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Raw Redux – June 23, 2008

This week on Raw: It was time for the annual WWE Draft, Raw’s Mickie James and Melina competed in a match with SmackDown’s Natalya and Victoria. Melina suffered an injury and Kelly Kelly danced like a little ho.

Thoughts & Reactions
Has anyone else noticed that the Divas seem to get even less time during the big three-hour shows than they usually do? It seemed last night’s Divas match was the shortest segment of the night – though it’s implications, one could argue, are the most shocking. These four Divas will forever be known as the girls who made JR move to SmackDown! Honestly, when they announced this was an “announcers only match” I was thinking, “Great WWE, tell us what you really think of the Divas”, I thought it’d probably end up being freakin’ Todd Grisham moving to SmackDown instead we were served with one of the biggest drafts in WWE history which we are all feeling the effects of today.

This was for me, a dream match, I love the prospect of Melina/Mickie vs Natalya/Victoria but obviously, this match was cut short with Melina’s injury and the whole segment didn’t last too long. Maybe, just maybe, we will get to see this match further down the line – it could be huge! The big story of course, is Melina’s injury and actually I’ve flip-flopped on this. At first, while watching it live, I thought it was legit but then when the referee announced the double count-out it all made sense – of course they need to move two announcers. And as I found out this morning, it was in fact legit. Looking back, I do think there was meant to be some controversial finish resulting in the double count-out leading to JR and Cole moving, but this wasn’t it. I guess WWE lucked out with a realistic finish to the match allowing that to happen, but at the expense of Melina. Hopefully she’ll be back in action soon, Raw will definitely be different without her.

I wonder if the original finish they had planned involved Beth Phoenix coming out and beating up Melina and then Mickie, Natalya and Victoria just for good measure? Probably just pure speculation on my part, but I’m trying to think what controversial finish WWE originally had planned and that could work as it would advance the Beth-Melina feud. Beth has been noticeably absent from Raw for two whole weeks, what gives?

All in all, there wasn’t too much to write home about except Melina’s injury, though I’m not really all that bitter to be honest. There were bigger stories to be told last night on Raw than the women’s division. They did plug Natalya contending for the Divas Championship and Mickie vs Katie at Night of Champions, so I guess they did what they could given the time they were given.

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Melina: Because I’m Worth It

No this isn’t a shampoo ad, but doesn’t her hair look lovely? While it looks like Melina may be out of action for a while (or not, who knows?), WWE.com has decided to keep Melina in the cyber-forefront with a spectacular new photoshoot entitled “Morning Light”. This is actually the first Melina ‘shoot in some … Read more

Mickie Keeps it On the Sunny Side

Mickie James keeps up her peppy and happy persona with her new photoshoot, “Sunny”. Since she’s indoors, in front of a black backdrop nonetheless, I assume “sunny” is referring to her constantly happy persona. I admit that it gets old quick, what with the manic smiling and all, but I don’t mind it that much. … Read more

Melina & Mickie James: Friends?!

Now, the storied history (both on and off screen) between Melina and Mickie James is stuff of legend across the Internet. However, last night on Raw wasn’t it ever so sweet when Mickie came to Melina’s aid after she injured her ankle? I was certainly “awwing” at the screen as Mickie seemed genuinely worried and … Read more

A Moment For Melina

Unfortunately, it turns out that Melina really did suffer an ankle injury at last night’s Raw. In a tag team match, Melina and Mickie James teamed up against SmackDown’s Natalya and Victoria. Melina suffered a hurting to her ankle when she was tossed over the top rope by Victoria. No details on how long Melina … Read more

Raw Live Blog: Tag Team Action

This is a random post by Melanie at 3am, so it may not be too coherent. I am watching the WWE Draft and a few Diva related notes below: – The Divas match of the night (hopefully not the only one) was enough to make any true Diva fan squeal like a little girl! I … Read more

Draft Rewind: Torrie Wilson Drafted to SmackDown

Last year, Torrie Wilson was the only Diva to move show during the live WWE Draft on Monday Night Raw. As with previous years, in 2007 things were done differently with representatives from each brand competing in matches to determine which brand gets a draft pick. Last year, SmackDown’s MVP defeated Raw’s Santino Marella to … Read more

YouTube Classics: Jazz vs. Mickie James

Welcome to the YouTube Classics! This week, with the news of Jazz’s first pregnancy, our theme is “Jazz Appreciation”, matches featuring the original ECW alumni and former WWE Women’s Champion. Today, we have Jazz vs. Mickie James from the WWE vs. ECW event in June 2006. This was the only televised match during Jazz’s short-lived … Read more

Draft Rewind: Nidia Drafted to Raw in 2004

In 2004, Tough Enough Champion, Nidia got the biggest break of her career – moving to Raw. In 2004, WWE reintroduced the WWE Draft following their milestone pay per view, WrestleMania 20. The idea was to “shake things up.” Nidia was the only Diva to make the move during the 2004 Draft, though Miss Jackie … Read more

Draft Rewind: Lita Drafted to Raw in 2002

It all started in 2002, when WWE held it’s initial Draft. On this night, Raw owner, Ric Flair had 10 draft picks as did SmackDown’s Vince McMahon. Unlike the other drafts, Vince and Ric got to make their own picks rather than them being computer generated. After Vince chose Hardcore Champion, Maven as his last … Read more

Draft Day: One Year On

Doomsday… I mean Draft day is here!!! Which WWE Divas will be packing their bags and moving to a new home? We will find out in 12 hours, until then we want to look at the Diva draft picks from last year. Jillian, Torrie Wilson and Victoria all made the jump in ’07. Let’s see … Read more

Diva Dirt’s Next Top Model: Week 3

Previously on Top Model: Eve Torres became the second Diva to be sent home from the competition, after you gave her the least amount of votes. 8 Divas remain… And now: It’s time to vote once again, which Diva do you think has the most top model potential? Which Diva could grace the covers of … Read more

Diva Dirt’s Next Top Model: Week 2 Result

In Week 2 of Top Model, 9 Divas stood remaining. It’s time to find out who will be going home tonight. This week, 211 votes were cast and now it’s time to send someone home. The Divas who have impressed you most this week and are still in the running of becoming Diva Dirt’s Next Top Model are (in order of votes): Melina, Maryse, Michelle McCool, Candice Michelle, Layla, Maria and Mickie James. Now it’s time to find out the bottom two, who will have to pack up their belongings and leave the competition?

Who has been eliminated? Find out after the cut:

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Jazz & Rodney Mack Expecting First Child

According to PWInsider.com, it was very recently announced that former WWE & ECW wrestlers Jazz and Rodney Mack are expecting their first child: ..at last night’s Oldskool Wrestling Entertainment event in Louisiana, former WWE stars Rodney Mack and Jazz announced that the former WWE and ECW star was pregnant with their first child. Congrats to … Read more

Divas and the City: Change Is Coming

This week in my PWInsider column, Divas and the City, I look at tomorrow’s WWE Draft. Readers of Diva Dirt will already know some of my choices and reasons why, but why not check it out anyway? Click here for this week’s column!

SmackDown Redux – June 20, 2008

This week on SmackDown: Layla and Michelle McCool put on another great match before the crowd as Natalya watched on from the ramp.

Thoughts & Reactions
After a lackluster Raw, SmackDown was on fine form this week and I thoroughly enjoyed the match between Layla and Michelle McCool. The duo have had, I believe, three matches alone this year on SmackDown and each has been better than the last. This time the Divas got more ring time than their last encounter and thus, were afforded the chance to be more creative. It’s a rare to see the WWE Divas take the action outside of the ring, but we had a cool spot with Layla and Michelle doing just that, battling on the outside which added to the match. Michelle hitting the ring apron face first was nicely done too.

This match wasn’t the usual “job to Michelle”, in fact Layla controlled most of the match as the aggressor and looked confident in her role. Sure, she’s still got a long way to go but she is definitely on the right track. These two Divas seem to have great in-ring chemistry and are a lot of fun to watch… I hope one day we see a real one-on-one feud between them.

Layla really made Michelle work for her victory and the end spot was again, well done and the addition of Natalya added some emphasis to the new Divas Championship. I think it’s pretty obvious Michelle will be the other title contender and I, for one, am looking forward to the match. Unfortunately, there has been no mention of the Divas Championship being decided at Night of Champions – this has been pure speculation by us fans. This has me worried! Hopefully, the match will be announced on SmackDown next week or they could even announce it earlier in the week with Vickie Guerrero explaining her decision for Natalya’s challenger on WWE.com.

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Katie Lea: First British Women’s Champ?

The fierce Raw Diva has been rising up the ranks faster than you can say “Jillian Hall”, Katie Lea launched her own WWE Fan Nation profile a while ago and has started blogging with her “Short and Snappy Tales of Greatness.” You know what else is short and snappy? Mickie James who just so happens … Read more

Divas Talk Draft

The Divas weighed in on Monday night’s WWE Draft in this week’s Diva Dish. Who wants to move where? Who doesn’t want to leave home? Read all about it below: “The first thought I had was ‘Please, don’t make me leave Raw!’ But on the other hand, it makes perfect sense,” Melina told Diva Dish. … Read more

Style Showdown: Raw Bikinis

Welcome to an early edition of Diva Dirt’s Style Showdown! Remember that groundbreaking bikini contest this past Monday on Raw? Yeah, it’s kind of slipped from my mind already too. However, WWE.com has refreshed our selective memory by posting studio photos of each participant, modeling their summer finest. Take a look at the photos below … Read more

Maria’s Not-So-Serious; Still Fishy

Don’t worry – Maria‘s not “Jokerized” this time around. Despite all the talk of a possible budding fashion line with Mickie James, Maria manages to present a less-than-fashionable look in her most recent photoshoot, “Ravishing Red”. It kind of looks like a leftover Valentine’s Day shoot, what with the sparkly redness and heart jewelry. Don’t … Read more

Natalya Reveals Her Inner Goddess

Hot diggity, I pretty much love Natalya‘s new photoshoot Gray Goddess. Natalya really does evoke her inner goddess in this shoot and I’m loving her top! It’s bold and emphatic but at the same time, it’s just plain hot! I really love how she complements it with her earrings and her hair looks on-point too. … Read more

Two Wilson Divas?

Last month, we said goodbye to Torrie Wilson who rode off into the sunset after 7 years with WWE. Turns out that since her release, more new light is being shed about the infamous Al Wilson storyline. At the time of her release, a former WWE writer revealed he was responsible for Al’s “death” and … Read more

Maria, Why So Serious?

Oh Maria, you never fail to amaze me; girlfriend has some serious delusions of grandeur. The Playboy covergirl expressed in her most recent interview with IGN that A) she wants to become Women’s Champion and B) she wants to start up a clothing line with Mickie James. No… seriously. *Deep breath* That’s a whole lotta … Read more

Layla Unceremoniously Cut from ECW

Poor Layla, it seems as though her 2 minute appearance on last night’s ECW was cut from the final broadcast. Layla had taped a segment last weekend, when the show was filmed, in which she provided a little dance number (what’s new?) and cut a promo about moving to another brand. Instead, the footage can … Read more