Welcome, welcome one and all! It’s Royal Rumble week and I am excited! As far as gimmicks go, the Rumble is my favourite match (though Survivor Series a close second!) and I will be in London to watch it live with a bunch of awesome people. I’m excited for the tag team match that’s been announced for the Pay-Per-View, which you can read all about in Jack’s Raw Redux right here, in case you missed it!
Speaking of Natalya, she had herself a little match last night with her storied (if you’re an avid Total Divas fan) rival, Summer Rae. I’m sure it’ll be nothing short of awesome, because Natalya makes everyone look good and there’s genuine animosity between these two women. At least I think there is… Summer, like, totally botched up Natalya’s nose, guys. Paige is ringside for this bout!
Unfortunately, after scouring the internet, I can only find condensed version of the match!
We kick off and Summer backs Natalya up against the ropes with some rough shoves to the face. The Dungeon Queen (which sounds waaay more porny than I intended) does not take kindly to this lack of respect. After a knee to the gut, Summer takes a little too long to gloat, and Natalya manages to turn the tables on her opponent. After a big right hand to the face, Natalya takes Summer down and pounds away. Paige is cheering her new BFF on as Natalya and Summer part ways. Summer is quick to go for the pin but Natalya bridges out beautifully and reverses into a pin attempt of her own. She gets a two count before Summer gets out of her predicament.
The ladies are still locked up by the arms as they come up once again, and it’s Summer who takes the lead. A second knee to Natalya’s gut is followed up with an Irish whip into the corner, but Natalya avoids Summer long enough to plant her with a slam off the ropes. Bet your butt is hurting now, Summer! Natalya runs over her like she’s on her way to a cat sale, before knocking her down with a drop kick to the chest.
We cut to later in the match, and Summer is not giving Natalya any chance to turn things around here, applying pressure to Natalya’s knees. Paige is trying to rally the crowd behind her BFF, but it still isn’t quite enough to get Nattie back in the game. Summer rolls around and switches things up, attempting a funky looking pin. It earns her a two count, but Natalya is able to roll her over an attempts a pin of her own once more. She fails to seal the deal, but it doesn’t dissuade the Dungeon Diva (which is better than Queen, okay?).
Natalya traps Summer up in the sharpshooter and, after a competitive match, Summer taps almost right away! Paige heads into the ring to celebrate with her friend, and they hug it out as we’re reminded about their match at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay per view. Are you excited? I’m excited. I love Rumble time.
Thoughts: As I said, I could only find a short version of the match which is disappointing, as judging by what we did see it was great. Competitive, as I mentioned, and physical. Summer’s disrespect at the beginning was very plausible, as we know the dislike between these two ladies, and Nattie coming back and refusing to back down to eventually get the win was, while inevitable, no less awesome to watch. I’m crossing my fingers the Divas get plenty of time to shine at the Rumble!
Until next time, ciao! x
