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The Tiffany Guide to Impact: The Knockouts Go Cold Turkey

With the quality you’ve come to expect and the enthusiasm you’ve come to enjoy, the Tiffany Guide to Impact helps you come down from your cramp-inducing turkey high: with a steaming plate of reheated Knockout action, and a side of stale competition.  In perhaps the greatest Knockout tradition of all, this TNA Knockout battle royale … Read more

SmackDown Redux (Nov. 27, 2009) – The World’s Shortest Interview

If, like me, you watch SmackDown only for the Divas, let me save you the trouble: Mickie’s not leaving SmackDown. Yeah, that’s all you need to know. Seriously, no need to even watch the show — just read those four words and you’re good to return to your Thanksgiving-induced food coma or Black Friday shopping. … Read more

Raw Redux (November 23rd, 2009) – A Turkey of a Return

Back in the 1920s, showbiz had a slang term for a failure or flop: they’d call it a turkey*. Fitting, given the failures we witnessed tonight on this Thanksgiving episode of Raw where a certain Diva went so far as to dress in a turkey costume for her big return. So, was it cleverly self-referential or just a bad idea? I think we know the answer to that, but just in case let’s watch the situation unfold and decide for ourselves:

Predictably, the Divas have dressed up for a “Mayflower Melee”, AKA Thanksgiving-themed 6-Diva tag match. The faces–Mickie James, Melina, and Kelly Kelly–are decked out in (*cough* super un-P.C. *cough*) Native American garb, while the heels–Michelle McCool, Layla, and Jillian–are Pilgrims. All look pretty ridiculous, even Kelly, who apparently decided to put on a tan dress and some Nikes and call it a day. But hey, at least she doesn’t look like she’s doing a Kindergarten Thanksgiving play like Michelle & co. I must say, I love how pissed they looked to be dressed in those Pilgrim costumes. At least they’re acknowledging how lame the idea is, unlike so many times in the past.

Before the match starts they are joined by the guest time keeper, the Gobbledy Gooker! …You know, the giant turkey that hatched on live television in what was known as one of the biggest “WTF” moments in WWE history? I guess since they had two Thanksgiving cliches represented, they decided to go for the trifecta. Gooker stands in the corner and awkwardly rings the bell, signaling the start of the match.

Melina and Jillian start out the match, probably praying that they can scrub off some of the bad mojo they’ve had with each other as of late. They start with a tie-up, Melina getting the upper hand by wrenching Jillian’s arm. Jillian gains control, slamming Melina to the mat. Melina reverses an irish-whip into the corner, sending Jillian into the turnbuckle and proceeding to send a shoulder into her stomach. She lays Jillian across the second ropes, prepping her a double-knee attack. Before she can do it, however, Jillian yanks her by her dress, pulling her to the mat. She tosses Melina by the hair and taunts the crowd a bit.

Jillian whips Melina into the ropes but Melina hangs on. Before she can do anything, though, Jillian meets her with an elbow to the face. She whips Melina into the turnbuckle, prepping for her handspring elbow attack. Before she can do any damage, Melina catches her with her legs, choking her and chopping her on the head. Once back on their feet Melina takes down Jillian with a (almost malfunctioned) facebuster. She goes for the pin, but Jillian kicks out.

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Survivor Series 2009 in Review: Melina Leads Team Mickie to Victory

Last night’s Survivor Series match was billed as Team Mickie vs Team Michelle but it was Divas Champion, Melina that scored the final pinfall and took the win for her team. When originally announced, it seemed odd that the Divas Champ would be playing second fiddle to someone else as team captain, which it makes … Read more

The Tiffany Guide to Impact: Not So Friendly Competition

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This week on Impact, we’re treated to double the dose in Knockout action.  As per usual, we try not to overdose on TNA’s overwhelming generosity.

In the first contest, Hamada takes on one half of the TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions, Taylor Wilde.  Taylor enters the Impact Zone by her lonesome and does the tango with herself.  (Not to be confused with the type of solo-activity recently made famous by Carrie Prejean).

At the start of the match, Hamada and Taylor lock up.  Taylor maneuvers into a headlock, but Hamada counters into a headscissors.  Back into the lock-up, Hamada falls into the headlock, but this time Taylor catches her in the headscissors.  The hold is broken as the two indulge in a bit of showboating.

Taylor and Hamada partake in a show of respect with a quick handshake.  The two Knockouts link hands, but Taylor spins Hamada into an arm drag.  Taylor leaps over Hamada, who then rolls over Taylor.  Taylor runs the ropes and follows through with a headscissors takedown.  Unfazed, Hamada plants Taylor Wilde with an Impact DDT.  Hamada goes for the cover, but Taylor kicks out at 2.

Hamada lifts Taylor for a back suplex, but Taylor counters by landing on her feet.  She takes Hamada by the hand and leads her into a springboard arm drag and a swift kick to the head.  Taylor covers Hamada, but Hamada gets the shoulder up.  Ducking a clothesline, Hamada dazzles Taylor with a super kick.  Hamada climbs up to the top rope (while Taylor nudges into position a tad too obviously) and delivers a moonsault.  Taylor kicks out once again.

Hamada sets Taylor up for a powerbomb, but Taylor refuses.  Hamada pulls Taylor into a powerbomb again, but this time Taylor rolls into a sunset flip pin.  Hamada kicks out.  This is the consecutive tone for the crucifix pin and the hurricanrana Taylor also pursues.   Always quick to recover, Hamada rocks Taylor’s marbles with a leg-feed enzuigiri.

Signaling her finisher, Hamada sets Taylor up for the Hamada Driver.  Instead, Taylor lands on her feet, grabs her from behind, and attempts to lift her into a German suplex.  However, Hamada sandbags, breaks the hold, and nails a spinning kick to the side of Taylor’s head.  She delivers the Hamada Driver, successfully this time, which renders a 3-count and the win.

This was an entertaining and high-impact match, which is a staple for a combination such as Hamada and Taylor Wilde.  I’m not sure what this spells for either Knockout at the moment, other than to put on a fleeting clinic for appreciative fans.  Every so often, there are Knockouts that push the envelope in singles competition.  They also just happen to remind those of us who might’ve forgotten just what makes this a highly credible division.  Nowadays, it’s a treat to find either Taylor Wilde and Sarita in action without the package deal of Saritaylor.  Now that the Knockouts Championship has been pushed from the forefront for the time being, perhaps this will allow both ladies more time in the limelight as single competitors.

Speaking of the luchadoress, Sarita meets Alissa Flash in their only second bout.

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Hermie’s Hotseat with Tara

Fresh off what she describes as one of the best matches of her career, Tara joins Hermie’s Hotseat this week to discuss her career. Though her history is well known amongst us all, it’s great to see a living, working legend finally given the opportunity to connect with the fans and be given an opportunity … Read more

SmackDown Redux (November 20th, 2009): We’re Not in High School Anymore

This week’s edition of SmackDown moves away from the juvenile high school pranks of last week and if it’s even possible, regresses to kindergarten, sandbox-esque bullshit. I don’t enjoy seeing any Diva berated and being called ‘Piggy James’, whether it’s ‘acting’ or not. We all know that unlike real scripted television shows, there’s a fine … Read more

Raw Redux (November 16th, 2009) – What Championship Match?

With just two weeks of buildup, we finally have our ~big~ Divas Championship match, pitting champion Melina against challenger Alicia Fox. Will this match live up to fans’ expectations, or will it–like its own build-up–be a mere shell of what it could be? Needless to say us Diva fans are used to disappointment, but we still hope for the best (against our better judgment). Let’s see if this match delivers:

Of course a big one-on-one Divas Title match in Madison Square Garden was too good to be true, because soon after Melina and Alicia’s entrances it is announced (by 30 Rock’s Judah Freedlander) that this will be a Lumberjill match. No, adding Lumberjills (as we’ve learned numerous times over) does not make a title match ~epic, it just sucks the attention away from who it should be on: the challenger and the champion. I understand that this is meant to build up Survivor Series, as the lumberjills are the participants in Sunday’s match, but surely there was a way to have this match and buildup the other match without needlessly combining them? I was actually looking forward to a good, long one-on-one Divas match for once and this move just neutered the match from the get-go.

Alicia starts the match by kicking Melina in the stomach and attempting to toss her out of the ring. Melina, however, gains control and tosses Alicia out to the wolves instead (Somehow I doubt throwing Melina out to the babyface side would’ve accomplished much of anything). Alicia dashes back into the ring before any of the lumberjills can touch her, taunting them when she’s safely back in the ring, and getting rolled up by Melina for her troubles. She kicks out, and attempts a clothesline that Melina matrixes away from. She continues on an offensive drive until Alicia tricks her, allowing her to fall out of the ring to the heel side. Melina takes a beating from the heels and the babyfaces come to her rescue, allowing her to be rolled back into the ring.

Alicia tosses Melina by her hair and goes for the pin (“Not very logical”, says Spock). She attempts to lock Melina into a hold, but Melina drives her into the turnbuckle. When Alicia charges after Melina, she’s met with a flapjack and a series of clotheslines. Alicia irish-whips Melina into the corner and gets two boots to the face, but is still able to counter a charge by Melina into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. She goes for the pin, but only gets a 2-count.

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The Tiffany Guide to Turning Point: A Means to an End

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Setting women’s relations back faster than Tila Tequila and the Home Shopping Network, the Tiffany Guide returns just in time for yet another TNA PPV!  With the same quality you’ve come to expect, and the unbridled TNA commentary you’ve come to enjoy.

Good appeared to conquer all evil last Sunday night at Turning Point.  First in Knockout action sought the Beautiful People (Madison Rayne/Velvet Sky/Lacey Von Erich) vs. ODB, Sarita, and Taylor Wilde with all titles at stake.  Of course, what would a TNA match be without some complicated stipulations?  If ODB is defeated she loses her title; if Saritaylor is defeated they lose their titles.  Simple enough, right? I suppose this is the part where I go “TNA rulez!  WWE droolz!” or something to that effect…

The Beautiful People make their way to the ring looking very shiny and, erm… accessible. Before the sound of the bell, we are treated to even more gratuitous ass shots courtesy of Mi Pi Sexy – to bring even more credibility to this bout, of course.

Taylor Wilde and Velvet Sky kick off the match with a lock-up.  The referee tries his best to cop a feel while Velvet takes her aggression out on the Wilde one.  The ever-confident Velvet is distracted long enough for Taylor to trip her and drag her to the opposing side.  Tags alternate among the babyfaces as they all seem to take particular interest in Velvet’s nether regions.  ODB mounts her opponent, but Velvet says neigh.  Velvet powers out and leads ODB into her corner, tagging in her partner Madison Rayne.

Madison takes a break to indulge in a bit of self-admiration.  As per usual, Madison proves her salt personality-wise.  There is a way to be cleverly gimmicky without being overly gratuitous, and Madison masters that quite brilliantly.  Her beautiful partners should take note.

Madison’s exhibition buys ODB enough time to recharge and tag in Sarita.  Sarita outsmarts Madison with a series of flashy predicaments.  She then makes the tag out to Taylor, who she then assists into a moonsault onto Madison (rather flawlessly, if I may add).  However, Madison kicks out at 2.  Taylor draws her into a clutch and sends her down with a springboard arm drag.  Before she can even begin to capitalize on said move, Lacey Von Erich blindsights her with a clothesline.  Cue a very convenient wide-angled shot of a fan in the front row holding a “Lacey Von Botch” sign.

Madison regains control of the match with a swinging neckbreaker onto Taylor Wilde, but Taylor kicks out at 2.  Velvet Sky requests a tag and makes the assist into a double reverse DDT.  Taylor attempts to escape, but Velvet mounts her with a few punches and a very suggestive cover.  Taking a moment to tease her competition, Velvet flattens Taylor with a stiff kick to the back and a running front dropkick.  Taylor kicks out yet again.

There it is: the moment we all awaited with bated breath… Lacey Von Erich gets tagged into the match. Less than 5 seconds transpire before Lacey is subjected to the thoughts of the mass majority of TNA fans (and perhaps that of even Lacey herself) in the form of “You can’t wrestle” chants.  Lacey quickly exits the ring; the scent of defeat is almost too rancid to ignore.

Velvet gets her second chance in on the action by which she traps Taylor in an Octopus stretch.  Meanwhile, she bites the trapped arm out of the referee’s line of sight.  When Velvet attempts to shift the maneuver a sunset flip, Taylor runs (or rather trips) into Velvet’s face.  Hilarity ensues.

Both ladies make the hot tag.  ODB charges into the ring, taking out the legal woman Madison.  She also takes down Lacey Von Erich, which gets a rather positive reception from the audience.  Leading Velvet into the ropes, ODB catches her in mid-air and drops her with the fallaway slam followed by a kip-up.  ODB goes for a cover, but Lacey breaks up the pin.  Sarita and Taylor take exception.  However, in their effort to clear the ring of the excess plastic, they are sent out to the floor.  This gives the Beautiful People an opportunity to set ODB up for a potential double team move.  Instead, ODB overpowers their advances and takes Madison Rayne out with the TKO for the 3-count.

Somewhere during the 3-on-1 attack against ODB, a few of Lacey’s hair extensions fall out.  One piece even finds its way into the hand of a lucky fan in the front row, who takes the liberty of twirling it around like a prize.  Lacey then does something that will possibly put her my good graces for all of eternity.  She stuffs a piece of her lost extensions down her trousers and does a little hoe down.  From what we’ve seen in the past, Lacey is a master at not taking herself too seriously and being able to laugh at herself.  As embarrassing as weave-tragedies can be, that purely awesome act alone almost defuncts any and all of my criticisms of Miss Lacey.  Key word: almost.

While the outcome was predictable, all in all, I thought this was an impressive match.  If an MVP had to be chosen, my pick would definitely belong to Madison Rayne.  Madison has come leaps and bounds since her first run with the Beautiful People.  Ever since the departure of Angelina Love, Madison has been able to exude personality and charisma. Ever since Angelina left, people supposed the leader position would fall under Velvet Sky or even Lacey Von Erich.  However, I think Madison stands out as the one with the best balance between wrestling ability and temperament.  That being said, I don’t imagine it will be over between the Beautiful People and Saritaylor.  Velvet and Madison don’t strike me as the type that will rest until the belts are finally around their “pretty little waists.”  As for Lacey?  Well… between the Kong hug attempt and the weave fiasco, it’s safe to say that she is entertaining in her own right.  Just keep her in the background, and I will be content. After all, we’re overdue for another Botchamania.

Next up, in the long-awaited steel cage match, we see an end to World War III aka Tara vs. Awesome Kong.

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SmackDown Redux (Nov. 13, 2009): Friday the 13th Proves Lucky for Divas

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Friday the 13th may be considered an ‘unlucky’ day but mark the date in your diaries folks, because this Friday the 13th brings good luck to the Divas and their fans alike. On paper, Mickie James vs Natalya is a dream match waiting to happen and this week, the dream match became a reality…

Just moments prior to this match, we see Layla approach Mickie backstage in another badly-acted backstage segment. While Layla distracts Mickie, this allows Michelle McCool to sneak into Mickie’s lockerroom because otherwise that close-up of Mickie’s dressing room door will have been for nothing. Mickie once again calls Layla ‘Scary Spice’ in a lame attempt at humour. Note to WWE: It’s not going to catch on.

Anyway, with the rising tension set, it’s time for all to boil over, in where else, but the ring. Mickie gets a full entrance while Natalya has to make do with a Beth-jobber-sized ‘announcement’. Rude.

Easily two of the best wrestlers on the Divas roster, we finally get to the wrestling bit as the bell rings and Natalya takes down Mickie by her legs and then begins slapping her around the head. Nothing pretty about Natalya’s style, as has been much noted, but it’s fun to watch and breaks from the Diva norm. Natalya then gets to her feet and looks rather like ODB as she taunts her opponent. She goes for a clothesline but Mickie counters into a snapmare and a beautiful low dropkick which stuns the powerhouse third-gen Diva. Natalya scatters from the ring in true heel fashion crying, “You back her up!”

Mickie, taking no nonsense, goes for a baseball slide but Natalya moves out of the way and shoves Mickie into the steel steps. When was the last time the steps came into play in a Divas match? And no, Melina tripping on them doesn’t count. This was a nice display of physicality from Natalya, it’s rare to see the harsh steel steps used in Divas matches but it fits with Natalya’s rough-house style. Mickie sells the spot well as Nattie takes the lead and throws Mickie back in the ring and capitalises on hurting Mickie with a quick pin fall.

Natalya grabs Mickie by the hair and slams her straight back onto the mat, before locking Mickie into her patented surfboard submission move. With Natalya’s shoulders down, the referee begins the three-count in Mickie’s favour but Nattie breaks the hold, causing her to fall smack-flat on her face. Great spot here.

The Hart Dynasty Diva follows up with forearms and stomps Mickie in the corner with no relent. In a very nice Melina-esque spot, Natalya attempts to force Mickie out of the corner by her legs, Mickie holds onto the ropes with her arms and ends up jumping to her feet and comes at her with forearms. Natalya then comes back with a forearm of her own, then shoves Mickie into aforementioned corner and lays in knee strikes to Mickie’s body. Mickie manages to hit her patented hurricanrana from the corner and then gains momentum with clotheslines, Natalya then comes back and somehow Mickie ends up jumping through the bottom rope. O… kay…

Natalya runs at Mickie on the apron, Mickie with a shoulder block and goes up top, the two Divas then trade blows. All of a sudden we cut to Layla and McCool coming down to the ring with a few choice garments from Mickie’s lockerroom. In the ring, Mickie hits a Thesz Press from the top and goes for a cover but Natalya kicks out. Mickie becomes distracted by Layla & Michelle, who [wearing gloves, by the way] cut into Mickie’s purple wrestling top.

In the ring, Natalya takes advantage with a clothesline from behind and locks in her finisher, the Sharpshooter and Mickie eventually taps out. Meanwhile, Layla & Michelle are now cutting into Mickie’s pants. Mickie, who seems to be emotionally invested in her clothes, is visibly in tears. I know clothes can hold a sentimental value but this just came across silly. Wouldn’t you expect her to jump out of the ring and chase them? Not watch on in a flood of tears like they’ve run over her cat.

The match itself was very solid and featured great work from both Divas; it was hard hitting, it was at times rough and thoroughly enjoyable. It’s a shame that the fans in attendance weren’t more into it, which is unusual for UK crowds who pretty much cheer the whole show. The commentary also, was rather bland and monotonous for the most part and added little to the match. Perhaps those two factors could have helped a little more but other than that, I thought this was a great match and both Divas did a great job. I can’t help but feel that with more time and perhaps a little less restriction, it could’ve been even better. This came across as just 25% of what they can do and hopefully one day we’ll see them go all out.

Next up, the Glamazon Squash Tour stops by Britain:

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Raw Redux (November 9th, 2009) – Blink and You Missed It

Hoping to keep her momentum going following last week’s #1 contendership win, Alicia Fox takes on the woman she beat not too long ago on WWE Superstars, Kelly Kelly. Will this match shine or pale in comparison to that bout? Let us see:

Inexplicably, Gail Kim and Jillian are at ringside, supporting their Survivor Series teammates. I’ll assume that’s the reasoning for this, because there really isn’t any other. The match starts with both girls getting in the other’s face, both looking pretty sassy. Alicia wins the sassy contest, however, because she outright pie-faces Kelly. Kelly responds with a Lous Thesz press, pounding on Alicia’s head. A bit groggy, Alicia wanders over to the corner, drawing Kelly over and sending her face-first into the turnbuckle with a drop toe hold.

She continues the facial punishment by slamming Kelly’s face to the mat and attempting a pin, which Kelly kicks out of. Kelly attempts to find some salvation in the ropes but Alicia drags her to the center of the ring as Melina (or should I say one side of Melina’s face) watches on from backstage. Melina seems impressed, but also kind of like she’s plotting murder, rubbing her hands together in evil speculation.

Alicia plants a boot into Kelly’s midsection, preening for the crowd before dragging Kelly up by her hair. Kelly fights for control though, delivering a few shots to Alicia’s stomach. Alicia puts an end to this offense, sending her to the mat with a clothesline. She again grabs Kelly by her Barbie doll locks (careful, you might pull out a few), pancaking her face to the mat. She locks Kelly into a sleeper, and Kelly fights for freedom as the crowd slowly gets behind her. She gets to her feet and drops to her backside, sending Alicia’s jaw straight onto her shoulder, breaking her free. She goes on a string of offense, ending in a Frankensteiner that she hooks into a pin for a 2-count.

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The Tiffany Guide to Impact: Beatdowns, Behemoths and Ugly Sticks

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This week on Impact, TNA gives us a double dose of Knockouts action. But first, we’re treated to the second installment of  The Beautiful People’s ‘movie’, “Meanest Girls.” Oh joy… Watch below as Velvet, Madison and Lacey find a surprise while searching for the Tag Team Champs, Saritaylor:


Skip to 2:15

TBP make their way into the Knockouts locker room, expecting to terrorize Saritaylor, but are met by the Knockout Champion ODB instead. After tossing some insults their way, ODB gets the jump on the ‘STD Sisters’ (lulz) and takes Lacey out with a kick to the gut. As expected, the number game comes into play as TBP overpowers ODB, and give her a ‘makeover’ (now with full body bag!).

I hate to admit it, but I rather liked that segment. Maybe it was because of ODB’s foul mouth, but everything came together perfectly. Take note WWE, this is how a backstage segment should be done. All the dialog was delivered well without sounding like it was being read directly off a script. Well done, TBP. Now if you could only put on a decent match…

Next up, Hamada takes on Tara in singles action. Dream Match much?:

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SmackDown Redux (November 6th, 2009) – Glamazon Squash Tour Continues

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This week’s SmackDown saw the continuation of the ‘Glamazon Squash Tour’, with Beth Phoenix facing New Jersey local, Brittany Carter. Meanwhile, Layla and Michelle McCool developed a fun new gimmick of sorts, which I liken to the evil stepsisters from Cinderella. Does that make Mickie James, Cinderella? If so, despite scare tactics from McCool & Layla, Mickie shall go to the ball that is Survivor Series in three weeks time. We learned that we’re going to see a good old fashioned elimination match on November 21st with McCool and James as team captains of opposing teams.

Let’s check out all the action, beginning with Beth:


Skip to 00:40

So one week after decimating Jenny Brooks, Beth gets a new toy to play with and from the outset, it’s surely obvious that this one will go the same way as last week’s bout, right? Beth’s opponent is a slighty over-tanned Brittany Carter aka WSU’s Brooke Carter aka Brittney Savage.

The Glamazon gets physical from the outset, hoisting the smaller visitor over her shoulder and driving her into the corner. Welcome to the big leagues! Just in case that wasn’t enough, Beth repeats the same move in the opposing corner and Brittany may wanna stop by the gynae to check her womb is still intact. Beth applies what looks like a Von Erich-esque claw [much more effectively than Lacey, I might add] before backing up at the referee’s request. Beth then hits a a running butt-bump a la former WWE Superstar, Umaga. Hey Brittany, may wanna add a plastic surgeon to that ‘medical to-do list’ for your nose.

Before Carter can get to her feet, she is picked up by Phoenix who then slams her over her knee, not once but twice. The Glamazon then grabs Carter by her hair, seemingly dragging the poor girl around the ring by her roots — no ‘weavedrobe malfunctions’ here unlike TNA. Beth picks up Brittany over her shoulder in a dominator position and spins her around before wrenching her and then dropping her to the canvas like litter. Carter drops face first, adding further insult to that nose.

Phoenix wraps up her tour date this week by picking up Brittany for a Glam Slam, which much like last week is elongated with Beth coming across like a fierce lionness flaunting her prey as she lets the whole audience get a look-see. And again like last week, she takes a moment to compose herself before pinning her opponent.

Following the same simple formula as last week, Beth is made to look strong in a one-sided affair. The danger with this is that I am almost 90% certain Diva fans will begin complaining already about it being predictable. I dare say, some have a shorter attention span than the average fan. WWE, for that reason, perhaps needs to be careful about how much longer they follow this formula before giving Beth a more suitable opponent, i.e. Layla before working up to Michelle McCool and/or Mickie James. The purpose of these squash matches is to re-establish Beth and they are a doing a good job so far of having her come across as a big bad take-no-nonsense heel. The general idea of these squash matches with Superstars like Sheamus and Umaga before him, is to create hype around a Superstar and make them look menacing and make the fans care about that character in that sense. Given that the average fan cares little about the Divas roster, it surprises me then that that same effort is going into Beth; I hope it pays off and the fans begin showing some sort of reaction towards her i.e. deafening boos.

Anyway, follow the cut for the backstage segment:

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Madison Rayne Takes the ‘Hotseat’

The Beautiful People’s most tolerable star, Madison Rayne is the latest guest on Hermie’s Hotseat where she discusses her career. Dropping the Mean Girls gimmick for the interview, the sharply dressed Rayne is far more personable and really comes across as ‘the girl next door’ which is why I always find it hard to believe … Read more

Michelle McCool Stumbles on ‘5th Grader’ + Video of Full Episode

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Women’s Champion and former school teacher, Michelle McCool raised money for charity on today’s episode of ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?’ — but unfortunately, not as much as she could have. The champion struggled on the $125,000 question and ended up winning only $2,500 for her chosen charity, Make a Wish Foundation.

Watch the full episode below:

PART 1

Rest after the cut:

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Raw Redux (November 2nd, 2009) – The Fantastic Ms. Fox

After last week’s debacle of botches and rage-inducing Hornswoggle cameos, things could only go up (I hope). Let’s take a look at how this week’s Diva action got started.

This week’s guest GMs Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne spoofed Sharon’s popular reality show “America’s Got Talent”, opening the door for any a misfit WWE toy to come out and embarrass themselves. This, of course, is right up Jillian‘s alley, so she of course showed up to croon a song for the judges, the results of which are below:

Jillian, with Chavo by her side, sang a duet of Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford’s “Close My Eyes Forever”. Before they could get very far the judges hit the buzzer, Ozzy saying that he was going to re-title the song “Close My Ears Forever”. Upset, Jillian told Sharon that she had always been jealous of Lita Ford. In response, Sharon told her to come to the ring (but in much more flowery a way).

As she and Chavo walked to the ring, Jillian began to sing a song by someone she deemed a “true rock icon”, belting out Britney Spears’s “Ooops, I Did it Again”. She gets in Sharon’s face, and gets a slap across the face in response. Jillian cowers in the corner as Chavo gets his due too–a chop to the head by Khali.

The segment played to Jillian’s strengths, namely making a bit of a fool of herself. But hey, no other Diva could do it quite like her, and she’s pretty funny in a shameless way. It must sting to be relegated to the goof-off spot after being in a feud for the Diva Championship just a week ago, but at least if she has to be slapped she’s getting slapped by Sharon Osbourne–it could be a helluva lot worse.

Directly following these shenanigans we have a Divas battle royal for the #1 contendership to the Divas Championship. We have Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, the Bella Twins, Gail Kim, and Alicia Fox all in the ring. Eliminations, of course, can occur by any means, even by sliding under the bottom rope. That’s Divas battle royals for ya..

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SmackDown Redux (October 30th, 2009) – Worst. Costume. Contest. Ever.

Note: As a result of the ‘Diva Dirt Trade’, the SmackDown Redux is now written by Melanie! Like Mickie James, I have left behind Raw after two years of the Raw Redux but left it in the very capable hands of Erin. You can read Erin’s Raw Redux every Tuesday here at Diva Dirt.

In the words of Comic Book Guy: “Worst. Costume. Contest. Ever.” Much second hand embarassment was felt for the four Divas involved; from the unflattering costume choices [that’s you Mickie!] to the ‘white people dancing’ [thanks Michelle!], this one didn’t look too hot.

However earlier in the night, we kicked things off on a much brighter note when the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix made her in-ring debut as a SmackDown Diva in a squash match. This to me was the perfect set-up. Since her debut in 2007 [let’s ignore the original debut], Beth has been pushed as the monster heel of the women’s division; the powerful and dominant Glamazon. In the past year, it’s safe to say she’s waned a little as a character as a result of poor booking but all that seems to be changing thanks to the move to SmackDown. Usually with these monster heel types, they’ll have squash matches for weeks on end against the ‘jobber of the week’, we’ve seen it with the likes of The Great Khali, Umaga, Mike Knox and most recently, Sheamus on ECW. I think it’s really intriguing for a Diva to be given similar treatment and really have that time to be put over as a ‘big bad monster’. This almost re-introduces Beth, putting out of mind what she’s been doing on Raw lately, and sort of starting from scratch. So it would Beth Phoenix versus local jobber known as Jenny Brooks, who it’s explained has some history with Beth:

Fresh from defeating Melina to take a win for Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights, Beth gets her first match on SmackDown. We kick off with Beth throwing Jenny to the mat and laying in some kicks & punches and then literally, kicking Brooks out of the ring. That definitely looked impressive.

Beth then drags Brooks back into the ring by her hair and then picks her up for a standing suplex, hoisting Jenny into the air for a good 30 seconds or so. This is something we’ve seen before in Beth’s arsenal and really is a sight to see, so it’s nice to see that it’s dusted off here. Beth then picks up Brooks by the neck and slams her over her knee, before just throwing her into the corner like a rag doll. Jenny then tries to fight back but is thrown against the ropes by Beth and then gets hit with an axehandle across the head. The end is here for the visiting Brooks as Beth sets up an epic looking Glam Slam, once again just holding that position as with the suplex, and as you’ll see she does a 360 on the spot so all the fans in attendance can see her sheer dominance which is a very nice touch, and then slams her down. Beth then takes a moment to adjust herself, looking composed and not in a rush, before pinning Brooks with ease.

I really enjoyed this. Like I said, it almost re-introduces Beth and her dominance with the use of the elongated standing suplex and Glam Slam, using Beth as a spectacle almost. She really came across great here as a non-chalant bad ass heel. The little touches like taking her time before pinning her opponent, while just a small touch, added that much more to atmosphere and I really like that. I hope they can keep this up and continue to have Beth booked strongly & break the mould of what it means to be a Diva today; as mentioned earlier, Diva squash matches are unthinkable but for that to be used as a storyline device for Beth shows some progression. Good segment.

After the cut, the Divas Halloween Costume Contest:

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Raw Redux Does WWE Superstars (October 29th, 2009)

This week on Superstars, Kelly Kelly makes her second appearance in as many weeks, taking on Alicia Fox. Will this week’s match be as entertaining as last week’s bout? Let us see:

They start with a tie-up, Alicia roughing Kelly up to gain control and wrench her arm into an arm bar. Keeping the hold locked, she slams Kelly by her hair to the mat, crouching to get the best angle on the hold. Kelly hops up, but Alicia won’t let go, wrapping it even tighter. Kelly seeks refuge in the corner, climbing the turnbuckle, hopping down butt-first onto the top rope, flipping backwards and tossing Alicia across the ring with an arm drag. Not gonna lie, that was pretty impressive..

Alicia is stunned, but manages to beat Kelly to the punch, whipping her into the opposite corner. Kelly stops herself on the turnbuckle, though, pushing herself backwards and over Alicia. She does a back tuck to keep momentum, then meeting Alicia with a dropkick when she charges towards her. Kelly goes for the pin, but is unsuccessful.

Both get to their feet at the same time, trading blows until Kelly runs the ropes, going for an attack that Alicia telegraphs, hoisting Kelly up and into a backbreaker. Alicia goes for a pin, but gets a 2-count. Not satisfied (and obviously feeling that Kelly will change her mind and stay down), she goes for another pin, but gets the same result. She circles her prey before grabbing her by the hair and planting a knee into her back, wrenching her by the neck.

With Kelly’s struggle, the move does a 180, Alicia shifting to her feet but keeping the knee firmly in place. Kelly slowly gets to her feet, but before she can counter, Alicia scoops her up. Kelly scoots over Alicia’s shoulder though, rolling her up into a pin attempt that Alicia kicks out of. Damn, the way Alicia reacted to that counter made me think it was a botch. Just good selling, though. Alicia is obviously pissed off by this, delivering a blow to Kelly’s face and taking her time, pacing the ring and taunting the crowd. This elicits a decent reaction, but I’m not sure if that’s more due to Alicia’s heel spark or Kelly’s success as a babyface.

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Raw Redux (October 26th, 2009) – Hornswoggle Takes Center Stage

NOTE: Ladies and gentlemen, do not adjust your computer screens–this is Erin doing the Raw Redux. Melanie and I have decided to switch shows in order to better fit our schedules. From now on, I’ll be writing for the red team and she’ll be working Fridays.

After last week’s lackluster Diva Championship rematch between Melina and Jillian, it’s safe to assume that the fans were hoping some real Diva action (a little less Chavo/Hornswoggle, a little more actual wrestling) this week to let Melina grow into her position as new Divas Champion. Well, if you got your hopes up you might want to grab a ladder and go get ’em, because they’re gonna be hanging there for a while–it looks like we’ve got more unnecessary Superstar involvement this week as well, as Santino’s teaming with Melina to take on Jillian and Chavo:

I must not have been paying close enough attention to Raw, because Santino being a babyface kind of blindsided me. I guess his act is so cheesy it might as well be used to appease the fans. I wonder how long it’ll be before he’s shooting out t-shirts in between matches.

Anywho, enough with that. Santino and Melina make their way to the ring (to Melina’s music), followed by Chavo and Jillian (to Chavo’s music.. I guess it’d be too odd for Chavo to come out to the music stylings of Jillian, though it would’ve been cool for both Divas to get their full entrances, girl power~~ and all of that.) The match starts with the men, while Melina and Jillian play cheerleaders on the outside.

After Chavo takes one suckerpunch too many, Jillian eventually tags herself in. According to the ~rules Melina must now come in, but according to heel schtick (which, strangely, is followed more often), Jillian must first try to fight Santino. She slaps him in the face, and being the gentleman he is, goes and tags in Melina. The Divas get right into it, trading blows until Jillian goes for a haymaker that Melina bends back and avoids (the Melinatrix move?).

Jillian goes to pick up Melina, who seems to go for some type of hurricanrana, but can’t get a good hold on Jillian (translation: botch). She lands on her feet and turns it into an armbar, but Jillian clotheslines her before she can lock it in. God, these girls just don’t have any luck together, do they?

But before they can redeem themselves, out comes Hornswoggle to… do the DX chop? Really, what’s his reason for being out here, other than to further terrorize Chavo? I don’t get it. Does he think the fans are just dying to see him inject DX into the 95% of the show they don’t already take up? Whatever the senseless reason, he seems to have distracted Melina and Jillian a bit, as when Melina attempts the Last Call she nearly take off her own head. Was that even a Last Call? I guess you could call it a delayed roll-up.

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SmackDown Redux (October 23rd, 2009) – Divide and Conquer

Last time on SmackDown: Mickie and Beth made their SmackDown debuts, both confronting Michelle backstage. Mickie wants to wrestle at Bragging Rights, while Beth wants the Women’s Championship.

This week: Will we finally see SmackDown’s newest Divas in action? How about any buildup for Bragging Rights? Will SmackDown’s team, despite the fact that they seem to be gunning for each other, be able to band together and beat Raw on Sunday?

We start the night, as is usual with SmackDown, with a backstage segment. Mickie James is speaking with WWE legend Mae Young, having a friendly conversation. Things, however, get messy when Michelle McCool shows up (Skip to 1:45):

Michelle tells Mae that it’s nice to see her. Mickie? Not so much. Michelle expresses her sympathies that Mickie didn’t make the team for Bragging Rights and says that there’s always next year. Mickie says she knows why she didn’t make the team–Michelle says it’s because Beth Phoenix and Natalya are way more talented than she is. This high school-level tête à tête continues until Mickie tells Michelle to “break a leg” this Sunday, leaving the scene.

Michelle can barely take a breath before Beth appears behind her, pretty much reiterating what she said last week, threatening to take her title. She tells her she’ll see her Sunday and heads off, leaving Michelle with Mae who says, “She told you!” (Burn!). Michelle tells Mae to shut up, and gets a slap in the face for her rudeness.

Later, it looks like we have a match, as Mickie makes her way to the ring. She’s followed by Layla, and we get started:

They start with a tie-up, Mickie getting control with a side headlock. Layla fights free, shoving Mickie into the ropes. On the return, Mickie knocks Layla down with a shoulder blast. She goes to the ropes for momentum, and Layla flattens herself to the mat to avoid her. Mickie cartwheels over her, dropkicking her the moment they both get to their feet. She attempts a pin, but Layla kicks out, and she drags her back to her feet.

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Raw Redux Does WWE Superstars (October 22nd, 2009)

This week on Superstars, Raw girls Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly are set to have a friendly match–or so I think. Watch below and see if these two babyfaces play nice:

Gail takes early control in the tie-up, taking Kelly to the mat. She keeps her down in a headlock position, which Kelly flips into an unsuccessful pin attempt. Gail reverses back to the headlock position, but Kelly soon snaps Gail into a headscissors. Gail quickly snaps up to her feet, but Kelly sweeps her, going for a pin but only getting 2. Gail gets up and does the same thing, also getting a 2-count. These girls are showing some great speed early on..

They slow down a bit, catch their breath, and slap hands. Guess this will be a friendly match after all.. They start with another tie-up, Gail getting control once again with a side headlock. With a few punches to the midsection, Kelly gets free and shoves Gail into the ropes. On the return, Gail knocks Kelly to the mat. Another pin, another 2-count.

Gail pulls Kelly to her feet, twisting her arm into an arm wrench. Kelly backs into the ropes and uses them for momentum, flipping backwards and using the momentum to take Gail down with an arm drag. Kelly charges towards Gail in the corner but Gail slips out of the ring, hopping back over the ropes and taking Kelly into a schoolboy pin. Kelly kicks out, and Gail pulls her up, irish-whipping her into the corner. Kelly hops backwards over a charging Gail, doing a back tuck for good measure. She armdrags Gail, who then backs into the corner. Kelly peps up the crowd, climbing the turnbuckle for a monkey flip. Gail, however, hangs onto the ropes, sending Kelly to the mat back-first. Gail bridges into a pin for a 2-count.

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In Pictures & Video: Maria Continues Filming ‘Apprentice’ in NY

SmackDown Diva, Maria continued filming for the third season of Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice in New York over the weekend. As pictured, Maria and the women’s team which includes: Summer Sanders, Holly Robinson Peete, Sharon Osbourne, Cyndi Lauper and Carol Leifer. Also, Wrestlezone.com has footage of Maria flipping burgers on Monday at Burger Heaven, assumably … Read more