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Maria Kanellis

SmackDown Redux (July 10th, 2009) – Melina and Michelle Re-Light the Fire

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As you can see by now, the SmackDown Redux has been gifted to me by the generous Melanie. As she stated earlier, she’ll be handling the Raw side of things from now on. Hopefully you guys will warm to my style of Reduxin’ just as you did with her. Now with that settled, onto the show!

It seems as though the WWE can’t get enough of tag team matches, because it feels like that’s all we’ve been getting for weeks now. Of course, that’s hyperbole, but it’s clear that they’re using “paint-by-numbers” booking as a means to extend this feud between Michelle McCool and Melina. Melina’s got her third partner in a week, teaming with Eve Torres, who one can only assume gave up her seat on the bench for Maria (Don’t cry for Maria, she had more important things to do, like coming out of closets with Dolph Ziggler. I’m not even joking.). Meanwhile, Michelle teams with her new Alicia, Layla. Let’s see what this slight tweak in the ingredients does this week – watch Melina & Eve take on Michelle & Layla below:

Eve and Layla start off the match. Granted, that sentence probably would’ve scared you a few years ago, but their work wasn’t bad at all. Sure, it feels a little deliberate and calculated, but those two Diva Search alums have come far from strutting for Tom Grisham or whoever the hell hosted that thing. Eve remains in control for much of the beginning, until a sick kick to the head by Michelle takes her out. Michelle must have Inspector Gadget legs, because it’s like she reached Eve from the other corner of the ring. Damn.

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Diva B-Sides: Maria

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We can all agree that, with a few exceptions, Divas get the short end of the stick when comes to entrance themes. While the male superstars get music from actual bands and artists or custom made songs with lyrics, Divas get stuck with crappy production music. If I had the chance I would change all the Divas music to something a little… well, better. Hence, Diva B-Sides was born; a Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. Today B-Side is for Smackdown’s resident (and I use this term loosely) fashionista, Maria:

Mariabside

PICK #1: “DROP THE GIRL” BY HIT THE LIGHTS

Maria actually happen to be one of the only Divas on the roster to have an actual song for her entrance theme. Unfortunately, that doesnt make it any less annoying.

I was never a fan of Zebrahead (the band that made her theme),  so I was cringing long before I heard the entire song. I decided to pick a band that is equally nasally, but half as annoying.

“Drop The Girl” sounds strangely similar to “With Legs Like That”. They both have a punk rock feel that compliments Maria image, or at least the image she’s trying to convey. The best part however, is the subliminal messages not-s0-hidden in there. “Drop the Girl/She’s not worth the time”. Hmm… I’ll leave it at that.

Hear Maria’s B-side and my second pick after the cut:

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SmackDown Redux (July 3rd, 2009) – Trade Hurts But Business Booms

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In the week since last week’s SmackDown and today’s, the women’s division for the blue brand has become almost unrecognisable. There’s a new Women’s Champion in Michelle McCool and the brand took a severe hit, when it lost solid workers in Gail Kim and Alicia Fox. The aftermath of the trade on Monday night, hurt because we’re huge fans of Gail and Alicia as well as the way SmackDown was booked in the past couple of months.

But I’m pleased to report, that the trades haven’t affected the quality of the show as this week business continued to boom for the Friday night show, showing no signs of mourning for the dearly departed Divas. Watch below as Melina teams up with an unlikely partner, Maria to take on the now heel again, Layla and McCool:

Click in for the full Redux:

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Tweets of the Week: June 27th, 2009

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It’s official: Twitter has become a full-blown internet phenomenon. I mean, what’s better than seeing the inner thoughts of your favorite celebs? I’ll tell you what – seeing the inner thoughts of your favorite Divas! That’s why we’ve devised a new weekly feature, titled Tweets of the Week, where we’ll take a look at what the women of wrestling have been tweeting this week: the funny, the poignant, and the random. We’ll scour Twitter and serve it up for you, complete with the requisite Diva Dirt charm.

Starting off this week at #5 is Maria (@MariaLKanellis) watching tearjerker charity show Extreme Home Makeover:


I have to admit, seeing the words “makeover” and “Maria” in close proximity makes me want to run for the hills, but it’s sweet to see anyone with a desire to do good for others. Still, I can’t shake the terrifying image of wall-to-wall leopard print and bedazzled drapery..

At #4, Layla (@mslayel) chats with foe Eve (@EveMarieTorres):


Sounds like a feud for the ages, no? Diva feuds have been settled in the ring, in a cage, even in pools filled with Egg Nog. Is the next logical step a knock down, drag-out fight in the middle of a Bath and Body Works?

#3 brings us Divas Champion Maryse (@Maryse0uellet) paying tribute to the late Farrah Fawcett in a way only she can:


The trademark “feathered” hairdo has always been attributed to Charlie’s most famous Angel, but I thought that trend faded out in the 70’s. Maybe Maryse is three decades late to the party. Hey, I hear that movie Star Wars is pretty good – I bet it’ll be a big hit! I have to say,though , Maryse pulls the look off – Farrah would be proud. Now if you excuse me I need to work on my disco dance moves, amongst other cliché things..

To see the top 2, follow the link:

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SmackDown Redux Does Superstars (June 18, 2009): Eve’s Got Game

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Last night on Superstars, feuding SmackDown Divas Eve and Layla took their rivalry to the tri-branded ring in a rematch from their much hyped singles bout a few weeks ago. Adding extra ‘flavour’ to the proceedings was a special guest referee, in the form of a very gaudy looking Maria: You’d think by now that … Read more

Maria’s Stock Dropping in WWE?

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Looks like we aren’t the only ones noticing Maria has slowly been fading off SmackDown. According to sources, Maria’s stock has dropped with management, hence her lack of use over the past couple of months. While most of the Divas on the brand are seeing an upsurge in ringtime, Maria has noticeably been disregarded or … Read more

Part Road Warrior, Part Christmas Decoration

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Maria in “Black Magic” We’re debuting a new format for our Eye Candy posts – complete with more detailed critiques and “graded” categories. View the photoshoot we’ve “hung” on our wall, read our critique, vote, and last but not least – sound off in the comments! The Look: Maria’s keeping a dark leather theme with … Read more

The Weekly Roundup (May 30 – June 05, 2009) – A Week in Television

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Welcome to Diva Dirt’s new feature – The Weekly Roundup, a look at the week in television! From Raw, SmackDown, ECW and TNA too, we look back at the week’s highs and lows as well as giving you the opportunity to catch up on what you’ve missed!

MAY 30th – JUNE 5th, 2009

This week has seen some solid TV efforts from WWE, an okay week for TNA and the emergence of women’s wrestling on ROH. This week saw the first time in history that Diva Dirt has covered ROH on HDNet & we’re very happy that we did…

Best Bet: My highlight of the week came from ROH, as it incorporated sister promotion, SHIMMER into it’s broadcast. I have to be honest and say I haven’t really seen much of SHIMMER or any of these girls before but I was thoroughly impressed by the triple threat match on HDNet last Saturday. If you haven’t yet seen it, check it out after the cut – it’s well worth it. I hope ROH does more “SHIMMER Lite” segments in future. (PS: I’m already preferring ROH’s production style to TNA’s rollercoaster sickness style on Impact).

Honourable Mention: Like last week, SmackDown gives us our honourable mention of the week with an outstanding six Divas tag team match.

Low Point: I felt this week’s Impact didn’t see a strong enough followup to last week’s fantastic debut of the former Victoria. Not only has she been renamed ‘Tara’, but she’s also stuck in a one minute segment from a two hour broadcast. Not a good followup at all.

Check out all of this week’s videos after the cut:

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SmackDown Redux (June 05, 2009) – Half a Dozen Divas… and Maria

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This week’s SmackDown saw the next logical step given the way storylines have unfolded for the brand’s Divas. Gail Kim and Michelle McCool hate each other, then Michelle enlisted Alicia Fox. Gail Kim and Alicia Fox hate each other. Then Melina came along and brought her shiny Women’s Championship to SmackDown and this distracted Gail … Read more

What’s Red, Black, and Blue All Over?

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Maria in “Red, Black, & Blue” We’re debuting a new format for our Eye Candy posts – complete with more detailed critiques and “graded” categories. View the photoshoot we’ve “hung” on our wall, read our critique, vote, and last but not least – sound off in the comments! The Look: When it comes to Maria, … Read more

SmackDown Redux (May 8, 2009) – Shining in the Wake of the Draft

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This week’s SmackDown sees a double dose of Diva action, as Gail Kim and Michelle McCool do battle in the ring while Layla and Eve battle in an arm wrestling challenge. Let’s look at Gail vs Michelle first, watch below: A few weeks ago when it was suggested that SmackDown got the upper hand in … Read more

SmackDown Redux Does WWE Superstars (April 30, 2009)

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Last night’s episode of WWE Superstars saw the first Divas match of the new series, when SmackDown’s Gail Kim and Maria teamed up to take on Michelle McCool and new import, Alicia Fox. Check out the match below: Now onto my thoughts! So Alicia’s debut for SmackDown occurs on Superstars, if that makes sense. Despite … Read more

More News And Notes From The ECW/Superstars/SmackDown Tapings

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As you all know by now, I had seats for last night’s tapings at Madison Square Garden. Unforunately I couldn’t give all the details I wanted, due to the fact that I was trying to actually watch the  show. So highlight for a few more details on the shows: Superstars: The crowd was predictably dead … Read more

You Know What, Trish? You Got A Good Point.

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As we reported here on  Diva Dirt earlier this week, Trish Stratus recently gave her opinion on WWE’s current women’s Division and she didn’t pull any punches. Some might think that she was slamming WWE and the present roster, but I happen to believe otherwise. Trish brought up some valid points that I agree with. … Read more

News & Notes From Tonight’s Raw

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In case you missed Raw, there was a few things to note. First of all, the 5-on-5 Raw vs. SmackDown match was actually not half bad. We saw Raw’s Mickie James, Melina, Jillian, Layla, and Kelly Kelly take on SmackDown’s Maryse, Natalya, Maria, Gail Kim, and Eve Torres. Hopefully the WWE is listening to the … Read more

Diva Dirt Posts WrestleMania Photoshoot, Remains Defiant While Doing So

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WWE.com has posted a photoshoot with all the Miss WrestleMania window dressing participants titled “WrestleMania Backstage Beauties”. As always with our lovely Divas, it’s a delightful mix of cute (Molly Holly‘s old tights!), sexy (Lilian), head-scratching (Jackie Gayda and Eve), skanky (Joy), overkill (Brie Bella), and cross-dresser chic (hey Maria, I thought Santino was supposed … Read more

Looking Back at WrestleMania 24

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Tonight’s ‘Miss WrestleMania’ 25 Diva battle royal has been a major talking point at Diva Dirt for the last month. But last year, it was the BunnyMania match that had us all talking. Let’s take a look back at last year’s event, which featured Beth Phoenix and Melina beating Maria and Ashley:

Originally posted in March 2008

WrestleMania 24 is in the history books, folks! And you know what? Despite my initial scepticism *coughunderstatementcough* about BunnyMania, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! Join me in looking back at the match:

Despite the “BunnyMania” tagline, this one was pretty much a normal tag team match and the Diva lumberjacks didn’t offer much to the match itself. Though it was fun to see the likes of Victoria and Mickie at ringside. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t send Torrie out there too, I for one am saddened she has broken her record of WrestleMania appearances. One Diva that I noticed was missing, was Eve. I don’t think she was missed though! Some honourable fashion mentions: Eve looked really pretty in her dress, Mickie looked unusually glamourous and beautiful, Layla looked extremely hot too!

As for the Divas involved, Ashley looked as per usual but despite the spotlight being on her tonight – what was up with Maria? I don’t know what kind of look she was going for but it was all kinds of wrong; it always makes me laugh when WWE tries to make out how fashion-forward Maria is when really, her fashion tastes are laughable. Once I got past the horror of her hair and moved onto the outfit, the first thing I thought was: “This was obviously inspired by Melina.” Maria’s attire was just like a bad version of Melina’s unique, well accessorised, polished-looking outfits that I’ve been a fan of forever! Beth didn’t look any different than usual either; but I love that one Diva truly gets the grandeur of WrestleMania – Melina looked frickin’ smokin’ head to toe! Wow, wow, wow! Needless to say, I loved it! Melina pulled out the stops at WrestleMania 23 for a special addition to her ring attire and this year, she outdid herself. The peacock feathers were unique and fun and her wrestling attire, while in a similar style to her usual outfits, was just gorgeous! I loved the colours, I loved everything about it. Okay, I should save something for the Fashion Focus piece I need to write after this post!

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SmackDown Redux – April 3rd, 2009

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The final SmackDown before WrestleMania thankfully, delivered a lot more promise than the final Raw and ECW before tomorrow’s big event. We saw the real in-ring return of Gail Kim as she teamed up with Maria to take on the Divas Champion, Maryse and Michelle McCool. And the verdict? This match wasn’t bad at all, … Read more

Raw Redux – March 30, 2009

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*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 … Read more

WrestleMania Spotlight: Maria

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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 … Read more

G4TV’s Top 10 Divas… Photoshoots

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G4TV.com recently released their choices for the top 10 Divas of the WWE. Now, before you jump into this list, don’t make the same mistake I did and assume this was a top 10 list based on wrestling skills, which WWE.com’s headline caused me to believe. This list is based on the Divas’ photoshoots and … Read more

Like “Space Jam”, but Without the Talking Cartoon Characters

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Well, for those of you who were upset at the lack of Candice, Maryse, or Kelly in last week’s “March Madness: First Round” photoshoot, you can go ahead and have your hissy fit, because the “Second Round” is up, and it’s the same Divas as last time, just different poses. There’s not much to say, … Read more

Karl Lagerfeld, is That You?

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Now, I usually praise someone for doing something different and unexpected, but Maria just looks plain crazy in her new photoshoot, “Beautiful in Black”. It’s quite obvious she’s trying to appear fashionably edgy, but it looks so slapdash that I think it couldn’t be more obvious how hard she’s trying, which kind of defeats the … Read more

We’re All Mad Here

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With NCAA March Madness kicking off today, the Divas donned jerseys of their favorite teams (but really just the ones with the prettiest colors) and posed for a photoshoot that WWE.com is calling “March Madness: Round One”, which leads me to believe there’s more to come from the Divas we don’t see here. Some of … Read more

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