned, but came alive when Natalya went to finish the match off with the Sharpshooter. Layla scratched and clawed her way to the ropes and a helpless Michelle stood on the outside unable to help her friend. Layla finally reached her destination and promptly rolled out of the ring.

She’d had enough.

Layla snatched her title from the broadcast booth and threw her hands up in disgust. She decided to walk out of the match and that decision was met with massive crowd heat. Michelle grabbed her championship and ran after Layla, asking her what was going on. Layla stuck her nose in the air. Natalya jumped from the ring and ran after them. She tossed Michelle to the side like an empty tin can and grabbed Layla by the hair. She ran Layla back into the ring and turned her attention to Michelle. Nattie berated Michelle and told her to stay out of this and Michelle promised that she didn’t do anything wrong. Nattie climbed back inside while the referee walked the Diva’s Championship out of the ring. Layla rolled to the outside but Natalya went right after her. As she was attempting to pull Layla back inside the ring, Michelle came swooping in and kicked Natalya right in the skull. Natalya fell back and Layla went for the cover.

1…

2…

…………………..3!

Layla secured the pinfall and Lay-Cool’s championship reign of terror remained intact. Michelle pulled Layla from the ring and together, the girls celebrated another successful victory. Natalya looked heart-broken inside the ring and we can only hope she gets the opportunity to fight for the title another day.

Random Observations: Ohmygod, wow. I called it during my SmackDown Redux on Friday that I felt as if Natalya and Layla could put together an epic match, and well I hate to brag, but I was totally right! What amazing chemistry between these two women. This match had a little bit of everything. It had a hilarious opening promo, great heel tactics, wonderful babyface offense, and a twist at the end that kept Natalya looking strong despite the fact she couldn’t get the job done. Where do I even want to begin?

Michelle and Layla heeled it up perfectly last night. They went for the cheap heat and they got it big-time. Michelle was great with her impersonation and Layla ripping on anyone for having an accent is just brilliant writing in my opinion.

The WWE has done the right thing with this Lay-Cool push. It pisses me off when I see people bashing them. For so long the fans have been begging for Diva promos, storylines, and matches that matter and when they finally get it, the fans bitch because they don’t like the girls who are involved. Is there any middle ground? Why can’t people see past their own personal bias and snobbery and recognize the work that is being done. Lay-Cool aren’t being pushed anymore than the Nexus, Cena, Orton, Edge, ect. are being pushed and to be quite honest, it’s flattering that the ‘E seems to have faith in at least two of the girls on their roster.

I’ll admit some of the Lay-Cool feuds have fallen flat. I didn’t care for their half-assed feud with Melina a few months ago but neither Lay-Cool nor Melina are to blame for that. The writing and build-up for that was pure crap, and it didn’t help that Melina was rushed into the storyline right as she came back from injury. The Michelle/Melina angles in the past have been nothing short of top notch, so the WWE missed the ball on that one. But they’ve made up for it with Natalya versus Lay-Cool.

Natalya has made the most of her push and she’s been basically perfect in this feud. I love how she’s been booked and personally, I don’t see why everyone was quick to write last night’s match off as horrible simply because Nattie didn’t pick up the W. That’s a huge disrespect to Natalya. Does the outcome really matter when two women like Natalya and Layla throw it all out there like they did last night? The match was perfect. It was pay-per-view quality and it stood out by itself on a night that was filled nothing BUT great matches. I think it’s a selfish injustice for people to write the match off because Natalya wasn’t given the victory. She worked her butt off last night and who cares if she didn’t win? There’s always next and yes, there will be a next time. So put that in your juice box and suck it. I guarantee that there would have been an even bigger uproar had Layla gone over Natalya cleanly last night.

This match was memorable on so many levels. Natalya doing squats while holding Layla up was just incredible. Layla getting so frustrated that she just up and walked out on the match was just vintage heel right there. Yeah, I used vintage. The hold for hold exchange at the beginning was beautiful and proved that Layla is no longer a model trying to be a wrestler. She is a true wrestler. How can you not respect the fact she’s come so far?

This match was amazing. For the first time in a long time, I was able to watch the Divas wrestle and not have to be satisfied because they put on a great Diva match. I got to sit back and watch the girls put on a strong wrestling match. And that alone makes Bragging Rights the best WWE pay-per-view of the year.

Match Rating: 5/5

A delicious match between Natalya and Layla wasn’t the only thing us Diva fans were treated too. Earlier in the day, via Twitter, WWE announced that there would be a grudge match of sorts between Goldust and Ted DiBiase. The WWE made sure everyone knew that Aksana and Maryse would be at ringside with their respected male counterpart. Watch below:

Throughout the course of the match, Maryse constantly tormented Aksana, who did her best to rally the crowd behind her future husband. At one point, Maryse got annoyed that Aksana continued to ignore her.

Towards the end of the match when both Goldust and DiBiase were down for the count, a huge cheer went up through the crowd. Maryse ran to Aksana’s side of the ring and began to attack her. Aksana was watching the match, reacting to the fact Goldust and DiBiase had a pretty violent mid-air collision, when Maryse comes flying at her from the side. Aksana fell to the ground but that wasn’t enough for Maryse. She helped Aksana up and threw her back first into the security railing. Maryse backed her against it, held her in her devious French-Canadian clutches, and began screaming in the poor girl’s face. Aksana never fought back and Maryse unleashed the mother of all bitchslaps that connected on Aksana’s cheek. Maryse attempted to through Aksana into the ring, but she didn’t quite make it. That didn’t disturb Maryse. She just did it again and this time Aksana rolled into the ring, clutching her face and crying.

The referee went to check on Aksana, and Goldust did as well. The referee got the NXT rookie out of the way and while Goldust had his back turned, DiBiase came up from behind. Goldust was clubbed in the back of the head and laid out with a modified neck breaker. I don’t know the correct way of describing it, to be fair. He won the match and as his terrible theme music started to play, Maryse went to Justin Roberts and grabbed the Million Dollar Championship. She brought it back into the ring and was going to hand it off to Ted when Aksana came at her and took her down. She began to slam Maryse’s head into the mat and once she rolled the other girl out of the ring, Aksana scooped up the championship and started to cradle it like it was her baby.

Of course, DiBiase was watching. Aksana caught his eye and immediately fixed her hair. That bright smile flashed across her face and she walked a little closer to Ted. The Southern-born millionaire stared deep into the eyes of the Lithuianian beauty and Aksana placed her hand directly on Ted’s chest. She started to feel his body while seducing him with her eyes. DiBiase looked intrigued and rather than checking on his girlfriend, who was on the outside of the ring, he started to give into Aksana’s feminine wiles. He began to smile and his hand touched Aksana’s back. She brought him in for a kiss. Right when DiBiase was about to go for it, Aksana jerked back. She frowned. DiBiase turned around. Goldust was waiting. DiBiase was flattened by Goldust’s finisher and the golden couple of NXT waltzed off into the Bragging Rights sunset with the Million Dollar Championship still firmly in their grasps.

Random Observations: How adorable are Aksana and Goldust? You can say what you want about NXT but these two are enough of a reason to watch. From their ring entrance to Aksana’s seduction of Ted “The Chick-O-Stick Colored” DiBiase, Aksana and Goldust are a duo to be reckoned with. In my oh so humble opinion, the Maryse/Aksana catfight on the outside of the ring rivaled the Tiffany/Rosa Mendes catfight from the last episode of ECW and I never thought I’d write that. Aksana got tore up on the outside of the ring. Maryse was a total beast last night. She clubbed Aksana in her sneak again and damn near broke the poor girl in half when she smashed her against the guardrail. Maryse was at her best last night and we haven’t seen that in a long, long time.

Aksana’s interaction with Ted made him the most interesting he’s been since the Legacy days and lets be real, that stable wasn’t very good. It was just pretty to look at. Whenever Ted’s on camera with Maryse, I watch her because he’s just so bland and out of his element. It pains me to write that because I’m such a fan of his, but it’s the unfortunate truth. He may be a great wrestler, but he lacks charisma and so far, not even Maryse has helped get him over. I do feel like he took a nice step though. Between the combined efforts of Maryse, Aksana, and Goldust, Ted finally showed some personality. I love the fact he was a “typical male” last night and fell victim to a busty blond with a pretty smile. His girlfriend was on the outside of the ring and the fact Maryse could have been hurt didn’t seem to faze him as Aksana presented herself to him. That was great.

And come to think of it, the pre-match promo with Ted, Maryse, and Josh Mathews wasn’t to shabby either. When Maryse jumped in to speak, Ted cut her off and politely reminded her that the question was directed at him.

The Ted/Maryse angle seems to be developing some substance now and I don’t know about you, but I would love to see them crash Aksana and Goldust’s wedding right before the couple can say “I do” with the news that Aksana has conviently been eliminated from NXT. As shockwaves reverberate throughout the arena, Ted snaps his fingers and immigration officers appear. They cart Aksana off as the show comes to an end much to the shock and horror of Goldust. Ted stands proudly in the ring having made good on his promise to get Aksana deported and suddenly you have a feud that is nothing but personal. Love it!

As if you couldn’t tell, I stand up for Bragging Rights (har har). As a Diva fan, I’m completely over the moon at what I got to watch last night. If the WWE could consistantly book like this, then they would be well on their way to gaining back all the female wrestling fans they’ve driven away with their nonsensical misogynistic views towards women. I want more Nattie. I want more Lay-Cool. I want more Maryse and Aksana. I want more Divas. I hope and pray that by some grace of God, Raw can match up to what Bragging Rights offered.

Join Diva Dirt LIVE for this exclusive post-Bragging Rights episode! We will be on the air right after the PPV, to discuss all the Divas action and give you the opportunity to call in and discuss your thoughts too! Tune in at 11pm ET.

Interact with us throughout the show by calling in to have your say on the PPV. You can also tweet us at @divadirt on Twitter or alternatively, add the hashtag #ddlive when discussing the show. You can also comment with your opinions in this post. We’ll read out a sample of tweets/comments throughout the show. For full details on how to interact click here.

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In the closing moments of a hotly-contested Divas Championship match between Layla and Natalya, Michelle McCool hit a devastating big boot to Natalya’s head while the referee was distracted, allowing Layla to roll her up for the win.

For the second pay per view match in a row, Lay-Cool have outsmarted Natalya but once again, it looks as though this feud is far from over. Will Lay-Cool be so lucky third go around?

The Divas Championship is on the line tonight at Bragging Rights when Layla defends against Natalya. Will the Hart Dynasty Diva finally realise her dream?

Tune in at 8pm ET live on pay per view to find out.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Be sure to tune into Diva Dirt LIVE Does Bragging Rights at 11pm ET right after the pay per view!

Tonight at Bragging Rights, the Divas Championship is on the line between Layla and Natalya, but who’ll come out on top? We weigh in…

Cryssi: With Layla being placed in this match instead of Michelle, I definitely see Natalya having the advantage. I think Michelle ends up getting kicked from ringside which will leave Layla at Natalya’s mercy. The two will put on a brilliant match with Natalya ultimately getting the victory. As she’s celebrating her long awaited Divas Championship win, Michelle comes running down to ringside with Teddy Long screaming at him that she is the rightful Divas Champion, and the contract Lay-Cool had was only good when they were co-Women’s Champs. She will make the argument that the title can only change hands if she were to lose, because she is the OFFICIAL champ seeing as how she unified the titles at Night of Champions. Long will have no choice but to declare Natalya’s championship reign over before it even starts, and once again Lay-Cool will escape with that title firmly in their clutches.

David: At Bragging Rights, Natalya gets her second straight championship match on PPV, this time against the other member of Lay-Cool. After a few slow months I think Lay-Cool is hot again and I’ve enjoyed their program with Nattie (Michelle’s Bret impression was hilarious). Sunday night, I expect Michelle’s interference to give Natalya a DQ victory so Layla will once again retain the title. However, if Kelly Kelly comes down to help her buddy, maybe this time Lay-Cool won’t throw shoes in the ring, maybe this time they’ll throw in the towel.

Eric: Whereas last month’s Hell in a Cell was a predictable Lay-Cool victory, this match up could really go either way. Unfortunately, the booking team has painted the Divas division into a corner. Either Lay-Cool wins and we have a continuous, pointless Divas division, or Natalya wins and has nobody to feud with but… Lay-Cool. So who wins? I see Natalya picking this one up. Unfortunately, I don’t see her keeping the belt long. Who will Natalya feud with next? I will give free hugs and a (false) promise to vote for Linda McMahon to the creative team if its not Lay-Cool.

Erin: Part of me is always reluctant to believe that the WWE would do anything to hold back a Lay-Cool push. However, I feel like this feud can be sustained even if Layla doesn’t pick up the win, which means the inter-brand Lay-Cool shenanigans would continue. With that loophole available, I think Natalya’s chances of winning are high. She’s been chasing them for a while (okay, not long, but in Diva land a few weeks is a long time, all things considered) and winning the title could be a turning point in the feud. So, I say Natalya wins the title tonight. How long she keeps it, however, is anyone’s guess.

Jennifer: Logic says that since Nattie’s gotten victories over Lay-Cool the last two weeks since Night of Champions, Layla’s going to win. Either cleanly or with interference from Michelle. Logic also says that it’d make better sense for the future to keep the title with a heel. That said, I’m throwing logic out the window and going with my heart – I say Natalya for the win. It’s time the third member for the (now-crumbling) Hart Dynasty got herself some gold. There’s several paths they could take with Nattie as champion, and who wouldn’t love a build-up to Nattie vs. Beth at WrestleMania (provided Beth is back in time and 100% healthy)? I’d buy the PPV alone for that match!

Melanie: In my opinion, this match really could go either way. On Wednesday’s Diva Dirt LIVE, I said I felt that Michelle would win clean over Natalya — but hey, she’s not even in the match. I feel like Nattie’s chances just opened up. I’m really torn this go around. I think it’s 50-50: Layla or Natalya could win tonight. However, since I have to go with just one name, I’m going to do ‘ip-dip-do’ and pick Layla.

Shanti: Ever since Natalya defeated Michelle McCool via. DQ at Hell In A Cell, she’s been riding a HUGE wave of momentum. Just about each time she has had an encounter with Lay-Cool, she always ended up with the last laugh. This sort of stuff makes me a bit skeptical about whether or not she will come out victorious against Layla and earn her first ever championship win. As much as I would really love for Nattie to win, I think Layla will be the victorious one tonight. I really do not see Lay-Cool faltering or possibly losing the title until Beth Phoenix returns from injury. I think Nattie has done a wonderful job of getting fans behind her and the majority definitely want to see her walk out with the belt tonight, but I have an unfortunate feeling that Lay-Cool will pull some shenanigans and will finally get the last laugh against the third generation Diva.

Steven: For the first time in what feels like ages, it feels like we have a Divas feud with some actual build-up. Go figure. At first, I was pulling for a Lay-Cool win, but my mind has changed recently. One advantage that Lay-Cool has over their opponents is a psychological one, but they haven’t managed to get into Natalya’s head, which is one strike against them. Also, Natalya is facing with Layla, who is the the less experienced of the tandem. It seems Natalya has this in the bag, unless Michelle decides to start throwing shoes, that is.

Leave your predictions in the comments.

Thanks to Nick for the tip.

The bout will be a rematch from from Natalya’s initial title shot against Michelle McCool at Hell in a Cell. However, that match ended in controversy after Layla threw her shoe in the ring, meaning Natalya wasn’t given a fair shake at the belt.

The question is which member of Lay-Cool will face Natalya this time?

Bragging Rights will air on October 24th on pay per view.

The SmackDown team may have been led by WWE Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool but it was the newest addition to the roster that was a blue beacon of success for the brand. Decked in SmackDown colours, a royal blue Glamasuit [as we have affectionately started calling them], Beth Phoenix Glam Slammed her way to victory and had a helping hand in SmackDown taking the Bragging Rights trophy last night.

To the beginning now, let’s take a look at the match as it happened… Team SmackDown make their entrance first with the Women’s Champion debuting a new piece to her attire — a robe. Proving she can do nothing right, this one has already hit a sore spot on the interwebz with “AJ Styles rip-off” comments. Mmm… trivial. Meanwhile, Beth Phoenix is looking mighty Glamariffic in royal blue. While Team SmackDown have opted for eye-popping colours like royal blue, emerald green and hot pink, Team Raw are much more subdued in their colour choices.

We kick things off with Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim, in something of a dream match. Beth starts off with a kick to the gut followed by the Divas exchanging forearms. The crafty former Women’s Champion, Gail Kim goes for a mid-rope crossbody but is caught but the powerful Phoenix. Gail manages to flip things over into a pin attempt but Beth kicks out. The Glamazon begins woman-handling Kim before Michelle McCool blind-tags herself in. Gail manages to subdue the Champ with a lovely hurricanrana that is sold well by McCool, who then cowers into her corner allowing Natalya the tag.

Another dream match here; Nattie vs Gail. The physical third-gen Diva slams Gail to the mat. As things progress Gail hits her lovely launch through the ropes on Natalya followed by that unorthodox jumping butt bump. Kelly Kelly is then tagged in to the biggest pop so far, Kelly works well with Nattie and keeps the pace up with a twilt-a-whirl hurricanrana. Natalya then hangs Kelly on the ropes, showing her prowess. Natalya, with her brute force, drives Kelly into the corner and begins kneeing her. This all looks rather ferocious which is perhaps the biggest difference between Natalya and the Glamazon; while both share powerhouse quality — there’s nothing pretty about Nattie’s offense while Beth is a little more Diva-esque. In the corner, Kelly goes for a sunset flip but to no avail as Michelle tags in. After a short exchange, in comes Beth as Team SmackDown begin their ‘wear down’ of Kelly. Kelly makes a desperate effort to tag in Melina or Gail but the powerful Beth manages to drive her back to the Team Blue corner. Michelle is back in now and hangs in there with her team mates, throwing Kelly around like a rag doll. Beth Phoenix then blind-tags herself in much to McCool’s shock, Kelly begins fighting back with a hurricanrana into a rollup but Beth kicks out. Kelly with a jawbreaker on Beth and finally hits a tag to Melina.

The fiery Divas Champ is reunited with her old rival now with forearms and kicks. Beth picks up Melina by the throat, but Melina nicely manages to kick herself out of the position. The banshee-like Melina then quickens the pace as she drop-toe-holds Beth onto the middle rope followed by her patented knee-smash and then hair-smash. The match now begins to hit it’s stride as Melina knocks Michelle off the apron, meanwhile the Glamazon comes back with a shot to the stomach followed by a springboard suplex that Melina counters into a small package. A distraction from Natalya and Gail allows Michelle to get into the ring and roll over the Divas with Beth now on top but Melina kicks out. Melina is thrown into the ropes but then goes for a hurricanrana but then modifies it into another face-smash to the canvas.

The Divas Champ goes for the pin but Natalya and Michelle come in and break it up, and cue end-of-match melee. Gail hits a clothesline on Nattie, Kelly hits a dropkick on Michelle. In the ring, Beth throws Melina into the corner, Melina attempts to jump overhead but is caught by Beth. Not sure what’s going on here, but I guess Melina’s head was supposed to meet the turnbuckle… it doesn’t. Anyway, Beth then sets up the Glam Slam and leads her team to victory.

Thoughts on the match: Very good. Well put together, with every Diva getting decent ring time and well executed, minus perhaps that end spot with the turnbuckle. I felt every Diva held their own and played their part well. For a pay per view effort, I think this is in line with Hell in a Cell and the two Melina-McCool matches of the summer, as being solid efforts on pay per view. The match had a good length that allowed the drama to unfold and didn’t end too quickly or abruptly unlike many Knockouts matches in the past months. The timing was just right.

Considered the weak link going in, I think the layout of the match worked to Kelly Kelly’s advantage and she was used in a role that was believable, playing the underdog that is beaten down by Team SmackDown before getting a hot tag. That process of Natalya, Beth and Michelle all taking turns to subdue played nicely in tagging Melina into the match for the first time. This was where I felt the match picked up and the exchange between Beth and Melina was good, Melina perhaps had the spot of the match with the modified hurricanrana into the face-smash.

The ending leads to many questions and booking wise, I’m not sure how logical it was to have the Divas Champion lose clean to Beth Phoenix, who isn’t even the #1 heel on SmackDown. Not the ending I would have gone for personally, but it does go to show the extent to which WWE cares about it’s Divas that they never feel the need to ‘protect’ anyone. No doubt, they’ll likely have Melina back and acting like nothing happened on Raw.

Either way, the work was good and I enjoyed it. A solid effort. 3/5

Discuss tonight’s Bragging Rights live blog in this post. It’s the battle of the brands — Divas Champion, Melina leads Kelly Kelly & Gail Kim into battle against Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

If you’re unable to join us for our live blog, feel free to discuss your thoughts & opinions on the match!

So the WWE Divas return to pay per view tonight for the second time in a month, but this time rivalries are put aside for brand pride. Melina, Kelly Kelly & Gail Kim will represent Raw as they go into battle against SmackDown’s Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya. Which trio of Divas will win and more important, which brand will earn Bragging Rights?

Erin: Well, Michelle and Beth are a bit at odds, but I guess that’s to be expected with heel teams. I still think it’s a bit lame that the teams are heel vs. face–it takes away from the “band together” mentality of the PPV, with people with differing ideals working together for the sake of their brand. Eh, whatever.. I see the WWE going for a feel-good moment with their only Divas match and having the babyfaces (Team Raw) pick up the victory. Obviously they haven’t put much effort into building up this match, so I won’t expect effort to be put into the outcome either.

Melanie: Team SmackDown is an incredibly strong team. So by WWE’s mentality of course that would mean that Team Raw get the win. Even with an incredible team, I mean come on — you have three super tough Divas here, I think this will likely just be about the babyfaces. The fact that we have babyfaces vs heels [as well as Raw vs SmackDown] suggests something to me, usually in these multi-tag matches, it’s the babyfaces that pick up the win to ~cheers~ [or lackthereof in reality] from the crowd. I hope we play up some tension between Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool though, at least set up some storyline between the Divas going forward. Perhaps we could have a miscommunication leading to Raw taking the win. I’m expecting they may also have Melina pin Michelle here as a final blow-off also to their feud. No one is expecting Miz to beat Morrison, so it’ll likely be: Morrison takes a point for SmackDown, Divas take a point for Raw and then the final 14-man tag match for the decider, if we’re thinking about it strategically also. Anyway, I expect Team Raw to get the win here.

Steven: On paper, Team SmackDown seems to have a huge advantage going into Bragging Rights. The blue brand has three powerhouse divas, who are all accomplished in their own right. However, Team Raw has something that McCool and co. are lacking: unity. We all know in the WWE Universe all the babyfaces are BFFs, so Team Raw will be able to coexist without conflict. On the other hand, Beth has made it clear she wants gold and Natalya hasn’t always seen eye to eye with the champ. I doubt these three will be able to work as a cohesive unit come Sunday. That said, I’m putting my money on Team Raw at Bragging Rights. I’m sure infighting will be Team Smackdown’s downfall this Sunday.

Join us for the Bragging Rights live blog at 7.45pm ET/11.45pm UK.

Results below:

The Bella Twins beat Rosa Mendes and Katie Lea Burchill in 6:20. Katie Lea starts the match with Bree. Please know that Rosa is very attractive in person. Bellas did a double dropkick and a double baseball slide. Ricky & Robert they are not. The Bellas did the old switcheroo behind the ref’s back and won with a small package in 6:20.

So Raw ousted ECW last night. Can they reign supreme over SmackDown too? Find out tonight at Bragging Rights. Don’t forget to join us for our Bragging Rights live blog, it all kicks off at 7.45pm ET/11.45pm UK. Remember UK viewers, the PPV starts at 12am and not 1am due to last night’s time changes.

Before there was Bragging Rights, the late-October pay per view spot once belonged to a pay per view known as Taboo Tuesday, which later became Cyber Sunday. So before the Raw and SmackDown Divas wage war on each other tonight, let’s take a look back at some of those past pay per views:

2004
Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal

In 2004, the Raw brand introduced an interactive concept that allowed WWE viewers to vote for stipulations for each of the matches. Women’s Champion, Trish Stratus defended her title in a battle royal against Molly Holly, Stacy Keibler, Victoria, Jazz, Gail Kim and Nidia. The stipulation, as voted for by the fans, was for the Divas to wear school girl outfits.

More after the cut:

2005
Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal

The battle royal returned in 2005 for a second year and once again, Women’s Champion Trish defended her gold. But this time it was against Ashley, Mickie James, Maria, Victoria and Candice Michelle. Talent pool severely down from last year, no? The fans voted for the Divas to compete in lingerie.

2006
Women’s Championship: Lita vs Mickie James

After two years of Taboo Tuesday, it was all change in 2006. The pay per view had now become Cyber Sunday and the Diva who had dominated the previous two years of the PPV, Trish Stratus had retired a month before Cyber Sunday 2006. Her vacated Women’s Championship was put on the line in an 8-Diva tournament which ended at this pay per view. Lita and Mickie James would compete in the finals of the tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion. The fans had voted for this one to be a Divas lumberjack match.

2007
Halloween Costume Contest

Things went downhill in 2007 with the launch of the Halloween Costume Contest as opposed to a real match. The Divas dressed up and the fans voted who they thought looked best… well actually, it usually ended up as a popularity contest.

2008
Halloween Costume Contest

So after the ‘success’ of the 2007 costume contest, it returned in 2008! Mickie won once again. No footage found.

So which was your favourite moment from Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday?

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The Divas match for Bragging Rights this Sunday has officially been announced as a six-Diva tag team match.

Divas Champion, Melina will lead the Raw team consisting of Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly against the team of SmackDown’s Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

Notable exceptions include Eve Torres and Mickie James, though in the case of James it looks as though this match will be strictly faces vs heels.

Join us for our Bragging Rights live blog this Sunday from 7.45pm ET/11.45pm UK.

As revealed on SmackDown last week, the WWE Divas will also be involved in the Raw vs SmackDown aspect of Bragging Rights this Sunday on pay per view.

The match announcement will likely be announced tonight on Raw, but it’s expected to be Divas Champion Melina (representing Raw) taking on Women’s Michelle McCool (representing SmackDown), in their third pay per view match of the year. In context with the Raw vs SmackDown shtick, yet also allows a finite ending to their feud.

Again, the match will be announced on Raw tonight. Join us on Sunday from 7.45pm ET/11.45pm UK for our Bragging Rights live blog. UK viewers take note, the pay per view begins at 12am UK time as the clocks will go forward the night before (Saturday).

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:

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From the sounds of it, it will likely be a singles match. No names were made official however.