The first ever Divas Championship match at Unforgiven - and the first ever Divas Championship title defence – is in the books. The All American Girl, Michelle McCool retained her title against the French-Canadian hottie who just happened to dress like Iron Man, Maryse. What’s the verdict? I’d say it was positive. In SmackDown’s second pay per view outing, the stars aligned for our Divas at Unforgiven, making up for the lack of time and excitement at Great American Bash when Michelle first won her title by defeating Natalya. This time around, the two Divas involved really worked it out, using their surroundings well to make a fun match up, plus they were afforded more time than the Divas are usually given on pay per view. The result was a good match from the SmackDown blondes – if a lot sloppy at times.

All in all, I think the work was strong, there was a lot of movement and a lot of story told in this match with Maryse going after Michelle’s leg and such. Neither Michelle or Maryse are at Mickie James or Beth Phoenix level so I definitely expected some sloppiness, but I think these two overcame the odds and by the time the final bell rang, they delivered a good match. The action was fast paced which I did not expect from these two, they both showed a lot of athleticism and I think it’s a true testament to how SmackDown has developed. Anyone who reads my Raw or SmackDown Redux, knows that I think it’s great when the Divas go on the outside and get a little rough and this was Raw calibre right here. Given they are not the most experienced Divas on the roster, I think it was great that they took the risk and Maryse throwing Michelle over the barricade and then Michelle clotheslining Maryse jumping off the barricade. I don’t think I’ve seen the Divas really do that, sure they brawl on the outside and stuff but this took it to the next level.

The second half of the match told more of a story, which I appreciated, with Maryse working on Michelle’s knee and her more on the offensive. We’re used to see Michelle dominating matches, so it was a nice change of pace and we got to see some great work from Maryse. I knew from the outset that Michelle would win, but I feel both Divas got some equal time to show off their moves and even though Maryse lost, she got to work it out. As I was talking about in the live blog last night, seems as though Michelle has changed her “Wings of Love” from an Awesome Kong “Implant Buster” to a simple front suplex, it doesn’t look as good or as effective.

It could have used a little more crowd injection, I don’t think they were into the match. I have a feeling because not as many people watch SmackDown as Raw, maybe the audience isn’t as familiar with the SmackDown Divas? Or maybe they just straight up don’t like what they saw? But in all, I enjoyed the match and the work from both Divas.

Watch the match & see the photos after the cut:

Digital Photos (Courtesy of WWE.com)

MICHELLE MCCOOL VS MARYSE – DIVAS CHAMPIONSHIP

UNFORGIVEN

Unforgiven has been held in September since the 1999 edition, originally being an “In Your House” event in April 1998. It became a Raw-only event in 2003, but opened itself to every brand in 2007. Much of the time, it has served as a “revenge” event to compliment SummerSlam, much like Backlash does for WrestleMania.

UNFORGIVEN: IN YOUR HOUSE 1998 – Sable vs. Luna Evening Gown match
In the WWE’s first ever Evening Gown match, Sable and Luna continued their fierce rivalry in what then was a pretty unconventional match. Luna had Goldust in her corner, while Sable was seemingly on her own, as her husband Marc Mero was too embarrassed to accompany her: (Match starts at 3:40.)

UNFORGIVEN 1999 – Chyna vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/ Miss Kitty) – Intercontinental Title match
Chyna and Jeff Jarrett faced off in an Intercontinental Title match, and with Miss Kitty and Debra in the mix, things were sure to go haywire. With an overturned decision and heavy referee involvement, this match was anything but ordinary:

UNFORGIVEN 1999 – Ivory vs. Luna – Hardcore match for the Women’s Title
Ivory defended her Women’s Championship against Luna in a kind of Hardcore match you never see these days – the ladies took brutal bumps as they tore through the backstage area, creating plenty of chaos along the way:

UNFORGIVEN 2002 – Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus – Women’s Title match
Molly Holly was the reigning Women’s Champion, and resident underdog Trish Stratus looked to once again become Champion. Trish perfected her role as the underestimated challenger as Molly looked to remain a dominant champion and effective heel:

UNFORGIVEN 2003 – Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Molly Holly vs. Gail Kim – Women’s Title match
Relative newcomer Gail Kim had recently turned heel, and her hooking up with Molly Holly proved tough for Trish Stratus to handle. The two double-teamed Trish for weeks until Lita made her triumphant return from her neck injury, coming to Trish’s aid and setting up this match:

UNFORGIVEN 2004 – Trish Stratus vs. Victoria – Women’s Title match
Trish Stratus, now a heel, looked to successfully defend her Women’s Title against fan-favorite Victoria. Trish had Tyson Tomko by her side, so it was safe to say that Victoria had the odds stacked against her:

UNFORGIVEN 2005 – Trish Stratus & Ashley Massaro vs. Victoria & Torrie Wilson (w/ Candice Michelle)
With Ashley getting plenty of abuse from the trio dubbed “Vince’s Devils” – Victoria, Candice Michelle, & Torrie Wilson, it soon came time for Trish Stratus to even the odds a bit. Thus, the challenge was made for Trish & Ashley to take on the trio in a match that seemed to be even – a Tag Team match. Yet, with Candice at ringside, “Vince’s Devils” definitely weren’t playing fair:

UNFORGIVEN 2005 – Edge (w/ Lita) vs. Matt Hardy – Cage match
The rivalry between Edge and Matt Hardy had everything to do with Lita, and she was doing everything possible to thwart her former flame’s plans for revenge. Towards the end of this intense Cage match, Lita got heavily involved and was in danger of paying dearly for her actions:

UNFORGIVEN 2006 – Lita vs. Trish Stratus – Women’s Title match
Their rivalry spanned 6 years, on-and-off, and this match was set to settle the score. Lita was the cocky Women’s Champion, and Trish Stratus was competing in her very last WWE match, hoping to squeeze in one more Women’s Championship reign before retiring from the ring:

UNFORGIVEN 2007 – Candice Michelle vs. Beth Phoenix – Women’s Title match
Resilient Women’s Champion Candice Michelle found her second feud as Champion with Beth Phoenix, who had recently returned to the roster after being on the injured list for an extended period. Beth was a monster in the ring, decimating her opponents. Though, ever overcoming the odds, Candice was determined to not relinquish her Title:

As you can see, the Women’s Championship has been defended numerous times at Unforgiven. With the show’s lengthy history as a Raw brand show, it’s clear that it was in need of some SmackDown Diva involvement, and that’s just what it will get tonight. It’s fitting, though, that after the many times the Women’s Championship has been contested on this very Pay-Per-View, the Divas Championship will see its first defense. Will tonight’s match hold up against the ones you’ve just seen? Here’s hoping!

Now for that quiz I mentioned. Below, I’ve posed several questions pertaining to each of the matches I’ve covered above. Get your #2 pencils sharpened, because the quiz starts… now! (Hover over the question to see it in full.)

Tonight at Unforgiven, Michelle McCool defends her Divas Championship for the very first time against Maryse. It’ll be a SmackDown affair to remember. Who’ll come out on top? We’ll be live blogging throughout the show tonight live, so join us at 7:45pm Eastern (12:45am UK) for that! But now read our predictions on tonight’s outcome:

Erin: They may be pushing Maryse pretty hard rather suddenly, but I still feel that Michelle McCool is their golden girl. She hasn’t had the opportunity to properly defend her title, so it would be silly to take it off of her before she truly was able to prove her worth as Champ. If they really want to push Maryse, they’ll keep her in an extended feud with Michelle, and that would be best achieved by having her lose tonight and continue to improve and eventually meet Michelle on a level playing field. Building up this feud would benefils, t both giras this would legitimize Michelle as Champion and give Maryse a chance to develop into SmackDown’s top heel. Both sides, I feel, would benefit the most from Michelle walking out tonight still Divas Champion. I have a sneaking suspicion that the WWE feels the same way and will likely go that route.

Melanie: I definitely see Michelle coming out on top, I don’t think she’ll lose her title in her first defence and I’m all for her winning to be honest. While Maryse has definitely improved and come so far, I think it’s far too soon for her to be the champion. Maryse could definitely continue to improve and become “title worthy” in the next couple of months, if and when she wins the title, I want her to have truly deserved it. Sure she’s come a long way, but I feel if she wins tonight, WWE will have rushed into it. Maryse could really strengthen her character and her in-ring skills and in a month or two, she could really be worthy of the title. Plus as mentioned earlier, this is Michelle’s first title defence and I don’t see her losing the title. I also want to see the Michelle-Natalya rivalry revisited so I’d have this by an easy win and have her go back to feuding with Natalya and perhaps drop the title to the third-generation Diva. In conclusion, Michelle goes over.

Just as we suspected, WWE.com has announced that Michelle McCool will be defending her Divas Championship against Maryse this Sunday at Unforgiven. This will mark her first title defense thus far:

At Unforgiven, proud Divas Champion Michelle McCool will risk the gold she has tirelessly fought for against the cunning Maryse in a match of toughness and sheer determination to be the top Diva on Friday Nights.

Since making history by overcoming Natalya to become the first-ever Divas Champion at The Great American Bash, Michelle has done everything in her power to bring integrity and class to her reign, while setting the bar high for her challengers. Her considerable ability is only surpassed by the belief she has in herself and what she is capable of inside the squared circle.

Maryse has demonstrated little respect for the champion and even less modesty, noting that the gold would look better around her waist. Tensions have built to a fever pitch as the sultry Diva has aggressively pursued the champion, going so far as to attack her prey at the conclusion of their tag team competition in recent weeks, initiating a knockdown brawl between the two. Maryse insists she is the sexiest of the sexy and desires nothing more than to capture the gold.

At Unforgiven, Michelle will attempt to silence her outspoken challenger once and for all. If Maryse hopes to unseat the All-American Champion, she will need to bring the skills to match her silver tongue.

So what do we think, readers? Are you glad the WWE went with a SmackDown match this time, or were you hoping to see the Raw girls in action?

It seems to me that this Sunday’s Unforgiven pay per view will be going to the ladies of Friday nights. If you read spoilers from both Raw and SmackDown’s tapings last night, it certainly seems SmackDown is the more progressive and “PPV ready” of the two brands at this stage. Raw is in a state of transition, no real feuds or storylines have been mapped out meanwhile SmackDown definitely has a clear cut Divas Championship match between Michelle McCool and Maryse. We’ll see if the announcement is made during SmackDown or on WWE.com this weekend.