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Raw Redux Does WWE Superstars (Jan. 7th, 2010): Getting Out of the Gate

This past Monday saw the start of an 8-Diva tournament for the Divas Championship, with Maryse advancing into the second round. The tourny continued tonight on WWE Superstars, pitting Gail Kim against Jillian. Who will get one step closer to holding that butterly belt? Watch and see:

Jillian comes down to the ring, headset on. She says how excited she is about this tournament and that she has a good feeling about her chances to go all the way. This reminds her of that Black Eyed Peas song that’s overplayed on the radio to the point that it has surpassed the category of music and and has transformed into an acute form of torture–that song being “I’ve Got a Feeling”. She, of course, butchers it, and Gail’s entrance music eventually puts a stop to it. Kim makes her way to the ring and the match is on.

They start with a tie-up, Gail taking advantage and wrenching Jillian’s arm. Jillian escapes this by rolling forward and sweeping Gail’s legs. She goes for a pin, but Kim doesn’t even let the referee get a 1-count down. Jillian picks her up and holds her in a side headlock. Gail forces Jillian back into the ropes and shoves herself free, making her run the ropes.

On the return, Jillian shoulder-blocks Gail, but Gail grabs her feet before she can go anywhere, making her fall flat on her face. Gail bridges into a pin, but barely gets 2. Kim delivers a few blows to her face and goes for an irish whip that Jillian reverses. Gail ends up in the corner, but skirts through the ropes when Jillian charges toward her. Jillian blocks a punch and lands one of her own, then going for a shoulder blow to Gail’s midsection, but Kim hoists herself up, landing in a seated position on Jillian’s back. She heads to the top rope, hitting a lateral press on Jillian and going for the pin, getting a 2-count.

Jillian gets to her feet, only to be taken down again with a frankensteiner. She tries to regroup in the corner, dodging an attack by Gail and sending her flying through the ropes. Gail manages to hang on, though, and Jillian grabs her by the hair, knocking her head against the steel post and allowing her to fall to the outside.

Jillian spears Gail against the ring apron and tosses her into the ring, attempting an unorthodox pin that Kim kicks out of. She picks Gail up and slams her back down with a sidewalk slam, going for another pin that results in another kick-out. An irish whip into the corner sends Gail into the turnbuckle and down to the mat, as she’s unable to stay on her feet.

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SmackDown Spoilers: January 8th, 2010

Spoilers for Friday’s episode of SmackDown are below. Click the ‘+’ to read.

Full spoilers now posted.

SmackDown - January 8th, 2010
*In a backstage segment, Michelle McCool, Layla El and Beth Phoenix all make fun of “Piggy James.” Layla and Michelle apologize to Beth for last week. Phoenix tells Layla they have a match tonight and she better get serious.

*Backstage, Teddy Long and Maria are discussing her being part of the upcoming Celebrity Apprentice cast. Vickie Guerrero arrives and says she would have been part of the cast as well, but she’s been too busy. She shows Maria the new WWE action figure roles and asks her to do a sales pitch for them. The Great Khali and Runjin Singh arrive and Khali says that Guerrero’s figure reminds him of a cow.

*Beth Phoenix defeated Layla El. Michelle McCool attacked Beth after the match but Mickie James made the save, then kicked Phoenix as well. (Source: PWInsider)

Erin’s thoughts after the cut:

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Raw Redux (January 4th, 2010) – Maryse Starts Her Victory Tour

If last night was any indication, the WWE better start watching their backs. No, I’m not talking about the competing returns of Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan–I’m talking about the Divas vs. the Knockouts. Both live shows saw action from them, and I believe (and, from what I can tell, this is the consensus) the Knockouts provided the more entertaining wrestling. No, this Raw Redux will not serve to bash the Divas. Rather, it will be an explanation of how they can amp up the excitement in order to avoid being upstaged by the competition again in the future, should such a “Monday Night War” occur again.

The show certainly started with some promise. With Melina‘s ACL tear (and the fact that she will be out at least until July), it was sort of a “take lemons and make lemonade” situation–with Melina forced to vacate the Divas Championship, it gave way to an 8-Diva Divas Championship Tournament. Tonight marked the start of the tournament, with the opening bout pitting the self-crowned #1 contender Maryse against Brie Bella. Watch below to see who advanced in the tourny:

I appreciate that the WWE actually acknowledged Melina’s injury on screen. I mean, they didn’t have much of a choice, but it’s leagues better than the “battling depression” excuse they used for Maryse’s 2009 absence.

Maryse makes her entrance, as does Brie (with sister Nikki in tow). As they are dressed exactly alike–Nikki in tights–it’s quite obvious that they’ll try to pull the old Bella switcheroo. I wish there were a less obvious way to pull it off, I guess it’s easier to assume that the officials are idiots. They start the match with a tie-up, Maryse taking advantage and forcing Brie against the ropes. Maryse gets a handful of hair and the referee makes her back off. She does, but not before pie-facing Brie. Brie doesn’t take this insult lying down, chasing Maryse and stopping her from escaping the the outside.

Brie backs off and Maryse exits to the ring apron, trotting on it and doing her hair flip. Brie has enough and drags her back into the ring, batting her in the face for a bit of payback for the facial delivered earlier. She tosses Maryse into the corner and works on her a bit before Maryse shoves her off. Brie delivers a kick to the midsection, tossing her around the ring a a few times by the hair before hitting a leaping snapmare. One dropkick later and Maryse heads for the outside again, looking for some separation via the ropes. Maryse obviously is lacking in peripheral vision, as she doesn’t notice Nikki right beside her, and Nikki grabs her by the hair, slamming her face-first into the announce table.

Brie returns Maryse to the ring, rolling her up for a pin attempt. Maryse kicks out at 2 and takes advantage of the match the moment she gets to her feet, delivering a few blows to Brie before irish-whipping her into the ropes. Brie kicks Maryse on the return, running the ropes and ducking a haymaker from Maryse. She attempts to leap on the ropes but can’t quit get the momentum to get there, but Maryse covers the botch well by attacking her immediately, hitting her on the back and sending her to the mat. Maryse attempts a pin, but gets a 2-count.

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Divas Championship Tournament: Brackets So Far, Prediction Game

As the Divas Championship tournament is now in full swing, we’ll be keeping you updated with our very own Divas Championship tournament brackets. The brackets so far are below:

Brackets are subject to change if WWE changes up the semi-final matches.

We’ve also put together a play-along brackets sheet for you to print off and/or mess around with in Photoshop/Paint/whatever. Just fill out your predictions, upload it somewhere and reply here in the comments with the link or send it to us via Twitter [@divadirt]. Warning: contains spoilers.

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Raw Response: January 4th, 2009

Hall of Famer, Bret Harts returns to host the first Raw of 2010, tonight. With Melina injured, how will WWE tackle the Divas Championship situation? Will she say a tearful goodbye and relinquish the belt? Will she compete and drop the title? Will there even be a new champion crowned? Discuss the show in the … Read more

Mickie James Earns Another Women’s Title Shot

Kind of a random place to make an announcement, but it seems as though Mickie James is once again the #1 Contender for the WWE Women’s Championship according to WWE.com’s POWER 25. For the week ending January 1st, Mickie came in at #18 with the description: The beautiful Diva was impressive on SmackDown, defeating the … Read more

Natalya Scheduled for Monday’s Raw

SmackDown Diva, Natalya and her fellow Hart Dynasty team mates will be appearing on Raw this coming Monday as the show will be hosted by Nattie’s uncle, Bret Hart. With Melina expected to relinquish the Divas Championship on Monday night, it would be momentous to see Natalya shockingly take the title, wouldn’t it? Especially on … Read more

SmackDown Redux (January 1st, 2009) – New Year’s Day Dominance

The first Divas match of 2010 ended in a fight for dominance for the SmackDown Divas, as three of the Divas tried to show the others who’s boss. But before that, we got to see another match between Beth Phoenix and Mickie James. It may be a new year but some things never change! Watch … Read more

Second Divas Match Cut from Tonight’s SmackDown (+ Video Clip)

A second Divas match taped for tonight’s episode of SmackDown was cut from the broadcast, it seems. A six person tag team match saw Diva of the Year, Maria team with Slam Master J and Jimmy Wang Yang against Natalya‘s team, The Hart Dynasty. According to spoilers for the taping, Natalya attacked Maria after the … Read more

Raw Redux Does WWE Superstars (Dec. 31st, 2009): A-Fox vs A-List

In possibly her final match for a few months [*sniffle*], Divas Champion Melina took on a familiar challenger, Alicia Fox. Given the great matches that these two had earlier this year on SmackDown and also given the fact that they happen to be two of my favourite Divas, what better way to end 2009? Watch … Read more

Smackdown Spoilers: January 1st, 2010

Spoilers for this week’s Smackdown are up–click below to read them. The show airs Friday, January 1st, 2010.

Smackdown - January 1st, 2010
-Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James with Michelle McCool and Layla on commentary: Mickie scores the pin fall after a quick roll-up. Following the match, McCool and Layla hit the ring and attack Mickie James. Beth Phoenix then attacks McCool and ends up hitting her finisher on Mickie James before leaving the ring.

-The Hart Dynasty and Natalya vs Jimmy Wang Yang, Slam Master J and Maria: The Hart Dynasty wins, and after the match Maria and Natalya continue to fight. Natalya locks on the sharpshooter for a bit before leaving the ring.

Thoughts under the cut:

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Raw Redux (December 28th, 2009) – Maryse: “Je Suis la Prochain Championne”

It seems as though last week’s Santa’s Little Helpers match actually had some bearing on the future, as apparently Kelly Kelly‘s pin on Maryse has led to a match between the two this week. Will it be better than last week’s short skirt convention? There’s only one way to find out: Maryse starts the match, … Read more

Random Observations from Last Night’s Raw

The random observations column is back with a bang, as I take you through Raw by way of my brain! * Gail Bella, anyone? All she needed really was a matching outfit. * Speaking of her outfit, I can’t help but feel there may have been a little more on show than just her legs … Read more

WWE Superstars Spoilers for New Year’s Eve (December 31st)

See in the New Year with Divas action! The show airs on Thursday night at 8pm on WGN America. Click the ‘+’ to read:

WWE Superstars - New Years Eve
– Melina def. Alicia Fox
Alicia tried to head to the back, but Melina came after her and brought her back to the ring. Typical heel gets offense in before Melina picked up the win. (Source: ProWrestling.net)

Thoughts after the cut:

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SmackDown Redux (December 25th, 2009) – A Christmas Corker

Santa has delivered this week’s SmackDown early, hurrah! So instead of interrupting your Christmas Day celebrations, and mine, I thought I’d write the Redux tonight instead.

This week’s Christmas Day edition of SmackDown was sort of like a Christmas cracker — someone gets a prize but someone has to lose. It’s all very bittersweet. That’s how I felt about this week’s edition of SmackDown. On the one hand, the blue brand once again delivered gripping Divas action that will leave you on tenterhooks until next week but on the other hand, there was an over-abundance of that God awful ‘Piggie James’ crap to boot. I’d like to think however, that by all the Divas action was said and done — the Christmas edition of SmackDown was quite the corker!

Let’s start off with the backstage segment in which Michelle McCool and Layla give Mickie James a Christmas gift:

So Michelle and Layla present Mickie with a Jenny Craig gift certificate and it’s very evident that whoever wrote this put more effort into coming up with the ‘Christmas ham’ line than most things they do with the Divas. The creative new ways they seem to find every week to insult Mickie goes to show that when they actually care, the writers put in effort. It’s a shame what they care about is ridiculing a long time, valuable employee on national television every fucking week. The end of the segment sees a long gazing shot at Mickie who is clearly upset by McCool and Layla’s ‘gift’.

As for the acting in this segment, despite what was being said, I thought McCool and Layla had good delivery. Though the unison chanting with hands in the air has already gotten old. As horrible as it may be, the attention that this storyline has gotten week to week, has to be something of a motivator to Michelle because I feel she’s stepped up her game in recent weeks in the acting department. She does sell the part well and I think this could be the storyline that finally draws her heat from the crowd.

Next up, we have a Divas tag team match.

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Raw Redux (December 21st, 2009) – It’s the Most Pointless Time of the Year

As we all have become accustomed, this is the time of the year where folks sing carols, wrap presents, and the Divas amount to nothing more than skimpy red costumes. So we saw this coming, and it shouldn’t be surprise that this week’s Raw was absolutely pointless. In what has become an annual thing, Melina, … Read more

Raw Response: December 21st, 2009

Tonight’s Raw is hosted by New York Yankee, Johnny Damon. Will his role in the show lead to a baseball-themed gimmick match for the Divas? Will we get a Christmas-themed gimmick match? Discuss the show in the comments! Join us later tonight for the Post-Raw Show with Steven & Tiffany!