Bonjourno everyone and no, this is not an attempt at an Antonio Cesaro impression, I just thought I’d channel the language of love as you will love everything that we have coming up on this week’s Women’s Wrestling Write-Up. If you love Twitter, follow moi (ooh la la, remind me never to say that again) at @Jack5326 and now I’ve ran out of love puns as I’m that uncreative, we’ll get on with things!
So, why will you love this week’s WWW so much? Well firstly, I’ve been nice this week and there will be no Death Slot! I decided that although some things weren’t as good as others, there wasn’t anything that I had a major problem with or detested so if it’s not in the Opening Segment or the Main Event, it’ll sit happily in Midcard Mediocrity. Also, the OMG of the Week this week is by far, the funniest thing I have ever seen on TV. You’ll fall on the floor laughing (you’ll see what I did there later)! We had action from Hardcore Justice, RAW, NXT, IMPACT and Smackdown in the last week so to quote Teddy Long, let’s get to steppin, playa! Btw, was that even the right context for that? I honestly have no clue!
First up is this week’s Opening Contest features Knockouts Champion Brooke Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne at Hardcore Justice. Madison had been given blatant favouritism by Earl Hebner in recent weeks and now he is ref-ing her title match! Will Madison get the title or will Miss Tess shock the world with a win?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebJ1P2f1w_I
My Thoughts: Well, I was NOT happy that Madison won the Knockouts Title. I’ve made it apparent in recent WWW’s that I’m not Madison’s biggest fan in terms of her in-ring ability and I don’t think just because you have a good character, you should be rewarded with a belt. Madison is now joint with Tara with 4 Knockouts Championship reigns and she’s only behind Angelina Love in terms of the most decorated KO Champ. Does she deserve it? Well that’s a question everyone will have a different answer too.
As for the match, it was decent but it felt very run-of-the-mill. There wasn’t any particular move that I marked out for or anything like that, but it wasn’t bad at the same time. The ending was the best part for me. Earl didn’t screw Tessmacher over as such; it was just a bad call. Tessmacher’s rookie character shone through again, but this time it was for all the wrong reasons, as she argued with Earl over his correct decision to break up her pin. Whilst this cost Brooke the match and the title, it makes her more believable as a character and I love how passionate and normal she comes across. I’m a big fan and let’s hope she can get her 2nd reign with the title soon (more on that later).
Next up this week, we’re digging into a larger Midcard Mediocrity section and our first stop on the route the Main Event is RAW. WWE did the unthinkable this week by remembering they have a Divas Champion and she got a match of decent length. Double shock horror! The surprise continues when we find out that it’s actually a Divas tag team match, and I honestly cannot the last time one of those took place on RAW or Smackdown. The astonishment continues as a match is promoted for Smackdown. Sorry, what was that – there is a Divas storyline? Before you have a cardiac arrest, let’ see Layla and Kaitlyn vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve.
My Thoughts: I actually quite enjoyed this match and I don’t agree with all the criticism it was getting from fans online. Ok, there were a few blips here and there but I really enjoyed the pace of the match and I thought the finish was nicely done even though it was a roll-up. I don’t get the idea of it being a roll-up though as whilst it made Beth look a bit better in defeat, it wasn’t much better. When you think of all the times she has lost recently, I think cementing Kaitlyn as a threat would have been better than cushioning Beth as tbh, she’s gone past the point of help.
A certain OWW Radio host may hate me for this (sorry David!), but Beth is staler than 26 year old bread right now. She has lost far too many times to be seen as a major threat in this run of her career and her character is so bland. Most people prefer Faces to Heels but when it comes to Beth, I much preferred her Face character. I think WWE needs to make another of the girls Heel and just keep Beth off TV for a while so she can keep any dignity she has left before coming back in a few months’ time, fresh and rejuvenated. It might seem a bit hypocritical for me to make my next point but my favourite part of the match was Beth’s kick to Kaitlyn’s chest – OUCH!
Before we leave RAW, check out GM AJ reunited with Kaitlyn backstage. Oh and JTG is there too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blX2q-y4f8E
My Thoughts: This was a really cool segment. Whilst I think Kaitlyn could probably still insult AJ, it was nice to see her look past all the slapping that she received and has seemingly forgiven our ‘crazy’ GM. Told tell AJ I called her that!
Next, we’re off to NXT and whilst there wasn’t a match this week, Raquel Diaz got to bitch in a backstage soliloquy! Let’s see what scathing words Latina Heat had to say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FenjZV2uZCI
My Thoughts: Raquel is SO annoying but that is what makes a great Heel. I love to hate her and some will hate to love her and whilst I sound like a broken record when I say that her in-ring skills need to improve drastically, her character is spot on; its over-the-top and way different from anything else on the roster. Raquel is very Maryse-ish for me in that she’s got the character down perfectly yet her wrestling isn’t too shabby and I just hope that she is able to improve in the ring by the time she’s called up to the main roster. Fingers crossed!
The next match in this week’s Midcard Mediocrity features Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn for the right to be named Booker T’s assistant. Whilst I feel that this story is practically over already depending on who wins, as you’ll see for yourself, the match was ok and one girl in particular did excellently in showcasing her character. In addition to the match, Eve was in two backstage segments; one before and one after the match. So let’s take a look at them as a ‘She Looks Good to Me’ trilogy!
Eve with William Regal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OYO4AUp0BQ
Eve vs. Kaitlyn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er9Pt7oThtU
Eve with Booker T: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3L7fmrTyyM
My Thoughts: The segment with Regal was gold for me. It’s nice to see Divas in comedy segments and Regal made a very good point in highlighting how power might not last long, yet as Eve already knows that, it was a bit daft to point it out but at least it actually promoted something to do with the Divas.
As for the match, I wasn’t as keen on it as other people were and I think the problem lies with Kaitlyn. The flow of her matches is often a bit unusual and I dunno, I think I would have liked to have seen a better and bigger comeback from her towards the end of the match. And where is her pairing with Booker T going? Eve was kissing his rear end in the backstage segment yet I’m sure that’s all for show and she’ll have some tricks up her sleeve!
To round off Midcard Mediocrity this week, take a look at some other segments worth noting. On RAW, Eve appeared in a backstage segment with CM Punk and Aksana introduced Antonio Cesaro on Smackdown.
Eve and CM Punk (Skip to 7:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aKismuLaT4&feature=channel&list=UL
Aksana w/ Antonio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksUFsvFq6XM
Next up this week is my WTH of the Week and I want to address the absence of a certain awesome psycho mother-to-be, Claire Lynch! WHAT THE HELL are TNA doing by not having her on the show? Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t be seeing her much longer either, as TNA is apparently bringing her storyline with AJ Styles to a head next week when he gets a paternity test, and it is rumoured that the child won’t be AJ’s and that Claire will leave. NOOOOO! I am appalled at this decision from TNA and Dixie Carter needs to make sure Claire doesn’t go back to working as Olive Oyl from Popeye. Oh, you haven’t seen what her day job is? Well then, you’re in for a treat!
[IMG]http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2742/342356277095e8ded72.jpg[/IMG]
My Thoughts: How bloody hilarious is that? I can’t believe TNA got an Olive Oyl impersonator from the Universal Studios to be Claire, typical #TNAwful! Claire is actually Julia Reilly, an actress based in Florida. She has done several TV adverts and I have a treat for you! As she wasn’t on IMPACT this week, I have dug out one of Julia’s portfolio pieces just for you as I’m that kind. This video in particular was taken down by Claire but I tweeted the company she is advertising to put it back up and they did! You can thank me later, I will also accept gifts. Here is the comedy gold that is Julia’s presenting – “And it costs less than a smart phone, and upgrades required!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlwvpJSillY
Okey doke everyone, it’s now time for the main event! Earlier in the write-up, we saw Madison Rayne win the Knockouts Title from Miss Brooke Tessmacher. Tonight, Brooke Hogan wants to see her and address her relationship with a certain head referee Earl Hebner. It turns out Miss Tess is evoking her rematch clause and there’s a few other surprises in store too. Let’s take a look at the hilarious scene of Brooke Hogan running at Earl and Madison, this week’s main event match, the debut of the new permanent Knockouts referee and this week’s OMG of the Week!
Madison/Earl/Brooke segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ekhsUYwgMA
Madison vs. Tessmacher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Ae0tKG-ag
My Thoughts: Firstly, I’ll give my thoughts on the first segment to set up the match and to hype the reveal of the new female referee. To put it short and sweet, I loved it. Madison excelled in her character here and I think Brooke did a really nice job considering she’s not been doing this kind of thing for long. The sight of her running to the ring was priceless and it would have been OMG worthy had it not been for what she did later.
The idea of having a female Knockouts referee is a great idea and I am majorly excited at the fact TNA brought in Taryn Tarrell to fill this position. I was a really big fan of Taryn in WWE and whilst she didn’t get a pinfall win in a singles match, her matches were very nice and I hope she can transition to the role of a wrestler in the future. Whilst I don’t get why women can’t officiate men’s matches (that’s for all sports, not just wrestling), TNA have made a good move here in terms of storylines and setting them apart from other companies in the industry.
One person who really shined for me tonight was Brooke Hogan. Her role in the company has been booked very well and her job comes across as believable and I’m a fan of it. Often Faces in power can be boring, but so far, I have liked what I have seen. Brooke could have been seen as just some flop music artist riding off the coattails of her Dad yet she is being seen as an important part of the division and something that is genuinely needed. She also takes this week’s OMG of the Week for her hilarious falling off of the stage. I was creased at that!
As for Madison’s Knockouts title reign, I’m not a fan of the fact it was just 4 days long. Madison was given the belt seemingly as a way to bring Taryn Tarrell in as opposed to rewarding her for her work, which is a shame. I hope in terms of her character that she drops Earl Hebner and mentions that she was only using him as no-one is going to buy that she loves him if they keep the story going.
The match itself was pretty good and I loved Madison’s annoyed antics towards Taryn. Ms Tarrell fitted in very nicely and I can’t wait until someone has gotten in her face one time too many and she Manhattan Drops the crap out of them! The Killer Queen’s offense was better than I’ve seen in a while and her Double Wrist Suplex and hair grab throws looked excellent. In saying that though, I’m really glad that Brooke is the Champion again as I feel that a lot of fresher stories can be told with her as Champion. Whether it be a feud between friends for her and Tara, or if Mickie James finally turns Heel or maybe Winter or Rosita perhaps can come into the forefront, I feel that by having the belt on Brooke, we’ll see great things to come.
That’s it for this week’s edition of WWW and I hope you enjoyed it! Join me early next week as I will be recapping WWE SummerSlam for Online World of Wrestling in a similar manner to this article. I’m only recapping WWE PPVs so if any Knockouts matches are on PPV, they’ll still be included in this feature as opposed to Divas matches being solely scrutinised in the WWE PPV recaps. So until I see you next, I hope you have a great few days!
— Jack White @Jack5326