After a week of withdrawal, on this week’s edition of Raw, Diva fans were treated to the match we should have gotten last week: Maryse vs Natalya in a non-title bout. In what I assume is an attempt to make up for the lack of Divas last week, we also got Melina and Eve on guest commentary. Can the third generation Diva and the French-Canadian beauty put on a five star match? Will Melina and Eve get feisty at ringside? Check out the match below and find out:
Out first to the ring first is Maryse, who’s looking fantastic. During her entrance, Cole introduces Eve and an oddly silent Milena, who are ringside on commentary. Next out is Natalya, who practically runs to the ring. Are we short on Diva time already? In the meantime, Cole uses his journalistic prowess to get to the bottom of the issues between Melina and Natalya and is rewarded with icy cold silence from the #1 Contender. Awkward… Cutting his losses, Cole turns his questioning to Eve and brings up the tag match two weeks ago that saw Eve pick up the win over Melina. Eve smoothly deflects the question by talking about thrilled she is to be at ringside for this match. Sure you are…
Interesting anecdote from ROH star, Colt Cabana on his latest Art of Wrestling podcast. Cabana claims that while he was in WWE’s developmental territory a few years ago along with the Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki threatened to quit the company if they weren’t called up to the main roster. During a discussion about his … Read more
In case you missed it on Tuesday night (and you’re forgiven if you did), here’s the double date segment that featured the Bella Twins, Daniel Bryan and his rookie, Derrick Bateman. Continuing the sisterly bickering, Nikki Bella once again showed us just why she is one of the Divas to keep an eye out for … Read more
After a few altercations in the past two weeks, Natalya finally gets to have her way with Melina in a six Diva tag match on this week’s edition of Raw. Will Natalya get the last laugh or will the slap happy Melina take it to the champ once again? Watch below as Nattie, Eve and Brie Bella take on the team of Melina, Maryse and Alicia Fox:
The Divas segment starts off with a replay of the tension between the champ and the #1 contender, which segues nicely into the entrance of Melina’s team. After a quick commercial break, we come back to Nattie’s team in the ring. I can only speak for myself, but I was shocked and confused to see Brie Bella joining Nattie and Eve in this match. With their current storyline with Daniel Bryan, I would have thought there would have been some progression there and Gail Kim would be taking the #3 spot in this match. In any case, the official signals for the bell and Maryse and Brie kick things off for their respective teams.
The Divas once again dusted off their sexy Santa outfits for the annual Tribute to the Troops show taped earlier this month in Fort Hood, TX. It was an 8-Diva tag team match as Kelly Kelly led her helpers – Natalya and the Bell Twins – into battle with Lay-Cool and their helpers, Alicia Fox and a newly-heeled Melina.
Regardez:
Kelly’s team is out first and frankly, I’m not sure why it’s Kelly’s team considering Natalya is the Divas Champion. Surely they should be coming out to her music? Anyhoo, they’re followed by Lay-Cool and co. and we get this match started in front of a huge WrestleMania-sized crowd. I was actually in awe of how long the entrance ramp was and the size of the crowd. Very impressive and generous of WWE to lend their time to all of these troops.
Alicia & Nikki Bella kick things off with A-Fox in control, wrenching Nikki’s arm. Nikki is whipped into the ropes it with a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Fox. Foxy whips Nikki into her corner aggressively and tags out to our new heel Diva, Melina. The former Divas Champ takes control and begins stomping at Nikki before hitting her with some hard, aggressive forearms. Brie tries to come into the ring and make the save but the referee catches her. With the ref distracted, the other heels begin attacking Nikki in their corner and Michelle hits her head against the side of the ring.
This week Raw hosted The Slammys, the night the Superstars and Divas wait all year for. After last year’s upset win by Maria in the category of ‘Diva of the Year, how could WWE top that? That’s right, a battle royal! But first, BFFs Lay-Cool won the “Knucklehead Moment of the Year award”. Check out their acceptance speech and the match below:
Let’s kick things off with the award. To be honest, it was more of the same from Lay-Cool in this segment. I would really love to see some kind of change in Lay-Cool in the new year, because this ‘Mean Girls’ schtick is really being run into the ground. It was amusing at for a while, but like most things in WWE, it’s being overdone at this point. Also, I thought it was very fitting that Layla accepted this award, as she’s the personality of this tandem. After making their speech, Lay-Cool says their about to win another Slammy and head to the ring for the battle royal.
On this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw, Diva fans were treated to a double-shot of action in the form of a mixed tag match featuring Maryse and Ted DiBiase vs the team of Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan, as well as Natalya vs Melina in a non-title bout. First up, the mixed tag team match:
First out are the power couple of Maryse and Teddy, who have had a bit of tension between them in the past couple of weeks. While the million dollar couple prepare inside the ring, we cut backstage to smiling Nikki Bella, who goes to knock on Daniel Bryan’s dressing room door. However, before she can knock, the door opens and Bryan walks out with Brie Bella on his arm. Nikki asks Brie what she’s doing there and is informed that Brie volunteered to be Daniel’s partner tonight. Nikki smiles as her sister walks off with the U.S champ, but her expression quickly turns sour once they’re out of sight.
For the past thirteen weeks we have laughed, cried, cheered, and booed the six rookie Divas who made up season three of NXT. Jamie Keyes, Maxine, Aksana, AJ, Naomi, and Kaitlyn all started with a dream. For some of them, it was a life long dream to be a WWE Diva. For others, it was an opportunity to entertain millions of people in a capacity that they probably never thought would be possible. It was a season of highs and lows, to say the least, and tonight it all culminated with an unlikely winner that yours truly predicted after the very first episode aired.
The show kicked off tonight in atypical fashion. Instead of Blue Eyes in the ring, we were treated to the unfortunate site of Michael Cole. He was somber about what happened on Raw and explained to everyone that he planned on speaking to Jerry Lawler in private about what went down between the two the previous night. Like we really care. Josh Matthews started to speak next. He sent us to Matt Striker (thank God). Striker was in the ring and introduced us to Vickie Guerrero. Vickie screeched her catchphrase “excuse me” as she walked onto the stage. She said that Kaitlyn should thank God that Vickie was her pro because without Vickie, no one would even know Kaitlyn’s name. Kaitlyn walked out, and pro and rookie made their way to the ring. Naomi followed them out and once everyone was settled into the ring, Striker spoke again. He told both girls that after thirteen weeks one of them would have their dream come true. He turned to Naomi and told her that Kelly Kelly taped a message for her. Kelly said that she was on her way overseas to entertain the troops with Eve and the Big Show, and that’s the only reason why she wasn’t there tonight. She sang Naomi’s praises and told her that she was the best rookie anyone could have asked for.
Normally this space is reserved for what either previously happened on NXT or what is going to happen tonight. I have not a clue at this point which it is because our little web show that could left me truly stunned for the first time ever last night. AJ‘s elimination basically sent shockwaves through the WWE Universe and I, for one, was completely blindsided and shocking overcome with emotion. I don’t know AJ personally but her goodbye speech last night was one of the most heartfelt things I’ve ever seen in my life. She truly wanted to be part of the WWE and honestly, she deserves it. She’s stated time and time again that wrestling is her passion; that being a WWE Diva has been her dream since she was a little girl. Watching AJ walk up the ramp in tears last night and embrace Primo really did bring out my girl emotions and those emotions are overflowing right now as I relive this moment. Perhaps it’s my emo Simple Plan music playing in the background. Or maybe it’s due to the fact that I’m just highly emotional right now but AJ leaving NXT is a stunning miscarriage of justice.
Lets take a look at how the night unfolded.
In keeping with tradition, NXT opened up with Matt Striker looking flawless in the middle of the ring. He announced the rookie girls and Kaitlyn, Naomi, and AJ walked out to the ring. As they entered, each girl bent down and selected an air horn which meant that a challenge was looming on the horizon. That was indeed the case as Striker announced that WWE Trivia was about to commence. He ran down how the contest would work and told each girl in the ring that there would be no immunity tonight. Everyone would be fair game and the contest got underway. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how this went. AJ dominated the competion and basically answered every question right but one. That lone one hundred points went to Naomi. The ending tally was in AJ’s favor. She had 1300 points, while Naomi had 100, and Kaitlyn had zero. Striker announced AJ as the winner and told Kaitlyn to hang out inside the ring because she would be in action against Nikki Bella next.
Previously on NXT…
Life without Maxine for NXT as the final tried to impress the pros and WWE Universe in order to secure the votes they needed to stay in the competition. Aksana was given the chance to explain why she left Goldust at the alter, only to be interrupted by Naomi and challenged to a match later on in the evening. Tensions continued to rise between Brie Bella and Nikki Bella as Nikki squared off against AJ in a singles match. Brie’s good twin ways would eventually cost Nikki the match, something the bad twin probably wasn’t to thrilled about. As far as our love triangle goes, well Vickie Guerrero and Kaitlyn ended up in a brawl backstage and boy, was it ever rough! With an elimination hanging over the girls’ heads tonight, what will happen? Lets take a look…
We’re back to normal this week as Matt Striker successfully kicks off the show by introducing the girls. Naomi, Kaitlyn, Aksana, and AJ make their way to the ring and interestingly enough there are no pros on stage tonight. Striker says that there are only two weeks left of the competition and there will be an elimination tonight. He says that immunity is still up for grabs though and the first challenge tonight is called “How Well Do You Know Your Pro.” Basically how this works is Striker will ask a series of questions and the pros and rookies will answer. The rookies are to guess how they feel their pro will answer. The rookie who gets the most points will win the challenge. At this point, AJ and Kaitlyn are tied for immunity with one win apiece. So, Striker brings out the pros. Kelly Kelly, Vickie, Goldust, and Primo Colon enter and the contest gets underway!
The first question is, “When I first saw my rookie, I thought she was …”
The rookies fill in the blanks. AJ says “underage” and her answer matches with Primo who guesses “sixteen years old.” Aksana says “hot” which basically matches with Goldust’s answer of “sexy.” Kaitlyn said Vickie thought that she (Kaitlyn) was “so much prettier than me” and believe it or not that did not match with Vickie’s answer. She said “a man.” Naomi went last and picked the word “athletic” and that’s what Kelly thought. All rookies earned a point but Kaitlyn.
While most Diva fans were expecting the likes of Lita, Trish and Sable to be in attendance for WWE’s ‘Old School’ Raw, WWE truly lived up to the old school aspect of the show and treated us to an impromptu match between the legendary Mae Young and Co-Divas Champions, Lay-Cool. Check out the match and the delightfully un-PG promo that came beforehand:
We start off with “Mean” Gene Okerlund introducing Mae Young. Young comes through the curtain, being propped up accompanied by The Bella Twins to a lukewarm reception from the Hershey, PA crowd. Okerlund goes on to call Mae Young the “Original Diva” (Somewhere, Sunny just leapt off of a bridge) and a picture of Mae Young in her heyday comes up on the TitanTron. Say what you will about me, but Mae Young was freaking hot! Anyhoo, Okerlund give the mic over to Mae, and she says she has been wrestling since she was 17 and plans on wrestling until she’s 100 before Mean Gene takes the mic back.
author’s note; Apologies for the lateness of this Redux. I was asked to work at 8am yesterday morning and usually I do these things in the morning. But I ended up staying at work until close (8pm) and was just far to tired to function when all was said and done!
Previously on NXT…
The second rookie elimination of the season took place with bad girl Maxine getting the boot. The highly anticipated nuptials of Aksana and Goldust had a few glitches but in the end the couple managed to tie the knot. Too bad Aksana slapped the taste out of her new husband’s mouth when he went to kiss her. Cody Rhodes invaded the show and ended up being the kissee in a most amusing kissing contest. AJ may or may not have hinted towards feelings for her NXT mentor, Primo Colon. Kaitlyn and Dolph Ziggler were finally caught kissing, and Vickie Guerrero ended up with wedding cake all over her face.
Oh boy.
What kind of drama will enfold tonight? Grab a beer, pop some popcorn, and get your ear plugs ready. NXT is about to begin!
When NXT opens, the handsome Matt Striker is standing in the ring. He lifts the microphone to his lips to welcome the remaining four rookie girls to the show but instead, Goldust’s theme music hits and the Bizarre One walks out to the ring. No painted on tears tonight from what I can see. Goldust has the microphone and he calls out Aksana. He says that all week long, his “wife” hasn’t picked up her phone or anything, and he deserves an explanation. Goldust says it’s in Aksana’s best interest that she gets out to the ring right now. Aksana does indeed walk out and she’s got the Million Dollar Championship draped across her shoulder. She mocks Goldust by asking him if his heart is broken or something. She reveals that she used her pro to solve her immigration issues and now she has her green card and can stay in the country. Everything is all about Aksana and now she has the title. Aksana says that when she and Goldust get divorced she will own half of everything he has, including the belt and she plans on cashing in her half. That’s the American way.
I was right about Aksana. Imagine that.
Goldust calls Aksana a conniving little Lithuanian witch. He also says she is clueless and that tonight she’s not in America. She may be able to stay in the U.S.A., but he thinks it’s time to kick her butt right out of Britain. Aksana is not amused. To her surprise, Naomi walks out next. She has a microphone and she says that she doesn’t want Aksana kicked out of the country. When Goldust goes to protest, Naomi explains herself. She says she felt like Aksana was fake the entire time and she never bought the immigration story for one minute. She accuses Aksana of hatching the plan just to become the center of attention. Aksana protests the accusation and claims that she really would have gotten beat with a shovel if she would have had to return home. Naomi just doesn’t care. She says Aksana is fake and phony, and she wants to face her in a match tonight. Aksana looks at Goldust and asks him what she should do since he is her pro and all. Goldust finds that hilarious and tells Aksana to go and get her butt kicked by Naomi tonight.
Instead of following up on the feud going on between Natalya and Lay-Cool at the moment, WWE opted to go with a six Diva gimmick tag match. Go figure. This week, the team of Eve and The Bella Twins face off against Alicia Fox, Maryse and Tamina. But this is no ordinary battle, oh no! From the geniuses that brought us ‘Diva Bowl’ last year, comes the ‘Divas Cup’… except, there’s no cup in sight? Cheapskates! Check out the match below:
The babyface team makes their entrance first, sporting Manchester United uniforms, to a chorus of jeers from the crowd. I’m told this is because of rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool (which is being represented by the heels). I’m not really a soccer fan, so this was completely wasted on me and the majority of Americans watching at home.
Out next are the heels, and apparently Tamina missed the memo for this match. Doesn’t she know that they’re supposed to be ‘sexy’ soccer players? She looks like she’s an actual soccer player! *shock horror* All jokes aside, I kinda like the fact that Tamina doesn’t try to be as overtly sexy as her counterparts. I think it makes her come across as a more serious competitor. That said, she really stuck out like a sore thumb coming down the ramp with Maryse and Alicia. The Divas take their places in their respective corners, Mike Chioda signals for the bell and the Diva Cup is underway with Eve and Tamina kicking things off.
The Halloween edition of NXT certainly left a positive taste in the mouths of viewers. Brie Bella and AJ put together a match that was perhaps one of the best Diva matches on television this year. Nikki Bella continued her descent into WWE heeldom much to the disgust of her twin. Maxine won a Halloween candy eating contest, while Kaitlyn took home top prize in the costume contest for her Vickie Guerrero impersonation. Was it mentioned that the sexual tension between Kaitlyn and her mentor’s boyfriend, Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, reached an all-time high?? Oh, lets not forget the fact that Ted DiBiase and everyone’s favorite French-Canadian Diva, Maryse, invaded the show. They set out on a quest to get the Million Dollar Championship back from Goldust and Aksana. Aksana saved the day once again and looked amazing while doing so.
Tonight, the highly anticipated wedding between Lithuanian-born Aksana and the adorable Goldust will take place. Will Maryse and Ted show up? There’s an elimination too. Which rookie is going to be sent packing during the ninth week of competition? Lets take a look!
Note: Please excuse the audio on the videos. It looks like a production copy of the show leaked.
Striker is in the ring and he brings out the rookie girls. Kaitlyn, Maxine, Naomi, AJ, and Aksana make their way to the ring. All the girls look gorgeous tonight as they’re in street clothes which leads me to believe no one will be wrestling tonight. Striker explains to them that tonight is the elimination but adds that with three challenge wins Naomi is eligible for immunity. He also says that with the exception of Aksana, the other three girls can catch and tie Naomi. Since mathematics is not on Aksana’s side, Striker excuses her from tonight’s competitions so she can get ready for her wedding. Aksana waves, walks off, and we’re told that the first challenge tonight is a kissing contest. Striker wants a special guest judge so of course, Hornswoggle is brought out. Maxine is not happy about this but Horny, on the other hand, is overjoyed. Striker tells him that he gets to pick which Diva kisses the best.
In an effort to get this Divas Championship feud rolling again after last week’s lull, WWE gave us another Michelle McCool vs Natalya match, but this time with a twist: If Natalya could beat Michelle McCool in singles action, she’d receive one last shot at the Divas Championship at Survivor Series. Can Natalya overcome the odds and get another crack at the title? Will Lay-Cool cheat their way to another victory? Find out… after this pointless Divas segment. Damas y Caballeros, I present to you: Diva Twister!!! (With a very special cameo):
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t expect the majority of the Raw Divas to be lumped into a segment with Pee-wee, so I wasn’t really surprised. The jokes were cheesy and the acting bad, no surprise there either. Another typical Guest Host segment, all in all. If I feel bad for anyone, it’s everyone in the audience under 21, who had no idea who Pee-wee Herman was and The Bella Twins for having to share their “Guest Host Arm Candy” spot with Eve and Melina and any other Divas that don’t happen to have a match on Raw or Superstars that week.
Believe it or not, there was a silver lining in this black cloud of a segment. Four-time Women’s Champion made a rare appearance, accompanying her self-professed idol, Pee-wee Herman in this segment. As a huge fan of Lita, I almost blacked out when I saw her pop up on my screen. She could have eaten a live puppy on the air and I’d probably say it was the best moment of Raw this week. That said, even Lita’s appearance couldn’t save this bomb of a segment. Thumbs down for Diva Twister and two thumbs way up (I wish I had more thumbs) for Lita’s cameo.
It’s not Halloween without the Divas breaking out a costume — or eight, and that’s exactly what we saw this week on SmackDown. Some were uninspired (Batman & Robin? Yawn.) and some (Lady Gaga, Beyonce) tried to capture the pop culture of the day, even though WWE is about a year behind in what’s relevant.
Watch as what begins as a Halloween costume contest becomes a full-fledged eight Diva tag team match:
A rarity for the Divas, they each get their own entrance in order to show off their costumes. The Bellas are out first dressed as Batman and Robin. Out next is Alicia Fox dressed as Cleopatra; a valiant effort but not quite as breathtaking as Asha on last night’s episode of ‘Outsourced’. Kelly Kelly, rather predictably, goes for a ‘sexy’ Little Bo Peep costume. Rosa Mendes is a leprechaun? Doesn’t she realise Hornswoggle is in the ring and likes to sexually assault Divas? Former Divas Champ, Melina is Spiderwoman and then it’s the pièce de résistance: Lay-Cool as Lady Gaga and Beyonce. You’d think they’d go for the matching Telephone outfits, but nope — Layla is Beyonce in the two year old ‘Single Ladies’ video (which is what we suggested for Alicia Fox last year and sorry Lay, it would’ve suited her much better) and Michelle is Gaga in the equally old ‘Poker Face’ video. Still, A for the effort of trying to do something relatively current.
Onto the costume contest now, but before Teddy Long can begin his officiating, Michelle takes to the microphone and pretty much says Lay-Cool should win and save us from the laborious task of watching each of them shake their rumps and embarrass themselves. Melina takes exception and argues with Lay-Cool only to be hit with a zinger from McCool. “Why are you even dressed up? You’re scary enough as it is.” I giggled. Sorry Melina… Layla shoves Melina but before she can fight back, Hornswoggle intervenes and knocks poor Michelle on her butt in fright. Didn’t that little sex pest troll learn from last time not to mess with Michelle?
Rookie Divas Maxine and Kaitlyn stunk it up in what was perhaps one of the worst matches in WWE history. Naomi swept the challenges, putting her first in line for immunity from elimination. Aksana received her engagement ring from Goldust and fawned over it, even during challenges. And last, but certainly not least, the highlight of last week’s episode was the beginning of perhaps the end of the Bella twins as Nikki Bella showed some fire (as well as major heel tendencies) during the tag team main event which pitted Nikki and Brie Bella against Naomi and her pro, Kelly Kelly.
This week can only be better, right?
Mr. Blue Eyes, Matt Striker, was waiting for us as the program began. He introduced us all to the Halloween edition of NXT and brought out the rookie Divas. They were dressed in Halloween costumes of course and kudos to them for not being so stereotypical. AJ was out first this week and she was dressed as Ninja Turtle Raphael. Naomi followed her and was dressed up as the Hamburger Helper hand. Wow. Kaitlyn is out third and she’s wearing a dead-on Vickie Guerrero costume complete with padded backside. Out fourth is Maxine and she’s playing the part of “Ice Queen” tonight. And last, but certainly not least, the future Mrs. Goldust walks out and she’s dressed in a fire engine red devil costume. The girls get in the ring and Striker lets us know that elimination is next week and that currently, Naomi is leading the pack with immunity challenge wins. He tells the girls that there is plenty of time left to catch Naomi and even pass her, and with that being said the first competition of the night is about to take place. Of course, it’s a Halloween costume contest. Each girl will have fifteen seconds to impressed the WWE Universe with her costume and the fans will be the judges.
Aksana went first. Music started to play and Aksana really did nothing but blow kisses, pose, and move around a little bit. She didn’t even dance. She probably should have just done her push-ups again. Maxine went next. Striker asked her what her costume was and she told everyone that she was an ice queen. Striker remarked that she could certainly melt that costume, and Maxine looked up at him. She said that she could melt that costume and that she could send shivers down his spine. Maxine asked Matt if he knew what cold water did to a man. She looked away from him and revealed that she would hate to embarrass him so she is going to use the rest of her time to say that there is only one place for this queen, and that place is on top.
Here’s the latest ‘Stand Up for WWE’ video that aired last night on Raw featuring several of the Divas, as well as the divine Alberto Del Rio and other men we don’t care about. Watch below: Thoughts: Despite the obvious political agenda behind ‘Stand Up for WWE’, I really enjoyed this video package and I … Read more
Fresh off a disaster of an elimination episode, NXT put together it’s most impressive and exciting episode yet. Naomi soared to new heights as she impressed in a match against pro Diva, Alicia Fox. Kaitlyn and Vickie Guerrero reached the point in their relationship where they reluctantly agreed to tolerate one another until the next elimination. AJ proved to everyone that she is a legit wrestling fan by dominating the “Name That Tune” challenge and Maxine continued to impress everyone with her mic skills. The icing on the proverbial NXT cake at the end of the night when Aksana lost it over her immigration woes and Goldust reiterated to her that they do indeed have options to fix these problems. He got down on one knee and popped the question, and Aksana happily accepted it.
So what happens next with the second elimination a mere two weeks away? Lets take a look…
It’s redundant that NXT always begins with Matt Striker introducing the rookies and tonight was no exception. He’s standing in the ring and introducing the rookie girls. Kaitlyn, Aksana, Naomi, AJ, and Maxine make their way to the ring where the host himself is standing. He tells the girls that they’ve made it to the halfway point of the season and that in just two weeks, the second cut will take place. He congratulates Naomi and AJ on their wins last week and tells them that they are one step closer to immunity. He starts to tell the others that they have plenty of time to catch up when Vickie decides that she wants to interrupt. She starts screaming “Excuse Me” and begins to walk down towards the ring. She tells Matt that she just can’t handle the way he talks to the rookie Divas and then she turns her attention towards Kaitlyn. Vickie wants to know why Kaitlyn is dressed the way she is and basically, Vickie does not approve.
After the frustrating mess that was the Divas action on Raw last, WWE decided to forgo a match altogether this week and have Natalya and Lay-Cool cut a promo in the ring. Will they be able to deliver on the mic or will we be just as upset as last week? Check out the segment … Read more
Five weeks of build, anticipation, heart break, and horror culminated last night in the very first elimination for season three of NXT. One poor girl would have her dreams shattered as she is sent packing back to Tampa. Also this week, the Aksana/Goludst angle heats up as an immigration officer rears his ugly head (literally… he has an ugly head) and threatens our favorite Lithuanian. The Rookie Divas try their best to master the art of faux bull riding and of course, a Diva talent show takes place.
Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun!
This surely gets redundant but once again NXT (now exclusively on WWE.com) kicks off in grandiose fashion with Matt Striker announcing the rookie Divas. Naomi, Aksana, AJ, Jamie, Maxine, and Kaitlyn make their way onto the stage where the Pros (including Alicia Fox, Vickie Guerrero, Kelly Kelly, Brie Bella, and Nikki Bella) are already sitting. Striker teases the girls that this is the biggest night of their young careers. He explains how things are going to work tonight and then brings us into our first rookie challenge of the evening.
It’s a bull riding competition complete with mechanical bull.
After a decent showing and a controversial finish at Hell in a Cell, Diva fans were looking for some storyline progression in this Natalya/Lay-Cool rivalry. Well that simply wasn’t the case. Instead we were treated to a couple of lightning fast matches and a heaped helping of confusion on the side. First up, Natalya faces off against Alicia Fox in a match that flew past so fast, it broke the sound barrier:
We start off with both Divas already in the ring and neither one get so much as an introduction. The referee signals for the bell and Alicia goes on the attack with a flurry strikes. Natalya reverses an Irish whip to the turnbuckle, but gets a kick to the face for her trouble.
Last week on SmackDown there wasn’t really any Diva action so the Redux took a week off. But this week it’s back. SmackDown officially made its highly anticipated move to the SyFy network and to kick that off the show aired live. The Divas took part in an 8-Diva tag match. The team consisting of Natalya, Kelly Kelly, Brie Bella, and Nikki Bella took on the team of Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, and Alicia Fox. Lets take a look at the action!
The heel girls are out first and all of them are looking oh so fierce. Lay-Cool lead the way while Maryse and Alicia trail behind. They do their usual posing in the ring and then the face team come out. They’re led by Natalya. The faces are all decked out pink and black, showing their unity, and once all the shenanigans die down Kelly and Alicia begin the match. Alicia strikes the first blow with a kick to Kelly’s mid-section. She follows it up with a suplex attempt but Kelly wiggles out, slaps Alicia in the back, and both girls take each other down with a clothesline. Alicia holds her head in pain and makes the tag to Maryse. Kelly does the same and goes to her corner where she tags in Natalya.
The Divas return to WWE Superstars as The Bella Twins take on Alicia Fox and Jillian. Check it out below:
Alicia (accompanied by NXT Rookie, Maxine) with her Tina Turner esque outfit, and Jillian are the first tag team to make their way down to the ring. Jillian, of course, begins to speak to the audience about the laryngitis rumor being completely untrue and tries very hard to prove it to those watching by showing off her redonkulous singing skills. Her song of choice? “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna.
This may be my very first time being excited to see the Bellas. My ears are thanking them for interrupting the drowning cat… err, I mean Jillian. They are accompanied by their NXT Rookie, Jamie, looking prepared for a war with their camouflage get up. Can’t say I’m a fan of the curtain like material covering their boots, though.
Alicia is in the ring to start the match with Bella #1. Bear with me, you guys. I have no idea which twin it is and of course Cole & King didn’t bother to help. Alicia and Bella #1 lock up before Alicia pushes her off. Alicia tries to go after her with the clothesline, but she is monkey flipped by Bella #1. Numero uno delivers a couple of forearms to the face of Alicia, who tries to counter by ramming her head into the turnbuckle, but Bella #1 is able to block it with her foot and throws Alicia into the turnbuckle face first. She gives Alicia a kick in the gut for good measure before tagging in Bella #2.
On last week’s installment on Monday Night Raw, Melina lost her rematch against Layla, leaving the #1 Contender spot wide open for the newly formed Unified Divas Championship. You know that means, right? BATTLE ROYAL! Watch below as Melina, Gail Kim, The Bella Twins, Eve, Natalya, Tamina, Alicia Fox and Jillian compete to determine who will be the next Diva to face Lay-Cool for their Divas Championship:
We return from commercial to find all the Divas already in the ring. (All the Raw Divas, that is. Sorry Kelly and Rosa. Better luck next time!). Before the referee can signal for the bell, Lay-Cool’s music hits and they make their way down the ramp in matching hoodies/dresses. Once they settled in, the bells rings and match is underway.
Within the first few seconds of the match, it quickly breaks down into a mess of flailing limbs, as is the norm when it comes to these sorts of matches. Tamina goes straight for her rival, Natalya, but Natalya is saved by former champion Melina. Melina clings to the back of the formidable Samoan beauty, but is quick thrown down to the mat. Tamina picks Melina up and tosses her over the top rope for a shocking first elimination.
On the heels of last week’s shock announcement that season three would consist of nothing but rookie Divas, controversy has reigned supreme. From the internet backlash and scrutiny, to the firing of the six foot nine woman beast known as Aloisia, season three hasn’t been given much of a chance to succeed. It debut last night and instead of an epic failure of a program, we were treated to two fun challenges, some comedy, great ring debuts from the two season favorites, and the reveal of Vickie Guerrero‘s new rookie. The show was campy, a tad ridiculous, and yes, it was messy in a few spots. But above all else, the show was entertaining and has given us a lot to hopefully look forward too.
Here we go!
NXT kicks off in grand fashion with a hot entrance video for all the rookie girls and their pros, as well as a pyro, and to my delight, a lot of pink. The fans seem really excited for the all Diva show and that in turn, makes me excited! Josh Mathews and Michael Cole introduce themselves and talk about how excited they are for this special NXT season. They shoot it to Matt Striker, who looks so damn delicious I wanna take him home with me, and he says it’s time to meet the pros! Kelly Kelly walks out first and she officially introduces us to Naomi Night. She calls her rookie sassy, fun, and feisty! The Bellas come out next, and Brie Bella says that last season we watched their rookie do her thing on the mic. Nikki Bella takes over and says that this season, their rookie is going to do her thing in the ring. Why are they using their sex voices?! Jamie Keyes walks out after Nikki talks about how tight her (Jamie’s) body is. Oh Lordy.
Primo has to follow that and he gets no reaction what so ever. Maybe it’s because everyone is disgusted over his awful entrance music. No one should ever walk out to something that could be played during a ballroom dancing competition. Primo says that is rookie like a firecracker; she’s small but she will light you up. He brings out AJ Lee and wow, she’s peppy. Alicia Fox struts out to the stage after AJ and Primo, and she introduces her rookie as the meanest of the mean. Maxine walks out and immediately my eyes start to bleed. Homegirl clearly got dressed in the dark today. Yikes. Thankfully GOLDUST comes out and gets a nice pop from the crowd. He says he is going to premiere the next breakout star and he breathes Aksana‘s name out in a real creep voice. I love it so much. Aksana walks out in a hot ass gold dress and she just looks perfect next to the Golden One.
