Okay, so I admit I’ve been a little lax with my FCW coverage as of late. My bad. Fortunately, I have not one but two FCW Diva matches for your enjoyment this week! First up, Aksana takes on Naomi Night in her FCW in-ring debut. Watch the match below:
First out is Naomi, who is sporting some very unique in-ring attire. Hell, who am I kidding? What the hell is she wearing? I’m all for being creative and unique, but that outfit is just kicking my ass! Maybe it’s the neon green leggings or the purple zebra print bra or maybe even those 1990 Poetic Justice braids, but Naomi’s look is doing nothing for me. WWE, it’s time for a makeover. Aksana comes next and is as perky as can be, which get a laugh-worthy look of disgust from her opponent.
The ladies lock up and exhibit some decent chain wrestling, but the momentum is cut short when Aksana comes in a little late on a dropkick. Naomi uses this to her advantage, immediately going for a clothesline for a two count. Naomi goes straight into a headlock, keeping Aksana grounded, but gets distracted by the ref, which allows Aksana to get back to a vertical base.
The two competitors trade blows until Naomi hits a side Russian Leg Sweep for a near fall. Naomi continues to punish (or panish, if you happen to be Maryse) by choking her out on the ropes, simultaneously modeling those colorful sneakers of hers. Naomi takes Aksana to the mat by the hair and goes for yet another unsuccessful pin. Another submission from Night, but Aksana manages to fight out of it and take the fight to Naomi. Naomi fights her off with an seemingly botched dropkick (which is sold well by Aksana), followed by an impressive step-up enziguri.
Night locks in another submission and Aksana mounts another comeback (I’m starting to see a pattern), but Naomi gets the upper hand with a Melina-esque hair slam for a another close call. Aksana goes for Sunset Flip but it’s reversed by Naomi for the 3 count.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this match but this girl managed to put on an entertaining match. Neither one of them are ready for the main roster by any stretch of the imagination, but they managed to get through a match of a decent length without any major screw ups.
Naomi reminds me of Alicia Fox, in the way she taken to wrestling quickly and shows a lot of potential. I would suggest she work on her repertoire, as she seems to rely on a lot of rest holds. She could also work on cleaning up her bumps, but besides that, she seems to be progressing nicely.
I also found myself impressed with Aksana. For a person who has just started her training a few months ago, she seems pretty comfortable. Just like Naomi, Askana has her sloppy times but in a year or so I’m sure she’ll improve enough to put on a really good match.
Next match is Queen of FCW, AJ Lee teaming up with Johnny Prime to take on Penny Cash and Donny Marlow:
AJ and Prime make their way to the ring first and AJ is smoking. Purple seems to really fit her and her tiara must’ve come with a curling iron, because she even jazzed up her hair for the occasion. I think it bears mentioning that the crowd is going crazy for her. This girl is definitely a star in the making. Penny and Marlow are out next and I must say, I’m loving Cash’s charisma. Penny hits the ring and makes it clear that she wants a piece of the queen, but she’ll have to wait because it looks like are kicking this match.
Fast forward through the guy’s exchange, Marlow tags in Penny and she takes the fight to AJ immediately. AJ dodges a clothesline and hits a series of kicks for a near fall. AJ goes for a dropkick but Penny managed to avoid it and goes on the attack, flinging AJ by the hair and going for the pin.
AJ kicks out, but Penny doesn’t waste any time cinching in a headlock. AJ tries to fight out of it by driving Penny into the corner, but Penny locks it in once again before throwing AJ to the cnavas. As AJ tries to get her head together, Penny goes back to work with a elbow/butt bump from behind for a near fall. AJ tries to make it to her feet but Penny executes a modified Bow and Arrow submission, prompting commentator Byron Saxton to use the phrase “Bendable Carcass”. Penny tries to keep control of the match, but is laid out by a jawbreaker from AJ, sending Penny scrambling for the tag.
Fast forward a little bit more, Penny gets physical with Johnny Prime and AJ takes her down in true cat fight fashion. After a short exchange, Penny reverses an Irish whip into an Oklahoma roll with a handful of tights for the win.
Another strong showing from the FCW Divas. We haven’t seen much from Penny Cash since she was eliminated from the Queen of FCW tournament by Alicia Fox, but she seems to have improved since then. Judging by the outcome of this match, I’d guess that a fued between Penny and AJ was in the works, but with Penny being released a few weeks back, the top heel role is up for grabs. My vote goes for Naomi Night or maybe even a new FCW Diva. Jemma Palmer, anyone?
What are thought on the last two weeks of FCW goodness? Leave your thought in the comments!
