The Knockouts weren’t the only ones in the main event picture last night. Though obviously less prestigious (this is WWE Superstars after all!), former Divas Champions do battle this week on Superstars, Alicia Fox takes on Eve Torres Watch below:
Oh hey there, Ashley Valence! The short-lived NXT co-host has resurfaced and found herself on ring announcing duties on Superstars after a couple of months of brushing up in FCW. Not a bad job.
Eve is out first and is referred to as ‘Steve Torres’ on commentary by CM Punk. Umm, I’m not even going to touch that.
After Alicia comes out, it’s go time as the Divas get off to an iffy start before Eve rolls across Alicia’s back in a back body drop attempt and counters into an armdrag. Nice maneuver by Torres. After another arm drag, Eve applies an arm-lock on Alicia as the Foxy Queen tries to fight out before eventually whipping Eve into the corner. Eve uses the bottom rope to help elevate her into a kick but Alicia ducks and then slams her against the canvas by the hair. Fox grabs her by the hair and again slams her against the mat before hitting her with knee strikes across the face and we see a near fall. Punk, meanwhile, cracks a joke that some days he wants to propose to Eve & others he wants to hit her with a shovel. Yikes!
Alicia locks in a head-lock as the crowd tries to will Eve back into the fight, which she eventually does with a snapmare on Foxy. Not wasting any time, Eve jumps onto Fox’s back and applies a mighty sleeper-hold but is backed into the corner several times by Fox before being hit with a backbreaker. Nice counter by Alicia. Eve begins laying in some forearms but is hit with a knee to the mid-section before running the ropes, however she walks into a dropkick from Eve, and another one. Eve follows through with a kick and a clothesline.
Eve re-adjusts Alicia, seemingly signaling a moonsault, but her foot is soon grabbed by her fallen opponent. “She is going nowhere!” says Punk astutely. Alicia gets to her feet, all the while holding one of Eve’s before hitting a northern lights suplex. Alicia goes for another suplex but this time Eve lands on her feet and hits a neckbreaker. Alicia is in position and it’s time…
Moonsault! Eve lands perfectly on Alicia and takes the victory.
Once again, another solid Superstars match. While not as technically sound as past matches on this show, we got some variety which helps make up for it. It feels like forever since we saw Eve wrestle, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in a match as lengthy as this. It was great to see her given the opportunity.
Now some positive criticism. There is definitely room for improvement from both Divas; I’d like to see Eve tighten up her move-set which could be impressive if she does so. There was a bit of the ‘Naomi factor’ from Eve in this match: some unique moves/transitions but I didn’t think they looked quite as well executed as they should have i.e. that kick after the dropkicks. As for Alicia, she doesn’t seem to have grown as a performer in the past year or so. While I was wowed by her work with Mickie James last September/October, it seems she’s relying on those same moves that impressed then (tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, northern lights) rather than evolving and adding more to her arsenal. Both Divas have great looks and potential, but I can almost understand why they’re not in the spotlight. I hope they will both step it up in the ring so they can be ready to wow fans when an opportunity presents itself. Of course, that also would rely on WWE giving them a chance to A) work more experienced girls regularly and B) show personality/character which both have shown they can have.