Considering that there was no Diva involvement advertised for the Royal Rumble last night, it turned out to be quite the affair with not one, but two great moments for the Divas roster. Firstly, Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly lead dueling teams to the ring for an impromptu Divas match that, compared to recent matches on Raw and SmackDown, was the Divas version of a wrestling clinic. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s the watercooler moment that everyone is talking about today — Kharma made a shocking return to the WWE as only the third woman to compete in the Royal Rumble match.

Let’s review the Rumble!

Much like last month’s TLC pay per view we are caught off guard as Beth Phoenix’s music hits and we realize that it’s time for another impromptu Divas match. This month, however, Beth has brought some friends in the form of Natalya and Brie & Nikki Bella. All of the Divas are clad in matching teal gear. While I appreciate the color coordination, I’m not a fan of the color itself and the shiny, metallic look. Points for effort, though.

Next out it’s the familiar team of Alicia Fox, Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly — but wait, they’ve found another friend! Natalya’s recent rival, the Samoan Princess, Tamina, has landed a pay per view match! Welcome to the big leagues, Tamina! Though not exactly matching like the heel team, A-Fox, Eve & K2 are decked out in fiery orange-ish outfits… while Tamina sticks to her black with leopard print trim. It’s okay, Tamina, girl. We’re just happy you’re not wearing that other outfit anymore!

As the Divas begin filing into the ring and taking to their respective corners, it’ll be the familiar duo of Tamina and Natalya kicking things off. I begin to suspect that this match will end as quickly as their matches on SmackDown and none of the other Divas will be tagged in, but I’m pleasantly surprised to learn that is not the case. The pair lock up as Natalya gets the better of the exchange with a side-headlock takedown. Tamina and Natalya rise to their feet as Tamina whips Natalya against the ropes and then attempts to barge her down but the third-generation Hart is not budging! It’ll take more than that, Tamina. Natalya grabs Tamina by the hair but the Samoan Diva uses her strength to lift Nattie on to her shoulders and seems to be going for a Samoan drop, however, Natalya quickly wriggles her way out of the move and plants Tam-Tam with a hefty slap. This only fires up Tamina more, it seems, as she slaps Natalya right back and hits her with a hard chop and a jumping headbutt. Pin attempt but no three for Tamina.

Tamina tags in Eve now, who despite her boyfriend being crushed by Kane for several weeks in a row, looks a little too happy. Eve, with not a care in the world, sets up her booty pop and hits a nice standing moonsault on Natalya. Pin attempt but once again Natalya kicks out. Natalya quickly finds a second wind, jumping to her feet, picking up Eve and charging into the heels’ corner. There, Natalya tags in Divas Champ Beth who is hungry for some competition. Beth quickly puts some licks on Eve but the former Divas Champ soon fights back with a nice kick to the face followed by a sitout clothesline. Eve then follows up with a senton splash but Beth puts up her knees and drives them into Eve’s back. Beth now takes advantage with a hard kick to the stomach followed by elbows and a pin attempt.

Beth then isolates Eve in the heels’ corner and tags in Brie Bella. Brie chokes Eve over the middle rope before kicking her in the head. Chinlock by Briezy as Eve tries to muster the strength to fight out of it. Eve eventually gets to her feet and manages to get out of the hold and tags in Miss Foxy who comes into the ring with a nice clothesline and not one but two dropkicks. Foxy begins stomping Brie in the corner. However, the referee becomes distracted by unruliness amongst the two teams on the apron and as his attention is diverted, Nikki pushes Brie out of the way and swaps places with her allowing the fresh Bella to dupe Alicia. Nikki plants Fox in the corner and drives her knees into Alicia’s back. She then snaps her arm against the mat before applying a nice submission hold. Foxy begins getting to her feet and hits a very cool splits into an arm drag on Nikki before giving the hot tag to the holler hollerin’ Kelly Kelly.

Kelly gets a big pop as she hits the ring with a face smash on Nikki followed by a twirly-bird headscissors. Kelly with a handspring butt bump in the corner and bulldog. Pin attempt but Brie breaks it up. This leads to the veritable mish-mash as all of the Divas duke it out in and out of the ring. As all of the Divas battle outside, golden girl Kelly sees an opportunity, climbing to the top turnbuckle and hitting a nice dive to take out all of the Divas. Good response from the crowd, too.

Kelly throws one of the Bella Twins back into the ring and looks to be about ready to pick up the victory, however, Miss B trips her up and Kelly lands throat first on the middle rope. Divas Champion Beth sneaks up on Bella and blind tags herself in with a hard slap to the arm. As Beth gets in the ring, we’re going to assume Miss B is now coughing up a lung.

Beth has had enough of all of the fun, games and shenanigans it seems. She picks up Kelly Kelly in that all too familiar position and hits the Glam Slam for a rousing victory.

Thoughts: Really enjoyable tag team match that saw all of the Divas get some time in the ring. As I mentioned, when I saw Natalya and Tamina starting things out, I really thought this was going to be another one of those tag matches that end in one minute with all of the other Divas still on the apron. I was so sure that Tamina was quickly going to hit the Superfly Splash and it’ll all be over in a minute, but thankfully that didn’t happen. Instead we got a fun match that saw all of the Divas involved get to have a little piece of the action and it was technically sound too. No big slip-ups that people seem to always be hoping for.

Watching it back, it definitely seemed like the Divas began to win over the crowd as they were quiet for most of the match but then started getting into it around the time Kelly was tagged in. From there, the big dive to the outside and Beth’s victory got good reactions and people seemed to be into it. It’s good to see them being able to get fans involved. Of course they’d be far more involved in these matches if WWE fleshed out the characters and made people care about these girls in the same way as past Divas, but hey, we’ve said that a million times. For what it was, it was fine.

I really enjoyed Eve’s exchange with Beth in this match. I recall seeing some of her FCW matches a few years ago and then seeing her fluidity in this match — from rolling over Beth’s back, the little kick thing she does etc. She’s come very far. I liken it to how I felt about Michelle McCool but on a lesser scale. With Michelle, her transformation in the ring was incredible to me and I enjoyed watching her wrestle perhaps more than any other Diva because of that reason. Watching Eve now, where she’s gotten very comfortable in the ring and has all of these unique moves that look great, it’s similar.

I also liked Alicia’s splits/arm drag combo, Kelly’s dive and the finish. I hope that poor Bella didn’t wake up with a hand print on her today!

Match Rating: 4/5

Also at the Royal Rumble, we got to see the surprise return of Kharma, who entered the Royal Rumble match at #21 and quickly made an impression.

Watch below:

As doofus Michael Cole (seriously, what a waste of an entry!) stands in the ring awaiting the next Rumble entrant, Kharma’s long dormant music hits after over 8 months of not hearing it and receives a huge pop from the crowd. Michael Cole looks understandably scared as Kharma hits the ring and clotheslines him. Cole jumps over the top rope to avoid any more of Kharma’s assault but as he’s standing on the other side of the apron, Jerry Lawler and Booker T give their announcing partner some payback by pulling him off the apron thus eliminating him from the Rumble.

As Kharma turns around, the gorgeous Dolph Ziggler awaits telling her to get out of the ring. Clearly, our Prince Charming doesn’t want to battle her and is giving her the opportunity to leave on her own. How chivalric! Of course, the Diva Killer is not going to back down from a fight be it man, woman or beast! Kharma delivers her first Implant Buster in many, many months and the distinct honor goes to Dolph!

Next, Kharma eliminates Hunico (who?) before unfortunately being eliminated herself by Dolph. Still, it was fun while it lasted!

Thoughts: I was not expecting Kharma to show up at all, but what an epic surprise. I figured Kharma would be in the Rumble match one of these years but given the close proximity between her pregnancy (assuming she gave birth recently) and the Rumble match, I didn’t think she’d be ready in time for this year’s Rumble. However, anything can happen in wrestling, as they say!

As for what this could mean for the future, that remains to be seen. I don’t want to speculate too much but I’m assuming Kharma had her baby recently and isn’t necessarily ready to be back full time. I’m guessing this could have just been a one off appearance to have her in the Rumble match and she’ll be back full time in a few months after maternity leave. Of course, I could be wrong and she could be back on Raw tonight, but we’ll see. I’m of the mind it was just a one off for now. Either way, it was an epic moment and it shows that despite being away for so long, the fans have not forgotten Kharma and she is just as much of a star attraction as ever.

Talk about a shocker!

Kharma returned to WWE television as a surprise entrant during the Royal Rumble match making her only the third female in history to compete in the Rumble.

Kharma, who has been away since late May 2011 due to pregnancy, eliminated Michael Cole and Hunico before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. However, before her elimination, she managed to hit him with the Implant Buster.

For the second month in a row, the Divas got an impromptu pay per view match. This time Beth Phoenix lead the team of the Bella Twins and Natalya against Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox and Tamina.

The Divas Champ scored a big victory for her team by pinning Kelly Kelly for the second month in a row in a pretty good 8-Diva tag team match up.

Other highlights included Kelly hitting a crossybody to the outside on all of the Divas.

What did you think of the match? Tell us in the comments!

Tune in at 8pm ET on pay per view.

Discuss the show in the comments!

For the past three weeks, you have been voting for your favorite Divas, tossing the ones with the least votes over the virtual top rope. It’s now time to unveil the winner as voted for by you!

And the winner is…

THIRD ROUND: We are down to our final five. First out is former Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly, who couldn’t quite hang on in there despite making it to the final stages. In a respectable fourth place, but ultimately tossed over the top, it’s Maxine next. The NXT Diva who loves to be on top can take solace in the fact that she outlasted several veteran Divas. Third place goes to feisty young AJ, who with her small stature no doubt knows how to cling to the ropes and avoid elimination. Ultimately, AJ’s luck run out leaving us down to just two… Layla and Kharma. With her sheer size and strength advantage, it isn’t hard to imagine Kharma making quick work of the former Women’s Champion to take the Diva Rumble victory for 2012.

SECOND ROUND: The second round of voting has ended and it’s time to find out who the next six Divas are to be tossed over the top rope based on your votes. She may be flying high on SmackDown, but the Samoan Princess Tamina is the seventh Diva to be eliminated. She’s followed by her current rival, Natalya, so we’re going to assume that they tussled & fell out of the ring at the same time. Next out is Brodus Clay’s other funky momma, Naomi, lasting a long stretch compared to her dancing partner Cameron. Following her it’s the Divas Champ, Beth Phoenix. Following Beth, we say so long to Alicia Fox and her Fancy Fox Hood, while Eve — she of John Cena telling off fame — is the 12th Diva eliminated. I’m sure you’ll agree that there were a few shockers in that bunch!

FIRST ROUND: Last week in the opening round of voting, you cast your votes in droves! Now it’s time to find out who will be the first six Divas to be tossed over the top rope… Out first is the woman made infamous during the premiere episode of Tough Enough last year: one of Brodus Clay’s funky mommas, Cameron. Perhaps its kismet, because just like last year, the Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki, are next out in successive order. Following the twins, we say goodbye to another spicy Latina as Rosa Mendes’ dancing can’t save her now! Next up, thanks for coming Aksana and last but not least, Kaitlyn is out, also.

ORDER OF ELIMINATION
1. Cameron
2. Nikki Bella
3. Brie Bella
4. Rosa Mendes
5. Aksana
6. Kaitlyn
7. Tamina
8. Natalya
9. Naomi
10. Beth Phoenix
11. Alicia Fox
12. Eve Torres
13. Kelly Kelly
14. Maxine
15. AJ
16. Layla

As we head into tomorrow’s 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble, we take a look back at past Royal Rumble events.

1999 | In 1999, Chyna made history by winning the opportunity to compete in the Royal Rumble match. Not only that but she entered at the coveted #30 spot, giving her a distinct advantage over the competition. Chyna quickly made a beeline for Mark Henry, eliminating him from the Rumble, but was then taken out by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Watch below:

2010 | 11 years following Chyna’s historic Rumble appearance, another powerful Diva would follow in her footsteps. This time it was Beth Phoenix who would enter the Rumble and have one hell of a moment when she managed to eliminate the giant Great Khali.

Who had the better Rumble moment? Tell us in the comments…

As we head into tomorrow’s 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble, we take a look back at past Royal Rumble events.

2001 | In a heated feud between Chyna and Ivory, as well as her Right to Censor cohorts, the 9th Wonder of the World was brought down to earth after a stratospheric few years in WWE. The RTC, offended by Chyna’s ‘immoral’ behavior such as posing for Playboy and scantily clad outfits, injured Chyna’s neck with a spike piledriver. Putting the unstoppable former Intercontinental Champion on the shelf, Ivory would mock Chyna in spoof interviews and challenge the injured Chyna to a match at the Royal Rumble, knowing full well she had not fully recovered. Chyna accepted the challenge, however, and the two would meet at the 2001 Royal Rumble for the WWE Women’s Championship.

Watch the match below:

What are your memories of this match and feud? Tell us in the comments!

“Your Two Cents” is the new interactive feature where we gauge the opinions of our Twitter and Facebook followers on different discussions in women’s wrestling.

This week, we’re asking this: The Royal Rumble is this Sunday, so we’re wondering: Which Diva would you have follow in the footsteps of Chyna & Beth Phoenix and become the next woman to compete in the Rumble? We’ve read your responses on our social media pages and picked some of the best submissions to highlight here on the website. As always, you can join the debate by leaving your comments!

Our Two Cents

Batting for Team DD this week, it’s Steven giving us his personal opinion on this week’s topic:

Steven There’s only one current Diva that I could imagine making an appearance in the Rumble and her name starts with a K. Yup, that’s right… Kharma. Although she’s currently out on maternity leave at the moment, making a Royal Rumble appearance impossible, I think Kharma would be the perfect Diva for this role. The one thing that Chyna and Beth Phoenix, the only two Divas to ever compete in the Royal Rumble, have in common is their intimidating and impressive physique. I feel that Kharma also has that factor, making her the perfect Diva candidate for the Rumble. Hell, I think she might even be able to take out quite a few Superstars in the process.

Your Two Cents

Andrew C. Kunzeman | Have Beth Phoenix return to it and Natayla be in it as well. Let them eliminate three or four apiece before they get eliminated and have Beth in the final four.

Josue Guzman | No contest, Kharma. I think it would be a fair statement to say that she is in the same league as both Beth and Chyna. Both Beth and Chyna were able to eliminate heavyweights during their run but I can see Kharma, with her experience and being of a heavyweight class, lasting longer and eliminating opponents in a more convincing matter.

Laura Lee Alberts | Honestly, I think it would be awesome if EVERY diva entered the Royal Rumble. They’d make a statement and prove that the women can work just as hard as the guys.

Megan Walsh | If a Diva was to enter the Royal Rumble, considering her push i would say Tamina. Although I’d rather see Nattie in it but sadly she’s been jobbing every damn week.

Mondarious Brantley | Seeing as both Chyna and Beth are seen as intimidating women I could see Natalya or Tamina being in the Rumble. Or WWE could play up the fact that Brie & Nikki Bella are trying to impress Del Rio and put both of them in saying they wanna win it for him.

@MxdBoysDoItBest | Out of any current WWE Diva, I would love to see Natalya be the next woman to compete in the Royal Rumble. Each member of the Hart Family has competed in the Royal Rumble at some point in time, so I fell that it’d be only fair if Natalya did as well. I also feel that just like Beth & Chyna, she has the strength, athleticism and beauty to compete in the Royal Rumble and outsmart the other guys. My other choice for a diva that’d I’d love to see compete in this year’s Royal Rumble would have to be Kharma, but it’s such a shame that she’s inactive right now. But if she wasn’t, I feel that it would’ve been a smart move for the WWE to have Kharma compete in it. I feel that there could’ve been a storyline with her where she started competing against the men since she already dominated the women’s division. I personally feel that if she was to have competed in the Royal Rumble, she could win the match because of how dominant she is. Plus,I would love to see her compete at Wrestlemania for either the WWE or World Heavyweight Title, and maybe even win one or the other.

And now we turn it over to you…

What are your two cents on the debate? Which Diva would you choose to compete in the Royal Rumble? Tell us in the comments…

It’s time for the second annual virtual Diva Rumble at Diva Dirt!

Every year it seems that fans want to see the Divas get in on the action with their own Rumble match. Well, short of kidnapping the entire Divas roster and forcing them to compete in one, we can’t make that happen. But we do have a fun — albeit virtual — alternative!

The annual Diva Rumble allows you to vote who wins, who gets eliminated, and the order in which they’re eliminated, simply by casting your vote! Over the next three weeks, we’ll give you the chance to vote for your winner, and each week we’ll take a vote count to see who will be eliminated. The people with the lowest votes will be tossed over the virtual top rope and the person with the most votes over the three rounds of voting will be selected as your Diva Rumble winner! Pretty simple, right?

SECOND ROUND: The second round of voting has ended and it’s time to find out who the next six Divas are to be tossed over the top rope based on your votes. She may be flying high on SmackDown, but the Samoan Princess Tamina is the seventh Diva to be eliminated. She’s followed by her current rival, Natalya, so we’re going to assume that they tussled & fell out of the ring at the same time. Next out is Brodus Clay’s other funky momma, Naomi, lasting a long stretch compared to her dancing partner Cameron. Following her it’s the Divas Champ, Beth Phoenix. Following Beth, we say so long to Alicia Fox and her Fancy Fox Hood, while Eve — she of John Cena telling off fame — is the 12th Diva eliminated. I’m sure you’ll agree that there were a few shockers in that bunch!

FIRST ROUND: Last week in the opening round of voting, you cast your votes in droves! Now it’s time to find out who will be the first six Divas to be tossed over the top rope… Out first is the woman made infamous during the premiere episode of Tough Enough last year: one of Brodus Clay’s funky mommas, Cameron. Perhaps its kismet, because just like last year, the Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki, are next out in successive order. Following the twins, we say goodbye to another spicy Latina as Rosa Mendes’ dancing can’t save her now! Next up, thanks for coming Aksana and last but not least, Kaitlyn is out, also.

ORDER OF ELIMINATION
1. Cameron
2. Nikki Bella
3. Brie Bella
4. Rosa Mendes
5. Aksana
6. Kaitlyn
7. Tamina
8. Natalya
9. Naomi
10. Beth Phoenix
11. Alicia Fox
12. Eve Torres

It’s now time for the third and final round of voting. Five Divas remain. The winner will be revealed on Sunday!

May the best Diva win…

Who did you vote for and why?

It’s time for the second annual virtual Diva Rumble at Diva Dirt!

Every year it seems that fans want to see the Divas get in on the action with their own Rumble match. Well, short of kidnapping the entire Divas roster and forcing them to compete in one, we can’t make that happen. But we do have a fun — albeit virtual — alternative!

The annual Diva Rumble allows you to vote who wins, who gets eliminated, and the order in which they’re eliminated, simply by casting your vote! Over the next three weeks, we’ll give you the chance to vote for your winner, and each week we’ll take a vote count to see who will be eliminated. The people with the lowest votes will be tossed over the virtual top rope and the person with the most votes over the three rounds of voting will be selected as your Diva Rumble winner! Pretty simple, right?

FIRST ROUND: Last week in the opening round of voting, you cast your votes in droves! Now it’s time to find out who will be the first six Divas to be tossed over the top rope… Out first is the woman made infamous during the premiere episode of Tough Enough last year: one of Brodus Clay’s funky mommas, Cameron. Perhaps its kismet, because just like last year, the Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki, are next out in successive order. Following the twins, we say goodbye to another spicy Latina as Rosa Mendes’ dancing can’t save her now! Next up, thanks for coming Aksana and last but not least, Kaitlyn is out, also.

ORDER OF ELIMINATION
1. Cameron
2. Nikki Bella
3. Brie Bella
4. Rosa Mendes
5. Aksana
6. Kaitlyn

Join us again during the week when we’ll take another vote count and toss some more Divas over the top rope! Keep voting for your favorite below…

May the best Diva win…

Who did you vote for and why?

It’s time for the second annual virtual Diva Rumble at Diva Dirt!

Every year it seems that fans want to see the Divas get in on the action with their own Rumble match. Well, short of kidnapping the entire Divas roster and forcing them to compete in one, we can’t make that happen. But we do have a fun — albeit virtual — alternative!

The annual Diva Rumble allows you to vote who wins, who gets eliminated, and the order in which they’re eliminated, simply by casting your vote! Over the next three weeks, we’ll give you the chance to vote for your winner, and each week we’ll take a vote count to see who will be eliminated. The people with the lowest votes will be tossed over the virtual top rope and the person with the most votes over the three rounds of voting will be selected as your Diva Rumble winner! Pretty simple, right?

LAST YEAR’S DIVA RUMBLE: In the first annual Diva Rumble, Gail Kim won the most fan votes and outlasted the rest of the competition to win the Rumble match. Current Divas Champion Beth Phoenix was a close second. Read all of the results from the 2011 Diva Rumble here.

And now it’s time to vote for this year’s winner! Vote for the person you want to win the Diva Rumble 2012. Next week, we’ll close the voting and toss the first lot of Divas over the top rope before re-opening the voting.

Vote now!

May the best Diva win…

Who did you vote for and why?

To say last night’s Royal Rumble pay per view was random would be an understatement. Within a course of a week, we had gone from Natalya vs Melina to Natalya vs Lay-Cool and now to Eve involved as well. So confusing. It’s enough to make you need a stiff drink.

Under the guise that we are going to have a two-on-one handicap match, Lay-Cool make their way down to the ring with Michelle McCool this time looking extra flawless. (Sorry Lay!) The Divas Champ is out next and we are ready to go…. Not so fast.

That dastardly GM’s laptop (this isn’t Raw!!!) rings and we get the announcement that this will now be a fatal four-way match with another Diva involved. Cue gasp as we all think ‘OMG AWESOME KONG’… eh, way to get your hopes up. Beth Phoenix? I mean, she does have singles victories over both Layla and Michelle in recent weeks… eh, think again. Eve Torres’ music hits. Oh.

Eve, who has barely been involved in any storylines or in the title picture for several months is the last minute addition to the match. Of course, simply from her entrance we should have realised she was going to win. Why else would you inject her into the match? More on that later.

Anyhoo, the match gets underway and we have a Diva melee! Michelle and Natalya on one side and Layla and Eve on the other. Where to look?! This match could get problematic. Michelle now switches to Eve and Layla to Natalya. Michelle’s got Eve in the corner and Layla throws Nattie into the ring post. Lay-Cool use some team work as Layla throws Eve to the wolves (well, Michelle) for a clothesline. They then switch positions with Layla hitting the clothesline this time. Lay-Cool then hit Eve with a double front-first leg-sweep in an attempt to mangle that pretty little face, before taunting her.

Michelle runs Eve out of the ring and in the corner, Natalya is getting back to her feet taking down both Layla and Michelle with clothesline. She seemingly has Layla in a big swing position but Michelle sneaks up behind her and gets a kick for her efforts. Natalya then slingshots Layla into Michelle, which ejects the latter from the ring. Natalya goes for a pin but McCool — being a friend or being advantageous, you decide — pulls Layla out of the ring.

Natalya joins them outside of the ring where Layla hits her with a hard clothesline, sending Natalya’s head against the floor. Insert cartoon birds here.

Back in the ring, McCool can see Eve climbing onto the apron and runs at her, striking her with a vicious knee and sending her hurtling back to the floor below. That’s why she’s Miss McCruel!

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Lay-Cool face off! The two Divas stare down each other unsure whether to strike, after all there can only be one champion. A very cool teaser.

But before they can make up their minds, Natalya grabs Layla’s legs from the outside of the ring as Michelle seeks retaliation by kicking her through the ropes. The action gets fast now as Eve sneaks into the ring and rolls up McCool but Layla breaks it up. Natalya enters the ring now with a big discus clothesline on McCool as Eve hits a dropkick on Layla. Michelle is tossed out of the ring by Nattie as Eve squares up to the champ, putting their babyface bond aside in pursuit of the butterfly.

Natalya sets up Eve for the Sharpshooter but Layla comes running at her with a punch, before stumbling over Eve and falling atop her. You know what’s coming… double Sharpshooter! The crowd pops big for that one but the fun is soon broken up by Michelle who hits a perfectly executed kick to Natalya’s head. Her kicks are always so vicious and believable!

McCool attempts to pin Eve but she kicks out. Eve then rolls Michelle into a small package but it’s broken up by Layla, who then hits a vicious Lay-Out on Eve. With Eve laid out by the side of the ring, Michelle McCool — once again displaying her cunning in-ring psyche — hits a baseball slide taking her out of the ring leaving the match to just three competitors.

Lay-Cool walk into a double clothesline from Natalya, followed by individual clothesline. Nattie then picks up Michelle for a big sit-out powerslam followed by a pin attempt but shock horror, Layla breaks it up. Layla and Natalya exchange forearms before Nattie picks her up and rams into the corner and hits a discus clothesline on her in the corner. Natalya picks up Layla on her shoulder and at that very moment, Michelle comes running at her with a big running boot but catches Layla instead. Uh oh!

Natalya uses the distraction to roll up McCool but she kicks out. McCool goes for a kick but Natalya catches her leg and pushes her out of the ring.

Meanwhile, Eve is back up and sneaks into the ring, tossing Natalya out. Seeing Layla laying in the corner, she senses the opportunity to hit a gorgeous moonsault. The referee makes the three count, but doesn’t see that Michelle has Natalya rolled up for the three count too!

Eve wins the Divas Championship and Michelle is screwed. Cue awkward moment…

Eve looks confused, Natalya looks confused, Michelle looks pissed and confused. And God knows that we as fans were left confused.

Eve’s music finally hits after what seems like the longest two seconds ever, confirming her as the new Divas Champion with the referee raising her arm.

So Eve is the new Divas Champion much to the shock and dismay of everyone…? From a storyline standpoint, it was bizarre to see Eve even included in this match because as mentioned earlier, Beth Phoenix has more of a case with singles victories over both Layla and Michelle in recent weeks. Even Melina, who has been feuding with Natalya, would make a little more sense.

What’s clear is that the storyline up until last night didn’t matter. Instead, last night’s show saw many random angles — not just for the Divas, but the men too — setting up storylines for the upcoming months. Eve is definitely a favourite amongst WWE officials and extremely well-liked backstage, so it seems to me that this could be a case of them wanting to push Eve in the biggest period of the WWE calendar: the road to WrestleMania. And with the questionable finish, where Michelle McCool seemingly had the match one too, it could be that WWE are leaning towards Eve vs Michelle (and Layla to an extent) in the coming months, possibly at WrestleMania 27.

As for the match, I had two different reactions to this match. Watching it live, I thought the ring work was extremely strong from all four girls but the match had little flow and seemed to be all over the place. Watching it back a second time, I thought it worked much more enjoyable and seemed to flow a lot better. Highlights include Natalya’s double Sharpshooter, Eve’s breathtaking moonsault and of course, that Lay-Cool face-off teaser was just superb. An enjoyable match, despite the shock outcome.

Match Rating: 3.5/5

Elsewhere, following the great backstage segment between Gail Kim and the Bella Twins last Monday on Raw, we saw some continuation last night at the Rumble. I guess this made up for the ‘WTF?!’ moment just seconds before.

Gail Kim and Daniel Bryan are seen all lovey-dovey before Josh Mathews gets a quick interview from him. The Bella Twins appear, flowers in hand, and give the pair a faux-apology for their actions last Monday. However, the apology soon turns into the twins taking some sly digs at Gail. It all pops off when Gail — shock horror! — gets their names wrong, calling Brie ‘Nikki’. Brie slaps Daniel Bryan which results in Gail hitting her hard with the bouquet of flowers. The two Bellas wail on Gail (ha!) as DB tries to break things up. Caught in the fray, Bryan gets hit with another hard slap from one of the twins. Daniel tries to protect Gail but ends up scratched and clawed by the Bellas as the WWE officials try to break things up. Well that was fun! A lot of fun!

Speaking of random Diva moments at the Rumble, Kelly Kelly — who’s supposed to be tangled up in a storyline with Drew McIntyre — found herself involved in the World Heavyweight Championship match between Edge and Dolph Ziggler? Why? God knows.

But with Vickie Guerrero on the apron getting in Edge’s face, Kelly appears out of nowhere, pulling Vickie off the apron, slapping her and mounting her with a Thesz Press. Well, okay then. Hopefully WWE will explain this in some way on SmackDown this coming Friday. Perhaps Edge, figuring Vickie would try to get involved, paid her off to come help him out? We’ll see.

On the whole, last night’s pay per view delivered a lot of random moments and one big WTF. But regardless of where you sit on Eve’s title win, it was actually pretty fun Diva-wise.

As random as it was to see WWE book Natalya vs Lay-Cool for tonight’s Royal Rumble, things got even more random when the pay per view got under way.

Raw’s Eve Torres was added to the match at the last minute by the anonymous Raw GM, making the bout a fatal four-way. Well, that should’ve been a sign, right? As Eve went on to win the match, hitting a beautiful moonsault on Layla to become the Divas Champion.

Random. Shocking. WTF? Still trying to decipher what went down tonight. Nonetheless, congratulations to Eve on winning her second Divas Championship.

Share your thoughts — or as the case may be, your confusion — in the comments!

WWE presents the Royal Rumble live tonight on pay per view! Will Natalya be able to defeat Lay-Cool to retain her Divas Championship? Will another Diva compete in the Rumble match?

Tune in at 8pm ET on pay per view.

Discuss the show in the comments!

- Reminder: Tune into Diva Dirt LIVE’s Royal Rumble special at 11pm ET

The Divas Title is on the line as Lay-Cool take on Natalya. Will the Hart Dynasty Diva retain or will we have BFF champs again? The DD team weigh in…

April: Given the fact that this match is a little random, I’m going to have to go with Lay-Cool. Not taking anything away from either side but it just seems a little odd that all of a sudden, Lay-Cool remembers they have a rematch clause. Obviously, they’ve been feuding with Beth Phoenix while Natalya has been focusing on Melina. I have a bad feeling that Natalya is going to lose her Divas title going this route. I hate it because I think she makes a great champion and I’m a little tired of Lay-Cool hogging the spotlight, but it’s inevitable. No one seems to hold the Divas Championship very long anymore and when they do, it always has odd circumstances. But, as usual, the match is bound to be interesting. I’m extremely happy they put a Divas match on the card. The Royal Rumble is a key pay-per-view and has always been one of my favorites. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Cryssi: Well this is not the match I expected to be predicting this week, but here we are. Lay-Cool versus Natalya… again. Since Nattie has been the Divas Champion she’s feuded with two people; Layla and Michelle McCool as I hardly count her three week interaction with Melina as a feud. Her title reign has been less than impressive and that’s entirely the WWE’s fault. Nattie has done the best she could do with what’s been given to her and that’s not much. Unfortunately, the WWE will probably blame Natalya and thus I see Lay-Cool regaining the Divas Championship at the Royal Rumble. But the question is, which member of the team gets the pin? In my little brunette head I see Layla and Natalya putting on a clinic and Layla hitting the Lay-Out close to the ropes. As she goes to pin Natalya and win the championship, Michelle reaches over, tags herself in much to Layla’s dismay, and picks up the victory. Michelle celebrates like she won the Super Bowl and Layla just looks pissed off. Michelle hands her the championship and coaxes her into celebrating and eventually, Layla’s icy exterior thaws a bit and both girls make their way back to the lockerroom happy again… for now.

David: It doesn’t seem like many people are excited about the Divas Championship match at the Royal Rumble. As you know, Lay-Cool exacted their rematch clause this past week on Raw, so now Natalya is forced to defend her title in a handicap match at the pay-per-view. I am looking forward to the match because I like all 3 of these wrestlers but I understand people’s confusion and disappointment. What happened to Melina and Eve? Why were they just pushed aside for Lay-Cool? What about Beth? She’s been dominant on SmackDown. In general the Royal Rumble is a fun PPV and I think we’re going to see a surprise Sunday night. Maybe Amazing Kong makes her debut. In my opinion, though, Lay-Cool is going to win the title and then immediately after the match someone else is going to exact her own rematch clause. Due to injury The Glamazon never did receive her own rematch after losing the belt in May. So Sunday night I think Beth cashes in and walks out of Boston with the Divas Championship, keeping the Sisters of Destruction on top and Lay-Cool without the belt.

Eric: When Lay-Cool’s music hit on Monday night, I, like many of you began cursing and throwing tantrums. After all, wasn’t this feud settled with the tag team tables match? I thought so. However, maybe it is the little bit of optimism that refuses to leave my cynical body (and reports that Melina self sabotaged this push) but I have to believe that WWE has a bigger plan for this match than a simple title switch or defense. So , am joining many of you in praying that Oprahgod brings us Kong. The match will be a simple 7 minute affair with Natalya making Michelle tap. Double teamed by Lay-Cool after. Beth comes for the save. Bam Kong destroys Beth and Nattie. Touchdown dances all around. Kong will be a trending topic and maybe the #iwantwrestling folks will get their wish.

Erin: The abrupt about-face that resulted in this match makes me wonder what the WWE is actually planning for Natalya’s title reign. The feeling that zero planning has gone into this match doesn’t give me a lot of faith in Natalya’s chances of coming out on top–it’s as if the WWE suddenly realized that Lay-Cool need to stay at the very top of the Divas division, and what better what to solidify that than to give them the Divas Championship once again? Clearly, they think it’s inevitable that Lay-Cool be involved in the title hunt in some shape or form, so I don’t expect them to go long without the belt. The rumored debut of Kong makes me wonder if this match could result in a completely new feud–Lay-Cool vs. Kong–and the dynamic duo might need the title to make the feud as big as the WWE is hoping it could be. I say that Lay-Cool (specifically Michelle) will get the pin and once again claim the Divas Championship.

Melanie: So let’s analyse: Natalya was in a feud with Melina on Raw. That feud got blown off in a 3 minute match. Lay-Cool, who have had no dealing with Natalya in over a month, appear and announce they’ll be facing Natalya for the belt at the Rumble. To me that suggests WWE was looking for a quick way to get the belt back on Layla and Michelle for an upcoming storyline. What will that storyline be? Not sure. But my prediction is that Lay-Cool were not put in this match simply for the hell of it, but because they are supposed to win the belts. Lay-Cool wins. But the real question is: Will Kong debut?

Steven: As much as it pains me to say it, I don’t see Natalya leaving the Royal Rumble with the Divas Title around her waist. After the lackluster feud with Melina and it’s abrupt ending on Monday, it looks like WWE is looking to put the strap back on Lay-Cool, who had a much better run as co-champions. What makes me so frustrated about the possible (and very likely) title change, is the fact that WWE never even came close to scratching the surface of what Nattie could bring to the table as champion. At the Royal Rumble, expect Natalya to drop the belt to Lay-Cool.

Leave your predictions in the comments!

Diva Dirt LIVE returns tonight at 11pm ET with a post-Royal Rumble special.

We’ll be discussing the match and taking your calls.

EDIT: Replay below:

WWE’s annual Royal Rumble pay per view returns tonight! Join us as we reminisce on some classic Rumble moments today.

Next up we rewind just a year back to when Beth Phoenix became only the second woman to compete in a Rumble match!

WWE’s annual Royal Rumble pay per view returns tonight! Join us as we reminisce on some classic Rumble moments today.

Let’s start with that historic moment when Chyna entered the 1999 Royal Rumble match.

On the eve of the 2011 Royal Rumble, SLAM! Sports caught up with one of the people who made last year’s Rumble match so memorable: Beth Phoenix.

Phoenix eliminated The Great Khali last year before herself being eliminated by CM Punk. Beth reveals how it all came about and what the experience was like:

“It was a really, really last minute opportunity,” Phoenix told SLAM! Wrestling, adding some background. “Honestly, I put my bid in each and every year, hoping that one day I could follow in the footsteps of Chyna before me, but there wasn’t an opportunity. In 2010, they decided to give me a shot.”

“Being only one of two females that have done that before, it’s probably the most intimidating and invigorating experience of my life. I can’t imagine any scarier experience than, going toe to toe with one man is crazy enough, let alone the off chance of being in there with 29 other male superstars,” she said. “It was a very intimidating experience, but it’s one of those things where I really admired what Chyna had done in the past. I was thrilled and excited and ready to take on that challenge myself. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to be able to do that in 2010.”

Beth also says that she wants another shot in the Rumble match this year. She says:“There’s 10 more spots, and that means 10 more chances to go an compete in the Royal Rumble, and go and compete, to wrestle for the World heavyweight championship at WrestleMania,” she said. “I think that the odds are a little bit better this year to get another opportunity, but like all the superstars, we don’t find out until the very last minute. So, there’s always a chance. That’s the great thing about watching it on pay-per-view is that you never know what you’re going to see.”

Check out the full article here.

If you raised an eyebrow as to why WWE booked Melina vs Natalya for Raw instead of on the pay per view in six days, here’s why: Melina’s out of the title picture and Lay-Cool are in.

Natalya will defend her Divas Championship against one or both members of Lay-Cool at the Royal Rumble this Sunday as they ‘cash in their rematch clause’.

EDIT: WWE.com has clarified that it’ll be both members of Lay-Cool taking on Natalya at the Rumble.

Week after week, we have witnessed Michelle McCool and Layla crack about 10,000 jokes, all with the same punchline: Mickie is fat. As lamented as this “Piggie James” storyline has been here at Diva Dirt, with its fat jokes and barnyard humor, it has been given one of the biggest buildups in recent Diva memory, and it was reasonable to think that they would cap off this pretty silly storyline with a decent enough match, at least to make the juvenile booking somewhat worth it. After all, their match at TLC was pretty damn good. Let’s see if Mickie and Michelle were able to transcend the “Mean Girls” cliches and mature a bit:

Michelle comes out to the ring, microphone in hand, and explains to the crowd that Mickie was a no-show tonight. “Where oh where has my piggie gone?”, she laments. She figures Mickie is forfeiting. Layla shows up in her fat suit, doing the same Mickie impression she did last Friday. She doesn’t get very far, though, before the real Mickie emerges and attacks her. She tosses FatSuitLayla into the barricade, as Michelle looks horrified. Did she really think Mickie was a no-show? Would that be why they left her off SmackDown last week–to fool Michelle into thinking Mickie went into hiding? That’s the only reason I can think of why Layla would come prancing down to the ring in a fat suit not once, but twice, and not even watch her back.

Mickie gets into the ring, and the match starts. FatSuitLayla isn’t quite done sticking her plastic pig nose into Mickie’s business, though, and climbs up the apron to distract her. It works for a split second, and Michelle charges with her boot but Mickie dodges, replaying a similar collision from TLC: Michelle accidentally delivers a big boot to Layla and lays out her backup. Michelle turns around right into a kick from Mickie, who plants her with the Mickie T. One 3-count later, and we have a new Women’s Champion!

FatSuitLayla comes into to check on her fallen friend, and Mickie hits her with a kick that lands her smack dab on top of Michelle. Meanwhile, several babyface Divas (Maria, Gail, Kelly, Eve, and the Bellas) come to the ring with a rather large cake in tow. Similar to what Laycool and Beth did to Mickie a week before, the Divas prop up Michelle and Layla as Mickie plants the giant cake in both their faces, the other Divas smearing it in. Michelle and Layla do a good job of acting horrified and look pretty damn hilarious blinded by yellow cake and icing while pitching a fit. Mickie celebrates with her newly-won title and smears some more icing in their faces, tasting it for good measure. All the good girls make their exit as the bad girls wallow in their “just desserts” (it’s okay, you can boo.. it was a pretty awful joke).

I would have much preferred an actual match to cap off their feud (as I assume this has.. I don’t know how else this could continue), or at least one with more than one move. Still, I suppose this feud was designed to end in an epic display of revenge. With weeks of humiliation at Mickie’s expense, it was only natural for this to end with Michelle and Layla getting their due, and it doesn’t get much more humiliating than losing your title in one move and being covered in cake by a host of Divas who are laughing in your face. Still, I would have loved to see a blow-off match that actually highlighted the wrestling side of this feud, if there ever was one. Michelle and Mickie are great wrestlers and have worked well together in the past, and it almost seems like a waste to end the feud without so much as a real match. Still, what we got tonight fits pretty well into the scheme of things–it isn’t epic storytelling, but it’s high school revenge in response to high school bullying. Hopefully Mickie’s next feud can graduate to college-level, at least.

Speaking of that, I wonder where this leaves Michelle. As mentioned, she’s had one of the longest title reigns in recent Diva history and has been in the forefront of SmackDown’s Diva division for what seems like forever. Will she fall off the radar for the time being and work on healing her knee? I assume the reason she hasn’t wrestled consistently is to protect her knee, and a bit of a break could do wonders for it. But with Michelle gone, who can take her place? Beth Phoenix? It sounds reasonable, but I have a feeling she has other things on her mind tonight..

Yep, I was right. Tonight, Beth became the 2nd woman ever to compete in the Royal Rumble match, with rumors circulating just hours before showtime and coming to fruition when it came time for the Rumble’s 6th entrant to reveal itself:

With the Great Khali and CM Punk in the ring, Beth charges valiantly towards the ring, standing toe-to-toe with Khali and looking positively puny. Beth shows no fear, and Khali plucks her up to eliminate her, but she fights back. He places her over the ropes and on the apron, telling her to leave. Instead, Beth grabs him and kisses him, a la Anne Hathaway in “Get Smart” (Khali being on the receiving end there as well), pulling him over the ropes in the process and eliminating him.

As Beth celebrates CM Punk comes charging at her, but she plants him with a clothesline. She kicks and punches him, eventually getting him up on her shoulders. He wriggles free, though, and hits Beth with the Go to Sleep, easily tossing her from the ring and eliminating her.

It was awesome to see Beth compete in the Rumble. I’ll admit that when I heard the rumor Sunday afternoon I was skeptical that it would even happen, but if there’s any Diva fit to compete in that testosterone fest, it’d be Beth. I remember loving to see Chyna compete with the men in the Rumble and this, however short it was, brought back those memories. Eliminating Khali, however the means, is an impressive feat, and beating the tar out of CM Punk is nothing to sneeze at. For something no one saw coming (before Sunday, at least), Beth’s appearance in the Rumble was a pleasant surprise and a nice treat for us Diva fans. I wouldn’t object to seeing her do some more gender line-bending in the future, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she might be knocking on Mickie’s door quite soon instead..

Michelle vs. Mickie Rating: 3/5 — Sweet revenge, and satisfying in a storyline sense. A little more wrestling wouldn’t have hurt, though.

Beth in the Rumble Rating: 4/5 — I would have loved to see her go toe-to-toe with more men, but beating on CM Punk is good enough. I think lesser men would have objected.

Food for thought: Do you think Beth is Mickie’s next foe?

If you ever needed proof that WWE still hasn’t gotten over the departure of Chyna some 10 years later — this is it! As only the second woman to enter the Royal Rumble match, Beth Phoenix paid an homage of sorts to her predecessor after her own Rumble appearance. She told WWE.com:

“Tonight was my night to step up and step out of the Divas division into a league of my own,” Beth said. “With every single obstacle that’s been put in front of me, I’ve not only reached my goals,” Beth boasted, “but I’ve far surpassed what everyone has ever expected from me.”

“Despite Chyna’s accomplishments [in the Rumble],” Beth said, “I eliminated The Great Khali. Seven-foot-three, 420 pounds. No small feat.”

“I am WWE’s Glamazon. Chyna was WWE’s Ninth Wonder of the World … mostly called so because people wondered whether she was a man or a woman. I often wonder this, myself.”

“Chyna would have had a slight size advantage in her prime, but I’ll tell you what Chyna was missing and that was heart.”

“In the ring, toe-to-toe with me, Chyna doesn’t compare.”

Click here to read more.

Hmm, is anyone else getting a ‘work’ vibe? WWE rarely acknowledges past performers in such a manner unless of course, they are plotting some sort of comeback like Bret Hart. WrestleMania is just around the corner… could it be? Chyna, like Bret, has bad blood with WWE but the impossible eventually happened. Will Chyna follow suit

Tonight, Mickie James won the Women’s Championship for the 5th time, defeating Michelle McCool in quick fashion at the Royal Rumble. Congrats, Mickie!

Tonight, Beth Phoenix became the 2nd woman ever to compete in the Royal Rumble match as its 6th entrant. She managed to eliminate the Great Khali but was eventually eliminated by CM Punk.

Congrats for making history, Beth!

If you can’t join us for the live blog, add your thoughts on the match/show in the comments!

They ended 2009 with an excellent pay per view match and now tonight, Michelle McCool and Mickie James have the dubious task of getting 2010 off on the right foot. Can they do it again? And who will walk away with the Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble tonight? The Diva Dirt writers weigh in:

Cryssi: There seems to be only one logical outcome for this match and it’s one I don’t really care for. This entire storyline has been all about Michelle McCool and Layla, so it pains me to say that I think Mickie will be winning come Sunday. I don’t want her to be champion again but I find it hard to believe Michelle will retain. I sincerely hope the ‘E swerves us and Beth gets involved, costing Mickie the victory and pummeling Michelle afterward. Wouldn’t it be cool to see the Glamazon just take the Women’s Championship and walk off with it?

Erin: Michelle vs. Mickie – With how badly they have been ragging on Mickie these past weeks (hell, the whole feud RESTS on humiliating her), I can’t help but think there’s an endgame in it for her, specifically winning the Women’s Title. I don’t see why (other than company loyalty) she would agree to participate in such a degrading storyline if there was nothing for her to gain in the end. I also think of this in the old fashioned “who had the last laugh?” theory in predicting the PPV winner. Using this, Mickie hasn’t had the last laugh in… ever? So I suppose that brings her odds of winning to astronomical levels. Her not being o nthe last SmackDown almost had me doubting her odds of winning, but there’s too much weighing in the other direction. I’m going with Mickie, and hoping that with the title switch the fat jokes can magically disappear.

Melanie: I honestly can see this going either way. On the one hand, after all that she’s endured at the hands of Michelle and Lalya [and management], it seems now is the time to put it right by giving Mickie the belt. But on the other hand, Mickie has yet to gain the upperhand in this rivalry or even show any semblance of fighting back — this has been extremely one-sided and it seems the newly found effort into the Divas booking is due to finding new ways to humiliate Mickie. I could see WWE not giving Mickie the pay-off and just having Michelle retain, quite frankly. It’s a tough one to call but I think we’ll see Mickie become the new Women’s Champion tonight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t either. Whatever happens here, I’d like to see Beth Phoenix involved to set up a three-way hopefully at WrestleMania. After the great match at TLC, I really hope Mickie and Michelle can make it two-for-two and with all the emotion surrounding this match, they have plenty to draw from.

Steven: This rivalry between Michelle and Mickie has been going on for quite some time now and has had it’s it’s fair share of twists and turns, including the addition of Beth Phoenix. However, I think we can all agree that Mickie has yet to have the upper hand on McCool and co. For this reason I see Mickie picking up her fifth Women’s Championship tonight at the Royal Rumble. And after all she’s endured these past months, she definitely deserves it.

It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments.

Steven: My pick for the Rumble Rewind is a match that most Diva fans would probably like to forget: Mickie James vs Ashley Massaro at the Royal Rumble 2006. While it wasn’t the most technically (despite what Joey Styles says), it served as a crucial point in one of the most memorable Diva storylines of all time.

Women’s Champion at the time, Trish Stratus was the special guest referee for this match and was in quite a strange position. While Trish had promised to call this match right down the middle, Mickie had been becoming gradually more aggressive in pursuing her idol, even going as far as assaulting Trish’s ‘protege’ and ‘best friend’ Ashley in the process.

At the start of the match, it was pretty obvious that this wasn’t going to be the greatest match in terms of ring work, but I think it’s best achievement was the story it told. Mickie showed some aggression, utilizing the ringpost as a weapon and such, but it was Ashley’s mean streak that surprised me. Athough she was a face, Ashley used some some textbook heel tactics such as hair pulling and closed fist punching, leading to Trish physically restraining her several times. The fact Ashley was so upset about Mickie’s actions, that she was blatant disregarding the rules was pleasantly surprising. It made it seem as if Ashley was emotionally invested in this match, which is always a good thing.

The icing on the proverbial cake would have to be the ending. Due to Trish’s officiating, Ashley was distracted and fell victim to a nasty (and not in a good way) powerbomb. Mickie went for the pin and Trish almost couldn’t bear to make the three count. Once again, Mickie oversteps Trish’s personal space, attempting to celebrate with her hero. Trish pushes her away in annoyance and Mickie takes her leave.

I would say this is the point when Trish stopped seeing Mickie as a nuisance and starting seeing her as a threat, not only to her title but to her overall. As I said, it wasn’t the best match we’ve ever seen from the Divas. In fact, it was far from it, but it told a story and got us interested which is more then we can expect from Diva matches these days.

Discuss your memories of this match in the comments.

It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments.

Erin: I’ve chosen the Trish vs. Jazz Women’s Championship match from the 2002 Royal Rumble. Jacqueline served as the referee, which if I recall correctly was a recurring thing for her back then proving that, as much as we like to glorify the 2002/2003 Diva era, even the really talented Divas could get saddled with inane roles. The match had its buildup capped off with a brutal attack by Jazz, who smashed Trish’s hand in an equipment trunk just days before. If that’s not something that could build excitement for a title match, I don’t know what can. Ever the resilient underdog, Trish came prepared, hand bandaged but ready to fight.

Jazz demonstrated her pitbull-like tenacity in not letting Trish even get out of her coat before starting the match. Jazz righly focused on Trish’s injured hand, showing no mercy and allowing Trish to be the selling machine she was starting to become that early in her wrestling career (this was, after all, her first title reign). In this match Trish showed some impressive, natural skill, especially for someone who began wrestling regularly only months before. These days, it seems to take much longer for the new Divas to pick up that feeling of naturalness in the ring. That said, she had a more than capable ring partner here in Jazz, whose punches were enough to lay a Diva out with one blow. I really miss the kind of stripped-down toughness Jazz exuded and had on full display in this match. Even referee Jacqueline wasn’t messing around; Jazz’s cheating prompted a more physical response than we usually see out of the officials.. Anyone think there needs to be more shoving by referees? Okay, maybe not..

I especially loved that Trish’s (often maligned) Stratusfaction finisher didn’t end the match like you’d think it would. Jazz actually reversed the pin into one of her own and made you seriously doubt Trish’s power to defeat such a tough opponent. I love that kind of unpredictability. Even though a standard bulldog was enough to finish off Jazz, it was still a hard-fought match and wasn’t as cookie-cutter of an ending as the rising babyface often earns. All around this match demonstrated how a less experienced champion can be successful without burying or discrediting her more experienced competition. It wasn’t insulting to Jazz to lose to such a green champion, because Trish had that “come from behind” style that allowed her to battle back and pull out wins without ever actually being dominant. Young babyfaces of today, take note: this is how you play the underdog role.

Discuss your memories of this match in the comments.

It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments.

Cryssi: My pick for the ‘Rumble Rewind’ is a match that should still be fresh in most of our minds. I’m going with Melina versus Beth Phoenix from last year’s Royal Rumble. The build-up to this match was pretty good for a Raw storyline. Melina made her triumphant return to the WWE after Survivor Series ’08 and immediately set her sights on the Women’s Championship, a title that she last held in the Summer of 2007. This was a great example of two women working together who are comfortable with each other. The best friends turned bitter enemies storyline isn’t ground breaking, but Beth and Melina both brought out a lot of emotion in their matches. Beth was hellbent on proving that she’s the most dominant diva, and Melina was excellent in her roll as worthy challenger out to prove a point. The entire thing culminated after Melina won a battle royal for the right to face Beth at the Royal Rumble. This isn’t the best match these two have had, but it was great in a sense that it told a story and Melina capped off her amazing comeback by winning the championship for a well deserved third time.

Discuss your memories of this match in the comments.

It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments.

Melanie: My most memorable Rumble moment would be the 1999 event. I had just gotten into watching WWE a year prior so this was my first Rumble PPV complete with build-up on Raw etc. I had seen Rumble matches before but I’d never really watched the storylines grow to the event before this one. Anyway, as I started to watch WWE, I was immediately taken by Sable. As I mentioned on D3 yesterday, yes I realise now that she wasn’t the best wrestler but back then when I hadn’t seen ‘good’ women’s wrestling before, it was just cool to see a woman get in the ring and wrestle. I had become a big fan of Sable and she was the first woman I ever really followed in the industry. I particularly loved this match because it was a strap match and allowed a degree of physicality that I never expected from the women, using the strap seemed ‘hardcore’. It’s even more memorable now knowing that Sable wasn’t an experienced wrestler and was willing to work a match like this.

Discuss your memories of this match in the comments.

The Royal Rumble is just days away and the Women’s Championship will be on the line between Michelle McCool and Mickie James. Who will take the coveted title on January 31st? Vote below and discuss in the comments!

As reported earlier in the week, Women’s Champion Michelle McCool will defend her title against Mickie James at the Royal Rumble in just over a week’s time. The bout will be the pair’s second consecutive pay per view encounter following last month’s favourably-reviewed TLC match. WWE.com has now posted an official match preview:

After coming to SmackDown in late 2009 by way of the tri-brand Divas trade, Women’s Champion Michelle McCool has made Mickie James’ life miserable.

Week after week, Michelle – often in cahoots with Layla – perpetrated one mean and awful act after another:

• Michelle and Layla viciously cut Mickie’s ring attire with a pair of scissors.

• In Michelle’s personalized version of “Old McDonald” the nickname “Piggy James” was spawned.

At Survivor Series, James earned a measure of revenge when Team Mickie defeated Team Michelle in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match.

Then, despite a valiant effort from Mickie, Michelle came out on top at WWE TLC.

In 2010, Michelle never let up.

• After Mickie was beaten up in a match with Beth Phoenix on SmackDown, Michelle and Layla finished the job with an even more vicious assault.

• At a SmackDown going away party, Mickie was smashed in the face with cake, beaten and covered in punch.

There’s no doubt Mickie has enough motivation to want to put a stop to Michelle’s bullying.

At Royal Rumble, can Mickie finally dethrone Michelle, or will the former school teacher give Mickie another lesson in meanness?

Isn’t it nice to see WWE announce a match in advance for a change? Usually these matches get announced the week of the PPV with little build.

A Women’s Championship match was made for the Rumble at last night’s SmackDown taping.

Michelle McCool will defend the title against Mickie James at the pay per view on January 31st.

Melina has scored her third title reign after defeating Beth Phoenix at the Royal Rumble. Melina picked up the win after countering Beth’s Glam Slam and rolling up the Glamazon.

Melina, a former two time Women’s Champ, first won the title in March 2007 after defeating Mickie James. Melina lost the title back to James after a botched house show match which also featured the now retired, Victoria. Melina won the title back in the same night.

Meanwhile, Phoenix first won the title in October 2007 defeating Candice at No Mercy. Her second title was won at SummerSlam 2008, when she teamed with Santino in defeating Mickie James and Kofi Kingston in a ‘Winner Take All’ match for the Women’s and Intercontinental Championships.