FINALLY, THE JACK…HAS COME BACK… TO OWW! Perhaps I should have saved that introduction for if I’m ever on a hiatus but as they say (I don’t know who ‘they’ are), what’s done is done and welcome to this week’s Women’s Wrestling Write-Up here at Online World of Wrestling.com. This week gave us 4 matches and three noteworthy segments, all of a decent standard. We’ll be delving into RAW, NXT, Superstars, Smackdown and IMPACT, so without further ado, let’s get cracking!
This week’s Opening Contest took place on IMPACT this week and saw the #1 Contender to Miss Tessmacher’s title, Tara, square off against the longest reigning Knockouts Champion of all time, Gail Kim. Can the KIMPACT Ninja insert herself into the title match on Sunday with a win or will everyone’s favourite Widows Peak Freak gain some momentum? Let’s see what happened in the match aswell how the match came about in a backstage segment featuring future Emmy Award winning actress (sarcasm), Brooke Hogan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG1Gbj8l2oI
My Thoughts: Well this was a pretty good match and an obvious close second to Main Event status this week. Parts of the match were run of the mill and particularly memorable, but in my opinion, the match started to get really good when Tara was making her comeback. The Black Widow’s powerslam was excellently executed and the unique way that she got Gail into the Widow’s Peak was really fresh. I’m not normally a fan of the way Gail sells the Widow’s Peak but it was a good one tonight that left Mrs Irvine majorly broken, broken, broken…*guitar riff*! Gail showed how resourceful she can be in the ring too when she used Tara’s weak arm and slung her into the middle rope before the end of the match; I really liked that. The only downside to the match for me was how Gail was working on Tara’s arm and her upper back/neck, meaning her offense wasn’t consistent, but other than that, this was a great showing between the two vets, (short for veterans, to my knowledge, both girls don’t operate on pets!)
As for the backstage segment, Brooke Hogan is now my new Claire Lynch. I will laugh at her work for no real reason other than she’s not as good at acting as others on the roster but this week I thought she did ok. Her ‘kicking ass and taking names’ line was very cheesy but then I did like how she was just laughing in Gail’s face at her attitude problem. Whilst the segment wasn’t anything to write home about, it’s nice to see the girls get a storyline set-up to match as opposed to us just seeing them in the ring.
It would have been nice to see Miss Tessmacher this week, yet as with what has been happening in the feud for the Divas Title in WWE, the two girls just have respect for each other at the moment and the build-up in making sure they both look strong has been fine. Well, Miss Tess hasn’t been winning as of late but if you think about it, yet she’s the Champ and that portrays strength in itself. Looking forward to Sunday!
Moving on from IMPACT and we’re headed towards this week’s Midcard Mediocrity matches and segments. We’re firstly going to head to Monday Night RAW and look at another segment which was close to being the best thing this week; the confrontation between AJ Lee and Vickie Guerrero. After AJ slapped the taste of Dolph Ziggler out of Vickie’s mouth last week, the Cougar was on the hunt for an apology. Let’s find out if she got one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bzU-t4xV8k
My Thoughts: Well this segment was pure gold yet the only thing letting it down was it felt like it went on just a bit too long. AJ’s facial expressions once again looked a million dollars and she performed brilliantly here, being the most deranged we’ve seen her since becoming RAW GM. Whilst her outfits have changed and she’s dropped the Converse, her character is still true to itself.
Vickie Guerrero was also on top form in this segment – her wicked, sarcastic and condescending lines, mannerisms and facial expressions are something that all wrestlers should research and aim to be as good as. Vickie mocking AJ’s skipping and talking down to her like she was a toddler were very entertaining. Her slaps could have been a bit harder (I’m harsh I know), but I enjoyed what I saw for the most part, even if it felt like they were taking things a little too slow.
From the red brand to the blue one now and we have another noteworthy segment featuring a WWE Diva. We’ve just seen Vickie on RAW yet she’s made it onto Smackdown too, in a segment with Dolph Ziggler, Theodore Long and the #1 Contender to the Divas Championship, Kaitlyn. Let’s see what the Queen Diva and the Hybrid Diva had to say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTzV6z07U6I
My Thoughts: Whilst there isn’t much to say about this, it was nice to see Kaitlyn on TV again this week (she’s coming up on RAW later on). She got to call David Otunga “an ambulance chaser” which I thought was pretty funny, and that line suited Kaitlyn’s personality. What I didn’t like however, is the recurring trend that Vickie Guerrero can just treat the Divas like crap and then they just take it and walk off continued. WHAT THE HELL are they doing? Kaitlyn should have just stuck around with Teddy and had his back. She has a lot of history with Vickie and Dolph and if she had stuck around, they could have thought for some entertaining things for her to say. Oh well.
The final stop on this week’s Midcard Mediocrity is WWE Superstars. The online/international brand gave us the gift of Layla vs. Natalya for the 2nd time in a month. The two also faced off on RAW a few weeks back, with Layla winning both previous encounters. Can the Floridian Londoner make it 3 out of 3 or will the Divas Champion lose to the Canadian Prodigy? Let’s have a gander!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvzYrAu7A1E
My Thoughts: This was a very competent match with some solid work from both girls. There were a few problems with it though in my eyes. Firstly, there really is a lack of continuity with Layla’s kicks. At one point in the match, she clocked Nattie square in the face yet the Dungeon Diva just got straight back up, yet later on, Layla kicks Natalya and she goes down like a ton of bricks. Maybe it’s just me being picky, but it just doesn’t make sense in my point of view.
Other than Ms El’s killer kicks, this match was really good and although we’ve seen this 463437643 times recently, the girls switched things up a bit to make it exciting still. Natalya’s offence differed from recent outings; with Natalya utilising the apron well, yet instead of using the skirt, she thwacked Layla’s head and back off the steel beam. The calculated Calgarian never just locks in a boring headlock as her submission of choice and tonight, she used an Over-The-Shoulder rack which looked really nice. Tal also put her cocky and childish personality across too; with her using the hilarious “Are you insatiable, Layla?” line as she wrenched the muffin’s back and the end when had a total temper tantrum outside the ring, love it!
Yet another close contender to be this week’s Main Event or Opening Contest yet as we’ve seen it plenty of times recently, this match didn’t feel fresh enough for me to take the top spot.
What time is it? No, it’s not Vader time, it’s time for the Death Slot, ARGH! This week’s worst match was on RAW, and whilst Layla was on commentary, Eve Torres faced Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn lost out to Eve to become Booker T’s new assistant yet Kaitlyn got revenge by eliminating Eve in the Divas Battle Royal to become #1 contender. Now that’s 1-1, who’ll make it 2-1?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnuxVvJg0z4
My Thoughts: Well this was just plain boring. There were several communication issues between both girls and nothing at all about was noteworthy or exciting. Layla held her own on commentary and whilst that was nice to see, it completely took away from the action, making the match even worse.
It is interesting to note that Eve won this match and I wonder where this is headed along with her new attitude. Smackdown annoyingly didn’t give us anything else so hopefully WWE will make up for it on this week’s RAW. Fingers crossed!
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for your Main Event of the evening. Firstly, on her way to the ring, from Houston, Texas, ‘Softcore Country’, Audrey Marie! And her opponent, from Norwich, England, ‘Hell In Boots’, Paige! Yes that’s right people, this week’s Main Event pits the “young diva with a tireless attitude” (which basically means we can’t think of anything exciting to say about her) against the Anti-Diva, Paige. Whilst I always show blatant favouritism to my future wife, Saraya-Jade Bevis, that has nothing to do as to why she is featured in this week’s Main Event. I’m always critical of Audrey too yet I have no trouble in saying that this was the best I have seen her. Now, I’ve talked that talk, let’s see the girls walk the walk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZg5vKxUL5c
My Thoughts: Solid chain wrestling, a catfight, a teddy bear roll pinning combination and an OMG Moment of the Week, what more could you ask for? The match started with some nice headlocks, with Audrey more or less using a dance move to bring Paige back into her grasp, which was nicely done. Then after a bit of push and shove, Audrey showed a smidgen of personality and fire for once and she was doing cray on Paige’s arse! The enchanting raven haired lady was then the victim of a pretty funny and fresh teddy bear roll pinning combo, which I also liked. Audrey’s doing well isn’t she?! Then, Paige delivered a sick looking elbow and a stiff short-arm clothesline before OH MY GOD, what on earth was that incredible move I’ve just witness? Paige hit the Rampaige and it is DEVASTATING – I love it.
Although the match was short, I got incredibly excited by it and what the future could hold. First off, props to Audrey Marie. Normally, she’s duller than dishwater but tonight, she was nearly as entertaining as Chyna’s Twitter feed! Her selling was excellent and her in-ring skills are competent. I can’t believe I’m writing this but Audrey, well done!
As for Paige, she was her usual incredible self. Her finishing move looks seriously harmful and I love her screams and attitude. Call her up to the main roster already! Personally, I would love to see her come in as a sidekick to Sara Del Rey (when she inevitably bypasses NXT). Once Del Rey is in jeopardy of her first loss, BAM, Paige should come on the scene as a Harley Quinn-esque hellraiser to even the score for the Queen of Wrestling. Anyway, before I get carried away by going on about something that probably won’t happen (but if it does, you heard it here first), I’ll finish by saying that the girls of NXT surprised me this week, so keep the good times rolling!
And on that fantastic high note, that brings this week’s WWW to a close. Next week, we’ll have the fallout from Tara vs. Tessmacher at No Surrender and I’m sure the WWE Divas will have a nice build into their PPV match next Sunday. Until then, adios amigos!
— Jack White @Jack5326