It’s funny how things work out sometimes, isn’t it? You take a throw away pay-per-view like the Elimination Chamber, the show that’s get stuck between the big two, and you put together a rather weak card of five matches that leaves so much to be desired. For Diva fans the show appeared to suck even more because there wasn’t a match announced at all. I can’t speak for everyone, but I didn’t really want to watch the show. All day I debated whether or not to order it and my gut kept telling me to do it; give the show a chance and you won’t be disappointed. The show ended up getting ordered and low and behold it blew the Royal Rumble completely out of the water. Not only did the matches deliver, but the show was full of surprises. New champions were crowned, both Elimination Chambers far exceeded expectations, and the WWE continued their theme of shock/awe returns. That Diva match never happened but if you want my humble opinion (and you know you do), what we got was much, much better.

When an announcer gets in the ring for what seems to be no apparent reason, I, like all Diva fans should, cringe because it usually spells bad things for the girls. Diva dance offs or bikini contests, or something that’s not a match, usually ends up taking place. So when Booker T got in the ring, my reaction was natural. Booker T has a microphone and he says that he wants to introduce somebody and that this somebody is going to be a trainer on the new season of Tough Enough along with himself and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. He glances in the direction of the stage and a few seconds later some very familiar theme musics begins to play.

TRISH STRATUS WALKS OUT!

To be completely honest and break kayfabe for a moment, I truly marked out. Trish Stratus on Tough Enough? Seriously? Wow.

Trish, as a stunning brunette, makes her way to the ring to a delicious pop from the fans. She looks great, her smile is genuine, and once she gets in the ring she plays to the crowd and embraces Booker for a friendly hug. Booker welcomes her and compliments her on how amazing she looks, then he asks her to tell everyone what she’s been up too. Trish says that she’s been hanging out with the kids from Tough Enough, possibly looking for the next WWE Superstar or Diva, and then she teases that being around the ring has gotten her to the point where she’s come up with a new catchphrase. She slyly takes the microphone and spoofs The Rock, saying that finally THE Trish has come back to Oakland! She continues on by saying that she’s come back to deliver stratusfaction to the millions… and she encourages the crowd to follow-up with “and millions. And to cap it off, Trish pays homage to Booker by ending her little improptu skit with “SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKA.” She drops down a la Booker T and he just shakes his head. He wants to know if she really just said that, and yeah Booker. She totally did.

Booker plugs Tough Enough and announces that it will be airing the night after Wrestlemania, right after Raw, on the USA network. He turns back to Trish and asks her why she’s in attendance tonight. Trish says that she’s in Oakland to see one of her personal favorites, Jerry “The King” Lawler win the WWE Championship. Booker agrees and caps it off with his signature catchphrase, and he gives Trish a final shout-out. Her music starts to play and as she exits stage left, we fade into a promo for that Z-List movie starring Triple H.

Seriously, wow. Who better to teach the women of Tough Enough about what it takes to be a Diva than Trish? She embodies everything that being a Diva stands for. She’s basically the mold for the perfect Diva. The WWE is not about wrestling, it’s about entertainment and Trish is one of the most entertaining performers the ‘E has ever had. She’s got spunk, personality, charisma, and her matches always told a story. This is great for Tough Enough and even better for Diva fans because for awhile we will once again get to see Trish on a weekly basis. Amazing.

And as amazing as the announcement of Trish being a trainer on Tough Enough was, the night wasn’t finished.

Later on in the night a very somber Vickie Guerrero walks to the ring. She excuses herself all the way down to the ramp and once inside, she starts speaking about the situation that happened with Dolph Ziggler on this past episode of SmackDown. She calls it a horrible tragedy that Dolph was fired and she wants to explain why her man attacked SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long. She says that they had issues as a couple and that Dolph’s temper is really bad. She claims that his state of mind, when the attack happened, was confused and that he did what he did out of his love for Vickie. He committed a crime of passion and Vickie apologizes on his behalf.

The heat is just raining down on Vickie at this point and she’s milking it for all its worth. She begs everyone to show compassion to her and to plead with Teddy Long to bring Dolph back. She asks the WWE Universe to get on Twitter and Facebook in an attempt to get Dolph rehired. She even tells them to call Teddy. She really wants Dolph to get his job back. Vickie says that she and Dolph deserve a second chance and as if on cue, Teddy Long’s music starts to play. The popular authority figure struts out on stage and he tells Vickie to just stop, she’s embarrassing herself. Vickie starts to plead with Teddy, apologizing for Dolph again. She apologizes for herself and then she starts using compliments to try and soften Teddy’s tough exterior. She flat out asks him to do the right thing and rehire Dolph.

Teddy says that luckily for Vickie he’s in a hiring mood tonight. Vickie’s face lights up like a kid’s on Christmas morning and she starts freaking out about how excited Dolph will be. She thanks Teddy but he is quick to burst her bubble. He tells her that he hasn’t rehired Ziggler, but he has rehired someone who wants to personally thank Vickie for her time as acting SmackDown General Manager. Teddy steps back and another familiar Diva theme song begins to play. A radiant Kelly Kelly steps out to absolute thunderous pop and Vickie’s face suddenly turns Sheamus White. Smiley Kelly makes her way to the ring and it doesn’t take long for Vickie to try and bolt. Kelly seems amused and goes after the woman who fired her, catching her and backing her into the corner as Vickie gets back inside the ring.

Kelly wants to know what’s up and Vickie tries to laugh at the situation. Kelly isn’t laughing and she catches Vickie with a boot to the stomach. She kicks her down and the catfight is on. Kelly starts slamming Vickie’s face into the mat, flips her up, and mounts her. She goes cray cray on Vickie and all of a sudden she is pulled away by an interfering Michelle McCool and Layla. Michelle has her arms locked around Kelly’s waist with Layla helping. Kelly manages to kick Layla away, but Michelle slams Kelly down. Lay-Cool begin a double team beatdown on Kelly and after wailing away on her for a few seconds, they kick her out of the ring. They slither out of the ring and hit the ground, and Layla ends up throwing Kelly into the guardrail after they trash talk her for a few minutes. A groggy Kelly slowly sits up and Michelle ends up slamming her knee into the side of Kelly’s head.

Thank goodness for Kelly’s sake someone comes running to the rescue. Trish flies out from the back and chases Lay-Cool off. Michelle and Layla jump in the ring and roll out, and Trish immediately begins checking on Kelly. Lay-Cool start to head to the back but they stop and glance at each other. Nodding their heads they turn around and run towards Trish. Michelle and Layla rip her from Kelly and slam her down onto the mat. Michelle starts screaming at the Diva of the Decade and they toss her into the ring. Michelle goes in first, with Layla following, but a crafty Trish is able to get to her feet and I think headbutt Michelle off of her. Layla comes to Michelle’s defense but she ends up getting Thesz Press-ed and beat on. Michelle pulls Trish off Layla and throws her across the ring. She goes after her and helps Trish to her feet. Trish eats an uppercut and Michelle motions at Layla to get in position. Michelle nails Trish again and Layla goes to the top rope and waits. Trish is fighting back for all she’s worth at this point and she’s able to muscle Michelle off of her. Michelle slams into the ropes and nearly knocks Layla down, but she collects herself and goes back for more. Trish is waiting and after months of seeing Michelle kick the snot out of people, she ends up getting destroyed with a stiff Chick Kick to the skull. Michelle goes down hard and Trish sees Layla and runs for the corner. She’s tries to go for the Stratusphere but she slips in the heels she’s wearing. Layla ends up catching one leg and once Trish gets the other up, Layla is sent flying into the center of the ring.

Michelle has gotten back to her feet but Trish is just on fire now. She scoops Michelle up and perfectly executes her trademark springboard bulldog (The Stratusfaction!) on not just Michelle, but Layla too! A double Stratusfaction! IN AT LEAST FIVE INCH HEELS! Lay-Cool is done and Kelly finally makes her way back into the ring. She and Trish embrace and both girls celebrate as Kelly’s song begins to play.

What a beautiful moment.

It’s hard to describe the feelings that ran through my head when this happened. A Trish/Michelle match is a dream match, and when Layla and Kelly get to play too, it’s just makes for great Diva television. I don’t care that Trish slipped up when doing her move in the corner. It happens and the woman was in a fierce pair of stiletto boots after all. You try it. What I do care about is the potential this has and what it could possibly mean for the Divas as the road to Wrestlemania continues to head towards Atlanta. Having Trish back as a trainer is one thing, but giving her a storyline is even better.

Michelle and Layla are classic heels and I love the fact they didn’t give a crap about Trish. It was like her name and her legacy meant nothing to them. All they cared about was that Trish got involved in their business and they attempted to take it to her. Unfortunately for Lay-Cool it didn’t quite work out. Kudos to Layla for being able to work with that spot in the corner despite the slip in the corner. True professional.

Kelly’s return was about as great as her firing. This girl is a complete gem right now and I’m so incredibly glad she got to have this particular moment with Trish. Kelly went after Vickie full throttle and like always, she sold her beating from Lay-Cool well. I hope this leads to something spectacular for Kelly. The pop she got was one of the loudest of the night and the WWE needs to build on this.

Diva wise, the Elimination Chamber was a complete success. I truly hope the division gets a huge rub from this. The girls deserve it. The fans deserve it. The crowd in Oakland was hot for the segment and I’m definitely glad they didn’t bother to announce a match for the show. What we got was a whole lot better and more importantly, it brought the surprise element. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in recent weeks is that not having something spoiled makes wrestling much more fun, and the Elimination Chamber was truly one of the funniest pay-per-views I’ve ever seen. Thank you Trish, Michelle, Layla, Kelly, and Vickie. I’m pretty sure most Diva fans will echo my sentiments.

Despite having no advertised Divas match, WWE certainly delivered an explosive night for Diva fans at Elimination Chamber tonight. After Vickie Guerrero entered the ring pleading with Teddy Long to rehire her boyfriend Dolph Ziggler, Teddy instead rehired Kelly Kelly who had been fired by Vickie a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown.

Getting a measure of retribution, K2 attacked the now former SmackDown consultant but was soon fended off by Lay-Cool with Michelle hitting her vicious running knee on a defenseless Kelly.

But wait! It wasn’t over yet… Soon Trish Stratus, fresh from her appearance earlier in the evening, hit the ring coming to Kelly’s aid and took out both members of Lay-Cool. The seven-time Women’s Champion busted out some old favorites including the Chick Kick on Michelle McCool and the Stratusphere on Layla from the corner. She ended with a double Stratusfaction on both of the ‘flawless’ Divas.

Stratusfaction was certainly in the air tonight!

EDIT: Oops! We mistakenly reported that Vickie Guerrero was fired by Teddy Long at the pay per view last night. That didn’t happen. I got confused in the heat of the moment. After rehiring Kelly Kelly, Teddy Long said: “I gave this person free rein to personally thank you for all your time as acting general manager.” That would indicate that Vickie has simply been replaced by Teddy as the GM of SmackDown upon his return, while she continues to serve as official consultant.

Diva Dirt LIVE returns tonight at 11pm ET with a post-Elimination Chamber special. We’ll be discussing Trish Stratus’ surprise return, the segment with Lay-Cool and Trish as a trainer on Tough Enough.

EDIT: Catch the replay below:

WWE presents Elimination Chamber tonight on pay per view.

Tune in at 8pm ET.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Michelle will challenge Mickie James for the Women’s Championship on Friday’s episode of SmackDown.

The never-ending Divas Championship tournament was stretched yet another day as despite advertising the end of the sucker, we were swerved with an interpromotional tag team bout instead. It all went down at last night’s Elimination Chamber pay per view where Gail Kim and Maryse were due to go one-on-one for the vacated title. After weeks of embarassingly bad handling of this ‘tournament’, we were finally ready to be done with it and crown the new champion — with care so little in supply, as to who won at this point. But things became ‘flawed’, you could say, when Vickie Guerrero announced that as a result of disparaging comments by the Raw Divas against the SmackDown Divas, the two would be forced to team up against Michelle McCool and Layla aka Lay-Cool aka Simply Flawless.

Let’s start right at the beginning though, where moments before their match, we saw a backstage segment between the two would-be challengers:

We see Gail walking backstage, with a perfectly toned tummy I might add [jealous!], as Maryse catches up to her and once again speaks to her in French. We then get the reveal that Gail also speaks French and has understood all the smack that ‘Ryse has been talking about her in recent weeks. She finishes with with an amazing mock hand flip in Maryse’s face which not gonna lie, had me rolling. This was a fun little segment that I really liked; Gail spoke more than she’s spoken in a year on the roster and proved that she has some personality which was really exciting to see. It’s like Maggie Simpson finally talking! The hand flip was a fabulous added touch also. I thought the reveal that Gail speaks French etc. was nicely done and I can’t say that I saw it coming — it seems a little too sophisticated for the Raw writers, who are usually known for lame-duck segments like the Jerry Springer Show on Raw last week, so I was pleasantly surprised. Gail was great here and I want to see more of her talking, she’s got the goods in the ring — she just needs the voice to back it up and get across that personality.

Next up, we have the Divas Championship match turned tag team match:

As the Divas make their entrances, the bell rings and Maryse and Gail face off, we are interrupted by SmackDown’s ‘official consultant’, Vickie Guerrero. Guerrero calls out the Raw Divas for their ‘disparaging comments’ about the SmackDown Divas and interestingly calls herself a Diva, which hasn’t been said about her int he past. Guerrero says as the only Diva with authority in the building — yeah doesn’t make sense to us either — she’s postponing the Divas Title match in favour of a tag team match between Raw and SmackDown. Out come Michelle and Layla for this last minute bout…

Gail and Layla start things out with a lock-up and Gail hits a lovely side takedown, followed by an armdrag into an armbar. Gail tries to tag out to Maryse but Layla wriggles free and the tag is avoided as Gail continues to go after McCool’s protege. Gail throws Layla into the ropes and goes for an armdrag but Layla counters into a beautiful pin attempt. I was definitely impressed by Layla’s technical, fast-paced counter here — she has gotten so confident in the ring. Layla takes control with some great kicks and throws Gail into the corner and runs at her, Gail jumps through the ropes onto the apron and Layla meets the turnbuckles front-first. Gail hits a shoulder block on her opponent and jumps over the top rope into a sunset flip but no three-count. Layla is now in the corner as Gail goes for her patented shoulder block through the middle rope and tries to go up top. Meanwhile, Maryse begins pulling at Layla’s hair — inadvertently distracting the referee as Michelle big boots Gail off the top rope from the outside.

Gail struggles to get back into the ring and receives no support from her tag team partner. Meanwhile, Layla tags in McCool and they hit a tandem baseball slide on Kim knocking her right back to the floor outside. McCool rolls Gail back into the ring and goes for a cover but Gail kicks out, she then repeatedly smashes the back of Gail’s head into the canvas before applying a chinlock. With Gail still struggling, McCool then applies knee strikes to her back relentlessly before picking her up and throwing her against the ropes. Gail manages to come back with a kick to Michelle’s face and then a clothesline. Gail then begins struggling to her corner to tag in Maryse but once she reaches her corner, Maryse moves her hand away and instead pushes Gail’s face and as she turns around, she’s met with a big boot from McCool. Michelle then hits her Faith Breaker, sold beautifully by Gail, for the 1, 2, 3 and it’s all over.

Post-match, Maryse is seen getting into the ring, she holds up Gail’s face and begins talking trash before picking her up for the French Kiss DDT, once again sold perfectly by Kim, adding further insult to injury. Maryse looks down at her handiwork and is met with a chorus of boos before she leaves.

It definitely wasn’t what we expected but at the same time, was it so bad? I think not. I don’t agree with WWE taking an advertised match on a PPV and then doing away with it for the sake of well, who knows for what reason. There are people who paid to see this match and they were screwed out of their $40+ and that’s not cool. This whole Divas Title tournament situation has been laughable from the beginning with 2-3 minute matches and then gaps that last weeks on end before the next round of matches. WWE has given fans no reason to care about this tournament because it’s obvious that they couldn’t give a shit either. And quite frankly, many have stopped caring who wins at this point.

That said, I really liked the segment closer with Maryse laying out Gail. Having just worked an incredibly lengthy match all on her own and to have this then happen to her, it creates a great amount of sympathy for Gail and is a great go-home segment for that eventual Divas Championship match. Should it have been done here? Hell no. This should have been done last week on TV when they had the chance but apparently they had bigger things in mind for Gail like checking up on Bret Hart. Who wants to see an angle to set up her PPV match when you can see her backstage? The last ditch effort to push this feud should not have been done at the PPV, it looked amateurish and it was a total bait and switch, people have every right to be angry. But the segment for what it was, was well done and sold that match. My worry then would be that they wait another freakin’ three weeks and lose all that momentum that they sacrificed a PPV for. Put the match on Raw tonight, go off that momentum and salvage what’s left of this trainwreck tournament.

The great thing here for fans is that it provides some unpredictability to a tournament that seemed so predictable from the get-go. Maryse had it in the bag and it was just a case of when. But her actions last night surely deserve a comeuppance? And if they have that Divas Championship match on Raw tonight, the chances of Gail winning have increased slightly, making this match a little more unpredictable. They could still have Maryse win but after being humiliated, it’s that old school tale of the underdog coming back and fighting against the odds for the win. The odds on Gail winning the title has increased, even if slightly.

As for the match, it was probably better than what we would have gotten if we had our advertised match. Expectations for Gail vs Maryse were low. I don’t know why they changed this to a tag team match but I have my theory; it seems like WWE were trying to book this to be a solid show from top-to-bottom and perhaps felt Gail/Maryse would have been a chink in the armour. It really could have gone either way — matched it’s low expectations and been the weak link on the card or exceeded expectations and fall in line with the rest of the PPV. Still, it’s a risk. By putting Michelle and Layla into the match, it seems like they mitigated the odds to deliver a solid bout for what they felt should be a solid PPV. Bear in mind, this is the last PPV till WrestleMania now and it has to help sell that major, major event. I don’t know what their thought process was but that is my theory. McCool has proven to be a commodity on pay per view, always delivering 100% in her outings and can be trusted to lead the Divas on PPV.

The work itself was great and I particularly loved seeing Gail vs Layla. You can add Gail to the list of talented Divas that Layla just bounces off of so well despite being green herself. She has improved ten-fold and I think the standout for me was her quick pacing and comfortability in the ring to counter that armdrag into a rather technical pin setup. You have to know what you’re doing to be able to pull off a move like that and it seems Layla’s confidence has skyrocketed. I’m super proud of her, she’s become a great worker and I think she was solid on this PPV and totally deserves the bonus that comes with being on a PPV. A nice way to reward a talent that is improving, showing hard work and dedication. She doesn’t rest on her laurels like Maryse or Kelly Kelly.

Stripping away all of the controversy around the bait and switch, I think you’ll find this was a good match with solid effort from the three Divas who actually wrestled. The post-match segment was also well done too. I’m in two minds about this PPV but I’m leaning more towards ‘satisfied’.

Rating: 3/5M

The first ever Elimination Chamber PPV is a wrap. It came with the promise of a new Divas Champ but crapped out on us. We have all the reaction to tonight’s pay per view in our exclusive After Show with Melanie, Erin, Cryssi & After Show panelist, David.

Please Note: The Elimination Chamber After Show is the exclusive content of Diva Dirt (diva-dirt.com), for which we hold copyright. By downloading our audio you agree not to repost or transcribe the content elsewhere including but not limited to other websites, blogs or message boards. Failure to respect copyright will result in legal action.

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The scheduled Divas Championship match between Gail Kim and Maryse tonight was ‘postponed’ by SmackDown consultant, Vickie Guerrero. Guerrero changed the match to an interpromotional tag team match with the two rivals facing Michelle McCool and Layla as a result of Maryse’s ‘disparaging comments’ against the SmackDown Divas in recent weeks.

Maryse showed her true colours, not tagging in and allowing Gail to be beaten by Lay-Cool. Afterwards, Maryse hit her French Kiss DDT on an already fallen Kim.

The Divas Championship tournament continues…

What do you think of this swerve?

Tonight at Elimination Chamber, the vacant Divas Championship finally finds a new home but will it be around the waist of Gail Kim or Maryse? Join us as we find out in our exclusive live blog!

If you can’t join us for our live blog, please feel free to discuss the show in the comments!

We are book-ending tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay per view tonight with a pre-show and a post-show. Click play below to listen to our first PPV pre-show with Melanie and Erin as we countdown to the big Divas Title match between Gail Kim and Maryse. We have analysis on each challenger, the storyline leading to tonight’s match and also make our predictions in audio.

Don’t forget to join us for our Elimination Chamber live blog at 7.45pm ET and we’ll be back after the PPV for the After Show!

Please Note: The Elimination Chamber Pre-Show is the exclusive content of Diva Dirt (diva-dirt.com), for which we hold copyright. By downloading our audio you agree not to repost or transcribe the content elsewhere including but not limited to other websites, blogs or message boards. Failure to respect copyright will result in legal action.

Enjoy our content? Please consider making a donation to Diva Dirt so we can continue bringing you more!

Cryssi: Last time we did this, I sat there and listed all the reasons why I thought Maryse would win, and then picked Gail Kim. I still believe in everything I said, so I stand by my prediction of Gail Kim winning. Someone’s got to against the popular vote so it may as well be me! Go Gail go!

Erin: The WWE doesn’t seem to care enough to make this “feud” interesting or unpredictable, so it seems silly to think about this match in too much detail–why should we care about this when the WWE clearly doesn’t. It’s been elementary from the very beginning that this is Maryse‘s tournament. She’s going to win the Divas Championship, as has been predicted from the get-go. What’s not certain is where they’ll go with it from there. I’m just hoping Maryse will actually do a bit of wrestling rather than sneak out the win.. At least then, this tournament might feel somewhat worth the effort.

Melanie: It’s pretty obvious, right? I don’t see WWE caring enough to swerve us and have Gail win. WWE loves Maryse and this whole tournament has revolved around her in some way or another. People already think she’s the champion so why not just make it official? Totally unsurprisingly, I think Maryse takes it.

Steven: Since the first match of this Divas Title tournament, WWE has put a spotlight on Maryse and it hasn’t dimmed since. In fact, I’d wager that as you read this WWE is busy engraving her name on the butterfly belt. As much as I’d love for Gail to win the title and get the recognition she deserves, it ain’t happening tonight. Expect Maryse to leave the Elimintion Chamber PPV as our new Divas Champion.

Join us for Elimination Chamber coverage from 7pm with the Pre-Show followed by our monthly PPV live blog at 7.45pm and the After Show later tonight.

The finals for the Divas Championship Tournament are set to (finally) take place in less than two weeks at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Maryse will take on Gail Kim, obviously, and we will at last have some closure for the tournament that was prompted all the way back in December when champion Melina injured her knee.