Thursday, May 2, 2024

SmackDown Redux (August 30th, 2011): Divas of Doom Super Indeed on SuperSmackDown

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Welcome to a very special SUPER SmackDown Redux! This week, the Divas of Doom (Natalya and Beth Phoenix) take on the team of Alicia Fox and the Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly in tag team action (with Aksana as ring announcer!). Can DOD back up their words and put Kelly and Alicia in their places or will the champ come out on top once again? Check out the match below:

Out first are the Divas of Doom, looking stoic as usual. While Nattie is in her usual pink and black attire, Beth is sporting a darker, more subdued version of her SummerSlam gear and it looks pretty good. Kelly and the newly babyfaced Alicia Fox are out next, playing to the crowd. Is it just me or are Alicia’s face mannerisms nearly identical to her heel ones? Ahem. Anyhoo…

Both teams take their places and the official signals for the bell, kicking off our tag team match for the night. Kelly and Natalya start the match for their respective teams with a lockup. Natalya muscles Kelly into the corner, prompting the referee to call for the break. While Nattie is distracted, Kelly slaps her across the face, which only upsets her. Nattie goes for a clothesline, but Kelly dodges and takes her down with a Thesz Press, followed by a few punches.

After a stiff forearm, Kelly attempts to whip Nattie across the ring, but it gets reversed. Kelly goes for a headscissors out of the corner, but Natalya catches her and drops her flat out her face, turning the tide of the match. With the champion dazed, Natalya drags her to her corner and tags in the Glamazon.

The Divas of Doom keep the heat on Kelly Kelly, flattening her with a double team shoulder block for a near fall. Frustrated, Beth Phoenix throws Kelly onto the second rope and starts pounding on her. The referee manages to pull her away, which gives Natalya a chance to land a cheap kick to the face of the champion, allowing Beth to get another near fall.

Kelly tries to fight out of the grasp of the Glamazon, but Beth quickly puts an end to that and lifts Kelly up for a slam. Fortunately for Kelly, she manages to escapes and makes the hot tag to the fresh Alicia Fox.

Beth tries to cut Alicia off at the pass with a clothesline, but Alicia blocks it and sends her reeling with a forearm. Taking full advantage of Phoenix rare moment of weakness, Alicia heads to the top rope and lands a high crossbody. Beth tries to slow Fox’s momentum by reversing her Irish Whip, but Alicia leaps to the second rope and land a (slightly awkward) back elbow, taking Beth off of her feet once again.

With Beth incapacitated, Alicia knocks Natalya off of the apron, before taking landing a high kick to the head of Beth Phoenix. Alicia launches herself off of the ropes, looking to finish Phoenix off with a scissor kick, but gets blasted with a double axe-handle to the chest. Wasting no time, Beth lifts Alicia off of the mat and lays her out with a Glam Slam, picking up the win for her team.

Pretty good match for the Divas on this week’s SmackDown. I really thought Kelly did a good job as the babyface in peril. She took the brunt of the offense from Beth and Nattie and didn’t need to resort to her typical moveset, which is a refreshing change of pace. I thought things got a bit awkward and sloppy when Alicia hit the ring, but I’ll chalk it up to her adjusting to a different moveset as a babyface for now.

As always, Beth and Nattie were great in the ring, but as characters I feel like they’re slowly but surely becoming all sizzle, but no steak. If the Divas of Doom are going to be a dominant force in the Divas division, they need to do something big. Standing on the ramp clapping and the occasional vignette just isn’t cutting it anymore.

With only three weeks left until Night of Champions, I hope WWE can really give us some real direction and development in this DOD/Kelly feud. While I can’t speak for everyone, this rivalry has gone from a raging fire to fizzling flame in a matter of weeks. Let’s hope things make a change for the better in the coming weeks.

WWE House Show Rundown: Results from August 26th-28th, 2011

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Having trouble keeping up with all of the mainstream women’s wrestling that takes place off TV? Well fear no more! Diva Dirt has got your back with the House Show Roundown! Without any further ado, let’s kick things off!

This week, both Raw & SmackDown were in action, as the Raw side of things brought us the inevitable Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres teaming together to face both Brie & Nikki Bella in tag team action. SmackDown went a different route, first providing AJ against Tamina, but then adding in Kaitlyn & Natalya for their second show to form a tag team bout. What happened this weekend? Check out the results below:

Friday August 26th

WWE Raw in Jackson, Mississippi
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres def. The Bella Twins
“Kelly and Eve won with Kelly’s finisher on one of the twins. ” (Source)

Saturday August 27th

WWE Raw in Memphis, Tennessee
Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres def. The Bella Twins

“Longer-than-TV Divas Match. Good action.” (Source)

WWE Smackdown in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
AJ def. Tamina

“AJ won with a clean pin.” (Source)

Sunday August 28th

WWE Raw in North Little Rock, Arkansas
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres def. The Bella Twins

“Standard Divas match that lasted longer than it does on TV. It really wasn’t THAT bad and the crowd seemed to enjoy K2’s huracanrana and stink face. ” (Source)

WWE Smackdown in Springfield, Missouri
AJ & Kaitlyn def. Natalya & Tamina

“After the match, Tamina and Natalya got into an argument outside of the ring, which escalated to pushing and shoving, Natalya was held back by a referee.” (Source)

Thoughts: Raw had pretty much the same match we’ve been seeing for a while so I don’t have much to say on that, but SmackDown is where I’m interested, particularly the Sunday show. I assumed Natalya & Tamina may be on the same page since commentary continuously puts over Tamina as being similar to the Divas of Doom, but I kind of like it just being Nattie and Beth against everyone else. I’d love to see video of the aftermath to that show. Hopefully it hits the Internet soon. Overall, Raw’s drifting towards the same ol’ as SmackDown seems to be breathing life into something fresh.

SmackDown Discussion: August 30th, 2011

Tune in to a special live Supershow edition of Tuesday Night SmackDown to see what the Raw and SmackDown Divas will be up to.

Watch LIVE at 8pm ET on Syfy.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Rosita on NBC’s “Children of 9/11” Next Week

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TNA Knockout Rosita, who lost her father during the 9/11 attacks in New York, will be featured on an NBC special called “Children of 9/11” next Monday.

The special will air at 10pm ET going head-to-head with the last hour of WWE’s Raw on USA.

Rosita, real name Thea Trinidad, lost her father in the attacks when she was just 10 years old. She told The Wrestler magazine that she wanted to become a wrestler after being around her father who was an amateur wrestler.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Rosita’s TNA tryout, which took place in January, was filmed for the special.

September 11th marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Thoughts: I can’t wait to see Rosita’s story on this special. I can’t imagine losing your father at such a young age in such a tragic way. I’m sure the coming two weeks will be very emotional for her. You’re in our thoughts, Rosita.

Raw Redux (August 29th, 2011): A Little Twin Magic Takes The Bellas To Victory

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Perhaps it’s the psychotic fan girl inside of me, but in my opinion Raw was complete garbage last night. I realize that I have a slightly biased opinion but I can say with all honesty that the Divas were one of the very few bright spots. Sure, you can make the case that you’re sick of seeing Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, and Brie and Nikki Bella face each other with the Divas of Doom, Beth Phoenix and Natalya, just watching, and that would be completely fine. It is getting redundant but at least last night we got some type of storyline explanation from Beth and Natalya. We also got a fairly decent match with a surprising outcome, and yes, Vickie Guerrero was involved her own drama as well. Lets recap all the action!

Kelly and her BFF, Eve, make their way to the ring first. They are followed by the Bella twins who are dressed the same this week, so it’s quite obvious that twin magic is going to be used this week! The bell rings and Kelly is immediately in Brie’s face. They go back and forth until Kelly shoves her opponent away and starts nailing her with some nice looking forearm shots. Brie doesn’t take to kindly to 2K’s attempted offense and she fires back by taking Kelly down by her hair. Brie stomps away at the champ and hits her in the back with a stiff looking kick. She follows it up by stepping on Kelly’s hair and pulling her up by the arms. Ouch. Brie lifts Kelly in the air by her arms and slams her down, laughing at all the damage she has caused 2K thus far.

While the match is going on, the camera switches to the backstage area where Beth and Natalya are watching on a monitor. Natalya mentions that “they’re just as much part of the problem” and Beth just seems to want to rant to about Kelly. She says that “they” cheer her every week, making her popular and she just doesn’t get it. Beth and Natalya claim they’re not jealous but they say they’re good Divas and they should be in the ring having the match.

I can only assume that “they” is referring to the Bella twins in the first reference and in the second, the fans. Although after listening to the little promo the second time, “they” seems to directed towards the fans for both. Personally, I think referencing the Bellas is more effective but nonetheless..

There is a match going on and Nikki is able to get a cheap shot in on Kelly during the DoD conversation. Eve goes over to confront Nikki and while the referee has been busy with Brie, Kelly has been laying against the ropes. Brie goes to slam her leg into the blond, but Kelly is able to move and just seeing Brie in pain is enough of a motivational tool to get Kelly back into the match. She mounts Brie and begins beating her down, but luckily the younger twin is able to throw Kelly off. Both girls get back to their feet and of course, Kelly has to slap Brie on the booty to get her attention. Brie acts like this is the worst thing that has ever happened to her and it leads to her swinging at Kelly. Kelly is able to block it and send Brie to the ropes. She wants to whip her across the ring, but Brie reverses it and sends Kelly flying instead. The champ is ready and is able to use Brie’s momentum to her advantage and send the ex-title holder to the mat with a badly done head-scissors.

Oh well.

Brie rolls to the ropes and Kelly goes to capitalize, but Brie sends her crashing hard to the outside. Kelly lands with an exclaimated “ooph!” Nikki runs over to Kelly, but Eve takes off in Nikki’s direction to protect her friend. Brie sees what’s going on and Eve is taken out with a baseball slide that hits her right in the side of the head. Brie taunts Eve on the outside and Kelly tries to decapitate her opponent with a nasty clothesline. Kelly sends Brie back into the ring and goes to check on Eve. The referee is counting out Kelly with his back turned to Brie to she slithers out of the ring, Nikki goes in, and oooooh boy. Twin Magic is about to go down!

Kelly crawls back into the ring, no doubt looking to finish off the twin whom she assumes is Brie. Sadly for our champion, it’s not Brie. It’s Nikki and she ends Kelly’s winning streak three seconds later after nailing her with the Bella Buster. Brie climbs into the ring and the twins celebrate beside the champ’s fallen form like they just won the World Cup.

(Funny note, watching the replay of the match breakdown, the baseball slide missed Eve completely in a great LOL moment. Not going to lie, I laughed out loud.)

LOVED this outcome for so many reasons. First, it shows us that the Kelly/Eve tandem is not invincible which is the way it’s been going since 2K won her championship. This is a loss that needed to happen. It also makes me think that perhaps the Bella twins may end up in this storyline. They have heat with Kelly and Eve, obviously, but what about Beth and Natalya? They’re not wrestling because the Bellas keep taking their spot. How long is it going to be before they snap and go after the Bellas? I really don’t see Kelly and Eve coming to the defense of the Bellas, and I don’t want to see the Bellas go back face… not that Divas of Doom are actually heels. It’s all so confusing and that’s not a bad thing. At least it’s getting us thinking about the Divas and wondering what direction this storyline is going in. A lot of people think the Beth/Kelly feud is kind of fizzling out, and that’s fine. I don’t agree. I think they’re going for a slow build to make this actually mean something in the long run and isn’t that what we want for the Divas?

As wrestling fans we’re programmed to be passionate and impatient, and at times, downright negative about the stuff we view on television. It’s kind of hard not to be that way. I know that I absolutely care far to much about scripted sports entertainment but when you invest your time and energy into liking so and so, you get upset when you feel like they’re not treated fairly. It always seems as if the Divas aren’t treated fairly, and trust me, I’m not saying that things are on a permanent upswing. But in this case, this little feud or whatever you want to call it, the slow progression and lack of immediate action on the part of Beth/Nattie is not a bad thing unless this gets randomly dropped. Honestly, I don’t see them randomly dropping this angle. I believe they want it to succeed. Beth and Natalya will only be able to take so much of seeing the “pretty people” dominate the television time. And finally when they snap, it will be epic. And it will be beautiful. Surely that type of pay-off will be worth it. Personally, I can’t wait.

(If only I could take my own advice when it comes to other aspects of the WWE… *shakes fist* “Deceived by my eyes and all I was taught I should be… opinions not mine, the person they taught me to be…)

Anyway, everybody’s favorite love triangle continued to build last night, and no, there was no signs whatsoever of ‘domestic violence’ tendencies by Dolph Ziggler. It’s completely laughable that some people are hating on this storyline because Vickie tripped last week and set Dolph up to look like he pushed her. Vickie was just being a vixen but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Lets check out the latest antics in this on-going drama.


skip ahead to :22

Technically, everything got started earlier in the night when poor Dolph had to job to the man who stole Christian’s title lost to World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton in a predictable an exciting match. (God, I’m really freaking bitter…) Bias aside, the match really was great but despite all that, Dolph’s loss didn’t settle to well with Vickie. Heck, our favorite cougar even did her best to help her man win. So later on in the night, it was only natural that Vickie checked out Swagger’s match with Fake Cara. Swagger did watch Dolph loser earlier in the night.

Long story short, Dolph came out, cost the All American American a much needed victory and demanded that Vickie leave with him right now. He would storm to the back and a few minutes later, Vickie would turn around and leave as well.

So, not much going on with these three this week. Maybe another slow build? Again, I don’t mind this and no, I’m not bothered by Dolph’s jealous rages. It’s not domestic violency, people. He’s not done anything to Vickie. She’s the one who set him up last week when she failed to get up and that’s fine. Vickie truly has done a lot for the career of Dolph Ziggler and it’s natural that he would feel threatened at this point. However, he should also see how having Swagger around could benefit him. Where this is going is anyone guess and I suppose if something happens “domestic violency” I’ll be eating a slice of humble pie, but whatever. This is PG-WWE. And either way, who cares?

Lets be honest, I was kind of just enjoying Dolph under the Sin Cara mood lighting, haha.

I realize that this has been a rather feisty little Redux but somethings have gotten me kind of fired up lately. At the end of the day, it’s only my opinion and yes, you guys are entitled to yours. I do, however, ask that you express those opinions in an adult matter and most importantly, do not hurl insults at one another. As much as I bitch, moan, and groan about things not going my way in regards to the product, it’s never personal towards the performers. These women and men go out every single night and give it their all to entertain us and none of us know what goes on backstage. It’s important to remember that what these people do isn’t easy. If it was, then everyone would go out there and do it. Some may be better than others, but every one of them works hard every single day. You can dislike their characters, but always respect them as people.

Until next week… Cryssi out!

AJ and Kaitlyn on NXT “Graduates Special” Tonight

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WWE has announced that it will be airing a special episode of NXT tonight that will take a look back at former rookies who have gone onto become full-fledged Raw and SmackDown Superstars.

On the Divas side of things, AJ and Kaitlyn will be featured.

The official preview reads:

WWE NXT is WWE’s launching pad to Superstardom. Six NXT Graduates have gone on to win WWE Championships, including Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan. After Tuesday’s LIVE SuperSmackDown, tune in to NXT.WWE.COM at 10 ET/7 PT for the NXT Graduates special!

No word yet on whether this will just be a video package show or if it’ll feature matches etc.

WWE will air a live episode of SmackDown tonight at 8pm on Syfy. NXT will follow it on WWE.com.

Ayumi Kurihara Announced for SHIMMER Tapings in October

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SHIMMER has announced the addition of Ayumi Kurihara to their DVD tapings taking place in Berwyn, IL on October 1st and 2nd.

Check out their press release below:

[notice]SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES is proud to announce the addition of AYUMI KURIHARA to its next set of DVD tapings, just over four weeks away!

One of the Joshi 4 Hope athletes from Japan, Ayumi Kurihara made an immediate impression within the SHIMMER ranks upon her arrival in early 2010. Ayumi emerged victorious in her debut contest against rival Tomoka Nakagawa, and proceeded to rack up a series of key victories to work her way into a title shot against Madison Eagles in the main event of Volume 34. Kurihara has been able to hand losses to several SHIMMER originals, including Nikki Roxx, Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, and Cheerleader Melissa during her SHIMMER tenure thus far, making her a major player to keep your eyes on heading into the future.

At the last set of SHIMMER tapings, Ayumi’s contest against Ayako Hamada was the only match advertised in advance, and it managed to sell out the Berwyn Eagles Club for the taping that day. Many fans pointed to Kurihara vs. Hamada in the main event of Volume 38 as their favorite match of the weekend. Both joshi athletes gave those in attendance the rare opportunity to see international stars collide live and in person.

Though she was unable to secure the SHIMMER Championship during her first title opportunity, Ayumi is a championship caliber athlete who is determined to achieve success everywhere she goes throughout the world. The upcoming tapings will mark Kurihara’s fourth trip to the United States to compete for SHIMMER!

SHIMMER returns to live action on Saturday & Sunday, October 1st & 2nd, 2011, at the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL, just outside Chicago. Bell time on Saturday, October 1st is 2pm. Bell time on Sunday, October 2nd is 1pm. Volumes 41-44 of the SHIMMER DVD series will be filmed during the course of the weekend, with two full length DVD releases taped each day. The events are suitable for all ages.

Front row seating is already SOLD OUT for both days. General admission seating to the October 1st & 2nd tapings can be purchased at http://shimmerwrestling.blogspot.com/p/events.html using PayPal. General admission is $30 per full day of taping (essentially $15 per DVD worth of live matches). You can also purchase tickets by mail, using money order. For mail order instructions, E-mail [email protected]. We will also have tickets available during intermission of this Saturday’s (8/20) AAW event at the Eagles Club for those who would like to pick them up in person.

Officially announced thus far for October 1st & 2nd: SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles, SHIMMER Tag Team Champions Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa, Sara Del Rey, Cheerleader Melissa, Serena Deeb, MsChif, Mercedes Martinez, Nikki Roxx, “Portuguese Princess” Ariel, Allison Danger, The Canadian Ninjas, Kellie Skater, Kana, Jessie McKay, Leva Bates, Athena, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Nevaeh, Yumi Ohka, Hailey Hatred (10/1 only), Ayako Hamada, and Ayumi Kurihara. Look for more talent to be announced during the coming weeks. Over 25 of the top female professional wrestlers from around the world will gather in Berwyn for Volumes 41-44!

Over half of the tickets for these events have already been sold. Since seating at the Eagles Club is very limited, we do suggest securing your tickets in advance if you wish to attend.

In addition to the SHIMMER events that Saturday & Sunday, our friends at AAW will present a card at the Berwyn Eagles Club on that Friday evening, September 30th. A six woman tag team match featuring SHIMMER talent will be on the AAW event, as MsChif & Jessie McKay & Nevaeh will face Madison Eagles & Mena Libra & Sassy Stephie. Visit http://www.aawrestling.com/ to pick up tickets to the September 30th AAW event, to make it three straight days of live wrestling at the Eagles Club!

Mark your calendars! SHIMMER is back October 1st & 2nd in Berwyn![/notice]

Raw Response: August 29th, 2011

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Get your Monday night Divas fix by tuning in to Raw tonight at 9pm ET on the USA Network.

Note: Tonight’s Diva Dirt LIVE is postponed until tomorrow night at 10.15pm after the live SmackDown special.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Tara Responds to Knockouts Pay Rumors, Comments on Matt Hardy & Ric Flair

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TNA Knockout Tara, real name Lisa Marie Varon, has written yet another interesting blog, this time commenting on recent rumors regarding the Knockouts’ pay.

Internet rumors recently circulated that there are discrepancies in pay amongst the Knockouts with two women signed to $100,000+ annual contracts, while other Knockouts received significantly less.

Tara says this is not true. She writes:

And with regards to what is said in the wrestling gossip sites, I’m not going to bash them. Sometimes they are accurate, and I wonder how that info got out. But sometimes, and on stuff I know for certain, it can be inaccurate. Again, I don’t know how people get their information. But a perfect example is a couple days ago there was someone talking about the pay for the Knockouts. I know for certain that there were multiple inaccuracies in that article. Did someone plant the story to cause tension in our locker room, which is especially stress-free these days? Or did someone just mistakenly get some information wrong? Who knows, but that’s my “don’t believe everything you read” speech. If you want to know ask me. I respond to as much as I can on Twitter. What’s my favorite color? Red. How old is my dog Sophie? Three. How much do I get paid as a Knockout? None of your damn business ; )

Tara also comments on Matt Hardy’s recent woes, including being arrested for driving while impaired, and an article written by an ESPN writer about Ric Flair which details the debt he has amassed over the years.

The veteran Knockout, who has worked with both Hardy and Flair for a number of years in WWE and TNA, says:

A lot of people have asked me about Matt Hardy. Was he really fired? Is his odd behavior for real? I don’t have an inside scoop. But what I can tell you from a dozen years in the wrestling business is that I never know what is real and what is part of a storyline. Matt always set a new standard as a wrestler, and was a great co-worker and friend. Could this be a storyline? Yes. Could this also be someone who has given 100% to his fans for years and years, and is emotionally drained and just needs some personal time to get his head straight and recharge his batteries? Absolutely. If it is the latter, I know he would be surrounded by friends and family, and we’d see him back somewhere soon, better than ever.

I also saw a lot of comments on the article about Ric Flair. Again, I don’t know how much of that is accurate. I do think that there are a lot of people that if you take their life, and put it under a microscope, and then list all the mistakes that they have made, it would be unflattering. By the same token, and especially with Ric Flair, if you would have listed all the nice things he did, and all the people he helped, and all the young people he guided in this business, and the wrestlers that he sacrificed for so that they could look that much better, you would have had an article ten times as long. The Ric Flair that I have known and worked with in both WWE and TNA/Impact has always been a gentleman and a locker room leader. Let he who is without sin…

Tara also notes that one of her friends at TNA who is not a wrestler recently lost her job. She writes:

And finally, my friend Aleta lost her job at TNA/Impact this past week. One of the executives actually took me aside and told me about it because they knew that I’d be upset. I was upset. I have also been in this industry long enough to see many of my friends come and go. Most of them I keep in touch with. Aleta is good people, and will definitely fall into that category. That’s why my first piece of advice for anyone who asks me how to get into this business is to always have something to fall back on when you’re done. I miss you already, Aleta.

You can read Tara’s full blog, which is always a good read, here.

Thoughts: I don’t really want to speculate on the pay debate, but I think Tara/Lisa’s comments are pretty interesting. I should hope all of the Knockouts, as well as the male wrestlers, are making substantially more than the rumored figures.

Bret Hart Says Bella Twins Are Amongst His Favorite Current WWE Stars

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WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart has bestowed high praise upon Brie and Nikki Bella, listing them amongst his favorite current WWE stars.

In an interview with Cardboard Connection, Hart says the Bellas are getting ‘better and better’.

Excerpt below:

The first names out of his mouth were the Bella twins, Brie and Nikki. “They’re getting better and better. I like Daniel Bryan. I love his style. I love his incorporation of actual wrestling holds and submissions and his style. I’m a big fan of Cena. I’m a big fan of [Randy] Orton.”

Bret previously praised Melina as ‘the best in the world.

Thoughts: That is really high praise coming from the WWE Hall of Famer. I would agree that Brie and Nikki have been entertaining since their heel turn when given the opportunity. Their promo on Kharma was really good. It’s a shame that they aren’t given more mic time because they really have great ‘bad girl’ personalities, particularly Nikki.

In Video: Full CHIKARA Match Between Tsukasa Fujimoto & Makoto

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CHIKARA has released another full-length free match, this time from last month’s Chikarasaurus Rex event.

The match saw visiting joshi talent Tsukasa Fujimoto and Makoto from Japan’s Ice Ribbon promotion face off.

Watch below:

Former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro Planning Wrestling Comeback, Joins WILD Wrestling

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Former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro recently sent out a bunch of tweets suggesting that she is planning on making a wrestling comeback.

The 2005 Diva Search winner mentioned that she wishes to be trained full-time and claims that she was trained on a per match basis during her time in the WWE.

I’m been yearning to mention this before-I want to be trained full time this time not match per match like WWE it’s tougher to pick up that quick than any of u can understand n I want to come back the best I can be like ever make u all proud. Not many had to learn on the spot n I’m not making excuses but I’m damn motivated n want to come back stronger harder n sicker than ever! I’m hoping y’all can understand that. I get trashed for botches or injuries wtf do u expect when u learn a move once rt before tv n on rd 330 days a yr w no off time to train it’s unrealistic.

She also makes mention of the women and men she worked with, such as Trish Stratus, Victoria and Jillian Hall:

But I thank the women in WWE I worked w utmost respect to Lisa Melina Jilliantrish all the girls who tried to help on my off time n mostly Paul Brian Kendrick n matt n Shane n all the guys really! The talent was so supportive and I’m ready to come back n make everybody proud especially my fans n supporters who appreciated the work I did do thanks to the help from the divas n fit n arnI love u guys for sticking by.

You will see me again like I said I’m coming back harder n stronger n TRAINED this time lol they learned there lesson never didthat2nother After all the injuries n potential given ones that could’ve happened! I love my work w WWE don’t get me wrong but I’m a fan like u guys n I know how it is n I know what people think, did I want to be amazing n wrestle like the vets absolutely but it takes time n I nevergotchanc.

Thanks for listening. The rest will be on a radio show I’m doing, I’ll explain a lot for anybody interested I f’ing love u guys thanks!

Meanwhile, WILD Wrestling has announced that Ashley has joined their roster. In an official press release, they write:

[notice]New York City, NY – Early on Sunday, former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro sent a message on her official Twitter account (@ashleymassaro11) that she wanted to get back into the wrestling world after a multi-year absence. In her tweet, she specifically mentioned her desire to become a WILD Warrior.

In subsequent tweets, she stated that she wanted to focus on her in-ring skills and that she wanted to become a world champion in the sport she loves.

Later in the day, WILD Owner Travis Leland made contact with her and they spent much of the afternoon coming to terms with each other. It is now official that Ashley Massaro is the newest member of our roster.

But word is that she won’t be stepping into the squared circle – just yet. Ms. Massaro will hold a different position in WILD until she feels the time is right to re-enter the ring. Although it is unclear what role she will play in the World Independent Ladies’ Division, Mr. Leland has told us that she is indeed a member of our organization.

Welcome to WILD Wrestling, Ashley Massaro![/notice]

Are you ready to see the ‘Dirty Diva’ in the ring again?

Becky Bayless (Cookie) Talks About Her Departure from TNA, Says Contract Wasn’t Renewed

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Now former TNA Knockout, Cookie aka Becky Bayless, has opened up about her departure from the company just 72 hours later in an interview with our friends at IWantWrestling.com.

Talking to David Lagana, Becky says: “This last week, my contract expired with TNA, it didn’t get renewed, and that’s about it.”

On receiving the call that her contract wouldn’t be renewed, Becky says: “At first it took me off guard. I had had talks with the office, obviously, because I was aware that my contract was coming up and I was under the impression that I would be signing a new contract. [I] actually found out a few days after my contract expired [that they wouldn’t be renewing it], so I was a little taken off guard.”

“But in the 48 hours following, I reached out to some friends of mine, a lot of friends reached out to me and it really opened my eyes that it’s not a loss as much as it is closing one chapter and opening a whole new one.”

Becky adds: “I’ve just been exploring all kinds of other opportunities that have been popping up. A few of them are very exciting. As you well know in wrestling, nothing’s for sure until you walk through the curtain so till then everything’s just talk but I definitely have a lot that I’m excited about and working on right now. It’s also been very nice [to have] the numbers of people that have reached out to me.”

For more visit IWantWrestling.com.

Thoughts: It’s kind of baffling to me that TNA didn’t renew Becky’s contract when Cookie was such a great character and even if the Robbie E pairing ran its course, she could’ve been assigned to be a talker for another wrestler or even a Knockout. However, with so many girls returning to the company lately i.e. ODB, Jackie and Traci, I guess money is tight also. It sounds like Becky has a lot coming up — including a return to WSU on November 19th — so she’s not exactly wallowing at home which is great to see.

You can listen to the full interview below. Becky talks about her run in TNA, working with Jersey Shore star Jwoww, what she thought of Snooki appearing at WrestleMania and more.

Kaitlyn Doesn’t Like Her Entrance Music?

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Here’s one for the ‘Oopsies’ file!

SmackDown Diva Kaitlyn accidentally tweeted a message that was intended to be a direct message (DM), presumably commenting on her entrance music. Of course, it could be about something entirely different.

She wrote:

To be honest, I don’t have any criteria really or a timeline . I just hate the generic music they have for me. And u thought it would be.

I think that a funny Disney song. would be good for the video he made me.

Kaitlyn, realizing she’d posted her message publicly (hey, it’s happened to us a few dozen times too!) then wrote:

Oh snap! U stop reading my DM’s hahah I accidently posted a message meant for a DM.

Take from those tweets what you will.

Having heard Kaitlyn’s music (listen below), we can hardly blame her if she does dislike it…

Impact Write-Up (August 25th, 2011): The Cray Cray Just Keeps on Coming!

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Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin. I think it is official and we can all admit that the Knockouts have taken over CrazyTown. They’ve packed up all their belongings and moved away from reality, settling into this weird ass bubble of a universe that is Impact Wrestling. I mean, we’ve seen some wacky mac from these women in the past but it just keeps getting stranger. If you’re wondering what in the world I’m talking about, just keep reading. It explains it all. Truly, it speaks for itself and nothing I can put into words can outdo it. Believe me.

The first to board the crazy train (on my show anyway) was the former Knockouts Champion and new number one contender, Mickie James. I have to space out the cray cray. Too much in one spot is just, well too much. I mean, do you see the crazy eyes?! I know you do! This girl is straight up angry! I had to take a step back from the screen for a moment because I thought she was about to come after me. That girl is from Virginia and they do not play there. I know. I USED to live there and there’s a reason for that. Scaring us all with her evil eye, Mickie says that she doesn’t know what voodoo Winter spit in her face at Hardcore Justice but she isn’t taking it lightly. She demands that Winter look her in the eyes, even though she’s looking into a camera lens and tells her she’s going to make her feel the burning. She’s going to take back that championship and make her feel the burn. Oh yes. It’s gonna happen. Rawr.

Backstage, again, Jacqueline and ODB are seen talking to Velvet Sky in her locker room. Vel Vel’s got a blush brush in her hand and is pink from head to toe. ODB looks like she would rather lay down in front of a train than go along with what Jackie is saying about teaming up. Together, all three of them are going to be in a match tonight. On the same side. Oh yeah. You read that right and by the looks of things, it could get very interesting. However, Jackie tells Velvet that she can trust them because if she wanted to, she could drop her right then and there. But she doesn’t. She could also kick the camera man’s ass but who can’t? Regardless, it is obvious that Jackie is clearly the bigger woman because ODB stalks off, growling like a hungry bear about the whole thing.

The only match of the evening comes in the form of a 6-Knockout tag team match which has a couple of odd pairings, if I do say so myself. We know that Velvet is teaming with Jackie and ODB but the first team out is Mexican America’s Sarita and Rosita. They’re teaming with…Angelina Love. I think she may even have her own theme song now. Right. Sure. I get you. Okay. I really don’t get it at all but who am I to question? I’m just the lowly mind behind the Impact Write-Up. I’m not supposed to understand it. Haha. Regardless of the confusion, A-Love is in the ring with Rosarita and out next is the definite awkward oddball of the two.

They hit the ramp to Velvet’s theme music, much to Jackie and ODB’s dismay but it’s not like they’ve got any to contribute. At least she gives the thumbs up. Velvet, on the other hand, looks peachy keen with the pairing and even goes back to her roots with LETTING THE PIGEONS LOOSE when she gets to the ring. ODB looks like she wants to rip her face off and well, Jackie just looks like a disgruntled mother. It’s okay, ladies. No harm no foul. It’s just one match and then afterwards, you can all go back to your corners of the cray cray TNA universe.

Jackie and Abyss, I mean, Sarita look to start things off but it isn’t long before little Rosita is tagged in, getting her little ghetto ass in some trouble due to that mouth. What’s she gon’ do now, Rosita? Beat that ass. Then she’s going to tag in Velvet, who is going to accidentally hit her with a forearm when you duck out of the way. That’s what she’s gonna do! Yeah! I mean, wait. Distracted by the failblog moment, Velvet gets rolled up from behind by Rosita but the count is no good. Velvet drops Rosita with a jawbreaker and tags in ODB who runs through the little chiquita like a speeding truck. Even Angelina takes a step back on that one.

ODB’s mini celebration gives Rosita time to tag in Sarita but ODB is still too fired up. She gets ahold of her quickly and tags in Velvet. Kicks to the abdomen with knees added, goes into a rebound but Velvet stops, laying in another kick. The only remaining BP goes for a low dropkick but Sarita steps back and catches her legs, flinging her into the corner where Rosita just nails her in the face. And the beatdown on Velvet ensues with the multiple exchanges between Rosarita, clearly leaving Angelina out of the tag loop. But, just when Velvet starts to gain her momentum, A-Love manages a blind tag and inserts herself into the match-up. Rosita, hot like fire, is quick to spout off at the mouth but Angelina just steps in her face and brushes her off.

Words can only get you so far, as Velvet quickly shows. She steps up on Angelina like someone lit a match under her ass and quickly takes her down, going for a pin. However, the Loco Latinas break it up and this springs Jackie and ODB into action. They roll through Rosarita quick, taking out the trash. This leaves Angelina in the ring and she comes back hard on Velvet, dropping her flat. But before she can go for the pin, Vel Vel’s tag partners are back in the ring. A-Love invites them to get a piece but they think twice about it, giving stiff double kicks to Angelina and dropping her with a double team suplex. They drape Velvet over, keeping Mexican America on the outside and Velvet Sky gets the pin for their team.

And are they showing team efforts in celebration? Hell yes they are because they have a point to prove. Mexican America on the other hand are not so happy-go-lucky. Rosita, always the first to step up in yo grill, gets shoved back and Angelina peaces out. Literally. And I stand corrected on the theme. It’s just her old theme, recycled to fit her evil bitch attitude she’s got going on. How rawr of you, A-Love. How very rawr.

And as if last week didn’t creep you out enough, we get another little segment backstage with Eric “I’m a Creepy Old Man” Bischoff and would-be Knockout Law, Traci Brooks. Miss Brooks is all about turning on the charm and she’s obviously using her girls to help back it up. The attention she’s getting seems to be working because Bischoff is all over her with his eyes, telling her that he thinks they can work something out. But, before they can commit to this deal, he wants to have cock…tails first. As a dear friend of mine would say, “THAT’S NOT PG!“. But what about Impact Wrestling is, hmmm? Traci, always one with a quick counter, tells him she thinks it’s a great idea but what about three cocktails? Three? Oh boy. I think I know where this is going and it is not going to flow in Bischoff’s favor. Just the way I like it.

Just to close things out on a lovely psychotic moment, I will leave you with the footage of Rosarita attacking Angelina Love in the back. A-Love is busy gabbing away on her very expensive smartphone when the Latinas come strolling in. They rip away her phone and just start pounding on her while she’s kicked back on the couch. But as everyone knows, you cannot come at the cub while the mama is away. She will come back with a force of a hurricane and rip through you with her mighty claws of death. This mama would be Winter and she comes storming in, throwing Sarita off like she weighs nothing. Her brute force them falls upon little Rosita, who gets slammed face first into the wall and then….

IS SHE CHOKING HER WITH THE BLINDS?!?!

She is choking… I can’t even right now. This is some straight Jerry Springer/Jersey Shore shiz here. I mean, even when Hernandez and Anarquia come in, it’s like they’re just strolling in to watch the fight. Now I know what goes on downtown on Friday nights. I mean, really. Who chokes a bitch with the mini blinds?

Thoughts: Another dose of absolutely insanity from the Knockouts this week. I’ve come to expect chaos and crazy from these women and they never fail to meet my expectations. Not a bad match, overall. It was kind of slow in some points but I think I enjoyed the backstage segments among everything. So many of them. Anyway, that’s it from me this week. I’m hoping to get my computer issues taken care of ASAP so that we won’t have this issue anymore. I shall see you darlings next week! xoxo

What did you guys think about this week’s Impact? Tell me about it!

SmackDown Redux (August 26th, 2011): Warrior Princess Meets Barbie Doll

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Welcome everyone to this week’s SmackDown Redux! Filling in for Steven this week as he braves the battle of Hurricane Irene shall be yours truly, normally NXT Watch-er, Bobby. This week, we saw a first time match up, as the Booker T-proclaimed Warrior Princess, Tamina, took on the overly perky & nice (alright, gotta shake off the NXT/Maxine rust here) Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly in one on one action. Alongside the non-title bout, we also had a brief segment with Aksana backstage…so without any further ado, let’s kick things off!

We head back from a commercial break to Tamina standing in the ring. Of course, she uses this new theme song whenever she doesn’t get to actually enter on TV, but nonetheless, Tamina sports some sick new gear as well, and looks as menacing as ever standing in the ring. Out next comes the fan favorite, who has grown accustomed to the blue brand as of late, Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly. As she makes her way to the ring, we get a brief promo from Natalya shot earlier in the night. She proclaims that Kelly Kelly is beautiful, much like the WWE’s version of a barbie doll…only she doesn’t play with dolls. (Note: Natalya’s got a pretty mean looking stare as the promo ends… if looks could kill).

The bell sounds, as the two divas circle each other around the ring. They lock up as Tamina takes the quick upper strength advantage. Kelly ducks a punch in the corner and begins going crazy on Tamina. A thesz press soon follows, as she proceeds to slap Tamina right in the ass. This infuriates Tamina, and brings out my favorite feature in her…the bitch face. She can master it like no other, but back to the match…Kelly runs off the ropes with a spinning headscissors takedown that sends Tamina into the ropes. She slowly tries to flip over to the outside of the ring, but finally does so as she manages to avoid a kick from the champ.

Kelly locks in a handstand leg choke to reach a four count, but Tamina takes control, snapping K2’s head off the ropes. Tamina slides back into the ring and drops Kelly with a bodyslam. From there, she applies an arm lock, before Kelly manages to flip it over into an arm drag. K2 drops Tamina with a kick to the knee, before pounding her face into the mat and following it up with a bulldog.

Kelly picks Tamina up and sends her into the corner. She runs up and hits a nice handspring elbow, proceeding with the stinkface. You know that’s gotta piss Tamina off…but nonetheless, Kelly climbs to the top rope and jumps off with a crossbody attempt, only Tamina is able to catch her in mid air. Kelly slips out through the back, however, and drops Tamina with the K2 for the victory! The Divas Champion celebrates with her title, as the segment comes to a close.

In other news, we had a very brief Aksana segment this week, where it’s discovered that we have the option to ‘turn her on’ this Tuesday night on the live edition of Super Smackdown.

Thoughts: The match was pretty standard. Yes, there was a sloppy part after the headscissors, but other than that I thought it was pretty much your average match. Kelly has picked up a lot of wins since becoming champion, which definitely makes her look strong heading into her eventual fight with the Divas of Doom. Speaking of which, I thought Natalya’s promo was awesome. She has a very old school feel to her when she’s on the microphone, and I enjoy how she doesn’t just stand there and sound like she’s reading off of a cue card, rather she puts emotion into her mic work and I believe she means what she says. As for Aksana, I don’t even think she could grasp a cue card, and I do believe every misinterpreted thing that she speaks. All in all, an average edition of SmackDown. Hopefully the live Tuesday episode doesn’t disappoint.

Former WWE Diva at Raw Live Event Last Night

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Former WWE SmackDown Diva, Lauren Jones, who was in the company for just a few months, was at last night’s Raw brand live event in Jackson, Mississippi.

Jones tweeted about being at the show and posted a few pictures also.

She wrote:

As a former WWE Diva,who should I say hi 2 at the Jackson, Ms Raw show tomorrow?this will b a fun time seeing new talent!It’s been a while!

Jones posted a couple of pictures of the Divas match, writing “Kelly Kelly wins” as a caption for this photo.

She also went backstage and posted a picture with ring announcer Justin Roberts.

Lauren has garnered success as a shoe designer lately with her ‘Franci’ sandal. It was recently reported that the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Charlize Theron have been spotted wearing her shoes.

Jones requested her release from WWE in 2005, but has stayed on good terms with the company, particularly John Laurinaitis from Talent Relations.

SmackDown Discussion: August 26th, 2011

Tune in to Friday Night SmackDown to see what the blue brand Divas are up to this week.

Watch at 8pm ET on Syfy.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Donna Christanello Passes Away at Age 69

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Sad news as ’60s female wrestler Donna Christanello has passed away, aged 69, reports PWInsider.

Donna, who was trained and part of late WWE Hall of Famer Fabulous Moolah‘s troupe of female wrestlers, is said to have died of a heart attack in her home in Pittsburgh, PA.

Donna worked during the 1960s through to the early 1990s, and has competed in the WWE (then WWF). She competed in the 1987 Survivor Series pay per view in a four-on-four tag team match.

You can read more here.

Our deepest respects and condolences to Donna’s family.

Watch the Survivor Series 1987 match below. Skip to the 11 minute mark in the first video.

Former TNA Knockout Recently Arrested

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Former TNA Knockout, Daffney, real name Shannon Spruill was arrested last month in Hillsborough County, FL.

Daffney was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) on July 19th, 2011.

She was bailed out on a bond of $500, according to police records.

You can see Daffney’s booking photo to your left.

Last December, WWE’s Kharma was also arrested in Hillsborough County for driving with a suspended license.

Thoughts: It’s always sad to see beloved performers arrested, especially for DUIs. I’m hopeful that Daffney will be more careful in future. Similarly, we hope all of our readers will exercise caution also when impaired and take a cab instead of driving, or have a designated driver. Please be careful.

Cookie Gone from TNA

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TNA Knockout Cookie has announced her departure from the company via Twitter.

She writes:

Good morning booskis! New day & new twitter name…A big thank you to my TNA fam & fans, but it’s time to move on…excited for what’s next! Thanks for all the support! No worries, I’ll be making my PPV return for @WSUWrestling Nov 19! And they actually let me wrestle there!:P

We are working on this story.

Ayako Hamada Announced for SHIMMER Tapings in October

SHIMMER Women Athletes announced the addition of Ayako Hamada to their DVD tapings taking place in Berwyn, IL on October 1st and 2nd.

Check out the press release below:

[notice] This week, SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES is proud to announce the addition of AYAKO HAMADA to its next set of DVD tapings, just over five weeks away!

Ayako has been an integral part of the SHIMMER events since late 2009, participating in some of the most memorable and action packed bouts in company history. Hamada will be a part of all four DVD releases taped on October 1st & 2nd!

SHIMMER returns to live action on Saturday & Sunday, October 1st & 2nd, 2011, at the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL, just outside Chicago. Bell time on Saturday, October 1st is 2pm. Bell time on Sunday, October 2nd is 1pm. Volumes 41-44 of the SHIMMER DVD series will be filmed during the course of the weekend, with two full length DVD releases taped each day. The events are suitable for all ages.

Front row seating is already SOLD OUT for both days. General admission seating to the October 1st & 2nd tapings can be purchased at http://shimmerwrestling. blogspot.com/p/events.html using PayPal. General admission is $30 per full day of taping (essentially $15 per DVD worth of live matches). You can also purchase tickets by mail, using money order. For mail order instructions, E-mail [email protected]. We will also have tickets available during intermission of this Saturday’s (8/20) AAW event at the Eagles Club for those who would like to pick them up in person.

Officially announced thus far for October 1st & 2nd: SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles, SHIMMER Tag Team Champions Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa, Sara Del Rey, Cheerleader Melissa, Serena Deeb, MsChif, Mercedes Martinez, Nikki Roxx, “Portuguese Princess” Ariel, Allison Danger, The Canadian Ninjas, Kellie Skater, Kana, Jessie McKay, Leva Bates, Athena, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Nevaeh, Yumi Ohka, Hailey Hatred (10/1 only), and Ayako Hamada. Look for more talent to be announced during the coming weeks.

Over half of the tickets for these events have already been sold. Since seating at the Eagles Club is very limited, we do suggest securing your tickets in advance if you wish to attend.

In addition to the SHIMMER events that Saturday & Sunday, our friends at AAW will present a card at the Berwyn Eagles Club on that Friday evening, September 30th. A six woman tag team match featuring SHIMMER talent will be on the AAW event, as MsChif & Jessie McKay & Nevaeh will face Madison Eagles & Mena Libra & Sassy Stephie. Visit http://www.aawrestling.com/ to pick up tickets to the September 30th AAW event, to make it three straight days of live wrestling at the Eagles Club!

Mark your calendars!

SHIMMER is back October 1st & 2nd in Berwyn!

[/notice]

Impact Wrestling Spoilers: September 1st & September 8th, 2011

Below are spoilers for the next two weeks of Impact Wrestling, which will air on Spike TV:

September 1st:

Spoiler
* Eric Bischoff announced Karen Jarrett was now in charge of the Knockouts. ODB and Jackie Moore are now members of the roster. Traci Brooks is Jarrett’s assistant.

* Mickie James pinned Winter to win the TNA Knockouts title with the Chick Kick. (Source)

• • •

September 8th:

Spoiler
* Winter and Angelina Love defeated Velvet Sky & TNA Knockouts champ Mickie James. (Source)

Impact Wrestling Feedback: August 25th, 2011

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Get your weekly dose of Knockouts action on tonight’s Impact. To watch, tune into Spike TV from 9pm ET.

Discuss the show in the comments!

Rumored Divas Match For Night of Champions (To The Shock Of No One)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kelly Kelly is expected to defend her Divas Championship against Beth Phoenix in a SummerSlam rematch at Night of Champions next month.

F4WOnline.com reports that match has been on the cards since a month ago, and given that Kelly won their initial meeting and the feud has continued since SummerSlam, it’s the most obvious choice.

RELATED: WWE SummerSlam in Review: Kelly Kelly Delivers a Summer Shocker!

The real question is, with the pay per view on September 18th, how will WWE keep this storyline going? It’s kind of stalled in the last couple of weeks save for some ‘clap taunting’.

Thoughts: The SummerSlam match didn’t disappoint and I’m looking forward to the rematch. Night of Champions is in Beth’s hometown of Buffalo, NY, so the stage really is set for her to have an epic homecoming. My guess is Beth will take the title at that event.

Maryse Recovering from Surgery

As reported earlier this week, former Divas Champion Maryse underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia which has kept her out of the ring for the past month or so.

Maryse’s surgery was successful and she’s now recovering. She wrote via her Facebook page:

I am home now, and feeling good, still very tired from the anesthesia, but its normal, i will be posting pics of my tummy when they remove the bandages, my doctor did an amazing job and the scar should be very small in my belly button! be sexy

Best wishes to Maryse as she recovers!