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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes: Glam Slam Mailbag #2 + First Glam Slam Reader Profile

It’s time for the second “Hitting the Ropes” Glam Slam mailbag!  I enjoyed writing the first one so much I thought I would make this a regular feature.  Thanks to all of you who submitted questions!

OK, let’s jump right in… 

Reader: madslam2009
“Who is your favorite TNA Knockout and what do you like about her?”

Mr. G – I really like the Beautiful People because I have always liked tag teams more than individual wrestlers (Fabulous Firebirds notwithstanding…) I like how they generate a lot of controversy and stay prominently involved in TNA’s storylines.  I admit they are not the most technical wrestlers in the world but that has never been my #1 concern.  I gravitate towards performers that I find “interesting”, and there really haven’t been many great female tag teams (although I would definitely put LayCool at the top of any short list).  I like that there have been several iterations of the Beautiful People, and I think they look great together, cut decent promos, and can carry themselves as faces or  heels.  My problem with TNA is the lack of interesting opponents for them to wrestler (I am not a big Tara fan) so I would welcome a feud with Mickie James upon her arrival to TNA. 

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Saying Goodbye to the Women’s Championship & Why This Could Be a Positive

The retirement of the WWE Women’s Championship has been the big talk of the town here at Diva Dirt in the past week. The DD team has weighed in and multiple former champions have weighed in including but not limited to Beth Phoenix, Mickie James and Melina. We also got the comments of a certain legendary former champion too, but more on that later.

It’s with a heavy heart that all of us women’s wrestling fans say goodbye to the Women’s Championship. Say what you will about WWE’s Divas product in the past few years, but the history and lineage of that belt — dating back 54 years — must be respected. Female wrestlers who we recognise today dreamed about holding that championship belt when they were simply fans just like the rest of us. As Sara Del Rey, a woman who has never held the belt but obviously respects it, said: “In many ways, that was the most prestigious belt in all of women’s wrestling.” While I would argue that SHIMMER, pound for pound, delivers the best quality championship matches in the ring, no belt has the same visibility and lineage as the WWE Women’s Championship did. Seen by millions of viewers on a weekly basis and around the world, the majority of fans have grown up with this belt and trained themselves to think of it is the ultimate prize for a woman in wrestling.

Judging by the comments made by those aforementioned former champions, they have obviously been touched to have had the honor and privilege of holding that title. While wrestling is scripted, perhaps we underestimate what the words, ‘Former WWE Women’s Champion’ appended to one’s name can do for your career — even beyond WWE. While physically the belt has changed appearance over the years, to be considered as part of the same lineage as WWE Hall of Famers, Fabulous Moolah and Wendi Richter, is a ‘money can’t buy’ feeling for our Divas today. Following in the footsteps of even Trish Stratus, while a more modern day name, is an honor also.

The women’s division in WWE may not be where it was at a few years ago when Trish Stratus and Lita battled in the main event of Raw for that belt, and some of the matches may not have been as lengthy or memorable, but the prestige of the belt speaks for itself.

So as we say goodbye to the Women’s Championship, I want to take this moment to also say thank you. Thank you to all of those women who have held the belt, who have tried their hardest to uphold the legacy of their predecessors and most importantly, who have tried their hardest to entertain us fans as champion. No doubt, we all have our own personal favourite champions and championship reigns, but each woman tried to bring their own touch to that belt and here we are today. Thank you to all of you!

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes (Issue #16) – All Dressed Up

 

Like a lot of readers on this site I am in love with a pretty brunette from Los Angeles.  No, no, no…it’s not Melina, although I will admit she is pretty sensational.  Great looking, great worker.  But c’mon, she defeated my beloved Glamazon at the 2009 Royal Rumble and stole her Women’s Championship.  An egregious crime that I may never get over.  Not only do I look more and more like an elephant as I get older, I have a memory like one too.  Sorry Melina…it still hurts.

No, this particular brunette has been a part of my life for 23 years now, and to this day she still gives me butterflies and makes me feel light-headed.  It all started back in the summer of 1987 when I was attending basketball camp at Franklin & Marshall College.  At the end of the week my parents took me to the school bookstore so I could get a t-shirt or pair of shorts.  As I was making my way back to the clothing section I passed the magazine rack and…BAM…something hit me right between the eyes.  I felt like I had been hit by a bulldozer.  Staring back at me was the most picturesque, beautiful woman I had ever seen.  There she was, like an angel, on the cover of that month’s SPIN magazine – Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles.  I’m not sure I believe in love at first site…but that was definitely the first time I felt incredibly attracted to a woman.  I didn’t know a lot about the Bangles in general, but I knew I would soon be finding out much, much more.

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Southern Belle Smack: The NXT Season Three Debate… Is it Doomed to Fail?

Season three of NXT is no doubt the most talked about season so far in the show’s history. Last week, during the finale of season two, Josh Mathews and Michael Cole made a historic announcement by telling us that season three is going to be comprised entirely of Diva rookies. When the average wrestling fan hears the term ‘Diva’, he automatically assumes that a hot girl with a nice set of puppies will walk out to the ring. Or what’s worse, is average fan may believe Diva time is really bathroom time. The majority of average wrestling fans are ignoramuses, but the point remains the same. What the term ‘Diva’ actually stands for is overcoming the odds in WWE land. That’s exactly what six rookie Divas have a chance to accomplish starting this week on NXT.

The decision to make NXT 3 about the Divas was met with a lot of well documented controversy. Fans, pro wrestling media personnel, and “writerz” took to their Twitters, Facebooks, MySpaces, etc. to make their feelings known about this upcoming all Diva show. A nice chunk of these people took one look at the pros and decided not to watch. Some people decided to just talk a lot of smack and back up their verbal BS with weak arguments and ridiculous ‘facts’. The saving grace in all of this were the real Diva fans. They chose to remain open-minded and optimistic.

The all Diva season of NXT could go one of these two ways: it could either be a success and the WWE could find their next breakout Diva or it could go the opposite way and be an epic failure.

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes (Issue #15) – Miss Elizabeth Tribute

Recently I was having a bad day at work so I needed something to lift my spirits.  When I got home the family was out on a play date, so I went downstairs, threw on my blue Glamasuit, and watched a replay of Extreme Rules 2010.  As always, Beth’s title victory did the trick.  I perked right back up.

Not a day goes by that I don’t think back to April 25, 2010, Baltimore, MD, when my beloved Glamazon pinned Michelle McCool to capture the WWE women’s championship.   I have such great memories of that night.  Sitting in the front row.  Cheering like a little kid.  Jumping around as the ref counted three.  I’ve watched the match 12,809 times and I enjoy it every time.  To me the match is perfect.  (I’d say it was “flawless” but, you know, I don’t want to have to pay royalties…).

But I finally admitted something to myself the other night.  As much as I treasure the match, it wasn’t “perfect”.  I have been so in love with the result that I overlooked 2 aspects of the match that sadly affect its historical impact.  First of all, the match was booked as an “Extreme Makeover” match.  WTF?!?  Were the rules ever fully explained?  Two premier workers shouldn’t decide the women’s title by using ironing boards and make-up tables.  Too “gimmicky”.  Secondly, the match was on the Extreme Rules PPV, a show people will ultimately forget (seriously, name 3 matches without heading to Wikipedia).  This wasn’t exactly WrestleMania.  So even though I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement that night, I have to finally admit the match wasn’t perfect.

Which got me thinking…

Has there ever been a perfect match?

Obviously this is a very subjective topic.  I think it would be very, very hard to get two people to agree on the definition of “perfection”.  So how would I define the “perfect match”?  Glad you asked…

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes – Glam Slam Mailbag #1

Welcome to the first “Hitting the Ropes” Glam Slam mailbag!  I enjoy writing my normal column but I thought it would be exciting to mix things up a little bit.  I’m not exactly sure where I want to go with this, but at the very least it is a chance to interact with you, the readers, and to discuss some new topics and issues.  Of course we’ll still talk about women’s wrestling but I thought I would open up Pandora’s Box and see what else is on your collective minds.  Maybe along the way we’ll learn something about each other and…God forbid…even have a little fun.  (I know, I know, I sound like such a mark.)  So, I hope you enjoy the Glam Slam mailbag, a mixture of serious, humorous, and thoughtful responses to your questions and comments.  Plus a few wrinkles thrown in for good measure…        

Some Glam Slam ground rules: No topic is off limits.  You want to comment on movies, TV, music, sports, politics, etc, go ahead and drop me a note.  If there something specific you want to ask me about the Divas, Knockouts, etc., please don’t be shy.  I will try to include all of your comments and questions unless they are rude or vulgar.  Can’t have that.  Also, if I don’t have an interesting response or I just don’t know what the hell you are talking about, I will either 1) reach out for help from my fellow Diva Dirt writers or 2) make up an answer.  I hope nobody takes this too seriously.  I have already received a bunch of good questions and I appreciate that.  Fortunately I won’t have to make up questions to fill out this column.

So let’s get started! 

Reader: BPhoenix1933
“Who do you think is the prettiest Diva in the WWE?  And do you have plans Saturday night?”

Mr. G. – ok, ok, just seeing if you’re paying attention….

Here we go for real…. 

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Lay-Cool & Melina: Where Do We Go from Here?

Last night’s SummerSlam pay per view is in the history books and while Steven will be reviewing the Divas match at length later, I wanted to broach the subject of Lay-Cool vs Melina, which was teased to us at the end of the Divas Championship match. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but last night’s attack on Melina at the hands of SmackDown’s mean girls opened up a world of opportunity and to me, was the Diva equivalent of the then-NXT season one rookies hitting the ring on Raw back in June, in that now infamous ‘Tiegate’ segment.

“Why was Lay-Cool there?” “Why did they attack Melina?” Those were just some of the questions that people were asking last night. Did it all make sense? No. But then again, did that NXT invasion all make sense that Monday night in June? Answers, I expect, will come tonight and in the coming weeks on Raw and SmackDown.

For what it was, however, last night’s angle was an explosive and exciting way to begin what seems like a new cross-promotional feud between the self-professed co-Women’s Champions and the new Divas Champion. WWE quite literally kicked things off with a bang, with Michelle McCool hitting that devastating running knee into a defenceless Melina, who was propped up against the announcers’ table. Kudos to all involved, because that had me — and I suspect many of you — anticipating what would happen next.

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes – Issue #14

 

 “CHANGE” 

That was the title of the email.  Short, simple, just one word.  Uh oh.  I just knew this wasn’t going to be good.  Like when the phone rings too late at night and you don’t want to answer it because you know it’s never good news.  My heart started beating really, really fast.  “Oh dear God I’m afraid to open it,” I thought to myself.  I stared at the screen for 5 solid minutes.  Finally I clicked the email message and read the bad news from the casting agency.

“I’m sorry to say the client has decided to only use the girl.  I know you’re disappointed.  I’ll try to make it up to you.”  

The client?  World Wrestling Entertainment. 

Another few moments passed.  I really don’t know how long I sat there staring at my computer screen, honestly.  I took a deep breath, walked upstairs and told my wife, “Well, you’ll never believe it.  They’re not using me tomorrow.”  She could see the disappointment in my face.  Nothing “life or death”, but real disappointment.  She felt badly for me, she tried to lift my spirits, but I was pretty down in the dumps.

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes – Issue #13

 

Diva Dirt’s own Jennifer recently shared a great story:

In an interview I had a few weeks ago, we were asked, ‘If money was no question, and if you didn’t have to work for your livelihood, what would you do?’ My hand shot up. I was honest; I said, ‘I’d wrestle.’ The whole room erupted into laughter. The interviewer said, ‘Really?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to wrestle.’ She thought I was the most interesting person in that interview, hah. I make no apologies – I’ll admit I’m a wrestling fan and if the conversation goes farther I admit my real passion is for women’s wrestling. If folks aren’t mature enough to handle that, then sucks for them. They don’t know what they’re missing.

 
I love this story for several reasons.  First of all, I love people’s passions.  I don’t care if you love the Civil War, collecting bottle caps, or writing poetry.  I am interested in hearing more about it.  I like seeing someone’s eyes light up when they talk about something they care about.  I love how Jennifer didn’t worry about the reaction in the room.  That’s the great thing about believing in something, about having a true passion.  You feel it inside of you and that’s all that matters.  I also love this story because it made me think, “Jesh, how would I truly answer that question?”  What would I truly love to do with my life?  

Well for starters, I know I wasn’t born to be a project manager.  The job is fine, I work with nice people, and I enjoy business travel, but I don’t jump out of bed every day and mark out because I get to generate project plans.  When I was a kid I saw the movie JAWS and wanted to be a marine biologist, but now I’m afraid of the ocean.  Plus I don’t really want to be in a small boat all the time…I like my TiVo too much.  So I’m glad I didn’t follow through with that.  The truth is that I’ve always kind of known what I wanted to be when I “grew up”.  I was born to be a booker.  I was born to script professional wrestling.  I never figured out how to pursue this dream, but I started to feel this way the night I saw my first match, October 1985 at the Hershey Park Arena.  The next thing I know I am buying my first Big John Studd action figure and I’ve been booking ever since.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the actual matches, but I have always been more interested in putting together the card, of building the excitement of an entire show from one match to the next.  I think I’m pretty good at it too, because ever since 1985 I have been putting asses in seats.

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TNA Announces ECW-Inspired PPV: Should They Bring Back the ECW Vixens?

Always first for originality, TNA’s next pay per view — Hard Justice — has been renamed Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand and will be a tribute show featuring many ECW originals. But of the names rumoured so far [Jerry Lynn, CW Anderson etc.], there doesn’t seem to be any women from the original ECW. Hmm, just an oversight I’m sure…

To help out Dixie and co., here’s our guide to the four women we’d like to see:

Beulah

Hardcore history: Making her ECW debut in 1995, Beulah was introduced a major catalyst in a feud between Tommy Dreamer and Raven. The two feuded over Beulah and there were many twists and turns including a fake pregnancy. After siding with Dreamer, Beulah was then revealed to have had an affair — with a woman! Perhaps her biggest highlight is a bloody brawl with Bill Alfonso. Beulah re-emerged in the WWE incarnation of ECW, catfighting with old rival Francine at One Night Stand in 2005 and then competing in a six-person tag match involving Lita in 2006.
Why she should be at the PPV: As Tommy Dreamer’s wife, it’s entirely possibly that Beulah may turn up at Hardcore Justice. Dreamer is reportedly putting the show together and it’d wouldn’t be a surprise to see his wife by his side at the pay per view. Perhaps a Dreamer/Raven rematch for old time’s sake with Beulah at ringside?

Watch Beulah’s match with Alfonso below:

More after the cut:

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The Artist Formerly Known as Katie Lea’s Short & Snappy Tales of Greatness – Issue #1

Diva Dirt is honored to welcome former WWE Diva, Katie Lea aka Kat Waters to the team as she brings her column ‘Short & Snappy Tales of Greatness’ to our readers. Welcome, Kat!

So a few weeks ago (OMG, times goes fast when you‘re fabulous!), as many as you clever, clever people who follow me on Twitter know (it’s @dawgkilla for all you poor backwards people who don’t), I was watching the very interesting movie ‘Rollerball’. Now I am not about to turn this into a full-blown movie review- as, first of all, the movie is not new and has probably been reviewed to death, but second of all- I really couldn’t figure out what it was all about.

What I did want to mention, however, was the fascinating discovery that this film about a crazy roller derby/basketball mix featured not only Paul Heyman (in a prominent role), but also Shane McMahon (in a smaller part) and an extra that looked just like Justin Roberts… Imagine my surprise! And here I was, thinking I had invented the roller derby-wrestling connection courtesy of my very excellent, downright amazing rollerderbyist sister, @nuke_leah (again, Twitter-speak… follow her everybody!).

So, turns out, roller derby is nothing new. Be that as it may, it is of late experiencing somewhat of a new wave, a renaissance quasi- in fact, it has been referred to as the up-and-coming sport, the one to watch, the bandwagon to jump on. Which means of course that I, the notorious dawgkilla, am hereby pressing my finger firmly down on that pulse. And in timely manner, by a stroke of luck I finally got to watch my sis live and in colour, skating rollers and kicking ass… And thus figured out what makes this sport so special.

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How to Salvage What’s Left of the Knockouts Division

When former Knockouts Champion, Tara’s contract with TNA expires on May 21st, there will be a gap in the Knockouts division that needs to be filled. For the past year it seems, the entire division has revolved around Tara in one way or another, she is without a doubt the star power of that division and has been the top Knockout from the moment she came in to the moment she leaves. One woman doesn’t necessarily define a division, but with a spate of departures including the high profile loss of Awesome Kong  and the streamlining of lesser used Knockouts including Traci Brooks, Alissa Flash and Roxxi, TNA hasn’t positioned itself very well for a division without Tara. So what happens when she leaves?

The ideal candidate to helm the new Knockouts division as top babyface would be the recently injured Angelina Love, but TNA has done themselves no favours by limiting the roles of two former Knockouts Champions — ODB and Taylor Wilde — in recent months  because there’s no strong secondary babyface to help prop up the division and make up the numbers along with Angelina. The heel side looks stronger as currently, The Beautiful People at the moment hold all the gold. Daffney is another extremely strong character and worker that could be a real asset to the division. Then there’s Sarita & Hamada, arguably two of the best female wrestlers in the world, just sitting on the sidelines and going to waste. TNA has given us little reason to care about most of these Knockouts over the past several months. And with that, I think that post-Tara, TNA needs to draw a line under everything that the Knockouts division has stood for so far and ‘reboot’ the division almost. Do something bold, imaginative and attention-grabbing to draw attention back to this division.

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Guest Blog: ‘Why WWE Needs Awesome Kong’ by John Canton

Having listened to the Awesome Kong interview here at Diva Dirt and read a recent radio recap from her, one thing is perfectly clear to me: Awesome Kong wants to work for World Wrestling Entertainment. She’s not outright campaigning for it, but if you listen to her, you can tell she’s interested. The question is, does WWE have the same interest? I have no idea. The thing is, they definitely should and I’ll be happy to tell you why.

By signing Awesome Kong, WWE would be breaking the mold of what they believe a WWE Diva should be. Look at the women they have under employment. More than half of them had little or no wrestling experience before they were signed by the company. Awesome Kong is not like that. Kong started wrestling eight years ago, she had a lot of success working in Japan and then made a name for herself in 2007 with TNA. Anybody that saw her work with Gail Kim in TNA could see immediately how much talent she had. I had never seen her before that feud and it took my breath away. They told an amazing story by simply having Kong dominate due to her size while Kim came back with her athleticism. A lot of people took notice of her after that feud and it turned out they were a ratings draws too. Kong was unlike anything we’ve seen in American women’s wrestling.

The majority of the WWE Divas are also thin. We all know how shallow the WWE writing team can be if they feel somebody isn’t thin enough. They call them fat. They insult. They act like a bunch of eight year old kids on the playground. Awesome Kong is not thin. She’s a physical force standing in at 5’11” and 270 pounds. When she walks into a room, you notice her.

How do you bring her in? Easy. As a heel monster. On either brand. The easiest story to tell in professional wrestling will always be the bigger wrestler versus the smaller wrestler. The backstory doesn’t even matter. Let the picture do the talking. Big person = mean, small person = heroic. Easy. Done. A five year old kid can understand just as well as a seventy-five year old senior could. Let’s look at the easy way to bring her in on both Raw and SmackDown.

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A Week of Drastic Change (But Not Really) in Women’s Wrestling

It’s funny how things can change so much in just seven days, yet still remain very much the same. Since last Thursday, it’s been one bombshell after another. In the last seven days, both WWE and TNA have made, I’m sure what they consider to be ‘wise business decisions’, in releasing Mickie James and allowing Tara to slip through their fingers. It is odd to watch this as a fan, as we effectively need to readjust the way we watch women’s wrestling on national television and prepare ourselves to no longer see two women, who combined, have probably entertained us for some 12-13 years. When it rains, it pours, right?

I say that things still remain the same because though these two extremely popular women have moved on or are going to move on, the status quo remains unchanged and that status quo is that the women aren’t considered as valuable as the men. Who’d have thought that Mickie James, the heir apparent to Trish Stratus’ throne, would leave under any circumstance other than her own? James seemingly had a meal ticket for as long as she wanted and seemingly had a send-off somewhere between Trish’s and the then-Victoria’s whenever she did hang up her boots. Where did it all go wrong? I’m sure you’re reading much speculation on the Internet, but it baffles me that WWE would dismiss the fact that Mickie was the most popular Diva in the WWE with audience reaction far more than that of some of the men they seem intent on pushing to the moon. Perhaps Mickie’s release should have been foreshadowed when WWE pulled a similar stunt in February, releasing Maria Kanellis, also extremely popular as proven by the fact that she won a worldwide fan vote for ‘Diva of the Year’ in December. Are the women that expendable? Are they that interchangeable?

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Krissy Vaine’s Final Vainety Fair: A Death and a Rebirth

What’s is in a name? Does it define who and what we are? What we mean to people? Or what we mean to ourselves? In some cases I think so… Krissy Vaine was a character that I conjured up in my imagination about eight years ago. She’s been to a lot of places and done a lot of things. She has been a WWE Diva (for a hot second) and spent many hours on the road working the independent circuit. She has made friends and enemies. She has seen the good, the bad and the ugly (and has been ugly herself) of the wrestling world and still managed to come out alive, yet different if that makes sense? All of these experiences must have an effect and change a person, right? I hope so. Otherwise what has all this been for? Krissy Vaine, eight years ago and Mrs. Vaine of the present are two completely different people. I’m now older, wiser and much, much more patient. All of the ups and downs and the crazy rollercoaster was for the better good of my growth — at least that’s how I’ve come to look at it. Slowly but surely, I’ve begun to resonate less and less with ‘Krissy VAINNNNE’. After 29 years, I believe that I’m actually comfortable with looking in the mirror and saying, “Hello Kristin, how the heck are ya? Glad to have ya back.”

Krissy Vaine was a mask. A facade to cover up the fact that on the inside, Kristin was a real hot mess. Krissy Vaine had confidence, while Kristin did not. Krissy Vaine had many people who loved her, while Kristin did not, Vaine knew who she was and Kristin did not have a clue… I knew who and what I wanted to be, but I was far from attaining it. The thing about masks and facades is that they only last for so long. You can only attempt to be something you are not for a certain period of time before it’s so hard on your soul that you snap. I fortunately got to snap in front of the whole world… Yay me! Haha. Something else that began to happen was that I really started to believe I was the ‘fake replica’ that I had conjured up of myself and I became that monster. I was lost and needed to find myself again. And with a quickness.

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try to Hide Your Astonishment

vainetyfair

“If at first you don’t succeed, try to hide your astonishment” could not have been a more perfect title to Vainety Fair today. Just the thought made me double over in laughter to put a light spin on what could be considered a painful day. You see, I was rejected today. Yes me, Krissy Vaine, rejected for the millionth, bazillionth time in my life and it was not fun! Honestly, rejection never gets easier, but the amount of time I take it personally has reduced drastically over the years. Thank goodness! Fear of rejection is what I believe, keeps many people in their same redundant ‘safe’ life. Scared to come outside of their box, scared to spread their wings and fly. Luckily, I think of myself as pretty resilient, though it’s not always easy to be so! Human nature craves acceptance and it is one of the best feelings in the world when we do get it. But not everything can be rosy all the time! That wouldn’t even make sense… how would we grow? As a wrestling diva, model, actress and person who’s chosen to be in the entertainment business, I’ve had my fair share of both. But to be honest with all of you, there are many more nos in this business than yeses. That being said, it still doesn’t make it any easier.

Last week, I had an audition here in the town where I live for a big production that would be taking place in the springtime. Funny thing about these auditions is that you are often in a waiting room staring at your competition. Sizing them up. Wondering what their credentials are in comparison to yours and of course, if the role calls for a certain ‘look’, trying to figure out who is the best fit. Of course in my own mind, I was above and beyond the best person for the role. I nailed the audition, fit the character prototype perfectly, and honestly in my opinion, was the bomb diggity and a shoe in. (At this point, a piece of humble pie would be appreciated.) Good grief!

You can imagine my shock and utter amazement when I am informed by email that someone else was given the part! Grr, what?! EXCUSE ME??? In 0.2 seconds flat, my ego began to take over; tears started to well in my eyes, my bottom lip started to quiver and the waterworks started. It took me back to the 10th grade when I was cut from the cheerleading squad. In 10th grade, I thought my life was over. I had been cheering since I was practically born and what would I do for the year without it? And why me? What had I done to deserve that? However, somehow I got through that year and I expanded my horizons and branched out to learn things I never would have if I had been busy with the squad. I traveled with a theatre group and I started my first job that would teach me to work for my independence. The next year, I made the squad again as if a beat had never been skipped. The year without it had actually been a blessing and many lessons had been learned.

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The “Piggie James” Impact

If you’re a fan of women’s wrestling and more specifically, the WWE Divas, then you are familiar with the “Piggie James” storyline that has graced our television screens in recent weeks. The angle has ignited a lot of discussion and controversy due to the sensitive issue it has been dealing with; a woman’s weight and image. The WWE constantly promotes their women as smart, sexy, and powerful and with those labels come certain expectations. I’m almost positive the girls employed by World Wrestling Entertainment are expected to maintain their appearance at the highest level they possibly can. I’m purely speculating here, but seeing as how the majority of their roster is filled with models, the girls get hired for their looks alone. If want to sit here and nitpick, the male portion of the roster has its fair share of lookers to but that’s not what’s important today. In the entertainment world, looks are everything, and as sad as it is, Mickie James could be considered big for a diva by some people.

Personally, I find it absolutely ridiculous to call Mickie James fat, but the writers over at the ‘E saw a chance for a storyline and they decided to role with it. Week after week we got a chance to see then Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, and her BFF, Layla, humiliate and taunt Mickie for being “overweight”. Team Laycool (and sometimes Beth Phoenix) made Mickie’s life a living hell until the Royal Rumble when Mickie finally got some much needed and oh so sweet revenge. Laycool got served a nasty little dish of their own medicine and Michelle suffered the ultimate embarrassment of losing her precious title in less than a minute. I thought the end justified the storyline, and overall I thought the angle was brilliant. Lets face it, the WWE just doesn’t care about their divas like they used too. The Diva division has suffered in the post-Trish era. I don’t know if it’s because the WWE just doesn’t care these days, or if it’s because they don’t have the confidence in any of their women like they had Trish. Either way, women haven’t had legit storylines in a long time and their three minute matches have been sloppily put together and terrible to say the least.

Since the draft last April, Smackdown has more than proven itself as the place to be if you’re a diva. The girls on the blue brand are given a little more time and for the most part, better writing. As a diva fan, I didn’t find Piggie James appalling whatsoever. I found it funny, dramatic, annoying, and I enjoyed it. As a woman, I sympathized with Mickie and wanted to punch Michelle McCool and her perfect little self in the face. Us diva fans were FINALLY given a storyline we could get emotionally attached too. We were made to root for Mickie and we were made to hate on LayCool for their terrible actions. All women were given mic time. They were given segments. The storyline had extreme build and that’s something we haven’t seen since the days of Trish and Lita. Our girls were finally given time to shine. I had no idea Michelle was capable of comedy. I had no clue I could ever be made to want Mickie James win a match. I was so excited to see what Beth Phoenix would do and which side she would pick. I even marked out for Maria when she got herself involved and cut the best promo she’s ever done. This simple, childish storyline brought something out of each and every woman involved and it was refreshing to see. Despite the touchy issue it was built on, I think everything worked out well in the end. Us Diva fans were finally given a reason to get excited and emotional.

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Who Believes in You?

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“Who believes in me?”… A question I have often asked myself and at times had a hard time answering, just as I’m sure many of you have. Sometimes I don’t even believe in myself. How can I possibly say that? We should all believe in ourselves. Have faith we can attain our goals and achieve our dreams, but what blocks us from doing so? I’m a prime example of fear over running my life and letting it get the best of me. How do we, myself included, keep from living a “fear based” life in a fear based world? Turn on the news, the radio, open up a newspaper and all you see is trouble, sadness, and anxiety that brinks on paranoia. I try not to watch or read any of these things at this point in my life. The human race has become so focused on what is negative and fearful that we almost don’t know how to receive positive and good in our life. We don’t know how to accept “great news” for fear that we don’t deserve it, and something bad may be lurking around the corner. We walk around with the attitude that mediocrity is ok. That we are supposed to go to school, get a good job with “benefits” and live the same doldrum life until we die??? What about finding true happiness? Realizing what makes your soul sing and come alive!

Whenever I think of someone who always believed in me a loving, no GLEAMING, thought of my grandfather “Alvin” comes to mind. He called me “Hollywood” from the time I was a tiny tot. This was before I had dreams or aspirations to become anything at all. He always acknowledged something special about me and was never afraid to tell me. When I think back was really a rare thing in my family. He was such an amazing man.. The most loveable, fun and young spirited man I’ve ever met to this day. In his sixties he was watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and would keep me updated if I missed an episode.

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The Revelation That is Kristal Lashley

Five years ago, a petite, young, pretty model took part in a little competition called the Diva Search — who knew then that she’d open her mouth and turn out to be one of the best talkers we have right now? A Vickie Guerrero for TNA if you will, Kristal Lashley has been extremely impressive … Read more

Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Randomness with the ADHD Kicking

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Gosh, where do I start? Everyone prepare themselves for a random column this week! First of all, hey y’all! How you doing? I hope everyone is doing great this holiday season! I sure am! Whew, I have been slammed recently with my business and it has left me little to no time at the computer! I’m not complaining though — I feel totally blessed. We are in a recession, you know! So much has been happening, I don’t even know where to start.

Well here’s some good news — I have started working out again (first time in a gym in two years) lol. Gosh, that is totally embarassing and a true athlete would never admit to that, right? Oh well, I’m honest, like me or not! It feels good though. I enjoyed being ‘skinny fat’ for the last two years but honestly, I had taken a long enough break! Speaking of ‘breaks’ I’ve also had a pretty long one from wrestling… I think now that I’m training to become to become a 5-star athlete (wink,wink, hee hee hee) again maybe I’ll give wrestling another go. I had a ‘semi-comeback’ last year but that wasn’t really working out the way I wanted. You know by the time you get to a certain age, you just really like to march to the beat of your own drum. Actually I’ve always been like that lol! So I’ve taken some time and regrouped. Oh I’ll give you a lil spoiler, you won’t be seeing Krissy Vaine at TNA for the tag tournament next week. That synchronicity thing I’ve talked about before is so funny! Timing is everything and unfortunately I was already obligated to something else by the time this idea came to fruition. This go round, because I have looked less than professional in the past (and that is not my nature) I have to do things the right way. It’s really important for me to do so. So whomever I’m with, I’ll be giving that company 100%  — no more one show appearances for me. Its not fair to anyone involved. I do have some very exciting and interesting things going on in the New Year.

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Making Sense of Last Night’s Slammy Shocker

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Last night’s WWE Slammy Awards were the nail in the coffin for what has been a year of disappointment. From the Miss WrestleMania battle royal to the ‘Mayweather Melee‘ to the Diva Bowl and not forgetting the ‘Indians vs Pilgrims‘ match leading into Maryse’s lackluster return. Given the track record WWE has had with it’s Divas this year, in hindsight, we were far too optimistic for the Slammys to be the exception to the rule. From the nominations fiasco to the award being handed out on Raw, it’s been a marred process.

Clearly, it hasn’t been a good year for the Divas and last night summed up precisely what was so wrong about it. But try to make sense of the situation:

Maria’s win
Before we even begin, I’m not going to sit here and blast Maria for winning Diva of the Year, her win wasn’t under her control and it’s unfair to judge her personally for being chosen to win. It’s her moment and good for her. I can’t say I think she deserves the award but I’m not going to hold it against her.

Who deserves the blame
Let’s direct this annoyance at the people that it should be directed at — WWE. As the opening paragraph suggests, this whole year has been letdown after letdown at the hands of WWE. A year that could make even the most unrelenting Diva fan question why they continue to watch. Whether the vote was truly the results of a fan vote or if it was booked in Maria’s favour we’ll never know, but I’m sure there are theories to suggest both.

As pointed out in the Post-Raw Show and in the Raw Redux, Maria is set to be part of a big ensemble cast for the Celebrity Apprentice on NBC next year. Perhaps Maria’s Slammy win was their way of pushing her in that series. If you hear Donald Trump putting her over on the show as WWE’s Diva of the Year, then you’ll know. Especially since the show has already filmed. I mean, you gotta compensate Maria on that show somehow right? The show often boasts about the celebrities’ accolades in creating a competitive atmosphere. “Maria, WWE Diva” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “Cyndi Lauper, multi-platinum selling artist” does it? “Maria, WWE Diva of the Year” is a little more grandiose.

One of the things everyone, fans and critics alike, have pointed out is if this was truly fan voted, wouldn’t Mickie James win? Mickie is usually the winner of all of these fan polls and is unarguably, the most popular Diva in the WWE right now. That’s not to downplay Maria’s popularity — because she is up there. She and Kelly have a great rapport with the fans and are usually second or third in past fan-voted contests. But given Mickie’s current disposition with the company, would they really award her the Diva of the Year prize? Probably not. You’re pretty much calling the girl ‘fat and ugly’ every single week with all the ‘Piggie James’ BS that we’ve seen, you’re not going to give her an award. The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that Mickie probably topped the poll but they went for the second highest polling Diva.

It’s clear that WWE has positioned the Divas division to be so much of an afterthought that the average fan won’t care what they do with the girls. And as such, they can get away with murder. I mean in reality, we’re but a fraction of the total audience, right?

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Follow Your Fate?

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How many of us actually follow our fate? Our life purpose? Or our path? The signs seem to always be there, but do we listen or pay attention? And how long can you ignore what keeps being put in front of you by something that is bigger than you. My signs have always been pretty prevalent and loud, sort of like my personality. There have been times when I have paid attention and there have been times when I have chosen ego over a divine purpose. I believe we are all here to do something, but how do we grasp what that might be?

We can pay attention to synchronicity for starters. Synchronicity happens all the time and there are constantly ‘hints’ being thrown in front of us to help us to us reach our potential. If something drops in front of your face more than three times, I’d rest assured someone or something is trying to tell you something. For me,  it’s always been the wrestling business. No matter what I do, it always calls on me — even if I’m attempting anonymity. This business has given me a platform to reach and touch many people and it continues to do so even as an inactive performer and jobberette extraordinaire ;) I have not had that kind of success in any other business (as hard as I’ve tried), it just hasn’t happened . I used to think it was the devil on my shoulder, but I’m beginning to wonder if my ‘plans’ and my ‘path’ are two different things. You see our ‘egos’ plan. They instill us with fear, induce anxiety and promote worry. Our ‘paths’ just take us where we are supposed to go with no ulterior motives. Our path just wants us to have the peace that we are doing what we are supposed to do and the universe is thrilled by it. When this happens we are truly in sync. I’m working on it but definitely not quite there myself.

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