WWE.com is celebrating Women’s History Month with some of the WWE Divas revealing their dream match. While most of the picks were the standard ‘Trish’ or ‘Moolah’, two of the picks were a little more interesting… Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool would want to face… herself. She says: “There’s really nobody on my level in WWE, … Read more
Welcome to this week’s edition of Unwrapped! As always, we will be grading all of the new photoshoots (or “eye candy”, as we like to call them) from the week gone by, judging them like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
You, the reader, will also get the chance to grade the “eye candy” yourself by giving your opinion on each shoot and voting for your favorite out of the whole bunch. Now, dive in!
Eve Torres‘ Close Knit Grade: Sweet. According to Shad Gaspard, she’s the hottest Diva in the WWE and looking at this photoshoot — we can see why. Eve brings sexy, glamorous and girl next door into a single photoshoot with ‘Close Knit’. The Diva, wearing a navy blue knitted sweater dress doesn’t look overtly sexual, but manages to bring the sexy anyway. With an outfit like this and legs like that, Eve doesn’t really rely on posing as much and some of her poses may seem a little boring. But overall, this is a sexy photoshoot!
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Maria‘s Curtain Call Grade: Sour. Who will do a photoshoot every single week now that Maria’s gotten the axe? In her final photoshoot for WWE, Maria gave us all the things we’ve become accustomed to in her pictorials: pouty lips and outlandishly garish outfits. Unfortunately, Maria’s patented gloves didn’t get to make their curtain call. It’s all you’ve come to expect from Maria and honestly, that’s not a good thing. Nonetheless, au revoir Maria!
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
The Hart Dynasty, led by Natalya, continued their winning ways over the oddball team of Maria, Matt Hardy and The Great Khali this week on WWE Superstars. After beating the trio last week on SmackDown, the Harts handed the group another loss. I’m sure Uncle Bret being on Raw has nothing to do with their … Read more
Welcome to this week’s edition of Unwrapped! As always, we will be grading all of the new photoshoots (or “eye candy”, as we like to call them) from the week gone by, judging them like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
You, the reader, will also get the chance to grade the “eye candy” yourself by giving your opinion on each shoot and voting for your favorite out of the whole bunch. Now, dive in!
Katie Lea‘s Night Owl Grade: Bland. At this point, I think complaining about all of Katie Lea’s photoshoots being the same is pointless, because it’s become obvious that they’re going to always stick to the same theme: creepy makeup, dark clothing, and strange, hand-focused poses. In order to prevent having the same complaint every time, I’ll just judge them by the rubric she’s developed for herself. For one, I love the dark eye makeup she’s got, because from far away it looks super creepy and is more effective than the swirly stuff she’s painted on before. The clothing is a bit restrained compared to what we’ve seen in the past, but the blue color is cool and pops against all the black, bringing out the bit of blue makeup around the eyes. The pants look like lace tights layered over a darker pair of tights, which kind of is a cool look and livens up the dark ensemble. As many of the reader have mentioned before, the blonde extensions look icky and are just begging to be plucked out. It kind of looks like she’s trying to do that in a few of her poses which, by the way, aren’t as interesting as they could be. It’s just more of the same in that department, and I feel like she’s got it in her to really go off the wall with them, but is just restraining herself. A bit of a break from the norm would do a lot for her, but then again, I’ve said that plenty of time before..
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Natalya‘s Dressed for Success Grade: Sweet. There’s nothing simpler than a little black dress, and Natalya makes it look fantastic, taking it beyond “simple” with her killer figure and an interesting pyramid studded belt. Those belts usually have a more “punk” feel to them, but here it actually looks kind of chic. The black heels finish off a completely black color scheme, which I admire Natalya for sticking to. Some might try to force in some color or manufacture some excitement, but Natalya kept it relatively subdued and it completely works for her. The fact that the dress has a high neck and long sleeves doesn’t even begin to make her look dowdy–it’s form-fitting and, as I mentioned before, her rocking body gives the dress its edge. The shoot’s scenery–a locker room–doesn’t exactly go with the look, but it’s pretty interesting. Natalya poses in the lockers, making the best of a random setting and diversifying her poses. She just looks stunning, even despite the feeling I’m getting that there’s a stinky gym bag just outside the shot.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
SmackDown Diva, Natalya and her fellow Hart Dynasty team mates will be appearing on Raw this coming Monday as the show will be hosted by Nattie’s uncle, Bret Hart. With Melina expected to relinquish the Divas Championship on Monday night, it would be momentous to see Natalya shockingly take the title, wouldn’t it? Especially on … Read more
We were a little saddened that Natalya‘s match got cut from this week’s SmackDown, but the good news is that FCW is here to [more than] make up for it. The Hart Dynasty Diva takes on FCW’s little firecracker, AJ Lee on this week’s episode of FCW. Watch below: This was a nice little match … Read more
A second Divas match taped for tonight’s episode of SmackDown was cut from the broadcast, it seems. A six person tag team match saw Diva of the Year, Maria team with Slam Master J and Jimmy Wang Yang against Natalya‘s team, The Hart Dynasty. According to spoilers for the taping, Natalya attacked Maria after the … Read more
2009 is now over and we are celebrating with our second annual Year-End Awards. This year, we have had thousands of votes as you have voted for the top Divas, Knockouts, matches and moments of 2009!And now it’s time to reveal the winners.
Welcome to this week’s edition of Unwrapped! As always, we will be grading all of the new photoshoots (or “eye candy”, as we like to call them) from the week gone by, judging them like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
You, the reader, will also get the chance to grade the “eye candy” yourself by giving your opinion on each shoot and voting for your favorite out of the whole bunch. Now, dive in!
Brie Bella‘s Bottle Shock Grade: Bland. Boy, the Bellas sure love posing with those tanks, don’t they? Brie is accompanied by those props here, and while she looks great (the shoes and dress are great, though I’m not fond of the headband she always wears), she looks a bit silly posing so seductively against them. It’s kind of like she’s trying to market them as a product using the Carl’s Jr./Paris Hilton marketing method. Expect sales of carbonic acid (which I assume is in there–it says H2O & carbon dioxide) to triple in the next month.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Natalya‘s Up in Flames Grade: Bland. It’s time for another ring gear shoot from Natalya! While I particularly liked last week’s gear shoot, this one lacks in the pose department, which Natalya even breaking out the duck lips in a few photos (*horror movie scream*). The setting, which we saw in a previous Rosa shoot, is still as cool looking as it was back then, but it just doesn’t gel with what Natalya’s wearing. It’s just not easy to picture her wandering outside in her ring gear and coming across a rustic setting by chance. I just hope Natalya eases back into regular shoots soon-she must be running out of tights!
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
We’ve modified our Unwrapped feature a bit. On top of our grading, we’ll give you the chance to give your own grade to each photoshoot, “branding” each like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
Alicia Fox‘s The Bends Grade: Sweet. I love the copper tones in her ring gear, and her unique poses fit the mood of the shoot while putting a different spin on the typical “ring gear” poses, which usually constitute standing around and putting on your best “tough” face. Alicia shows her personality in these photos–the stretching and balled fist poses being standouts–and makes it a fun shoot. In a few of the shoots it looks like she’s literally coming at you. It’s 3D–no special glasses needed!
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Natalya‘s Cross My Heart Grade: Sweet. Natalya’s back to posing in her Hart ring gear, but at least these are pretty interesting, what with the fringed shoulder accents and interesting designs on the gear. It’s certainly eye-catching, and manages to look interesting even though it’s about her 20th pair of tights in hot pink and black. The poses are a bit different from the usual and they show that she’s becoming increasingly comfortable with photoshoots–she looks like a natural. The photoshoot manages to not blend into the many other similar shoots, but with so many of them, you think she’d be doing more actual wrestling..
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
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!
ALICIA FOX Erin: Is this a top and a skirt or a dress? Either way, I’m not too keen on it. The pattern could be cute on another clothing item, but here it looks a bit too “Malibu Barbie” for me. 4/10 Melanie: It’s er, unique? I know Alicia has her own quirky style and all, that’s cool but I just can’t… 3/10
THE BELLA TWINS Erin: It’s not the smartest thing in the world to wear such short, tight dresses for an Evening Gown match, but the dresses themselves aren’t bad at all. I prefer the one with less lace, though. 7/10 Melanie: I like these outfits. I don’t think we can ever expect anything mind-blowing from the Bellas, but this is a step in the right direction. 6/10
Read on for more of this week’s outfits and to see who’s been branded our winner and loser.
WWE Hall of Famer and rumoured returnee, Bret Hart has once again praised Divas Champion, Melina — this time declaring that he’s something of a mark for the A-List Diva. Speaking to Wrestling Observer Radio, he says: “I’m kind of a mark for Melina. I think she’s really creative and I find that she’s got … Read more
Last night’s Raw, in all its bloated 3 hour glory, was the annual Slammy Awards edition. Among the awards to be handed out were Diva of the Year, which was to be voted on by the fans at WWE.com. As we waited on pins and needles (not) to find out who won the award, we pondered whether the award would be given to support a storyline via rigging by the WWE or a popularity contest held by the voting public. As is turns out, it was neither, and I’ll explain my theory as we come to it.
We start our Divas action (not counting the Divas presenting awards throughout the night) with a Jerry Springer-esque evening gown tag team match. The babyfaces–Mickie James, Melina, Brie & Nikki Bella, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, and Maria are taking on the heels–Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Alicia Fox, and Rosa Mendes. Most look out of place and trashy in their gowns, and I would critique them (I’ll save that for this week’s Style Jury), but I’m much more distracted by the fact that they’re WRESTLING IN EVENING GOWNS. Well, this’ll be one mesmerizing clusterfuck:
Skip to 2:52
They start with a line-up face-off, trading verbal barbs before heading off their their respective corners. Mickie and Rosa start off the match, Rosa takign advantage and tossing Mickie around, pounding her head on the mat. They trade slaps, and Rosa tosses Mickie into the corner. Mickie blocks her attack, locking her head with her legs and hitting a hurricanrana. She then pulls her to her feet, hitting her Mickie-T to get the pin an the win for her team.
I have to say, this is one of the few moments where I’m glad that a Diva match was cut short. I’m glad that no more than two Divas had to humiliate themselves by wrestling in their dresses. Mickie and Rosa did as awkwardly as I expected, but hey, someone had to take the bullet. Now that the match is over, it’s time for the Diva of the Year Slammy to be awarded. The girls line up in anticipation as MVP and Goldust present the award.
Our winner is announced as, drumroll please…. Maria??? MVP’s reaction right before he reads her name says it all, and Maria looks as shocked as the rest of us as she goes up to accept her award, saying a typical acceptance speech before being interrupted by Batista in a douche costume, doing a Kanye West impression that’s not only awful but over 3 months old. If the joke were a carton of milk, it would have expired into a living organism at this point and, ironically, would be more worthy of a Diva of the Year award than Maria. Maria plays Taylor Swift as she left the stage and allowed Dave to be “escorted” off by security.
But as we watch the wild pink-polo-wearing douchebag be captured in his natural habitat, we’re left to ponder the reasoning behind this decision to crown Maria as Diva of the Year. Was is it truly a popularity contest, and she was just the most popular Diva among the fans? Or was it rigged for storyline purposes? As I said earlier, I believe it was neither, because I have a theory. Yes, Maria is popular, and I do not doubt that fans flocked to vote for her in the poll, but I don’t believe her star power amongst the casual fans is that much stronger than, say, a Mickie James or a Kelly Kelly.
We’ve modified our Unwrapped feature a bit. On top of our grading, we’ll give you the chance to give your own grade to each photoshoot, “branding” each like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
NOTE: I missed last week’s post due to a busy schedule, so I’ve combined the photoshoots from the past two weeks into one mega post. Enjoy!
Alicia Fox‘s Heavy Metal Grade: Sweet. The aesthetic of the steel against the all-black ensemble create a rock-n-roll vibe, and Alicia supports that with her serious and sexy poses. She poses against the door in interesting ways, using her arms and legs to tell the story rather than relying on her face or physique to capture the attention. Her outfit–black leather-like tights, black tube top, black knee-high boots, a black headband, and an eye-catching belt–is simple but extremely sexy. The fact that they’re all in black don’t detract from the look, but rather enhance it. Her figure is on full show, but it doesn’t look at all trashy.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Beth Phoenix‘s Poured In Grade: Bland. The centerpiece of this shoot is the hot pink corset top, which, in my opinion, is its undoing. The jeans and boots are quite nice, but the corset looks like it’s literally sucking the life out of her–her bra looks ready to explode. She looks uncomfortable, judging by her facial expressions in a few photos and how gingerly she sits and stands. They might say “no pain, no gain”, but in this instance the pain didn’t help Beth gain a damn thing. Breathe Beth, breathe!!
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
Congratulations are in order for the Divas of SmackDown as I can positively say that this week’s episode was the best Divas action that I’ve seen in quite some time. From the #1 Contenders Match featuring three of the most talented women in the WWE, actual storyline set up afterwards and the return of a Diva — WWE managed to pack a lot into 10 minutes [which is pretty long for a Divas segment on TV] but it all came across as being important. Watch the action below:
On paper, the triple threat match between Beth Phoenix, Mickie James and Natalya seemed full-proof and it was. The work between all three Divas was fantastic, particularly the interaction between the power houses of WWE’s women’s division — Phoenix and Natalya. The way the pair cleared the ring of Mickie James in the early going and then fought among themselves was a great touch. Natalya is probably one of the most talented Divas to ever step foot into the WWE but hasn’t received the same opportunities as Phoenix or James. If we didn’t have spoilers prior, Natalya would be the one I would be rooting for — and to be completely honest, even though I knew the outcome, I still kind of did hope for her to win!
Some beautiful spots in this match including Mickie’s hurricanrana on Natalya, and Natalya’s discus clothesline on Mickie. But perhaps the most impressive is Beth’s effortless Glam Slam on a woman that equals her in stature. A fantastic spot.
The end sees Mickie James dropkick Beth out of the ring and ‘steal’ the victory. I really liked Mickie’s placement in this match, she couldn’t conceivably be considered as physical as Beth or Natalya, so they used her as a scrappy underdog fighting against the larger Divas.
Meanwhile, the real greatness in this match was the work between Beth and Natalya. I’d absolutely love to see a secondary between these two as a result of this week’s show, in addition to Michelle-Mickie. With Beth squashing Divas left, right and center, here she got an opponent that can step toe-to-toe with her and have a knock-down fight with. Perhaps market Natalya as almost an equal to Beth and see which Diva comes out on top.
We’ve modified our Unwrapped feature a bit. On top of our grading, we’ll give you the chance to give your own grade to each photoshoot, “branding” each like so:
Sweet (Great) • Bland (Iffy) • Sour (Awful)
Beth Phoenix‘s Green-Skinned Monster Grade: Sweet. I love it when Beth goes for a really bold color for her ring gear, and this shiny green is perfect. The gold phoenixes go with it perfectly, too. Beth looks so regal with her poses, especially the ones where she hangs her little drapery like wings. She just looks so statuesque, and if there was ever any Diva that looked like she was carved from stone, it’s the Glamazon.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Brie & Nikki Bella‘s The Skins Grade: Bland. This is more or less your typical “sexy sport jersey” photoshoot, just doubled. I like the laces at the side of the jerseys and how Brie and Nikki showed some diversity by wearing different types of bottoms, but overall this photoshoot isn’t much more than an ad for some local bar’s NFL night. If Nikki and Brie insist on doing photoshoots together, I’d prefer them to not be so damn cliche.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
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Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.
In celebration of Thanksgiving, this edition of Unwrapped will feature the Divas’ Thanksgiving-themed photoshoot, in which each dress in their best (or most stereotypical) Native American costumes. (Click here to see the full photoshoot.)
We’ll give you the chance to give your own grade to each photoshoot, “branding” each like so: Sweet means it’s great, Bland means it’s on the fence, and Sour means it’s just awful. Now, let’s unwrap this eye candy:
Alicia Fox Grade: Bland. The color and fit of the dress make it look more like a potato sack than a dress. The matching blue trim and headband are cute, though, and the red feather absolutely pops. But still, for someone we’ve dubbed “Alicia Fierce”, she could have cooked up a far more fierce costume than this!
[poll id=”450″]
Beth Phoenix Grade: Sweet. I love that Beth went pretty bare-bones and wore (what looks like) a deer skin outfit fashioned with her own two hands. I’d totally buy it if you told me Beth took down and skinned the deer herself. So sexy! ..Not the “killing animals” part, of course. You know what I mean.
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Read more to see the rest of the Thanksgiving looks and vote for your favorite.
Ironically, the most notable Diva not involved in this Sunday’s Surivor Series pay per view is the Diva contribution to WWE.com’s new ‘dream Survivor Series teams’ article. Pretty simple: the Superstars and Divas pick the four stars they’d pick to be on their team in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match. Third-gen Diva Natalya unsurprisingly … Read more
In order to consolidate our Eye Candy coverage, we’ve developed a new feature: Unwrapped! We’ll take all the new photoshoots from the week and grade (or “brand”) each based on the following criteria:
• Appearance(hair, clothes, makeup.. you get the drift)
• Poses(are they versatile or just glorified statues?)
• Uniqueness(have we seen this photoshoot a billion times before?) Grading scale: Sweet (Great)/Bland (Iffy)/Sour (Awful)
Eve Torres‘s Golden Grappler Appearance: Eve’s wearing her signature ring gear in a stunning shade of gold. The black and gold look fantastic with her complexion. Her hair looks fabulous too. The ruching and frills on the top is a little out of place, though, but I guess you won’t be seeing it up close when she’s wrestling. I just overall like her style of ring gear–it certainly sets her apart. The shorts and boots kind of give me a Lara Croft vibe. Poses: The poses don’t alternate too much, but she looks gorgeous–she certainly can do the “sexy facE” thing without it looking over-the-top. I really dig the crouching pose. Uniqueness: It’s a ring gear photoshoot, and Eve’s ring gear is unique in itself, so this shoot’s got that going for it. Grade: Sweet. I love ring gear shoots and Eve’s gear is pretty interesting, so it’s a winning combination.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Layla‘s The Heat of the Moment Appearance: Layla’s going for the “white hot” Miami Heat movement–it’s almost like she’s in the seats at the American Airline Arena during a big home game. The stark white shorts, sweatband, and Converse boots paired with the jersey would be a bit too much in a conventional outfit, but this is kind of a costume-y look, so I can accept it. The white look especially hot in this high-contrast lighting. It’s nice to see Layla’s got still got some team spirit in her. Poses: White, white white.. Layla’s white clothes, posed against the white wall make for an interesting look. One wouldn’t think that you could do much posing in a corner, but Layla uses it well. She switches from smoldering and sexy to fun without missing a beat. Uniqueness: Not many Divas (if at all) have danced for an NBA team, so Layla’s naturally got to show off her team spirit. This is one “sexy jersey” shoot that doesn’t come off as cheesy to me. Grade: Sweet. This is more than just a “chick in a jersey” shoot–Layla puts her trademark spunky-ness into it to make it interesting.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Mickie James‘s Unflappable Appearance: Mickie’s looking all flapper in her sparkly dress, long pearl necklace, and glizty hair clip. It’s costume-y, yeah, and looked kind of silly when she wore it on SmackDown, but this benefits from being in a photoshoot. The costume vibe is much easier to swallow. She fills out the dress beautifully, and her hair is wonderfully retro in a way we don’t see Mickie very often. Poses: There’s a few blank stares that derail it a bit, but Mickie manages to inject her fun personality into it regardless. I especially love the over-the-shoulder poses. Uniqueness: Not many Divas go to he roaring 20s for style inspiration. I like that Mickie’s gone a little outside the lines for this look, even if it looked a bit silly on telvision. Grade: Sweet. Now let’s just see if she can do the Charleston.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.
Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots and vote for your favorite.
Friday the 13th may be considered an ‘unlucky’ day but mark the date in your diaries folks, because this Friday the 13th brings good luck to the Divas and their fans alike. On paper, Mickie James vs Natalya is a dream match waiting to happen and this week, the dream match became a reality…
Just moments prior to this match, we see Layla approach Mickie backstage in another badly-acted backstage segment. While Layla distracts Mickie, this allows Michelle McCool to sneak into Mickie’s lockerroom because otherwise that close-up of Mickie’s dressing room door will have been for nothing. Mickie once again calls Layla ‘Scary Spice’ in a lame attempt at humour. Note to WWE: It’s not going to catch on.
Anyway, with the rising tension set, it’s time for all to boil over, in where else, but the ring. Mickie gets a full entrance while Natalya has to make do with a Beth-jobber-sized ‘announcement’. Rude.
Easily two of the best wrestlers on the Divas roster, we finally get to the wrestling bit as the bell rings and Natalya takes down Mickie by her legs and then begins slapping her around the head. Nothing pretty about Natalya’s style, as has been much noted, but it’s fun to watch and breaks from the Diva norm. Natalya then gets to her feet and looks rather like ODB as she taunts her opponent. She goes for a clothesline but Mickie counters into a snapmare and a beautiful low dropkick which stuns the powerhouse third-gen Diva. Natalya scatters from the ring in true heel fashion crying, “You back her up!”
Mickie, taking no nonsense, goes for a baseball slide but Natalya moves out of the way and shoves Mickie into the steel steps. When was the last time the steps came into play in a Divas match? And no, Melina tripping on them doesn’t count. This was a nice display of physicality from Natalya, it’s rare to see the harsh steel steps used in Divas matches but it fits with Natalya’s rough-house style. Mickie sells the spot well as Nattie takes the lead and throws Mickie back in the ring and capitalises on hurting Mickie with a quick pin fall.
Natalya grabs Mickie by the hair and slams her straight back onto the mat, before locking Mickie into her patented surfboard submission move. With Natalya’s shoulders down, the referee begins the three-count in Mickie’s favour but Nattie breaks the hold, causing her to fall smack-flat on her face. Great spot here.
The Hart Dynasty Diva follows up with forearms and stomps Mickie in the corner with no relent. In a very nice Melina-esque spot, Natalya attempts to force Mickie out of the corner by her legs, Mickie holds onto the ropes with her arms and ends up jumping to her feet and comes at her with forearms. Natalya then comes back with a forearm of her own, then shoves Mickie into aforementioned corner and lays in knee strikes to Mickie’s body. Mickie manages to hit her patented hurricanrana from the corner and then gains momentum with clotheslines, Natalya then comes back and somehow Mickie ends up jumping through the bottom rope. O… kay…
Natalya runs at Mickie on the apron, Mickie with a shoulder block and goes up top, the two Divas then trade blows. All of a sudden we cut to Layla and McCool coming down to the ring with a few choice garments from Mickie’s lockerroom. In the ring, Mickie hits a Thesz Press from the top and goes for a cover but Natalya kicks out. Mickie becomes distracted by Layla & Michelle, who [wearing gloves, by the way] cut into Mickie’s purple wrestling top.
In the ring, Natalya takes advantage with a clothesline from behind and locks in her finisher, the Sharpshooter and Mickie eventually taps out. Meanwhile, Layla & Michelle are now cutting into Mickie’s pants. Mickie, who seems to be emotionally invested in her clothes, is visibly in tears. I know clothes can hold a sentimental value but this just came across silly. Wouldn’t you expect her to jump out of the ring and chase them? Not watch on in a flood of tears like they’ve run over her cat.
The match itself was very solid and featured great work from both Divas; it was hard hitting, it was at times rough and thoroughly enjoyable. It’s a shame that the fans in attendance weren’t more into it, which is unusual for UK crowds who pretty much cheer the whole show. The commentary also, was rather bland and monotonous for the most part and added little to the match. Perhaps those two factors could have helped a little more but other than that, I thought this was a great match and both Divas did a great job. I can’t help but feel that with more time and perhaps a little less restriction, it could’ve been even better. This came across as just 25% of what they can do and hopefully one day we’ll see them go all out.
Next up, the Glamazon Squash Tour stops by Britain:
Simmer down… Only at a house show! Yes, third-gen Diva Natalya scored a big match against Women’s Champ, Michelle McCool yesterday in Düsseldorf, Germany. While the Raw brand has a set #1 Contender [Alicia Fox] to face Melina on their European tour, women’s wrestling fans who are attending the SmackDown side of things are getting … Read more
We’re again bringing you a special edition of Unwrapped, where we cover multi-Diva shoots in a miniaturized version of our regular “unwrappings”, focusing on the looks and ensembles our Divas have put together. Today, as it is Halloween, our “Eye Candy” will be the kind associated with jack-o-lanterns and bags of sweets. We are looking at the 3-part “Scream Queens” photoshoot, in which the Divas show off their Halloween costumes. Click the following links to see the full photoshoots: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Alicia Fox Costume: Vampire Creativity (on a scale of 1-10): 7. A vampire is one of the most cliche Halloween costumes, sure, but I like that she put some effort into it, wearing a cape and fangs and not being too concerned with looking sexy. Her poses are cool too, and make what could be a rather bland costume pretty exciting. Bonus points for looking a like an old school vampire, too. Grade: Sweet. She looks cute and the extra thought put into it–not just plastic fangs and lingerie–makes it interesting.
Beth Phoenix Costume: Nurse Creativity (on a scale of 1-10): 1. Talk about cliche–what’s a more cheesy “sexy” costume than a nurse? Frankly, I expected better from Beth, but she seems content to pose in a skanky costume suggestively holding a stethoscope. Come on Beth, I didn’t think you were that uncreative. Grade: Sour. This looks so strange on Beth. It’s just not “like” her, if you get my drift, and this is not an instance where that would be a good thing.
Brie & Nikki Bella Costume: Belly dancers Creativity (on a scale of 1-10): 4. The sexy “belly dancer” costume is pretty cliche, especially in so scantily clad a fashion. But hey, it’s kind of cool, what with all the veils and such. There’s more to it than other “sexy” costumes. Grade: Bland. It’s not original by any means, but they certainly look cute. There’s just so much potential with twin costumes, and they sort of dropped the ball on this one.
Read on to see the rest of the Divas’ costumes and vote for your favorite.
The fans in attendance at SmackDown voted Mickie James as the winner of the SmackDown Divas Halloween Costume Contest. But what do you think? Did Mickie deserve the win or would you have picked someone else? Based on the looks above & the little ‘performances’ each Diva gave, who would you have picked to win? … Read more
Note: As a result of the ‘Diva Dirt Trade’, the SmackDown Redux is now written by Melanie! Like Mickie James, I have left behind Raw after two years of the Raw Redux but left it in the very capable hands of Erin. You can read Erin’s Raw Redux every Tuesday here at Diva Dirt.
In the words of Comic Book Guy: “Worst. Costume. Contest. Ever.” Much second hand embarassment was felt for the four Divas involved; from the unflattering costume choices [that’s you Mickie!] to the ‘white people dancing’ [thanks Michelle!], this one didn’t look too hot.
However earlier in the night, we kicked things off on a much brighter note when the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix made her in-ring debut as a SmackDown Diva in a squash match. This to me was the perfect set-up. Since her debut in 2007 [let’s ignore the original debut], Beth has been pushed as the monster heel of the women’s division; the powerful and dominant Glamazon. In the past year, it’s safe to say she’s waned a little as a character as a result of poor booking but all that seems to be changing thanks to the move to SmackDown. Usually with these monster heel types, they’ll have squash matches for weeks on end against the ‘jobber of the week’, we’ve seen it with the likes of The Great Khali, Umaga, Mike Knox and most recently, Sheamus on ECW. I think it’s really intriguing for a Diva to be given similar treatment and really have that time to be put over as a ‘big bad monster’. This almost re-introduces Beth, putting out of mind what she’s been doing on Raw lately, and sort of starting from scratch. So it would Beth Phoenix versus local jobber known as Jenny Brooks, who it’s explained has some history with Beth:
Fresh from defeating Melina to take a win for Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights, Beth gets her first match on SmackDown. We kick off with Beth throwing Jenny to the mat and laying in some kicks & punches and then literally, kicking Brooks out of the ring. That definitely looked impressive.
Beth then drags Brooks back into the ring by her hair and then picks her up for a standing suplex, hoisting Jenny into the air for a good 30 seconds or so. This is something we’ve seen before in Beth’s arsenal and really is a sight to see, so it’s nice to see that it’s dusted off here. Beth then picks up Brooks by the neck and slams her over her knee, before just throwing her into the corner like a rag doll. Jenny then tries to fight back but is thrown against the ropes by Beth and then gets hit with an axehandle across the head. The end is here for the visiting Brooks as Beth sets up an epic looking Glam Slam, once again just holding that position as with the suplex, and as you’ll see she does a 360 on the spot so all the fans in attendance can see her sheer dominance which is a very nice touch, and then slams her down. Beth then takes a moment to adjust herself, looking composed and not in a rush, before pinning Brooks with ease.
I really enjoyed this. Like I said, it almost re-introduces Beth and her dominance with the use of the elongated standing suplex and Glam Slam, using Beth as a spectacle almost. She really came across great here as a non-chalant bad ass heel. The little touches like taking her time before pinning her opponent, while just a small touch, added that much more to atmosphere and I really like that. I hope they can keep this up and continue to have Beth booked strongly & break the mould of what it means to be a Diva today; as mentioned earlier, Diva squash matches are unthinkable but for that to be used as a storyline device for Beth shows some progression. Good segment.
After the cut, the Divas Halloween Costume Contest:
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!
Alissa Flash Costume: Horror movie victim Why?: It seems like every Melissa Anderson character is getting “killed off” of TNA, or at least decimated. What better way for her to poke fun at this massacre than to smear yourself with fake blood and scream your head off? Bonus points for fake wounds. Let’s see Awesome Kong do this kind of damage. Get the look: Make some fake blood, tear up some old clothes, and apply some strategically-placed dark makeup for that crucial gaunt look.
Brie & Nikki Bella Costume: The twins from “The Shining” Why?: Have there ever been two creepier twins in horror movie history? I think not. Dress the Bellas up in those famous blue dresses and place them in an empty hallway. Get them to say “Come play with us!” in unison and you’ve got something even scarier than Jack Nicholson armed with an axe. Get the look: Find your twin (or someone who bears a striking resemblance) and dress yourselves in matching prim and proper power blue dresses. Don’t forget the blank stares!
Jillian Costume: Lady Gaga Why?: Jillian’s adoration may have shifted from Britney to Lady Gaga, if her performance of “Paparazzi” following her Divas Championship win was any indication. From one outrageous Diva to another, Jillian could make the transition easily with her blonde hair. She just needs to pick any crazy outfit Gaga’s worn (such as her infamous bubble ensemble), apply some heavy eyeliner, and she’s golden! Get the look: Toss on this Lady Gaga-inspired wig, apply some bold makeup, and pick your favorite Gaga fashion statement. FYI–chances are you won’t be wearing pants.
The SmackDown team may have been led by WWE Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool but it was the newest addition to the roster that was a blue beacon of success for the brand. Decked in SmackDown colours, a royal blue Glamasuit [as we have affectionately started calling them], Beth Phoenix Glam Slammed her way to victory and had a helping hand in SmackDown taking the Bragging Rights trophy last night.
To the beginning now, let’s take a look at the match as it happened… Team SmackDown make their entrance first with the Women’s Champion debuting a new piece to her attire — a robe. Proving she can do nothing right, this one has already hit a sore spot on the interwebz with “AJ Styles rip-off” comments. Mmm… trivial. Meanwhile, Beth Phoenix is looking mighty Glamariffic in royal blue. While Team SmackDown have opted for eye-popping colours like royal blue, emerald green and hot pink, Team Raw are much more subdued in their colour choices.
We kick things off with Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim, in something of a dream match. Beth starts off with a kick to the gut followed by the Divas exchanging forearms. The crafty former Women’s Champion, Gail Kim goes for a mid-rope crossbody but is caught but the powerful Phoenix. Gail manages to flip things over into a pin attempt but Beth kicks out. The Glamazon begins woman-handling Kim before Michelle McCool blind-tags herself in. Gail manages to subdue the Champ with a lovely hurricanrana that is sold well by McCool, who then cowers into her corner allowing Natalya the tag.
Another dream match here; Nattie vs Gail. The physical third-gen Diva slams Gail to the mat. As things progress Gail hits her lovely launch through the ropes on Natalya followed by that unorthodox jumping butt bump. Kelly Kelly is then tagged in to the biggest pop so far, Kelly works well with Nattie and keeps the pace up with a twilt-a-whirl hurricanrana. Natalya then hangs Kelly on the ropes, showing her prowess. Natalya, with her brute force, drives Kelly into the corner and begins kneeing her. This all looks rather ferocious which is perhaps the biggest difference between Natalya and the Glamazon; while both share powerhouse quality — there’s nothing pretty about Nattie’s offense while Beth is a little more Diva-esque. In the corner, Kelly goes for a sunset flip but to no avail as Michelle tags in. After a short exchange, in comes Beth as Team SmackDown begin their ‘wear down’ of Kelly. Kelly makes a desperate effort to tag in Melina or Gail but the powerful Beth manages to drive her back to the Team Blue corner. Michelle is back in now and hangs in there with her team mates, throwing Kelly around like a rag doll. Beth Phoenix then blind-tags herself in much to McCool’s shock, Kelly begins fighting back with a hurricanrana into a rollup but Beth kicks out. Kelly with a jawbreaker on Beth and finally hits a tag to Melina.
Eve Torres‘ Close Knit
Maria‘s Curtain Call
