Doomsday… I mean Draft day is here!!! Which WWE Divas will be packing their bags and moving to a new home? We will find out in 12 hours, until then we want to look at the Diva draft picks from last year. Jillian, Torrie Wilson and Victoria all made the jump in ’07. Let’s see how they fared shall we?
Jillian: Last year, there was much buzz about how fans wanted Jillian to move to Raw. Though their wish was granted, not much can be boasted about Jillian’s move; in fact her shining moments were usually when she acted as Melina‘s sidekick. Poor Jillian has watched the rest of the Divas pass her by in the year she’s been on Raw, all of them have had some high profile match or another – yet Jillian continues to languish. Her only Raw highlight came when she was seen beaten up by Lita and Trish Stratus during Raw’s 15th anniversary show.
The Verdict: Fail. I’m hoping Jillian gets moved to SmackDown during this year’s Draft.
Torrie Wilson: Torrie was last year’s big Diva draft pick, as she was moved during the three-hour show. Her drafting to SmackDown is pretty infamous, as Torrie seemed visibly upset in an interview with Todd Grisham later in the night – just goes to show how tight-lipped WWE is about the Draft. Torrie didn’t find out until the announcement was made live on television! Torrie had a good two years on Raw where she improved vastly, but over the course of 2007 seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Her move to SmackDown helped her reclaim some of her former glory as a top Diva, as she took back the crown she held for so long as SmackDown’s top Diva. Torrie and Victoria helped develop the women’s division we’ve come to know over the past year and the pair delivered some great matches. However, after a run of bad luck, Torrie’s career met it’s end on the blue brand. First, she was set to be involved in a long-running feud with Krissy Vaine which never truly came to fruition as Krissy left WWE two weeks after being called up to SmackDown, leaving Torrie, once again lost in the shuffle. Next, Torrie had to take time off to heal nagging back injuries – unfortunately, for her and her fans the extent of the inuries was far worse than initially thought. Torrie retired from WWE and professional wrestling in May 2008 after her back failed to heal.
The Verdict: Bit of both. Torrie’s move to SmackDown started out strong and WWE even planted the seeds to what was supposed to be a long running storyline with Krissy Vaine. Unfortunately, bad luck struck twice and ended Torrie’s career. For this Torrie fan there are a lot of “what ifs”, what if Krissy hadn’t have left? I think this feud could have really rejuvenated SmackDown’s women’s division. It’s just bad luck…
Victoria: Many were shocked to see the Vicious Vixen drafted to SmackDown, but what a success story that has been. For the first time in years, Victoria is actually relevant to current WWE storylines and not just jobbing or getting lost in the shuffle. Victoria’s move to SmackDown once again kick-started her burgeoning career and the Diva has enjoyed much success and TV time on SmackDown and ECW. In fact, I think she’s gotten more TV time in the past year than she got in her last few years on Raw. Victoria has had feuds with the likes of Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly and has recently teamed up with Natalya. Many thought the move to SmackDown was the end of her career, but in fact it’s done wonders for her. With the launch of a new Divas Championship, Victoria is in line to make history… could she become the first Diva to hold both the Women’s and Divas Championships? The Vicious Vixen has a good couple of years in her and her future prospects on SmackDown are limitless.
The Verdict: Pass. Victoria has enjoyed more success in the past year than she had in her last few years on Raw. There’s a lot left that she can do on SmackDown too.
