ECW

The show may change but the Divas stay the same! Welcome to a very special “extreme” edition of SmackDown Redux – ECW Does SmackDown Redux that is! Last night on ECW, Divas Champion Michelle McCool tasted defeat for the first time at the hands of Maryse.

Thoughts & Reactions
For the first time in months, Divas action came to ECW last night! I don’t understand WWE’s logic, is there idea of ‘fresh’ having the same match from last week’s SmackDown but just on a different show? I can’t say I’m complaining too much because the Divas who can do no wrong, Maryse and Michelle McCool did something that Spider-Man or Pirates of the Caribbean could never do – create a perfect trilogy. It’s usually the threequels that let let a trilogy down but not this one! Once again, Michelle and Maryse delivered a great match full of intensity and fire. Would I say it was as good as their match last Friday on SmackDown? No, but let’s face it, that’s a hard one to top! Both girls really did try though and I watched this match with a smile on my face and when it ended, I loved and respected both of them that much more.

This match was more about Maryse playing the aggressor and she was fantastic. We keep saying it, but for someone who’s been wrestling for such a short time, she has not only the moves but the heel mannerisms down to a tee! Maryse has fantastic ring presence as a heel, she knows how to play the crowd and knows how to work her opponent and I have to say, she brings a lot of fire out in Michelle that we’ve never seen before. Many complain about Michelle’s lack of personality and such but if you watch this match, I thought Michelle responded incredibly well to Maryse and these two share an insane chemistry. There’s something almost charming about Michelle taking more of a backseat and jobbing for most of the match, if you’re a face champion, it’s good to look vulnerable to your opponent and then win where it counts – a title match.

To trackback, when you heard this was a non-title match didn’t you just know Maryse was going to win? It’s a good move though, as this sets up Maryse as having earned another title shot against Michelle. In fact, I can actually see Maryse going over Michelle and winning the title in the near future. At this point, I don’t care if we see Michelle vs Maryse every week as long as the calibre is the same as this and their past matches. Great stuff!

Oh and I nearly forgot to mention: the commentary for this match was fantastic. I don’t watch ECW so I never realised how good Matt Striker is, he and JR really put over the Divas and the in-ring action rather than going off on tangents like Raw. Giving focus and attention to what we’re watching really adds to the experience, I really loved the commentary and it definitely added to my viewing.

Read more