Hello all, and welcome to this week’s edition of the SmackDown Redux! This week on the blue brand, former Divas Champion, Paige (along with her new best friend, Alicia Fox) takes on the high-flying Naomi in singles competition. Will the power of friendship be enough to put a damper on Naomi’s high octane offense? Check out the match below:
First out are Paige and Alicia, and we are treated to a clip of Alicia’s win over AJ Lee this past Monday and the post-match attack that followed. Naomi is out to the ring next, and our Divas match is underway!
Paige take the fight to Naomi right out of the gate, looking to ground the aerial specialist of the Divas division with submission holds. Naomi manages to make it to a vertical base, and rams Paige into the turnbuckle, freeing herself from the hold and blasting her opponent with a few elbows to the face.
Paige breaks away, but runs right into a flurry of offense from Naomi, ending with a beautiful hurricanrana, which sends Paige retreating to the corner of the ring.
Naomi keeps the pressure on Paige with a impressive headscissors/DDT variation, prompting Paige’s new BFF to come to the rescue, only to get drilled by a Tope Con Hilo (Kinda…) from Naomi.
With Alicia out of the way, Naomi nails Paige in the face with a kick, but Paige counters with a kick of her own when Naomi goes for a springboard over the top rope. Wasting little time, Paige drags Naomi into the ring and locks in the PTO to pick up the win.
Post-match, Paige and Alicia celebrate their wins and new found friendship (weren’t they JUST feuding a few months ago…?), but the party is cut by the Diva Champion, AJ Lee, who comes charging down to the ring. AJ beats the crap out of poor Alicia, while Paige hides from her former frenemy behind the commentary table
Thoughts: Fairly short, but such an amazing match from these ladies. Even though she took the loss, Naomi has to be the MVP of this match, with her ever-expanding array of moves. It seems like every week she adds something new to her repertoire, and every move is more unique and impressive, even if the execution can be a bit iffy at times (That Hilo scared me so much…)
As for this new Paige and Alicia partnership, it came out of nowhere, but I’m liking it. I feel like Paige vs AJ over and over again is getting pretty stale, so it’s nice see a new Diva get thrown into the mix. Alicia has proven time and time again that she is one the the most solid performers in the division, so I feel like she’ll fit right in in terms of ringwork. Let’s just hope WWE doesn’t drop this, like the are known to do…
Last, but not least… Where is AJ’s friend?! While AJ may be on social media insisting that she doesn’t have any friends, we all know there’s one Diva she hasn’t burned her bridges with yet… Tamina. While I can’t be 100% sure of Tamina is ready to return after her injury, bringing her back as AJ’s guardian would be a perfect way to bring her back into the fold. I fully expect her return before the next Divas title match.
Well, that it for this week, guys! Until next time… “THAT’S MY NEW BEST FRIEND!!!!”
