Today, we have a Women’s Championship match from the seventeenth WrestleMania, with RTC’s token female and Women’s Champ Ivory taking on the “morally corrupt” Playboy covergirl Chyna:
Looks like Angela Fong may finally be getting her call up to the main roster… as a manager.
According to reports online, WWE officials are in discussions to bring the Queen of FCW to the main roster as a manager for Cryme Tyme. I don’t know how I feel about this. I would love to see Angela on my screen every Monday, but not as a manager. I would rather have her stay in development until they can bring her up as a wrestler. And why Cryme Tyme?! I don’t think there has ever been a more unlikely teaming. I see a big image change in Angela’s future.
Don’t get too excited though, Angela fans. It is April Fool’s Day, of course, so take this news with a grain of salt.
This Sunday at WrestleMania 25, WWE pays homage to it’s 25th anniversary with an honorary 25 Diva battle royal for the title of Miss WrestleMania. Not only will the current crop of Divas have an opportunity to win said title but so will some names and faces from the past – the WrestleMania Six! Stealing a page from Lost‘s Oceanic Six, we have dubbed our six returning Divas after the wacky ABC show.
The formula for the 25 Diva match, it looks like, will work out like this: 18 parts Diva. One part Santino and 6 parts legend (well five plus Jackie Gayda).
While Hassan looks at the current Divas in WrestleMania Spotlight, over the next few days, I will be looking at the six Diva legends (or again, five plus Jackie Gayda) who will compete in the Miss WrestleMania match.
EDIT: Now called The WrestleMania Seven!
TRISH STRATUS
WWE Debut: March 2000
WWE Retirement: September 2006
Career Highlights: 7-time Women’s Champion
Confirmed or Declined?
Trish was not one of the five Divas confirmed at yesterday’s press conference. It looks as though they are saving the best till last! I expect Trish will be a surprise come Sunday night. Trish is the centerpiece of the WrestleMania Six. Make no mistake, if they didn’t have her booked and scheduled to appear this Sunday there’s no way they’d have involved past Divas at all.
Past WrestleMania Appearances
Trish has appeared at 7 consecutive WrestleManias and wrestled in four of those events. In her prime, she was considered a featured performer at WrestleMania.
Trish’s WrestleMania Moment
Stratus won the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 19 in a triple threat match featuring Jazz and Victoria.
Miss WrestleMania Threat Factor
Trish, no doubt, will kick some booty in at WrestleMania. You don’t bring back the greatest Diva of all time to not have her throw some bodies over the top rope, right? I’d say the ‘lesser’ Divas like the Bella Twins, Eve, Tiffany, Jillian and Layla could be Trish’s collateral damage.
Biggest Threats
Trish will likely have some competition from the likes of the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool. I definitely think Beth will make it a point to get up in Trish’s face.
Likelihood of Winning
Trish probably stands the most chance of the Diva legends of winning.
With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.†This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,†Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… yeah baby, it’s SmackDown/ECW Diva Natalya!
Diva: Natalya
Real Name:Â Natalie “Nattie” Neidhart
Hometown:Â Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Birthday: May 27, 1982
Brand: ECW / SmackDown
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 135 lbs.
Finisher: Sharpshooter, Nattie By Nature (Spinning Powerbomb)
WWE Debut: April 4, 2008 edition of SmackDown
Career Highlights: Trained in the Hart family “Dungeon” in amateur wrestling as well as mixed martial arts and jiu-jitsu, ECCW Supergirls Champion, Stampede Women’s Pacific Champion, Women’s Wrestler of the Year for 2005, ranked #19 of the 50 best female wrestlers by Pro Wrestling IllustratedÂ
“Did You Know?†Fact: Natalya is the first third-generation female wrestler in the world and has been dating TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) since November 2001
Another day, another misused Diva. If there was one Diva on the roster that I would really want to win this match, it would be Natalya. She has such a great character and is so talented in the ring that having her as her boyfriend’s manager on ECW seems like a waste of talent and a paycheck. She doesn’t even really play a vital role in Tyson’s matches besides cheering him on and occasionally exchanging some words with Alicia Fox or Katie Lea.
As the daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and Ellie Hart (the daughter of Stu Hart), Natalya was practically born into the wrestling business and it is in her blood. She came onto the wrestling scene in 2000-2001 where she served as host and ring announcer for Eric Bischoff’s youth promotion, MatRats. In 2003, Natalya entered the ring for her family’s organization, Stampede Wrestling. In 2004, she head over to wrestle in England and Japan. She returned to Canada in 2006 after suffering a torn ligament in Japan, where she first picked up her heel status. Natalya signed a developmental deal with the WWE in 2007, and made her debut in OVW on July 18, 2007 accompanying Teddy Hart and Harry Smith in their tag team matches as the new Hart Foundation. In October of 2007, Natalya went to FCW to further her training.
Natalya made her WWE debut on SmackDown, where she came to the aid of Victoria by attacking Michelle McCool and Cherry. Once the Divas Title was announced, Natalya was the first Diva to qualify for the title match, though she lost to Michelle at the Great American Bash. Following that loss, Natalya sporadically competed in matches while also appearing in FCW alongside Tyson Kidd. She made her debut on ECW with Tyson Kidd on Februay 10, 2009 and competed in her first ECW match against Alicia Fox on March 3, 2009, which she won.
If Natalya had been doing something more worthwhile than serving as a valet to her boyfriend on ECW, I’d have high hopes for her in this match. However, since the WWE is so notorious for putting the more talented Divas in less meaningful positions, I don’t see Natalya winning this. I do predict her to be a huge force to deal with, and I really hope there is a Beth Phoenix/Natalya confrontation as I’d love to see those two go at it. If Trish is the final participant in the match, then surely these two Canadians will go at it, which would definitely be a treat. However, our poor Natalya is being reduced to such a little position and not contributing a whole lot other than getting a decent Divas division going on ECW. Hopefully if Nikki Bella comes to ECW and Tiffany finally starts getting in the ring, we’ll see more of Natalya, which is certainly where she needs to be… in the ring, kicking butt, and taking names. Maybe if WWE were smart, they’d use this opportunity to let Natalya win and put her back on the map and in the hunt for some Championship gold since she is certainly very capable of winning the Battle Royal… but don’t get your hopes up on that happening.
Natalya’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Moderate
The cull is unlike anything the company has done before; it seems they are specifically looking to target Diva fansites. The alarmingly high number of fansites being targeted, is also a major cause for concern.
What makes the matter worse is that these often scary and scathing cease and desist letters are being sent out by e-mail to fansite owners, who are typically, high school teenagers. The threat of legal action to someone so young is inexcusable on WWE’s part, considering maintaining a fansite is generally just a pastime.
In most cases, it is in fact the website owners who pour hundreds, even thousands, of dollars into their website and make no profit from them. Their support is lent to WWE by purchasing magazines, pay per views etc. Not to mention the free publicity and exposure they are giving that Diva.
One must also consider the timing of this rampage, with WrestleMania just days away. I guess people are trying to show they’re good at their jobs so they don’t lose them when it draws a lousy buyrate. WrestleMania provides much of the profit for WWE’s fiscal year. It’s funny how they are sending their customers cease and desist letters, and these are the same fans they expect to pay $55 for the pay per view.
It’s a huge shame that the company feels the need to scare young, impressionable teenagers in such a manner. Receiving a cease and desist letter by e-mail must be an incredibly daunting experience. It is times like this that the Internet Diva community should pull together. These actions are nothing short of reprehensible.
• If you are one of the webmasters caught up in WWE’s WrestleMania Week Rampage, we’d love to hear your story. Please leave your comments and your advice for fellow fansite owners!
(PHOTOS: Lisa Marie Varon)
Ever the professional, retired former Women’s Champion, Victoria waited until WWE confirmed her appearance at WrestleMania before blogging about it. And since WWE made the announcement at their press conference yesterday, Victoria has spoken out.
The ex-Diva, real name Lisa Marie Varon, calls WrestleMania her ‘last hurrah’ in professional wrestling, and what a ‘last hurrah’ it is is, Victoria. My hat goes off to you…
For those of you who follow my blogs, I try not to let the cat out of the bag when it comes to WWE. So I did not mention to anyone that I was asked to participate in Wrestlemania XXV. But since is was announced at a WWE press conference, I suppose that there is no harm in confirming it. I will be there. I will participate. I will kick Diva booty…and I still may have a small suprise up my sleeve…It’s a big deal to me. When I left WWE, I was of the mindset that I would never wrestle again. I’ve done some guest appearances, but no actual wrestling. So this will be my last hurrah…
Victoria will be joined by fellow Diva legends Molly Holly, Sunny and Torrie Wilson as well as former Tough Enough Champion, Jackie Gayda.
Since retiring from wrestling, Victoria has taken up MMA as you can see from the kickass images above. Looks intense!
Did hell just freeze over? I think so! Word is that former Diva legend, Chyna could be heading to WrestleMania to compete for the ‘Miss WrestleMania’ title. The former Intercontinental and Women’s Champion hasn’t been seen in the WWE since leaving in 2001 admist a real-life triangle involving her then-boyfriend Triple H and his onscreen (and now real life) wife Stephanie McMahon.
According to sources, Chyna has been in talks with the company as late as this past Monday. The news was talk of the triple-header Raw, SmackDown and ECW taping in Dallas, Texas. However if a deal can be reached, it’s unlikely that Chyna would appear unless she received a huge payout in return – and it just so happens that she has a book waiting in the wings to be promoted!
Ironically, Chyna’s last WWE appearance was at WrestleMania 17.
Diva Dirt acquired an official statement from Chyna’s publicist, follow the cut to read:
(PHOTOS: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.)
While WrestleMania’s 25 Diva battle royal might be a dream come true for some Diva fans, its a train wreck waiting to happen for most. What happened to the good ol’, one-on-one matchups. Well for the next few weeks leading up to WrestleMania, Diva Dirt will be bringing you the Wrestlemania dream matches that we wish would happen or might even happen in the future. Welcome to WrestleMania Fantasy Face-Off!
Match 4: Kelly Kelly and Candice vs Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool in a BunnyMania Lumberjill Match
The Setup:
It’s January and we all know what that means in WWE. Playboy time! Michael Cole and The King announce that Kelly Kelly will be making an announcement tonight. Kelly comes to the ring, mic in tow. She tells the crowd that she’s proud to be the next WWE Diva to pose for Playboy. Predictably the crowd erupts into cat-calls. Before Kelly can say anything more she’s interrupted by Beth Phoenix. Phoenix says she’s sick and tired of Divas like Kelly giving the WWE a bad name by taking their clothes off.
Kelly gets upset and gets in The Glamazon’s face. Beth sneers and pushes Kelly to the mat. Hard. Kelly tries to get up and attack Beth but is no match for the powerful Phoenix. Just as Phoenix starts beating the tar out of K2, Candice Michelle‘s music hits. Candice hits the ring and Beth gets out of dodge. However, while the raven-haired Playboy Playmate is checking on her friend, the Glamazon re-enters the ring and levels Candice with the Glam Slam.
Two weeks later, Candice and Kelly have a tag team match against Beth and a surprise partner. The faces make their way to the the ring, and wait for their challengers. Beth’s music hit and she comes out with a mic. She says she found a partner who shares her ideals and who is willing to defend the integrity of women’s wrestling. She ends her tirade by welcoming Raw’s newest Diva, Michelle McCool.
Kelly picks up the surprise win by pinning McCool. During the post-match celebration Beth and Michelle go on the attack, leaving the Bunnies laid out in the ring. The heels leave the ring satisfied.
For the next few weeks, Kelly is terrorized by Beth and Michelle backstage and in the ring, culminating with Phoenix and McCool interrupting Kelly’s cover unveiling. The heels attack Kelly, prompting Mickie James, The Bellas, Alicia Fox, Eve, Maria and Candice to come to her aid. The Divas clear the ring and Beth and Michelle start to retreat. Then the heel Divas come down the ramp. Katie Lea, Jillian, Layla, Natalya and Maryse run to the ring and a brawl breaks out. As the Divas go at it, Vince’s music hits. He announces that Kelly and Candice will take on Beth and Michelle in a BunnyMania LumberJill Match. However, there are a few conditons. If Beth and Michelle win, Kelly win be the last WWE Diva to pose for Playboy, but if Kelly and Candice win Beth and Michelle have to pose next month. Beth and Michelle look positively mortified, but they accept.
The Outcome:
All the Lumberjills come to the ring, inexplicably dressed in cocktail dresses and really high heels. Kelly’s music hits and she and Candice come from behind the curtain. They stop at the end of the ramp and point back to the entrance. Former Playboy Playmates Torrie Wilson, Sable and Chyna, come out to ringside to support the faces. The crowd goes nuts. Next out, Beth and McCool. The crowd gives them major heat when Beth spits at Chyna. Torrie and Sable have to hold Chyna back.
The match start off with Kelly and Michelle. The heels make frequent tags, keeping Kelly grounded. Kelly and Michelle knock heads and both start crawling to their respective corners for a tag. They reach their partners and Candice comes in fighting, taking Phoenix of her feet with a few clotheslines and a dropkick. Candice goes for the pin, kickout at two. Candice goes for Beth, who is retreating towards the ropes. Beth uses leverage to throw Candice out of the ring. The heels jump on her immediately and the face Divas come to the rescue. A fight breaks out on the outside(of course). Bad weaves and hooker heels go a’flying. Finally, Candice and Beth make it back in the ring. Candice hits the ropes but is tripped up by Jillian. Candice goes after her and Beth uses the distraction to execute her Glam Slam. 1.2.3. Playboy is abolished from the WWE.
After the match, Beth and Michelle get in the former Playmates faces. Chyna levels Beth with a Clothesline followed by a bodyslam on theand Michelle retreats, saving her own skin. Kelly and Candice celebrate in the ring with Chyna, Torrie, Sable and the other face Divas despite thier loss. The heels go to the back, supporting a very sore Beth Phoenix.
For the first time in the show’s history, the Divas have main evented ECW! In a sister vs sister match, Brie Bella took on Nikki Bella with their respective tag teams in their corners. Watch below:
Not a very good match at all. There were a couple of ‘decent’ spots but overall, this match was a mess from bell-to-bell. Neither of these two are experienced enough in the ring to pull out a decent singles match against each other. The timing was slow and the match just plodded along with no excitement or intensity. They’re supposed to hate each other, right? Your best bet would be to skip this match and hold out for Matt vs Jeff at WrestleMania.
At the WrestleMania 25 press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly revealed four of the six Divas taking part in the Miss WrestleMania match this Sunday!
The returning Diva legends are Molly Holly, Sunny, Torrie Wilson and Victoria. That leaves two more spots for Diva legends as well as a spot for Santino, who will more than likely be in the match.
UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Jackie Gayda-Haas was also among the names announced at the press conference. That leaves one more spot open. Hmm..
Today, we have a Women’s Championship match from the fifteenth WrestleMania, pitting the Playboy covergirl Sable against her alleged “stalker” Tori:
(PHOTOS: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.)
Something’s not quite right about Michelle McCool‘s latest photoshoot, “Sparkling Smile”. There seems to be a surplus of gold, which isn’t always bad, but I’ not sure I like it in this instance. That, and she’s pulled back her bangs – we all know how much Diva Dirt’s loving her bangs. Altogether, it’s just not a good look. Michelle doesn’t look like she’s feeling it either – her facial expressions look pained and/or bored. Maybe that should’ve been a clue from the start that this shoot wasn’t a winner.
*Headdesk* ‘Twas the final Raw before WrestleMania when WWE made sure they hammered home that ‘Divas suck’. One last reminder of our dashed hopes and dreams as we head into yet another underwhelming ‘Mania for the Divas. Last year, it was a glorified tag team match we could see any other week on Raw. The year before, there was Ashley, ’nuff said. And this year? With the Playboy affiliation broken, we had hoped for something grandiose and befitting of WrestleMania – Melina vs Beth Phoenix perhaps? Looking back to the beginning of the year, there was such promise for this year’s event. Last night however, instead of the final onslaught to an interesting, engaging match at WrestleMania – we got Santino in a “mankini.”
So the final Raw before WrestleMania and we are treated to an 18 Diva tag team match. And instead of putting over the Divas who actually have a shot at winning, we’re putting over ECW’s barely-existent Diva, Tiffany. *Blink* Honestly, this match was a horrible trainwreck and lasted even less time than the 16 Diva match last week. I have nothing to say, this was just beyond pathetic.
I’ll tell you who I do feel sorry for though and that’s Gail Kim. What a horrible match to earmark as her official ‘in-ring return’. Technically though, much like 13 other Divas, she didn’t even wrestle in the match. She just made her return last Friday and hot-shotting her into this one as ‘just another face’ makes her whole return look weak.
And then there’s Santino. The build to the only WrestleMania Divas match revolves around a man? Go figure.
With the lack of promotion for this match, you wouldn’t be amiss to forget that there are going to be some ex-Diva legends gracing us with their presence this Sunday. Possibly, the Miss WrestleMania match’s only saving grace. To say that they’ve wasted the audience’s time and their own potential profit, is an understatement. Announcing the likes of Trish Stratus beforehand would have scored some extra pay per view buys. The handling of the former talent has been greatly mishandled, as they could have built up Trish, Torrie, Sunny and co. as feature attractions to this match and the event as a whole.
Nevertheless, the build to WrestleMania is now complete and much like previous years, leaves a lot to be desired.
With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.†This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,†Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… give it up for Raw Diva Candice Michelle!
Diva: Candice Michelle
Real Name:Â Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich
Hometown:Â Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Birthday: September 30, 1978
Brand: Raw
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 130 lbs.
Finisher: Candywrapper (Inverted Double Underhook Facebuster), Candylicious (Hanging Figure Four Necklock)
WWE Debut: July 2004 (Diva Search) &Â November 15, 2004 edition of Raw
Career Highlights: Finalist in the 2004 Diva Search, WWE Women’s Champion, Playboy Covergirl (April 2006), GoDaddy.com Spokeswoman, ranked #10 of the 50 best female wrestlers by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, named Most Improved Wrestler of the Year 2007 as well as Woman of the Year (2007) by PWI, appeared on Family Feud, Be Cool, Thumbsucker, PlayboyTV’s Totally Busted, Project Runway, Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, Party of Five, 7th Heaven, Tomcats, Anger Management, Dodgeball, A Man Apart, and Redemption Song, was in FLEX Magazine (February 2009), named #82 of AskMen.com’s 100 Most Desirable Women of 2007, her “Faith” tattoo was filmed on LA Ink while she was injured and it symbolizes her religious devotion as well as a personal affirmation
“Did You Know?†Fact: Candice starred in an HBO softcore porn series called Hotel Erotica before her time in WWE. Married to a West Los Angeles Chiropracter, Candice had a real-life feud with Melina in early 2007 when Candice accused Melina in a blog of stealing one of her signature moves. She was also the first Diva Search contestant to become Women’s Champion
Though her status in the Battle Royal is unknown at this time, Candice still may appear at WrestleMania 25. She entered the company through the 2004 Diva Search, although she didn’t make it to the top 10. First appearing as a makeup artist on Raw, Candice went on to SmackDown where she became involved in the Melina/Torrie Wilson storyline. Torrie and Candice were both traded to Raw, where they teamed up with Victoria to form Vince’s Devils, where they taunted 2005 Diva Search Winner Ashley Massaro until Trish Stratus returned from an injury to help Ashley out. When Candice announced that she was posing for Playboy, Vince’s Devils began breaking up when Candice blamed Torrie for a loss she suffered in a Women’s Title match against Trish Stratus. Finally, at Candice’s Playboy unveiling, both Candice and Victoria turned on Torrie, leading up to a Playboy Pillow Fight match at WrestleMania 22 between Torrie and Candice, which Candice lost.
July of 2006 saw Candice’s turn to a face and her quest for the Women’s Title. Candice suffered her first injury at the hands of Victoria when Victoria kicked her in the nose, giving her a deviated septum. When she returned, she was given a huge push and feuded with then-champion Melina, where Candice finally beat Melina and won the Women’s Championship at Vengeance. She would lose the title to Beth Phoenix at No Mercy, and while trying to win the title back on an episode of Raw, Candice fell off the top rope after Beth pushed the ropes, breaking her clavicle. Candice returned on February 18, 2008 to Raw, though it was only a matter of time before her clavicle became re-injured. When she returned from the second injury on September 1, 2008, Candice was given a moderate push, though when she lost a title match to Beth Phoenix at No Mercy, her push stopped and Candice appeared on TV less and less. She is currently out with an ankle injury and it is unknown if she will recover in time for WrestleMania 25.
I personally think that Candice will be able to return at WrestleMania, especially if the WWE is so desperate for Divas that they are letting Santino in the match. Her time on Raw since returning from the second injury to her clavicle as greatly put a damper on her career. She was heavily pushed as the top face on Raw back in 2007, which was Candice’s golden year if you ask me. WWE has decided to push the likes of Raw Divas like Kelly Kelly, so Candice is really taking a backseat to other Divas. Her new ankle injury can’t help her in any way in trying to revive her character. I don’t think there’s any way Candice can win this match assuming she participates.
If there’s any way she wants to revive her character, I think she needs to get off Raw and head to SmackDown again, where she can play the #2 face behind Gail Kim and have a chance to compete for the Divas Championship. If she stays on Raw, she will never be put over the likes of Melina and Kelly as a face. She has garnered the reputation as very injury-prone, so I don’t think being in the ring with fierce competitors like Beth Phoenix will do her any favors. I do hope she participates at WrestleMania and can save her career, but she desperately needs something new like a trade to SmackDown.
Candice Michelle’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Low
This week’s ECW and SmackDown spoilers are below:
ECW
Nikki Bella def. Brie Bella after a distraction by John Morrison.
SmackDown
Gail Kim & Maria def. Maryse & Michelle McCool. Gail pinned Maryse after hitting her with a neckbreaker.
With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.†This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,†Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… pump yourselves up for Raw Diva Jillian!
Diva: Jillian Hall
Real Name:Â Jillian FletcherÂ
Hometown:Â Ashland, Kentucky
Birthday: September 6, 1980
Brand: Raw
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 130 lbs.
Finisher: High Note (450 Splash), Boob Job (choke in breasts), Crash Test (cartwheel into vertical splash), Lifting Sitout Full Nelson Bulldog
WWE Debut: July 28, 2005 edition of SmackDown
Career Highlights: Her album Jingle With Jillian reached #120 in the US and #76 in the UK, BWCW Women’s Champion, CIW Indy Women’s Champion, FEW Women’s Champion, GLORY Champion, HPW Women’s Champion, HPW Cruiserweight Champion, MCW Mid-American Champion, PGWA Champion, SSW Women’s Champion, SWF Tag Team Champion, SWF Women’s Champion, WWA Women’s Champion, named #34 of the 50 best female wrestlers of 2008 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated
“Did You Know?†Fact: I bet you didn’t know Jillian won half of those Championships! It has also been rumored that Jillian’s singing gimmick was done to make fun of Brooke Hogan
Jillian entered the wrestling business back in 1998, after attending Finlay’s wrestling school where she was trained by Dave Finaly himself. Her big break came when the WWE signed her to a developmental contract in the spring of 2003, where she further trained in OVW. While in OVW, Jillian worked initially as a face before eventually turning heel. The change was right after Jillian got her first plastic surgery done, a boob job, accompanied by straightening her hair and bleaching it platinum blonde, and the story went that her boob job leaked into her brain and caused her to go psychotic. She worked with her bodyguard, Melissa Coates, attacking face Divas in OVW by putting rubbing alcohol in their faces (hmm… Beautiful People and their hairspray anyone?)
In July of 2005, Jillian was called up to SmackDown and joined the Divas roster as an image consultant, first to MNM and then to John “Bradshaw” Layfield after he lost to Rey Mysterio (who are coincidentally in a match again at WrestleMania 25). While with JBL, her “growth” was bitten off her face by The Boogeyman. When JBL fired her after she accidentally slammed a cage door in his face, Jillian began competing on SmackDown. Her first feud was with Stacy Keibler, and Jillian defeated Stacy in Stacy’s final WWE matchup on Velocity. She also feuded with the likes of Melina, Kristal, and Michelle McCool (all of whom she defeated at one point), before turning on her partner, Ashley Massaro, when Ashley posed for Playboy in February 2007. She wanted to show that she was better than Ashley and didn’t have to take her clothes off, which is when her singing gimmick initially began. This was also during the time of Timbaland’s music video shoot for Throw It On Me, which Jillian was not featured in. She tried to impress him in the audience by singing (horribly). The gimmick has stuck with her ever since as she hasn’t turned face since that time period, much less had any character development. By the way, is it weird that I actually don’t mind her singing voice?
The feud between Ashley and Jillian continued until Ashley’s “suspension” and Jillian was eventually sent to Raw in the 2007 Draft. On Raw, Jillian won her Raw debut by teaming with Melina to take on Mickie and Candice. Then, she feuded with Mickie James, beating her in singles and tag team action on a few occasions. Jillian resumed her singing gimmick, even engaging in a rivalry with Lilian Garcia. On November 19, 2007, Jillian was the focus of a lot of the wrestling world’s attention when she executed a 450 splash onto Melina (intended for Maria), a move which had been allegedly banned in the WWE. Since then, Jillian has feuded with virtually every Diva on the Raw roster, losing most of the matches.
Jillian Hall is the original jobber, and I admire her for sticking around as long as she has. She is without a doubt in my mind the most under utilized Diva in the WWE, which is a shame if you look at the amount of experience she has and success under her belt. She clearly won’t be Miss WrestleMania, considering she hasn’t even won a singles match in probably a year. I just don’t get how someone as decorated an athlete as she is gets mistreated so poorly by the WWE while Divas like Maria and Candice get over-pushed. The only flaw I see in Jillian is her lip-injection, because I think she was much better looking before it and now she looks like pouty Maria. Poor Jillian, poor poor jobbing Jillian. Let’s all hope that 2009 is the year Jillian finally gets some recognition, a championship, or at least a few wins. Maybe even a draft to SmackDown and a run with the Divas Title would be fitting. She really deserves it, although for now, she’s going to be singing her way to another loss at WrestleMania. Too bad there isn’t a Slammy for the most under-utilized, unappreciated Diva!
Jillian’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Low
In a follow up to last year’s oh-so-successful 16 Diva tag team match, we’re getting two more thrown in tonight! Yes, that’s right… tonight’s Raw will see an 18 Diva tag team match.
I have to admit, I kinda saw this coming but thought “No, even they must have boundaries.” Guess not.
EDIT: Please use this post to discuss tonight’s Raw.
In an 18 Diva tag team match, Tiffany got the win for the babyfaces when she pinned Katie Lea. Following the match, Santino came out and showed off his ‘mankini’ which resulted in all of the Divas attacking him and throwing him out of the ring.
Melanie’s Thoughts
Tiffany? Tiffany? And what a waste of Gail Kim‘s in-ring return for the company. Is it just me or did she look out of place/uncomfortable with all the other Divas? I’m going to have to get used to seeing her with this crowd.
Today, we have a mixed tag team match from the fourteenth WrestleMania:
She doesn’t have a profile page yet, but she’s got a photoshoot! SmackDown Diva, Gail Kim is the latest addition to the basketball themed March Madness photoshoots, that go way over my head. I live in the UK, so I don’t find it all quirky and fun, I find it lame. Lame.
With the abundance of crappy photos of Divas in basketball jerseys, I sure am glad March is nearly over!
Anyway, check out Gail’s pictures below:
If I was a boy, I’d be feeling pretty happy right now.
In a prelude to Hardy vs Hardy conflict at WrestleMania, we’ll be getting a Bella vs Bella match tomorrow night on ECW! Brie (the good one) will take on Nikki (the bad one).
Now all we need is a Jerry Springer like twist (“I slept with your boyfriend and am now pregnant by him” sounds effective) and this one’s good to go.
With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.†This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,†Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… golf claps for SmackDown Diva Maria!
Diva: Maria
Real Name: Maria Kanellis
Hometown: Chicago, IllinoisÂ
Birthday: February 25, 1982
Brand: SmackDown
Height:Â 5’7″
Weight:Â 120 lbs.
Finisher: Beautiful Bulldog (Running Bulldog)
WWE Debut: November 1, 2004
Career Highlights: Placed 5th in the 2004 Diva Search, Playboy Covergirl (April 2008), competed on reality show Outback Jack in 2004, ranked #29 out of the 50 best female wrestlers by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, ranked the 84th sexiest woman of 2008 by FHM magazine, has appeared on Family Feud, Project Runway, Sunset Tan, and VH1’s Top 20 Video Countdown
“Did You Know?†Fact: Maria, who regularly competed in beauty pageants, was first asked to pose for Playboy when she was 19 years old, but turned down the offer several times. She also dated CM Punk for a period of time, though the relationship is now over
If there was ever a Diva we love to hate, it would be Ashley Maria. As a huge supporter of the Divas, there is always bound to be that one lemon that gets the brunt of the negative attention; for me, this Diva is Maria. I just can’t grasp why someone who has minimal wrestling experience, can’t really act, hasn’t really developed character-wise in 5 years, and only puts on a minimally passable wrestling match once in a blue moon has gone as far as Maria has, passing other Divas who deserve it a lot more than she does.Â
The 2004 Diva Search was how Maria got her break into the WWE. Her notorious elimination was probably how she really got the attention of the WWE and subsequently, a job. When her elimination was announced, she turned and gave Carmella DeCesare the finger before exiting the ring. The WWE sent her down to OVW following the Diva Search, but all she did was contribute booking ideas to director Paul Heyman. She was then sent to Raw as the clueless backstage interviewer, asking dumb questions and irritating Superstars and Divas alike. One time, she was even slapped by Trish Stratus so hard that one of her fillings fell out! Her first matchup was on Raw of January 10, 2005, where she lost a Lingerie Pillow Fight to 2004 Diva Search winner, Christy Hemme.
Throughout 2006 and early 2007, Maria wrestled on and off in the ring, often feuding with Melina and Vince’s Devils: Victoria, Candice, and Torrie Wilson. In June of 2007, Maria engaged in an on-screen relationship with Santino Marella, playing the role of a neglected girlfriend. Ashley Massaro‘s return to the WWE in 2008 began the Maria-Playboy storyline, where Ashley suggested that Maria pose for the magazine, angering Santino. On February 18, 2008, Maria defeated Beth Phoenix to earn the right to pose for Playboy. Santino had enough and gave Maria an ultimatum, him or Playboy. Maria chose Playboy and the relationship with Santino was over. Maria and Ashley lost to Beth and Melina at WrestleMania XXIV. August 1, 2008 saw the debut of Maria on SmackDown. She won the right to face Michelle and Maryse on various occasions for the Divas Title, but always came up short.
As JR would say, “bless her heart,” but no matter how hard I try I can’t force myself to like Maria. She calls herself a fashion designer and an aspiring singer, but why doesn’t she put WRESTLER on this list? Her fashion choices are horrifying 90% of the time, and what bugs me is how she intentionally does this to “stand out.” Her ring outfits are no less tragic. Her pouting in pictures really irks me as well; Maria, you’re not a model, you’re in the WWE! World… Wrestling… Entertainment! The biggest mistake was letting Maria out of OVW so early to head to Raw. She should’ve stayed there until she was trained to wrestle like every other Diva. Just throwing her in the ring for 4 years won’t turn the ugly duckling into a swan; just look at her matches on SmackDown. Or better yet, just look at her post-match run in attack against Michelle McCool, otherwise known as her infamous arm-flailing slap attack.
What’s even more annoying is that the WWE continues to push her above other Divas. While Natalya walks to the ring as a manger, Maria is getting title shots. Why is this acceptable? She is even expected to have an eventual title run with the Divas Championship before she intends on heading back to Raw and winning the Women’s Championship. What’s worse is that I can totally see her “winning” the Divas Championship in the future, just because the WWE likes her so much. Why? I’ll never understand. All she’s done since entering the WWE 5 years ago is act brainless and take a million pictures on WWE.com. Send Maria to FCW and push a Diva who deserves it like Katie Lea, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Jillian… the list goes on and on. If she can get her act together, I’m all for having her around. But really, she doesn’t deserve what she’s gotten so far just because she posed for Playboy.
Just for the sole fact that WWE is in love with Maria so much and a lot of male fans cheer for her since she’s sooooo “hot,” I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Maria won the Battle Royal at WrestleMania. It’s all the ingredients to a typical WWE set-up: attractive Diva, no real wrestling ability, popular among (male) fans, over-pushed, and would make absolutely no sense to do. Â
Maria’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Moderate
While WrestleMania’s 25 Diva battle royal might be a dream come true for some Diva fans, its a train wreck waiting to happen for most. What happened to the good ol’, one-on-one matchups. Well for the next few weeks leading up to WrestleMania, Diva Dirt will be bringing you the Wrestlemania dream matches that we wish would happen or might even happen in the future. Welcome to WrestleMania Fantasy Face-Off!
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Match 3: Maryse vs Michelle McCool vs Gail Kim in a Triple Threat Elimination Match for the Divas ChampionshipÂ
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The Setup:
The week after winning the Divas Championship, Maryse has a huge celebration set up. ‘The Sexiest of the Sexy’ comes to the ring flanked by 6 men in suits, holding her newly won butterfly belt. She complains that things are not ‘sexy enough’. She gestures to her man-tourage, who promptly rip off the top halves of their suits to reveal massive biceps and ripped abs. ‘That’s better’ she says with a mischievous grin. She goes on, saying she’s the top diva on Smackdown and there’s not a diva on Smackdown that holds a candle to her. She’s interrupted by unfamiliar music. Gail Kim comes out and the crowd goes wild. Maryse looks outraged and starts yelling in rapid french.Â
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Gail gets on the mic and tells Maryse that she better enjoy the title while she can, because plans on taking it off of her hands. Maryse tells her to come get it and Gail runs to the ring. The two Divas brawl. Gail leaves Maryse laid out in the middle of the ring and holds the belt over her head.Â
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The next week Gail teams up with Maria to take on Maryse and Natalya. Gail pins Maryse for the win, but is attacked by Michelle McCool. Backstage Michelle tells Eve that she deserves a rematch and she not going to let some has-been take that away from her. Two weeks later McCool takes on Gail. Towards the end McCool hits the Faith Breaker and goes for the pin. Gail gets her foot on the bottom rope, but the ref doesn’t see it and counts the three. Gail complains to Vickie Guerrero and she grants her a rematch.Â
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The next week Gail takes on McCool again with Maryse at ringside. The match is thrown out when Maryse attacks Gail. Maryse and Michelle join forces to assault Gail until someone comes from the back to assist her. It’s Angela Fong! Angela takes out the two heels and helps Kim to her feet. The next week Gail introduces Angela as her little sister, Alana Kim. The sister duo take on Michelle and Maryse that night for a win. Vickie comes out after the match and announces that the Divas Championship will be defended at WrestleMania in a Elimination Match and both McCool and Kim will be involved.Â
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The Outcome:Â
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Out first is Gail, accompanied by Alana, to huge pop. Next is McCool to lots of heat. Finally is the champ, Maryse to a mix of boos and cat-calls. The bell rings and the two heels go straight for Kim. They work on her for a few minutes before tying her up in The Tree of Woe. They take turns kicking her until Michelle welcomes Maryse to finish her off. Maryse goes for the baseball slide only to be clotheslined by McCool. Pin and kickout at two. Alana goes to untie Gail and is attacked by Michelle. Maryse uses the distraction to roll Michelle up for the three. Michelle McCool eliminated.Â
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Gail finally gets her wits about her and goes on the offensive. The Divas exchange forearms until Maryse kicks Gail’s knee, sending her to the mat. Maryse stays in control, despite a offensive flurry by Gail. Irish Whip by Maryse and out of nowhere, Gail locks in the Headscissors Armbar in the middle of the ring. Maryse reaches for the ropes desperately, but can’t make it. Gail wins via submission. Alana runs in the ring and the sisters celebrate.Â
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What do you think? Would you tune in or tune out? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Do we have a possible new favorite photoshoot subject? Take a look at this shoot, and you be the judge. At first glance, it’s quite obvious that Alicia Fox was going for a hippy look in her new photoshoot, “Camo for the Camera”. With the braids that double as a headwrap, shaggy boots, cutoff denim skirt, and plethora of earth tones, she might as well have a giant peace sign painted on her face. Though the camouflage vest kind of goes against that look (the military and the hippies didn’t get along so well, if I recall correctly), it’s pretty cute altogether. And I must say I appreciate the fact that she’s not going all Miley Cyrus/MySpace girl on us and flashing a peace sign in every photo. Alicia is slowly building up an impressive series of photoshoots – perhaps one day she could be one of the top photoshoot gals – but I do think she needs to mix it up a bit. She’s always looking so “cute”, and it’d be nice to see her show a little range and deviate from that a bit. But for now, I’m satisfied with wanting to put her in my pocket.
The Queen of the Ring tournament is underway! Which Diva will be crowned the ultimate Queen of the Ring for 2009? You decide! Vote for your favourite Divas as we narrow down 16 beautiful and talented women down to just one! It’s a hard job, but the power lies in you, the Diva Dirt audience!
SEMI-FINALS
It is now time for the semi-finals of our Queen of the Ring competition! These four Divas have outlasted 12 other beautiful and talented women to get this far! And by WrestleMania Sunday, only one will be left to be crowned Queen of the Ring!
Voting for the semi-finals ends on Thursday, when voting for the grand final begins!
Matches are:
– Lita vs Victoria
– Mickie James vs Trish Stratus
Vote after the jump:
With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.†This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,†Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… introducing Raw Diva Rosa Mendes!
Diva: Rosa Mendes
Real Name: Milena Roucka
Hometown:Â Vancouver, British Columbia
Birthday: October 25, 1979
Brand: Raw
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 125 lbs.
Finisher: Slingshot Inverted Suplex Slam, La Loca Neckbreaker (Flying Neckbreaker)
WWE Debut: November 24, 2008 edition of Raw
Career Highlights: Placed 4th in the 2006 Diva Search, OVW Women’s Champion, won the Piel Dorada modeling contest, been in commercials for Trident and Lux Soap, named #43 out of the top 50 female wrestlers of 2008 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated
“Did You Know?†Fact: Milena has several PlayStation 2 video game characters modeled after her including Izzy in “Need For Speed” as well as in “Most Wanted.” In addition, prior to making her WWE debut, she said she would prefer to be on Raw and would pick Beth Phoenix as the Diva she’d most like to work with… guess that turned out well!
Rosa jumped onto the wrestling scene when she participated in the 2006 Diva Search. Although she didn’t win the competition, she finished 4th overall. Just a few days after her elimination, WWE handed her a developmental contract and she was sent to OVW to begin training.
After serving as a manager in OVW for some time, Rosa captured the OVW Women’s Championship in a 6-way matchup in September of 2007. Once winning, she had an ongoing feud with Katie Lea who she would eventually lose the title to. Only a few weeks passed by after losing her OVW gold when OVW and WWE severed ties, and Rosa was one of the lucky ones who was sent over to FCW where she continued her training. In November of 2008, Rosa appeared as a planted Beth Phoenix super-fan in the audience. Finally, after jumping the rail and attacking Melina, Glamarella appointed Rosa Mendes as their new intern, a role she continues to have to the present day.
I’m pretty sure we can all agree that Rosa Mendes won’t walk away next Sunday as the first ever Miss WrestleMania. This is going to be her official in-ring debut for the WWE, and since she has never even stepped in the ring, there’s pretty much no chance of her winning. I think WrestleMania will serve Rosa in a different way: by giving her much needed character development.
Since she appeared on Raw, Rosa hasn’t done anything noteworthy except interfere in a couple of matches and attack a few of the Raw face Divas. She’s been acting like a caged animal ready to pounce on anyone who opposes Beth Phoenix, and now she will finally have the chance to get in the ring. Also, Divas like Melina and Kelly Kelly will finally have the chance for some payback against her. We’ve all seen the crazy fan-gone wrestler storyline about 3 times now (Tori, Mickie James, and now Rosa) and I think besides that it is getting really old, it isn’t even a beneficial storyline since it keeps Rosa out the ring for so long.
At WrestleMania, Rosa will finally be able to step in the ring and become an active Diva of the roster, similar to Tiffany’s situation. Plus, I may be going out on a limb here, but I’m predicting something to happen between Beth and Rosa. Having Rosa as Beth’s little useless sidekick is a waste of character and storyline, in my opinion. It’s also gotten old and run it’s course, and if I were Creative, I’d split these two up. I’m thinking Beth might run crazy and eliminate two or three Divas within a minute or two, and Rosa will be one of them. After all, it’s every Diva for herself in a match like this, though there isn’t a real prize other than bragging rights. The Creative Team could also have Rosa forgiving Beth for eliminating her, that way Rosa will have some more time under Beth’s wing to get “experience” since after all, her gimmick on TV is that she’s just a fan, not a wrestler.
There could even be a twist up, where Rosa will want to leave Glamarella for feeling under-utilized. She could turn on Beth by eliminating her and this way Beth’s character won’t be hurt or seen as weak since Rosa tricked her. One scenario I kind of like is having Rosa turn out to be related to Melina. After all, they could pass as relatives. And who knows, maybe Rosa Mendes will get a new name because I really don’t like the name Rosa Mendes. At any rate, if you ask me, Rosa Mendes will not be Miss WrestleMania this year.
Rosa Mendes’ Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Low
Today, we have a Women’s Championship match from the very first WrestleMania:
