Helllooooo there, and welcome to an ever so rare FCW Watch! For once, I’m not to blame for the lateness of this article, as the episodes from both this week and the week before just hit YouTube recently. Both weeks feature the claim to fame of fan favorite (yet anti-Diva) Paige! First, she and a non-speaking Sofia Cortez interrupt one of Raquel Diaz‘s many promos, which ultimately leads to the following episode which showcases Raquel defending her Divas Title against Paige. Sofia does have a ringside seat for the action, but will she play a factor in how the match ends? There’s only one way to find out so let’s get started with some FCW action!
Out to the arena we go to the sight of our Divas Champion, Raquel Diaz. For some reason, I think of Egypt when I see her, as she dubs herself “ravishing, rocking, and racy!” Diaz claims that she’s in a grand mood tonight because she doesn’t have to get her freshly manicured hands dirty defending her Divas Title, which is amazing for all of us because it means she will be our champion forever… and ever… and ever… and ever, because there is absolutely no one who can…
“Raquel, Raquel, Raquel”, chimes the voice of our British beacon of hope, Paige. Paige explains that she thought Diaz was part of the anti-Diva movement, but Raquel claims she thought it was too gross for her to be associated with. Paige tells this “sweet’aht” that she’s nothing special, citing both herself and Sofia Cortez as the best things to ever walk through the doors of FCW. She also adds that both of them deserve a crack at the title before the clowns backstage! Raquel (hilariously) tells the black adorned Sofia and Paige that pink doesn’t seem to be their color, and not only that, but she has installed a height requirement to getting a title shot, and that prevents Cortez from competing!
Sofia tries to attack Raquel for the insult, forcing Paige to restrain the feisty Latina as Raquel screams in fear (of ruining her fancy new dress, I assume). Diaz grants Paige a title shot, claiming that Cortez is just too out of control to get one. Raquel adds that if Paige wants to come at her, then let’s do it next week. Paige and Sofia leave as Raquel tries to make the decision seem like her own, much to my amusement.
It’s a new week, and our peppy ring announcer, Caylee Turner proceeds to introduce the challenger and her running mate, Paige and Sofia Cortez. The Anti Diva Army executes their wonderful screeching pose, before removing her jacket as the perky theme of our champion hits. Raquel makes her way out and taunts the fans on the ring apron, as she proceeds to check her makeup using the Divas Title as her mirror. The referee holds the title up, the bell sounds and the fans get behind Paige. A shoving war starts, before Raquel leaps off the ropes Rey Mysterio style with a Thesz Press!
Raquel follows with a neck snap, then a near fall, she then she goes to Irish whip Paige. The Brit counters into a nice clothesline, before sending Raquel cowering in fear towards the ropes. The referee restrains Paige, but not for long as she slides outside and chops Raquel’s legs into a split formation! She uses Diaz’s hands to choke her along the bottom rope, before sliding back in and then jumping on her back over and over while Diaz is still in position! Raquel crawls over to the nearest corner as Paige hits a running front dropkick to… a certain area of Raquel.
Some kicks follow up, and then a body slam for a close call! Sofia watches on as Paige now takes control with a fallaway slam, before contorting Raquel into a sick leg twist bow and arrow! Dear God. Paige lets go of the hold, as she Irish whips Raquel to the corner. Some shoulder tackles to the stomach, before lifting Diaz up to the top rope and punching her in the chest. Raquel finally tries to fight out, and just enough to somewhat hit a flip powerbomb. She then proceeds to taunt Paige and then run off the ropes with some nice dance moves into a modified leg drop for a two count.
Raquel kicks Paige in the abdomen and proceeds to hit the Three Amigos, as Sofia now has a chair in hand… and it’s not going to be used as a seat, according to Jim Ross. Raquel only gets a two count on the maneuver, as Sofia now hops onto the apron and distracts the referee. Diaz goes for the Gory Bomb, but Paige pushes her out of the way. The referee now wants to remove Sofia from ringside, as Raquel grabs the chair! She debates using it, but instead takes a page out of her father’s playbook and throws it to Paige! She lays down and pretends to be hurt, as the referee turns around to see both the chair and Paige standing tall over a downed Diaz. He calls for a disqualification which means fans of the experienced Brit will have to wait another day for her to become champion.
Thoughts: Starting off with the promo, I thought it was really funny and good overall. It was pretty much the standard Raquel promo before Paige came out, but once the Anti Diva Army got involved, I thought Raquel was actually really hilarious interacting with them. She seems to get promos almost every other week, which is a good thing because I find her mic work to be her strong suit, and speaking of strong suits, I think Paige’s is everything she does. This was her first time on a microphone during her FCW run and I thought she was top notch! I love that they didn’t forget about the week or two Raquel was aligned with them, and they’re starting to realize the fans want to see Paige as the champion, and aren’t going to boo her. Overall, I enjoyed the segment and here’s hoping working with Paige can help Raquel to improve inside the ring. To be continued…
Okay, now I’ve watched the match, I will say I have mixed feelings. This is the perfect type of match, due to the ending, for a feud to continue on but as we’ve seen from the spoilers… nothing really happens from here out between Raquel and Paige. The final TV taping is June 7th, and I really hope FCW goes for a “feel good ending” type thing and has Paige win the Divas Championship (well, if it’s even continuing since they’re becoming NXT). Quality wise, I loved the match when Paige was in control, and I loved the ending as well. The spot where Paige stretched Raquel out into a split and choked her Christian style was so creative and great to see. Raquel still seemed a bit off in some of her moves, but some people are just meant to be characters when they start off instead of wrestlers and I hope WWE sees this if and when Raquel is called up. I think she should continue training in FCW even if on TV because I feel it’s clear she shines more in her promo work. I really wish The Ascension was never scrapped because she was perfect in that role and it would’ve been so brilliant on TV. Even if Epico is already there; her, Kenneth Cameron and Conor O’Brian still could be incredible on the main roster.
