What’s up Diva fans and welcome to my first installment of From the Vault! I’m the final face to step into the craziest time machine of all time as I ride through the echelons of yesterday, picking out a classic (or not so classic) day in wrestling to reminisce with you all. When I knew it was my time to go all Doctor Who, I pondered with my sonic magic wand in hand (Candice Michelle has nothing on me) and thought about what to write. Do I pick an iconic moment in Diva history or do I go bananas and pick to recap the most obscure and downright irrelevant thing I could think of? Of course, I went with the latter. Hooray for randomness!
So, where’s our mission going to take us, trusty companion? Well, I don’t know why I’m asking you, I’m the one controlling this paddle on a pole and bra and pantie filled TARDIS! I wanted to discuss some women that I’ve rarely had chance to discuss, so this redux won’t be featuring anything current or anything from the Diva gods such as Trish and Lita. I’m going to take us back to September 28th, 2007 and an episode of SmackDown, a time where the blue brand mattered and was genuinely interesting and unique given that it had it’s own set of exclusive roster members, storylines and events that people actually cared and a commentary team that didn’t sound as contrived or unfunny as they do now. I miss classic Michael Cole and JBL!
We’re going to re-witness both a match and a highly impactful debut in this trip down memory lane as we see WWE’s ex-resident psycho Victoria battle one of my first WWE crushes and SmackDown’s golden girl, Torrie Wilson! If you don’t remember the outcome of the match, I won’t spoil it for you and ruin your day (as me doing just that clearly would crush your soul obviously) yet with Krissy Vaine appearing after the match, let’s say that unlike normal, things didn’t look pretty for Torrie. Without further ado…
TO THE VIDEO!
Out first to the ring is the “Most Downloaded SmackDown Superstar on WWE.com”, Torrie Wilson. I’m honestly shocked she bested the likes of The Gymini and Vito! Such amazing gimmicks… From a beauty in black to a brawler in beige. Out next, it’s Victoria. Not one of Victoria’s finest attires yet as we’ll see, she can make anyone else look good.
The match starts with Victoria locking Torrie in a reverse waistlock, eventually scooping her up and plonking her down before utilizing a very nice bridging submission then bends back Torrie’s neck. JBL does a great job at referencing both of the girls’ fitness modelling past as Victoria forces Torrie into the corner.
Torrie pushes herself out into the middle of the ring again before escaping the front facelock and tripping Victoria up from behind. Torrie keeps her momentum going by running over Victoria’s back before leveling her with a crossbody. Following an armdrag and a flustered tussle from Victoria, Torrie then grabs Victoria’s leg, before pushing her into the ropes, only for Victoria to rebound near her, allowing Torrie to fluidly schoolgirl her for a near fall. Torrie then hits a jackknife cover for another close call. Torrie’s good fortune is drastically halted though as Victoria throws her to the outside, with Torrie seemingly taking a nasty landing.
Victoria continues her methodical assault on Torrie, whacking Torrie’s face off the ring apron in a unique fashion. The Vicious Vixen works over Torrie in the ring before hitting a nice floatover suplex for two. Torrie tries to punch her way back into things, yet Victoria settles her down one direct fist to the face. Victoria looks to set up the beginning of the end with a Spider’s Web, yet Torrie wriggles free and gets a two count.
Torrie is back on the offensive after catching the Widow’s Peak Freak off guard and she bats her with a series of forearms. The former Playboy cover girl then hits a sweet headscissor takeover which she follows up with two clotheslines.
Torrie then rams Victoria face first into the mat with a modified Nose Job, yet it’s not enough to get the win. The pair exchange strikes leading to Torrie being whipped into the corner. Victoria charges at Torrie, yet the latter manages to sunset flip the former, or at least it was looking that way. Victoria manages to keep her balance before using the ropes for leverage to get the three count.
After the match, an upset Torrie doesn’t realize that more bad news is behind her – it’s Krissy Vaine!
Krissy kicks Torrie in the gut before ramming her back first into the corner. After stomping a mudhole in her, Krissy then brutally bends Torrie’s back around the ring post before finishing making her statement by tossing Torrie into the ringpost. A new threat has arrived and she’s here to stay… for a week.
Thoughts: Oh, The Vault can be a cruel world sometimes, can’t it? This match and the aftermath highlights what could have been if things were different, and it would have been a great world to witness. Luckily for me, I’ve been down an alternative timeline and Torrie Wilson as the first ever Divas Champion was great!
Ok, that last thought fills me with some sadness, I’m not going to lie. This match highlights how far Torrie had come in the business, and in hindsight, JBL’s commentary of “I hope Torrie doesn’t get hurt” is quite poignant. Just two months later, Torrie wrestled her last match due to a back injury and my naive 14-year-old self (that had no idea of wrestling dirtsheets) was fuming about this and I solely blamed Krissy Vaine. SHE BENT HER BACK ROUND THE POST FOR NEYSUS‘ SAKE!
Rumor has it that the Divas Championship was made with Torrie Wilson in mind, and although the belt only came to fruition years later, it’s a real shame that the fan favorite never held any gold in her career. She had a wrestling style that was totally rough around the edges, yet it to me looked believable. In a real fight, people wouldn’t moonsault and hit a picture perfect back suplex. They would be scrappy and feisty, which is exactly what Torrie was. I still miss her to this day. She was never the best in the ring, yet she had a loyal following for a number of reasons. She was relatable, likable and of course, incredibly good on the eyes. In the words of Booker T, SHUCKY DUCKY QUACK QUACK!
Let’s also address Victoria, who was still considered a dominant threat once she was drafted to SmackDown. Instead of staying a p-o’ed banshee stuck on a roster with no title, she became a pushover who rookies could beat as quick as a flash. It’s a shame WWE never treat Victoria with enough respect towards the end of her career.
Another should of, would of, could of element of this segment was Krissy Vaine. Her debut was majorly impactful, obliterating perhaps the most over girl in the company at the time. She had an interesting ring attire and her look was very similar to Torrie’s, which I’m sure WWE would have addressed if they had gotten the chance. Sadly, the former Diva Dirt audio star left WWE over a week later, citing family issues between her and her then boyfriend, now husband, NXT Tag Team Champion Konnor. It’s a shame that not both he and Krissy could return to WWE, as Krissy is still only 33 years old. Her facing the likes of Mickie, Melina, Beth and Victoria are simply mouth-watering possibilities and it’s a shame we never got to see Krissy have an official WWE main roster match. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
Well, that wraps up my first installment of From The Vault. I’m glad I chose to look back at this particular show as it showcased what could have been. Although we’ll never know, at least these shenanigans actually happened to allow us to appreciate them and conjure up thoughts of what may have been our future.
And with that, stay tuned, Jack will be back!
