For those curious, footage of SHIMMER standout, Serena Deeb [now known as Mia Mancini] and Miss April [now AJ Lee] wrestling for FCW has popped up on YouTube. Thanks to ICROFT for pointing it out:
It’s rather unfortunate that the #1 Contender for the Divas Championship still has to work the FCW tapings lol. Granted this was probably taped a while ago, but Alicia Fox is very much ‘main roster’ now. Could Serena’s gimmick be more stereotypical? The music, the hat, the name… I wonder if they’ll recycle Trinity‘s old “Full Bodied Italian” nickname? Speaking of recycling… Tiffany using Torrie Wilson‘s entrance song pisses me off to no end. I guess their train of thought is, “It doesn’t matter… blonde for a blonde.” *Eye roll* And if Tiffany’s use of Torrie’s music was bad, why would she go and shoot herself in the foot even more by pretty much ripping off Maria’s entrance? That whole thing on the turnbuckle came across very Maria minus the boob-jiggling.
This is really the first opportunity I’ve had to see April and Tiffany work a match; I’ve seen Serena main event SHIMMER and we’ve all seen Alicia tangle with the best of the main roster, but these two not so much. I was very impressed with April, she has a lot of ring presence and is already a good worker. That exchange with Serena where she countered her move into an arm drag was great and the crossbody from the top was also nicely done. Just from that short moment, I could see Serena & April having some great chemistry in singles matches. I look forward to seeing that.
As for Tiffany, she’s pretty bad. Her moves look awkward, she seems hesitant in the ring, almost as if she’s thinking about things before she does them and there’s no fluidity. It reminds me of girls like Eve, who also had those issues in the FCW matches I saw of her last year. The way she hits her moves, like Maria & Kelly, doesn’t look believable and just comes across flat. The forearms, that awful dropkick and that double-clothesline. Not impressed. Perhaps it’s best if she sticks to being a GM.
I’m actually surprised that Serena is able to use that finishing move… it’s not very Diva-y. Very cool, but not very Diva-y. I wouldn’t be surprised if they told her to drop it for something else. That’s how they roll.
PS: Anyone know if the Serena vs Angela match has aired?