Monday, May 20, 2024

Stephanie McMahon Addresses Whether She’ll Return to WWE TV

Melanie
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Stephanie McMahon Addresses Whether She’ll Return to WWE TV

WWE executive, Stephanie McMahon, has addressed whether she will return to WWE television in future.

Stephanie, who was once a regular on WWE programming, has taken more of a backstage role in recent years.

She recently made a rare appearance on the 1,000th episode of Raw on July 23rd alongside husband Triple H in a heated segment with Paul Heyman.

Talking to Arda Ocal of The Score at a WWE Be a STAR anti-bullying rally in Los Angeles this week, Stephanie says that, “If the demand is there” she may appear again in future.

Check out the interview below:

Exclusive: Angelina Love Heading to the UK for Pro-Wrestling: EVE

Melanie
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Exclusive: Angelina Love Heading to the UK for Pro-Wrestling: EVE

Pro-Wrestling: EVE is injecting a big dose of stateside glamor to its next Internet pay per view, Diva Dirt can reveal exclusively.

Former five-time TNA Knockouts Champion, Angelina Love, aka Angel Williams, has reached a deal with the European promotion to appear at EVE’s blockbuster EVE 10: WrestleFever show which will air live from Sudbury, Suffolk, via iPPV on November 10th.

Love, one of the most decorated Knockouts in TNA history, was granted her release from TNA earlier this year. She has since been racking up a vast number of bookings, including several with her former TNA tag team partner, Velvet Sky, in a “Beautiful People Reunion Tour”.

I’m told that there were negotiations to bring both Beautiful People members to the UK, however, a deal could only be struck with Love at this time.

Love will follow in the footsteps of her former TNA partner, Winter, real name Kat Waters, who made her EVE debut in July at EVE’s Special Edition show.

As part of her deal with EVE, Love will also make an appearance for Preston City Wrestling on November 9th. She will face Kay Lee Ray, one of EVE’s rising stars, in something of a preview match heading into the iPPV the following day.

Details on how to order EVE 10: WrestleFever on iPPV are forthcoming.

For tickets to EVE 10, click here.

WWE Signs Another New Diva

Melanie
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WWE Signs Another New Diva

It looks like WWE has signed another independent talent in Mercedes KV.

Mercedes was spotted on an episode of FCW’s television show along with Kayla Armstrong (daughter of WWE referee, Scott) and Sara Del Rey a few weeks ago, sparking speculation that she may be WWE-bound.

Chaotic Wrestling, which features Mercedes as its Women’s Champion, announced her signing via Facebook, writing: “JUST ANNOUNCED in LOWELL, MA – Mercedes KV will be leaving Chaotic Wrestling as Women’s Champion, to report to the WWE training facility, FCW/NXT in Florida. All of us at Chaotic Wrestling want to congratulate Mercedes and wish her luck!”

Congrats to Mercedes!

Thanks to @SuYungCom on Twitter for the heads up.

Live Coverage: SHINE Wrestling Presents “SHINE 2” – Mercedes Martinez vs Jazz and More

Melanie
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Diva Dirt presents live coverage of SHINE 2 airing live on iPPV tonight, headlined by Mercedes Martinez vs Jazz. (Order the event)

Follow live coverage of the show below and via our official Twitter page, @divadirt.

RELATED: SHINE Wrestling Presents SHINE 1: Live Coverage – Jazz vs Del Rey, Daffney & More

 

It looks like we are ready to go! Daffney is in the ring and welcomes us to to “SHINE Dos”. No hat this month!

Kicking off the show will be Kimberly and Su Yung.

Kimberly vs Su Yung
The pair shake hands before locking up. Waist lock by Kimberly, but Yung reverses. Takedown, headscissors by Yung. Back to their feet now. Side headlock by Yung. Kimberly backs her into the ropes but Yung barges her down. Drop toe hold by Yung. Pin attempt but no dice. Both go for a dropkick and are at a stalemate. The action continues, it looks like Kimberly has hit Yung with a closed fist but she insists it’s an open one. Kimberly in control now, side slam and pin attempt. Kimberly with backbreaker. Yung has a Kimberly’s arm in an arm triangle submission but Kimberly manages to break free. Kimberly back in control. An exchange of rollups by both women as they roll around the ring. Enziguiri attempt by Yung but she misses. Kimberly then hits a curb stomp and goes for a clover leaf but Yung rolls her up to take the win.

Winner: Su Yung

Short but sweet opener. Much better than last month’s opening match. Good work from both.

It’s time for an OVW themed three-way between Sojo Bolt, Heidi Lovelace and Taeler Hendrix.

Sojo Bolt vs Taeler Hendrix vs Heidi Lovelace
Match starts with an argument between Sojo and Taeler. Hendrix goes for a quick rollup attempt but Bolt kicks out. Lovelace with a crossbody attempt on both ladies but they catch her, she hits an armdrag on Bolt. Next, she hits a headscissors takedown and snapmare combo on both.

In the ring, Sojo with camel clutch on Lovelace, and Hendrix with a bridge submission on Bolt. Pretty cool stuff! Sojo with a neckbreaker on Hendrix. Lovelace and Sojo go at it, but Hendrix re-appears and hits a Melina like splits takedown on Lovelace. Hendrix and Lovelace exchanging chops now. Headbutt by Hendrix.

Hendrix has Lovelace on the top turnbuckle and goes for a Trish-like Stratusfaction but Lovelace catches her legs and applies a Boston Crab. Sojo then hits Hendrix with a dropkick. Sojo and Lovelace up top now. Sojo going for superplex, Hendrix reappears and goes for a powerbomb. Powerbomb/superplex combo by all three ladies.

Hendrix is the first back on her feet. Headbutts and forearms to Sojo. Lovelace with enziguiri to Hendrix. Pin attempt but no three.

Hendrix with a nice Chick Kick on Lovelace but Sojo then throws her out of the ring. Sojo goes for a fisherman buster and connects. Sojo with the victory.

Winner: Sojo Bolt

Really fun match with great work from all three. Super enjoyable!

It’s time for Sassy Stephie vs Mia Yim now.

Sassy Stephie vs Mia Yim
Mia extends her hand for a shake but Sassy kicks it away. The pair lock up now. Stephie with a wristlock but Yim cartwheels out of it and applies one of her own. Mia now behind Stephie. Stephie counters into side headlock. Mia reverses again with a hammerlock. Stephie again behind Mia and hits a waistlock takedown. Mia with an ankle lock but Stephie kicks Yim away.

Side headlock by Yim. Stephie with shoulder tackle off the ropes. Stephie trash talks Yim, which angers her so she hits her with a big boot to the face. Stephie goes through the ropes as Mia moves out of dodge. On the apron, Stephie brings Yim down hard on the side of the ring.

In the ring, Stephie in control. Cue brief intermission as my stream stops working. And we’re back! Stephie with a chin-lock on Yim. Front facelock into knee smashes and a front-first slam. Stephie now with a bridging submission attempt. Eye rake by Stephie. Horrible screeching noise by Yim. The pair fighting back and forth now. Stephie whips Yim into the corner, but she manages to jump atop the middle turnbuckle and hit a dropkick. Nice Spider-Man like skills.

The pair then exchange forearm shots while on the mat. Yim with hard kicks to Stephie and a nice running knee to the face. Yim goes for a pin but Stephie kicks out. Yim with a nice spinning back-fist and a German suplex into pin attempt but Stephie kicks out.

Crowd chants for Yim as she goes for a front facelock. Stephie goes for her finisher, Yim counters. Stephie gets a two count next before Yim kicks out. Yim kicks Stephie and goes for a corkscrew moonsault from the top for the win.

Winner: Mia Yim.

Great match from what I saw. Mia’s finisher really has to be seen – it’s breathtaking!

Time now for the debut of Jessicka Havok against Reby Sky.

Jessicka Havok vs Reby Sky
Reby Sky uses her fast paced style to take early advantage. Nice headscissors on J-Hav. However, Havok soon takes the advantage with some vicious kicks to Sky.

Snap suplex by Havok followed by a pin attempt but no three. Havok with a blood curdling scream. Havok kicks Reby and talks trash. Reby begins to fight back with kicks but Havok catches her leg and begins stretching the hamstring and slams her down in splits position. Um, ouch! Pin attempt but no three.

Havok has Reby over her knee and laughs menacingly. Full Nelson followed by a backbreaker over the knee and a clothesline.

Reby off the ropes and applies an octopus submission! Nice move! Havok, however, drives Sky into the turnbuckles. Havok tormenting Sky, picks her up in a bear-hug and drives her into the various turnbuckles.

Havok picks Reby Sky up by the throat and attempts to push her over the top rope. Reby hanging in tree of woe position on the other side of the ring. Havok with a bow-and-arrow type submission over the ropes.

Havok has Reby on her shoulders and goes for the finish but Sky hits a move out of desperation and goes for two count, but no three. Reby with a nice axe kick and another pin attempt. Havok runs at Reby in the corner, Reby moves out of the way. Reby with a shoulder tackle and spinning heel kick followed by a bulldog. Reby goes up top but Havok knocks her onto the turnbuckle and climbs up herself. Havok knocked off and Reby goes for a hurricanrana but Havok hits a sitout powerbomb. This should be it — however Reby still manages to kick out of a three count.

Havok now goes for the Emerald Frozen and connects for the victory.

Winner: Jessicka Havok

Another great match. Havok really took it out of Reby, but you gotta hand it to her, Sky held her own and took the punishment. Showed that she’s not just a “model”.

After the match, Jessicka throws a chair in the ring and it lands on Reby’s wrist. Havok then hits her across the back with the chair and begins driving the chair into Reby’s arm. Havok puts Reby’s arm through the fold of the chair and stomps on it, and then applies a cross armbreaker with the chair still in place. Brutal but great stuff!

The referees break things up, but Havok again goes after Reby with a cross armbreaker before finally going to the back.

Next is Rain vs Santana.

Rain vs Santana
Nice opening with Santana showing a lot of athleticism with an arm drag and front dropkick. Rain, the veteran, with a double-knee smash to the face and a pin attempt, however. Rain continues to control and ground Santana. Santana with a nice Russian leg sweep on Rain, followed by a pin attempt. Rain takes control again.

Body scissors by Rain. Santana tries to go for a pin. Strikes by Rain. Santana off the ropes with a crossbody. Both ladies down which leads to a double count starting by the referee. The ladies get to their feet and exchange blows. Santana with a nice pin attempt out of the corner but Rain kicks out. Santana with a handspring elbow/something in the corner (elbow didn’t quite connect). Bulldog and pin attempt. Santana goes for monkey flip in the corner but Rain slams her down and uses the ropes for the pin.

Winner: Rain.

This match didn’t quite keep the strong match streak going, unfortunately. Wasn’t into this as much as the rest of the card so far.

Portia Perez has arrived to… vaudevillian music? Portia trash talks the crowd as she makes her way around the ring. We’re waiting to see who Leva Bates has come as this year — it’s Captain Jack Sparrow!

Leva Bates vs Portia Perez
Comedy shtick from Leva before the match, waving her Captain Jack sword. Portia says she’s a world class wrestler, “Who the heck are you?” Leva with a surprise rollup but Portia kicks out.

The match now finally getting underway with a flurry of submissions between the pair. Side headlock by Bates and a shoulder tackle. Portia walks into a… water gun?!

Leva with a drop toe hold and chops to the chest. Leva then shoots the water pistol in Portia’s face again.

Portia is not playing anymore and goes after Leva aggressively. Leva, however, gains the advantage in the corner with 9 punches followed by another water pistol shot. Portia then fights back, spitting in Leva’s face and clubbing her across the back of the head.

Portia still in control, slamming Leva’s head against the mat. Pin attempt by Leva, but Portia kicks out. After some back and forth, Bates manages to plant Portia with a Rock Bottom. Both ladies are down, however. Leva with some shots and kicks to the chest.

Portia in control now. DDT and pin attempt but Bates kicks out.

Bates off the top with a double stomp to the back of Portia.

Leva goes for double knee smash but Portia counters. Portia goes for pin with rope assist but the referee catches her.

Portia misses a superkick. Leva hits a superkick of her own and gets the three count in a huge upset.

Winner: Leva Bates.

After the match, Leva says she and Allison Danger want a match against the Canadian Ninjas for the SHIMMER Tag Titles in October.

Big victory for Leva.

Tag match next as the new team of Made in Sin, Taylor Made and Allysin Kay face Christina Von Eerie and MsChif, aka Mseerie.

Daffney introduces Chif as her favorite wrestler in the whole world. Very impartial is our Daff.

Made in Sin vs Mseerie
Chif and Made in the ring first. Chif lets out one of her patented screams which scares Made into falling on the mat and cowering. Chif screams again which leads to Made clutching to Kay for support. Made tags out to Kay before even wrestling. Kay and MsChif circle each other; Kay slaps Chif. Chif with another scream, this time sending Kay out of the ring.

Made tagged in now. Chif screams again but this time Made covers her ears.

Kay in the ring with Chif now. Kay covers Chif’s mouth with tape. Chif with headbutts. Chif rips off the tape & lets out a patented scream. Von Eerie tagged in and in control of Kay. Kick to the face and pin attempt by Von Eerie. CVE with a splash from the top and pin attempt but Made comes in and breaks the pin. Von Eerie goes for a monkey flip but Kay doesn’t budge. Kay with clothesline on CVE.

Made and Kay exchange tags and control Von Eerie, not allowing her tag out. Von Eerie with a hard kick to the face. Von Eerie with a sunset flip out of the corner but only gets a two count. Made with a sleeper hold. CVE with drop toe hold and rear chinlock. Kay comes in and breaks it up with a kick to the head.

Made in Sin continuing to isolate CVE. Von Eerie manages to hit a backstabber on Made and tries to crawl to her corner to tag in MsChif.

Camera turns to the rampway where April Hunter has appeared to watch the match.

Back in the ring, Von Eerie beginning to clear house.

Issues with stream, missed the end but it appears Made in Sin score the victory with assist from April Hunter.

Winners: Made in Sin

It’s main event time! Video package highlighting the disrespect from Mercedes Martinez towards Jazz at SHINE 1.

Note: Internet totally crapped out before the main event, but a big thank you to Rhi Lockwood (@bubblesrhi) for helping pick up the slack and writing up the main event match…

Jazz vs Mercedes Martinez
Sara Del Rey joins commentary and it doesn’t take long for Jazz & Mercedes to take their fight to the crowd.

Jazz shows her anger at being disrespected when presented with the Diva Dirt Legacy Award, dragging Mercedes by the hair through the crowd. Mercedes breaks the hold and gets a few shots in, not for long though as Jazz responds with hard right hands to the face. The crowd is getting a very unique experience & absolutely loving it.

The girls head back to ringside, Jazz continues to punish Mercedes. Mercedes gets a few opportunities of offense, pushing Jazz into some chairs and seizes the time to grab Jazz by the hair and lead her through the crowd (again) and through to the VIP section. After teasing the crowd with Jazz over her shoulder and to launch her off the side of the ledge, Jazz puts on the breaks and pushes Mercedes off, Mercedes sails through onto the floor.

After this, referee calls the match a no contest, much to Jazz’s fury. She makes her way down to the ring and gets into the ref’s face. He gets a nice shot to the face for his trouble. Mercedes joins Jazz in the ring & the two roll around the ring, exchange some nice punches.

The second referee tries to intervene & separate the two, he is also met with a shot to his face for his trouble.

The entire locker room proceeds to spill out to assist in separating the girls, much to the crowds delight. Voices from the other wrestlers can be heard saying “Calm down,” to Jazz & Mercedes and the locker room have serious trouble keeping the two women separated, until Mercedes is unwillingly dragged out of the ring. Jazz looks on very annoyed that no score was able to be settled on this night. She storms to the back. leaving the remainder of the girls to check on the fallen referees.

SHINE 3 airs September 21st at 8pm.

— Additional reporting by Rhi Lockwood

Impact Write-Up (August 16th, 2012): Taryn Terrell Debuts, Brooke Hogan & Hot Potato Title Switches Make Their Return

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Hello there, and if you’re reading this it must be Friday unless I’m in some parallel universe. Now that I see it is Friday, let me welcome you to this crazy little thing we call an Impact Write-Up. This week, my weekly pleads for storylines and character development has seemingly been heard by the Knockouts Executive, Brooke Hogan, because she is back working with the females and has decided to give us a Knockouts Title rematch between Brooke Tessmacher and Madison Rayne. Not only that, but it will have a special guest referee as well… hmm. If you somehow skipped over the title and photo of this recap, then let us guess who ever it could be?

First up, we head to the backstage area where new Knockouts Champion, Madison Rayne has something to say. She states that this past Sunday, one of the greatest injustices in pro wrestling was solved because it’s been too long since she’s been champion. Madison continues to run down her repertoire, but she’s interrupted by a staff member that Brooke Hogan wants to see her in the ring. Madison is elated, thinking this has to be her championship celebration party, before heading off to prepare for what’s sure to be an interesting segment. Score one for character development!

Out to the ring we go soon after, to the sound of the lyrical masterpiece that fits only a true Killer Queen. She bows to all of her loyal subjects, before stepping inside the ring while holding her wonderful crown and grabbing a microphone. She invites Brooke Hogan out to the ring for such an important moment as the queen regaining her throne! Madison seems intent on getting some cake tonight, oh my. Before Brooke can come out, Madison invites Earl Hebner out to the ring as the sound of “Tessmacher” chants erupt. Earl walks over to the ring as now “You Screwed Brooke” chants break out. Madison talks to Earl like he’s her pet dog or something, but before we can see what Madison wanted to tell him, another lyrical masterpiece hits in the form of that country type song sung by Brooke Hogan that obviously is too genius to even have a name yet.

Miss Hogan walks out and tells Madison that this behavior needs to be put to a stop. She runs down some history with Earl and wonders why he can’t admit that he’s been doing some shady tactics with Madison. She informs Mr. Hebner that he’s officially done reffing the Knockouts matches, and this does NOT sit well with Madison. From there, Miss Hogan reveals that Madison will face Brooke Tessmacher in a rematch for the title tonight… and not only that, there will be a special female referee for the bout!

Madison immediately chimes in and tell Brooke Hogan that she doesn’t know who she thinks she is because she doesn’t run this show, rather Madison does! She claims that Brooke is just riding off the Hogan name, and in typical Hogan fashion, she’s all talk and no action. If she wants to come in here and make all these changes to the division, why doesn’t she come into HER ring and tell her about these changes. (Side note: Loving Madison on the mic right now.) Brooke accepts the challenge and charges after her, as both she and Earl sprint out of the ring! Brooke questions what Madison is afraid of, but out of nowhere, the Aces and Eights appear behind Brooke and back her into a corner until a few members of the male roster run down to save her.

The Knockouts Championship logo flashes across the screen as we change things up a bit with a SIDEWAYS pan up shot of Christy Hemme. Following the entrances of both challenger, Brooke Tessmacher, and champion, Madison Rayne, Brooke Hogan comes out and introduces the special guest referee… Taryn “Tiffany” Terrell! Though, the highlight of the night comes now when Taryn is entering as Brooke backs up and falls off the ramp! I don’t dislike Brooke like most, but that was hilarious. She brushes the fall off, and out walks Taryn! She dons the stripes, but in a different way than most referees. Brooke Tessmacher seems happy with this decision, as Madison looks none too amused. Taryn holds the title up as the bell sounds and we get things underway.

The two lock up as Madison backs Brooke into the corner. Taryn quickly breaks it off to the dismay of Madison, as Tessmacher does the same and Terrell plays fair. Rayne takes the early advantage with some forearms and a back elbow, before slamming Brooke into the corner and locking in a choke with her boot. Taryn gives her a count of five and tells her to stop the choking! Madison tries to go for it again, but Terrell does not back down! Madison then slams Tessmacher down and hits a nice northern lights suplex for just a two count. Brooke with a small package for a two, followed up with a jacknife for another near fall. Tessmacher misses a splash, as Madison hooks the tights in a roll up and Taryn stops it!

Madison continues to dominate the match, before missing a boot and allowing Tessmacher to hit a nice spear. Taryn begins the count, as the fans get behind the challenger and it fires her up to score with an assortment of clotheslines and a dropkick. She then hits a nice wheelbarrow facebuster for a two count as Madison fights out. Tessmacher signals for her finisher, but Madison escapes and sends her into the corner. Brooke scores with a boot, but misses a huge crossbody. Madison goes for the pin attempt with her feet on the ropes, but Taryn spies it and stops a screeching Rayne from winning. Madison begins to go off on Taryn, before turning around and right into the Tess Shocker for the win! Brooke reclaims the Knockouts Championship!

Thoughts: First of all, I’m actually really excited that Taryn has joined TNA. The whole night all I was hoping for was that the guest referee would be someone unexpected, and I don’t think one person mentioned her in their guesses. The only negative is that I don’t think anyone in the crowd really knew who she was because they plugged her by her full name instead of Tiffany. Nonetheless, I love the choice and I hope she becomes a second version of Brooke Tessmacher where no one gives her a chance at first and then she improves leaps and bounds into a star. I was always a fan of Tiffany in WWE and felt her run was cut short by personal issues. To be honest, I never thought I’d see her in a ring again, much less on TV, so it’s really cool to actually see someone you enjoyed get a second chance so far down the line from their last one. I felt the same way when Brooke Tessmacher debuted with TNA as well because I thought she had a spark in WWE that was never capitalized on, so I definitely can’t wait to see Taryn step back into the ring. It may take some time before she gets to the level she was at when training at a full time basis, but as we’ve seen with Brooke, anything can happen!

The actual match was fun to me because it told a story. You had Madison wanting Taryn to cheat for her since she’s so used to Earl doing the same, but Taryn refused and called it right down the middle. I do question if we really will never see Earl referee a Knockouts match again or if it will be forgotten down the line, and also why couldn’t this have just happened at Hardcore Justice and Brooke could have kept the title, plus a debut could’ve occurred on pay per view? Questions that will likely never get answers, but I’m going to take what I can get when it comes to TNA and be happy that the Knockouts got exposure tonight in more than just a match and that’s it. The segment with Madison and Brooke Hogan was entertaining and amusing for my own personal enjoyment. I’ve said it before, but Madison is the one Knockout they will actually give lots of mic time to no matter if she’s involved in a title feud or not. I personally have no problem with that because she makes me laugh in her segments, and the sight of Brooke Hogan running after her and Earl will forever remain a highlight.

It’s also nice to see that they finally put Brooke Hogan back in the division. I said it before, but the only few weeks this year I really enjoyed the Knockouts beyond just being able to say “that was a good match” were the few she was in charge of them. She got them time and segments, whether she appeared in them or not, the Knockouts were spotlighted more each week she was behind them. When she went off to do that Aces & Eights storyline, we went back to the way they were during Gail’s reign of really only getting one segment per show and it was usually a match and nothing else. Lo and behold, tonight she’s back in charge and we got two character driven segments with Madison, a title match, and a debut. Whether you love her or hate her, TNA seem to put time into the women’s division if she’s around them so I personally want her to be involved each week if it means more than just a match per show with no storylines or character growth.

Alright, the one big negative… Knockout Title hot potato is back. I guess I stand corrected in my Hardcore Justice recap when I said Madison and Gail seem the be the only ones who can get a lengthy title reign since now it just seems to be strictly Gail. I could say how much I despise the hot potato title switches, but I honestly enjoyed this night for the Knockouts too much to even be bothered. I beg each week for segments and character development with them, and they gave me a whole lot of it tonight so complaining about something seems ungrateful, which I am not! I probably enjoyed this episode of TNA more than most all of them this year Knockout wise, but I really hope the fun segments weren’t just because Madison Rayne had the title. You can do these types of things with every champion, TNA! Give Brooke Tessmacher some time on the mic each week like I’m sure you would have given Madison had she retained the belt. Even if it’s just a backstage segment some weeks, that’s stellar in its own right. I’m starting to gain a little faith back again, but unlike last time towards the end of Gail’s title reign where I was all “Knockouts are awesome! This is great! Brooke is getting them time and segments”, I’m going to take this week to week and not count my chickens before they hatch because all of that can go back to square one, so to speak, in the blink of an eye. Right now, I’ve got hope TNA will DO THE RIGHT THING and give the Knockouts more storylines and segments like we saw tonight, so let’s see what happens on the upcoming episode.

WWE ’13 Divas Roster Predictions

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We are just over 24 hours away from the event that makes WWE fan boys and girls everywhere squeal — the annual WWE video game roster reveal.

Yes, that’s right, gamers, your wait is nearly over as THQ and WWE will unveil the roster for WWE ’13 at Fan SummerSlam Axxess tomorrow in Los Angeles.

It all takes place at 1.30pm Pacific (that’s 4:30 Eastern and 9:30 in the UK), and you can bet we’ll be keeping you in the loop as fast as our fingers can type right here at Diva Dirt, and via our Twitter page.

Every year there’s a ton of speculation (often followed by dismay) over the Divas roster, and this year is no different. In fact, excitement is even more fervent this year due to the extra added Attitude Era element to WWE ’13. THQ has confirmed that numerous Attitude Era stars will feature in the game along with present Superstars and Divas.

Ahead of the roster reveal tomorrow, we take a logical look at who we feel might make the cut–and who may be shut out.

Safe bets

AJ Lee: Given her meteoric rise in WWE over the past year, AJ is probably about as close to a priority as a Diva can get for WWE ’13. I would be shocked if she didn’t make the cut.

Kelly Kelly: Kelly is a staple of the WWE video games and is pretty much guaranteed a spot in this one.

Eve Torres: Like Kelly, Eve is a staple of these games, and given her push over the past year, she is more likely than ever to appear in video game form.

Beth Phoenix: The former Divas Champion has been infrequently seen since losing the Divas Title in April, but she’s still one of the most prominent Divas in the WWE and a likely addition to the roster. We’re guessing that THQ may incorporate Beth’s new look into her character model this year.

Layla: You can’t have a video game without a Divas Champ, right? Layla seems like another logical choice for WWE ’13.

Trish Stratus and Lita: Representing the previous era of WWE Divas, Trish and Lita are the likeliest of candidates to appear. Both obviously have working relationships with WWE; Lita appeared at Raw 1000, the Slammys in December and Edge’s recent DVD release, while Trish also appeared at Raw 1000 and was in WWE ’12.

Could go either way

Natalya: The Queen of Harts made the cut last year, but since then has been sparsely utilized. While we hope she’s in it, sadly, we’re not sure.

The Bella Twins: Despite leaving WWE earlier this year, fans will know that these video games begin development at least a year in advance of release. It’s highly possible that Brie and Nikki may get one last THQ check for their likeness.

Alicia Fox: Last year, she was relegated to downloadable content, and this year, we’re willing to bet it may be a similar situation for our Foxy.

Maria Menounos: WWE obviously loves its celebrity Diva, Maria Menounos of Dancing with the Stars and Extra fame. With Mike Tyson included in WWE ’13, it’s not illogical to think Ms Menounos may also make an appearance.

Sable: She helped define the Attitude Era Diva-wise, but will Sable make the cut? It would certainly give this writer a kick to see her in the game! With husband Brock Lesnar back on WWE’s books, perhaps a deal for Sable’s likeness was reached?

Stephanie McMahon: One of the breakout stars of the Attitude Era was the Billion Dollar Princess, Stephanie McMahon. With her executive status in WWE, there isn’t much stopping THQ from utilizing her. Personally, we want to see Stephanie appears as Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley — complete with this look.

Long shots

Aksana, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes and Tamina Snuka: It’d be cool to hit a Superfly Splash, for sure, but WWE hasn’t really prioritized these Divas enough on television, so we’re not too sure they’d make them a priority in the game, either.

Chyna: Though she was indeed a huge, integral part of the Attitude Era, we’re really not holding our breath on this one.

Who do you think will make the cut? Tell us in the comments! And remember to join us for live coverage of the roster reveal tomorrow!

In Pictures: SummerSlam, Divas, Red Carpet… Need We Say More?

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SummerSlam is here, and as has become annual tradition, we get to fawn over the Divas in their most stylish at the SummerSlam red carpet kick-off party! (It’s a personal highlight of the year for me, anyway.)

This year, the likes of Eve, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Divas Champ Layla, Lilian Garcia, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee and even WrestleMania celebrity, Maria Menounos, hit the red carpet in Los Angeles.

The Divas, and WWE Superstars, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Piers Morgan, Kellan Lutz, Olympic gold medalist (and he who makes Melanie and Cryssi swoon), Ryan Lochte, and many more celebrities (as well as plenty of “celebrities”, if you catch my drift).

Let’s take a min to talk fash, shall we? Our best dressed clearly goes to Kelly Kelly, looking dramatic and sexy in a black dress with sheer cleavage. The  hair adds more drama to the already hot look. Kaitlyn and Lilian also impressed us; Lilian looked bright and colorful — perfect for summer! And an honorable mention must go to AJ, who even on a red carpet, stays true to herself in sneakers. We’re sure this would make Anna Wintour scream bloody murder but, hey, AJ could probably take her!

SHINE Wrestling Presents SHINE 2 Tonight: Card, Ordering Details

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SHINE Wrestling returns to Internet pay per view tonight with SHINE 2 at 8pm ET.

The event will be headlined by Jazz taking on Mercedes Martinez. This match stems from Martinez crashing and disrespecting Jazz during her Diva Dirt Legacy Award presentation at SHINE 1 last month. (Watch the segment here.)

The Scream Queen, Daffney, will return as live event hostess for the show.

Card is as follows:

Main Event
Mercedes Martinez vs. Jazz

Rain vs. Santana

Made In Sin (Taylor Made & Allysin Kay) vs. MSEERIE (MsChif & Christina Von Eerie)

Sassie Stephie vs. Mia Yim

Jessicka Havok vs. Reby Sky

Portia Perez vs. Leva Bates

Sojo Bolt vs. Taeler Hendrix vs. Heidi Lovelace

Kimberly vs. Su Yung

– Order SHINE 2 live on iPPV.

Taryn Terrell Talks About TNA Debut, Note on Her Possible Role in TNA

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Taryn Terrell Talks About TNA Debut, Note on Her Possible Role in TNA

Following her surprise debut on last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling, Taryn Terrell gave an interview to SoCal Val on the Impact Post-Show talking about her joining TNA.

Taryn admitted that she was nervous, but was happy to be there.

RELATED: Former WWE Diva Makes TNA Debut

The former WWE Diva, who competed as Tiffany, also discussed her role in a new movie, The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell. Taryn notes that while she was out of wrestling, she had taken up stunt work in movies.

Watch the interview below:


Skip to 08:50

Also, in perhaps an indication of her role in TNA, the official Impact Wrestling website refers to Terrell as the company’s “newest referee”. Given the current storyline with Earl Hebner and Madison Rayne, could Terrell become the official referee for Knockouts matches?

Of course, there’s always a possibility of Terrell getting into the ring herself; new Knockouts Champ, Brooke Tessmacher, started out as an assistant, for example.

Former WWE Diva Makes TNA Debut

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Former WWE Diva Makes TNA Debut

Former WWE Diva Tiffany, real name Taryn Terrell, has joined TNA.

Terrell made her Impact Wrestling debut tonight as the hand-picked referee for the Knockouts Championship rematch between Madison Rayne and Brooke Tessmacher.

Taryn’s WWE run included a stint as General Manager of ECW, before becoming an in-ring competitor on SmackDown where she showed a lot of potential as a wrestler. Terrell’s most notable highlight came when she and Kelly Kelly were pit against LayCool in a feud. The rivalry saw Terrell earn a Women’s Championship opportunity against Michelle McCool on an episode of SmackDown.

Terrell’s WWE career came to an end abruptly, however, two years ago in the lead up to SummerSlam following an altercation at a hotel that also involved her then-husband, WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre. Terrell was suspended in August 2010 and released in November of that year.

You can listen to our interview with Taryn in 2010 talking about the incident that led to her release, her run in WWE and more here.

Thoughts: Talk about a shocker! I’ve always said that I felt Taryn had a ton of potential in her matches on SmackDown and I was excited to see how she’d fare in the Divas division with more experience. It looks like this could be a second chance for her to show what she can do, much like Tessmacher received another opportunity in wrestling with TNA and has since gone on to become one of their top Knockouts.

Brooke Tessmacher Regains Knockouts Title

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As quickly as she she won it, Madison Rayne has lost her coveted Knockouts Championship.

Just four days after winning the belt under ominous circumstances (her “boyfriend” Earl Hebner served as referee), Madison lost the title back to Brooke Tessmacher in a rematch on tonight’s live episode of Impact Wrestling.

RELATED: TNA Hardcore Justice: Madison Rayne Wins Knockouts Title

Knockouts executive Brooke Hogan called for the rematch and appointed a hand-picked referee, the debuting former WWE star, Taryn Terrell.

RELATED: Former WWE Diva Makes TNA Debut

Terrell called the action down the middle — taking away Madison’s recent advantage in her matches — and thus, with an even playing field, Brooke hit her Tess Shocker to take back the belt.

What do you think of the title switching back so soon? Tell us in the comments!

Impact Wrestling Feedback: August 16th, 2012

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Get your weekly dose of Knockouts action on tonight’s Impact. Tonight’s show is live, so be sure to into Spike TV at the start time of 8pm ET.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Who is Wrestling’s Best Mean Girl? Round 1: Sable vs Trish Stratus

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At its root, wrestling has always been about good vs evil, bad guys vs good guys — or in our case, bad girls vs good girls.

In a brand new feature at Diva Dirt, we want you to help us pick wrestling’s best mean girl. Now, there is a clear distinction between a mean girl and your regular “heel”. When we say “mean girl” we refer to the women in wrestling who were feisty, vindictive, acid-tongued and bitchy! They may not necessarily be the toughest, or the baddest, but they certainly had tons of personality.

Based on your nominations, we picked the 16 most mentioned women in wrestling to advance to our knock-out bracket tournament. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks as you will be asked to vote between some of wrestling’s best mean girls and help us whittle it down from just 16 to one!

– To see the full tournament brackets click here (Note: All pairings drawn at random.)

Round 1: In the second of 8 face-offs in Round 1, we have two blonde bombshells who, in different eras, were arguably WWE’s top female star. At the height of the Attitude Era, Sable was a Playboy covergirl, received applause that rivaled The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin and held the WWE Women’s Title. The fame seemed to go to her head, however, as she went from one of WWE’s best loved to WWE’s top mean girl, humiliating poor Tori and hiring a ginormous female bodyguard to do her dirty work in Nicole Bass. Returning to WWE in 2003, Sable hadn’t changed, this time running into good girls such as Torrie Wilson and Stephanie McMahon. As for Trish Stratus, who had during Sable’s hiatus from WWE, become its new top Diva, she started out as a mean girl before capturing the fans’ hearts. However, after turning on the beloved Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XX, Trish unleashed her inner mean girl and delivered some of her best promo work on the likes of Lita, Christy Hemme and more.

It’s a tough choice, but the vote is entirely down to you!

Vote below:

 

MORE ROUND 1 POLLS: The Beautiful People vs Maxine

Who did you vote for? Tell us in the comments and on Twitter by sending a message to @divadirt!


Christina Crawford Released

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Christina Crawford Released

Diva Dirt has confirmed that WWE has released Christina Crawford, aka FCW’s Caylee Turner.

It appears that Crawford, the younger sister of WWE Diva Alicia Fox, was released last week along with fellow WWE Tough Enough contestant, Ivelisse Velez (Sofia Cortez), who confirmed her release over the weekend.

Speculation regarding Crawford’s WWE status has been rampant this week after a revamped FCW website, now rebranded NXT Wrestling, failed to list her in the Divas section of the roster. Diva Dirt today confirmed that Crawford has indeed been let go.

Crawford was signed by WWE in the summer of 2010. She, along with Andy Leavine (aka Kevin Hackman in FCW), were allowed a release from their developmental deals in order to pursue a spot on USA Network’s revival of WWE Tough Enough in early 2011. Both appeared on the show with Leavine going on to win the season. Crawford was the last female competitor standing on the show, outlasting Velez, current WWE Diva Cameron (Ariane Andrew), Rima Fakih and Michelle Deighton.

After the show ended, Crawford was re-signed by WWE and had been training and appearing in FCW since, appearing as both a wrestler and ring announcer.

Crawford recently appeared on the rebranded version of NXT, now a WWE developmental show, as a ring announcer on the first episode and as an in-ring competitor on last week’s episode.

The younger sister of former WWE Divas Champ, Alicia Fox, was the reigning FCW Divas Champion at the time of her release. Based on the promotion rebranding itself as NXT, it looks like the company will not be acknowledging the preexisting FCW championships, rather creating new ones.

Last year, Crawford talked to us about her initial WWE signing in 2010, giving up her contract to appear on Tough Enough, her sister Alicia and more.

In Video: Raquel Diaz Segment From This Week’s NXT

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This week’s episode of WWE NXT features a brief backstage segment in which third generation Diva, Raquel Diaz is shown admiring herself in a mirror and trashing the other women involved with the show.

You can check it out below:

Your Two Cents: Did the Diva Search Help or Hurt?

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Your Two Cents: Did the Diva Search Help or Hurt?

“Your Two Cents” is our interactive feature where we gauge the opinions of our Twitter and Facebook followers on different discussions in women’s wrestling.

This week, we’re asking this: This week marks the anniversary of both Ashley Massaro and Layla‘s Diva Search victories, so we want to know: do you think the Diva Search helped or hurt the Divas division by shaping it into what it is today? We’ve read your responses on our social media pages and picked some of the best submissions to highlight here on the website. As always, you can join the debate by leaving your comments!

Our Two Cents

Batting for Team DD this week, it’s Cryssi giving us her personal opinion on this week’s topic:

Cryssi: I think people who slam the Diva Search and say it hurt the division are unfair. In my opinion it was designed for one purpose and that was to find more people like Trish Stratus. Trish was one of a kind, a model who was able to perform at a high level for wrestling. She was everything and if she could do it why couldn’t other models? I think the powers that be got so obsessed with finding more girls like Trish who could model and do the basics, they got lost on what was really important. I think it was absolutely designed with good intentions but ultimately ended up doing more harm than good.

Your Two Cents

Ant John | Overall I’d say it hurt it. For every Michelle McCool there were 10 Joy Giovannis. The majority they hired had little to no interest in wrestling. They came in, stood there, stuck their arse out, pouted, gave a little slap then left. And to me it felt like a slap in the face to the women that yeah may have started as models but sure as hell worked hard to remove such a monicker (Victoria and Trish). It was such a drastic change from the quality we had and then to get these bimbos shortly after. Every blonde woman they’ve brought in I’ve seen as a way to replicate Trish’s success but it will never succeed. As the old saying goes: often imitated, never duplicated.
@carter_payne | With Divas like Michelle McCool, Eve Torres and Layla I find it difficult to accuse the Diva Search of ‘hurting’ the division. It’s true not all products of the Diva Search were aspiring wrestlers and never grew into much in the ring but a fair few have walked away with a genuine love for the business such as Maria Kanellis, Christy Hemme, Lena Yada and Brooke Tessmacher who is growing into a gifted wrestler in her own right. The Diva Search has brought us matches, feuds and segments we would never see otherwise and brought us real wrestlers we never even knew existed.
@FearlessRiOT | A lot of people would say that the Diva Search has hurt the Divas Division because it basically glorifies the idea of teaching models to wrestle with mediocre results as compared to hiring actual wrestlers from Indy promotions. But if we really think about it, some of the most memorable Divas of the last few years came to us courtesy of the Diva Search (Michelle, Maria, Maryse, Eve, Layla, Candice Michelle). And those girls have even given us some good matches and entertaining segments over the years. So while most fans despise the idea of the Diva Search, I think it has also given us some positives, and for that, I definitely CAN’T knock the impact the Diva Search has had on the Divas Division.
Jack White | Helped definitely. It only really helped if the girls had the passion though. I remember the girl who was the runner-up to Eve definitely just being in it for the fame, where as, as we all know, Eve has demonstrated passion, the will to learn martial arts and/or keep them up and is a brilliant character and competitor. Tbh, I’d like to see it back. Whether we admired the work put in by Candice, Michelle, Maryse, Eve or Layla or whether we laugh on a regular basis about the likes of Ashley or Joy, we’re glad to have had them!
Josue Guzman | Looking back, I thought the idea of bringing in new women for WWE’s Divas Division was a spectacular idea! The Diva Search was just that: an opportunity for new women to come in, weekly challenges to see if they have what it takes and the chance for the fans to decide who they think deserves a WWE contract.

However the format in which the Diva Search was done is what ultimately hurt the division. When you bring in “models” versus “wrestlers-in-training” (so to speak), it sets the tone that this is more of a beauty contest than an actual sport competition. With the weekly challenges that include ice cream eating, hot dog eating, pillow fights, lingerie/swimsuit wearing contest etc, it makes it harder to take any of these future female wrestlers seriously! With those two things being said, fans will usually not have enough to vote on which in results, more often than not, the votes going to the girl who they think is the “hottest”.

Not that isn’t to say we haven’t seen successful stories. We’ve seen women such as Michelle McCool, Brooke Tessmacher, Eve Torres, Candice Michelle and Layla all hold gold since their humble beginnings. But for the most part the WWE has made the Diva Search contest a joke and that is how the Divas’ Division remains today: a joke!
Mary-Helen Clark | I think it did a little of both. It made some fans wary of model/wrestlers and it became a sort of stigma, but we did obtain some pretty great athletes in Layla, Candice, and some great characters in Maryse. Of course, it also led to Michelle, who’s stranglehold on the Women’s and Diva’s title contributed to a lack of storyline and plot development for anyone not named Michelle McCool that the division is still reeling from.
Ozzy Valentine | There was some good and some bad that came out of it. We got engaging characters such as Candice Michelle, Ashley Massaro and Christy Hemme. We also got some fantastic wrestlers like Michelle McCool, Layla and Eve. In the long run however, the Diva Search hurt the women’s division and lowered it to a state of depression. There are no more women out there who are their own character. Sure they’ve shared the “Diva” title for years now, but even so, women like Chyna, Lita, Trish, Luna Vachon, Jackie Moore, Ivory, Jazz, Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, Molly Holly all were unique. They transcended what a “Diva” is thought to be. All were special and brought something different to the women’s division. Nowadays the WWE has taken the Diva Search mentality seemingly classifying them as a bunch of hot women with nothing more to them than boobs and a “bucket full of perkiness” as a current diva once put it.
Shane Pye | It definitely hurt it. I don’t even see how it can even be open to debate. The term “Diva” itself is symbolic of what is problematic about the state of wrestling right now. We want to see female wrestlers, not “divas”, and we want to see wrestlers and not “sports entertainers.” WWE had forgotten its roots, and it shows in the vastly weaken product they serve up week after week. The wrestling aspect should always come first, and, if you can’t wrestle well, then you shouldn’t even be in the WWE. With the way things are now, I don’t even know why any young women out there would even consider going into wrestling since success definitely isn’t based on talent.

And now we turn it over to you…

What are your two cents on the debate? Did the Diva Search help or hurt? Tell us in the comments…

Reader Poll: Best SummerSlam Divas Moment?

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Reader Poll: Best SummerSlam Divas Moment?

With SummerSlam 2012 just around the corner, Diva Dirt TV is looking to find the best Divas moment in SummerSlam history.

Choose from the options below and the top five will be featured on the next Diva Dirt TV!

 

Who is Wrestling’s Best Mean Girl? Round 1: The Beautiful People vs Maxine

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At its root, wrestling has always been about good vs evil, bad guys vs good guys — or in our case, bad girls vs good girls.

In a brand new feature at Diva Dirt, we want you to help us pick wrestling’s best mean girl. Now, there is a clear distinction between a mean girl and your regular “heel”. When we say “mean girl” we refer to the women in wrestling who were feisty, vindictive, acid-tongued and bitchy! They may not necessarily be the toughest, or the baddest, but they certainly had tons of personality.

Based on your nominations, we picked the 16 most mentioned women in wrestling to advance to our knock-out bracket tournament. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks as you will be asked to vote between some of wrestling’s best mean girls and help us whittle it down from just 16 to one!

– To see the full tournament brackets click here (Note: All pairings drawn at random.)

Round 1: In the first face-off, it’s TNA’s original mean girls, the Beautiful People, Angelina Love and Velvet Sky, taking on NXT’s Queen of Mean, Maxine. Both the Beautiful People and Maxine left their marks on their respective shows, Impact and NXT. For the Beautiful People, Angelina and Vel-Vel, their reign of terror included those dreaded brown paper bags. Perhaps the biggest achievement for the VIPs of the Knockouts division was cutting off a braid of the fearsome Awesome Kong‘s hair at the height of their torment! Meanwhile, Maxine easily became one of NXT’s top stars over 60 weeks thanks to her cranky personality. Who can forget her classic one-liners, including dissing Kaitlyn‘s two-tone hair?

It’s a tough choice, but the vote is entirely down to you!

Vote below:

 

Keep an eye out for another poll tomorrow!

Who did you vote for? Tell us in the comments and on Twitter by sending a message to @divadirt!


AJ Lee to Feature in New Animated Scooby Doo Movie

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Scooby Doo is about to meet the Divas division’s own Scrappy Doo!

WWE Diva and Raw General Manager, AJ Lee, will be one of several WWE stars who will lend their voices — and appear in cartoon form — in a new Scooby Doo animated movie co-produced by WWE Studios and Warner Bros, reports Deadline.

The new Scooby Doo movie will center around a mystery involving WrestleMania and feature the voices of AJ, John Cena, Vince McMahon and more.

WWE.com‘s plot summary reads: “When Shaggy and Scooby win tickets to WrestleMania, the entire gang travels in the Mystery Machine to WWE City to attend the epic event. However, when a mysterious ghostly bear appears and threatens to ruin the show, Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred work with WWE Superstars to solve the case.”

AJ’s involvement will mark the first time a WWE Diva has been featured in a WWE Studios movie. WWE has been releasing features regularly since 2006, first under the WWE Films banner, and now under WWE Studios. Past pictures have featured the likes of John Cena, Kane, Big Show, Triple H and more.

The movie will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and video on demand.

TNA’s Tara Heading to TOW in Montreal

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Veteran TNA Knockout, Tara, real name Lisa Marie Varon, will be competing in Montreal next month for Top of the World (TOW) Wrestling.

Tara will face another veteran, this time of the independent variety, in Montreal’s own LuFisto.

LuFisto, who is best known for her work in SHIMMER and NCW Femmes Fatales, made the announcement via her Facebook page.

The event takes place on September 21st in Montreal. More details here.

Also appearing on the same show, WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper.

 

SmackDown Spoilers: August 17th, 2012

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SmackDown Spoilers: August 17th, 2012

Spoilers for Friday’s SmackDown:

Spoiler
* Kaitlyn vs. Eve (winner becomes Booker T’s assistant). Eve wins with a swinging neck breaker. After the match, Eve mocks Teddy Long. (Source)

 

Raw Redux (August 13th, 2012): WWE Remembers It Has a Divas Champion, Build to Booker T’s Next Top Assistant Heats Up

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Greetings all, and welcome to this week’s wonderful Raw Redux. I didn’t see Raw as it aired last night, so imagine my surprise in discovering the powers that be have somehow magically allowed me to recap JTG! More on that later, though. Tonight was a pretty sweet night for the females, as Layla and Kaitlyn teamed up to face off against Eve and Beth Phoenix in tag team action. Not only that, but we get some segments backstage with Kaitlyn and Eve, as well as our General Manager, AJ Lee! As always, let’s kick things off with some action.

We head out to the ring to the sound of two insatiable women, in the form of Kaitlyn and… hey, wait a second, is that our Divas Champion? It is! Layla has finally showed herself on Raw again. Following their entrance comes that of their opponents, who are no stranger to one another, in the form of Eve and Beth Phoenix. They actually promote the match this Friday between Eve and Kaitlyn, which is an excellent touch although feels weird that Layla is again playing second fiddle.

As soon as the bell sounds, we get things started with Beth and the champion. Phoenix immediately goes for a military press, but Layla counters out into a bit of a miscue of a sunset flip. Beth immediately takes her into their corner, as Eve tags in with a kick.

Torres continues the ambush of Layla, sending her into the ropes. Layla comes off with one of her bridge roll ups, but this too doesn’t seem to execute smoothly. The Divas Champ with a kick and then leaps off with a crossbody from the corner for a two count. She applies a headlock, but Torres fights out and sends Layla into the ropes again. Layla avoids making contact in Eve’s trap, and then proceeds to bust a move like we’ve seen her do before. She bumps Eve in the head with her bottom (way to make me miss Naomi, Layla!) and then makes the tag in to Kaitlyn after hitting a clothesline. Kaitlyn with a nice backbreaker for a two count on her opponent this Friday.

She executes a jackknife cover, but only for the count of dos. Michael Cole makes his first great comment in the history of his tenure in WWE by claiming Kaitlyn is a future Divas Champion, just as Eve sends her right into the turnbuckle. Kaitlyn hits an elbow to the face and leaps onto the second rope, but Torres brutally slams her off and goes to town on the lime green adorned Diva. Eve makes the tag back into Beth, who DRILLS Kaitlyn with a nasty kick and then chokes her out with her boot. Phoenix knocks Layla off the ropes as the two of them double team Kaitlyn while the Divas Champ keeps the referee distracted. Kaitlyn then boots Beth in the stomach and fires up! Not for long though, as Beth applies a Canadian Backbreaker! Kaitlyn slips out and throws Beth into Eve, knocking her to the floor. From there, she rolls Beth up and gets the big win over the former Divas Champion!


Skip to 0:17

Backstage, we spy… okay, I think I’m in a dream right now because I honestly can’t believe that I’m seeing JTG and Kaitlyn backstage on Raw in a segment where they are the focus. AJ, you just know how to win me over more each week. JTG is complaining to Kaitlyn about not getting a spot on the card when the show is now three hours. JTG, I don’t think it needs to be said how much I’m a fan of yours, but are you really complaining about this to someone who has only ever been on Raw to perform a can-can in a line up after a 14 Diva tag team match? At least pick Kelly Kelly or something. Nonetheless, he calls this situation crazy… which sparks our slightly crazed GM, AJ Lee, to interrupt while in mid skip!

AJ demands to know what he just said, but he tries to downplay it. He wants Kaitlyn to take his side on this matter, but AJ won’t let him get a word in! She begins to laugh and states that if he wants to compete, he can get to the ring right now! JTG heads off, leaving our Chickbusters as the focus of Raw! AJ says that yes, they’ve had their differences, but Kaitlyn doesn’t really believe she’s unstable, right? Kaitlyn lets out a laugh and says that she can think of many words to describe AJ, that of which unstable is not one of. The two laugh, as Kaitlyn hurries off and AJ’s expression turns from happiness to slightly on edge. I love it!

Backstage, CM Punk is stretching as Eve Torres approaches him. She congratulates him on becoming a new version of himself. He denies that he made any sort of a change at all, claiming he just fights for respect. Eve states that she doesn’t believe anyone believes that, especially John Cena to which Punk claims he will go tell him face to face right now.

Check out AJ’s match making abilities below around the 11:33 mark:

Also, witness her distress terror as she discovers the bad side of having such a powerful role when Brock Lesnar invades Shawn Michaels car and kidnaps him by skipping to the 9:17 mark:

Thoughts: Match wise, I actually really enjoyed it. It was much longer than we’re used to, felt fresh, and I thought Kaitlyn worked nicely with both Beth and Eve. Layla was definitely off her game early on, but aside from those two mishaps, she wasn’t that bad, in my opinion. It’s so refreshing to have matches on Raw going longer than a minute. Whether or not you were a fan of the action in ring or not, the Divas do seem to be getting a little bit more time to work now that the show has expanded to three hours, and that is a huge positive because the age old complaint has been about them not getting enough time to wrestle on the main shows.

Also, I couldn’t be more happy for Kaitlyn. This was another big win for her over Beth and she deserves some spotlight as far as I’m concerned. Kaitlyn is one of my favorite Divas in WWE, and if we’re just going by the Divas who actively compete in the division, she is my favorite. She helped make NXT Redemption my shining star of wrestling programming, and I find her to not only be improving in the ring each week, but she also has the acting chops as well for backstage segments. She can be funny, as seen through her NXT run, and she can also be serious, like in the segments with AJ on SmackDown earlier this year. I just think she’s something special and I would love to see her become Divas Champion. I’m kind of worried for the match with Eve this Friday though because I don’t want either woman to become Booker’s assistant now that they’re seeming to have spots in the actual division. It will likely mean they cease wrestling as AJ has, but on the other hand, it also means we will probably at least be guaranteed to see them on a weekly basis. When it was first announced, I wanted Kaitlyn to win the position because she’s in desperate need of screen time more so than Eve. After tonight though, I kind of want Eve to win because I feel like you need a heel to bounce off a face in administrative roles. It would be much more interesting in my opinion. Then you could maybe have Kaitlyn undergo this lucky streak of wins and work her way up into a Divas Title feud with Layla.

I have no clue what they’re doing with Layla and her title, but at this point does it truly matter? Her reign has probably been the worst in the title’s history, which sucks when it’s for reasons beyond her control. I don’t see how much of anything can salvage it at this point. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if she just dropped the belt in a battle royal at SummerSlam or something because I feel like it needs to go to someone else now. I mean, she’s held the title for almost four months and how much of that has she been on TV? They don’t seem to want to invest in her without Michelle McCool by her side, so maybe giving the title to someone else will spark an interest. Probably not, but there’s hope. I sort of call the Divas Title a curse because it seems like whenever a Diva gets to hold it, they vanish from TV provided their reign lasts more than a week. It’s sad, but on the bright side the matches are getting longer and I hope that this interest in Kaitlyn does not die down anytime soon.

Also, bonus points for storyline continuation with the Chickbusters, as well as Eve continuing with the role as the little voice filling CM Punk’s head with ideas!

Stars Earn Stripes Premiere Recap: Eve Brings Smart, Sexy and Powerful to NBC

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Diva Dirt welcomes Katie Gregerson to the team as our newest reporter.

I’ll be honest, when I first heard that WWE Diva Eve Torres would be competing in NBC’s new military-themed celebrity competition show, Stars Earn Stripes, two thoughts crossed my mind: first, how peculiar it was that Vince McMahon would allow one of his top Divas to participate in a show which goes head-to-head with Raw (it airs Mondays from 8-10 PM EST); and second, that I probably wouldn’t watch it.

Well, I did in fact watch the premiere Monday night. And daresay, I enjoyed it.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the premise of Stars Earn Stripes, here’s a quick rundown. Eight celebrities are paired with eight professional military and law enforcement operatives who train their celebrity to compete in simulated military “missions.” Each mission successfully completed is worth a “stripe” for $10,000 toward the celebrity’s chosen charity. Each week another celebrity will be eliminated, until the ultimate winner will have earned $100,000 for his or her charity.

And let me tell you: these missions are nothing to mess around with. The first mission alone involved jumping out of a helicopter into water; an amphibious beach landing; shooting a machine gun and a grenade launcher at multiple moving and stationary targets; and finally, breaking into a shed and detonating an ammo box while being airlifted to safety by the aforementioned helicopter. Oh, and all of this had to be completed while wearing 70 lbs of gear.

These are things the U.S. military does every single day. That’s exactly the purpose of Stars Earn Stripes: to shed light on what our troops and law enforcement face day in and day out to keep us living safe and free here at home.

With the exception of maybe two of them, the entire cast of celebrities on Stars Earn Stripes are more than capable ass-kickers. There’s Eve, of course, who’s a fitness buff and boasts a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; Todd Palin, an avid hunter and four-time Iron Dog champion; Dolvett Quince, personal trainer on The Biggest Loser; Picabo Street, Olympic gold medalist in alpine skiing; Terry Crews, former NFL defensive end/linebacker and action star; Laila Ali, undefeated women’s boxing champion; and, bringing up the rear, actor Dean Cain and pop star Nick Lachey.

Okay, so Superman may not be the toughest of the bunch (ironically), but he was certainly the most engaging on the premiere episode. He admitted to having a man crush on his coach Chris Kyle — a.k.a. the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history with 160 confirmed kills — and there’s an obvious bromance developing. Of all the contestants, Cain is definitely the most endearing and I do hope he lasts a while in the competition.

But while Cain and Kyle are developing a bromance, it seems there could be a bit of a romance brewing between Eve and her coach, U.S. Army Green Beret, Grady Powell. Upon learning that he was paired with Eve, Powell let out an excited “Hot damn!” and they spent quite a bit of training flirting with each other (Eve tells Powell he has the sparkle it takes to be a Diva, and he more or less tells her she has a big butt).

But true to the smart, sexy, and powerful Divas motto, Eve — who will donate her winnings to the USO — proved to be a whole lot more than just a pretty face. Powell exclaimed he’s never seen someone her size kick a door in half — that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu must be paying off! — and she and partner Nick Lachey completed the first mission with the fastest time of 10 minutes and 12 seconds.  Due to her overwhelming self-confidence, athletic ability, and general bad-assery, I expect Eve to last a long time in the competition, and would even name her an early contender to take the whole thing.

However, she does have some formidable competition; Laila Ali and Picabo Street are both equally bad-ass athletic chicks. Of all the contestants Ali possibly took her training the most serious, and Street was forced to complete the mission by herself when partner Terry Crews had to be rescued from the water. Street is 14 years Eve’s senior, and yet at one point, she was only 30 seconds behind her and Lachey’s time all by herself. I was unbelievably impressed with her performance, and Eve will certainly have to fight her off if she wants to win.

As for the guys, Todd Palin and Crews made the biggest first impressions. Palin, too, had to complete the mission on his own when Dolvett Quince required rescuing, and Crews made the comeback of the night by proving to be a sharper shot than Quince in the elimination shootout. Even Eve admitted her concern over the competition from Crews and his coach, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Dale Comstock:

 

Overall, based off the premiere I would give Stars Earn Stripes a “B-“. It was interesting enough to hold my attention, but two hours was a bit lengthy. The celebrity contestants are all notable enough, and the operatives are quite obviously the real deal. If you love and appreciate the military and law enforcement, chances are you will enjoy this show. If you’re more of a liberal pacifist, however, you may not enjoy it as much – already there are several Nobel Peace Prize winners calling for the show’s cancellation, claiming it “glorifies war and armed violence.”

I have to disagree. In my opinion, what the show is glorifying is the selflessness of our military and law enforcement. They put their lives on the line for our freedom every single day, and the missions in which the contestants compete puts that fact into sobering perspective. Every single one of the celebrities conveyed a humbled appreciation for their coaches after completing the mission; Eve even choked up.

That being said, if you don’t have a problem with the message of Stars Earn Stripes, it’s fairly decent prime time television. If you do have a problem with its message, just don’t watch it.

I for one am interested to see who will make it to the end.

Raw Response: August 13th, 2012

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

Discuss the show in the comments!

Eve Torres Talks ‘Stars Earn Stripes’, Main Eventing Raw and Her Problem with AJ

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Eve Torres Talks ‘Stars Earn Stripes’, Main Eventing Raw and Her Problem with AJ

WWE’s Eve Torres, who will appear on NBC’s new reality show Stars Earn Stripes tonight, has given an interview to IGN discussing her role on the show and more.

Speaking about taking up a role on the NBC series, she says:

To be honest, I thought it had my name written all over it. First of all, my connection with the military. I’m a strong supporter of the military, and I’ve been overseas to support them and entertain the troops. So the fact that I could raise money for military charities was an awesome opportunity. On top of that, I was like, “Wait, I get to shoot guns, jump through helicopters and climb through mud?” I was a tomboy growing up. I love that kind of stuff. I don’t think I knew how difficult it was going to be. I definitely didn’t, but I was excited.

Eve also talks (in character) about her problems with AJ, feeling that she shouldn’t be Raw General Manager:

I’m not impressed. I think she is not fit for the job, and I think you need a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman to have that job — and that’s me. I have the experience, I have the expertise, I was executive administrator for many months and I should be the next one in that role. So I’m not okay with it, and we’ll go from there.

Commenting on herself and AJ recently being given the coveted main event spot on Raw in a mixed tag match, Eve adds:

It was an extremely cool moment. Not only was I in my hometown of Denver, Colorado, but there are is a very small number of women who have had that opportunity to main event RAW. To be one of those women was an honor for me, to be a part of that. It’s something that I can say that I’ve done and I’m very proud of.

You can read the full interview here.

WSU Announces First Show Under New Ownership

Melanie
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WSU has announced its first show under new ownership to take place on Saturday, October 13th.

WSU will return to its regular home of Deer Park, New York for a double-header with its new brother promotion, Beyond Wrestling, with whom it now shares the same management.

RELATED: WSU Finds a New Owner

WSU’s portion of the double-header, titled “Full Steam Ahead” will be headlined by Jessicka Havok defending the WSU World Title against Lexxus and Alicia in a triple threat match.

Former champion, Mercedes Martinez, will also be in action.

The event marks WSU’s first since the June Uncensored Rumble Internet pay per view, the final show under founder and ex-promoter Sean McCaffrey.

So far announced for the show:

WSU Championship Triple Threat
Jessicka Havok (c) vs. Alicia vs. Lexxus

First Time Ever In WSU
Mercedes Martinez vs. (Her Top International Rival)

Scheduled To Appear:
-WSU Tag Team Champion Sassy Stephanie
-WSU Tag Team Champion Allysin Kay
-WSU Spirit Champion Marti Belle
-Tina San Antonio
-Brittney Savage
-Jennifer Cruz
-Jessie Brooks
–Ezavel Suena
–Nikki Addams
–Annie Social
–Leva Bates
-Jana

More details on the show here.

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