I suppose that it’s fitting. On the night that I make my triumphant return to the Diva Dirt writing staff that World Wrestling Entertainment gifts me with not one, but TWO matches to sit here and talk about. That’s double the opinions. Double the controversy. And double the drama that no doubt this post will stir up amongst you wonderful readers.
Summer Rae and Layla with Fandango as a special guest referee is unique to say the least. The Pay-Per-View hasn’t even started yet and no one really knows if this is going to be an actual match or some type of dance off, and lets be honest. Does it even matter at this point? Summer and Layla are better off without Fandango, because in my humble opinion, he can only shine alongside the original Mrs. Fandango, Andrea “Perfection” Lynn.
As far as Naomi and Paige goes, let’s be honest. We all know this match is merely a filler for what’s going on between Naomi and her tag team partner, Cameron. Popular opinion (mine included) says that Cameron is going to cost Naomi this match and Paige is going to move on to the next challenger. But bear with me for a moment…
What if Naomi wins this match?
To me, there are more possibilities for different storylines if Naomi wins. We could have Cameron become incredibly overcome with jealousy. Naomi being the Diva’s Champion would definitely cement the split. I’m not saying I really want to see Cameron and Naomi feud over the championship, but it would absolutely benefit Cameron more in the long run if she got such a high profile storyline.
Of course if Naomi does win, where does that leave Paige? I think it’s best if she retains, to be honest. They need to really build her as a long-term champion and the future of the company.
There’s always a ton of questions going into WWE pay-per-views and tonight is no exception. Will Brie Bella appear with Daniel Bryan on the pre-show? What will Stephanie McMahon get up to tonight? Will there be any other random Diva appearances?
I don’t know, but I do hope that each and every one of you sweet dolls enjoy this Redux.
So with those predictions out of the way and in the open, and an excellent opening match, we get our first taste of Diva action thanks to Naomi, Cameron, and Paige. According to the commentary team, Naomi and Cameron are going to be nothing but professional tonight. Thanks for that interesting piece of information! Paige is out second and the match gets off to a pretty fast start.
There were several things I loved about this match. First and foremost, the beginning was so well done. We don’t see Divas getting to work outside the ring much, so the fact Naomi and Paige basically began their match there is awesome. I loved the hard hits and when both of them got back into the ring at the same time.
It was a pretty even, back and forth match. There was a cool dive to the outside by Naomi to take Paige out, and Paige sold it brilliantly. She made it back into the ring at around the eight count, and we continued on from there.
The problems between the Funkadactyls are well known and Cameron was definitely was a polarizing figure tonight at ringside. Whenever Naomi was on offense she seemed unimpressed and almost resentful to see her partner doing so well. When Paige was in control, Cameron was smiling and happy. That is what set up the ending.
No, we didn’t get any type of interference. But we did get a nice and clean victory for Paige and Cameron reacting like she was overjoyed to see Naomi lose. After all was said and done, Cameron climbed into the ring to comfort Naomi over her loss and Paige celebrated with her championship all the way to the back.
I really liked the match. I had a feeling Naomi and Paige would deliver and honestly, I’m very glad there wasn’t some kind of cheap victory in there for Paige. She needs as much credability as she can get since they are running with this whole underdog champion thing. And we also get some more time to build tension between Naomi and Cameron. I think the outcome and the way it was done was right, and we will see what Raw brings us.
I’m pleasantly surprised that I liked the second Diva match of the evening as much as I did. Layla versus Summer was nothing but a lot of fun, and the prematch interview got things started off in the right direction.
Summer Rae… or should I say Summer Slay (hehe…) killed it at the end of the match with her reaction. I give anyone who will sit there and ugly cry real tears my respect. She had mascara streaming down her face and everything, and that’s even after putting on a good little match.
I certainly didn’t expect this to be as competitive as it was and I’m damn sure glad it was turned into some crappy dance off. Fandango wasn’t much of a distraction (even if he is hot…) and called it fairly. I really couldn’t ask for anything more. Layla needs to wrestle more in order to remind all of us why we fell in love with her way back when and Summer needs to wrestle more to remind us of why we are so high on her.
The only down side of this was the crowd. They couldn’t have cared less and that’s really a shame given they were pretty behaved during Naomi/Paige, even after the top rope slip (still not sure if that was planned or not…).
I reckon we can’t have it all.
But if you’re me, then you can. =)
Not only did the WWE gift me with two awesome matches tonight, they gave Lana and my beloved Bella Twins too! Lana, of course, accompanied Rusev to the ring for his match against Big E, and cut a promo. Like always, she was flaw free on the microphone and continues to prove that not every Diva needs to step inside the ring and wrestle.
And then there were the Bella Twins, reunited at last after Queen Brie quit the company last month on behalf of her husband. The two sisters were standing backstage chatting when Stephanie walked up, obviously bothered by Brie’s regal prescence.
This segment was amazing. I really, really hope this is building up to some kind of Stephanie versus Brie match at SummerSlam because lets be honest, it would be the greatest thing to happen ever.
With Nikki Bella being the reason Brie was backstage and drawing Stephanie’s ire, and John Cena spoiling The Authority’s plans to hold the WWE Championship (ugh, how predictable and boring) and MiTB contract at the same time, we could very well get some Nikki/Stephanie/Brie stuff. I want to see and basically what I want is everything that matters in this lifetime.
Overall, Money in the Bank was a solid “B” for the Divas. The matches were good. The segments were good. Nothing was bad or bland. I would have liked for Naomi and Paige to go a little longer, but that’s probably the only real criticism I have of anything.
Shocker, right?
That wraps up this Redux. I know, it’s the GREATEST thing you’ve ever read. I’m patting myself on the back for sheer awesomeness of it all. Until next time…
Namaste!
