THQ.com has unveiled a new website for WWE ’12 showing us new footage and screen shots from the game.
So far, profiles for Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maryse and Natalya have gone live on the new website.
Check out their profiles at the links below:
New screen shots below:
[nggallery id=533]
Entrance videos:
Signature move videos:
WWE and THQ revealed the entire roster for this year’s video game, WWE ’12, which will be due in stores later this year.
WWE ’12 replaces the SmackDown vs Raw series as the flagship of the WWE games empire.
In an Internet broadcast live from WWE’s SummerSlam Axxess from LA, THQ revealed seven of the Divas that will be part of the game, including Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly.
Full roster of Divas is:
* Eve Torres
* Natalya
* Maryse
* Layla
* Michelle McCool
* Kelly Kelly
* Beth Phoenix
Notable omissions from the game this year are: Alicia Fox, the Bella Twins and Rosa Mendes.
It’s possible that Gail Kim and Melina might be in the game but won’t be announced due to their releases.
Pictures below:
[nggallery id=532]
After turning heel on their respective brands last week, Beth Phoenix and Natalya have come together to form their own faction, Divas of Doom, dedicated to destroying all the perky princess Divas in the WWE. Their first targets? SmackDown’s rookie Divas, AJ and Kaitlyn. Can the Chick Busters pull out an upset victory or will the Divas of Doom steamroll over them, building even more momentum going into SummerSlam.
Check out the match below to find out:
Kaitlyn and AJ are already in the ring awaiting their opponent as DOD make their entrance. I must admit, Beth and Nattie are quite formidable as a unit. If I was AJ or Kaitlyn, I’d probably try to make a run for it, but that’s just me. Natalya step into the ring to kick things off for their respective teams and our Diva tag match is underway.
Right off the bat, Natalya grabs a handful of Kaitlyn’s hair, looking to prove her dominance over the NXT winner. Kaitlyn breaks free and slaps on a waistlock, but Nattie escapes with a hip attack, followed by a slap across the face. While the rookie Diva is still stunned, Nattie lays her out with a scoop slam and tags in her partner Beth Phoenix.
The veteran Divas lift poor Kaitlyn over their head and nearly put her through the mat with a double team electric chair drop for only a two count. Frustrated with Kaitlyn’s tenacity, Beth whips her into the corner and charges in for the kill, but Kaitlyn evade and scrambles to tag in her fellow Chick Buster, AJ.
AJ comes into the match like a house of fire, using her speed to dodge a blow from the Glamazon and hits an offensive flurry of her own, almost taking the former Women’s Champion off of her feet. Unfortunately for AJ, Beth manages to reverse the wheelbarrow maneuver into a Glam Slam to pick up the win for her team.
Post-match, Beth grabbed AJ and tossed her out of the ring, while Nattie locked Kaitlyn into the Sharpshooter as Beth watched on.
Short, but sweet match for the Divas this week. While it may not have been much, I think it achieved its purpose: To make Divas of Doom look dominant going into SummerSlam. And it worked.
As for the Chick Busters, while they not be picking up many wins, I think they are progressing nicely in the ring. Especially Kaitlyn. I know I gave the NXT3 winner a lot of grief during her season and after her win, but I think she is trying her her best to improve as a wrestler and it’s showing. While I definitely think she and AJ have room for improvement, I’ve enjoyed their work on SmackDown recently.
We also had another encounter between Teddy Long and Aksana, who debuted two brand new Aksanaisms: “Why you long, Teddy?” and “Do you want to do me with business?” Classic…
Although I’m liking Aksana in this role, it seems tailor-made for FCW/NXT’s Maxine, who is known for using her feminine wiles to attain power. Oh well, we’ll just have to have and see how this Aksana storyline plays out in the coming weeks.
All in all, I thought the SmackDown Divas had a good week. The new union of Natalya and Beth is quite interesting and makes me wonder how Kelly Kelly will overcome the odds at SummerSlam this weekend…
This weekend, we take a look back at SummerSlams of years past as we get ready for the big Divas Championship match between Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly at SummerSlam 2011.
It was in 2007 that both Beth and Kelly made their SummerSlam debuts in a Divas battle royal that was won by the Glamazon.
Check it out below:
Does that match bring back memories? Tell us in the comments!
Former Divas Champion, Eve Torres, may have taken the name of yesterday’s event a little literally.
Eve looked very glam in a sparkly, shiny top at WWE and The Creative Coalition’s ‘Be a Star’ anti-bullying rally.
Other stars at the event included David Arquette, Jordin Sparks and Brittany Snow.
Eve finished off her day look with some jeans a pair of cute sandals to bring her outfit together. Very appropriate for a child-friendly event, but stylish too.
Boom badoom boom, baby!
Watch out Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and one of the Kardashians (she can’t quite figure out which) — Nikki Bella‘s got a warning for you. “You don’t got shit on this,” she says.
Nikki uploaded a cover of Nicki Minaj’s hit single Super Bass to YouTube. Check it out below…
Oh my. So that happened.
What do you think: Does Nikki have the X Factor? Would you give her a golden ticket? Vote below…
Tune in to Friday Night SmackDown to see what the blue brand Divas are up to this week.
Watch at 8pm ET on Syfy.
Discuss the show in the comments!
You bring the coffee, we’ll bring the news! This is Diva Dirt’s news in brief, giving you the 411 on some of the little news items from the past couple of days. Let’s delve in, shall we?
* As previously reported, WWE held its annual pre-SummerSlam party in Hollywood last night. Check out a few paparazzi videos of the Divas on the red carpet below…
* Terri Runnels is suing former boyfriend New Jack. More details here.
* Former WWE Diva, Serena, was recently in Japan for the semi-finals of the SMASH Divas Championship tournament. Serena defeated Makoto to advance to the finals. It’ll be Serena vs Kana on September 8th for the championship at Korakuen Hall.
* Today’s Diva Dirt Woman of the Day is Portia Perez.
SmackDown’s Foxy Queen has certainly had a reign that makes all of the other Divas look like mince meat. Sadly, it means nothing because she’s not in a storyline. Still, the challengers keep coming and Alicia Fox keeps hitting them out of the ballpark.
Having taken out the likes of AJ, Kaitlyn and Natalya in various singles and tag matches, this week Foxy gets quite the workout in the much larger and more powerful Tamina.
Watch below:
Out first is the cocky, arrogant Ms Fox followed by the Superfly’s spawn, who has a very determined look on her face. Tamina is not playing.
A staredown ensues in the ring as the bell rings. The Divas go for a lock-up but Tamina shoves Fox. The sly Fox tries to shake it off, stroking her hair, working her swagger etc. Tamina talks some trash which does not make Alicia happy. This time they actually lock up and Fox hits a takedown on Tamina. Before Tamina can get to her feet, the quick, stealthy Fox channels her inner-Catwoman kicking Tamina in the face. Pin attempt by Fox but Tamina quickly kicks out.
The Divas get to their feet as Tamina shoves Fox into the corner and charges at her, but all she walks into is a back elbow. As Tamina attends to her face, Alicia blindsides her with a quick roll up attempt but again, no three count.
Tamina gets back up and quickly lays in a boot to Alicia’s midsection. The Samoan Princess attempts to intimidate Fox with fighting words before tossing her across the ring by her hair. Tamina begins overpowering Fox with boots wearing her down. She then chokes Fox over the middle rope. Tamina continues her control over Alicia by slamming her against the mat and applying a headlock. Alicia tries to break free, getting to her feet and hitting Tamina with elbows, but is once again slammed back down to the mat by her hair.
Tamina hits a running headbutt on Alicia, connecting with her midsection, and then lets out a smirk, admiring her handiwork. Tamina with a pin attempt now but Fox kicks out.
Another headlock submission by Tamina and again Alicia tries to break free. This time, Tamina strikes Alicia across the stomach with a knee and whips her against the ropes, however Alicia fires back with a clothesline. Seemingly finding a second wind, the momentum quickens as Alicia comes back with not one but two dropkicks — something we rarely see from Fox. The first dropkick was particularly superb. Another pin attempt but this time Tamina just flings her off of her with ease. Alicia with forearms. Irish whip attempt but Tamina reverses. Tamina goes for a back body drop but Alicia halts in her tracks and kicks Tamina in the face.
Alicia bounces off the ropes but Tamina manages to catch her and sets up a Samoan Drop but Alicia elbows her way out of it. Fox kicks Tamina across the back of her leg, cutting her down and setting her up for the scissors kick. Fox connects and it’s all over!
Thoughts: I didn’t enjoy this match as much I have previous matches on Superstars. I think it started off interestingly with Alicia showing off her swagger and not letting Tamina’s words get to her. Then it got kind of slow and plodding with the headlocks. Things then finally picked up in the end with Alicia’s comeback and win. I would say the match was so-so in terms of entertainment, but technically it was fine.
It’s rare to see Alicia as the underdog in a match and her be the one mounting a big comeback at the end. Usually it’s her opponent who makes the comeback. An interesting position for Alicia that saw her use moves we wouldn’t usually see from her i.e. dropkicks.
Foxy notches up another win. Who could she face next? I’m still waiting to see a singles match with AJ.
Last night FCW filmed another three weeks of footage at the official arena in Tampa, Florida to air throughout the month of September.
Check out the Diva related results below:
Former Divas Champion, Melina, will return to the ring on November 19th as part of WSU’s fall Internet pay per view.
We can pretty much deduce that Melina’s opponent will be none other than fellow former Diva, Serena. Serena was due to team with Rain against the Boston Shore at the event but was just yesterday pulled from that match, however is still booked for the event. Expect this match to be made official on Monday.
Serena’s replacement in the tag match will be British wrestler, Jetta, who went into semi-retirement last year. Jetta and Rain will reunite and reform the International Homewrecking Crew on November 19th.
So, get ready fans… Melina. iPPV. November 19th.
Watch Melina in action as Kyra when she first circuited the independent scene before WWE:
As has become an annual tradition, the WWE invaded LA this week — and there was plenty of fake tan for everyone — as the annual SummerSlam kick off party took place last night.
This year, however, it’s been cleverly renamed as a ‘Be a Star’ event held in conjunction with the Creative Coalition, probably to pull in a better Hollywood crowd than years before. *Cough* It worked. This year’s red carpet saw the likes of Kellan Lutz, he of Twilight fame, and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
But of course, we don’t care about the celebrities — we care about what the Divas are wearing!
Perhaps the biggest thing coming out of WWE’s red carpet event is this late, breaking news: Brie Bella is now rocking bangs. Speaking of Brie, she also picks up our best dressed award for the night, with Alicia Fox coming second.
Check out all the pictures below!
Get your weekly dose of Knockouts action on tonight’s Impact. To watch, tune into Spike TV from 9pm ET.
Discuss the show in the comments!
You bring the coffee, we’ll bring the news! This is Diva Dirt’s news in brief, giving you the 411 on some of the little news items from the past couple of days. Let’s delve in, shall we?
* Bad break for Pro-Wrestling: EVE and Ice Ribbon as the venue they were going to hold their joint event later this year is no longer an option. The companies had teamed with 1PW to put on two shows on October 8th and 9th only to have the 1PW cancel its entire shows.
EVE posted on their Twitter page that they are now looking for a new venue for EVE vs Ice Ribbon:
Statement coming later on but due to 1PW cancelling their upcoming shows on Oct 8 & 9 we are being forced to change the venue for our events. Going through pros and cons in which back up venue to go with. Soon as we’ve made a decision we’ll let you know :-)
We’ll keep you updated on the new venue.
* Amber O’Neal‘s ArenaChicks is in action tonight at midnight. The show takes place at ICP’s Gathering of the Juggalos in Illinois. Card is O’Neal vs Jessicka Havok, Sassy Stephie vs Allysin Kay vs Brittany Force, Angel Orsini vs Josie/Lady JoJo/Sojo Bolt, Epiphany & Jenny Star vs CJ Lane & Taryn Shay and finally, Jazz vs Izza Belle Smothers (Mickie Knuckles).
* Will Melina go dancing? The A-List Diva’s fanbase has been staunchly pushing ABC to add Melina to the cast for the next season of Dancing with the Stars. Each season, ABC takes suggestions from viewers of the show via its official website. Melina’s fans came out in full force, launching a Twitter petition and suggesting her on ABC.com.
Other women in wrestling lobbying to hit the ballroom are Velvet Sky, Shelly Martinez and Jackie Moore.
If you want to see any of those ladies on the show, you can suggest them here.
Well, Melina does have some time on her hands so she could be a good choice for the show when it launches in September. On fans lobbying for her to join the show, Melina wrote:
I hope I can make u all proud. I’m going to keep going. Even if I don’t get DWTS, there will b a next time. As for wrestling I’m not done yet!
* We love a happy reunion here at Diva Dirt. They make us all teary-eyed as we rush to YouTube to celebrate the good ol’ days. The latest Divas reunited? Lilian Garcia and the Bella Twins.
All together now… aw!
Check out pictures of the trio at Lilian’s Twitter page.
* TV tonight includes Alicia Fox vs Tamina for WWE Superstars. Over in TNA, Mickie James faces Madison Rayne and Tara & Ms Tessmacher take on ODB and Jackie on Impact Wrestling.
* There’s a new TNA Spin Cycle on YouTube featuring Angelina Love and Mickie James. It’s in two parts. Part one was released last week and part two this week. Watch both parts below:
* Today’s Diva Dirt Woman of the Day is Naomi. Hayyyy!
That’s the scoop for now. Which News in Brief items tickled your tastebuds? Let us know in the comments!
You can also submit your news tips to us for inclusion in News Brief at this link.
WSU has released DVDs based on last Saturday’s double taping.
Press release below:
[notice]SUVideo.com Releases “Martinez vs Lexus: 73 Minutes” & “Havok vs Alicia III: Last Woman Standing” DVDs
ORDER THESE DVDS & VIEW COVER ART DIRECTLY AT: http://www.declarationofindependents.net/doistore/newreleases.html
WSUvideo.com is proud to announce that we have started production and will soon be shipping our two latest DVDs that were filmed on 8/6/11.
These shows are being universally praised by critics and fans all over.
Martinez vs Lexus features the longest match ever in womens wrestling history, as Martinez vs Lexus compete in a 73 minute match. Alicia vs Havok III features one of the most barbaric matches in WSU history. Full line-ups are included below and show reviews are at WSUWrestling.com
“Martinez vs Lexus”
Main Event
For the WSU World Title
(c) Mercedes Martinez vs Lexus
Uncensored Rules Match
Amy Lee vs Brittney Savage
Violet vs Gabby Gilbert
For the WSU Spirit Title
(c) Sassy Stephanie vs Amber
Jana & Jessie “Bonesaw” Brooks vs Jennifer Cruz & Monique
For the NYWC Starlet Championship
(c) Nikki Syx vs Barbie
#1 Contender To The Spirit Title Match
Niya vs Allisyn Kay vs Tina San Antonio vs Marti Belle
Alicia vs Havok III
Last Woman Standing
Last Woman Standing Match
Alicia w/Mercedes Martinez vs Jessicka Havok w/The Midwest Militia
Brittney Savage vs Jennifer Cruz w/Monique & Rick Cataldo
Serena Deeb vs Rain
Sassy Stephanie & Allisyn Kay vs The Belle Saints
The Formation of The MIDWEST MILITIA
For the NYWC Starlet Championship
(c) Nikki Syx vs Niya
For the WSU Tag Team Championships
(c) The Boston Shore vs Jana & Jessie Brooks
Gabby Gilbert vs Rick Cataldo
Annie Social vs Monique
—
Make sure to order the hottest DVDs in womens wrestling today at WSUVideo.com
[/notice]
RELATED:
– WSU 8/6 Double DVD Taping Results – Live Coverage
– WSU News & Notes from Saturday’s Double DVD Taping: Steel Cage in November, Gail & Melina in WSU?
Complex magazine has compiled a list of the 50 greatest wrestling costumes in their opinion, with Kelly Kelly, Sensational Sherri and Ms Elizabeth making the cut.
The reigning Divas Champ makes the list at #38, with Complex describing her as “the first diva to successfully rock dope Nikes on a regular basis.”
The late Sherri makes the list at #23. Of Sherri, the magazine writes: “When it came to her attire, Sherri was all over the place. She rocked the crazy veils, prom dresses, bizarre hats—she did it all. And on more than one occasion, she lost her skirt to reveal that she also had a bodacious booty.”
Finally, the iconic Miss Elizabeth is the highest ranked female at #12. “From her cocktail dresses at the beginning to her super ’80s style all-blue mom-like outfits at the end, Miss Elizabeth was truly the first “diva.” During her heyday, Liz was always elegant with what looked to be fancy dresses and high heels at all times,” says the magazine.
Check out the full list here.
Any females you feel should have made the list?
Spoilers for the August 25th episode of Impact Wrestling which will air on Spike TV.
You bring the coffee, we’ll bring the news! This is Diva Dirt’s news in brief, giving you the 411 on some of the little news items from the past couple of days. Let’s delve in, shall we?
* As reported over the weekend, CHIKARA issued a statement that Daizee Haze would be out of action indefinitely. It looks as though the announcement only pertained to CHIKARA’s storylines, but that hasn’t stopped the Internet from speculating over Haze’s weight.
Following chitter chatter over at the SHIMMER board, promoter Dave Prazak wrote the following:
I think everyone has made it more than clear that they wish the best for Daizee’s health and well being. I also think it’s a shame that all of the focus has been put on her appearance for the past year or so rather than anyone talking about how she’s been a part of some spectacular matches, in both SHIMMER and CHIKARA. I feel her match with Serena on 37 and the tag on 40 are two of the most solid all around matches we’ve ever had on our shows. Rather than offering praise for the quality of her work and contributions to the business as a whole, including teaching the young girls behind the scenes, it seems everyone just resorts to the “eat a sandwich” comments. Everyone wishes for her to be as healthy as possible, but please, move on.
And there you have it!
* CHIKARA has released a video package promoting December’s JoshiMania show which will feature Manami Toyota and Aja Kong. Dim the lights, grab some popcorn and take in the spectacularity. (I know that’s not a real word.)
Pinching self.
* Maryse posted a blog about last Sunday’s Teen Choice Awards where she rubbed shoulders with David Beckham and McLovin’ from Superbad. Read her blog here. Warning: Plenty of namedropping ahead.
* Gail Kim and Melina were released last week and the big question on everyone’s mind was, “What does Ashley Massaro think? Well, now we know…
The former ‘Dirty Diva’ tweeted the following:
I can not believe @RealMelina was released she was one of the most talented performers/wrestlers of her time. I’m lucky to have worked with her.
And @gailkimITSME again another sad loss for everyone. She’s such a great person. I remember chilling with her in Tampa. Anyway, such a shame.
That’s the scoop for now. Which News in Brief items tickled your tastebuds? Let us know in the comments!
You can also submit your news tips to us for inclusion in News Brief at this link.
Diva Dirt has some exclusive news and notes from WSU’s double DVD taping this past weekend in Union City, New Jersey.
* I’m told these shows weren’t on Internet pay per view in order to spread out the iPPVs and make them more special.
* The tapings were used to build up the next two pay per views (November and March 2012) with top programs including Midwest Militia vs Mercedes Martinez, Alicia and Brittney Savage for the November 19th iPPV, and singles matches with those six women for next March at the 5 Year Anniversary Show. That event will see Mercedes vs Havok, Alicia vs Kay and Savage vs Stephie.
* I’m told that WSU had planned all of these programs as far back as March of this year. All the talent involved knew back in March what would be happening i.e. Midwest Militia forming and Sassy Stephie’s heel turn, as well as the matches being set for the 5 Year Anniversary show next March. The plan has always been to have Jessicka Havok get her long-awaited WSU World Championship shot at that event.
* The Midwest Militia vs Martinez, Alicia and Savage match that will main event the November 19th iPPV will be a War Games match set inside a steel cage.
* Expect less title defenses going forward from Mercedes Martinez as she no longer lives locally. Martinez recently relocated to Tampa, FL.
* One of the reasons the Martinez vs Lexxus match went 73 minutes was partly due to the PWI Female 50 which will be released soon. WSU wants to show why Martinez should be #1 on that list.
* WSU has apparently opened negotiations with Gail Kim and Melina who were released by WWE last week, and hope to get them on the November 19th iPPV if they are available.
* WSU is also said to be working on bringing an international name out of retirement for that iPPV.
* Lexxus impressed everyone backstage with her performance in the 73 minute match, exceeding expectations. Look for her to have a bigger role in the company going forward.
* Plans are already in place to put the April 2012 J-Cup on iPPV and use only main event talent in the tournament, and do it as a stand-alone show and not with NWS. The king & queen tournament may be dropped as it is the least profitable show on the WSU calendar.
* Annie Social and Gabby Gilbert (formerly Roxie Cotton) were welcomed back to the company this past weekend and will be on more upcoming shows.
* Amy Lee wanted to retire for the last year, but WSU pushed for her to stay and finish out her angles. It was always the plan to turn Savage face with Amy Lee helping her. The promo fans saw in the ring between Savage/Lee after the match was genuine and not scripted.
* There is no heat with former commissioner, Dawn Marie, but WSU wanted keep Amy Lee on the roster, just like they are with Cindy Rogers. Rogers is the new WSU commentator. WSU thought Lee would be a perfect commissioner due to her speaking ability. WSU never liked the ideas of commissioners, but feels Lee can add a new wrinkle to the shows and can be used to talk for people who need help verbalizing.
* WSU continues to be thrilled with Serena Deeb and feels she’s been the best ex-WWE/TV name pick-up they have ever had.
* WSU will be repackaging the Rick Cataldo character as they feel it has gotten too stale. Cataldo’s role at the taping was to conclude all his issues with the returning Betties and Brittney Savage.
* Expect a major revelation concerning the Belle Saints on the November 19th iPPV. A real-life problem between the two will be used to elevate their prescence in WSU.
Quebec’s NCW and NCW Femmes Fatales will team up this weekend to present a mixed tag team tournament featuring many of the stars from Femmes Fatales.
Competing in the tournament will be Cheerleader Melissa, Portia Perez, Kalamity and many more.
The show kicks off at 8pm with doors opening at 7.30. More details here.
Diva Dirt reader @MissDeserae on Twitter sent in the following spoilers from tonight’s SmackDown taping, as well as pictures. The show airs Friday on Syfy.
Diva Dirt reader @MissDeserae on Twitter sent in the following spoilers from tonight’s SmackDown taping, as well as pictures.
Spoilers for next week’s episode of Impact. This will air on Thursday, August 18th on Spike.
Having trouble keeping up with all of the mainstream women’s wrestling that takes place off TV? Well fear no more! Diva Dirt has got your back with the House Show Roundown! Without any further ado, let’s kick things off!
This weekend’s loop represented both Raw and SmackDown separately, as well as together for a supershow. On the Raw side of things, Divas Champion Kelly Kelly took on her top contender, Beth Phoenix, and SmackDown saw AJ battle against the Diva who turned her back on the resident Geek Goddess, Natalya. For the supershow, fans saw AJ host the event, leading to a tag match with Beth & Natalya against Kelly and Eve.
Full results below:
WWE Raw in Salt Lake City, Utah
WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly def. Beth Phoenix
“Eve then came out as the hostess for the night and was going to talk about a contest in the arena when Beth Phoenix came out. Beth said they may be friends but she wants the Diva’s Championship and told Eve to get out of her ring. Kelly Kelly then ran out and the Diva’s Title match started. Match started with the usual Kelly offense of a Thesz press, punches, the spinning head scissors, and the stinkface. Beth got fired up and started to pummel Kelly, using her own version of a stinkface, and dominated for about four minutes. After an over the shoulder backbreaker by Beth, Kelly rolled through with a schoolgirl cradle and got the win.” (Source)
WWE Raw in Fresno, California
WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly def. Beth Phoenix (Source)
WWE SmackDown in Boise, Idaho
AJ def. Natalya
“After some domination by Natalya, AJ picked up the win while Natalya was distracted.” (Source)
WWE Supershow in Stockton, California
Kelly Kelly & Eve def. Beth Phoenix & Natalya
“The Diva guest host is announced and it is AJ. She was about to host a dance contest but is interrupted by Beth Phoenix and Natayla. Beth Phoenix cuts a promo about the age of the model diva in the WWE is over and Beth and Natalya are the future of the ROLE Model diva. They are about to take out AJ but Kelly Kelly and Eve come out to make the save.” (Source)
Thoughts: The promo Beth & Natalya cut looks pretty interesting & telling of what might be to come. For years a number of people have criticized the WWE’s hiring policy, and I think it would be pretty interesting to have two characters portray the same feeling on screen against the ‘models’. I hope the beef between Kelly and Beth/Natalya extends for a long time because this could be a pretty great storyline if they go the route shown on the house show this weekend.
Last week, Beth Phoenix sent shockwaves throughout the Divas division as she became the new #1 Contender for the Divas Title — and made one hell of a statement by declaring that the days of the ‘cute, blonde little bimbos’ are over.
With anticipation high to see how WWE would follow through on this final episode of Raw before SummerSlam, the new attitude Beth was in singles action against Eve Torres. Let’s watch and review…
Beth was out first followed by Eve and as the bell rings, the two Divas lock up and fight for position. Eve tries to lock in an arm submission but Beth backs her into the ring ropes. The referee breaks up the pair but Beth sneaks in a cheap shot back elbow.
Eve is whipped against the ropes but ducks Beth, instead rolling over her back and hitting her with a dropkick, the force of which sends Beth retreating against the ropes trying to stay on her feet. Eve charges at Beth but gets thrown over the top rope and lands on the apron where she hits Beth with a forearm. Beth, not happy with this, charges at Eve knocking her off the apron to the floor below.
The new, aggressive Beth Phoenix is clearly not playing! The Glamazon grabs Eve by the hair, throwing her into the barricade, much like she did Kelly Kelly last week. Eve lands hard. I think she may have even landed on her head. Ouch!
Adding insult to injury, Beth grabs Eve by the hair (and yes, that sh*t hurts!) dragging her back into the ring. Eve, gurl. You’re gonna need a head massage tomorrow. Beth goes for a cover but Eve resiliently kicks out. Beth again goes for Eve’s hair, slamming her against the mat by her hair, not once but twice. Beth follows up with an elbow drop and another pin attempt but no three.
Beth picks Eve up, clubbing her across the back, and whips her into the ropes. Beth picks her up for some sort of powerslam but Eve wriggles free and hits a dropkick. Well, attempts to a hit a dropkick would probably be more accurate. Eve’s foot just lightly connects with Beth. Beth sells it nonetheless, backing into the ropes. Eve, however, makes up for her faux pas with a forearm and knee shot followed by a lovely kick to the face, wearing down the Pinup Strong Diva. Still, Beth is on her feet.
Eve attempts to whip Beth into the corner but Beth uses her strength and power to stand her position, not budging an inch. Beth reverses the Irish whip, whipping Eve into the corner and she lands face-first into the top turnbuckle. Beth runs at Eve but gets hit with a back elbow from the former Divas Champ. Eve follows up by using the bottom rope for a boost and landing a cool looking kick to the back of Beth’s head.
With Beth finally down, Eve wastes time by not going for a cover — instead she opts to go up top for a moonsault. Eve perches up on the top turnbuckle but before she can hit the move, Beth is behind her, cutting her off at the legs leading to an awkward landing on the ropes. Beth knows what time it is…
Glam Slam! Eve takes the move like a pro and it’s all over.
After the match, the Glamazon grabs the microphone for the second time in as many weeks — clearly a world record for the Divas — and imparts this week’s words of wisdom. “I’m so sick of Divas like you and Kelly Kelly making a mockery of the Divas division,” Beth says to an applaud from the crowd. Wait, I don’t think you’re supposed to like her. “No more booty popping. No more splits. No more stinkfaces.”
Meanwhile on commentary, old perv Lawler: “That takes out 90% of the fun of the Divas division for me.” Don’t you have a high school girl to bother, Jerry? Shut up.
As Beth leaves the ring, she stops on the ramp for one last message to Eve. However, before she can even get her sentence out… BAM! Her opponent for Sunday’s SummerSlam, Kelly Kelly, appears, hitting Beth across the back and sending her to the ground.
We end with Kelly and Beth staredown ahead of Sunday’s big match.
Thoughts: Let’s start with the match. I enjoyed it. I don’t recall seeing these two compete in a match before but I thought they put on a good show last night. Eve took some punishment from the Glamazon and really sold it well. Of course, I still think she needs to work on her dropkicks but I think she kind of made up for that with not one, but two awesome kicks. This was an enjoyable match.
As for Beth’s post-match promo, well, like CM Punk, she pretty much seems to be echoing what the fans want. We don’t want to see stinkfaces. We don’t want to see booty pops. We want competition. And despite Jerry Lawler’s best efforts (okay, I’m sure it wasn’t premeditated) to bury the angle with his comments, I hope that this does indeed mean some change for the Divas with Beth — and Natalya on SmackDown — starting a crusade against stuff like that and demanding better matches. I’ve already said my piece on the splits comment, so I won’t go further into that. I will say, however — when you have characters like Beth and Punk kind of echoing sentiments of the audience, can they really be considered heels? Technically, I guess in WWE’s eyes, Beth is the heel because everything must be black and white. Heels and faces. Good and evil. But for me, Beth (and Natalya), seem to have adopted this new evolution of character that CM Punk recently started where they almost speak for the fans at home and go against the norms and conventions of WWE. Not quite heel, but not quite babyface.
Kelly Kelly’s attack on Beth from behind rubbed me as a heel-like tactic and I think they could’ve gone a different direction. I can see why they did it the way they did; Beth has the strength and size advantage, so it would make sense to have Kelly attack her from behind to one-up her because she probably wouldn’t get one over on her face-to-face, but this goes against the grain of a typical babyface, which Kelly is. I think this made Kelly look kind of cowardly rather than a brave, courageous underdog. I would have had K2 come out and face Beth eye-to-eye in a staredown. Then you could have Beth just walking away, playing mind games, indicating that she’ll wait till Sunday to destroy Kelly. It also keeps Kelly as the brave, courageous, underdog babyface.
Anyhoo, despite my nitpicking, I thought the entire segment was well done this week. There was just enough progression and build for Sunday. I’m excited for SummerSlam.
What did you think of the Divas last night? Tell us in the comments!
Former WWE Diva, Melina, will make her first appearance since her release from WWE on August 20th with an autograph signing at an FWE show in Downtown Manhattan, New York.
Melina will sign autographs from 5-7pm before the card takes place at 7.30pm.
On the card will be a battle former WWE Divas as Jillian Hall takes on Jackie Haas.
Tickets for the signing and show can be purchased here.
Thoughts: Nice reunion for BFFs Jillian and Melina. If you’re in NY, sounds like a good event.
