Natalya Archives - Page 78 of 84

Raw Redux (June 7th, 2010): So Much Time, So Little Divas

December 6, 2010June 8, 2010 by Erin

Tonight’s Raw, being billed as a 3-hour, “viewer’s choice” show featuring wrestlers from both Raw and Smackdown, was destined to be a little cluttered, given how many elements were in the mix. Unfortunately, very little of that mixture consisted of Divas. In the whole span of three hours, the Divas (all 12 of them) took up about 4 minutes of time. That’s a “needle in a haystack” situation if I’ve ever seen one. But, there’s always hope that they make the most of the little time they were given. Did they? Let’s see..

The stipulation of the Divas match was, like the rest of the matches, determined the fans’ vote. The choices were either: a 6-on-6 Tag Team match, a battle royal, or a champion vs. champion match, which would pit Eve vs. Layla. The fans picked the battle royal, and I’m sure the WWE were glad for that (if the vote wasn’t rigged, which it probably was) because that means MORE DIVAS!!!~~~~~. Nothing can ever go wrong with fitting as many Divas as possible into a 4-minute slot, amiright?:

We start with the 64 12 Divas in the ring, and they all more or less pair off. A double-team by Brie and Nikki Bella sends Rosa Mendes flying out of the ring. Sucks for her, but it’s better than when she practically threw herself out of the ring in the last battle royal. Tiffany is eliminated next, falling from the top turnbuckle while pummeling Michelle McCool. Kelly Kelly gets knocked off the ring apron by Michelle while trading blows with Layla.

Gail Kim and Alicia Fox eliminate each other while tussling on top of the ropes, a modified hurricanrana taking out both the deliverer and the recipient. Michelle and Layla stop a Bella Twins attack on Maryse and eliminate the both of them with tandem dropkicks. Eve attacks Laycool, fighting valiantly and hitting some impressive spots before eliminating the both of them by shoving Layla into Michelle, causing them to slip through the middle rope.

Raw Redux (May 31st, 2010): Who Put a Hit Out On the Divas Championship Feud?

June 21, 2010June 1, 2010 by Erin

Last week’s Raw gave me a sense that the Divas Championship feud was on the decline, quality-wise, but I was hopeful that it was a one-week thing and the WWE would again devote the same attention to the feud that they had for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, it looks like they’re headed in that same southward direction, as this week we were given the type of match that completely exposes the lack of creavity on the part of the WWE booking staff: the mixed tag team match. And not only that, it was a mixed tag team match in which the parings made little sense: Eve teamed with Santino to take on the dynamic duo of… Maryse and William Regal? Did I miss a week of buildup that would connect these four people together? No? Okay, I’ll just go with it:

Before the match can begin, Santino tries to butter up Vladamir Kozlov, even putting up Eve for barter. She’s not into the idea. Anyways, with the bargaining over, Maryse and Eve start out the match, Maryse getting the first blow when she knees Eve in the stomach. She whip Eve into the ropes, but Eve turns the tables, rolling over Maryse’s back and hitting a dropkick. This is enough for Maryse, apparently, and she tags in William Regal. This brings Eve out and Santino in.

The men wrestle for a bit until Regal locks Santino into a crossface maneuver. Eve come in and breaks the hold in a move that’s uncharacteristic, but interesting. Babyfaces are often so one-dimensional, so it’s nice to see her break the rules a bit. Maryse, playing the vengeful babyface in this scenario, comes in and attacks Eve, and the two tussle. The referee is distracted by this, allowing Kozlov to come in, swerve Regal, and chokeslam him. Maryse, for some reason, leaves with him, and Eve and Santino get the win.

Raw Redux (May 24th, 2010): Old Tricks and New Faces

June 8, 2010May 25, 2010 by Erin

After the underwhelming Divas Championship match at Over the Limit, I was hopeful that the following Raw would pick things back up and continue the Divas Championship feud down the more unique path we’ve been enjoying these past few weeks (exhibits , B, and C. Not so, folks, because it seems that we’re back in “piss break” territory. Of course, all could turn around next week, but a week’s stay in “piss break” territory still leaves you smelling of.. well, you know. Putting it in more eloquent terms, instead of continuing with the more unique ways of building this feud between Maryse and Eve Torres, the WWE decided to book them in a tag team match, effectively packing their feud together with the one between Alicia Fox and Gail Kim. That’s one 2-for-1 sale I’m not happy about. Watch the match below:

Gail and Alicia start things off. Gail goes for a tie-up but Alicia has a better idea, booting Gail in the stomach. She blasts her wit ha forearm before irish-whipping her into the corner. When she attacks, though, she gets a face full of elbow, setting Gail up to hit a top-rope hurricanrana (How long has it been since we’ve seen one of those??). Alicia flops around, sans equilibrium, finding a corner to lean against. Gail stays on the attack, hitting her hit-and-slip move. While on the apron, Maryse tries to sneak an attack, but Gail kicks her in the stomach. Gail stops another attack from Alicia, burying her shoulder into her midsection and vaulting over the ropes into a sunset flip pin attempt. However, she can’t even roll Alicia onto her shoulders, and Fox takes the momentum, holding onto the ropes. Maryse takes this opportunity to tag in, and as Gail rolls Alicia back into a pin, Maryse slips in and kicks Gail square in the back. This of course, breaks the non-pin.

Maryse lays another boot into Gail before going for a pin of her own. Gail kicks out at 2. She hoists her up into a backbreaker and toys around with her a bit before Gail kicks her away. Gail moves to tag in Eve, and Maryse tries to stop this, but Eve ducks out of the way of her haymaker, hitting a right hand of her own before finally getting tagged in. Eve goes on a string of offense (a clothesline here, and dropkick there, and a neckbreaker for good measure) before trying for the pin. Maryse kicks out at 2, but before she can pop up to her feet Eve kicks her back down, leaping over her and hitting a standing moonsault. She goes for the pin again, but Alicia break it up.

This brings in Gail, and with the referee distracted by her, Alicia boots Eve right in the face. This allows Maryse to set up the French Kiss, hit it, and get the pin.

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week of May 17th, 2010

November 5, 2018May 23, 2010 by Tiffany

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!

Savannah’s Blue in Green

Grade: Sweet. This week in “Savannah Poses with Furniture” is actually an upgrade from last week’s shoot. The color and shape of the dress compliment Savannah quite nicely. Also, there appears to be a wider range of facial expressions and poses. While there is always room for improvement, there’s no denying that Savannah comes out on top in this photoshoot.

• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week of May 10th, 2010

November 5, 2018May 17, 2010 by Tiffany

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!

Beth Phoenix’s Lady in Red
Grade: Sweet. Beth Phoenix may have had a short stint as the current reigning Women’s Champion, but at least she left a pretty decent photshoot in her wake! This attire is possibly the most appealing Beth has in her repertoire. Luckily, the red-and-black combination photographs just as well as it looks on television. A couple of the poses are more imaginative than your typical stone-faced vogue-ing. These bits of playfulness and cheerfulness show a different (and more pleasant) side to the Glamazon.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

Natalya’s Change of Hart Grade: Bland. The title of this photoshoot may serve to be ironic as there appears to be little to no variety between Natalya’s photos. This is your typical series featuring Natalya donning her Hart badge of honor. It is not quite ‘sour’ as she earns points for consistency (not to mention color coordination)! However, what Natalya’s portfolio could use is a little less pink and a little bit more imagination.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

WrestleMania 26: Five Moments You May Have Overlooked

March 31, 2010 by Melanie

Yes, we’re still riding that WrestleMania wave! While the Divas match at WrestleMania caused a frenzy, we may have overlooked some other Diva moments at ‘Mania that were equally, or perhaps more, memorable. On Monday, we reviewed the 10-Diva tag team match and today, we’re going to look at a few points that were perhaps forgotten. Let’s discuss:

Natalya slaps Vince
Doesn’t everyone dream of slapping their boss? Sadly, so few of us get to do it. However, here’s Natalya getting to slap Vince McMahon with all the force in her right arm and gets paid to do so. Let us live vicariously through her! When we saw Natalya come out to the ring at WrestleMania 26, we popped. It was about time that Nattie and her Hart Dynasty cohorts got a little somethin’-somethin’ out of Uncle Bret’s big return, right? Up until now, they’d been over on SmackDown pretty much floundering. Needless to say, Natalya’s presence at ringside was a much welcome surprise. However, when we saw Natalya strike Vince like a pimp who had just been short changed, not only did we pop, but we may have peed a little with excitement. Okay, obviously embellished that last part [that would just be super gross] but you get the gist. Nattie’s slap could perhaps rival that of Daddy’s Little Girl herself, Stephanie McMahon. Methinks a slap-off is in order for WrestleMania 27!

Savannah debuts
Sweet little Savannah! That super smiley face makes me just want to pinch her cheeks… Okay, that’s another story. But anyway, ECW-turned-NXT ring announcer Savannah made her debut at WrestleMania 26 announcing the Money in the Bank ladder match as well as the pre-show 26 man battle royal. Didn’t she do a great job? Though we’d much rather see her wrestle, I’m sure, Savvy is proving to be a little Lilian in the making with her belting voice just oozing with confidence. Her ‘Mania announcing debut may have just been the one match [on television, that is] but still, calling out ten men one after another must be a little daunting for your first big show. And then there’s the super cute that was gushed over in the ‘Mania Style Jury special. Perhaps unintentional, but Savannah looked super cute as she paid what we’d like to think is an homage to the Decade Diva, Lilian Garcia, who razzled and dazzled us with her sparkly dresses at this annual event.

More after the cut:

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week of March 22nd, 2010

November 5, 2018March 28, 2010 by Melanie

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!

The Bella Twins‘s Rosy Zebra
Grade: Bland. Here are the Bella Twins wearing the same outfit & posing with each other, everyone! Nothing you haven’t seen a million times before. The pattern on the dress is a little odd, zebra print with roses overlayed. It just looks distracting. Honestly, the dresses are boring, the poses are boring and the whole shoot just lacks any excitement. It’s pretty much your standard ‘Bellas pose together’ photoshoot.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

Chelsea‘s Silver Chic #1
Grade: Sweet. New TNA Knockout, Chelsea has a memorable first photoshoot — why? Because a certain WWE Diva wore the exact same dress in her photoshoot too. But more on that later. Chelsea, who is a model, models the dress like a model should… any surprises here? Chelsea sells the dress perfectly. I really like the detailing on the dress and the colour. Chelsea doesn’t look too bad either and it’s definitely a passable first photoshoot. We’ll get tougher as the weeks go on, I’m sure.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.

In Pictures: Divas at WrestleMania Art Expo

March 25, 2010 by Melanie

With their WrestleMania status still up in the air, the Divas had much to keep them busy as they arrived in Phoenix, AZ for week-long festivities. Last night, WWE held it’s annual WrestleMania Art Expo with several of the Divas on hand, with some even showing off their artwork. But who cares about their drawings … Read more

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week of March 8th, 2010

November 5, 2018March 14, 2010 by Melanie

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!

Gail Kim‘s Midnight Blue
Grade: Sweet. With Gail’s ring attire, once you’ve seen one, you think you’ve seen it all. Not the case with this rather capturing blue and black sequined outfit. This ring attire may just be my favourite of Gail’s. As for the shots, Gail isn’t doing anything too special but she looks so flawless: not a single hair out of place and a beautiful smile. There are a couple of stunning close up shots too that have a poignant feel about them. Gail’s best photoshoot yet.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

Katie Lea‘s Visual Aid
Grade: Sour. Katie Lea’s photoshoots are always unique — she’s always using her arms, she’s always wearing excessive makeup and she’s always looking goth-like. This photoshoot however, has a new element to it… Katie seems to have goggles strapped to her forehead. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Is she going for a futuristic goth look? Who knows. Frankly, I’d be worried to know why. There’s just far too much going on: her hair, her makeup, her metallic coloured ring attire and her funky poses. It’s just super distracting and gives me a migraine.
• Click to see the rest of the photoshoot.

Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week of February 22nd, 2010

November 5, 2018February 28, 2010 by Melanie

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.

SmackDown Redux Does WWE Superstars (Feb. 25th, 2010): The Dynasty Continues

September 23, 2011February 26, 2010 by Melanie

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

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week Ending January 30th, 2010

November 5, 2018January 31, 2010 by Erin

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.

Natalya Scheduled for Monday’s Raw

January 3, 2010 by Melanie

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

FCW Watch: AJ Lee vs Natalya

January 2, 2010 by Melanie

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

Second Divas Match Cut from Tonight’s SmackDown (+ Video Clip)

January 2, 2010 by Melanie

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

Year-End Awards 2009: Most Skilled Wrestler

February 14, 2020January 1, 2010 by Melanie

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.

MOST SKILLED WRESTLER

The nominees are:

* Alissa Flash
* Hamada
* Melina
* Natalya
* Tara

Continue for the result:

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week Ending December 26th, 2009

November 5, 2018December 28, 2009 by Erin

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.
[poll id=”488″]

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.
[poll id=”489″]

Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week Ending December 19th, 2009

November 5, 2018December 21, 2009 by Erin

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.
[poll id=”481″]

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.
[poll id=”482″]

Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.

Diva Dirt Style Jury: Week of December 14th, 2009

February 14, 2020December 21, 2009 by Melanie

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.

Bret Hart Says He’s a Mark for Melina, Calls Her an Innovator

December 18, 2009 by Melanie

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

Raw Redux (December 14th, 2009) – What’s Wrong With This Picture?

December 25, 2009December 15, 2009 by Erin

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.

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week(s) Ending December 12th, 2009

November 5, 2018December 14, 2009 by Erin

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.
[poll id=”469″]

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.
[poll id=”470″]

Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.

SmackDown Redux (December 4th, 2009) – Best Divas Action in Years!

December 19, 2009December 4, 2009 by Melanie

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.

Unwrapped: Eye Candy for the Week Ending November 28th 2009

November 5, 2018November 30, 2009 by Erin

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.
[poll id=”463″]

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.
[poll id=”462″]

Read more to see the rest of this week’s photoshoots.

Unwrapped: Divas Thanksgiving Photoshoot

November 5, 2018November 26, 2009 by Erin

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.
[poll id=”451″]

Read more to see the rest of the Thanksgiving looks and vote for your favorite.

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