Saturday, April 27, 2024

Brighten Up Your Monday with Lolz @ Ashley

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If you guys out there are anything like me, you just hate Mondays. Start of the week, back to work, school, college, uni… whatever. Take the edge off today, with a piece of news that has been floating around the Internet for quite some time now. I saw this mentioned on many forums and stuff but never took heed of it, until today when I saw it posted on Lords of Pain:

The push that Mickie James is getting at the moment was actually slated for Ashley Massaro at one point.

Lol how many of you fell off your chairs? Be honest! I wonder what it was that WWE Creative saw in Ashley to warrant giving her a push for the Women’s Championship: Her rock-hard tits that are actually incredibly unattractive beauty, her ability to botch every single move she tries impressive wrestling skills or could it just be that she offered the writers an incentive? I’m just sayin’… Escort Ashley and all. Anyway, the only push Ashley deserves is a push out the door and to be honest, I wouldn’t mind if it hit her on the ass on the way out… and knocked her to the ground.

Torrie Says Goodbye… Sort Of

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Now ex-Diva, Torrie Wilson has finally updated her MySpace with her first public statement since retiring from WWE and professional wrestling, last week:

Happy Mother’s Day!

Well, I guess by now you have heard the news that I have severed my ties to the WWE. I would like to say that I have enjoyed 7 awesome years with The WWE and wouldn’t trade any of my experiences for anything in the world. I have seen more places and met more friends and wonderful fans than I ever dreamed of when I pretty much fell into this business. From the very first time I stepped out into a packed arena, I was hooked on that adrenaline rush and knew that I would be around for a while. I really did fall in love with everything about wrestling and I can tell you all that I feel so absolutely honored to have spent the time I did working for Vince McCmahon and his family and having the opportunity to work with so many really talented and genuine superstars.
You probably have heard about my ongoing back problems and it may even seem crazy….I mean, I wasn’t exactly wrestling every single week on television but I was wrestling at least 3 days per week on non-televised shows….as well as practicing more than it appeared! I just believe that sometimes people’s bodies can handle more than others and mine is finally telling me it has had enough! It might seem weird, but my thoughts in the last few months have been that if I can’t deliver beyond my expectations and I can’t continue to grow as a superstar…well, what exactly am I going to do? I may not be remembered for my “wrestling skills”, but I damn sure can tell you that anyone that knows me well knows that I don’t do sitting around too well.
I can’t begin to tell all of you how much your support over the years has meant to me and I really want you to know that I am not going to disappear…I am just on to a different chapter of my life and career at this point.
I love you all and hope that you know that I will always see the positive in every situation. NOTHING can slow me down and I hope that nothing slows any of you down either…we just have to always look at everyday as a blessing and remember that everything happens for a reason!
Thanks for an unbelievable 7 years and I will see you soon!

That’s the Torrie we know and love, able to turn a negative into a positive and send out a moral message at the same time!

One Bald Knockout, One Weak Champion

TNA’s car crash of a pay per view, Sacrifice aired last night and the real losers of the night were the TNA Knockouts. It’s no secret that we here at Diva Dirt have been overly vocal about the direction of TNA’s women’s division in the past month and rightly so. Last night’s pay per view saw Roxxi Laveaux get her head shaved in a “Makeover Battle Royal” and TNA Knockout Champion, Awesome Kong look weak in a Deuces Wild qualifying match. Needless to say, Sacrifice wasn’t the finest hour for the Knockouts. Let’s break this down:

The Match
To be really honest, the battle royal portion of the match was nothing to write home about. The action really kicked off when we got down to Gail Kim and Roxxi, these girls did some amazing (though cringeworthy) spots using the ladder. I really liked the element of Angelina Love being at ringside too and the factor that if Roxxi won the match, she would have her head shaved as Gail has immunity. Gail and Roxxi really put their bodies on the line and sold like hell, bravo to both of them, just fantastic. Gail wins a Knockout Championship opportunity this week on iMPACT!, I’m really hoping for her and Kong to pull out all the stops once again.

The Head-Shaving
Roxxi having her head shaved has got to be one of the most awkward moments to watch ever. Not to mention the bad acting from the girls at ringside: Traci Brooks, Salinas and ODB. Honestly, this was painful, car crash television but Roxxi is a trooper for going along with it. Making matters worse was that Roxxi had a bloody scalp due to the ladder match, likening this to something out of Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal. Really painful to watch. But again, TNA did a good job of selling Angelina Love and Velvet Sky.

Plight of Kong
TNA’s adventurous foray of having Awesome Kong wrestle men came to a screeching halt in all of two minutes, last night. Here I was thinking this was going to be the start of Kong now challenging the male wrestlers, being taken seriously as a competitor – it was not to be. The tag match between Kong and BG James taking on AJ Styles and Super Eric made Kong look really weak and actually, TNA was suggesting to Kong: “Even though you’re an amazing, world-class athlete… you’re a woman.” They went for the obvious with Styles not wanting to hit Kong and then having Kong look super weak to Super Eric, who picked her up and slammed her with ease. If you thought Kong could be the next Chyna, TNA quashed all chance of that happening. Way to go!

Something Stinks…

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Have you ever wondered what kind of fragrances the Divas would produce? Nah, me neither, but WWE.com did a random but sort of interesting piece on hypothetical fragrances of the Superstars and Divas – you know, because the world doesn’t have enough tacky celebrity fragrances. Above are the “bottles” of each Diva’s perfume. Care to guess which belongs to whom? Read more to find out..

Diva of the Week: May 05 – May 11, 2008

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Welcome to week two of Diva of the Week, we aim to recognise and honour the gold standard among the Divas, Knockouts and women of wrestling based on the week’s shows, news and more. This week the award has some nostalgic value as we award the Diva of the Week to the newly retired Torrie Wilson.

This week, Torrie’s decade in the industry and 7 year WWE career came to a close as WWE officially announced that they and Torrie had parted ways. Making her debut in WCW, Torrie has gone onto become one of the biggest names in the world of women’s wrestling; with feuds including Stacy Keibler, Dawn Marie, Sable, Candice Michelle and Victoria, Torrie has been a mainstay on WWE programming for seven years becoming a veteran and legend among the Divas. Torrie’s in-ring highlights include being undefeated at WrestleMania, beating Miss Jackie and Stacy at WrestleMania XX and Candice at WrestleMania 22 and being the first and only Golden Thong Winner. As well as that, Torrie is responsible for providing some of WWE’s steamiest moments: a kiss with Dawn Marie, a show-stopping bikini contest with Sable and a posedown with Stacy Keibler.

Under the moniker of “The Covergirl” Torrie has graced the covers of Playboy (on two occasions), FHM, Divas 2004 and many more magazine covers. In recent years, Torrie has improved vastly in the ring putting on great matches with Victoria, Mickie James, Lita and Trish Stratus to name a few. In 2007, Torrie returned to her first home – SmackDown! – engaging in a feud with Victoria and the world’s shortest feud with Krissy Vaine. Upon returning to SmackDown!, Torrie reclaimed her crown as the brand’s top Diva before bowing out of action in November 2007, due to back injury and relinquishing the top Diva title to real life friend, Michelle McCool.

Torrie may not have won the Women’s Championship, may not be remembered for her wrestling ability, but has had a storied and legendary career in her own right. A future Hall of Famer perhaps, Torrie will be forever remembered as SmackDown!’s first lady, the Covergirl and as one of the crowning jewels of the golden age of the WWE Divas. Torrie is the personification of the phrase “WWE Diva” and as she hangs up her boots, we want to thank you Torrie for all the memories.

The Round-Up – May 11, 2008

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theroundup.jpg

Get this week’s Diva news rounded up… with commentary! This week we discuss the release of a legend, the latest on Escort Ashley, a TNA Knockout’s opinion and who we think will get their head shaved!

• Torrie Wilson Leaves With Dignity Intact
This week’s big shocker was the release of Torrie Wilson. Torrie had been with the company for over 7 years and had been a fan favorite for years. There had been rumors that Wilson might have been a spokesperson, poster girl, or anything related of the sort for the company but according to our own Melanie, Torrie indeed asked for her release from the company.

Erin: I was shocked and bummed about this at first, but the more I thought about it, the more glad I was that it happened. Really, all Torrie would do if she stayed onboard would be promotional appearances and other useless jobs. Rather than squander the “major Diva” status she holds, it better to go out on your own terms and do your own thing. If she can’t wrestle, what’s the point? Bikini contests and photoshoots get old. Now she can focus on her store and go on other ventures. I’m happy for her. :)

Melanie: Obviously, I have a lot to say on this issue but I’m going to try and keep it brief. When I first found out the news, I was really shocked, saddened and pretty pissed off. But I got the chance to speak to Torrie and hearing her side of things made me do a complete 180 – I felt really positive and good, both for her and as a fan. Torrie will always be my favourite WWE Diva in history, I’m really lucky to have followed her entire career and even accomplish goals that I never could dream of: being able to consider her a friend, running her official fansite. It’s sad to see that this chapter in her life is over but I know that Torrie is extremely happy and therefore, I am too.

Ryan: Good for her, really. She’s been an amazing competitor throughout these past years, and I’ve loved watching her week after week. Sadly, I knew it was slowly coming to an end after reading her MySpace blog about the doctors saying she should stop wrestling due to her back issues. Torrie Wilson will never be forgotten – atleast by me. She has always been one of my favorite Diva’s. The positive side to this is now she can concentrate on her clothing store and move on with 7 wonderful years of wrestling under her belt. Good luck, Torrie. We here at Diva Dirt wish you the best of luck in everything that you do.

SmackDown! (May 09, 2008): Kelly & Natalya Deliver

Wow, never did I think I’d be writing this but Kelly Kelly really delivered the goods last night on SmackDown! The ECW Diva sold incredibly well to the aggressive and impressive, Natalya in a really physical, gritty match up. Honestly, I love SmackDown! right now, I’m going to go out on a limb and even be as bold to say that Natalya is the best female worker in WWE at the moment. Why? Because her matches are always so physical, so gritty, so much fun to watch. I guess you could put it down to her training in the Dungeon, Natalya wrestles like the men in her family – and that is not a bad thing. I’m not saying she is a man, but she puts on a match like we’ve never seen from any Diva before her. From what we’ve seen of her thus far, her matches on SmackDown! have been truly intense and lots of fun to watch. There’s story telling, there’s psychology… usually with the Divas, WWE just throws them in the ring and hopes they can pull out a decent match. The Divas don’t have the same pressures as the Superstars to put on matches that tell a story, that have psychology but that is exactly what Natalya brings to the ring.

As I was saying, Kelly deserves some kudos because she sold very well and made this match believable; hardly recognisable from that slutty girl from Kelly’s Expose (and it’s one night comeback) just two years ago. Kelly’s handspring elbow on this night was much better too – I mean compare that to the infamous time she tried to use the move on Layla.

Furthermore, I like how they built up the rivalry with Michelle also, SmackDown! is getting the opportunity to do things RAW never gets to do. On RAW they just throw the girls out there, on SmackDown! you have backstage segments, “earlier in the day” segments to help build and aid the feud and that’s something that is important to the overall story. I like how this feud is kind of a slow-burner, I can’t wait for the eventual singles match… hopefully these girls will get to go at it on pay per view! Anyway, a very good match – much better than RAW this week – and well worth the watch:

Torrie’s Own Terms

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Lifting the cloud left by the sad and shocking news that Torrie Wilson was released yesterday, I can confirm that Torrie in fact asked for her release. Torrie got to bow out on her own terms and that’s something that I felt really strongly about. I can now accept the fact that Torrie is no longer with WWE… because she left of her own accord.

There’s loads of theories going around on the ‘net, many of which are in my inbox (lovely thing to come home to after a day of work) and they are well and truly false. Hopefully Torrie will have more to say soon (well I can guarantee it actually), until then please let’s not tarnish Torrie’s release any further. I’m guilty of WWE-bashing myself today, but they are not to blame. Let’s be happy for Torrie and respect her wishes!

YouTube Classics: Ivory/D-Lo Brown vs. Nicole Bass/Val Venis

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Welcome to the YouTube Classics! Today’s offering brings with it a quite random selection – but that’s the point, isn’t it? After all, I’m here to bring you matches you haven’t seen in quite some time, and this definitely won’t be an exception to that. This match brings us all the way back to the days of Nicole Bass – remember her? Nicole Bass & Val Venis take on Ivory and D-Lo Brown in what not only is a blast from the past, but also a fond reminder of how the Divas used to differ from each other not just through their hair color:

TNA iMPACT! – May 08, 2008

  

Tonight on Total Nonstop Action, there was a small segment where all the Knockouts were crowded into Jim Cornette’s office. Cornette stated that he may have went over the top for making the “head shaving” match at Sacrifice, but planned on making it up to them by planning a special match for tonight. The match that was made was all the Diva’s that were participating in the head shaving match Sacrifice, were to compete in tonight’s “immunity” match. There would be a long metal pole in the corner of the ring, and the Knockout who climbed the pole and grabbed the pair of sheers at the top – would win immunity and be able to avoid getting her head shaved completely bald at the Pay-Per-View.

Later on, the match went underway and all the Knockouts piled out to the ring one by one. As the bell sounded each Knockout ran at one another and clobbered each other to the mat. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky double teamed everyone, Christy Hemme and Salinas battled it out quite a bit, and it kept changing variously. Out of all the Knockouts within the ring, the Knockout that seemed to be getting the biggest push out of the bunch was Traci Brooks. If anything, I can see her winning the Number One Contender’s match for Knockout Championship at Sacrifice above everyone else.

The match was pretty strong for the most part. I enjoyed it more so than WWE’s Diva matches from the past two weeks or so. TNA Production is starting to have a little more value, and I’m beginning to have a deep admiration for it’s Women’s Division.

Torrie Wilson Released

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In a bit of news that I’m not happy to report (and am posting mainly so Melanie doesn’t have to), it looks like Torrie and the WWE have parted ways after over 7 years. WWE.com provides us with the standard generic, information-less statement:

WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Diva Torrie Wilson as of today, May 8, 2008.

We wish Torrie the best in all her future endeavors.

At least – looking on the bright side – Torrie can now fully pursue her outside interests, since it seemed she was done in-ring as it was. I think I speak for all of us at Diva Dirt when I say GOOD LUCK TORRIE!!!

Velvet Sky on Ashleygate: “That’s Disgusting”

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TNA’s Velvet Sky addressed Ashleygate in an audio interview with Monday Night Mayhem, referring to Ashley as an escort with, “That’s disgusting.” The Knockout who is dating WWE’s Gregory Helms says that a few sources very close to the story told her they wouldn’t be surprised if the rumours turn out to be true. Read the report below:

Shifting gears ever so slightly, Blade also goes on record saying that unlike some other companies, TNA has “no known escorts on their roster either.” Yes…being the hot topic of the past few days, Velvet chimed in with her thoughts on this story: “That’s disgusting.” Velvet does not know the full details of the story, so she could not necessarily go on record saying what she wanted to say, but she did tell Mosh, Blade, & DFL that a few sources (who are very reliable to the story) have spoken to her, and those individuals told her that they would not be surprised if the allegations turned out to be true. She does not for one minute though believe the latest reports of a “possible mistaken identity” though.

Let’s do some maths: Velvet is dating Gregory Helms, Helms is good friends with Matt and Jeff Hardy, Matt just happened to date Ashley a couple of years ago. I’m not saying that is the connection, but just one possible theory. Maybe some interpromotional warfare from Ashley on her MySpace could spice things up! Discuss…

Should Trish Keep Her Distance?

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Trish Stratus made a much welcomed cameo appearance on RAW, much to the delight of her hometown crowd in Toronto, Canada. But we want to hear from you – do you think Trish should keep her distance from WWE in future, to protect her legacy or would you welcome her making regular cameos?

Legends like Mick Foley and Stone Cold make cameo appearances for WWE (Mick Foley more so), and in recent years the appearances by Mick have been getting less and less popular. In fact, some of his recent appearances have had no meaning for the fans who once cheered Foley on in their droves. Meanwhile, Stone Cold makes cameos maybe once or twice a year – always proving popular with the fans! Do we want Trish to be a Mick Foley, making regular cameos? The effect there could be that we get so used to seeing them, we get almost bored and it actually would tarnish the legacy Trish has forged for herself. Or do we want her to be a Stone Cold? Someone who appears once or twice a year, showing that she hasn’t forgotten about us fans and giving back to the WWE?

In the case of Trish, I think it could go either way with Diva fans: We all would love to see Trish return full-time, so going the Foley route could be the second best thing but then again, do we really want to remember Trish for useless cameos rather than being a 7-time Women’s Champion and future Hall of Famer? Vote now!

[poll=18]

The Writer’s Room: May 07, 2008

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Welcome all and one to the Writer’s Room, which is pretty much just a personal touch to Diva Dirt, where us writers can talk about anything and everything! I’ll be writing today’s edition but hopefully in future, Erin and Ryan will check in with ya’ll as well!

Anyway, I wanted to talk today about the Michael Hayes situation. Not a far stretch from the subject of this site, but more of a general wrestling topic. I wrote in my Ashley post today about WWE being a publicly funded company and as such, the corporation and employees should be expected to behave in a certain manner. Right after that post, I read the following:

As various other websites have reported Vince McMahon asked Brian Gerwitz to come up with a trade last year so that Elijah Burke could be moved to Raw. Gerwitz never did but the same was asked of Michael Hayes. Hayes allegedly told Vince McMahon something along the lines of “Why, we have enough N*ggers on Smackdown already” as a source inside WWE put it to me.

Are you freakin’ kidding me?! I’d love to see someone use that word to Donald Trump or any other major business mogul, that asshole would be out of a job faster than they could finish the word. The fact that an employee is able to say that word to Vince McMahon himself without reprecussions, just proves everything that is wrong with the WWE and it’s at times like this, I understand why the masses endorse the stereotypes of professional wrestling. Over the top, fake, a sport for hicks… I mean seriously, imagine being able to go to work and use racist, sexist and simply disgusting language without fearing you could be fired.

Michael Hayes is an A-grade asshole and should not even have a job. Being from the south or wherever he’s from and being from a different time, doesn’t cut it. Being stuck in your ways, doesn’t cut it. If he’s capable enough to be employed, he should be capable enough to know that kind of language is not acceptable. All these situations that are only now coming out show to me corrupt WWE is and as a publicly funded company, it’s highly negligent of Vince McMahon to keep this idiot on the payroll. They want to target a younger audience? Well any Internet-savvy wrestling fan could point out a billion and one things that suggests WWE is not at all kid-friendly, in fact far from it. When one of your leading shows is being written by a neo-Nazi, you’re not kid-friendly. When you hire girls who have had a history in pornography, you’re not kid-friendly. When you keep someone who may or may not have had sex for money, you’re not kid-friendly. When you promote Playboy, you’re not kid-friendly.

To be honest, all the attention based on the Ashley situation – even by us – is kind of over the top when there’s bigger fish to fry. I say, WWE need to fire the prick, those Superstars who’ve been racially abused by him need to file lawsuits. I don’t know how WWE does it, I really don’t know how they manage to save themselves from coming under scrutiny from the law on a more regular basis. In my eyes, they sure as hell deserve it. This industry has it’s positives and negatives, WWE may entertain you to a degree as a fan, but scratch away the surface and you’ve got a corporate tyranny.

– Melanie

SmackDown! Spoilers for May 9th

This week’s SmackDown! features a Divas match, once again! Looks like SmackDown’s on a roll! Highlight the text below to view the spoilers:

Natalya defeated Kelly with a Sharpshooter, which got a big pop.

YouTube Classics: Torrie vs. Kelly; Ivory vs. Tori

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Welcome to the YouTube Classics! Today, I’m posting two videos – one in keeping with this week’s “WWE Alumni” theme and one inspired by last night’s 100th episode of ECW.

First, I’ll post what we believe to be one of the best Diva moments on ECW so far. In the land of bikini contests and dance-offs, it’s hard to differentiate between Diva moments but this one, even if it begins as most have, has its own interesting outcome. Torrie Wilson & Kelly Kelly compete in a seemingly standard bikini contest, but this soon turns into a much more interesting (in my opinion) 6-man tag match:

Next, we have our “WWE Alumni” match – Ivory vs. Tori in the WWE’s first all-female Hardcore match. It quite a blast from the past, as it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen either of these Divas. Watch out for what Tori’s wearing, though – is it just me, or does that seem waaaay too racy for today’s standards? See for yourself:

Michelle: Gypsy Fortune Teller

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Oh dear lord. Somebody pinch me, because am I really seeing stars… and a moon?! I don’t know what kinda mumbo jumbo goes over in Hicksville, but what on earth made Michelle McCool think this is a good look? If that walked down the street, do not tell me you wouldn’t turn your head.

I’m sorry, I can’t even take my eyes off the earrings to comment on anything else haha. Seriously, all that’s missing is a poncho, crazy red hair and a penchant for babbling on like a crazy woman. If ever you meet her, be sure to be extra nice and she may just read your tea leaves… Check out the full set by clicking here.

Ashleygate: Ashley Dodges Bullet

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Rather than addressing the situation head on and putting her story out there, RAW’s Ashley instead dodges the bullet in her latest MySpace blog and in my eyes, it’s a very cowardly thing to do. Making no mention of the recent allegations made against her, Ash simply thanks her fans for their support:

“Damn…all I can say is wow. Youys are mega supportive and I friggin love you for it. I consider everyone of you a friend and appreciate every last single message and believe me i’ve read them all you guys ROCK!!!!! HARD!!!!! So thanks for that. Seriously. I love you.”

Now some may argue that I have no right to call Ashley cowardly because what she does is her business, but the fact is, Ashley is employed by a publicly funded company and her interests as an employee should be to set a good example and standard for the company she represents. If you worked at a supermarket, you and your actions represent that supermarket. You go to a school, you represent that school. As a publicly funded company, WWE and it’s employees are more so liable to set an example than their privately funded counterparts. That said, just look at the trash WWE gets away with every day: a racist biggot leading the SmackDown! writing team, former porn stars on their payroll and now, a potential hooker too.

Furthermore, the issue is there and all her fans are 100% aware of it, to ignore the situation is pretty much suggesting to her fans that they are stupid. Who knows if Ashley or her “lawyer” will ever address the situation, but it would be in her own best interests as well as the company she represents, that she put her side of the story out there. Silence only proves guilt.

Backstage Reaction Towards Ashley?

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On Wrestlezone.com, Ryan Clark has posted a small article explaining that if these allegations of Ashley working for the escort service happen to be true, she shouldn’t be fired:

Last week Rolling Stone Magazine broke the news a recent FBI investigation revealed WWE Diva Ashley Massaro used to work as a high-priced escort. Massaro has denied the allegations but the evidence supporting Rolling Stone’s claim is mounting.

The general feeling within WWE is that Ashley Massaro should not be fired if the allegations are truthful.

First off, I don’t think she would get fired. I believe the only thing that can happen from this huge incident is her reputation becoming damaged. However this isn’t the first time a Diva has had a “dirty” past. Let’s take a look back on some of the other “dirty-doers”: Mickie James did porn photoshoots where she is crawling around in the nude over a barenaked man or Candice Michelle, who participated in a wide variety of bondage porn films by playing the character Mackenzie Montgomery. It all goes to show, these females have moved on to a more credible career – the past is the past.

Although this escort news was highly shocking and kept us on the edge of our seats for the past few days – it’s slowly dying down. It’s apparent that Massaro is guilty more than ever and highly ashamed.

RAW Redux – May 05, 2008

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On this week’s RAW, we saw a Women’s Championship Lumberjack Match, the return of Trish Stratus and Katie Lea and Paul Burchill continued their handicap stint.

Thoughts & Reactions
The Women’s Championship match, when I first read about it, I thought for sure they’d made the wrong decision; they should’ve kept this match for Judgment Day. The match itself was not good. Plodding along with kicks and punches, it really wasn’t fun to watch and that is a problem I have with matches with these two Divas, their Armageddon match last year bored me to tears. It wasn’t until Melina was injected into the picture on New Year’s Eve in a triple threat match, that this feud got a little more exciting. That was a fun match. Live from London, Mickie and Beth really pulled it out of the bag, it could’ve been a really bad match a few weeks ago when Mickie won the title but it wasn’t, thankfully. I think everyone got into it because of the London crowd and the big fight feel; but this match it felt dull. Not to mention, some incredibly sloppy ring-work from Mickie James, a few of the spots in this match were really awkward to watch. I didn’t expect that from Mickie, but last night, she wasn’t on her game. All these repetetive descriptions of Beth Phoenix by the announcers is getting really boring; how many times can we hear that she’s the most dominant Diva to ever enter the WWE, she’s this, she’s that. Jim Ross, you’ve been doing the same shtick for over six months, get some new material.

As I said earlier, I felt they should have kept this match until Judgment Day but I can see why they haven’t. Even though the match was pretty dull, the ending was very well done and it brings Melina into the fold and I can’t knock that. I predict a triple threat match at Judgment Day, so hopefully that match will be better than this one – Melina is a lot of fun to watch in the ring. But there are a few possible routes WWE could go here: Could Melina turn face? After all, she cost Beth her match, I could see Beth trying to retaliate and “bully” Melina, effectively making Melina a face. This is something I would love to see and it would also balance out the women’s division in terms of good in-ring workers. Either way, I’m glad they’ve bought Melina into the fold, why waste a talent like her?

Trish Stratus’ return was a fun little cameo, as I’ve written in another post, she’s stepped back onto RAW in a 50-second segment and shown more character and personality than any of the current crop of Divas could ever hope to display.

I’m glad they’ve continued having Katie and Burchill team up, despite the horrible commentary from Mike Adamle. I mean seriously?! “She’s definitely not a pretty face!” Excuse you?! I think he meant “She’s not just a pretty face”, but that kind of shocked me. I hope Katie can join the women’s division soon or at least play a bigger role than just directing traffic for Burchill, even though she’s in the match too.

Lilian’s Canadian Faux Pas

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RAW ring announcer, Lilian Garcia made quite the faux pas in front a very vocal Canadian crowd, last night. Lilian addressed the arena, the Air Canada Centre as the “Air America Centre” leading to a chorus of boos from the fans in attendance! Ouch.

Lilian did make it up, with what I assume would have been a beautiful rendition of “O Canada.” Canadians have always been a tough crowd for WWE; I wonder if it was really a faux pas by Lilian or if Vince put her up to it? Either way, we got our lolz.

Shocker: Trish Returns to RAW

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With last night’s RAW being held at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, Trish Stratus made a surprise appearance on the show and conducted a little interview with WWE.com afterwards! Eek! Trish!

Only a short segment, but the crowd was going crazy for Trish! No doubt, the 7-time Women’s Champion still has it! Check out her WWE.com interview after the cut:

YouTube Classics: Lita vs. Gail Kim

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Welcome to the YouTube Classics! If you weren’t here last time, I’ll catch you up on what this whole thing is about: each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will post a classic or otherwise memorable match.

After a week off due to computer problems, we’re back! This week’s theme will be “WWE Alumni” – videos featuring only Divas who are no longer in the WWE. With this installment, we have a match from 2004, specifically Lita vs. Gail Kim in a matchup before Backlash 2004, with an introduction by Stacy Keibler:

Melina Displays Spanish Heritage!

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Red Salsa Dress Blue Tango Dress White Bull Outfit

Whose celebrating Cinco De Mayo? Melina Perez is! Her most recent WWE photoshoot displays her in a variety of spanish-themed outfits for the regional holiday in Mexico. I think the photos are beautiful in a traditional standard, but some scream tacky to me. The first set of photos have Melina in a red and black laced Salsa dress, with a slit along the side for Perez to show her legs. To be completely honest, she looks like she crept out of an excerpt from Zorro. Other than that, it screams: ¡Fiesta!

The next set of pictures show Miss Perez in what seems to be a blue Tango dress. I really liked the backdrop for the shoot and some of Melina’s facial expressions.. although a great majority of them weren’t that appealing. Some of her poses looked bent out of shape, and she seemed almost uncomfortable. Another thing that seemed to bother me was how long that dress really was! It seemed almost never-ending! Then again, I’m a guy – and probably don’t have that great a taste in clothing..

The last set of photos reminded me a great deal of a “torero”, which is a bullfighter. Although I’d never wear something like this – ever – I preferred it a great deal over the previous “blue tango dress” shoot. These shots compared to the other two were alot more masculine, and Melina nailed the poses well. Overall, the first shoot with the Salsa dress was my favorite due to the fact Melina showed a great deal of feminine poise. Check out the full set of photos here, and decide for yourself!

Monday Night RAW: Women’s Championship!

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Tonight on Monday Night RAW, Beth Phoenix is scheduled to face Mickie James for her prized Women’s Championship. However, there is a special stipulation – a Lumberjill match! The sexiest women on television, the WWE Divas, will be surrounding the ring as these two beauties battle it out within the squared circle. Will Mickie James be able to overcome Beth Phoenix and retain the title?

Ashleygate Breaking News: Web Archive Recovered

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A web archive of the old Bella Models website, has been recovered using archive.org, a popular site that stores old websites. Bella Models was the escort service run by Michelle “Nici” Braun that WWE Diva, Ashley has found herself connected to. The official Bella Models site, when it was active had a page dedicated to Ashley where you could book her services for $25,000.

The page can be viewed here, Escort Ashley’s location is New York City. Coincidence? I think not! Ashley cried “Lies” on Saturday in her MySpace blog, but it seems the only liar here is her. I think the proof is pretty conclusive against the “dirty” one. I’m pretty convinced now, it should be interesting to see what Ashley has to say next and whether or not WWE will respond.