After a small absence, welcome back to the Women’s Wrestling Write-Up here at Online World of Wrestling. I’m Jack and after a few weeks of settling back into university life (aka planning my dissertation with a bit of partying in between), it’s time to combine work and play in the best way I know how, writing this column for you mad lot! This week was somewhat mediocre until WWE gave us the best possible match up we could have asked for in terms of the girls on their roster. Find out what that match was later on. In addition to history being made in the form of the ‘dream’ match I’ve already alluded to, we’ve had accusations aplenty on TV and departures aplenty behind the scenes. With so much to discuss and scrutinise, I say we should get on with things!
We’re kicking off proceedings this week on WWE Superstars, as the Little English Muffin, Layla faces off against the woman that took her Divas Title from her, Eve Torres in our opening contest. Although Miss El will have a rematch clause against Booker T’s assistant, a win here would send the last ever Women’s Champion’s confidence sky-rocketing. Can the British Diva pull it out the bag or will Eve continue her stellar run of form?
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtz5sj_wwe-superstars-27-9-12-layla-vs-eve
My Thoughts: This was a really nice match, which although a shame it was on an internet and international show, I think it was better off that way. The girls got more time than they would have on RAW and if this had taken place on Monday, an immediate reaction to the ‘blonde attacker’ storyline couldn’t have happened. With this match taking place on Thursday, it allowed the commentators to speculate on the story whilst Layla got an opportunity to put herself back in the spotlight.
First off, I know it’s nothing to do with the match, but why on earth have WWE rebranded Non-Title matches, Title-Free? The new term really annoys me and it seems pointless. It’s like rebranding a tag-team match, a teamwork match. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!
Anyway, onto the bout, there was some really nice offence and that’s to be expected from Layla and the Stars Earn Stripes winner. The match started with a catfight edge to it before transitioning into some really nice chain wrestling, which resulted in Layla being sent to the arena floor. She got back up and hit 2 sweet kicks yet again, the issue of continuity struck me at this point. Layla won with her Bombshell kick, yet what was different to that one compared to the two she executed mid match? Another standout element was Eve’s variation of a triangle choke, in which she locked in whilst doing a forward roll so that her opponent was dead in the centre of the ring – really nice. Overall, a very nice match that provided us with an extra little treat this week.
Up next, we’re delving into Midcard Mediocrity and we’ll be taking a look at what happened on RAW this week. We are staying with the Divas Champ and her English rival as they team up with Beth Phoenix and Alicia Fox respectively. Will Eve and Beth be able to co-exist after Eve beat her last week or will the drama happen within the other team? With Alicia flip-flopping from Face to Heel recently, can Layla trust her bipolar partner? (It’s bad when an internet writer has to make up a personality for a Diva!) Without further ado, let’s have a look.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtuvaq_wwe-raw-09-24-12-alicia-fox-layla-vs-beth-phoenix-eve-torres-kaitlyn-returns-naomi–cameron
My Thoughts: Well this match was basically filler until it ended so that Kaitlyn could make her announcement yet the bout did exactly what it needed to do. Beth was made to look strong, Eve was made to look sneaky and manipulative and as Layla will be the next in line for a title match, Alicia taking the pin did her no harm either. Jim Ross made the best point by saying that he wonders if any of the these Divas get along right now and I think that is a fantastic point, which alongside the storyline, makes the division somewhat interesting right now. There is one clear Heel in Eve and two clear Faces in Layla and Kaitlyn yet where the loyalties of Alicia, Beth and Natalya lie, we don’t really lie. I’m not including Aksana, Rosa or Tamina in this conversation as frankly, they don’t matter at all right now. With Alicia, Beth etc not being the top Face or Heel, it’s ok for them from a character standpoint to fluctuate both sides of the spectrum and I’m interested to see where this story goes. Oh and Kaitlyn, you need to work on your mic skills. I wasn’t a fan of your delivery, at all. Sorry!
Also on RAW, we saw AJ confront CM Punk and Paul Heyman about the WWE Officials Debacle and it ended with Paul Heyman proposing to AJ. Yup, you read that right!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_A_1u4W1so (Skip to 7:35)
Sticking with WWE, we are next going to look at a very cool promo video that aired on NXT, promoting my favourite Diva, ‘Hell in Boots’, Paige! The video was a typical WWE video package, a.m., brilliant and it’s great to see a Diva be given spotlight in this way. Watch it for yourself, and see what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFYppnOHXk
My Thoughts: Whilst I thought the promo was really nicely put together and it made Paige come across as dangerous, serious and incredibly hot, one thing did irk me about it. The enchanting raven haired lady said in the clip: “The less you know about me, the better.” Now, this could just be a little teaser and we will get to know her, which is great. However, it could just be that WWE have absolutely no care for what her character is, so they’ve just tried to make her come across as mysterious and edgy. If that’s the case, creative are lame. Don’t dampen my spirits when it comes to Paige please WWE, she’s the brightest star in the NXT Universe! [/Stopping The Universe/Solar System Puns Before It Gets Cheesy]
DEATH SLOT TIME!!!! I wanted to try and make it scare you from out of nowhere, yet I don’t think HTML can do that, so anyway, let’s delve into the pit of doom known as the Death Slot and see what was so awful this time around. IMPACT Wrestling, who have been doing wonders recently, have sadly slipped into the Death Slot this week. The newly turned Heel, Tara, had a backstage segment with Brooke Hogan, which was actually ok, but it’s the match that I hated this week. Actually, I loathed it. You might not be as harsh as me so judge the contest and the backstage encounter for yourselves and then I’ll get into what I really didn’t like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syR3_1dMRv8
My Thoughts: Firstly, I’ll discuss the backstage segment, which although it’s nice that the girls get more time to speak and convey their characters, I just wasn’t into this one. Brooke told Tara she was late as “Rule #1” which made no sense to me and then Tara proceeded to take phone calls that were clearly fake. I know wrestling is fake (obviously!) but I hate when people act out phone conversations when it’s clear that the phone isn’t turned on or their reactions to answering the call are unrealistically quick. It’s like when people make cups of tea on TV and there is clearly no liquid in their cup! Anyway, before I get off topic and ramble on about flaws of mise-en-scene, this segment just didn’t connect with me, although I am intrigued to see who Tara’s Hollywood boyfriend is.
Onto the match and I really didn’t like it at all. Tara was fighting to be a top contender and regardless of whether she has a cowardly heel persona or not, she’s cowardly, not incompetent. Other than the small package which led to the win, she got in NO offence whatsoever, which made her look pathetic. It also made ODB look laughable that she did so much to Tara and then lost to a simple roll-up. The whole booking of the match was awful so whoever booked it, your decision to do so is my What The Hell of the Week. I take it you didn’t have breakfast the morning you came up with this week’s dross!
The next problem was Eric Young. He wasn’t as bad as he’s been in other matches but I still despised his input here. There was a really awkward spot with him and Tara just staring at each other at one point and that was unnecessary. EY’s involvement took away from the match big time.
The final thing I didn’t like about this was Tazz’s commentary. Although it has nothing to do with the work the girls are doing, he is a part of the overall presentation of the show and I thought he came across as trying too hard with his humour, which was subsequently offensive to ODB.
Overall, IMPACT delivered a negative impact this week yet hopefully it will be better next week when ODB teams with the Knockouts Champ, Brooke Tessmacher to take on Gail Kim and Tara.
The time is upon us people, you ready for our Main Event? This week’s Main Event took place on Smackdown and WWE gave us the ‘dream’ match that fans have wanted to see for the last 5 years. DRUM ROLL!!!!! Beth Phoenix faced off against Natalya. There’s no need to look twice or three times everyone, I’m telling the truth! With the blonde Divas in the spotlight due to Kaitlyn’s assailant being fair-haired, WWE gave us a match between two of the prime suspects. Will The Glamazon get the win in her home town or will the Dungeon Diva make the 21st Century Femme Fatale tap?
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtz5s8_wwe-smackdown-28-9-12-beth-phoenix-vs-natalya
My Thoughts: This match was so bloody good and lived up to the hype that fan reports have been saying all week. The only thing I want to pick at, which I’ll get out of the way first, was the fact the girl’s didn’t get entrances. Apparently, both girls got amazing reactions and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see that transpire on camera. Back to the match, and it started with some brilliant mat-based skill and some chain wrestling and it was really fresh to see Beth prove us to the fans that she’s not just about power moves.
Then the girls got right into it after Nattie delivered one of her trademark slaps to the face of the Fabulous Firebird. Phoenix then had a bit of a catfight with Nattie (another box ticked) before heading to the top rope. Natalya’s counter was cool and then she locked in the Sharpshooter and I honestly thought Beth would tap once Tal had pulled her into the middle of the ring.
After some nifty reversals, Beth managed to hit Natalya with the Glam Slam for the 1..2…..KICK OUT! Woah! This definitely the OMG Moment of the Week! Not only is this a first time ever match, the Queen of Harts is the first woman to ever kick out of the Glam Slam – this match just got even more epic. The perfect mix of beauty and strength then tried a victory roll only for her fellow Diva of Doom to stop her momentum mid move. Nat got a two but then Beth shifted the momentum to roll her up and get a 3 count!
God, that was good! I’m not even bothered that the match ended in a roll-up as the finish was so unpredictable, I was on the edge of my.. well, wherever I was sitting when I first watched it! This match came out of the blue so I hope we can get an impromptu rematch on PPV; keep those fingers and toes crossed people!
The aftermath of the match was also cool, with Eve suspending Beth. Although it sort of continued the mystery attacker story with Beth asking why Natalya wasn’t suspended too, I think this was only done really to get a major reaction from the crowd and to further Eve’s tension with Teddy Long. Eve and Teddy’s feud, if you will, has been on and off yet it’s nice to see that WWE have so much faith in Eve that she is in two stories at once!
So, who do you think the attacker is? I think it’s too obvious for it to be Beth or Natalya and now that Raquel Diaz and Kelly Kelly have been released (more on that later), it can’t be the shock factor of either of those two. I personally think it was someone wearing a blonde wig at this point. I don’t know why Layla would attack Kaitlyn yet I could see it being her. If it was just Eve in a wig, that would be rubbish and plain boring. I might be the only one thinking this, but, do you think Kaitlyn is just making it all up. If she had scored security footage, don’t you think she would show it to the world? If the attacker was masked, her identity would still be a secret, so what’s the problem with showing the tape? This storyline is the first in a long time and I’m really glad WWE are investing time into the Divas. It’s had the fans speculating for weeks and has given the ‘E a reason to put the Divas of Doom in a match together that people have waited so long to see. Let’s hope it stays exciting!
Finally, before I wrap up this week’s column, I’d like to give my thoughts on the WWE releases of Kelly Kelly and NXT’s ‘Ultra Diva’, Raquel Diaz. Even though she was looking to have more outside commitments, I am really shocked WWE let their most popular Diva in Kelly leave the company. Whilst she couldn’t run the ropes even after 6 years of training, she had some excellent moments in her career. I for one will miss her psycho screaming and will look fondly on her series of Divas Championship matches with Beth Phoenix and the moment she defended Edge’s World Title for him.
I’m also gutted to see Raquel go. She was very much like Maryse; great on the mic, meh in the ring. I did see promising things for her though including working with her Mum which I’m sure would have been charisma gold but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be as she requested her release. Good luck to both girls in their future endeavours. To take one positive to them being gone, it means the mystery attacker story got a lot more interesting with two of the top suspects being ruled out!
And that concludes this week’s OWW! Follow me on Twitter at @Jack5326 and join me again next time as I divulge the drama of the Divas and Knockouts. Until then, have a good week!
-Jack