WWE’s plans as of right now for the Raw brand Divas feud is for the Maryse to come out on top in her rivalry with Melina. The move means Maryse, who made her return to active competition last month, would become the first multi-time Divas Champion. Though plans are always tentative, we’re told that Eve … Read more
With Maryse two weeks into her return, fans have been less than impressed with her all-around performance. Her return was more head-scratching than anything else and her match last week didn’t show her in-ring skills as much as a more refined affinity to sneak out a win. Will she continue on that path this week, or will we see a more ring-focused Maryse?
We start our night seeing that Kelly Kelly has been handed the duty of announcing the night’s first Divas match. I’m not all the surprised that they saddled Kelly with this random job, since the WWE has a tendency to stick Divas in announcing positions when they don’t know what else to do with them. We’ll see if this becomes a regular thing or was just a plot device to bring in Melina post-match.
The match in question is Gail Kim vs. Maryse. I’m psyched to see Gail get some one-on-one action, as she’s usually stuck in tag team matches (aside from the odd Superstars match). Let’s see if she can pull some good things out what’s so far been a lackluster return angle for Maryse:
The match starts off with a requisite show of arrogance by Maryse–she actually shoves Gail by the head twice. Gail seems to keep her annoyance in check until she spears Maryse to the mat, pounding on her until she’s shoved off. Maryse darts to safety at the other side of the ring, but Gail keeps on her, tossing her by the hair and whipping her into the ropes. Maryse hangs on to the ropes, but Gail drags her back to the middle of the ring by a leg, making Maryse hop along. Gail tosses Maryse’s leg aside, spinning her, and then slamming her down with a hard clothesline.
Maryse crawls to the corner, and once she’s to her feet, Gail charges at her, slipping out of the ring and back in under the ropes, out-smarting Maryse and rolling her up into a pin attempt. Maryse kicks out at two and wanders to the next corner, only to be sandwiched into it by a flying Gail. Maryse drops to her butt, and Gail proceeds to drive her knee into her neck, using her standing leverage to apply the pressure. Gail eventually backs off and Maryse gets to her feet, simply slapping Gail in the face in rebuttal.
As most will know by now, next week’s edition of Raw will be a three hour special dedicated to the WWE Slammy Awards. In a possible spoiler for the category of ‘Diva of the Year’, a WWE.com promo package shows four Divas — likely the four nominees for the award. If last year is anything … Read more
Following Maryse‘s turkey-costumed return, fans came to a general consensus that it was pretty disappointing. But with this week came the opportunity to add some legitimacy to this blossoming feud. Would Maryse deliver, or would she–like the turkey she disguised herself as–not even get off the ground?
We begin the night with an entrance by Melina and Gail Kim. The feed cuts to Maryse and Jillian walking backstage, only to be stopped by Josh Matthews, asking Maryse what provoked her to attack Melina last week:
She explained her motives as this: Melina was holding her Divas title (not that Mickie held the title long before Melina and actually won it from Maryse in the first place) and provided a Trojan Horse, which for Melina turned out to be the turkey. I don’t want to go all history nerd and explain the many ways in which that makes no sense, but really.. I know the common usage of the Trojan Horse metaphor is with a “any trick that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place”, in reference to the tale of the Greeks hiding inside of a giant horse that they left outside the gates of Troy, which when brought inside the gates (as a victory trophy) allowed them to overtake the city at night and win what has been a 10-year siege. But is the WWE ring really considered a securely protected place? Maybe the fact that Melina let the Gobbledy Gooker stand behind her qualifies as that, but that’s stretching it quite a bit. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t accepting the Trojan Horse (and ignoring the warnings of others) a sign of vanity? They believed that the Greeks were surrendering and accepted their “victory trophy” without suspicion, and were ambushed and slaughtered for doing so. I doubt Maryse was preyinf on Melina’s vanity with her scheme.
Either way you look at it, Maryse’s metaphor oversold the thing to a ridiculous level. It actually managed to make it look even more stupid, as she (AKA the WWE’s writers) tried to sell it as some mastermind’s trick. However, when the trick involves one party dressing up in a Gobbledy Gooker suit, I think trying to make it look like any sort of “master plan” is more foolish than the idea itself.
But enough of that. Maryse says “gobble gobble” to Josh (which I guess serves as a goodbye), which Jillian sings in repetition, and the two head to the ring. Melina and Gail’s reaction to this says it all, mouthing “wow” to each other a few times. As Maryse and Jillian make their entrance, Michael Cole recaps how Maryse lost the Divas Championship at Night of Champions and–rumor has it–when into a state of depression following her loss. What a crappy excuse.. I mean, is it really that hard to just say she got injured–which she actually did? All that does is perpetuate the stereotype of the “fragile woman”. Though, Maryse’s character is approximately 99% vanity, so such a blow to her ago could probably crush her in such a way. But still, around 5 months on the shelf due to depression? That’s treating pretty lightly what in real life is a big deal–a serious mental illness. But I guess, as we’ve seen several times already this night, analyzing the WWE’s motives is a lost cause.
I really need to stop sidetracking this thing. Let’s get on to the match.
Welcome to the Diva Dirt Style Jury! No more are the separate ‘Best’ and ‘Worst’ lists, instead we have come up with a scientific approach *cough* to compiling our weekly fashion column. The Diva Dirt team will weigh in on the different looks from the week gone by & mark each look with a score out of ten. The look with the highest average score will be our best look and the look with the lowest average score will be the worst look. Click each photo to see the look in full size.
Let the proverbial runway show begin!
BETH PHOENIX Erin: The phoenix on the tights kind of looks like a slapped-on decal. The whole thing is rather dull–I really prefer Beth’s more colorful outfits. 5/10 Melanie: I’m not a huge fan of her brightly coloured Glamasuits [the red, blue and green ones] but I much prefer them to this. They have more spark and personality. 4/10 Steven: Nice to see The Glamazon getting back to some normal ring gear. Those shiny numbers were kicking my ass. Nothing different from the norm here, but Beth looks great nonetheless. 7/10
EVE TORRES Erin: The silver and black aren’t anything special, but I still like the shorts Eve wrestles in. Maybe if there were more color in it, it’d look more interesting. 6/10 Melanie: I really dislike Eve’s ring gear; the shorts could be cute but the tops are just awful. 5/10 Steven: Same gear, different color. This silver one is a tad bland though. I definitely prefer her other metallic corsets over this one. 6/10
Read on for more of this week’s outfits and to see who’s been branded our winner and loser.
We may have just put one pay per view behind us but the trail rolls on, because in just three weeks we get WWE’s next pay per view: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Now before y’all get excited about a Divas stipulation match, may I remind you about the Hell in a Cell pay per view? Like that, it’s likely that only the main events will be contested in those matches.
With three weeks to go, we have two clear feuds on Raw & SmackDown. The Divas Championship race narrowed last night when Maryse made her return and targeted Melina, while there’s been ongoing animosity between Michelle McCool and Mickie James which could lead to a Women’s Title match. Which brand should get the match? Your Raw & SmackDown Redux writers argue for their show:
Raw (Argument by Erin)
Maryse’s return brings a feeling of immediacy to this pay-per-view opportunity. Whatever heat she has built up from her return (even though I doubt returning while wearing a turkey costume builds much heat) will evaporate soon, and the WWE needs to capitalize on this (relatively) fresh feud ASAP. To pass up this opportunity for a big-scale Divas Championship match would be a mistake; They already blew a similar shot with Alicia and Melina by rushing to have the match before Survivor Series. Though Melina and Maryse won’t have enough time for a proper and full build-up, this match could serve as a formal kick-start to their feud. And, to be honest, I’d much rather see this light the fire under the feud than a bloody Gobbledy Gooker attack. Whether or not a Divas Championship match at TLC would result in a Maryse win, I feel that a worthy feud could be built off of it–Maryse could flaunt her quick win in Melina’s face and start a babyface title chase, or Melina could simply frustrate the arrogant Maryse by batting her away in her first title shot. Either way, it could make for an entertaining feud.
The alternative–a Mickie/Michelle match–has been in the works for much longer, but with the high school mentality that feud has had, is it worthy of the “big time” just yet? What kind of feud can be built off of fat jokes and clothes-cutting? I think those two need to build something more legitimate before they have what is destined to be their “blow off” match. Besides, they just had a big PPV match in the form of the Survivor Series tag team match; I mean, it was literally branded “Mickie vs. Michelle”, wasn’t it? Does SmackDown deserve another PPV match so soon? I think if they were to have another PPV match this soon after the “Team Mickie vs. Team Michelle” match, it might put the brakes on the feud altogether (PPV matches signal the end of feuds, quite often), and they need more room to grow before they reach that endpoint and shift to something else. It would be a case of “too much too soon” in my book. I think it’s time that Raw get the spotlight.
Back in the 1920s, showbiz had a slang term for a failure or flop: they’d call it a turkey*. Fitting, given the failures we witnessed tonight on this Thanksgiving episode of Raw where a certain Diva went so far as to dress in a turkey costume for her big return. So, was it cleverly self-referential or just a bad idea? I think we know the answer to that, but just in case let’s watch the situation unfold and decide for ourselves:
Predictably, the Divas have dressed up for a “Mayflower Melee”, AKA Thanksgiving-themed 6-Diva tag match. The faces–Mickie James, Melina, and Kelly Kelly–are decked out in (*cough* super un-P.C. *cough*) Native American garb, while the heels–Michelle McCool, Layla, and Jillian–are Pilgrims. All look pretty ridiculous, even Kelly, who apparently decided to put on a tan dress and some Nikes and call it a day. But hey, at least she doesn’t look like she’s doing a Kindergarten Thanksgiving play like Michelle & co. I must say, I love how pissed they looked to be dressed in those Pilgrim costumes. At least they’re acknowledging how lame the idea is, unlike so many times in the past.
Before the match starts they are joined by the guest time keeper, the Gobbledy Gooker! …You know, the giant turkey that hatched on live television in what was known as one of the biggest “WTF” moments in WWE history? I guess since they had two Thanksgiving cliches represented, they decided to go for the trifecta. Gooker stands in the corner and awkwardly rings the bell, signaling the start of the match.
Melina and Jillian start out the match, probably praying that they can scrub off some of the bad mojo they’ve had with each other as of late. They start with a tie-up, Melina getting the upper hand by wrenching Jillian’s arm. Jillian gains control, slamming Melina to the mat. Melina reverses an irish-whip into the corner, sending Jillian into the turnbuckle and proceeding to send a shoulder into her stomach. She lays Jillian across the second ropes, prepping her a double-knee attack. Before she can do it, however, Jillian yanks her by her dress, pulling her to the mat. She tosses Melina by the hair and taunts the crowd a bit.
Jillian whips Melina into the ropes but Melina hangs on. Before she can do anything, though, Jillian meets her with an elbow to the face. She whips Melina into the turnbuckle, prepping for her handspring elbow attack. Before she can do any damage, Melina catches her with her legs, choking her and chopping her on the head. Once back on their feet Melina takes down Jillian with a (almost malfunctioned) facebuster. She goes for the pin, but Jillian kicks out.
Former Divas Champion, Maryse is set to return next Monday night in what will likely end up as one of the worst kept secrets in forever, but the real question is: How will WWE pull it off? The company hasn’t had a great track record with the ‘Diva comeback’. Most of them have been rather boring and as with most things Diva, probably took around 30 seconds to write.
There was a time when comebacks were genuinely exciting and perhaps the best example of this is Lita’s return in 2003, saving Trish Stratus from a beatdown at the hands of Gail Kim and Molly Holly:
Like her or loathe her, this return had all the ingredients of an epic comeback: an iconic Diva who’d been gone for more than a year, a Diva the fans actually cared about and JR screaming to the point of losing his voice added an authenticity to it that made it feel like a WrestleMania main event. Many a Diva fan can recall where they were when this went down or remember their reaction when they first saw it. No ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ or ‘maybes’, this was a storybook comeback — for any Superstar, let alone a Diva.
Fast forward five years and the Diva comeback has been relegated to nothing more than a random appearance mid-match. Here’s one of Candice’s many returns:
While Lita’s return may have been epic, this one was more “Oh… she’s back.” But it didn’t have a patch on Ashley Massaro’s eye-watering return in a multi-Diva lingerie pillowfight. We’ll do you a favour and won’t post the video.
Just as with Melina last year, Maryse will return to Raw next Monday night — one night after Survivor Series. The date was a rumour as of last week, but has reportedly been solidified since then. Maryse is currently working off the ring rust in FCW. One website reports that Maryse will indeed feud with … Read more
As reported, former Divas Champion Maryse is due to return to Raw soon with the Diva herself claiming she would return in time for Survivor Series on November 22nd. Maryse on her Twitter page has noted that she is in Tampa, Florida, perhaps to prepare for her in-ring return at Florida Championship Wrestling. One website … Read more
We’re baaack! You may remember us offering costume advice last year to Divas participating in the now-defunct Cyber Sunday Halloween costume contest. Well, we’re extending that tradition this year, extending the love to TNA’s Knockouts as well. We’ll offer costume possibilities to nearly every Diva and Knockout over 3 installments, all leading up to Halloween night. Get your popcorn ready! (Check out part 1 here.)
Alicia Fox Costume: Beyonce from the “Single Ladies” video. Why?: This music video became a sort of phenomenon earlier this year, with even SNL spoofing its famous dance sequence. The single-sleeved black leotard, cyborg-esque glove, and heels are simple but instantly evoke the style of the video. I have no doubt that Alicia would be able to pull off Beyonce’s glamorous style flawlessly. Get the look: Get a black unitard (and cut off the right sleeve), find a cheap substitute for her robotic hand, don some strappy heels, put your hair up into a bouffant half ponytail, and be sure to learn the dance moves!
Beth Phoenix Costume: The “Bear Jew” from “Inglourious Basterds” Why?: The infamous bat-wielding “basterd” from Quentin Tarantino’s Nazi-blasting hit movie is destined to be a popular costume this year, and why not? It’s easy to replicate, and which Diva would better convey the intimidating air of Sgt. Donny Donowitz than the Glamazon herself? She’s certainly the most intimidating Diva at first glance, and she has an attitude that says that she’d beat you senseless if so much as looked at her wrong. Sure, it’s a gender-bending look, but if you’ve got Beth swinging a baseball bat at your head, I doubt you’re going to be too concerned with her X chromosomes. Get the look: Why not get tips from the Bear Jew (Eli Roth) himself?
Daffney Costume: “Zombie Hot” Why?: For those of you who are confused, “zombie hot” is what Daffney has been dubbed by TNA announcer Tazz. Clearly, he’s referencing her gothic style, pale skin, and ferocious attitude, but why not take it literally for Halloween? The costume wouldn’t be too different from a regular old zombie, but Daffney could wear some of her sexy outfits over her pasty, decaying flesh. She’d easily be the hottest zombie you’ve ever seen. Get the look: Smear on some homemade fake blood, follow these gory makeup tips to achieve the decayed look, toss on some sexy gothic clothing, and perfect your dazed zombie walk (unless, of course, you’re of the running variety, à la Zach Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead”).
As first reported last week by the Wrestling Observer website, it’s expected that former WWE Divas Champion Maryse will return to television imminently. With last week’s Diva Trade, this sets the stage for her comeback even further as the Trade is being considered a ‘do-over’ for the women’s division, setting up brand new feuds etc. … Read more
Former Divas Champion, Maryse is set to return to television ‘imminently’ reports the Wrestling Observer website. Maryse has been sidelined since July after having surgery on a lingering knee injury, which dates back to last December. ‘Imminently’ sure sounds, well, imminent. Keep your eyes pealed tonight on Raw!
More Diva footage from SmackDown vs Raw 2010 has been released! As has been widely talked about, the Divas will finally get their own ‘Road to WrestleMania’ storyline in this year’s game, well rather, Mickie James will. Footage of her storyline can be seen below, including her and Maryse cutting a promo with The Miz: … Read more
Six new images from this year’s SmackDown vs Raw game have been released featuring Kelly Kelly, Maryse, and Mickie James. In the shots, we see what appears to be a backstage encounter between Mickie and Kelly, as well as an in-ring promo involving Mickie, Maryse, and the Miz. Mickie’s model is showing some nice emotion, … Read more
Former WWE Divas Champion, Maryse returned to the ring last night in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada according to a PWInsider fan report. Maryse teamed up with Alicia Fox and Jillian in a losing effort to Gail Kim and the Bella Twins. EDIT: Looks as though there could be a mix-up, which is why I’m always wary … Read more
Maryse‘s Twitter has taken a life of it’s own, with fans [read: me] just waiting to read what crazy thing she will say next. From having her top ripped off her in public to this Desperate Housewives moment. We, the good people of Diva Dirt, mark this day so we shall ~never forget~
We’re bringing you a special edition of Unwrapped, covering the recent multi-Diva shoot, titled “City of Angels”. I won’t be judging them too closely, as there’s only about 2 photos per Diva, so I’ll just focus on their looks. Click here to see the full photoshoot.
Alicia Fox Grade: Sweet. I know some people don’t like rompers, but I happen to love them if they’re done right. And in this case, Alicia does do it right. The colors and stripes are cute, and her hair looks great. Maybe in less flattering poses the loose-fitting romper would look more like a potato sack, but from what I can see, I dig it.
Brie & Nikki Bella Grade: Bland. I’m not one to bound these two together as a package deal, but they’re wearing the same thing, so there ya go. I think it’s pretty cheesy to wear the EXACT.SAME.THING., but I guess that’s the WWE’s doing. In keeping with that, I guess they go for a more boring look, figuring that if you see it twice, it’ll look more interesting. Nope, not this time. They don’t look bad, but I’m not really a fan of the “Price is Right” mentality in dressing.
Gail Kim Grade: Sweet. It’s tough to go wrong with a little black dress, and Gail wears it well, spicing it up with a wide belt and some cute pigtails. It’s pretty simple, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Follow the cut to see the rest of the Divas in the photoshoot.
The first two Divas to appear in this year’s edition of WWE’s flagship Smackdown vs Raw series has been revealed. Current and former Divas Champions, Mickie James and Maryse were revealed today to be in the game. The appearance marks Maryse’s first in a WWE video game. It is expected that the Divas Championship will … Read more
WWE’s resident French fry, Maryse is said to be on the shelf for 3 months. That would put her medical clearance for November. There are two different routes they could go, factoring in some time to work out and get ring-ready, they could bring her back in a post-Survivor Series spot as with Melina last … Read more
Everyone’s favourite French fry, Maryse signalled that she is A-OK after surgery yesterday in Birmingham, AL. yesterday by writing that she’s ‘bionic’ on her Twitter page. In a later tweet, I’m guessing she is responding to fan response/criticism to her match at Night of Champions and/or her injury. She writes: to WWE univers good morning, … Read more
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson has revealed details of the speculated injury of former Divas Champ, Maryse. Maryse will undergo surgery tomorrow in Birmingham, Alabama after having issues with her kneecap which was dislocated last December — a night after her Divas Championship win aired on TV. At the time, Maryse was able to avoid surgery through … Read more
Now former Divas Champion, Maryse has posted & received a few tweets today that may signal an injury. The Raw Diva notes that she is on her way from ‘Atlanta to Birmingham’. Birmingham, Alabama is the residence of Dr. James Andrews, a sports physician who has tended to many WWE Superstars including Triple H, Batista … Read more
WWE’s Night of Champions 2009 is in the books and with the dust settled, we have a new Divas Champion but the same Women’s Champion. Mickie James defeated Maryse to become the third title holder of the Divas title, while Michelle McCool retained over Melina.
SmackDown columnist, Erin looks back at the Women’s Championship bout:
With barely a mention going into the PPV, I didn’t have much hope for Melina and Michelle’s match to really deliver. It’s not that I don’t have faith in either woman to pull off a good match, it’s just that the buildup sucked. Will they exceed expectations? Let us see:
Just as Melina goes to make her signature entrance, Michelle baseball slides into her, knocking her off the apron. Melina takes a sick spill, and the match is off to an interesting start. It certainly got the crowd’s attention. I like that Michelle was the aggressor, instead of playing the cowardly heel they seem intent on portraying her as. Granted, attacking Melina when she’s so vulnerable isn’t exactly a brave move, but it still showed plenty of fire. Once she finally makes it to the ring, Melina tackles Michelle, pummeling her for a bit before letting up. Michelle tries to strike back, but Melina does the Ma-Trish move (Ma-Lina move?) to avert the blow, taking Michelle down with an arm drag and then holding her in an arm bar. She doesn’t settle for a rest hold, elbowing Michelle in the face and irish-whipping her into the corner. Melina runs up to the corner, jumping onto the second rope and doing her reverse kicks, nailing Michelle in her face and stomach. She covers a lot of area before relenting, adding one more frontal kick for good measure before Michelle bails out of the ring.
But Melina won’t have any of that, grabbing Michelle by the hair and dragging her back in. I’ve mentioned this plenty of times before, but I love it when babyfaces aren’t passive and go after their opponent as fiercely as the heels do. Apparently, Michelle feels like playing keep-away, shoving Melina and making another break for it. Melina runs after her again, this time keeping her in the ring. Michelle pulls the classic heel move of calling time out, begging for a break. Melina seems to honor this for a moment, that is before dropkicking Michelle in the face. So much for good sportsmanship, eh? Melina keeps her momentum, bouncing off the ropes and performing a modified hurricanrana, landing on her feet instead and kicking Michelle in the gut. JR calls her “agile and hostile”, which is a pretty accurate description, I’d say.
Michelle ends up on the ropes in what I call the “taking the 619” position. Melina looks to knee her in the back of the head, but Michelle ducks out of the way, letting Melina’s own momentum send her flying through the ropes and out of the ring. Now she’s the aggressor, following Melina to the outside and pounding her against the barricade. She tosses Melina back into the ring, trying for a pin twice in a row (what, maybe 2nd time’s the charm?), but only getting near falls. Frustrated, she latches onto Melina’s leg, twisting her into a modified Boston Crab. Melina’s extreme flexibility and pained screams help sell the move, and she really an truly looks like she’s in agony. She almost looks like she’s going to pass out, half-heartedly reaching for the ropes that are a mile away. Michael Cole is so impressed by this that he diverts into the requisite “Michelle was a school teacher” mention. I wonder if there’s a single person left on Earth that doesn’t know her former line of work. I think the Divas need to fill out bio sheets, just so the announcers have some new things to talk about..
Anywho, back to the match. Melina advances towards the ropes, letting out an ear-piercing scream. Michelle lounges back before finally letting go, kicking the rope out of Melina’s grasp. She bends a standing Melina between the top and second ropes, pulling her back, pendulum-style, and letting her snap forward, smacking into the top rope. It seems like Michelle and Melina really collaborated on this match, coming up with unique ways to use Melina’s flexibility to their advantage. It adds another level to the match, and allows Michelle to look like a ring technician who truly deserves the belt she holds. Melina eventually falls off the apron, once again on the outside. Melina takes refuge on the barricade, and Michelle looks to duplicate her attacks earlier in the match, coming at her with a kick. Melina moves, and Michelle’s suddenly straddling the barricade. The fans let out a massive “ohhhhhh!”, as the move looks pretty damn painful.
Melina joins Michelle on the security wall, climbing onto it and nailing Michelle in the head. She advances to her feet, pulling Michelle up with her. The two fight for momentum, looking shaky, before Michelle latches onto Melina and performs a modified DDT, pounding her head into the barricade and landing on her feet. Melina’s out cold on the outside as Michelle gets back into the ring, stopping the referee’s count. (Was he even counting? They were out a helluva lot longer than 10 seconds.) The camera pans in for a fantastically evil closeup on Michelle’s face. Her crouched pose looks a bit Undertaker-esque, no? Sorry, didn’t mean to open that cans of worms..
Melina stirs on the outside, climbing back onto the apron. Michelle looks to use the baseball slide trick again to knock Melina off, but she telegraphs it, hoisting herself up by the ropes and letting Michelle taste the ringside mat this time. Melina sells her exhaustion, taking the moment to lay back on the apron. In a match with this much physicality, it’s so important for the girls to sell the damage they’ve received and keep continuity, and Michelle and Melina are doing this to a T. Michelle gets back up, back on the attack, but Melina catches her head with her legs, holding Michelle captive and pounding her head onto the apron. That’s certainly an inventive counter if I’ve ever seen one. She keeps Michelle contained for a few more moments before sending her back to the floor, kicking her in the gut. As Michelle gets back to her feet, so does Melina, and she comes flying at Michelle, screaming like a wild animal and doing a modified version of her spinning facebuster, both women landing on the hard mat outside.
The crowd seems pretty into this, what with all the out-of-the-ring action and amped up physicality. I have to say, if this doesn’t get them interested in a Divas match, I don’t know what will. The ladies are putting out all the stops, and it’s great to see the fans appreciating it to a degree. Melina is slow to her feet, but eventually grabs Michelle and sends her back into the ring. Michelle kicks Melina, sending her flying before she can continue her attack. Both women lethargically move about the ring, the physicality of the match taking its toll. Michelle takes her time going after Melina and pays for it, a scissors take down sending her into the ropes like before. Melina bounces of the ropes and knees her in the back of the head, performing the move successfully this time. She gores Michelle into the corner a few times as JR dubs the match “as physically intense as any Divas contest we’ve seen in a long time.” Took the words right out of my mouth.. er, fingers.
Melina sets Michelle into the corner, laying her across the second rope and jumping up, kneeing her in the stomach. The crowd is really reacting to these moves, and seem to be as into this match as any Divas match we’ve seen recently. Kind of ironic for a match with little-to-no buildup. Melina nails Michelle with a reverse spin kick, going for a pin but only getting a 2-count. Melina shows her frustration, looking to irish-whip Michelle into the corner, but Michelle reverses it, latching Melina into a belly-to-belly hold, finishing with a suplex. She gets a near fall, and spears Melina into the corner, turning away for a moment and paying for it, as Melina latches into her with her legs, chopping her in the head. She stays on the turnbuckle, hitting Michelle with a flying take down into a pin. Michelle reverses the pin into one of her own, bending Melina seemingly in half as the referee makes the three count. And with that, the match is over.
Melina looks on in disbelief, and Michelle looks like she can’t quite believe it herself. Both are absolutely wiped, looking like they just completed a marathon. The match, though clocking in at around 7 minutes, certainly felt like a marathon. The girls gave it their all, demonstrating that the Divas can put out all the stops at a PPV just like the guys. The fans were all the way into it, reacting to the big moves and moving with the emotions and tide of the match. This is everything a Diva fan wants – big moves, intense physicality, telling a story with the match, and great fan reactions. The end may seem like a cop out to some, but it just adds to the unpredictability to the match – no one thought the match would end so quickly, and it’s great to keep the fans guessing. It also adds to Michelle’s heel persona, almost as if she cheated the fans out of a spectacular climax. I loved it, personally, but to each their own.
As Michelle left the ring, Melina gave her a look that tells us that this feud is far from over, and I can’t help but love it. These girls have showed with this match that even though they’ve been feuding for quite some time, there’s no burn-out in sight. If they can keep delivering this type of intensity, I don’t care if this feud goes well into Christmas. A long-burning feud has shades of old school wrestling to it, and I don’t see problem with taking a cue from the ladies of the past and extending a feud as long as it’s still hot. And hell, if you don’t think this feud’s hot, you need to check your mental thermometer or something..
Melanie’s review of the Divas Championship match after the cut:
Mickie James has ended Maryse‘s seven month reign as Divas Champion, pinning her to become the second Diva Dirt Grand Slam Champion. As for the match, well… let’s just say we got covered the entire spectrum in one night.
Two Divas matches tonight on PPV — way to spoil us WWE *cough* Tonight’s Night of Champions will see the Divas Championship on the line for Raw when Maryse defends against Mickie James. Meanwhile, for SmackDown the Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool defends against former champion Melina.
Our Diva Dirt writers weigh in:
Divas Championship: Maryse (c) vs Mickie James
Erin: This feud has been slow cooking for the past few weeks, which gives me the inclination that either they don’t give two shits about it, or they’re letting it build gradually (verrrryyy gradually). I have a feeling that they don’t know what else to do with Maryse as champ – everyone’s been complaining that she’s doing the same schtick over and over again, and the only thing to do to remedy that is to change things up. Let Mickie have the title, and either let Maryse chase or get into a non-title feud and develop her heel persona a bit more. It’s clear that Maryse as Divas Champ isn’t going anywhere (it feels like she’s been champ foreverrrr), so the best thing to do is move on. If not, the division’s gonna be going nowhere fast.
Melanie: It’s time for a title change, Maryse has held the title for 7 months now. An unprecedented reign in the women’s division and also bear in mind, that it’s her first ever major championship. Her title reign has been exhausted and I just feel like it’s time for fresh blood. I definitely see Mickie taking the belt tonight. Maryse, I’m sure will get a rematch in the near future or even a triple threat feud involving Beth, with both heels gunning for Mickie. Either way, there’s more possibilites with Mickie as champ and it’s a nice change too. I expect this match will get more time on the card than the SmackDown match, because it’s the more fresh match.
Steven: A few weeks ago, I stated in our roundtable that I didn’t think Mickie was coming out of Night of Champions with gold (or silver) and I stand by that statement. By having Mickie lose, it would be the perfect opportunity to extend this feud and shape it into a decent rivalry a la Melina and Michelle. I say Maryse retains and Mickie wins at the next PPV.
Tiffany: This may be wishful thinking on my part, but I’m holding out to see Maryse pick up the win. I’m not entirely sure just how possible it may be, but I’m keeping hope alive. Sure, Maryse got the last laugh going into the event, but this feud has been so back-and-forth that it’s hard to tell. Maryse has had a lengthy reign so far, but I’m not entirely ready to see her let it go just yet. And, I’m not entirely convinced that WWE is either. We’ve seen Mickie in the title picture, but where exactly have we gone from there? So…I’d like to see Maryse prevail this weekend, as unlikely as that may seem. I think, by retaining, she has a lot more going for her.
