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SmackDown Redux – July 11, 2008

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SmackDown Redux has moved to Fridays! I have always intended to have Redux on Fridays but realised WWE.com doesn’t post it’s digitals after the show airs in America meaning I couldn’t post till Saturday. Anyhoo, I’ve decided to make my own screen shots! The new, improved Redux will mean you Americans can watch the matches before they air in the States too… good times, right?

This week on SmackDown: The road to the Great American Bash is officially underway! Divas Championship contenders, Michelle McCool and Natalya teamed up with Cherry and Maryse respectively in a Divas tag match.

Thoughts & Reactions
It’s been a week for tag team matches on both Raw and SmackDown, but I’m pleased to report my experience was more favourable for Friday night’s tag team match. Even though I enjoyed this match I do have one epic complaint – this match was shorter than a freakin’ commercial! Just as we were getting into it, the match was over. Nonetheless, great work from all Divas involved, though background talent – Maryse and Cherry were both impressive in the ring. Maryse particularly showed some ring presence and agility in the ring with her cartwheel type thing.

All in all, this match really left me wanting more, it could have lasted a little while longer because the work was pretty darn good. Who’d have thought I’d be excited to see Maryse and Cherry in the ring? I felt the finish of the match was a little sloppy compared to the rest of the short match; Cherry tapped out far too quickly, it didn’t really sell the Sharpshooter. There was some awkwardness with Natalya jumping out of the ring and then jumping back in and attacking Michelle, but in all, I felt this was done really well and set up their Bash match nicely. Taking the action to the outside was a nice touch, it added some physicality and intensity, showing how much Natalya wanted the title – and how much she hates Michelle. Nice work from all the Divas, I wish it was longer!

For the second week in a row we got a “coming soon” promo for Maria, I really like that they’re building this up rather than throwing her straight into the mix. I think Maria’s move to SmackDown is a big deal and I think pushing her arrival sets her up as a top name, which I think she will be in SmackDown’s women’s division. I wrote last week that I had hoped they’d keep the “coming soon” promos coming for a little while to build up anticipation and thankfully, WWE is doing so. Perhaps having her debut after the Great American Bash would be a wise move because I would hate for her to detract away from the Divas Championship match-up. I am hoping that Michelle-Natalya will continue to feud after the Bash with a rematch, so while they’re tying up their storyline I would love to see Maria feud with Victoria. Hopefully we’ll see that happen, Victoria deserves some screen time and I think she could do a great job putting over Maria.

A fine night for the SmackDown Divas if a little short!

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Natalya Keeps it Simple

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Natalya is on her way to The Great American Bash to potentially become SmackDown’s first Divas Champion, and she’s clearly stepping up her game in every facet – even photoshoots! Take a look at this one for example – “Best in Black”. She keeps it simple, donning a gorgeous LBD and wearing her hair straight … Read more

SmackDown Redux – July 04, 2008

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This week on SmackDown: The Divas once again battled it out in a “Golden Dreams Match” to determine Natalya’s opponent for the Divas Championship, which was ultimately won by Michelle McCool. Meanwhile, Vickie Guerrero gave an showstopping performance with Edge.

Thoughts & Reactions
In a July the Fourth episode of SmackDown, the metaphorical fireworks were let off! Finally we got some development in the Divas Championship saga after the title was jilted from the Night of Champions card, Michelle McCool won a second “Golden Dreams Match” to face Natalya for the title in future. And in all honesty, were you actually expecting anyone other than Michelle to win this one? So now what we have all assumed over the past few weeks will become a reality – Michelle vs Natalya for the gold, I can’t wait! But as for last night’s deciding match, I felt this was very well put together and much better than the first “Golden Dreams” which was won by Natalya last month. This match seemed to be more choreographed with all the individuals involved given some time to shine, I guess the fact there were fewer Divas in this match helped. The match was far more memorable and worked really well on the whole.

It’s interesting to note that Michelle, while she won the match, was more or less being thrown out of the ring for the majority of the match. The real in-ring work was done by the likes of Maryse and Kelly Kelly, Michelle seemed to take more of a backseat – which was kinda cool. I guess because we all pretty much knew Michelle would win, they created a twist by having her not as dominant and letting the other Divas do the spots where they climb the pole and stuff. More interesting was all the face-on-face action, I believe Michelle knocked her best friend, Cherry off the ring apron and later was seen with Kelly on the outside. Again, this creates a cool feeling and shows how much these Divas want that title!

My favourite spot of the match, somewhat harkens back to Kelly Kelly’s insane bump a few weeks back – when Victoria hit the ring apron mouth first. It looked pretty real and was an “ouch moment” in itself. I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction afterwards with the “Oh my God.” Victoria’s BFF, Natalya was on commentary for this bout sporting her hot new auburn hair colour. Natalya seemed a little on edge however, a little nervous but seemed to carry herself sufficiently enough. I think there is a danger of Natalya sounding too personable on commentary and also in her blogs at WWE Fan Nation, as she is meant to be a heel. I personally don’t mind it, I think she comes across a genuinely nice person through her blogs but there is a character to uphold.

We don’t usually cover Vickie in the Redux, but this week I felt as though Vickie gave a pretty powerful performance on SmackDown. Not that i’m calling for her to win an Oscar or anything, but her backstage segments with Edge she really came across believable and there was an intensity in her acting. However the final scene with her screaming the building down? Not so much.

PS, Maria will be coming soon to SmackDown. I think I said everything there is to say in an earlier post, but anyway I think they should run these commercials for a week or so longer and then have her debut.

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Natalya’s Impressive With a Pen Too!

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It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of third generation Diva, Natalya, oh what an impact she has made in just three short months! And now with the launch of her own Fan Nation page, Natalya proves that not only is she gifted in the ring – but she’s a pretty darn good writer too! Me thinks if Natalya’s career ever gets cut short (God forbid) she has a career in Journalism!

Read Natalya’s latest blog which was posted last night, in which she talks about the Divas Championship and her new hair colour below:

Hey, guys! I am excited to write you all again so soon…I am sure by now all of you have seen the debut of my new hair color on Smackdown. I decided that I wanted to really be bold and do something to stand out from the other divas.

To be honest, I was nervous of leaving my blonde locks behind, because I have always been blonde. But, I decided to do it with the attitude that “change is good!”

I took a deep breath and dove right.in..which is exactly what a third generation diva does in the ring, too! It takes courage to change, to step up to the plate and take the unbeaten path. It’s not just about your hair color, either. It’s about being you! I feel like that is one of the best parts about being in the WWE… that our differences and “idiosyncracies” are valued and celebrated.

More after the cut:

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Heat Between Michelle and Natalya?

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While it seems SmackDown’s answer to Trish and Lita are destined to face off in the ring, there are rumblings that Michelle McCool and Natalya haven’t been getting along backstage. Read below: There is said to be some legit heat between SmackDown Divas Michelle McCool and Natalya Neidhart. It’s all due to a recent incident … Read more

Natalya The Non-Blonde

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Future Divas Champion (well she has a 50% chance anyway), Natalya will be a sporting a new ‘do this Friday night when SmackDown airs. The above picture is a fan picture from last night’s SmackDown taping (credit: Katy and PWPix.net), highlighting Natalya’s new auburn hair colour. Personally, I loves it! I guess homegirl decided that … Read more

Miz & Morrison Prank Call Natalya

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The WWE Tag Team Champions, Miz & Morrison appeared on Tom Green’s talk show Tom Green’s House Tonight last week and even busted out their phone books pranking some of their fellow Superstars! After not getting through to Layla and SmackDown wrestler Jesse (of Jesse and Festus), they then got through to none other than … Read more

SmackDown Redux – June 27, 2008

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This week on SmackDown: A blockbuster six Diva tag team match saw Cherry, Kelly Kelly and Michelle McCool face off against Maryse, Natalya and Victoria.

Thoughts & Reactions
This week’s Friday Night SmackDown left me in no doubt that the blue brand is slowly edging in on Raw to co-hold the title as WWE’s top show. And SmackDown’s women’s division possibly had it’s best outing yet last night, in what I think was the single most polished match that the growing division has showcased since it’s inception. I thoroughly enjoyed this match and the work was simply superb, all these Divas worked so cohesively and all the Divas got time to shine. What a fitting match for a night that marked a new era for SmackDown; WWE really went all out during this year’s Draft to establish SmackDown as a top brand to co-headline with Raw. Finally, they have realised that they can’t afford to hold SmackDown down in favour of Raw, finally they realise that both shows need to make bank in order to succeed. Last night, I thought the six Diva tag match was a seminal match for the show and division going forward.

I really don’t have anything bad to say about this match, there wasn’t any obvious botching, all the Divas worked hard and made this a fun, competetive match. On Raw, we’re so used to seeing one Diva be dominant in the ring during tag matches but in this match, all the Divas got ring-time and it really put over all the Divas and that’s a great thing. Natalya and Michelle really went at it and just whet my appetite even more for a singles match, Natalya is so impressive in the ring and I loved her submission hold on Michelle. WWE has really held out on this singles match, I hope they deliver big time when it finally goes down – either have it as a main event of SmackDown or on pay per view.

The other Divas were great too, major props to Kelly Kelly, I was really impressed with her on SmackDown. She showed such confidence in the ring, more than she has ever shown before and really pulled out of the bag, some great moves. In her previous matches with Victoria, the Vicious Vixen had pretty much carried her through the match; however their portion in this match, Kelly was doing a lot more of the work. She really has come a long way! “Cherry Cherry” (haha) and Maryse were fine too, though they didn’t wrestle as much as the others. Victoria, as always, was a consummate professional.

Since JR was drafted to SmackDown, I have been looking forward all week to hearing he and Mick Foley call a Divas match for SmackDown and they didn’t disappoint. I cannot wait for JR to call the eventual moment when the first ever Divas Champion is crowned. That will really make history.

All in all, this was one of the best matches SmackDown has put on in recent months and that’s a bold statement because they really have been on fine form. How will Maria factor into the division when she makes her debut (I’m assuming) next week? It’ll be interesting to see how she fits in, I would love to see a feud with her and Victoria to start out with.

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Raw Redux – June 23, 2008

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This week on Raw: It was time for the annual WWE Draft, Raw’s Mickie James and Melina competed in a match with SmackDown’s Natalya and Victoria. Melina suffered an injury and Kelly Kelly danced like a little ho.

Thoughts & Reactions
Has anyone else noticed that the Divas seem to get even less time during the big three-hour shows than they usually do? It seemed last night’s Divas match was the shortest segment of the night – though it’s implications, one could argue, are the most shocking. These four Divas will forever be known as the girls who made JR move to SmackDown! Honestly, when they announced this was an “announcers only match” I was thinking, “Great WWE, tell us what you really think of the Divas”, I thought it’d probably end up being freakin’ Todd Grisham moving to SmackDown instead we were served with one of the biggest drafts in WWE history which we are all feeling the effects of today.

This was for me, a dream match, I love the prospect of Melina/Mickie vs Natalya/Victoria but obviously, this match was cut short with Melina’s injury and the whole segment didn’t last too long. Maybe, just maybe, we will get to see this match further down the line – it could be huge! The big story of course, is Melina’s injury and actually I’ve flip-flopped on this. At first, while watching it live, I thought it was legit but then when the referee announced the double count-out it all made sense – of course they need to move two announcers. And as I found out this morning, it was in fact legit. Looking back, I do think there was meant to be some controversial finish resulting in the double count-out leading to JR and Cole moving, but this wasn’t it. I guess WWE lucked out with a realistic finish to the match allowing that to happen, but at the expense of Melina. Hopefully she’ll be back in action soon, Raw will definitely be different without her.

I wonder if the original finish they had planned involved Beth Phoenix coming out and beating up Melina and then Mickie, Natalya and Victoria just for good measure? Probably just pure speculation on my part, but I’m trying to think what controversial finish WWE originally had planned and that could work as it would advance the Beth-Melina feud. Beth has been noticeably absent from Raw for two whole weeks, what gives?

All in all, there wasn’t too much to write home about except Melina’s injury, though I’m not really all that bitter to be honest. There were bigger stories to be told last night on Raw than the women’s division. They did plug Natalya contending for the Divas Championship and Mickie vs Katie at Night of Champions, so I guess they did what they could given the time they were given.

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SmackDown Redux – June 20, 2008

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This week on SmackDown: Layla and Michelle McCool put on another great match before the crowd as Natalya watched on from the ramp.

Thoughts & Reactions
After a lackluster Raw, SmackDown was on fine form this week and I thoroughly enjoyed the match between Layla and Michelle McCool. The duo have had, I believe, three matches alone this year on SmackDown and each has been better than the last. This time the Divas got more ring time than their last encounter and thus, were afforded the chance to be more creative. It’s a rare to see the WWE Divas take the action outside of the ring, but we had a cool spot with Layla and Michelle doing just that, battling on the outside which added to the match. Michelle hitting the ring apron face first was nicely done too.

This match wasn’t the usual “job to Michelle”, in fact Layla controlled most of the match as the aggressor and looked confident in her role. Sure, she’s still got a long way to go but she is definitely on the right track. These two Divas seem to have great in-ring chemistry and are a lot of fun to watch… I hope one day we see a real one-on-one feud between them.

Layla really made Michelle work for her victory and the end spot was again, well done and the addition of Natalya added some emphasis to the new Divas Championship. I think it’s pretty obvious Michelle will be the other title contender and I, for one, am looking forward to the match. Unfortunately, there has been no mention of the Divas Championship being decided at Night of Champions – this has been pure speculation by us fans. This has me worried! Hopefully, the match will be announced on SmackDown next week or they could even announce it earlier in the week with Vickie Guerrero explaining her decision for Natalya’s challenger on WWE.com.

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Natalya Reveals Her Inner Goddess

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Hot diggity, I pretty much love Natalya‘s new photoshoot Gray Goddess. Natalya really does evoke her inner goddess in this shoot and I’m loving her top! It’s bold and emphatic but at the same time, it’s just plain hot! I really love how she complements it with her earrings and her hair looks on-point too. … Read more

Natalya is a “Love”ly Gladiator

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Is it just me, or does Natalya look like an American Gladiator in these photos? I think it’s the silvery shininess and elbow pads. The photoshoot is called “Tough Love”, and showcases some versatility from Natalya. And yay – the scenery, for once, isn’t out of place or random! It actually adds to the photos … Read more

Style Showdown: Dynamic Duos

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Welcome to Style Showdown, here to cure weekends of slow news! In Style Showdown, we take two Diva rivals from the past or present and put them in a battle of a different kind – in a battle of “Who looks better!”

Previously on Style Showdown: Extreme Divas Kelly Kelly and Layla took their long-running feud outside of the ring and into our Style Showdown. 120 votes were cast and Layla came out triumphant, nearly doubling Kelly’s 44 votes with 76 of her own.

This week: It’s not very often that two WWE Divas can see eye-to-eye in the ring, much less enough to coexist in a photoshoot! Brand new “BFF”s Victoria & Natalya recently showed off their customized tank tops and LA starlet-worthy tights. A while back, ECW Divas Layla & Lena showed momentary solidarity in posing for a more serious photoshoot. Which do you prefer – sweet sentiment or skin-tight style?

[poll=49]

Follow the cut to view the full photoshoots:

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SmackDown!: Introducing the Divas Championship

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This week on SmackDown!, history is made as Vickie Guerrero announces the launch of the WWE Divas Championship, a title exclusively to SmackDown! Watch as all the Divas of SmackDown! and ECW compete for a chance to wrestle in the title match and watch the announcement from Vickie below:

Match after the cut:

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Meet N and V

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Hey Upper East Siders! Do we have a scoop (or two) for you today; move over S and B… there’s two new bitchy BFFs on the block and these two don’t settle things with texts either. Meet N and V, WWE’s newest Diva double act. Natalya and Victoria posed for these hot shots to accompany … Read more

Natalya is Just Peachy

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Natalya has a new photoshoot up on WWE.com, aptly titled “Peachy”. Oh WWE.com, you have *such* a way with words.. Personally, I like how Natalya is usually more covered up than the other Divas. It’s kind of a breath of fresh air compared to the bejeweled bras and exposed thongs we’re used to seeing. Overall, … Read more

RAW Redux – May 05, 2008

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On this week’s RAW, we saw a Women’s Championship Lumberjack Match, the return of Trish Stratus and Katie Lea and Paul Burchill continued their handicap stint.

Thoughts & Reactions
The Women’s Championship match, when I first read about it, I thought for sure they’d made the wrong decision; they should’ve kept this match for Judgment Day. The match itself was not good. Plodding along with kicks and punches, it really wasn’t fun to watch and that is a problem I have with matches with these two Divas, their Armageddon match last year bored me to tears. It wasn’t until Melina was injected into the picture on New Year’s Eve in a triple threat match, that this feud got a little more exciting. That was a fun match. Live from London, Mickie and Beth really pulled it out of the bag, it could’ve been a really bad match a few weeks ago when Mickie won the title but it wasn’t, thankfully. I think everyone got into it because of the London crowd and the big fight feel; but this match it felt dull. Not to mention, some incredibly sloppy ring-work from Mickie James, a few of the spots in this match were really awkward to watch. I didn’t expect that from Mickie, but last night, she wasn’t on her game. All these repetetive descriptions of Beth Phoenix by the announcers is getting really boring; how many times can we hear that she’s the most dominant Diva to ever enter the WWE, she’s this, she’s that. Jim Ross, you’ve been doing the same shtick for over six months, get some new material.

As I said earlier, I felt they should have kept this match until Judgment Day but I can see why they haven’t. Even though the match was pretty dull, the ending was very well done and it brings Melina into the fold and I can’t knock that. I predict a triple threat match at Judgment Day, so hopefully that match will be better than this one – Melina is a lot of fun to watch in the ring. But there are a few possible routes WWE could go here: Could Melina turn face? After all, she cost Beth her match, I could see Beth trying to retaliate and “bully” Melina, effectively making Melina a face. This is something I would love to see and it would also balance out the women’s division in terms of good in-ring workers. Either way, I’m glad they’ve bought Melina into the fold, why waste a talent like her?

Trish Stratus’ return was a fun little cameo, as I’ve written in another post, she’s stepped back onto RAW in a 50-second segment and shown more character and personality than any of the current crop of Divas could ever hope to display.

I’m glad they’ve continued having Katie and Burchill team up, despite the horrible commentary from Mike Adamle. I mean seriously?! “She’s definitely not a pretty face!” Excuse you?! I think he meant “She’s not just a pretty face”, but that kind of shocked me. I hope Katie can join the women’s division soon or at least play a bigger role than just directing traffic for Burchill, even though she’s in the match too.

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RAW Redux – April 29, 2008

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RAW Redux is set to become a regular feature here at Diva Dirt, so on with the thoughts on last night’s show:

Thoughts & Reactions
I was bittersweet with this week’s RAW. On one hand, you had a 12-Diva rematch and on the other hand, you had Katie Lea‘s in-ring debut. I think it was a huge risk – and a bad choice – to have a rematch of the Divas match from Backlash. Going into that match, we were all very uncertain and uneasy because it could’ve gone the totally wrong way, thankfully WWE pulled it out of the bag and put on a pleasantly surprising and good match up. But then to do the very same match the next night, when the first one was so touch and go, I just knew last night’s match wouldn’t be very good and in truth, it wasn’t. It wasn’t a very good match, didn’t achieve the things that the first match did on the pay per view – and actually, has hindered storylines not developed them. What possible reason is there for Team Mickie to win other than because the heels won the night before? This storyline is meant to be centered around Beth Phoenix and Mickie James, having Beth win at Backlash had her come off strong and sent the message out there that she was coming after Mickie and the title. The very next night, Mickie gets one over – it doesn’t leave much room for the storyline to go anywhere. We’ll have to see what they do (if anything at all) next week to develop the obvious rematch at Judgment Day.

One more thing, what is with the face Divas acting like heels? Cherry getting in the ring breaking up the count and Michelle kicking Melina? I don’t get the logic behind that.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the aspect of Katie Lea and Paul Burchill teaming up. It had shades of Essa Rios and Lita, which was a great gimmick while it lasted. Now, I know this is just rehashing that old gimmick but if it gets Katie in the ring and gets her and Burchill over, I’m all for it. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of Katie thus far, I hope it’s not too soon before she gets involved in the women’s division! Hopefully this gimmick will continue for a little while longer, with Katie and Burchill teaming up in 2-on-1 matches. Katie is the star of this duo if you ask me, Burchill’s head is up on the chopping block – Katie can easily be integrated into the women’s division, hopefully WWE has enough sense to mix her into the fold.

All in all, it was a really blase week for the Divas on RAW. Hopefully SmackDown! kicks it up a gear this Friday night!

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A Few “First”s For Natalya

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WWE.com has finally added Natalya Neidhart‘s profile, and along with it, her first photoshoot. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s nice to see her officially listed among the Divas. Stay tuned for another Natalya first as she will be competing in her first WWE match on this week’s SmackDown. You know us – we’ll be sure … Read more

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