Monday, May 20, 2024

Another TNA Release: Taeler Hendrix Leaves Company

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Hot on the heels of Madison Rayne‘s departure, PWInsider reports that TNA have released another Knockout, Gut Check winner Taeler Hendrix.

Taeler was the first female to win a spot on the Impact Wrestling roster via Gut Check back in June of last year.

Since then, Taeler reported to TNA’s developmental camp, Ohio Valley Wresting, where she has been at the center of a same-sex relationship storyline with Heidi Lovelace.

She also made two appearances on Impact Wrestling, most recently in a losing effort to Knockouts Champion Mickie James just last month.

Taeler took to Twitter to comment on her release and said:

Are you shocked by Taeler’s release?

Madison Rayne Gone from TNA

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Former TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne has confirmed she has parted ways with TNA after her contract expired recently.

Madison hasn’t been seen on Impact Wrestling in several months as she is currently pregnant with her first child.

She tweeted:

The former Knockouts Champion joined TNA in 2009, eventually becoming a member of the heel stable The Beautiful People and has enjoyed success as a four-time Knockouts Champion and a two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion.

Since announcing her pregnancy and absence from TV earlier this year, Madison has continued to work for the company in an off-air capacity, writing a blog for the Impact Wrestling website about the Knockouts division.

Of course, there’s always a chance that the former champion may return to TNA after she gives birth. I don’t think we’ve quite seen the last of Madison Rayne yet!

SmackDown Spoilers: July 5th, 2013

Spoilers for this week’s SmackDown:

Spoiler
* Alicia Fox beat Kaitlyn after AJ Lee came out and skipped around the ring to provide distraction.

* Kaitlyn finds AJ backstage but AJ runs away. The Bella Twins appear and taunt her. Big E Langston is there and Kaitlyn gets made fun of some more. (Source)

Former WWE Diva’s Short Film Launches Indiegogo Campaign

Former WWE Diva Angela Fong, who competed as Savannah, is to be featured in a short film adaptation of the Black Tiger: Legacy of Fury comic–if the project gets its funding, that is.

Beyond Time has launched an Indiegogo fundraiser to gather funding for the project, which is to star Angela as the hero Black Tiger. The Indiegogo page describes the short film:

“Revolves around eponymous martial arts superheroine who just received the mantle. Lacking guidance, she struggles between duties to fight crime in Los Santos and finding balance in her personal life. She is striving to uncover the truth behind the murder of her father, the prior Black Tiger, as leads run cold and opposition becomes deadly.”

The project’s goal is set at $50,000 and closes on August 10th at 11:59 pm PT.

Click here to contribute to the project.

Read the full press release below:

Former Diva Angela Fong ia a Superheroine in Beyond Time’s Indiegogo Campaign

DUARTE, CALIF – July 1, 2013 – Today Beyond Time, Inc. has launched an Indiegogo Campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-tiger-hunter-hunted) to finance the production of the short Black Tiger: Hunter Hunted.

An outgrowth of the company’s well-received Black Tiger: Legacy of Fury comic book mini-series, Black Tiger: Hunter Hunted picks up the story of the eponymous martial arts superheroine just after receiving the mantle. Without much guidance, she begins to struggle between her duties to fight crime in Los Santos and finding balance in her personal life. All the while, she is digging to uncover the truth behind the murder of her father, the prior Black Tiger, as the leads run cold and the opposition becomes deadly

Black Tiger: Hunter Hunted will feature a combination of familiar faces, plus a collection of hot, new rising actors. Thus far the cast consists of Angela Fong (WWE, Castle) as Black Tiger and Robin Shou (Mortal Kombat series, Death Race series) as Pacific Fong, Black Tiger’s father. Also cast are Gordon G. Lee (Black Ops) as Salem Chow, Mish’al Samaan (Pit Boss, Franklin & Bash) as Evsei Timofeev and Lucia Ozer (Smallville, Battlestar Galactica) as Svetlana. Patricio Ginelsa of Kid Heroes Productions is set to direct and shares writing credits with producer John Hervey. The music will be by Scott thrILL!

The goal is to raise $50,000 by August 9th in order to fully realize the vision.

Beyond Time (www.beyondtimecomics.com) is a producer and digital publisher of comic books and a producer of short films.

Picture of the Day: Rookie Divas Hit the Road

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After making their Raw debuts last night, Total Divas stars Eva Marie and Jo-Jo-Offerman headed straight off to the next city for tonight’s SmackDown tapings.

Eva Marie posted the above photo on Instagram, captioning it: “O ya know …no big deal 5 hour car ride to the next city time flys when @joseann_alexie sings to me the entire way”

That’s one thing other E! reality stars probably don’t have to deal with: long haul car rides. Oh well, that’s what comes with being a WWE Diva!

Raw Redux (July 1st, 2013): Kaitlyn & Alicia Face Off, Summer Returns & AJ Discovers Photoshop

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I delivered a Redux last week that could have quite easily been full of disgusting negativity that quite frankly crapped all over AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Layla, and Big E. Langston. Instead, I decided to pick my words carefully, do my best to give the angle the benefit of the doubt, and keep in mind that all of these people are just making the best out of what they’ve been given to work with. That was an extreme effort on my part and what happened? I was being oh so overly dramatic. The opening of this Redux is quite dramatic, which is a good example of what I was accused of last week. Writing that the angle, acting, and potential storylines gathered from this were so bad I wanted to gouge my eyes out, pierce my eardrums so I would wind up deaf, break my own fingers so I wouldn’t have to write about it, and then set myself on fire because of it… NOW THAT IS DRAMATIC!

Having an opinion and expressing it in a mature manner is not dramatic. It’s called being a writer, and doing your best to write about something that you don’t necessarily like. So let me just end this with a warning, if you were a fan of last night’s segment, best not read any further. I would hate for my constructive criticism to ruffle your feathers any further. And always, ALWAYS keep in mind that there are alternatives out there should you wish to read the opinion of someone else.

ANYWAYSSSSSSSSS…

So Raw was just darling, wasn’t it? We had another immature, LayCool 2.0 skit featuring an altered picture of Kaitlyn. We had the return of Summer Rae who was likely out Diva-ed (surely that’s not really a word, is it…) by Fandango’s DRAMATIC exit from his match. And we had Stephanie McMahon and Vickie Guerrero, together. On television. Again. If I have anyone left reading this, lets go ahead and get started shall we?

Sticking with the dramatic theme of this Redux, since that’s what I do really well apparently, talk about not realizing what you’ve got until it’s gone. The lack of Summer Rae and Fandango on my screen these past couple of weeks made me want to curl up in a tiny ball on a mountain of sequins, feathers, and glitter and cry my eyes out until mascara and spray tan ran down my cheeks. Their absence was like a black void in a world full of rainbows and unicorns. To see them both sashaying their way back to the ring last night was literally as exciting as when Melissa Rycroft won the All-Star Season of Dancing With the Stars. It was much needed, and just such a feel good moment. Who knew I would get so attached to a ballroom dancer moonlighting as a wrestler and his sassy little bit of blond arm candy who might not have the moves, but has the fiercest dance outfits since Stacy Keibler graced the ballroom?!

Welcome back Summer Rae and Fandango. This is the first week I haven’t missed Sasha Zamolodchikova. I know she’s in the process of accomplishing bigger, and better sparkly things anyway.

Again with the drama… how fierce was goddess Stephanie McMahon last night in that tight blue dress? Those power suits she wears on a weekly basis don’t do her stunning figure any justice and she was sooooooooooo close to getting everything right last night with her look. The thing that was off? Her hair! Girl… seriously??

When this whole thing started, I was super stoked to see Vickie back on television. Brad? Not so much, but that’s another subject for another day. Our poor Queen Vickie has been pulled in three different directions these past couple of weeks with the egomaniacal, power-driven McMahons all trying to rule Monday Night Raw vicariously through Prince Dawlf’s ex-cougar-with-benefits. My heart just bleeds for poor Queen Vickie because next week she is going to end up completely humiliated at the hands of the McMahons. To be honest, I don’t want to see any member of that family running Raw, as they’re much better when it comes to storylines. That being said, I’m sure the segment isn’t going to make me throw myself in traffic, so I’m totally going to smile, think of a fluffy puppy, and turn my gorgeous hazel eyes towards next week. =)

Oh, and we were also treated to a Total Divas cast meeting that looked more like a scene from Bring it On than any meeting I’ve been to. But, of course, that was the intention:

Brie and Nikki Bella had a merry time trashing Eva Marie and Jo-Jo Offerman until Cameron, Naomi and Natayla showed up to exchange “GIRL BYE”s and hand flips. I’m kind of disappointed no one dropped the “those damn Bella twins” line.

Also on the agenda for next week is more immaturity from our Diva’s Champion. Sorry AJ! I love you and stuff, but this angle is worse than when you were forced to be romantic with Primo back on NXT.

Such a shame to end the segment on such a sour note, and with such ridiculous tactics. Why does everything have to revolve around looks, body shaming, and whatever else people say is wrong with the world? Kaitlyn and AJ are so above this, and while it worked for Layla and ‘Chelle, it doesn’t work for AJ. She’s not a believable bully and at this point, Kaitlyn is no longer a believable victim. Layla as the concerned best friend is laughable to say the least because her history would prove that there’s nothing pure about her intentions, and yes people, I still believe this is going to lead to a Layla heel turn. It’s sooooooooooooooo obvious. Like, seriously. Oh my gosh.

That aside, it was nice to see Alicia Fox back on television. Her ring gear was horrendous, as usual, but she looked beautiful. And she wasn’t the worst dressed of the night. AJ’s jeans weren’t her best pair, and Layla’s bodysuit thing… just not my style. I won’t be adding any of the outfits from tonight to my Pinterest fashion board, but we all have off nights. Despite the length of the match, I did actually like it. Alicia is a sorely underrated wrestler and I hope we get to see more of her on either Raw or SmackDown. I don’t think we will, but a girl can always hope. Maybe if I pull the drama card again and threaten to slit my wrists until I bleed then Foxy will get on television?!

Let me wrap this up and go get my blade. PUT ALICIA BACK ON TELEVISION PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

I hope you guys enjoyed your Drama lesson for today. You have been such a good class! Hologram star stickers for each and every one of you! Until next time… Khaleesi out!

In Video: Dolph Ziggler is Unhappy About AJ Lee’s Antics Towards Kaitlyn

Could there be trouble in paradise for WWE’s once-golden couple?

It certainly looks that way, as not only is Dolph Ziggler unhappy about losing his World Heavyweight Title, he also isn’t pleased with his girlfriend, WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee.

In a WWE App segment filmed during Raw last night, Dolph made it clear to AJ that he believes she is better than making Kaitlyn‘s life hell, and that they should concentrate on both having gold once again and being the top couple in the company.

He sealed his new-found fan-friendly words with a kiss, so it doesn’t look like AJ’s antics have got to him too much yet.

Watch the segment below:

Do you think AJ and Dolph are headed for Splitsville?

WWE Superstars Spoilers: July 5th, 2013

Spoilers for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars, taped last night before Raw:

Spoiler
Natalya beat Naomi in a face vs. face Divas match. The crowd was semi-into this all right match. Natalya won, then they “hugged it out” after the match. (Source)

New AJ Lee Merchandise Coming Soon

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AJ Lee fans will soon have more ways to show their admiration!

The Divas Champion has tweeted out a picture of some new accessories coming soon to WWEShop.com:

The WWE must be really getting behind AJ. As we discussed in Diva Couture, Divas seldom get their own T-Shirt, let alone a whole line of accessories to go with the shirt! The last time this happened was 2003, when Lita had her own wristbands and choker necklace to accompany her T-Shirt.

Will you be picking up AJ’s new merch?

In Video: TNA Promo for Gail Kim/Taryn Terrell Ladder Match

TNA has released a promo hyping Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell‘s Ladder match.

The video features everything from Twitter to TMZ to face-to-face interviews with the Knockouts, both promising to give it all they’ve got.

Watch the full promo below:

The Ladder match is set to take place on the July 11th edition of Impact Wrestling.

RELATED: Impact Wrestling Spoilers: July 4th & 11th, 2013

Kharma Working on Debut Album

Kharma has a knack for shocking fans, and she has done it yet again…by announcing that she is recording an album!

Kharma, who revealed the news exclusively to fansite Kharma-Source.org, had tweeted a few days ago about learning to read music:

Now we know what that project is! Kharma–real name Kia Stevens–also announced that the EP will be “multi-genre”, as can be seen in the exchange below:

kharma album

We can’t wait to learn more about this!

Would you buy Kharma’s EP?

Natalya Tweets About Wedding, Relationship With Khali

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For the first time, Natalya has spoken directly to fans about her wedding to Tyson Kidd.

The Total Divas star–whose wedding took place last week–tweeted a message about her nuptials:

She then acknowledged the giant elephant Khali in the room:

We’re guessing Natalya’s going to be finding a new on-screen beau soon.

Do you think the WWE will turn the Nattie/Tyson pairing into a storyline?

AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn Announced for Money in the Bank

WWE has announced that AJ Lee and Kaitlyn will face off in a match for the Divas Championship at Money in the Bank.

The news was quietly revealed on WWE.com and as of now, the match is a standard singles bout.

The match will serve as Kaitlyn’s automatic rematch after she lost the belt to AJ at WWE Payback.

WWE Money in the Bank will take place on Sunday, July 14th.

Are you excited for the rematch?

RELATED: WWE Payback in Revew: Kaitlyn Cracks and AJ Picks Up the Pieces

Raw Response & Live Blog: July 1st, 2013

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Get your Monday night Divas fix by tuning in to Raw tonight on the USA Network at 8pm ET.

Follow along with our live blog below and catch all the action.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Picture of the Day: Summer Rae Pays Tribute to Departing NXT Creative Rob Naylor

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NXT talent has taken over Twitter with the hashtag #ThankYouNaylor, paying tribute to NXT Creative Assistant Rob Naylor, who is leaving the company.

He was especially close with Diva Summer Rae, who arrived at NXT the same time he did. Back when the company was known as FCW, Summer served as General Manager, and Rob was her assistant.

Summer has posted a number of tributes for Rob, one of the most recent being the above photo collage posted today on Instagram.

The collage was accompanied by a lengthy caption:

“People come & go in our lives but if your really lucky you make a special friendship. Naylor has helped me so much since I first walked through those doors at FCW…non judging & believing in me. I value our friendship so much! He redefines the word passion for this business & it inspires others. This isn’t goodbye of course, this just means we can hang out so much more! “

What a touching tribute to a friend!

Perfect 10: Week Ending June 30th, 2013

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The Perfect 10 has returned, and it’s better than ever! Each week, the Diva Dirt team will compile a list of the top 10 women in wrestling. Placement is determined by performances and achievements from the past week.

The Perfect 10 will be posted every Monday, taking into account any Pay-Per-View events.

Ready to dive into the list? Click the arrow below to see who landed at #10.

Fast 5: Key Moments in the History of the Knockouts Tag Team Titles

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Diva Dirt’s Fast 5 will take on a theme and present to you–in no particular order–five related things from the world of women’s wrestling.

Last week, we learned that TNA has likely retired the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. The belts, with their short and rocky history, were a divisive topic among fans: some felt that they set the Knockouts apart from the WWE’s Divas, while others didn’t believe a proper tag team division ever really existed.

With that in mind, we’re going to take a look back at five key moments in the history of the titles–the good and the bad.

Click on the arrow below to see our first featured moment in the history of the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Christina Von Eerie Confirmed for Bellatrix 7, Courtney Rush to Defend Bellatrix Title

Christina Von Eerie has been confirmed as the second SHIMMER wrestler to be appearing at the Bellatrix Female Warriors October event, Bellatrix 7.

Von Eerie joins Courtney Rush as two of the five stars from SHIMMER that will make the trip across the Atlantic for the Bellatrix vs. SHIMMER themed show.

The remaining three wrestlers are yet to be announced, but Bellatrix owner and former SHIMMER Champion Saraya Knight previously confirmed that whoever holds the SHIMMER title come October will likely be present.

In the same announcement, it was also revealed that Rush, who is the current Bellatrix World Champion, will be defending her title at the show.

Bellatrix 7 takes place on October 6th at Epic Studios in Norwich, England. It will be streamed live across the world on iPPV. For more information, check out Bellatrix Female Warriors on Facebook.

Picture of the Day: Brooke Hogan’s Magic Moment

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As we reported yesterday, Brooke Hogan has gotten engaged to boyfriend Phil Costa of the Dallas Cowboys.

Brooke has posted various photos of her rooftop proposal, the latest coming today on Instagram.

She posted the above photo without a caption, but you know what they say: a picture’s worth a thousand words.

Congrats again to the happy couple!

NXT Redux (June 26th, 2013): Emma Makes Bubbles Out of Aksana’s Troubles

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Salutations kind NXT friends, and welcome to this weeks stop in the NXT Women’s Title tournament. Over the past three weeks we’ve seen Paige, Alicia Fox, and Summer Rae each advance with a victory, but this week we’ve got the last bout scheduled before we move on to the semi-final action. It’ll be the battle of Lithuania against Australia… the WWE Diva vs. the NXT Diva… the war of the crawls taking on the bubbles… aka it’ll be Aksana taking on Emma in one on one action. Our resident dancing queen has faced off against Aksana once before in a match that culminated with a loss for her, but can she turn it around now that she’s got her groove going over the course of time since that last match took place?

There’s only one way to find out, so crawl or dance your way down below depending on who you’re rooting for:

First up, we head backstage to see everyone’s favorite blond, Canadian Connie Chung herself, Renee Young! She’s standing by with two very special guests, in that of Emma and Emma’s bubble blowing gun. Renee Chung looks concerned and a bit annoyed with the bubbles going on, but Emma (complete with a sick Emmalution t-shirt) doesn’t seem to notice as she executes her dance to burst the circular droplets of water. Renee finishes her question and sticks the microphone up to Emma, but Emma isn’t yet ready as the bubbles haven’t fully been popped. As soon as she’s done, she lets Renee know that she’s now ready to be asked questions, leaving a slightly perturbed Renee having to repeat herself.

Emma reveals her strategy is simply to win… because she’s planning to take the Emmalution around the world. Suddenly, she sees the little gleam in NXT’s own Barbara Walters eye and gets the sense that Renee wants something that belongs to Emma. Now being the history we have with wrestling, you’d think by reading this, Emma would be accusing Renee of stealing her man, or male counterpart in a two person pairing. You’d be wrong though, as it’s actually Emma’s bubbles that she feels Renee is going after like the homewrecker she is! She then reacts as if Renee needs to be tamed from acting on her quest to achieve the bubbles by spraying her down (Side note: hahahaha I love it). Emma then realizes she may actually need Renee’s services and requests that the Diane Sawyer of NXT interviewing keep her bubbles held in a safe place while she competes. Like anyone in her position, our very own slice of Canadiana debates whether or not to set the bubble gun off, but Emma pops back in and leaves her with one final threat.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Renee still has a little spark in her eye, so I’m going to request someone watch her and make sure she behaves herself. Perhaps Tamina Snuka can do the honors. Anyways, out we go to the arena, where the saxophone blasts erupt and out struts Aksana who hilariously avoids slapping a fans hand on her way. Once she’s done posing, the music of resident queen of life, Emma hits and she dances out to the ring alongside the fans in the crowd. She makes it into the ring! The fans are happy to see Emma not fall, as they chant for her immediately after the bell rings. This fires up Aksana, who pulls her back by the hair and starts beating her down. Aksana with a sidewalk slam, then begins to crawl around the ring and score with a kick for repeated near falls.

Aksana sends Emma into the corner, but she slips through the ropes to avoid and attack and rolls under Aksana to score a pin fall. She just gets a two count, and Aksana then bursts into control from there. Some pin attempts go nowhere, but the two now start brawling around until Aksana nails a clothesline and applies a headscissors that gets flipped over and begins bashing Emma’s face into the canvas. Aksana chops Emma, but begins posing which allows Emma to kicks her forward. She slides out of a bodyslam attempt and converts it into the Emma Lock! Aksana tries to fight it, but eventually succombs to the Australian Bubble Lover. The bracket shows the final four that we’re down to, as Emma invites a few children into the ring to dance with her and have a good old time.

Thoughts: I don’t really have much to say to be honest, which is weird considering I normally can’t seem to stop talking. The match was fine to me overall. There was nothing I thought was bad at all, but I don’t really think I will remember much about it other than Emma dancing with the children at the end. What I did love though was Emma’s interview. She’s continuing to evolve with her character, which was already doing great things with just the dancing alone. Incorporating the bubbles makes it even more fun, and I would love to see this take place in the main roster division. I know people might be worried that she could go down the Jillian Hall route of just being a comedic persona, but I truly think WWE knows how over this is getting in NXT and won’t just waste her when she gets to the main roster. Jillian’s singing gimmick didn’t develop when she was in OVW, rather it happened a few years after she was on the main shows so I feel like there’s a difference here.

They don’t seem to be debuting people for no reason whatsoever anymore, rather everyone who’s debuting is being built up or placed in a role that gets them ample amounts of air time. That’s one of my favorite things currently because while the waiting game is painful, I’d rather wait a long time for a debut if it’s going to mean something than to watch someone debut, win squash matches for three weeks, and then fade into obscurity or be relegated to Superstars. Overall, I thought this was fine, but I definitely think the semi-final/finals will be a lot more fun to me as a viewer because the closer you get to the end, the more everyone gives as they don’t want to show what they’ve got this early on.

Nikki Bella Wheelchair Photo Prompts Injury Rumors

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A candid photo of Nikki Bella and boyfriend John Cena has got tongues wagging, but not for the reason you’d think.

The photo in question, taken by a fan and distributed around social networks, shows Nikki out shopping with Cena while in a wheelchair. A pair of crutches can be seen in the seat next to her:

This has brought about rumors that Nikki is injured, as she didn’t participate in a weekend live event.

However, an hour ago, Nikki posted the above photo on Instagram, showing her hard at work at the gym. She captioned the photo, “No wishing for it… Gotta work for it. #sweaton”

That doesn’t look like a woman that’s sitting on the sidelines!

New NXT Diva Signee Heading to Florida

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Former SHIMMER star Rebecca Knox has announced her move to Florida to begin training at NXT.

Knox–real name Rebecca Quin–is from Dublin, Ireland. She announced the news on her Twitter account:

Rebecca then clarified that she is setting off from Ireland tomorrow morning.

Have a safe flight Rebecca. We can’t wait to see you on the other side!

Impact Wrestling Spoilers: July 4th & 11th, 2013

TNA have taped two episodes of Impact Wrestling in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check out spoilers below:

Spoiler
TNA Xplosion: ODB defeated Tara. Both were over and worked the crowd great. Big “ODB” chants, and she acknowledged with her signature smacking-of-the-boobs to honor the crowd. You know, it’s kind of like the new version of Kamala’s stomach-patting, except it’s awesome. ODB hit the Bronco Muncher at one point. Seriously, that’s what it’s called. I just looked it up. Tara took over, but missed the shimmy-shimmy-shake moonsault. ODB won with the Bam. Good opener that pumped up the crowd well. I wish they’d been given more time.

July 4th, 2013:
* Mickie James came out with a ladder to promo a #1 contender ladder match between Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell for the 7/11 show. Mickie is great as the condescending arrogant heel. Mickie said it didn’t matter who won because she would beat either one of them.

July 11th, 2013:
* Gail Kim beat Taryn Terrell in a ladder match to become #1 contender to the Knockouts Title at 11:36. Excellent match, billed as the first-ever Knockouts ladder match. You can’t really compare it to their last-Knockout-standing match from Slammiversary because they were so different, but in a very good way. Early on, one of Taryn’s hair extensions fell off her head. I can only assume that’s her version of Jerry Lawler pulling the strap down. Another hair extension defected, which referee ODB put in her pocket. The thing hung halfway out of ODB’s pocket throughout the match, which amused me. Gail went for the figure-four-around-the-post, but Taryn kicked her off. Gail made a “THUD” just as loud as Manic, but she was up in time to thwart Taryn’s climb, so not only is Gail Kim the greatest woman wrestler in North American history, she’s also tougher than a guy with a skull mask. Many great, innovative spots, including Gail hooking the figure-four on Taryn THROUGH THE LADDER and Taryn not selling it a minute later (which was the only negative to the match). The first ladder remained standing throughout the match (which might be a first), and a second ladder was added as a platform between the first ladder and the ropes. At one point when both women were down, fans loudly chanted “ODB,” as she was still over from the first match. ODB even slyly looked up at the contract as if she was contemplating making a grab for it herself. ODB is a phenomenal performer who can interact with a crowd perfectly. They did a nice shove-off-the-attempted-cutter spot. Taryn climbed and was about to snag the contract, but she saw Gail was headed for her, so she hit a beautiful flying bodypress off the ladder. Taryn grabbed Gail in a move I called a “half-naked choke.” Fans chanted “This is awesome” and “TNA” for the match. Clever finish saw Gail grab Taryn’s hair and tie it to the second rope in a knot. Gail climbed quickly and retrieved the contract for the win. Massive pop for the match. Taryn had accidentally untangled herself too quickly, but still sold enough so that Gail’s win looked good. Just like how Shawn Michaels accidentally untangled his leg at WrestleMania 10, then recovered by trapping his own arm! Fans even gave Taryn a standing ovation as ODB helped her to the back (except for one rude guy in a wheelchair). Seriously, this was spectacular. I can’t say enough about Gail and Taryn. They’re having the feud of the year and carving out some great history not just for women’s wrestling, but wrestling in general. A must-see PPV-quality match. (Source)

NXT Divas Facing Sexual Harassment From Trainer?

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Rumors have surfaced via social media that Divas at WWE’s NXT developmental territory have been subjected to sexual harassment by a trainer.

The trainer has been referred to as their strength coach, but hasn’t been mentioned by name.

Cryptic tweets have been sent by recently released NXT talent Briley Pierce (aka Ryan Nemeth, Dolph Ziggler‘s brother) and Trent Barreta.

Most recently and most openly were the tweets sent last week by Pierce. He has since deleted the tweets, but a screencap of them was posted online:

Last month, Barreta made similar claims in reply to a fan’s tweet about NXT Diva Bayley:

@SasaZekzi @itsBayleyWWE nope. She’s way prettier… I don’t even get sexually harassed by my strength coach.

— TRENT? (@trentylocks) May 26, 2013

In today’s episode of former developmental talent Kevin Matthews‘s podcast Two and a Half Wrestlers, he spoke with fellow ex-NXT wrestlers Chase Donovan and Chad Baxter about a number of issues in the developmental system, and the sexual harassment rumor came up briefly.

The men acknowledged that they had heard the story from several other people, saying that the incidents were about a trainer “taking pictures with the Divas”. Head trainer Bill DeMott, they said, did not want the story to reach WWE Corporate and in a sense “swept it under the rug”.

Click here to listen to the podcast (Diva harassment discussion begins at 54:25).

Of course, these rumors have not been confirmed, but given the incredible amount of pressure felt by talent in the developmental system, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that they would be afraid to speak out about a matter like this.

We hope to have more on this issue when additional information surfaces. As for now, though, this is to be considered a rumor.

Picture of the Day: Lilian Garcia and Candice Michelle Hold TLC Reunion – Minus the T!

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It’s a TLC reunion — minus the T!

WWE songbird Lilian Garcia and former WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michelle got together at the annual LOPen charity golf and music festival where Lilian tore the house down with a rendition of the US national anthem, according to Candice.

She tweeted:

Sadly, Lilian and Candice were without their third musketeer, former WWE Diva, Torrie Wilson — the T in TLC. We’re assuming she’s off canoodling somewhere with a certain A-Rod. (Listen: Diva Dirt’s exclusive TLC interivew)

Lilian and Candice certainly lived up to the charitable aspect of the LOPen, meeting with several sick children and making their day.

Check out a bonus picture from Candice below:

Props to Candice and Lilian for doing their philanthropic bit!

Serena Deeb Heading to Japan

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serena

Serena Deeb‘s fantastic 2013 continues as she’s heading back to Japan in July to wrestle for Wrestling New Classic!

The promotion is owned by former WWE star Tajiri and is fairly new, having started running shows in April of last year. Serena will take on WNC Women’s Champion Lin Byron on July 25th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo.

The former WWE Diva announced her return to the Land of the Rising Sun via a series of tweets:

Serena made several notable appearances for Tajiri’s former promotion SMASH in 2011, plowing through every single one of her opponents…that is, until her rival Kana managed to defeat her in the finals of the SMASH Divas Championship tournament in September 2011.

In October of the same year, Serena was forced to take an indefinite leave of absence from wrestling due to a serious concussion she sustained. Her leave lasted eighteen months, ending only recently in March 2013 when she wrestled at TNA’s Knockout Knockdown: One Night Only pay-per-view. She has also since returned to SHIMMER Women Athletes.

Check out her May 2011 encounter with Kana below:

She joins fellow SHIMMER star Allysin Kay in heading to Japan.