The Divas Championship will be on the line at this Sunday’s Over the Limit pay per view when Eve Torres defends against Maryse. Eve defeated Maryse for the belt last month on an episode of Raw emanating from London, England. Join us Sunday at 7.45pm ET for our Over the Limit live blog.
Spoilers for Thursday’s episode of Impact below. Click the ‘show’ link to see:
Melanie’s thoughts ater the cut:
This is a bittersweet day for me and I’m sure a lot of readers will share my sentiments. The Knockouts division is on a decline and last night it lost one of its best performers. We knew it was coming, but that didn’t help dull the sting. Tara put her career on the line against Madison Rayne‘s Knockouts Championship and the champion walked away with the victory. Our last TNA images of Tara will forever be her being escorted from the ring by a security guard but the effect and impression she left on us fans will always be remembered.
The Knockout portion of Sacrifice begins with the Knockouts Tale of the Tape. They have a cute little joke up about how these BP spill gold, not oil. For some reason, I didn’t laugh. Maybe it’s because the oil spill has basically threatened all the businesses in my little town and that indirectly threatens my job, and yeah. Oil spill jokes equal not funny. They also mention that this is Madison’s chance to prove herself and that this could be the last time we ever see Tara. Speaking of, the former Knockouts Champion is the first woman to make her way to the ring. Now in my opinion, she already seemed a little emotional. I don’t know if it’s just me, but she seemed to sense that this was it, basically, and you could tell in her face and in her eyes. She savours her ring entrance and then her music is cut and replaced by that belonging to the Beautiful People.
The lovely trio makes their way to the ring and for once, all three look classy and gorgeous (ignore Velvet’s bra straps showing, plz). Lacey wows me in her maxi dress and I really like Madison’s top. They do their usual shtick must to Tara’s annoyance and once that’s all said and done, Madison decides to send the girls to the back. She wants to go at this alone and Velvet’s unsure. Madison reassures them both that everything is fine and as Lacey and Velvet are trying to leave, Tara attacks Madison from behind and sends her spilling out of the ring. It takes a second for Madison to gather her bearings but she does just in time and bounces up to fight back at Tara. She punches her a few times and then sends her back into the ring. Madison looks fairly confident and takes her time getting back in the ring. Tara greets her, rudely, but Madison is able to get control back and she levels Tara with a vicious kick to the face.
Spoiler for an upcoming taping of TNA Impact below:
A movie starring Raw Diva, Gail Kim which was filmed in 2005 when she was still with TNA, is finally getting a DVD release in the United States on July 20th. Ninja’s Creed, previously titled Royal Kill, will be available on DVD from July 20th. You can pre-order it now at Amazon.com. The movie stars … Read more
Recap of last night’s episode below, courtesy of our friends at Maria Kanellis Online. Please head over there for more including pictures and videos from the show!
This week’s week’s episode started with the 5 remaining contestants in the suite, celebrating. Sadly the celebration didn’t last long because Mr. Trump asked everyone to come back to the boardroom almost immediately. Once everyone was good and seated, Mr. Trump congratulated everyone for making it this far, then followed up by saying that someone was going to be fired right now. The 4 remaining players will then be interviewed by last year’s winner, Joan Rivers and the first ever Apprentice winner Bill Lansing before 2 more people are also fired.
Mr. Trump then began asking each of them why they shouldn’t be fired, Maria butted in during Curtis’ speech where he mentioned going out on his own at 21. Saying that they all started working for their dreams at a young age, then mentioning how she began modeling at 15. When Trump asked her if she should be fired, she quickly told him no because she’s not afraid of working hard and wants to keep fighting til the end. Almost everyone was then asked who they thought the weakest player was, Holly quickly answered that she thought Maria was the weakest. She said that she believed that Maria doesn’t come from the purest of places, that she never hesitates to basically throw everyone under the bus to save herself in the boardroom. Maria seemed to let her comments roll off her back, saying that she never says anything that isn’t supportive and then going on to say that she knows Holly has had a hard life and that she respects her. Sharon also thought Maria was the weaker player.
Canadian wrestler, Cherry Bomb is to get a tryout before WWE’s Monday Night Raw taping tonight. Cherry Bomb, real name Laura Dennis, is 23 years old and has previously wrestled at SHIMMER events on the pre-show, SPARKLE. Tonight’s Raw emanates from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, home of Gail Kim and the legendary Trish … Read more
Welcome to this week’s edition of Unwrapped! As always, we will be grading all of the new photoshoots (or “eye candy”, as we like to call them) from the week gone by, judging them like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
You, the reader, will also get the chance to grade the “eye candy” yourself by giving your opinion on each shoot and voting for your favorite out of the whole bunch. Now, dive in!
Beth Phoenix’s Lady in Red
Grade: Sweet. Beth Phoenix may have had a short stint as the current reigning Women’s Champion, but at least she left a pretty decent photshoot in her wake! This attire is possibly the most appealing Beth has in her repertoire. Luckily, the red-and-black combination photographs just as well as it looks on television. A couple of the poses are more imaginative than your typical stone-faced vogue-ing. These bits of playfulness and cheerfulness show a different (and more pleasant) side to the Glamazon.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Natalya’s Change of Hart
Grade: Bland. The title of this photoshoot may serve to be ironic as there appears to be little to no variety between Natalya’s photos. This is your typical series featuring Natalya donning her Hart badge of honor. It is not quite ‘sour’ as she earns points for consistency (not to mention color coordination)! However, what Natalya’s portfolio could use is a little less pink and a little bit more imagination.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Former Knockouts Champion, Tara‘s career in TNA came to an end tonight when she lost a Career vs Title Match against the reigning Knockouts Champ, Madison Rayne. This marks the end of Tara’s one year stint in TNA which began on the May 28th episode of Impact last year. She leaves the company as a … Read more
Tonight at TNA’s Sacrifice pay per view, it’s ‘Career vs Title’ as Tara challenges Madison Rayne for the Knockouts Championship. Will Tara’s TNA career come to an end or will she become a four time Knockouts Champ? Tune in on pay per view to find out. We’ll be live-tweeting coverage on our Twitter page, also. … Read more
Will tonight be Tara’s last stand? The veteran Knockout puts her career on the line against Madison Rayne all in a bid to become the Knockouts Champion. The stakes have never been higher for the Knockouts — it’s Title vs Career tonight. Who will win? The Diva Dirt team weigh in… Cryssi: Out of all … Read more
Divas beware, we judge what you wear! Welcome to the Diva Dirt Style Jury. We compile the looks from the week gone by and mark each look on a scale of 1-10. At the end of the scoring, we work out the combined score for each look and the Diva with the highest combined score is our winner and the Diva with the lowest combined score is our loser.
A few rules: We only judge outfits/ring attire that we haven’t judged before or we have already seen several times on TV before. If a Diva is seen in more than one outfit in any given week, we mark them as ‘#1’, ‘#2’ and so forth.
So, let the proverbial runway show begin!
ALICIA FOX
Cryssi: Love how Foxxy can get away with the simplest little outfits. This one is better than last week’s IMO. I love the color, the length, and the way it clings to her body. Alicia’s hair is pretty and since I’m a big fan of headbands, I’m going to give her an extra point for that! 8.5/10
Erin: I like that she’s getting a consistent theme going with her cute rompers. I’ve liked the ones she’s worn before and this one is no exception. The green is gorgeous. I hope she keeps this trend going, because this is the type of look you don’t see Divas wearing too often. Any opportunity for a Diva to separate herself from the pack (in a good way) is something to take advantage of. 9/10
Melanie: Much prefer this to last week’s romper. The colours are really nice and reminds you of spring. Cute. 8/10
Steven: Another week, another romper for Alicia. While I’m slowly beginning to like the romper, I’m hating these patterns that she’s picking. They remind me cheap wallpaper. Don’t these things come in colors?! 5/10
Tiffany: I’ve been digging Alicia’s fashion efforts as of late. Her style is not typical, but I think she pulls it off well. 7/10
EVE TORRES
Cryssi: The Diva’s Champ sure does love her little cropped tops, doesn’t she? I guess if I had her stomach, I’d rock that look too. I like this week’s outfit a lot better than last week. My love affair with the color black probably makes this better than what it is. Eve rocks yet another great pair of jeans and the leather looking top is nice as well. She looks a bit bad ass without looking to over the top. She didn’t really need the necklace, and I think her hair would have looked better straight. But all in all, not bad. 7/10
Erin: I didn’t really like her crop top from last week, and this one isn’t much better, but at least it’s got a bit of an edge to it, it being black leather and all. I think I’d like it better if it was a vest instead of some tank top/vest hybrid. As is, it kind of makes me want to ask her where her Harley’s parked. 5/10
Melanie: Not feeling ‘Biker Babe’ Eve. It just looks like the top is wearing her and not the other way around. 4/10
Steven: I know WWE is into dressing the Divas in skintight clothing, but Eve looks like she’s one deep breath away from busting out of that leather vest. That said, she pulls off the leather top look better than most Divas that have tried it. 8/10
Tiffany: Somehow, I feel like I’ve seen this outfit on Eve like 5 times already. I didn’t like it the first time! I wish she’d learn to dress more for her body type. Sorry but, this style is not flattering. It just does not fit well on her. In other words: does she prefer “fashion victim” or “ensembly-challenged?” 4/10
Read on for more of this week’s outfits and to see who’s been branded our winner and loser.
The bartender could tell something was wrong. “You doing OK, man?”
I just kept shaking my head and staring at the ground in disbelief. Finally I said “Man, this started out as such a perfect night…” but it was barely loud enough for him to hear.
“What’s the matter dude? You’re in New Orleans…laissez le bon temps rouler!” I wanted to have fun, I wanted to “let the good times roll”, but instead I felt like I just got “coups de pied dans les noix.” (Translation – if you’re a guy that hurts.)
Seriously, it should have been a perfect night. I was strolling around Bourbon Street drinking a cold beer, the weather was beautiful and life was good. No problems at home, the job was fine, and Beth was the WWE Women’s Champion (I have always contended we are co-holders of the title, but that’s just a technicality). Then I thought I’d jump into a local bar, grab a refill, and check the Diva Dirt SmackDown spoilers. Just wanted to make sure my girl was still the champ after the Tuesday night tapings. Then I read the news… a 2-on-1 title match, Vickie’s back, a confusing ending, Michelle or Layla wearing the belt… what?!?! All I knew was that Beth wasn’t the champion anymore and I felt like my heart would explode from my chest. Not so much because she lost the title…but because I knew what this really meant – something was seriously wrong with her knee. “OH MERDE!” (Translation – very, very not good!)
The bartender said, “Hey, umm, can I get you a beer?”
I put my head in my hands and said, “Nah, I’ll take a Johnny Daniels over ice.”
“You mean Jack Daniels, right?”
I looked at him and mumbled, “He may be Jack to you, but when you’ve known him as long as I have…”
The bartender poured the drink and said, “Wow, you must really be upset about something.”
“You don’t understand, man, it wasn’t supposed to go down like this…I didn’t even get to write my Extreme Rules column yet.” Being that we were in New Orleans, lord knows what the bartender thought that meant. But I thought I had a few weeks you know? I wanted to be able to let the moment sink in and then write a coherent, entertaining column about one of the most exciting nights of my life. Now, the moment had passed, Beth had a severe knee injury, and Baltimore, MD seemed like a 100 years ago. The bartender said, “OK, then this one is on the house, you look pretty bummed out. Decu dans le Big Easy.” (Translation – I’m the only loser in New Orleans not having fun.) I looked back down at the floor and just kept thinking, “Did I jinx her? In some cosmic supernatural way did writing that stupid column about Melina’s injury cause Beth to blow out her knee?!” I don’t know.
That Lilian Garcia! Anyone would think she’s out to induce use into a nostalgia-steeped coma. Yesterday, we saw her reunited with former Women’s Champion, Lita at the Motor City Comic Con in Detroit and today, they’ve found another old friend. Today, Lilian posted a picture of the duo with fellow former Women’s Champion, Molly Holly … Read more
Three-time WWE Women’s Champion, Beth Phoenix has posted a lengthy blog on her injury, which as reported earlier in the week was much more severe than first thought — Phoenix tore her ACL. She writes: Two weeks ago on Superstars, I had a match against new SmackDown Diva, Rosa Mendes. During the course of the … Read more
Having followed Layla from the beginning of her WWE career all those years ago during the WWE Diva Search, I always saw a certain something in her — I just felt that this girl was something special. Here at Diva Dirt, we’ve championed her for pretty much all of our existence; from her fashion sense, to her ever-improving in-ring skills and the personality that she easily oozes into her matches and skits. Never however, did I think I’d see the day that she’d hold the same belt that has been held by greats such as Trish, Lita and Victoria — especially not this soon.
It’s been a topsy-turvy week for the SmackDown brand; the Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix injured during last week’s taping and this week, the whole landscape of the brand was turned on its head. Watch below:
The segment opens with Rosa Mendes in the ring for a match with the homecoming queen, the Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix appearing before her hometown crowd in Buffalo, New York. The Glamazon gets an amazing response from the crowd… just wow. I don’t think I’ve heard a response like that for a Diva in years! There is some emphasis put on the fact that Beth was hurt during her match with Rosa last week on WWE Superstars, including a close-up on her Tara-like knee brace. Beth is ready to face Rosa but out comes Vickie Guerrero who reveals two things: A) that she is still the Official Consultant of SmackDown despite being the new Raw General Manager and B) that Beth will have to defend her Women’s Championship right now against Michelle McCool who has invoked her rematch clause — but it will also be a handicap match with Layla also in the match. Err, what was the point in having Rosa on the show in the first place? Surely, Vickie could’ve come out first, made her speech and then Beth could have come out? I guess it’s a case of any excuse to get a pretty face on the show…
Out come Team Lay-Cool who mock Beth’s knee injury as the make their way down the ramp. The match begins and we are told that this will be a tornado rules match with both Layla and Michelle in the ring at the same time. Michelle is the first to go after Beth, going right at Beth’s injured knee with a kick and then clubbing her across the back. Michelle applies a side headlock which Beth soon breaks free of and whips Michelle into the ropes and barges her down to the canvas. Meanwhile from behind, Layla is ready for some action but Beth turns around just in time and Layla walks into a clothesline.
So it’s been awhile since I’ve had to do an Impact Write-Up and to be honest, I’ve enjoyed my little vacation from the asinine side show that has become Total Non-Stop Action. I, for one, am incredibly glad that TNA copped out on this whole Monday Night Wars 2.0 thing because they were getting anally raped and not in some sadistic, kinky way. Once upon a time, the Knockouts flourished on Thursday nights. They ran the company with their perfectly manicured hands balled into tiny iron fists. They set the standard for women’s mainstream wrestling and made the Divas seethe with envy over their greatness. If there truly is a wrestling god (I’m talking to you, JBL!) then this move for TNA back to Thursday nights will light a fire under the collective asses of “management” over there and us Knockout fans will get to see our girls shine like the sun on a perfect, late Spring day. No more clouds in the sky for the Knockouts. Use them wisely, TNA. They are your ratings!
How’s that for an intro?
So this week’s Impact is the first official Thursday show, not to mention the last show before TNA Sacrifice. There was a lot of Knockout action tonight and you know, it actually seems slightly interesting. Tara competed not once, but twice tonight against Taylor Wilde and Sarita. The Beautiful People had a backstage segment and Madison Rayne finally told everyone they needed to let the new girl run with the ball and basically just accept the fact she is champion. Velvet Sky continued to be snarky towards Lacey Von Erich, who showed the first signs of what I feel could be a face turn coming in her future. And Chelsea starred in a fun angle that basically dominated the entire show. I hope you guys are ready for all the HKA… hot Knockout action!
The Beautiful People are backstage with Jeremy Borash and it’s basically Madison’s chance to get people hyped up for Sacrifice. She calls Tara out on her ridiculous behavior and psycho-like obsession for the Knockouts Championship. Madison reminds everyone that she is champion now and that basically it’s her turn to run the Knockouts division. Madison puts over the fact that she’s a fresh face for the division and then Velvet chimes in that all the gold will stay where it belongs come Sunday because she says so. Lacey Von Erich, who’s been spastic this entire time, cuts Velvet off before she can finish, steals Velvet’s line, and basically runs off to pee. Velvet gets seriously irritated but Madison gently reminds her that Lacey is really pretty and the segment fades back to the ring area. Tara versus Taylor Wilde is next.
Taylor Wilde is out to the ring first and she has Sarita with her. They do their horrible ring entrance (what’s up with female tag teams having choreographed entrances now?) and then Tara makes her way out. She’s looking fit and feisty, and we get reminded about all the drama she had last week with Taylor and Sarita. Wilde is attempting to look tough at this point and honestly, her acting makes me laugh. She’s like a little poodle who’s trying to stare down a raging bulldog and it’s not going to end pretty for her, I’m sure. The referee orders Sarita out of the ring and now we have two former Knockouts Champions about to go at it.
Tara turns her back to Wilde, and begins to badger Sarita. That gives the Canadian a chance to catch Tara off guard and she fights the bigger woman down to the mat. The referee pulls Taylor off of Tara, and Tara rolls out of the ring. She attempts to collect herself, but Taylor is perched on the ring apron and comes flying off. Tara is taken to the ground, mounted, and punched repeatedly in the face and head. Taylor is once again pulled off Tara and she’s not really overjoyed by it. Tara rolls into the ring and when Taylor follows after her, Tara attempts to take her down. Taylor ducks and takes Tara down with a knee to the abdomen.
Tara backs up to the ropes and begs Taylor to stop. The blonde is understandably weary at this request and motions at Tara to come at her. Tara is pleading with Taylor, saying that they’re friends and whatnot, and all Taylor can do is glare. She’s not buying it and for some reason, she gets the bright idea to charge at Tara. Tara sends her flying through the ropes and Taylor lands on the entrance ramp. Tara gets out of the ring and slams Taylor’s face off the floor only once before tossing her back inside. She grips the ropes and attempts to somersault onto Taylor, but Taylor moves and Tara lands on her pancake!
Taylor springs into action via the middle rope and launches herself off. Tara catches her with a sloppy kick to the stomach but Taylor sells it anyway because that’s her job. Tara goes for the cover and gets the three count, which is a shady ending to a pretty nice little match but oh well. Tara rips off her own kneebrace and begins to beat down Taylor with it. Taylor acts like she’s getting nailed to the cross. Apparently the pain she’s feeling from this post match attack is excruciating. Sarita finally makes the save and Tara bolts, receiving a nice round of applause and a light chant on her way out.
Congratulations to Layla who was crowned the new WWE Women’s Champion on tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. Layla — full name Layla El — makes history by becoming the first British-born Diva to win championship gold in the WWE. She is also the first Diva Search winner to win the prestigious Women’s Championship. El … Read more
This past Monday’s Raw was lacking in actual Divas action, but this week’s episode of WWE Superstars is looking to make up for that. It doesn’t hurt that these matches are consistently longer than their Monday night counterparts, so I’m all for the Thursday night matches. This week, we see Maryse and Jillian taking on Brie and Nikki Bella, I guess in some small way following up Maryse’s defeat of Brie over a week ago. Let’s see if the Bellas manage to get some measure of revenge:
Nikki and Maryse start things off, with Nikki getting in Maryse’s face, Maryse-style, and hitting a leaping snapmare. Nikki immediately goes and tags in Brie, and the two hit a leg split maneuver than sends Maryse flipping backwards. Brie goes for the pin and gets a 2-count. Right out of the pin, Maryse takes control, nailing Brie in the stomach and bringing her to her team’s corner and tagging in Jillian.
Jillian gets some licks in before backing Brie into the ropes, grabbing fistfuls her of hair and talking some trash. She Irish-whips Brie into the ropes, and Nikki makes a sly tag when Brie hits her side of the ring. Brie hits a cross-body off those ropes, allowing Nikki to come in and grab a bridged pin attempt. Jillian kicks out at 2. Nikki maintains control and whips Jillian into the corner, hitting a monkey flip after yelling “Bellas baby!” on the top rope. Not sure if that’s t-shirt worthy, but I appreciate her gusto.
Nikki climbs the turnbuckle but is distracted by Maryse. Jillian takes advantage of this distraction, getting a quick shot on Nikki, hoisting her across her shoulders, and hitting a Samoan drop. Jillian goes for the pin, but only gets 2. She keeps Nikki on the mat, planting a knee into her back and pulling her backwards by her hair. She relents when the referee gets close to the requisite 5-count, and brings Nikki over to her corner, bodyslamming her and tagging in Maryse.
They both hoist up Nikki–Jillian with the hands, Maryse with the feet–and slam her back onto the mat. Maryse tries for the pin, but Nikki kicks out at 2. Maryse goes for a suplex (dangerously close to the ropes.. watch your position, girl!), but Nikki blocks it, pounding Maryse on the back and shoving her into the ropes, sending Nikki to the mat and Maryse all the way to the floor. Wait.. what just happened here? Did both girls get knocked loopy? Anywho, Maryse gets back in the ring, but not quick enough to stop Nikki from tagging in Brie.
Nostalgia is in the air! Not only did we get a peek at Trish back in her trademark blonde tresses, but two fellow Diva alumni, Lilian Garcia and former WWE Women’s Champion Lita reunited today in Detroit for the Motor City Comic Con where the pair are signing autographs. Great to see two of our … Read more
You may remember a few months ago we posted that the legendary 7-time Women’s Champion, Trish Stratus is due to appear in her first movie role in a Canadian picture called ‘Bail Enforcers’. Well, here she is looking armed, loaded and something fierce in the first official promotional pictures for the movie. Stratus, who dyed … Read more
Women Superstars Uncensored has launched its new television series, ‘WSU Uncensored’ via InasecTV.com. The first episode features the current reigning WSU Champion, Mercedes Martinez. Watch below:
Spoilers for this week’s SmackDown below. Read at your own discretion.
TNA Impact returns to Thursday nights with a big go-home show leading into this Sunday’s Sacrifice PPV. Will this be Tara’s final Impact? Tune in at 9pm ET on Spike TV. Discuss the show in the comments!
The Knockouts Champion, Madison Rayne has been making the media rounds in the last few days it seems. This time, she speaks to gaming website IGN on a host of topics including TNA’s move back to Thursday nights which kicks off tonight:
As long as we’re still getting our spot on national TV I think everyone in the company’s got something to be proud of. But personally I think it’s a good move to go back to Thursdays. I don’t feel like we jumped back to Thursdays because we were “running scared” like a lot people have been saying. Or because we couldn’t keep up with the competitor. I don’t think it was that at all. Dixie Carter and the office at TNA talked to the fans and reached out to the people who were important and helped, over seven years, put us where we are. For the most part, wrestling fans are wrestling fans, so TNA being on Monday night was going to hurt both companies. Whereas if there’s a night for the other product – a separate night where TNA can shine – the wrestling fans are going to be happy because they’re going to get to see wrestling almost every night of the week now. I think it’s a good move.
Rayne also comments on outgoing TNA Knockout, Tara — her opponent this Sunday at the Sacrifice PPV — who she says she looked up to [along with Trish Stratus] when she aspired to be a wrestler:
Former TNA Knockouts Champion, Awesome Kong has spoken further on the men vs women pay scale debate in an interview with Sirius Radio’s Busted Open show. The ex-Knockout left TNA partly due to a pay dispute earlier this year. She said: Wrestling does appear to be a man’s sport and in true tradition, women are … Read more