Spoilers for this Friday’s SmackDown are in. Click ‘show’ to read:
EDIT: More detailed spoilers have been added.
Thoughts after the cut:
WWE
Raw Redux (February 8th, 2010) – An Afterthought
For weeks we’ve been following the Divas Championship tournament, with all its stops and starts. Two weeks ago we finally made the match-up for the finals, but getting to that match has been harder than it seems. Many of us want the WWE to just get it over with, as it’s been obvious from the start that Maryse will be walking away with the title. Thus, it’s been some acute form of torture to see the WWE stretch this thing out as long as possible. This week was no different, and on top of it we got some bad good news: the finals will be taking place in less than two weeks at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Until then, we’ve got two Raws to fill, and you better believe it that the WWE will give it as little build up as possible:
See? We’ve been treated to a random match between Gail Kim and Jillian, which kind of sneaks up on us because no one was given an entrance, and the match wasn’t even announced. Hey, they’ve gotta free up time for all the Shawn Michaels angst and John Cena beatdown replays! Maryse, of course, is on commentary, making this impending finals match-up even more of a laughing stock. You’d think the WWE would get that doing it this way makes it look like Maryse is the champion, scouting her challenger in Gail. I’m sure they notice, but just don’t give a shit.
In the ring, Gail and Jillian start with a tie-up, Jillian taking control and backing Gail up against the ropes. Gail slips through the ropes, falling to the outside. Jillian tosses her back into the ring and goes for a pin, getting a 1-count. She whips Gail into the corner and gets an elbow to the face when she goes for an attack. Gail climbs to the top of the turnbuckle, but Jillian sweeps her feet and knocks her all the way to the mat. Another pin, another 1-count.
Meanwhile, on commentary, Maryse talks about how much more sophisticated Raw Divas are in contrast to what’s been going on on SmackDown with Mickie James. Complain about the fat jokes all you want, Maryse, but at least they’re given more than 3 minutes of screen time. Maybe the Raw Divas should start having food fights.. Jillian pounds Gail’s head onto the mat and hoists her up, but Gail slips free, hitting the Eat Defeat. She pins Jillian for the win.
The match, which was literally ONE MINUTE long, was as good as any match could be with such a ridiculous time limit. I give boatloads of credit to Jillian and Gail for making such a joke of a match interesting and fun with what little they were given. Funny, though, that the post-match promo was longer than the match itself. Maryse, get priority? Never!!
Maryse vs. Gail Set for Elimination Chamber PPV
The finals for the Divas Championship Tournament are set to (finally) take place in less than two weeks at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Maryse will take on Gail Kim, obviously, and we will at last have some closure for the tournament that was prompted all the way back in December when champion Melina injured her … Read more
Raw Response: February 8th, 2010
NASCAR driver Carl Edwards is hosting Raw tonight live from Louisiana, the home state of the Super Bowl champs. There is no Divas Championship Tournament final scheduled for the show, so expect more build up towards the eventual match (perhaps at the Elimination Chamber PPV on February 21st?) Discuss the show in the comments! EDIT: … Read more
SmackDown Redux (February 5th, 2010) – New Champion, Same Drama
With a new Women’s Champion crowned at the Royal Rumble in Mickie James, it seemed like a new era for the SmackDown Divas division. Not quite. Despite a new champion, we still have the same three-way problem though slightly altered: Beth Phoenix wants the title, Michelle McCool wants the title and Mickie James wants to keep the title. A three-way match between these two had been teased in the early weeks of January but somewhere along the way, the focus shifted back to Mickie and Michelle leading to the Rumble. But now it looks like we’re once again on course for a triple threat scenario. New champion Mickie found out on SmackDown this week that being champ ain’t easy:
Mickie has been Women’s Champion five times now but how many times has she gotten to give a post-win promo? Not many. Already, her fifth run is off to a great start as Mickie gets to do the whole “We did it!” pow-wow that we see from the men. As can be expected from such a paint-by-numbers speech, just as she talks about anyone challenging her to go ahead — she’s interrupted. The Glamazon, Beth Phoenix, fresh from using her feminine wiles~ to eliminate Khali in the Rumble match, is out to boast about doing so. Really, Beth? You’re going to brag how you acted slutty like it’s a good thing? I kid. Kinda. Tangent: I didn’t really comment on the whole Beth-Rumble thing so I’ll do it here. I think it’s great that she was in the Rumble and got a big moment but of course it had to be played out with the most cliched tactic in the world. Somewhere a woman is burning her bra in anger.
Anyhoo, Glamazon says she can take Mickie’s title whenever she wants and as things are about to pop off, out comes Vickie Guerrero. Hey Striker, where are the fat jokes for Vickie? Anyway, Vickie says it’ll be the two of them versus the ‘true number one contender’ Michelle McCool and Layla.
Out come Lay-Cool in cute matching hoodies and for a second there I thought they were gonna emulate the Beautiful People entrance but thankfully, they didn’t bend over and touch their toes. Michelle McCool surprisingly graces the SmackDown ring with her presence this week, her first full-length match on the show it seems in quite some time. And if the prospect of Beth vs Michelle isn’t tantilising, I don’t know what is. Beth shoves Michelle to the mat with great force before picking her up effortlessly and tossing her to the canvas. Beth throws Michelle into the corner and hits her with a butt bump and shoulder blocks. Michelle counters with a low dropkick to Beth’s knee, taking her off her feet and giving McCool some momentum.
Raw Redux Does WWE Superstars (Feb. 4th, 2010): An Unfamiliar Sight
Another week, another Raw Divas match on WWE Superstars. This week, we’ve got another tag team match: Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly vs. Alicia Fox and Katie Lea. Can Katie Lea score her first win in quite a while, or will the flashy faces prevail? Watch the match below:
Alicia and Eve start the match with a tie-up, Alicia taking control and turning a side headlock into a hip toss. She holds the headlock on Eve, despite her fight for momentum. Alicia eventually gets to her feet and is shoved away by Eve. Alicia bounces off the ropes and shoulder-blocks and attack by Eve, laying her out. Alicia goes for an attack of her own off the ropes, but is hit with a dropkick from Eve.
Alicia spazzes out a bit (overselling the dropkick much?) while frantically trying to get to her corner to tag in Katie Lea. Katie comes in and locks Eve in a belly-to-back hold that she eventually gets out of, twisting one of Katie’s arms and tagging in Kelly. She then hits Katie with a snapmare by the arm, allowing her and Kelly to hit a doubleteam on her. Kelly goes for he pin, and gets a 1-count. Kelly brings Katie to her feet, but Katie immediately lifts her up (I always call Kelly the “rag doll”, but this is too literal!) and carries her to her corner, smashing her back-first into the turnbuckle.
She goes for an attack but Kelly blocks it, nailing Alicia and then Katie again. Alicia gets another elbow to the face and Kelly dodges a charge from Katie. She hits an arm drag, wrenching Katie’s arm and tagging in Eve. Eve climbs the turnbuckle, hitting a sunset flip onto Katie and rolling her into a pin, getting a 2-count. She hits Katie with a few forearms (or pats to the cheek.. they were so light they might as well have been) before having an irish-whip reversed on her. She comes off the ropes and kicks a crouched Katie, hitting a clothesline and then her somersault splash. She attemps a pin, but the referee checks Katie’s shoulders and she kicks out before he can even get down a 1-count.
Both Divas get to their feet, Katie taking refuge in the corner. Eve advances towards her but is kicked in the face. Katie goes for an attack but Eve hoists her up into a fireman’s carry, falling back and sandwiching Katie onto the mat (my God.. I don’t think I’ve seen that move since the last time I played a wrestling video game, which has been yearsss). She climbs the turnbuckle, prepping for a moonsault, but Alicia shakes the ropes, making her lose her footing. Eve doesn’t fall, though, but climbs back down. She grabs Alicia by the hair, and is pulled over the ropes, Katie Lea shoving her over for the last bit. On the outside, Alicia kicks her before Katie comes out and tosses her back into the ring, slamming her knee on the corner of the ring apron.
Candids From Last Night’s SmackDown Tapings
We’ve received photos from last night’s SmackDown tapings via Diva Dirt reader C-Ray. They’ve been placed under a spoiler tag, so click ‘show’ to read. Also, reader rico has a whole slew of Diva photos from last night in an album that you can view here. Thanks for the pictures, guys!
Jazz Added to WWE Alumni
In a nice surprise, WWE.com has added former Diva and Women’s Champion Jazz to their Alumni section. Looks like the bitch is back… on good terms with WWE [even though they did release her twice]. The WWE Alumni page is usually reserved for past stars who are still on good terms with WWE and is … Read more
SmackDown Spoilers: February 5th, 2010
Spoilers for this Friday’s SmackDown are in. Click ‘show’ to read:
EDIT: Spoilers with more detail have been added, thanks to Diva Dirt reader C-Ray:
Thoughts after the cut:
ECW Axed, Replaced by “WWE NXT”
It has been widely reported that tonight’s edition of ECW will be the last, making way for a new program called WWE NXT, aimed at showcasing developmental talent on the big stage. The new show will debut in ECW’s spot on March 2nd, giving ECW three more tapings before its retirement. WrestlingNewsWorld.com says: WWE’s ECW … Read more
Watch: Maryse and Gail Talk About the Tournament Finals
I think it’s safe to say that most of us were expecting to see the finals of the Divas Championship tournament on last night’s Raw. The match was advertised for the show on WWE.com, but it seems likely that the numerous Elimination Chamber qualifying matches bumped it from the show. Extremely poor planning? Perhaps a … Read more
FCW Watch: AJ Lee vs. Naomi Night
Welcome to another edition of our FCW Watch, where we take a look at matches taking place in the WWE’s top developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. Today, we have a match from the January 31st show: AJ Lee vs. Naomi Night. Watch the match below:
Before either of those Divas can make their entrances, the Queen of FCW Mia Mancini makes her way to the ring, wearing a pretty unconvincing wig a beautiful 100% real head of hair. She is here, as always, to survey the competition for her crown. Naomi Night is up next, making her singles debut (you may remember her being signed in August of last year). AJ Lee is out next, and the match begins.
The two Divas face off in the middle of the ring, and Naomi uses her hair as a unique alternative to the “talk to the hand” move, whipping it in AJ’s face. AJ takes her down in response, pounding on her before being pulled off by the referee. AJ remains dominant through most of the beginning of the match, using her acrobatic moves to get in a few pin attempts on Naomi. One in particular I liked was the arm drag counter into the rolling pin. For a newcomer to the ring, Naomi can take the moves–which require a lot of capability on her part–pretty well.
AJ attempts a hurricanrana from the corner, but Naomi tosses her to the apron, knocking her head against the exposed ring post. Following that, her offense mainly consists of a few kicks and a sit-down maneuver onto AJ’s back. She goes for an unsuccessful pin attempt and then locks AJ into a submission, a knee in her back and her arms stretched backwards. AJ fights free and goes to attack Naomi off the ropes, but Naomi slides under her and between her legs, showing some impressive athleticism–think her background as an Orlando Magic dancer has something to do with it?
WWE Superstars Spoilers: February 4th, 2010
Spoilers for Thursday’s edition of WWE Superstars are now available. Click ‘show’ below to read them:
Thoughts after the cut:
Raw Response: February 1st, 2010
Tonight’s Raw guest GM is Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. Also, tune in for the finals of the Divas Championship tournament, pitting Maryse vs. Gail Kim (read our predictions here). Discuss the show in the comments! EDIT: Since the match (which I’m 99.9% sure was actually scheduled for the show) didn’t take place, use the … Read more
Raw Predictions: Gail Kim vs Maryse for the Divas Championship
The Divas Championship tournament comes to an end tonight when Gail Kim and Maryse battle it out for the gold silver in the finals. Who will be the new Divas Champion? Will Gail Kim make history and complete the trifecta of singles gold in WWE and TNA? Will Maryse make history by becoming the first … Read more
Royal Rumble in Review: Sweet Revenge & A Rumble Match Treat
Week after week, we have witnessed Michelle McCool and Layla crack about 10,000 jokes, all with the same punchline: Mickie is fat. As lamented as this “Piggie James” storyline has been here at Diva Dirt, with its fat jokes and barnyard humor, it has been given one of the biggest buildups in recent Diva memory, and it was reasonable to think that they would cap off this pretty silly storyline with a decent enough match, at least to make the juvenile booking somewhat worth it. After all, their match at TLC was pretty damn good. Let’s see if Mickie and Michelle were able to transcend the “Mean Girls” cliches and mature a bit:
Michelle comes out to the ring, microphone in hand, and explains to the crowd that Mickie was a no-show tonight. “Where oh where has my piggie gone?”, she laments. She figures Mickie is forfeiting. Layla shows up in her fat suit, doing the same Mickie impression she did last Friday. She doesn’t get very far, though, before the real Mickie emerges and attacks her. She tosses FatSuitLayla into the barricade, as Michelle looks horrified. Did she really think Mickie was a no-show? Would that be why they left her off SmackDown last week–to fool Michelle into thinking Mickie went into hiding? That’s the only reason I can think of why Layla would come prancing down to the ring in a fat suit not once, but twice, and not even watch her back.
Mickie gets into the ring, and the match starts. FatSuitLayla isn’t quite done sticking her plastic pig nose into Mickie’s business, though, and climbs up the apron to distract her. It works for a split second, and Michelle charges with her boot but Mickie dodges, replaying a similar collision from TLC: Michelle accidentally delivers a big boot to Layla and lays out her backup. Michelle turns around right into a kick from Mickie, who plants her with the Mickie T. One 3-count later, and we have a new Women’s Champion!
FatSuitLayla comes into to check on her fallen friend, and Mickie hits her with a kick that lands her smack dab on top of Michelle. Meanwhile, several babyface Divas (Maria, Gail, Kelly, Eve, and the Bellas) come to the ring with a rather large cake in tow. Similar to what Laycool and Beth did to Mickie a week before, the Divas prop up Michelle and Layla as Mickie plants the giant cake in both their faces, the other Divas smearing it in. Michelle and Layla do a good job of acting horrified and look pretty damn hilarious blinded by yellow cake and icing while pitching a fit. Mickie celebrates with her newly-won title and smears some more icing in their faces, tasting it for good measure. All the good girls make their exit as the bad girls wallow in their “just desserts” (it’s okay, you can boo.. it was a pretty awful joke).
Divas Title Match on Raw
Fresh from crowning a new Women’s Champion, WWE will crown a new Divas Champion tonight as Gail Kim and Maryse compete in the finals of the Divas Championship tournament tonight on Raw. The Divas Title was vacated one month ago when former champion, Melina suffered an injury at a house show.
Beth Phoenix Comments on Rumble, Blasts Chyna
If you ever needed proof that WWE still hasn’t gotten over the departure of Chyna some 10 years later — this is it! As only the second woman to enter the Royal Rumble match, Beth Phoenix paid an homage of sorts to her predecessor after her own Rumble appearance. She told WWE.com: “Tonight was my … Read more
Mickie James Wins 5th Women’s Championship
Tonight, Mickie James won the Women’s Championship for the 5th time, defeating Michelle McCool in quick fashion at the Royal Rumble. Congrats, Mickie!
Beth Phoenix Competes in Rumble Match
Tonight, Beth Phoenix became the 2nd woman ever to compete in the Royal Rumble match as its 6th entrant. She managed to eliminate the Great Khali but was eventually eliminated by CM Punk. Congrats for making history, Beth!
Spoilers: 10-Diva Tag Team Dark Match Taped for Rumble DVD
A 10-Diva Tag Team dark match took place before the Royal Rumble, rumored to be taped for the PPV’s upcoming DVD. Click “show” below to view the results:
PPV Predictions: WWE Royal Rumble 2010
They ended 2009 with an excellent pay per view match and now tonight, Michelle McCool and Mickie James have the dubious task of getting 2010 off on the right foot. Can they do it again? And who will walk away with the Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble tonight? The Diva Dirt writers weigh in: … Read more
Rumble Rewind: Ashley vs Mickie James (2006)
It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments. Steven: My pick for the Rumble Rewind is a match that most Diva fans would probably like to … Read more
Major Possible Spoiler for Royal Rumble Tonight
There could be a major sight to behold at tonight’s Royal Rumble according to the website Wrestling News World. If true, it would be a big spoiler for the PPV, thus we’ve placed it in spoiler tags for those who want to be surprised. Click the ‘Show’ link to read:
Rumble Rewind: Jazz vs Trish Stratus (2002)
It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments. Erin: I’ve chosen the Trish vs. Jazz Women’s Championship match from the 2002 Royal Rumble. Jacqueline served as … Read more
Rumble Rewind: Beth Phoenix vs Melina (2009)
It’s nearly time for the 2010 Royal Rumble and it’s got the Diva Dirt team feeling all resminiscent! Over the next day or so, we’re going to be rewinding the clock and reliving our favourite Rumble moments. Cryssi: My pick for the ‘Rumble Rewind’ is a match that should still be fresh in most of … Read more