The Divas return to WWE Superstars as The Bella Twins take on Alicia Fox and Jillian. Check it out below:
Alicia (accompanied by NXT Rookie, Maxine) with her Tina Turner esque outfit, and Jillian are the first tag team to make their way down to the ring. Jillian, of course, begins to speak to the audience about the laryngitis rumor being completely untrue and tries very hard to prove it to those watching by showing off her redonkulous singing skills. Her song of choice? “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna.
This may be my very first time being excited to see the Bellas. My ears are thanking them for interrupting the drowning cat… err, I mean Jillian. They are accompanied by their NXT Rookie, Jamie, looking prepared for a war with their camouflage get up. Can’t say I’m a fan of the curtain like material covering their boots, though.
Alicia is in the ring to start the match with Bella #1. Bear with me, you guys. I have no idea which twin it is and of course Cole & King didn’t bother to help. Alicia and Bella #1 lock up before Alicia pushes her off. Alicia tries to go after her with the clothesline, but she is monkey flipped by Bella #1. Numero uno delivers a couple of forearms to the face of Alicia, who tries to counter by ramming her head into the turnbuckle, but Bella #1 is able to block it with her foot and throws Alicia into the turnbuckle face first. She gives Alicia a kick in the gut for good measure before tagging in Bella #2.
This week on Superstars, we have our first look at the new NXT rookies accompanying their Pros in a mixed tag match. We have Goldust (accompanied by Aksana) pairing up with Gail Kim going head to head with Primo (accompanied by AJ Lee) teaming with Jillian. Definitely a possibility of interference by the rookies, but will it happen? Will the winning streak started on Tuesday be continued by Primo and everybody’s favorite Songstress Jillian? Or can will a new Shattered Dreams production break the box office? Lets find out!
(Quick note: If you didn’t see William Regal’s rap at the beginning of the program, seek it out! It was funny as hell and he even tried to “groove” whilst rapping! If Jillian can get an iTunes album, I think Regal should have one of his own. Now back to our Divas report!)
Out first is the (somewhat odd) pairing of Goldust and Gail Kim, with Aksana at his side. Quite a good reaction for this team! Gail is in her lovely lavander gear while Aksana is staying with her pro’s colors, a black top and pants with leopard print trimming. She’s stunning, no doubt about it. Next out is Primo and Jillian, accompanied by AJ Lee. Jillian’s sporting her usual outfit but this time it’s sea green – very nice color on her! AJ’s in a purple top and black shorts, very bouncy and energetic. The rookies exit the ring as the bell chimes, and it’s Primo and Goldust starting things off.
This week on Superstars, we get a rematch (of sorts) as one half of the so-called Blondetourage Kelly Kelly faces off against one half of Lay-Cool, Michelle McCool. Kelly has one win over Michelle on the books. Can lightning strike twice? Watch below…
Out first are the self-proclaimed co-Women’s Champions, Layla and Michelle – and this time they have Kaval with them! He looks thrilled to be carrying both halves of the Women’s belt as well as their new Flawless hoodies. (Note to WWE Shop: When are you people going to start producing Flawless hoodies? I know I’m not the only one who wants one!) Michelle’s opted to go with her sea green ring attire and her hair looks lovely as well. Layla’s looking beautiful in a black one-strap dress that has a bit of color at the top. And Kaval looks tough and oh-so-teddy bear cute in his green ring gear. “Holla!” That breathy sound signals the entrance of Kelly Kelly who’s decked out in a very cute pink attire that has shorts and a bikini top, but the top looks a bit more functional. Small changes like this don’t go unnoticed, and in this case it makes her look more professional. The bell rings and off we go!
It came as a surprise to me to find out we had a Divas match on Superstars this week. I’m not complaining, however! Tonight we get one half of the Blondetourage, Tiffany taking on one half of Lay-Cool, Layla. Personally, I’m looking forward to see these two mix it up. Can Tiffany overcome the power of Lay-Cool? Watch below…
Out first is Tiffany, in a cute blue & yellow top and skirt. I have to say, the skirt is starting to grow on me. Next comes the self professed co-Women’s champions, Layla and Michelle McCool. Layla’s in her red gear, which I adore. Michelle’s sporting cut off shorts, a light blue ‘Flawless’ shirt and knee high boots. Normally I’m not a fan of ultra-short shorts but Michelle’s got the legs to pull them off.
The bell rings and the two go into a collar and elbow tieup. Layla slips behind Tiffany, clutching her by the waist. Tiffany applies her elbow to Layla’s wrist which causes the brunette to simply push Tiffany foward…and then she kneels down and fluffs up Tiffany’s skirt. Not gonna lie, I laughed. But this seems to get Tiffany riled up as she strikes with a knee to the gut, followed by some stiff forearms! She goes to whip Layla off the ropes but Layla reverses and Tiffany executes a nice looking sunset flip!
On WWE Superstars, we were treated to Divas starting the show and ending the show. First match we saw Gail Kim teaming with Yoshi Tatsu to take on Jillian and Primo. But what of the feud between Jillian and the Bella Twins?
As Superstars begins, we hear “You can look but you can’t touch” blare over the loudspeakers. Out come Nikki and Brie Bella – in matching referee outfits! The announcer tells us that the Twins are our special guest referees for the following match. You can guess hijinks are about to ensue. Out first is Primo and Jillian, and our Songstress does not look happy to see who the referees are. Jillian’s sporting a nice sky blue outfit tonight. Out next is Yoshi and Gail Kim, who’s looking good in yellow tonight. We hear Michael Cole explain that one Bella will be inside the ring and one will be on the outside. But neither him nor Lawler can tell who’s inside the ring at the moment… and neither can I.
Gail and Jillian start things off. They lock up and Gail has Jillian by the arm but not for long – Jillian simply SHOVES Gail down with a hand to Gail’s face. Jillybean’s temper is flaring already! Picking her up via the hair, Jillian takes the moment to jaw at Bella Ref #1, before throwing Gail back down using her hair. She goes for the cover but only gets one. Disgust is all over the blonde’s face – she clearly should’ve gotten the win right there!
Picking her up once again using the hair (Bella Ref #1 repeatedly warning Jillian about abuse of hair), Jillian snaps Gail down to the mat and follows up with a stiff kick to the back. Whipping Gail off the ropes, Jillian is met with a kick to the head, followed up with a clothesline that sends both women to the mat. Jillian crawls over to Primo and tags out. According to mixed tag rules, Yoshi comes in automatically but not before Primo eyes Gail with a rather unpleasant grin. She rolls to the side as Yoshi comes in.
Last week, we were treated to Brie Bella vs “The Singing Sensation” Jillian. This week, perhaps seeking some revenge, Jillian faces off with Nikki Bella. Where one goes, the other follows. Will we see more twin hijinks, or will Miss Hall score a victory? Lets find out!
The Bellas are first out and we get our first hint of trouble: matching outfits and flowers in their hair on the same sides. The sky blue is a nice color but the ruffles on the legs… honestly ladies, switch up the design! You don’t have to have ruffles on everything you wear. Just a tip.
We get a recap of last week’s shenanigans before Jillian comes out in a nice purple ensemble. She looks all business tonight as she climbs into the ring. The poor dear looks fustrated! She then speaks words that drive a dagger into my heart: after last week, after what the Bellas did to her, she can’t even sing. Woe to her fans! Our weekly perk has been denied us thanks to that devious duo! However the twins clap as does the audience. Everyone’s a critic. Jillian removes her portable mic and the referee calls for the bell. Michael Cole gets one of his oh-so-witty jabs in, “Instead of Lady GaGa, they should call Jillian Lady Gag.” I hope he doesn’t write his own material. I choose to tune out the commentary and focus on the match.
Nikki and Jillian lock up, with Nikki forcing Jillian into a corner. The ref calls for them to break it up. Nikki backs away but the pop star rushes out, nailing Nikki with a strong right hand to knock her on the ground! Vicious move and the crowd signals it’s displeasure. Jilly follows up with a kick to the shoulder then grabs Nikki by her hair, jerking her back against her knee. Waiting until the last moment, Jillian finally releases the brunette, who’s grimacing in pain. Hall goes for a pin but only gets a two-count.
This week on WWE Superstars we have Jillian taking on the Bella Twins. Okay, so she’s really facing Brie Bella, but by now we know that when you face one Bella, it’s pretty much a 2-on-1 affair. Watch the match below:
Jillian comes to the ring all microphoned up and in keeping with the World Cup fever sweeping the world, she sings the “Olé Olé” tune until she’s interrupted by the entrance of the Bellas. With Brie in the ring and Nikki at ringside, the match begins. They start with a tie-up, Brie getting control and wrenching Jillian’s arm, but Jillian slams her to the mat. Brie regains control, twisting her arm behind her back, but Jillian quickly trips her up and causes her to hit face-first onto the mat. For good measure, I suppose, she slaps Brie on the butt. Good lord, I hope that doesn’t become some recurring thing. I can only dread what the WWE would do with a spanking gimmick.
Brie seems to take this as a personal insult, as she immediately leaps onto her and starts a bit of a tussle on the mat. After all the scrambling and hair-pulling, Jillian reverses an Irish whip into the corner. Brie braces herself against the corner, leaping and latching her legs around Jillian’s neck, but it’s telegraphed and Jillian pulls her free of the turnbuckle, letting her fall full-on onto the mat. Jillian then chokes her against the second rope, bashing her throat against it. After toying with her a bit, Jillian hits a snapmare and kicks her square in the back, attempt a pin that only garners a 2-count.
She grabs Brie by the arm and twists it back, wrenching her shoulder. When Brie starts to fight out, she simply slams her face onto the mat. Jillian hits her with a scoop slam and goes for her cartwheel splash, but is met in the midsection with Brie’s knees. This slows her down considerably, and allows Brie to go on the patented Diva babyface offensive tear (I’m sure it’s in the manual somewhere, with illustrations of dropkicks and clotheslines), hitting a series of dropkicks, a clothesline, and a bulldog. She goes for the pin, but Jillian kicks out at 2.
Last week’s episode of WWE Superstars gave us two solid Divas matches, one of them being one of the best Divas matches (in my opinion) so far this year. That match featured Gail Kim, and this week we’re treated to another Kim showing. This time, she’s taking on Alicia Fox:
The Divas start with a tie-up, and Alicia gains control, locking Gail into a side headlock. She quickly brings it to the mat, flipping Gail to the ground while keeping the hold locked. Alicia gets back to her feet and Gail fights free, but it stopped in her tracks when Alicia yanks her to the mat by her hair. Alicia goes for a pin and Gail kicks out rather quickly. She latches on another side headlock, but Gail soon pushes her against the ropes, shoving her across the ring and freeing herself. On the return, however, Alicia knocks her down with sheer momentum.
Alicia makes a move for the ropes, but Gail grabs a leg, stopping her short and causing her to land face-first on the mat. Gail quickly bridges over Alicia for a pin, but she kicks out. After a few blows dealt to Alicia, Gail goes for another pin, but the result is the same. Alicia manages to reverse an irish-whip from Gail, sending her into the corner. She eats boot when she tries to attack Gail, and is subsequently sent flying with a hurricanrana. Alicia, with her long legs, is sent all the way to the other side of the ring and is practically hanging out of it. Gail stops Alicia from mounting a return attack, keeping her against the ropes.
Alicia uses the ropes as a refuge for a moment, darting away from am attack by Gail but turning right into a body splash. She manages to catch Gail, though, and rams her into the corner. She suplexes Gail and bridges into a pin, getting a 2-count. Frustrated, she starts to play a little dirty with Gail, ramming her hair against the mat and grabbing some hair. She hits a body slam and takes a moment to pose a bit for the crowd, looking quite confident as she winks and sends out an air kiss.
Gail takes advantage of this self-distraction, battling back and going for a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Alicia manages to stop her momentum, though, and hoists Gail up, slamming her down into a backbreaker.
WWE gave us a double-whammy of Divas last night on WWE Superstars with Raw delivering Gail Kim vs Jillian and SmackDown offering up co-Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool vs Tiffany. Two matches from two different shows — this calls for a super-sized Redux with input from both our Raw columnist, Erin and SmackDown columnist, Melanie. Which brand had the better night?
Raw — by Erin
We start off the show with some Raw action, pitting Gail Kim against the woman she defeated on this show back in April, Jillian:
The match starts with a tie-up, Jillian backing Gail into a corner. she kicks her in the midsection and takes a moment to flaunt before turning back, but Gail slips out of her reach and flips over her, rolling her into a quick pin attempt, which earns her only a 1-count. Jillian, frustrated, gets to her feet quickly and slams Gail to the mat by the back of her head. She goes for a pin of her own, and Gail kicks out at 1.
Jillian whips Gail into the ropes, but on the return Gail turns the tables, latching onto Jillian’s midsection with her legs and rolling her forward into another pin attempt. Jillian kicks out. Gail goes on a rush of offense, nailing Jillian in the corner and then hitting a free-standing monkey flip. She dropkicks Jillian one last time, with sends her out of the ring. Jillian stumbles about outside, catching a breather. Unfortunately for her, Gail latches onto her neck with her legs, slipping through the ropes and hitting a hurricanrana outside the ring. Wow! I don’t think I’ve seen that done before. It’s creative, but doesn’t look as deliberate as it could have. To take full advantage of Gail’s moves, I think it’s vital to keep that unpredictable feeling in her matches and so far, this match has delivered that very nicely.
Jillian gets her revenge pretty quickly, though, pushing Gail so that she nails the ring apron face-first. She slips back into the ring and lounges a bit while Gail tries to shake away the cartoon birds flying around her head. She manages to get back inside the ring before the referee counts her out, but Jillian doesn’t give her a moment to recover, as she’s on her instantly, kicking her and slamming her face into the mat. She tries for a pin, but Gail kicks out at 2. Focusing on Gail’s loopy head, Jillian props her up against her knee, pulling her by her hair and knocking the back of her head against it. She lets go eventually but stays on Gail’s case, whipping her into the corner. Gail can barely stay vertical, though, and slams into the turnbuckle and falls back to the mat. Jillian senses Gail’s weariness and goes for yet another pin, getting only 2 again.
This past Monday’s Raw was lacking in actual Divas action, but this week’s episode of WWE Superstars is looking to make up for that. It doesn’t hurt that these matches are consistently longer than their Monday night counterparts, so I’m all for the Thursday night matches. This week, we see Maryse and Jillian taking on Brie and Nikki Bella, I guess in some small way following up Maryse’s defeat of Brie over a week ago. Let’s see if the Bellas manage to get some measure of revenge:
Nikki and Maryse start things off, with Nikki getting in Maryse’s face, Maryse-style, and hitting a leaping snapmare. Nikki immediately goes and tags in Brie, and the two hit a leg split maneuver than sends Maryse flipping backwards. Brie goes for the pin and gets a 2-count. Right out of the pin, Maryse takes control, nailing Brie in the stomach and bringing her to her team’s corner and tagging in Jillian.
Jillian gets some licks in before backing Brie into the ropes, grabbing fistfuls her of hair and talking some trash. She Irish-whips Brie into the ropes, and Nikki makes a sly tag when Brie hits her side of the ring. Brie hits a cross-body off those ropes, allowing Nikki to come in and grab a bridged pin attempt. Jillian kicks out at 2. Nikki maintains control and whips Jillian into the corner, hitting a monkey flip after yelling “Bellas baby!” on the top rope. Not sure if that’s t-shirt worthy, but I appreciate her gusto.
Nikki climbs the turnbuckle but is distracted by Maryse. Jillian takes advantage of this distraction, getting a quick shot on Nikki, hoisting her across her shoulders, and hitting a Samoan drop. Jillian goes for the pin, but only gets 2. She keeps Nikki on the mat, planting a knee into her back and pulling her backwards by her hair. She relents when the referee gets close to the requisite 5-count, and brings Nikki over to her corner, bodyslamming her and tagging in Maryse.
They both hoist up Nikki–Jillian with the hands, Maryse with the feet–and slam her back onto the mat. Maryse tries for the pin, but Nikki kicks out at 2. Maryse goes for a suplex (dangerously close to the ropes.. watch your position, girl!), but Nikki blocks it, pounding Maryse on the back and shoving her into the ropes, sending Nikki to the mat and Maryse all the way to the floor. Wait.. what just happened here? Did both girls get knocked loopy? Anywho, Maryse gets back in the ring, but not quick enough to stop Nikki from tagging in Brie.
I know what you’re thinking, who the hell is Marosa? It became evident watching last night’s episode of WWE Superstars that feisty Latina, Rosa Mendes is trying to remodel herself as SmackDown’s answer to the French poodle Maryse — complete with a bilingual promo. Where have we seen that before? Oh wait, just this past Monday on Raw… albeit in French. So, in case you haven’t already deduced: Maryse + Rosa = Marosa. In her first appearance as a SmackDown Diva — on Superstars — Marosa took on her former mentor, the Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix.
But before the match, we got a backstage segment between Kelly Kelly & Team Lay-Cool which nicely sets up a tag team match for tonight’s SmackDown. Watch below:
It looks as though Lay-Cool have picked their next target, having already picked on Mickie James and Beth Phoenix, branding Kelly ‘Smelly Kelly’. Kelly actually speaks! Not that you would know from watching her on Raw for the past two years. It was nice to see her being able to actually be part of a segment and I thought she did a good job here with Layla and Michelle. Enter Vickie Guerrero and the two pin her down as Vickie sprays her. This results in Kelly screaming at Vickie, calling her the ‘official cow’ which was pretty hilarious and almost matched Maryse clocking Eve with the Divas Title on Raw. Now enter the Glamazon who clears house along with Tiffany. Not a bad little segment, it’s rare to see something like this on Superstars.
Next up we have Beth Phoenix vs Rosa Mendes. Beth comes out first followed by Rosa who makes a really peppy entrance. I had called for Rosa to move to SmackDown in the Diva Draft feature and this is part of the reason why. She may not be a good wrestler, but she does have some personality that I think WWE could utilise. However, it becomes evident that the personality they want Rosa to show is Maryse’s… Rosa cuts a promo in Spanish and English, introducing herself and telling Beth that she’ll soon beat Beth for the title. “Adios Glamazon,” she says and I don’t know why but it made me laugh. Rosa then beats the microphone against Beth’s chest a few times, almost taunting her — resulting in the announcers calling her ‘muy loco’. Rosa definitley showed some personality and flare here.
Veteran Divas, Gail Kim and Jillian faced off on WWE Superstars this week. It’s almost as if they were given this rare singles match during Draft week to appease the fact that neither of them was moved over to the brand where, you know, they could actually wrestle and develop their characters. Damn shame. Anyhow, check out the bout below:
We start with a lock-up before Gail applies an armbar but is soon slammed down to the mat by her hair. Jillian then goes for a somersault into a leg drop but misses as Gail moves out of the way. Gail now returns the favour, slamming Jillian down to the mat by her hair. She follows through with an arm drag and forearm before irish whipping Jillian into the corner and going for her crossbody dive through the ropes, however Jillian counters by putting up her knees. Jillian goes up top but is met by Gail Kim who fights her way up also and hits a beautiful hurricanrana on Jillian.
Kim begins gaining some momentum and jumps onto Jillian’s shoulders but is planted onto the canvas with an electric chair drop. Jillian goes for a cover but no three count. Jillian begins working over Gail with some kicks and a powerslam before taking time to pose for the crowd — she gets a pretty great crowd reaction for that. Jillian now mounts Gail with some punches, goes for a cover but again, Gail kicks out. Jillian then applies a submission move from behind, digging her knee into Gail’s back but Kim begins fighting back and is soon on her feet — she hits Jillian with a kick and forearm, then goes to pick up Jillian but her back begins bother her allowing Jillian to take control. Jillian plants Gail with a Samoan drop now. Another pin attempt but no win for Jillian.
The SmackDown Divas this week were relegated to WWE Superstars for reasons that I can’t quite fathom. For one, the WWE Women’s Champion Michelle McCool has been a huge staple of the show for the past couple of years and also, Vickie Guerrero is another big selling point. Seems odd that they’d move the Divas segment from SmackDown to Superstars when such key players are involved. I guess we needed more time on SmackDown for the dissolution of Cryme Tyme, who coincidentally, spend more time on WWE Superstars than most. Nonetheless, this segment felt exactly like it would on SmackDown — it was given plenty of time and the Divas were given promos which is somewhat unusual for this show. So while I am a little confused as to why it wasn’t on the main show, it works just as well.
This week, the gear was turned up on the whole ‘Glam-a-man’ situation as Simply Flawless, lead by Michelle McCool, made their way down to the ring and out-and-out called Beth Phoenix a man. They had been planting the seeds for this direction prior to WrestleMania with the ‘Glam-a-man?’ t-shirts but as I mentioned last week in the Redux, it looks as though they are pressing ‘restart’ on this feud due to the yearly obstacle that is ‘Mania, which hinders rather than helps the Divas storylines as they have to be put on the show en masse with the Raw Divas also. Watch this week’s segment below:
First up on the mic is the heat magnet herself, Vickie Guerrero who then introduces us to the Women’s Champion, McCool who informs us that Beth Phoenix is a man. Great. More of WWE’s immature ‘potty humour’. The fat jokes with Mickie were just the start I take it. It’s a shame that every Diva feud must boil down to such elementary, vain things such as who’s sexier, who’s fatter, who looks manly etc. It just portrays the Divas as being high school bitches and not the intelligent women we know they are. Michelle McCool is in fact a very intelligent woman and dumbing her down with this character just seems silly to me. I could buy her as being a cold, calculating, meticulous heel who uses her brains instead of her brawn but that would be far too complicated to script apparently. Instead, the Divas must be dumbed down and enforce stereotypes. It’s evident that WWE doesn’t actually believe the Divas are smart as they would like us to believe with their ‘Smart, Sexy & Powerful’ slogan. Anyway, I digress. The acting here is pretty standard fare for Lay-Cool but they do it well, particularly Layla.
Vickie Guerrero announces that as a result of the new information that ‘Beth is a man’ she will have an intergender match against Layla. Out comes a super pissed off Beth Phoenix who avoids her regular entrance and marches to the ring with authority — nice touch. It sells that she’s annoyed and has no time for the happy, smiley Glamazon pose at the top of the ramp.
Last night’s episode of WWE Superstars saw The Bella Twins return to action from yet another hiatus, and I don’t know about you but it looks as though they’ve improved from the last time we saw them. Perhaps their mom, dubbed the ‘Bella Mom’, who is in attendance proved to be a lucky charm? The Bellas took on the veteran team of Jillian and Katie Lea in tag team action. Watch below:
Before the match, we see Katie Lea cutting a rare promo in her cute British accent before being cut off by Jillian who breaks into a rendition of Britney Spears’ ‘3’. She, of course, is interrupted by the Bellas’ entrance and we have ourselves a match.
Bella #1 starts things out with Katie Lea. The two lock up before Katie slams Bella to the canvas and goes for a quick pin but to no avail. Katie hits a scoop slam and goes for an elbow drop but the twin moves out of the way. The twin then applies an armlock on Katie and hits a beautiful arm drag running up the turnbuckles. She then tags out to Bella #2 who hits a sunset flip on Katie.
Katie begins taking control of Bella #2 with a knee to the stomach and throws her into the corner however the twin counters with a jumping snapmare. Katie kicks out of a near fall and takes control again, shoving the Bella into her corner and tagging out to Jillian. Jillian throws the twin against the ropes but she counters with a kick to Jillian’s face and throws her into the corner for a well executed monkey flip, meanwhile tagging back out to Bella #1. The Bellas hit a double clothesline but Jillian kicks out of a pin fall.
The Hart Dynasty, led by Natalya, continued their winning ways over the oddball team of Maria, Matt Hardy and The Great Khali this week on WWE Superstars. After beating the trio last week on SmackDown, the Harts handed the group another loss. I’m sure Uncle Bret being on Raw has nothing to do with their … Read more
Any sort of buildup to this Sunday’s Divas Championship match was noticeably absent from Monday’s Raw, but never fear! The WWE hasn’t completely forgotten about this match, for this week on WWE Superstars, Gail Kim tries to build some momentum going into the big match in taking on Katie Lea. Watch the match below:
Katie Lea takes control out of the tie-up, twisting Gail’s arm behind her back. Gail gets out of the hold by hitting a snapmare, then rolls Katie into a crucifix pin. Katie kicks out, and Gail takes her down again with an arm drag, holding onto the arm and twisting it behind her head. Katie gets free by catching Gail in a leg scissors, but Gail slips free pretty quickly, rolling Katie into a pin for a 2-count.
Katie reverses an irish whip, sending Gail into the corner. Katie charges but misses her mark when Gail slips out through the ropes. She then sends a shoulder into Katie’s midsection, flipping over her back-to-back and attempting a roll-up. Katie hangs onto the ropes, though, and Gail goes flying without her. Running in for the attack, Gail is redirected shoulder-first into the ring post. She hangs there for a while and Katie has to drag her out from between the ropes to roll her into a pin. Gail kicks out at 2.
Katie lays a few boots into Gail before latching her into an arm submission identical to the one Gail hooked her in at the beginning of the match, right down to the same arm. I like that–it tells a bit of a story. Still, we might end up with two competitors with bum left arms by the end of the match. Yikes. Michael Cole says that Katie Lea is working on Gail’s right shoulder, the shoulder that hit the ring post, but it’s actually the opposite. Oh well. Might as well take out both arms, I suppose.
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.
This week we’re continuing the trend of the Raw Divas wrestling on WWE Superstars, this time with some lesser-used Divas. Brie and Nikki Bella are teaming up to face the un-crowned JOB Squad of the WWE, Jillian and Katie Lea. Watch the match below:
The Bellas make their entrance, and Jillian and Katie Lea enter together to Jillian’s music (how weird is it to see Katie Lea walk out to Jillian warbling? it definitely doesn’t fit, to say the least). Brie and Katie Lea start things off, Katie latching her into a reverse bear hug maneuver. Brie gets free, turning it into a hip toss. She keeps a hold on Katie’s arm, wrenching it and dragging her to her corner, tagging in Nikki. They both grab Katie’s legs and flip forward in a move that isn’t so much effective as it is flashy (but that’s par for the course with the newer Divas these days, I guess). Nikki goes for the pin and gets 2.
Katie gains control and forces Nikki into the corner, tagging in Jillian. She gives Nikki a kick before tossing her across the ring by her hair. She takes Nikki’s arm and twists it back in a bit of an unorthodox half nelson. She woman-handles Nikki a bit before whipping her into the corner, going for an attack but getting an elbow to the face instead. She gives Jillian a kick before climbing the turnbuckle and hitting a flying body press. She goes for the pin, and gets a 2-count, quickly pulling Jillian up and tagging in Brie.
Nikki tosses Jillian off the ropes and hits an arm drag, then hitting another arm drag on Brie, landing her on top of Jillian. Brie attempts a pin, but no luck. Brie hits her leaping snapmare, then goes for a monkey flip but is distracted by Katie Lea, allowing Jillian to shove her to the mat. Jillian plants a few boots on her and chokes her on the ropes, relenting to the referee’s scolding and stepping back.
Last week’s Superstars Mixed Tag match didn’t exactly set the world on fire, and I expressed hope that the WWE would use this program to showcase a weekly Divas match, preferably one-on-one. Well, this week brings hope that they might actually be heading in that direction, as we’ve got Kelly Kelly taking on Jillian in a singles match. It’s certainly a different Diva combination from we’ve seen lately, so I’m interested in seeing how they’ll work together–will it be good, bad, horrific? Check out the match below and find out for yourself:
Jillian makes her way to the ring, and proceeds to tell the audience about how she had felt nervous about tonight until she heard a Miley Cyrus song on the radio, that song being “Party in the USA”, which I believe is the only song in the history of music whose Kidz Bop cover sounds better (not that I’ve listened to either voluntarily.. *cough*). Jillian butchers the song, and the crowd boos her within an inch of her life. It’s weird, but I think Miley got the biggest heat the WWE’s seen in a while. Maybe they can channel that into a shitty impersonation by Santino.
Kelly interrupts the singing, getting a rather large pop. She enters the ring, and the match begins with a tie-up, Jillian immediately nailing Kelly with a knee to her stomach. She wrenches Kelly’s arm, prompting her to head to the corner and climb the turnbuckle, hitting a sitdown flip off the top rope and sending Jillian flying with the resulting armdrag. Kelly keeps the momentum going, hitting a frankensteiner and hooking Jillian’s leg for a 2-count.
She pounds Jillian’s head a bit, then attempting a kick that Jillian blocks, catching her leg. Kelly does a backwards flip to escape, but once back on her feet Jillian takes her down with a clothesline. Talk about a spinning head.. Jillian attempts a pin, getting 2. She picks Kelly up by the hair, shaking her head violently. She continues with the hair-driven attacks, tossing Kelly across the ring by her blonde locks. With the popularity of weaves amongst the Divas you’d think those types of moves would be outlawed, a la the shooting star press from a while back. Hey, it is dangerous–exposing fake hair counts as breaking kayfabe!!
In what you could consider a partial rematch of last week’s Superstars match, Gail Kim is again taking on Jillian, this time in a Mixed Tag Team match–Gail pairing with Primo and Jillian with Chavo Guerrero. Watch the match below:
Primo and Chavo start out the match. Primo dominates Chavo until some dirty tricks put Guerrero in control. Jillian even gets a few boots on Primo while the referee’s back is turned. Primo eventually regains control, prompting Chavo to go running to his momma Jillian, grabbing a hold of her midsection. As unorthodox as it is, this counts as a tag, and Jillian enters the ring. Before Primo tags her in (and he really doesn’t need to, I guess), Jillian charges, and he dodges, and she eats Gail’s fist.
Gail blasts into the ring, going on a roll of offense, irish-whipping Jillian into the corner, hitting a flying clothesline. She backs up and goes for a two-fer, but Jillian moves, and she ends up between the ropes and wrapped around the turnbuckle. Gail gathers herself, though, and ducks a blow by Jillian, hitting one of her own and climbing the turnbuckle. Chavo distracts her, however, and Jillian causes her to lose her footing. Gail crotches herself on the top rope, and Jillian tosses her from there to the mat. She goes for the pin, earning a 2-count.
Frustrated, Jillian goes a bit unhinged, grabbing Gail by the head and slamming the back of hit repeatedly against her knee. The hold quickly is reduced into a blatant hair pull. She eventually lets go and goes for the pin again, still getting only 2. She picks Gail up and tosses her by the hair like she’s a ragdoll, which probably isn’t far off from her actual weight–no insult intended, she’s just so tiny! Jillian then just stands on Gail’s face–hey, if it gets the job done, why not? The referee scolds her, and she relents. I like how Jillian is showing a blatant disregard for the rules. There’s not even a hint of integrity to her wrestling, and I like that kind of honesty in a heel.
Jillian slams Gail into the corner and drives a few well-placed knees into her midsection. She brings Gail to the ropes, whipping her to the other side, but Gail hangs on, attempting a kick when Jillian advances on her. Jillian catches her foot, however, and drags her hopping to the center of the ring, taking her down with a clothesline. She taunts the crowd before going for her cartwheel splash, which Gail blocks with her knees. Both Divas try to regroup, crawling to their respective corners and tagging in their teammates.
This past Monday saw the start of an 8-Diva tournament for the Divas Championship, with Maryse advancing into the second round. The tourny continued tonight on WWE Superstars, pitting Gail Kim against Jillian. Who will get one step closer to holding that butterly belt? Watch and see:
Jillian comes down to the ring, headset on. She says how excited she is about this tournament and that she has a good feeling about her chances to go all the way. This reminds her of that Black Eyed Peas song that’s overplayed on the radio to the point that it has surpassed the category of music and and has transformed into an acute form of torture–that song being “I’ve Got a Feeling”. She, of course, butchers it, and Gail’s entrance music eventually puts a stop to it. Kim makes her way to the ring and the match is on.
They start with a tie-up, Gail taking advantage and wrenching Jillian’s arm. Jillian escapes this by rolling forward and sweeping Gail’s legs. She goes for a pin, but Kim doesn’t even let the referee get a 1-count down. Jillian picks her up and holds her in a side headlock. Gail forces Jillian back into the ropes and shoves herself free, making her run the ropes.
On the return, Jillian shoulder-blocks Gail, but Gail grabs her feet before she can go anywhere, making her fall flat on her face. Gail bridges into a pin, but barely gets 2. Kim delivers a few blows to her face and goes for an irish whip that Jillian reverses. Gail ends up in the corner, but skirts through the ropes when Jillian charges toward her. Jillian blocks a punch and lands one of her own, then going for a shoulder blow to Gail’s midsection, but Kim hoists herself up, landing in a seated position on Jillian’s back. She heads to the top rope, hitting a lateral press on Jillian and going for the pin, getting a 2-count.
Jillian gets to her feet, only to be taken down again with a frankensteiner. She tries to regroup in the corner, dodging an attack by Gail and sending her flying through the ropes. Gail manages to hang on, though, and Jillian grabs her by the hair, knocking her head against the steel post and allowing her to fall to the outside.
Jillian spears Gail against the ring apron and tosses her into the ring, attempting an unorthodox pin that Kim kicks out of. She picks Gail up and slams her back down with a sidewalk slam, going for another pin that results in another kick-out. An irish whip into the corner sends Gail into the turnbuckle and down to the mat, as she’s unable to stay on her feet.
In possibly her final match for a few months [*sniffle*], Divas Champion Melina took on a familiar challenger, Alicia Fox. Given the great matches that these two had earlier this year on SmackDown and also given the fact that they happen to be two of my favourite Divas, what better way to end 2009? Watch … Read more
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.
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.
Following a bust-up between Maria and Melinaon last week’s Smackdown, one would assume that the two wouldn ‘t be in the same corner from here on out. Not so fast, though, because this week on WWE Superstars, they’re doing just that, teaming up to face Michelle McCool and Layla. Let’s see how these ex-BFFs fare against the fast-forming friendship of Michelle and Layla:
As the match starts, Maria still doesn’t seem too pleased with Melina, shooting her a look as she heads out of the ring (What is she, 12?). Michelle starts out the match for her team, and she and Melina circle each other before meeting with a tie-up, Michelle taking advantage. She locks Melina in a belly-to-back hold before Melina breaks out, but is met with a knee to the stomach, Michelle then slamming the back of her head to the mat. After a braced knee to the face Michelle attempts a pin, but only gets 1.
A few knees and punches later, Michelle irish-whips Melina, and Melina uses her momentum to her advantage, spinning out of an attack and ending by planting Michelle’s face to the mat. It almost looked like a hurricanrana/face plant hybrid of sorts. (A hurrican-face plant?) A stunned Michelle sits up, only to be met with a low dropkick. She scurries to her corner, tagging in Layla.
Layla comes in like a bat out of hell but Melina bends back, avoiding a clothesline. Layla turns around and attempts a kick, but Melina blocks it with one of her own, continuing with this diversion a bit before planting Layla to the mat and tagging in Maria. Maria comes in quick, performing a flipping head plant on seated Layla. She then delivers a fist to her head in a split maneuver, going for the pin but barely getting 2. Layla reverses an irish whip, but Maria stops her momentum with the ropes, kicking her in the face. Maria goes to bounce off the ropes but Michelle makes a grab for her hair. Maria takes the bait, turning and taking a swipe at Michelle. Layla takes advantage of this distraction, booting her in the stomach as soon as she turns around, twisting her into a neckbreaker. A pin attempt, and a 2-count.
Layla tags in Michelle, stretching Maria out like a canvas so Michelle can kick her a few times in the midsection. Michelle continues to use her knee brace as an unofficial weapon, knocking it against Maria’s skull. She attempts a pin, but only gets 2. She mounts Maria, pounding her head against the mat, whic hthe referee takes offense to. (Oh, she can’t grab her hair, but she can use a hard knee brace to strike with? Okay, solid logic..) She keeps messing with Maria, kicking her around and practically stepping on her as she crawls around the ring in a daze. Maria heads to the safe haven of the ropes, but Michelle decides it isn’t a safe zone, choking her against the bottom rope with her knee. Choking Maria some more, she drags her closer to her corner, choking her against the second rope this time. After driving Maria into the corner, Michelle tags in Layla.
SmackDown Divas Eve Torres and Natalya got the chance to mix it up on tonight’s edition of WWE Superstars, taking part in a mixed tag team match with their usual teammates–Eve with Cryme Tyme, and Natalya with the Hart Dynasty. It appears as though the WWE is reigniting their feud from a number of weeks ago, when Eve and Natalya mixed it up and had a few impressive matches with one another. But, like most good things, the WWE forgot about it and dropped it. But never fear, because they’ve (at least for the time being) brought it back. Let’s see how they fare:
PART 1
PART 2
After what seems like forever, with the men doing the legwork, D.H. Smith tags in Natalya, which brings in Eve. I feel like these matches would be a lot more interesting and compelling if the men were allowed to face the women–I know that they’re not gonna go toe-to-toe (Let’s not embarrass the boys!) but it would make things a lot more interesting if someone didn’t have to automatically leave the ring once a person of the opposite gender was tagged in. It feels like a function in a video game that you should be able to use a cheat code to get around. Then again, I don’t play too many video games, so there’s not much I could do other than pound on the controller and complain. Which, ironically, I’m close to doing now with this entire spiel. Enough with the diversions, onto the action!!
