Raw Divas, Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly got the Superstars treatment this week and delivered a very decent bout, considering this show is overlooked by most. Watch below:
With no stupid skits to contend with, WWE Superstars usually consists of 3-4 matches filling up 42 minutes. That generally works out to 8-10 minutes per segment and thus the Divas get a little more time on this show. And that was definitely the case for Beth and Kelly, they got some more time in the ring than they would on Raw and used it decently. Look, I’m not going to rave about the match — it was decent but it was pretty much a standard Beth-Kelly match and nothing groundbreaking than what we’ve seen before.
I know my colleague, Erin uses the term ‘spot monkey’ to describe Kelly, however I have tried to reserve judgement over the past few months and waited for a match like this. And by that I mean, usually we see Kelly in tag matches or multi-woman matches where her style is suited because of the length of the matches [usually 3 minutes] or because of the amount of girls trying to get in their spots. But in a singles match, especially with a little more time than she would usually get, I am now in total agreement with the suggestion that Kelly is a spot monkey. In a lengthier match, you expect the stars to try and pace themselves and lead into big spots and a big finish, but there was none of that here. It was one spot after another and I am unconvinced that Kelly even knows the basic mat skills that make up a wrestler’s DNA.
Sure her spots may look good on television, the hurricanranas and backflips and all — but that doesn’t translate to being a good wrestler. Let us not become jaded by the exciting moves that she does. I was hoping that she would be able to show that she does have the basic skills and can hang in there with Beth Phoenix without resorting to all her usual spots.
Instead of going through the match move-by-move, I think I’ll do a ‘count the spots’ instead: kick into a backflip [which she messed up for the first time, I think]; a leap over Beth using the corner; going from the backslide into another backflip; hurricanrana into rollup, crossbody to the outside; hold up did she just attempt Melina‘s Last Call?; a tilt-a-whirl hurricanrana; another crossbody and a handspring elbow. That’s 10 spots in one match. There is sometimes too much of a good thing but obviously Kelly didn’t get that memo. If you’re going to use those types of moves, it’s best kept in moderation so it can add some ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ the match; having a match filled with those spots doesn’t make them special anymore.
It seems that the basic moves that Kelly attempted in this match including the forearms, a few kicks to Beth’s legs, a drop toe hold and a dropkick, were utterly unconvincing. If you go back and watch it, those forearm shots looked really weak, that dropkick was equally weak and thus I believe it’s a fair assessment of Kelly to suggest that she is a spot monkey.
The end sees Beth capitalise for victory with the Glam Slam, nicely executed by Phoenix and sold by Kelly. I’m glad to see that Beth is picking up wins here and there and being built slowly back up to the stature she was once at. It’s a good idea to keep her strong in the background, while Mickie James and Gail Kim battle over the Divas Championship. She seems like the likely contender for whoever is the champion when that ends.
Decent match this week, the equivalent of a ‘popcorn movie’ I’d say. High explosions, not much substance but enjoyable if you check your brain out.
I feel like this Redux should also come with a disclaimer, before the jaded marks attack me for ~bashing Kelly~
