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Raw Redux (August 30th, 2010): U-N-I-T-Y

Last week on Monday Night Raw, BFF co-champs, LayCool told Melina they had an “offer she simply can’t refuse” for the 900th episode of Raw. As promised, LayCool appeared on Raw to inform the Divas Champion of their offer, but not before taking her on in a tag team match. Watch below as LayCool face off against Eve and the Divas Champion, Melina:

We come from commercial to find LayCool already in the ring, checking their reflections in their belts. (Belt? Half-belts?) Out next is the team of Melina and Eve, and LayCool welcome their fellow champ by running that ‘Lady Wawa’ joke even further into the ground. Without much pretense, the bell rings and our match is underway.

Michelle and Melina start off the match for their teams and right off the bat, McCool charge at Melina with a clothesline. Melina evades, and fights back with a flurry of forearms. While Michelle is still flustered, Melina charges Layla in the corner, knocking her to the floor. Unfortunately for Melina, Michelle McCool takes advantage of the distraction and floors her with a belly to belly slam for a near fall.

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Melina Blogs on What it Means to be a Champion

Divas Champion, Melina, has posted a new blog on her WWE Universe page discussing what it takes to be a champion — noting that just holding a belt doesn’t make one a ‘champion’. As always, it’s a very passionate, perhaps controversial, blog from the A-List Diva:

I am so thankful for all of the Tweets and support I have gotten regarding winning the Diva’s Championship. It’s unreal. My fifth title reign and it’s an astounding accolade. Everything in my life leading to that point in time…. the bad and good; all the hardships, all the haters who judged me with out even getting to know me & much more. On the other side I’ve been blessed to have the people that have touched my life and made that win at Summer Slam an unforgettable moment that will be treasured for the rest of my life. Thank you for that.

I have said this many of times; the title does not define me, I define the title. Many women through out wrestling history have defined the titles they fought for. Their love, desire, pride and respect gave their titles significance. These women stood for something; affected people’s lives; caused change… They are the ones that changed a piece of shiny metal into a prestigious symbol to be held by the greats.

Just because a person holds a title doesn’t make them a champion. We have seen people Forrest Gump their way to a title. Granted, a win is a win, but a champion is a champion with or without the title. To be a true champion is rare, and it can’t be faked. When a champion holds a title, they give it meaning.

More after the cut:

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Raw Redux (August 23, 2010): Three Champions, Two Belts, One Offer

Last week, Jillian managed to score her first win in almost a year, pinning Eve in a 6 Diva tag match. As a reward for her hard earned win, WWE decided to give her a shot at the Divas Championship against Melina on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw. Will The Shrill Songstress be able to pull out the win over The Paparazzi Princess? Check out the match below and find out:

We come to ring after commercial to find Jillian in the ring with her ever-present headset. She lets everyone in attendance know that she’s about to become Divas Champion once again, before torturing serenading us all with her own rendition of “Not Afraid” by Eminem, prompting Michael Cole to start singing as well. Kill me now… Fortunately for us, Melina’s music hits, cutting Jillian’s performance short. Melina makes her way to the ring in her usual extravagant fashion and the referee rings the bell, signaling the start of the match.

The two start off with a lock-up with Jillian getting the upperhand and pushing Melina to ropes, forcing a break. Surprisingly, Jillian breaks clean but goes right back on the attack with a stiff forearm. Jillian tries to follow up but is stopped in her tracks by a headscissor/heel kick combo from the champion. Melina tries to keep the heat on Jillian with a kick to the gut but is caught and pulled down into a painful looking split. Jillian goes to kick Melina in the back, but the A-List Diva ducks the attempt and lands a kick of her own, sending Jillian across the ring and into the ropes.

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SmackDown Redux (August 20th, 2010): Straight Edge Success, “Lady Wawa”

This week’s SmackDown saw the WWE television in-ring debut of one Serena, a Diva who has been much buzzed about ever since she was signed to a developmental contract last year. Why? Because Serena, prior to WWE, was one of the most talented young things on the independent circuit and shot to the top of the card in SHIMMER. The time has finally arrived for Serena to step into the WWE ring in a mixed tag also featuring Kelly Kelly.

As background context to this segment, in an earlier backstage scene, Luke Gallows and Serena were told by their stable leader CM Punk that if they didn’t win tonight, they would be kicked out of the Straight Edge Society. Would Serena and Luke go the way of the dodo and er, Darren Young from Monday night? Let’s find out…

Serena is billed as having trained hard over the past few months under the tutelage of Punk. We’re to believe that she has no previous wrestling experience and is a beginner in the ring.

Say what you will about the Big Show’s in ring work (*cough*), but for Kelly to be teamed up with one of the SmackDown brand’s top stars is a big deal and a huge coup for her. After all, the most that the Raw Divas can muster up is teaming with the Superstars roster.

We kick things off with Show and Gallows but Gallows quickly tags out to Serena which means it’s Diva time! Kelly goes to lock up with Serena but get a kick to the stomach and an elbow across her back. Serena picks up Kelly and begins screaming in her face but K2 uses her legs to kick free of Serena’s hold and hits her with a couple of really flimsy looking forearms. (Need some work on that K2). Kelly whips Serena into the corner, riles up the crowd and goes for her handspring elbow. Serena, meanwhile, sees the move coming and clubs her opponent over the back, knocking her to the ground.

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In Video: Melina Talks SmackDown vs Raw 2011

New Divas Champion, Melina was part of the SmackDown vs Raw 2011 ‘Community Event’ earlier this week in LA and was interviewed on the red carpet by GamerLive.tv. Find out what she had to say below: Really cute interview. I guess we can pretty much deduce from this interview that Melina will join Eve Torres … Read more

Raw Redux (August 16, 2010): Jillian, It’s Your Lucky Day!

As we all know, Melina picked up a huge win last Sunday at SummerSlam over Alicia Fox to win the Divas Championship, but her moment was ruined by the BFF champs, Lay-Cool. Will Melina get her revenge on the Flawless Ones? Will Alicia get a chance to redeem herself and win back the Divas Title? Will Melina come to the ring as a Vegas showgirl again? No. None of that happens. Instead we get a 6 Diva tag match pitting the team of Melina, Gail Kim and Eve Torres against Alicia Fox, Maryse and Jillian. Check out the match below:

Out first are the babyfaces and I must say, they look like a rag-tag group of super heroines. but I like it for some reason. Next, we have the heels, led to the ring by Alicia, who gets right in Melina’s face. This lead to a bit of a scuffle between the two teams. The referee finally gets control of the situation and signals for the opening bell.

Gail and Maryse start the match off for their respective teams. In her usual arrogant manner, Maryse shoves Gail, before narrowly dogding a bitchslap to the face. Maryse charge but is quickly taken down by a drop toe hold. Gail follows up by slamming Maryse’s face into the canvas repeatedly. Maryse tries to get back into the game by reversing an Irish Whip but Gail using the ropes to hit a springboard crossbody. Gail ties Maryse up it the Tree of Woe and tags in the Divas champion, Melina. Gail grabs the still incapacitated Maryse by the hair and Melina leapfrogs over her partner, coming down hard on Maryse’s mid-section.

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SummerSlam In Review: Melina is Comeback Queen, But Lay-Cool Steal the Spotlight

After Monday night hit-and-miss match between Melina and Divas champion, Alicia Fox, fans and critics alike were curious about how these two would fare at SummerSlam with the title on the line. While it wasn’t as sketchy as Monday’s match, these two hardly put on a mat classic. Check out the match below:

Out first is the champ, sporting some new attire. I’m not crazy about it, but it’s probably my favorite out of her new pinata gear. Melina is out next and… wow. Going all out for her hometown return, Melina has donned an over the top and blindingly bright Vegas showgirl outfit, complete with headdress and feathered boots. While it may not be my cup of tea, I have to give Melina points for originality and creativity. Rarely do we see a Diva put so much effort into her ring gear, so kudos to her.

After a few awkward moments of Melina removing her boot covers, the referee rings the bell and our way is underway. The two fierce competitors square off in the center of the ring, each trying to assert their dominance and show their opponent that they’re not intimidated. At long last, the Divas lock up with Melina getting the upper hand and muscling Alicia into the corner. The challenger breaks clean and they tie up again, but this time Fox get the advantage with a headlock followed by a takeover. Melina manages to get to her feet and to the rope, forcing the champ to break the hold.

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Lay-Cool & Melina: Where Do We Go from Here?

Last night’s SummerSlam pay per view is in the history books and while Steven will be reviewing the Divas match at length later, I wanted to broach the subject of Lay-Cool vs Melina, which was teased to us at the end of the Divas Championship match. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but last night’s attack on Melina at the hands of SmackDown’s mean girls opened up a world of opportunity and to me, was the Diva equivalent of the then-NXT season one rookies hitting the ring on Raw back in June, in that now infamous ‘Tiegate’ segment.

“Why was Lay-Cool there?” “Why did they attack Melina?” Those were just some of the questions that people were asking last night. Did it all make sense? No. But then again, did that NXT invasion all make sense that Monday night in June? Answers, I expect, will come tonight and in the coming weeks on Raw and SmackDown.

For what it was, however, last night’s angle was an explosive and exciting way to begin what seems like a new cross-promotional feud between the self-professed co-Women’s Champions and the new Divas Champion. WWE quite literally kicked things off with a bang, with Michelle McCool hitting that devastating running knee into a defenceless Melina, who was propped up against the announcers’ table. Kudos to all involved, because that had me — and I suspect many of you — anticipating what would happen next.

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Melina Wins Divas Championship… But Lay-Cool Get the Last Laugh

A-List Diva, Melina became Divas Champion just moments ago at SummerSlam, defeating Alicia Fox in her hometown of Los Angeles, California. However, Melina’s celebration was cut short by SmackDown Divas, Lay-Cool who attacked the new Divas Champ, leaving her unconscious after Michelle hit her with a sick running knee into the announce table. EDIT: As … Read more

PPV Predictions: WWE SummerSlam 2010

Will Melina complete her comeback trail by winning the Divas Championship before her hometown in Los Angeles? She faces Alicia Fox tonight at SummerSlam. Our predictions below…

Cryssi: It seems surreal to me that this match is actually taking place this Sunday. Melina has been back on television for two weeks now and she’s already earned a championship match. Unreal. To me, this just goes to show how little thought and effort goes into the Diva’s division these days. I understand that my girl never officially lost the title. And maybe that has something to do with why she is getting a chance to face Alicia tonight. What needs to happen is Alicia retains in some ridiculous fashion and then a feud for Night of Champions should start heating up. Let these two girls have a proper rivalry and give us all a chance to watch them grow together and become comfortable in the ring with one another. I’ve NEVER gone against Melina, even in matches I knew she would lose, but tonight I’m going with Alicia Fox to retain. I doubt it happens, and my heart tells me it won’t. But stranger things have happened in World Wrestling Entertainment. They did give Jack Swagger a World Championship reign after all.

David: Years from now when I look back at SummerSlam 2010 I will remember this match differently. I will remember it as a quality Divas Title match and forget that it was booked too quickly and that it moved some deserving talent to the sidelines. Melina’s return should have been handled much differently, to show her chasing Alicia and to build great anticipation for an eventual showdown. (I would have booked it for Survivor Series in the fall.) The WWE, however, pushed Melina right over Eve, Maryse, and Natalya and gave her this high profile title match only a few weeks after her return. To that end, I think Melina is a safe bet to defeat Alicia Sunday and will leave her hometown as the new Divas Champion.

Erin: It’s wayyyy too soon for Melina to win the gold, especially given how she already defeated Alicia on Raw. Despite the WWE’s tendency to screw over Alicia mid-push, I really feel that they’re going to stretch her title reign a bit longer, if only to make for a more interesting build up to Melina’s eventual win. It would seriously shortchange this feud if they were to switch the title too soon, because I think babyface Melina is best suited at the moment to chase the title, not hold it. Alicia Fox wins and retain the title.

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JR: ‘Melina Reminds Me of Trish’

WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross offered up these positive comments about returning A-List Diva, Melina via his Twitter page: Melina actually reminds me in some way of Trish Stratus which is a really good thing. Obviously, just one man’s opinion but I’m sure it’ll lead to a great deal of contention in the comments. … Read more

Raw Redux (August 9th, 2010): Only Fools Rush In

After an exceptional 6 Diva tag match and a huge return by Melina last week, Diva fans were waiting with bated breath to see what was in store between the returning Melina and Divas champion Alicia Fox. WWE decided to give us a treat this week in the form of Melina vs Alicia in a non-title bout. Unfortunately for us, the action didn’t quite live up to the hype. Check it out below:

First out is Melina, who is looking great, followed by Alicia Fox, who is looking rather… interesting. The two alpha females stare each other down before the referee starts the match. Melina goes for a lockup, but Alicia scoops her up and powers her into the corner. After a fierce elbow, Alicia flings Melina across the ring by her hair. While Melina is getting her wits about her, Alicia kicks her in the gut, forcing her to retreat to the apron. Alicia tries to follow up, but Melina lands a shoulder block and slides between the champ’s legs, pulling Alicia down over her knees for a unique backbreaker and a near fall.

Before Alicia can get back to a vertical base, Melina starts wailing on Alicia with strikes to the back. Alicia tries to get back into the mix with a clothesline, but Melina dodges with a matrix move, followed by a snapmere driver and a flying faceplant. Alicia retreats to the outside to regain her composure, but doesn’t get the chance, as Melina is hot on her tail. Melina charges around the ring to bring Alicia in the hard way, but is laid out by a vicious clothesline.

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Alicia Fox vs Melina at SummerSlam

For the first time in history, the Divas Title will be defended at SummerSlam when Alicia Fox defends against Melina. The match comes after the returning Melina defeated Alicia in a non-title match tonight on Raw. SummerSlam airs on pay per view this Sunday. Diva Dirt is pleased to announce that we are spinning off … Read more

Raw Redux (August 2nd, 2010): An A-List Return

Last week, Alicia Fox managed to overcome The Bella Twins switcheroo and pull out yet another win. She even took out her buddy Jillian afterwards, proving that no one is safe from the ‘Foxy One’s’ wrath. This week, Alicia teamed up with Jillian and Tamina to face off against the team of Eve Torres, Gail Kim and Natalya with a very special appearance by a certain A-List Diva. Check out the match below:

We start off the match with the face team already in the ring, posing to the crowd. Next the heels make their way to the ring and to be honest, Jillian doesn’t look too thrilled to be teaming with Alicia after last week. More on that later. The referee rings the bell and the match is underway with Jillian and Gail kicking things off for their respective teams.

The two Divas lock up and jockey for position, with Jillian getting the upper-hand, taking Gail down with a handful of hair and laying in with some stiff right hands. The non-melodious siren follows up with a hair beel for a two count. Frustrated, Jillian pulls Gail up by the hair and drives her head into her knee repeatedly, followed by a backbreaker for another near fall. Jillian drags Gail over to her corner and takes a moment to stare down her partner Alicia before tagging her in. Guess who’s still bitter?

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Melina Trends Worldwide on Twitter

Following her return to Raw, Melina became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter this evening. The former Divas and Women’s Champion made her return after seven months on the shelf following a torn ACL last December. Congrats to Melina and welcome back!

New Diva Action Figures Unveiled at Comic Con: Beth, Kelly, Melina & Michelle

WWE and Mattel has unveiled the first ever Diva doll as well as slew of new action figures at this week’s San Diego Comic Con. Beth Phoenix becomes the first Diva to get her own doll created by Mattel, who also produce the Barbie dolls. New action figures include Kelly Kelly, Melina and Michelle McCool. … Read more

Melina Will Not Be Making In-Ring Return Tonight

A tweet from Melina just hours ago states that, contrary to plans, she will not be making her in-ring return tonight at an FCW event. Melina tweeted, saying: “Bad news peeps. I was just told I couldn’t wrestle tonight. My heart dropped. I’m sorry. But I will still be there & keep you posted.” Despite … Read more

In Audio: Melina on Between the Ropes Radio + Return to the Ring Tonight!

It’s a big week for everyone’s favourite A-List Diva, Melina, as she preps for her WWE return down at FCW in Florida. Last night, Melina joined Brian Fritz on ESPN’s Between the Ropes Radio to discuss her comeback which begins tonight at an FCW event in Orlando. Listen to the interview below: Melina confirmed that … Read more

Melina Heads to FCW

The seven month wait is nearly over! Former Divas and Women’s Champion, Melina is due in FCW this week to begin working out in the ring. Her main roster return should be imminent… but will she return to Raw? Melina was injured last December during a house show after tearing her ACL. Can’t wait to … Read more