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SmackDown Redux (October 29th, 2010): Lady Gagool, Layonce, Spider-Melina & Friends

It’s not Halloween without the Divas breaking out a costume — or eight, and that’s exactly what we saw this week on SmackDown. Some were uninspired (Batman & Robin? Yawn.) and some (Lady Gaga, Beyonce) tried to capture the pop culture of the day, even though WWE is about a year behind in what’s relevant.

Watch as what begins as a Halloween costume contest becomes a full-fledged eight Diva tag team match:

A rarity for the Divas, they each get their own entrance in order to show off their costumes. The Bellas are out first dressed as Batman and Robin. Out next is Alicia Fox dressed as Cleopatra; a valiant effort but not quite as breathtaking as Asha on last night’s episode of ‘Outsourced’. Kelly Kelly, rather predictably, goes for a ‘sexy’ Little Bo Peep costume. Rosa Mendes is a leprechaun? Doesn’t she realise Hornswoggle is in the ring and likes to sexually assault Divas? Former Divas Champ, Melina is Spiderwoman and then it’s the pièce de résistance: Lay-Cool as Lady Gaga and Beyonce. You’d think they’d go for the matching Telephone outfits, but nope — Layla is Beyonce in the two year old ‘Single Ladies’ video (which is what we suggested for Alicia Fox last year and sorry Lay, it would’ve suited her much better) and Michelle is Gaga in the equally old ‘Poker Face’ video. Still, A for the effort of trying to do something relatively current.

Onto the costume contest now, but before Teddy Long can begin his officiating, Michelle takes to the microphone and pretty much says Lay-Cool should win and save us from the laborious task of watching each of them shake their rumps and embarrass themselves. Melina takes exception and argues with Lay-Cool only to be hit with a zinger from McCool. “Why are you even dressed up? You’re scary enough as it is.” I giggled. Sorry Melina… Layla shoves Melina but before she can fight back, Hornswoggle intervenes and knocks poor Michelle on her butt in fright. Didn’t that little sex pest troll learn from last time not to mess with Michelle?

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NXT Redux (October 26th, 2010): Halloween Edition of NXT: Trick or Treat?

Previously on NXT…

Rookie Divas Maxine and Kaitlyn stunk it up in what was perhaps one of the worst matches in WWE history. Naomi swept the challenges, putting her first in line for immunity from elimination. Aksana received her engagement ring from Goldust and fawned over it, even during challenges. And last, but certainly not least, the highlight of last week’s episode was the beginning of perhaps the end of the Bella twins as Nikki Bella showed some fire (as well as major heel tendencies) during the tag team main event which pitted Nikki and Brie Bella against Naomi and her pro, Kelly Kelly.

This week can only be better, right?

Mr. Blue Eyes, Matt Striker, was waiting for us as the program began. He introduced us all to the Halloween edition of NXT and brought out the rookie Divas. They were dressed in Halloween costumes of course and kudos to them for not being so stereotypical. AJ was out first this week and she was dressed as Ninja Turtle Raphael. Naomi followed her and was dressed up as the Hamburger Helper hand. Wow. Kaitlyn is out third and she’s wearing a dead-on Vickie Guerrero costume complete with padded backside. Out fourth is Maxine and she’s playing the part of “Ice Queen” tonight. And last, but certainly not least, the future Mrs. Goldust walks out and she’s dressed in a fire engine red devil costume. The girls get in the ring and Striker lets us know that elimination is next week and that currently, Naomi is leading the pack with immunity challenge wins. He tells the girls that there is plenty of time left to catch Naomi and even pass her, and with that being said the first competition of the night is about to take place. Of course, it’s a Halloween costume contest. Each girl will have fifteen seconds to impressed the WWE Universe with her costume and the fans will be the judges.

Aksana went first. Music started to play and Aksana really did nothing but blow kisses, pose, and move around a little bit. She didn’t even dance. She probably should have just done her push-ups again. Maxine went next. Striker asked her what her costume was and she told everyone that she was an ice queen. Striker remarked that she could certainly melt that costume, and Maxine looked up at him. She said that she could melt that costume and that she could send shivers down his spine. Maxine asked Matt if he knew what cold water did to a man. She looked away from him and revealed that she would hate to embarrass him so she is going to use the rest of her time to say that there is only one place for this queen, and that place is on top.

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NXT Discussion: October 26th, 2010

Watch and root for your favorite as the Rookie Divas compete for dominance in the 3rd season of NXT. Remember: NXT is now airing online at 10pm ET and is only available to US viewers. Click here to watch. Be sure to tune in to the Post-NXT Show LIVE at 11:30pm ET following the show! … Read more

Raw Redux (October 25th, 2010): Lay-Cool Dominates, Eve Shines and Natalya Disappears

After last night’s impressive showing at Bragging Rights between Natalya and Layla, the WWE Divas took two steps back and put on a random sixty seconds tag match for our enjoyment on this week’s edition of Raw. Watch below as Lay-Cool takes on Melina and Gail Kim for no apparent reason. Enjoy:

We kick things off with all four Divas in the ring (big surprise), and Lay-Cool are doing their usual preening. Across the ring, Gail and Melina mock the Co-Divas Champions in an adorable fashion. The bell rings and Layla sees Melina and Gail’s mimicry and comes charging at Melina. Melina evades and goes straight for Michelle, who ducks out of harm’s way. Layla tries to sneak up behind Melina to gain the advantage, but receives a kick to the mush for her trouble. Totally in control at this point, Melina knocks Michelle off the apron, before knocking Layla down with a modified Shining Wizard and a flying facebuster for a two count.

Melina tries to whip Layla off the ropes (tries is the operative word here), but Layla reverses it and kicks Melina in the shoulder and turns around and knocks Gail off of the apron. Layla turns her attention back to Melina, going for a clothesline, but Melina dodges again. Both ladies come charging across the ring with the same thing in mind it seems, as they collide in midair with dual crossbodies.

Both ladies struggle back to their feet and they both make it to a vertical at around the same time. Melina goes to roll Layla up, but doesn’t realize that Layla has managed to tag in McCool. Melina thinks she has things in the bag, but Michelle lands her patented big boot for the win.

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Raw Response: October 25th, 2010

Get your Monday night Divas fix by tuning in to Raw tonight at 9pm ET on the USA Network. Be sure to tune in to the Post-Raw Show LIVE at 11pm ET following Raw! Discuss the show in the comments!

WWE Bragging Rights in Review: Divas Seize the Moment, Remain More Flawless Than Brett Favre Cell Phone Pics

It’s fair to say that WWE pay-per-views are either hits or misses. The events are either successful surprises or true epic fails all around. Bragging Rights was no exception. For once, it fell into the positive category as the WWE put together a strong show on all accounts, and for us Diva fans, we were treated to something truly special. The decision to put Layla in the ring against Natalya was met with some skepticism and a few eye-rolls, but judging from their SmackDown interaction it had all the ingredients to make a yummy recipe. To say Natalya versus Layla delivered would be an understatement. They put together a gorgeous, pure wrestling match that told a story and left everyone wanting just a little more. Michelle McCool once again put on a flawless performance on the microphone and on the outside of the ring. And to add the icing to this already delicious cake, Aksana and Maryse got involved in the Bragging Rights action by fighting for their men during the Goldust/Ted DiBiase grudge match.

What a night.

The match us Diva fans waited patiently for all night kicked off in grand style. Lay-Cool made their way to the ring and they had microphones in their hands. Layla and Michelle walked out on stage where Layla promptly demanded that the sound techs in the back cut their music. Once it was quiet, Layla turned to Michelle and with a cheeky little grin, she told her BFF that Natalya was no doubt excited to have a title match in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Michelle looked confused and wanted to know why Natalya could be excited over such a thing and Layla simply pointed out that Nattie would be at home amongst all the stupid accents. Massive heat for that comment. Michelle chuckled and began to imitate the accent in question. She said the men in Minnesota like their women larger because it’s so cold. Layla agreed and said that by the looks of things, it got extremely cold in Minnesota. Cue the collective “brrrrrrrrrrrrr”. Lay-Cool got inside the ring and Michelle continued speaking. She said that the comfortable surroundings won’t help Natalya out tonight. She’s going to need more help than that because tonight, they (Lay-Cool) will beat Natalya faster than they can delete all those text messages they keep getting from Brett Favre.

Real Talk. Ewwwwwww. Stop. According to Lay-Cool, Favre is doing nothing but embarrassing himself. Both members of Lay-Cool agree that Brett can’t help himself when it comes to them because they are flawless. They started to check their reflections in their championships when Natalya’s music hit. The third generation Diva walked to the ring with a smile etched across her lovely face. The commentators went over the fact that this match was for the WWE Diva’s Championship (apparently they’ve dropped the ‘unified’ part) and Natalya played to the crowd. Both girls got ready for the match and when the bell rang, Natalya and Layla started to circle one another. They went for a lock-up but Natalya effortlessly scooped up Layla and grounded her. She tried to work over Layla’s arm, but the British-born Diva was able to reverse it into a headscissors. Natalya was able to spring out of it and land on her feet, but Layla responded with a swift kick to the back of Nattie’s thigh. Layla took hold of Natalya’s wrist and started to twist it, but Natalya flipped through it, reversed it, and got Layla up in the air. While holding Layla upside, Natalya showed off her strength by doing a few squats, an homage to her late uncle, the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. She planted Layla in the mat and went for a cover. Layla kicked out right before the two.

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WWE Bragging Rights: Lay-Cool Take It Again, This Time with Help from a Boot…

Earlier this month, Layla‘s shoe-throwing helped Michelle McCool retain the Divas Championship for the duo, but this time they retained with help from a boot. Well, Michelle’s big boot, rather. In the closing moments of a hotly-contested Divas Championship match between Layla and Natalya, Michelle McCool hit a devastating big boot to Natalya’s head while … Read more

WWE Bragging Rights 2010 Discussion Post

The Divas Championship is on the line tonight at Bragging Rights when Layla defends against Natalya. Will the Hart Dynasty Diva finally realise her dream? Tune in at 8pm ET live on pay per view to find out. Discuss the show in the comments! Be sure to tune into Diva Dirt LIVE Does Bragging Rights … Read more

PPV Predictions: WWE Bragging Rights 2010

Tonight at Bragging Rights, the Divas Championship is on the line between Layla and Natalya, but who’ll come out on top? We weigh in…

Cryssi: With Layla being placed in this match instead of Michelle, I definitely see Natalya having the advantage. I think Michelle ends up getting kicked from ringside which will leave Layla at Natalya’s mercy. The two will put on a brilliant match with Natalya ultimately getting the victory. As she’s celebrating her long awaited Divas Championship win, Michelle comes running down to ringside with Teddy Long screaming at him that she is the rightful Divas Champion, and the contract Lay-Cool had was only good when they were co-Women’s Champs. She will make the argument that the title can only change hands if she were to lose, because she is the OFFICIAL champ seeing as how she unified the titles at Night of Champions. Long will have no choice but to declare Natalya’s championship reign over before it even starts, and once again Lay-Cool will escape with that title firmly in their clutches.

David: At Bragging Rights, Natalya gets her second straight championship match on PPV, this time against the other member of Lay-Cool. After a few slow months I think Lay-Cool is hot again and I’ve enjoyed their program with Nattie (Michelle’s Bret impression was hilarious). Sunday night, I expect Michelle’s interference to give Natalya a DQ victory so Layla will once again retain the title. However, if Kelly Kelly comes down to help her buddy, maybe this time Lay-Cool won’t throw shoes in the ring, maybe this time they’ll throw in the towel.

Eric: Whereas last month’s Hell in a Cell was a predictable Lay-Cool victory, this match up could really go either way. Unfortunately, the booking team has painted the Divas division into a corner. Either Lay-Cool wins and we have a continuous, pointless Divas division, or Natalya wins and has nobody to feud with but… Lay-Cool. So who wins? I see Natalya picking this one up. Unfortunately, I don’t see her keeping the belt long. Who will Natalya feud with next? I will give free hugs and a (false) promise to vote for Linda McMahon to the creative team if its not Lay-Cool.

Erin: Part of me is always reluctant to believe that the WWE would do anything to hold back a Lay-Cool push. However, I feel like this feud can be sustained even if Layla doesn’t pick up the win, which means the inter-brand Lay-Cool shenanigans would continue. With that loophole available, I think Natalya’s chances of winning are high. She’s been chasing them for a while (okay, not long, but in Diva land a few weeks is a long time, all things considered) and winning the title could be a turning point in the feud. So, I say Natalya wins the title tonight. How long she keeps it, however, is anyone’s guess.

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The Women of Tough Enough: Where Are They Now?

Roughly ten years ago, a group of eager wannabes queued up on the bitterly cold streets of New York City to audition for a new WWF concept. Tough Enough was looking for a group of 13 men and women to learn how to wrestle from scratch over 9 weeks. Two winners would be chosen, given WWF contracts and be on their way to becoming WWF Superstars.

It had its critics – most notably Triple H, who thought it exposed the business too much, and he might have had a point, as the first season gave every viewer a rough guide on how to bump, which must have resulted in a few shocked vertebrae – but it was a big hit on MTV, where it was hosted. Three seasons were produced for the network, with a fourth featuring on SmackDown in 2004 and was a rough blueprint for the wonderful programme we know and love called NXT.

Now we have been informed that USA Network is planning to revive Tough Enough, though it is still unclear what the format will be. It could follow the format of the original three seasons by taking novices and teaching them from the bottom. It could bring in indie wrestlers and polish them, reminiscent of The Ultimate Fighter; or it could take WWE contracted wrestlers currently plying their craft in Florida Championship Wrestling and put them in a house – though that version will probably be more scripted and moulded towards who WWE want to push. However, to judge how successful any potential winner of Tough Enough: The Return would be, it would be a good idea to look into its history.

Tough Enough produced seven winners – three female, four male – with John Morrison being the most successful of the bunch. But if they have a Y chromosome, we’re not really interested in them, no matter how long and floppy their hair is. So in this two-part piece, we’ll have a look at the fates of the women of Tough Enough, what happened to their careers, and what they are up to these days.

To start with, let us examine the fortunes of the three female winners – in the second part coming next week, we can have a nose around at the other contestants who didn’t win, and the ones who didn’t even make it into the house.

So why don’t we kick off with the originator…?

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SmackDown Redux (October 22nd, 2010): A Prelude To Bragging Rights?

The road to Bragging Rights heats up for the Diva’s tonight as Michelle McCool and Layla take on their opponent for Sunday, Natalya, with her partner, Kelly Kelly, in a tag team match. Since the anti-climatic conclusion of Hell In A Cell earlier this month, the rivalry between Nattie and delicious co-Unified Divas Champions has been picking up steam. For the past few weeks, we’ve watched Nattie come ever so close to locking Layla in the Sharpshooter, only to have Michelle jump in at the last moment and save her BFF. Will the same thing happen tonight? Dun dun duuuuuuuun!

When SmackDown returns from commercial break, Lay-Cool are already in the ring. Despite the fact Halloween is only a week away, Lay-Cool have decided to wrestle in costume tonight. Michelle has donned some nice yet ill-fitting jeans, a Hart T-shirt, and leather jacket. She’s dressed as Bret Hart complete with dark hair and baseball cap. Layla has morphed into a pink and blond haired Natalya. She’s wearing the third-generation Diva’s ring gear and to cap it all off, Layla has added a Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart goatee to the mix.

Random Thoughts: At this point, all I can say is wow. These costumes are pretty hilarious and Lay-Cool are probably the only Divas who would pull off something so evil. I would love to see someone dress up and imitate them one week. Now that would be amazing.

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NXT Redux (October 19th, 2010): Cloudy Days on NXT

Previously on NXT…

Fresh off a disaster of an elimination episode, NXT put together it’s most impressive and exciting episode yet. Naomi soared to new heights as she impressed in a match against pro Diva, Alicia Fox. Kaitlyn and Vickie Guerrero reached the point in their relationship where they reluctantly agreed to tolerate one another until the next elimination. AJ proved to everyone that she is a legit wrestling fan by dominating the “Name That Tune” challenge and Maxine continued to impress everyone with her mic skills. The icing on the proverbial NXT cake at the end of the night when Aksana lost it over her immigration woes and Goldust reiterated to her that they do indeed have options to fix these problems. He got down on one knee and popped the question, and Aksana happily accepted it.

So what happens next with the second elimination a mere two weeks away? Lets take a look…

It’s redundant that NXT always begins with Matt Striker introducing the rookies and tonight was no exception. He’s standing in the ring and introducing the rookie girls. Kaitlyn, Aksana, Naomi, AJ, and Maxine make their way to the ring where the host himself is standing. He tells the girls that they’ve made it to the halfway point of the season and that in just two weeks, the second cut will take place. He congratulates Naomi and AJ on their wins last week and tells them that they are one step closer to immunity. He starts to tell the others that they have plenty of time to catch up when Vickie decides that she wants to interrupt. She starts screaming “Excuse Me” and begins to walk down towards the ring. She tells Matt that she just can’t handle the way he talks to the rookie Divas and then she turns her attention towards Kaitlyn. Vickie wants to know why Kaitlyn is dressed the way she is and basically, Vickie does not approve.

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Maxine Comments on Last Night’s NXT Match

NXT Rookie Diva, Maxine took to her Twitter page earlier today commenting on her match with Kaitlyn last night on NXT. Maxine wrote: “Yea [sic] the match was tough it’s hard to lead someone with 2 months experience almost impossible.” Thoughts: Last night’s match was really, really bad. Hands-over-face-peek-through-your-fingers bad. I feel sorry for the … Read more

NXT Discussion: October 19th, 2010

Watch and root for your favorite as the Rookie Divas compete for dominance in the 3rd season of NXT. Remember: NXT is now airing online at 10pm ET and is only available to US viewers. Click here to watch. Be sure to tune in to the Post-NXT Show LIVE at 11:30pm ET following the show! … Read more