If you were watching ECW tonight, you might have noticed a bright young face interviewing folks backstage, going by the name of Courtney Taylor. She would be Beverly Mullins, better known to FCW fans as Wesley Holiday. Phew, did I list out enough aliases for you? A former Hooters model (Oh dear..), Courtney had been … Read more
Spoilers for this Friday’s SmackDown are up. Click the ‘+’ sign to view:
Thoughts after the cut:
Spoilers for next week’s show are now out, including the debut of Hamada. Show airs 8/27 on Spike. Click the ‘+’ to read:
Thoughts after the cut:
Rumours around the ‘net are coming in thick and fast, with one suggesting that Mickie James was chewed out last night at Raw for reacting unprofessionally following her match last night — an obvious reference to the sour look on the Divas Champ’s face. But that’s not all, apparently the higher-ups were not too happy … Read more
This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for: 50 Sexiest Divas 2009 is here! All summer long, you have been voting for your favourite Divas in a hopes of getting them featured on the list and now the results are here. Over the course of five days, we will be revealing the list as … Read more
A much anticipated match ended with a death stare. Caused riot on the Internet. And possibly had the worst botched finish for any match featuring women of this caliber. Rivalling the horrible finish to the Mickie James-Trish Stratus match at WrestleMania 22, they can’t just edit this one off the DVD and act like it never happened, because there won’t be a DVD. And try as they already have to eliminate the evidence [click here], we all know what went down last night and there is no way to spin it — the ending was horrible. Watch what will soon become ‘the infamous’ Gail Kim vs Mickie James match below:
Honestly, as some may expect me to do, I don’t want to blame anyone for what happened. Yes, the finish was awful but I actually enjoyed the match until that point. In fact, I told Erin right after it happened: “Just watch, after that finish no one will remember the match or talk about the match, it’ll be all about the finish.” And lo-and-behold, I do believe I was right. The whole match, I feel, is getting painted with the same brush stroke as the finish. Whether you enjoyed the match is down to your own personal opinion but I was liking where it was going.
I don’t want to scrutinize either Diva or suggest it was either of their fault. The finish was horrible but it was a freak accident & shouldn’t be a reflection on either of their in-ring ability. It definitely looked as though Gail hit her head and was out of it following the crossbody and as one can expect, was in no fit state to continue the match. She was out of it. For that, I applaud her for finishing the match and I applaud Mickie for attempting to improvise the finish.
This week on an all new Roundtable, the Diva Dirt team will be discussing WWE, TNA and a lot more! Join us as usual, on Thursday. But in the meantime, have your say on your topics: Please try to keep them short and sweet — just one sentence, so we can read out as many … Read more
So because I like to indulge myself in time-wasting, I thought I would do another round of random observations from last night’s Raw: – Did we transport to WrestleMania 22? – And if we did, they can’t edit that out on the DVD because there won’t be one! – But they did try and edit … Read more
Warning: the following article might induce this reaction.
Last night, the 5th annual installment Hard Justice, marked a monumental moment in Knockouts history. As you all already know, a new Knockouts champion has been crowned. The reception surrounding this decision has been rather…controversial, to say the least. An outrage has been ignited, and with good measure. There are certain moments in professional wrestling that feeds the hand of those neither deserving nor rightful. In this particular instance, the sole-victor and luminary of this contest was deprived of the proper acknowledgment that is only fit for a suitable champion, exposing an underlying selfishness and intolerance that still plagues the wrestling world. An unfortunate event by which one Cody Deaner has fallen victim. However, with every cloud comes a silver lining, and with good grace, I have every faith that this affliction will one day be eradicated. Sure, the outcome may not have been what some of us would have hoped, but with time and patience, Cody Deaner shall overcome. We shall overcome. For now, we must accept.
Cody Deaner may have walked out of the Impact Zone with the title, but unfortunately this is not so. It has come to our attention that TNA has chosen to acknowledge otherwise. There are no words to adequately the describe the amount of outrage expressed by Deanermaniacs worldwide at the result of a such a dishonorable conclusion. Cody Deaner, the underestimated underdog from the meager upbringings of the Alabama backwoods overcame the odds last Sunday by scoring the 1-2-3 victory in a hard-fought battle for the coveted Knockouts championship. A contest that would surely go down in wrestling infamy was soiled by an injustice so present in today’s world of sports entertainment. In a perfect world, the rightful champion would have been declared. However, such stipulations have conveyed otherwise. Thus, Cody Deaner fails to stand today as the TNA Knockouts champion. What some would even liken to the “Montreal Screwjob,” thankfully, the remainder of the match was not nearly as unfortunate as the outcome.
Certainly a match-of-the-year contender, this now ironically titled event has gifted us with a wrestling clinic not seen since the days of Bret Hart. Thus, you can imagine my enthusiasm in dissecting and analyzing each and every aspect of ODB and Cody Deaner vs. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. PWI, here I come.
Watch the match and more after the cut:
Another Monday night, another Raw discussion post! Discuss tonight’s Divas action right after it happens! This your unfiltered free-for-all for all things Raw! Announced for tonight, Mickie James defends her Divas Championship [against Gail Kim, assumes Melanie].
You know the score, highlight to read the spoilers. Show airs Thursday at 9pm on Spike: * Madison Rayne was attacked by Angelina Love when she was on her way to the ring for a match. Love beat Rayne down, put her in the ring and pinned her. Velvet Sky came down to put a … Read more
Even more Divas action on Superstars this Thursday night! Show airs at 8pm ET on WGN. Highlight to read: Beth Pheonix def. Kelly Kelly
TNA is doing a great job of creating buzz around it’s newly signed Knockout, Ayako Hamada, who it seems will be going by just her last name. They’ve put up a nice piece on their site including quotes from one Awesome Kong [even though she can’t string a sentence together on TV].
With TNA’s biggest, baddest heel putting Hamada over, it would be absolutely ridiculous not to strap the rocket on her from the get-go. Her debut could instantly gain more traction than Tara, Sarita or Alissa’s. Read below:
She’s 28 with 10 years of in-ring experience, and a lifetime of pro wrestling knowledge truly at her front door.
The newest TNA Knockout, Hamada, was recently signed to a contract and arrives from Japan, best known as the daughter of wrestling sensation Gran Hamada, 59, himself a wrestler of 35 years.
Expect great things from this Orient import.
“I would compare Hamada with AJ Styles, because she’s simply phenomenal,” TNA’s Awesome Kong said in a rare interview (Kong has also dominated the Japanese wrestling scene). “She’s a triple threat. She’s mastered the Japanese style of wrestling, along with the Mexican lucha libre, and I can see it in her eyes that she wants to be a great American wrestler.”
More after the cut:
This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for: 50 Sexiest Divas 2009 is here! All summer long, you have been voting for your favourite Divas in a hopes of getting them featured on the list and now the results are here. Over the course of five days, we will be revealing the list as … Read more
This week’s Impact will see yet another fatal four-way match, this time featuring Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, Sarita and Traci Brooks. An eclectic mix of Knockouts there. Also, Angelina Love will speak out on losing the Knockouts Championship as well as address the in-fighting among the Beautiful People. We should have spoilers tonight.
For a company with a female president, TNA sure proved that wrestling is still a man’s sport. Despite boasting the most progressive women’s division on national television, TNA’s Knockouts division was not, this time, exempt from TNA’s recurrent reckless booking. Having already shot themselves in the foot several times with stale and lousy booking for … Read more
Moments ago at Hard Justice, ODB and Cody Deaner defeated Angelina Love and Velvet Sky to take the Knockouts Championship. Deaner rolled up Velvet after a botched attempt to spray him in the eyes by Madison Rayne on the outside, she instead accidentally sprayed Velvet allowing Deaner to win. Afterwards, ODB was announced as the … Read more
In order to consolidate our Eye Candy coverage, we’ve developed a brand new feature: Unwrapped! We’ll take all the new photoshoots from the week and grade (or “brand”) each based on the following criteria:
Brie Bella‘s Flower Power
Appearance: Apparently, Brie’s celebrating the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, as she’s wearing a t-shirt of the poster for the famous musical festival. And, I guess to supplement that, she hippy-fied the rest of her look. Well, the shallow version of “hippy”, anyways. She’s wearing moccasin-like shoes, a tie-dye headband, and a shredded denim skirt. It’s a lot of things competing for attention, and it looks a little too costume-y. It’s like she took one person’s idea of what the 60’s were and threw it together for one outfit. I’m surprised she wasn’t wearing peace sign earrings or something. The pink is a pretty color, though–it’s the first thing that I noticed about this shoot, and as much of a mish-mash this look is, the pink makes it a little more pleasing to the eye.
Poses: It’s all peace signs and sweet smiles from Brie, all while lounging on an equipment trunk. It’s pretty dull, and can’t say I really understand the significance of the trunk–if anything, it exposes a stark contrast between the “buck-the-system” mentality of Woodstock and the “corporate stiff” status of the WWE. It just shows the shallowness behind the concept of the shoot. Not very well thought out..
Uniqueness: A silly, contrived WWE photoshoot? Come on, we see those things all the time.
Grade: Sour. It’s just another WWE mish-mash of a photoshoot–concept and execution don’t really meet. I know it’s ridiculous to even fathom a politically-charged photoshoot, but something like this is just silly and shallow. It’s akin to Miley Cyrus throwing around the peace sign just because it looks cute.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Follow the cut to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
TNA delivers some Hard Justice tonight on pay per view, as Angelina Love defends the Knockouts Championship against ODB. Though it seems the exact details of the match are ambiguous; TNA has teased that Angelina will team with Velvet Sky and ODB with Cody Deaner while the latest lineup on TNAwrestling.com suggests a singles bout. … Read more
Divas Champion, Mickie James has given a fantastic interview with NZPWI, talking indepth about the current Divas roster as well as her classic feud with Trish and much more. Highlights below:
When asked about the current focus on actual wrestling matches amongst the Divas, it seems as though Mickie shares much of the same opinion as we fans as well as other women in the industry today:
I think that it’s like… huh… the thing is, the worst thing in the world is to watch bad wrestling. You know? So they can be the most beautiful women in the world, but if they can’t wrestle then it means nothing. They go out there, and it’s just like… ugh. Like, it’ll turn the biggest wrestling fan away, it’ll make them change the channel. So it’s important, I think… that’s why we’ve really worked hard with the girls to be the best that they can be. You don’t have to be the best in the world, just be the best that you can be. And everybody’s stepped up their game, and everybody’s working hard and everybody’s continuously trying to get better and better. Until, you know… and that’s important, because if you truly love what you do, you would want to be the best that you can be. And I think that’s important, and I think that’s what we’re really looking for now, it’s not just the pretty face. Like, those are a dime a dozen. We can have a million pretty faces but if you don’t have a genuine love and a genuine passion for what you do, then it shows, it shines through, and the people see it, it shines through on camera, it shines through in your work and everything, so I think that that’s what’s changing. People that have come in, now, like you always know the people that truly love what they do, and people that are just there… because. I think that even the casual fan can see that on TV. And that’s what we’re trying to really get rid of, because everybody goes out there and they work and they pour their heart and soul, and there’s nothing worse than someone that doesn’t care.
I thought this was a really interesting quote from arguably the top Diva in WWE right now. Considering that in just the last week we’ve heard the same thing from JR & off the record, one of the ex-Divas we speak to regularly, echoed both of their sentiments. Steven also argued similar points in yesterday’s Saturday Supplement. I think it goes to show that the feeling is unanimous amongst the girls themselves, people in the industry like JR and the fans. It’s time that WWE looked beyond pretty faces and put more effort into highlighting their talents. To be utterly fair to them, right now we have Gail Kim and Melina making good progress on their respective shows. Let’s keep it up!
You can read the whole interview or even listen to the audio of it, by clicking here.
After the cut, some quotes on Trish and more:
You know what time it is people! Really? You don’t? Well I’ll clue you in. It’s time for another dose of SHIMMER goodness. SHIMMER Spotlight is back, bringing you profiles on the hard hitting ladies of SHIMMER. Everyone from the major players like MsChif to the up and coming rookies like Ashley Lane and Portia Perez. This week’s Spotlight is on Australian wrestler and SHIMMER up and comer, Madison Eagles:
Name: Madison Eagles
Aliases: None
Age: 25
Entrance Theme: Unknown
Finisher(s): The Soaring Eagle (Springboard moonsault); Hell Bound (Death Valley Driver onto the knee) ; Sit-out Powerbomb
Years Pro: 8
Associates: Jessie McKay; Ryan Eagles; Robbie Eagles
Accomplishments: One half of ‘The Pink Ladies’. Made her SHIMMER debut on Vol. 21 in a six-team gauntlet match
If you ask anyone who has been keeping up with SHIMMER lately who’s the one to watch, you’ll most likely hear this name: Madison Eagles, and for good reason.
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, this beauty from down under stands at 6′ 1″ and boasts quite an impressive move set. Madison made a name for herself in her home promotion, PWA, against the likes of Penni Lane, Sway and fellow SHIMMER rookie Kellie Skater in singles competition. A former dancer, Madison’s is known for her flexibility as well as her hard-hitting style. While Madison has never held a singles title, she has seen success as a tag team with former PWWA Women’s Champion, Jessie McKay, collectively known as ‘The Pink Ladies’.
In October 2008, The Pink Ladies caught the attention of SHIMMER, who booked them in a six team gauntlet match on Volume 21 to determine the first ever SHIMMER Tag Team Champions. While they were the first team eliminated, The Pink Ladies made an great impression in their U.S. debut. Volume 22 saw Madison and Jessie take on SHIMMER originals and all-around veterans, The Experience (Malia Hosaka and Lexie Fyfe). Once again, Eagles picked up a loss, but got a standing ovation from the SHIMMER audience who chanted, “Please come back” as the team exited the ring.
More after the cut:
In the second week of the Fantasy League, there were more opportunities to wins points than last week — with more Divas and Knockouts featured! Check out the table below to see where you ranked.
A breakdown of points awarded are after the cut too.
EDIT: Table has been recalculated after an error with those who chose Natalya.
|
#
|
NAME
|
RAW
DIVA (POINTS) |
SD/ECW
DIVA (PTS) |
TNA
KNOCKOUT (PTS) |
TOTAL
|
GRAND
TOTAL |
| 1 |
Eric
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
5
|
13
|
| 2 |
mariosthemaster
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
7
|
12
|
| 3 |
Mike
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
9
|
12
|
| 4 |
William
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
5
|
12
|
| 5 |
WWEFanGurl
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
7
|
12
|
| 6 |
Divafanjill
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
11
|
| 7 |
gfuk07
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
7
|
11
|
| 8 |
Kevin
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
6
|
11
|
| 9 |
KiKi
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
11
|
| 10 |
Knockout12
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
11
|
| 11 |
Miss Bella
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
7
|
11
|
| 12 |
pukimonster
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
7
|
11
|
| 13 |
Redsoul
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
11
|
| 14 |
Tanzie
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
11
|
| 15 |
Tom
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
6
|
11
|
| 16 |
xcc77
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
8
|
11
|
| 17 |
Al
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
10
|
| 18 |
Chris
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
10
|
| 19 |
Dom
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
7
|
10
|
| 20 |
Kris Style
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
5
|
10
|
| 21 |
Alexandre
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
4
|
9
|
| 22 |
Antonio Luckett
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
6
|
9
|
| 23 |
Brandon
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
6
|
9
|
| 24 |
Laurmarz
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
9
|
| 25 |
Russell
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
9
|
| 26 |
Stratusboi
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
4
|
9
|
| 27 |
Thannya
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
9
|
| 28 |
Thrillseeker
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
9
|
| 29 |
Carly
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
8
|
| 30 |
Daniel
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
8
|
| 31 |
ddrok
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
8
|
| 32 |
Kathy
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
8
|
| 33 |
Lee
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
8
|
| 34 |
Lita-Sault-666
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
8
|
| 35 |
Nala310
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
8
|
| 36 |
Rico
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
8
|
| 37 |
Roger
|
3
|
1
|
3
|
7
|
8
|
| 38 |
Steven_D
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
8
|
| 39 |
StevoParadiso
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
8
|
| 40 |
xodaniellexo
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
8
|
| 41 |
Carlos
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
7
|
| 42 |
Extreme
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
| 43 |
Jenny
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
7
|
| 44 |
Paul
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
7
|
| 45 |
Pedro Pedroso
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
7
|
| 46 |
Sophie
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
7
|
| 47 |
TheWWEUberfan
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
7
|
| 48 |
Weirddork
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
7
|
| 49 |
Ksmith
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
6
|
| 50 |
Spiffy
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
6
|
Breakdown of points & the staff league table after the cut:
In the Saturday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.
We’re in a era of women’s wrestling where it’s not only possible, but likely for former porn stars and models to get title shots, while professional wrestlers with years of experience get put on the backburner. With that said, I ask the question: What are the components for the ‘perfect Diva’? And even if you have the total package, will you still be marketable to the WWE Universe?
The first ingredient to the ‘Perfect Diva’ recipe is skill. An extremely valuable asset to any Diva (though you wouldn’t know it judging by some of the girls in recent years) should be in-ring skill. A pretty smile and a great rack can only get you but so far in the wrestling world. If you want to be taken seriously by a wrestling promotion and their audience, you should at least be able to take a decent bump.
The next component is sass. While in-ring skills are extremely important, personality is just as vital. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best wrestler to ever step foot in a wrestling ring; no one is going to care if you have the personality of a brick wall. The biggest offender of this rule is current Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool. While McCool has come leaps and bounds since her debut, in regards to her wrestling ability, her lack of charisma has been her downfall. The fans just can’t seem to get behind (or against) Michelle and some might attribute this to absence of spunk outside of the ring.
As shallow as it may sound, another important aspect of women’s wrestling is beauty. Professional wrestling for women, especially in this day and age, is based mostly on aesthetics. If you don’t have the so-called ‘look’, chances are you won’t make it very far in a mainstream promotion. That said, in the last few years, wrestlers such as Awesome Kong, ODB and Beth Phoenix, who may not be considered ‘beautiful’ in a conventional sense, are breaking the mould of the typical Diva. They are prime examples that a female wrestler doesn’t have to look a certain way to get noticed.
Last but probably the most important part of this formula is passion. While passion is probably one of the most important tools for a wrestler, male or female, a lot of women’s wrestlers in a certain mainstream promotion seem to be lacking. It’s not surprising given how girls are recruited these days. Talent scouts seem to be looking for models they can turn into wrestlers, as opposed to actual wrestlers.
Most Divas possess some of these qualities that I have listed but a select few have the ‘total package’. There is an elite group of girls, who are able to captivate audiences with their skills, attitude and beauty. Only a minuscule percentage of ladies who have dedicated their lives to learning every subtlety and nuance of pro-wrestling. Unfortunately, these Divas never get the push.
TNA Knockout, Rhaka Khan placed a phone call to police this morning that saw the company’s World Heavyweight Champion, Kurt Angle arrested. WPXI News based out of Pittsburgh reports: According to a criminal complaint, his girlfriend had filed a protection from abuse order against Angle, which was served at his home on Saturday morning. The … Read more
It’s a staple of tabloid magazines: hard hitting, investigative & highly entertaining! Best & Worst Dressed lists can make or break careers in Hollywood and for a site with ‘Dirt’ in the title, it’s only fitting we take this time tested feature & apply it to our Divas! Each week we’ll bring you the best and worst looks from the week gone by, it’s pretty simple right?
Key: School-like grading scheme
Not a bad week for outfits/attire this week. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by a few. Let’s dive in:
Raw’s Alicia Fox brought back the blue to her wardrobe and what can I say, it’s definitely her colour. Bright, electric blue suits her a lot. C
The usually overlooked ECW drew my attention this week also, as Katie Lea showed us the right way to wear leopard print *cough* I wouldn’t wear it myself, but Katie has been rocking her own unique style since moving to ECW and it works for her. C+
Hart Dynasty Diva, Natalya has pretty much been rocking the same pink and black top, pants and jacket for the past few months so it was nice to see her change it up this week. The tattered tee looked really cool and the design is eye catching. B-
It’s two for two for Melina, as she sports another great top this week. However I much prefer this one. I don’t know why she doesn’t wear more yellow, it’s not a colour that suits everyone, but Melina works the hell out of it. A-
Melina’s opponent for the night rocked the Nattie colours this week, in hot pink. Layla always has a great sense of style and manages to bring a look together. I’m really not a fan of hot pink, but Layla brings it altogether with the black rims with studs. My favourite part would be the boot covers that you can’t see in the above picture, it brings a sense of completion and I’m very much a fan of uniformity in an outfit. A
This week’s ‘Worst’ after the cut:
Ring of Honor taped some episodes of it’s HDNet series last night, including the debut of the newest Woman of Honor — Nikki Roxx, the former Roxxi in TNA. Not sure when it will air but we’ll give you advance warning before it does: -Sara Del Rey defeated Nikki Roxx. Nikki blows like three moves … Read more
