Word has it on the Internet, TNA’s Payton Banks may be done with the company. Banks is not under contract and is paid per appearance. Apparently, the LockDown pay per view at which Robert Roode gave Payton the brush off ended their relationship and Banks’ tenure.
The reports persist however, Banks may be brought back further down the line. She probably quit because the writers’ strike is over and she has to get back to work on 30 Rock…
Well if you’re Brazilian or Latina, you could be in with a chance because WWE is holding casting calls, yes casting calls for new Divas. You just know the glory days of the WWE Divas are gone when WWE is actually casting what they want. It feels almost sordid, a pimp and ho situation if you will… Let’s break down their requirements:
Must be between the ages of 18-27 years old and fit the following:
– Beautiful (given the drag queens WWE’s hired recently, “beautiful” is a stretch)
– Speaks and understands Portuguese (and the ability to speak and understand Johnny Ace i.e. under the table action)
– Speaks and understands English (how is Maryse still in a job?)
– Physically fit/ Athletic (have a beach bod, doesn’t matter if you were on the Atkins diet to get it. Athletic part redundant, I mean look at Kelly Kelly)
– Great personality (Again, redundant to 10th power! Kelly Kelly, Maryse, Lena, Eve, Beth, Michelle… do I need to continue?)
If you think have what it “takes” *cough* click here.
Has anyone else noticed that WWE tries to make Maria out to be the epitome of fashionable? Calling her RAW’s “resident style queen” and such, when any woman – hell make that man, woman or child – alive knows that she dresses tacky as hell. Well WWE.com has really outdone themselves in the latest edition of Diva Dish:
Shopping adventures
The Divas are well-known for always being at the height of fashion, and many of them took the little free time they had in Europe to shop ’til they dropped. Naturally, Diva Dish talked to Raw’s fashion plate, Maria, first.“I love the clothes over here because they are so different than they are in the United States. They’re cut better. I think over here there’s a lot more pattern and print then there is in the States, and plus, they get everything over here first,†Maria said of her shopping trip in Nottingham, England.
“Unless you’re in New York, you might get fashion about the same time, but New York style is completely different,†she continued. “So it’s always fun to come to Europe and do a little bit of shopping.â€
You had me, Maria, you had me all up until “Nottingham.” What the frig?! I mean, am I missing something here? Not Bond Street, not Oxford Circus… but Nottingham. Damn, I hope I’m not missing on some fashionable delights… in Nottingham. Then again, given Maria’s personal taste of fishnets and leopard prints, I’m probably not.
Woooooo!
It’s no secret that my favorite female wrestler/manager/entertainer is Sherri Martel. She is a woman that I love and cherish. I look at what she has accomplished and what I saw when I watched her work. She simply was the complete package. She was one of a kind; original, strong and larger than life.
Amongst the men, there is a single man who fits that mold for me. I looked forward to watching him no matter what he did. He is an incredible man that will stand alone in wrestling. So unique and captivating. He is the one, the only, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.
Ric Flair is beyond the complete package. There are people in this world that are amazing when it comes to mic skills, are incredible wrestlers or just have a phenomenal look. Ric Flair has all of the above and then some.
I almost feel blasphemous for being negative towards the TNA women’s division, but felt compelled to write openly to TNA’s writers: give the gimmick matches a freakin’ rest already, okay?! We’ve just come off the heels of a Queen of the Cage match at LockDown, which we appreciate – but these gimmick matches are okay for once in a while, but not every freakin’ pay per view. TNA announced at their tapings last night for next week’s iMPACT! that at their next PPV, Sacrifice there will be a Makeover Battle Royal:
The TNA Knockouts come to the ring. Jim Cornette announces a “Makeover Battle Royal” for the Sacrifice PPV. The last two competitors will compete then in a Ladder Match. The winner is the person who grabs a Knockouts title shot contract from above the Ring to face Awesome Kong. The loser will have their head shaved in a “Britney Spears Makeover.”
That’s two months in a row now that they’ve put on gimmick matches, we appreciate that they want to get as many Knockouts on the card as possible but this match is just ridiculous. I understand the logic of wanting to push as many boundaries for women’s wrestling as possible, hence the ladder match, but honestly – this match is just bad. BAD. Has TNA finally succumb to their own lackluster booking? When the Knockout division launched in October, it was praised as being the only thing that TNA was getting right – well it seems like they’ve finally caught up with themselves, giving the women’s division their unique “Midas Touch” aka crapping it up. TNA relies far too heavily on gimmicks and for a while there, it seemed the women’s division was exempt from their over the top booking, but not anymore…
It seems TNA is taking a lesson from WWE’s Creative Team, who since the departures of Trish and Lita have been trying to get as many women involved in matches as possible to make up for the lack of big names in the division. Case in point, for the past two years lumberjills at WrestleMania, a battle royal at SummerSlam and a 10 Diva tag team match at Survivor Series. TNA has done an amazing job in building stars in the likes of Awesome Kong, Gail Kim and ODB to name but a few – so why are they regressing now? Their emphasis should be on creating the women’s division around the Knockout Championship, adding prestige to the title – making it the envy of all the Knockouts in the lockerroom. Using the stars they have (such as the three named above) to put on amazing matches, as well as creating new stars who can go for the title in the near future. They’re wasting the likes of Roxxi Laveaux, Angelina Love and Rhaka Khan, who I think are all viable challengers for the Knockout title. Not just bulking up matches with as many girls as possible and doing a “flavour of the month” gimmick match – it does nothing to advance the women’s division or propel their talent.
Click here to view the whole photoshoot.
We’ve had requests to start posting iMPACT! spoilers since we post SmackDown! spoilers, so your wish is our command! Below are spoilers for tomorrow’s edition of iMPACT! On Monday it was announced on TNAwrestling.com, that Awesome Kong would face Roxxi Laveaux for the Knockout Championship as Roxxi won the Queen of the Cage match at LockDown. Both the Women’s and Knockout Championship on the line on TV in one week, what are the odds? Highlight the text:
Awesome Kong def. Roxxi with the Awesome Bomb to retain the title.
Take five of WWE’s most useless Divas (barring Ashley) and what do you got? A Diva Dance Off. Just add water, girl on girl kissing and you’re about two steps away from softcore porn. Providing hosting services is “The Tazz”, as new ECW announcer Mike Adamle so affectionately calls him. Check it out:
Several of RAW’s Divas got rave reviews from a British fan who met up with the likes of new Women’s Champion, Mickie James, Melina, Lilian Garcia and Katie Lea after last night’s taping in London, England:
I got to meet Mickie and congratulated her on her title win and she gave me a big smile and a hug and said thanks! Lilian was also smiling and signing autographs and taking pictures with everyone. Katie Lea was incredibly sweet too! But the big favorite diva with the crowd was Melina, she spent ages outside in the cold signing autographs, laughing and joking with us, she had a huge crowd around her! I said I really wanted her to be women’s champion and she said she does too and we talked for nearly five minutes! Of the guys, Chris Jericho was really sweet so was Carlito and Cody Rhodes. The biggest name was Randy Orton, I know he gets a lot of shtick but he was great, he signed autographs, took pictures, joked around with the fans. At the time I was talking to Melina and as he came out a sea of girls just swarmed him and she joked that always happens!
In the world of celebrity, we sometimes lose sight of the positives and whatever character they may play on TV, this is what it’s all about. Making someone’s day!
TNA Wrestling’s critically acclaimed women’s division continues to grow and adapt with Knockouts like Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, ODB – names that without TNA, wouldn’t be able to showcase their talents on a national level due to WWE’s disinterest in promoting true women’s wrestling. That said, we can’t help but feel there are a few names out there that have so much to give to the industry and would have so much to add to TNA’s Knockout division. Here is Diva Dirt‘s guide to the names that TNA should hire (in no particular order, except for the first one).
Please note that we haven’t included the big names like Trish Stratus, Lita, Chyna, Sable… because really, we don’t see it happening.
1. Jazz
Topping the wishlist is none other than Jazz, one of the best female wrestlers in history, in my opinion. Jazz’s long history goes all the way back to ECW when she competed with the men to her epic rivalry with Trish Stratus in WWE. Pound for pound, Jazz is one of the most athletic, technical wrestlers – man or woman. To be honest, I don’t have a freakin’ clue why TNA hasn’t hired her already. This former Women’s Champion would give all the Knockouts a run for their money and no doubt, would be worth the TNA Knockout Championship. Not to mention, I really want to see a Jazz-Gail Kim feud.
2. Dawn Marie
As far as T&A with competent wrestling abilities go, it doesn’t get better than Dawn Marie. WWE however, would rather parade Ashley and Candice – go figure. Dawn was essentially eye candy, but proved to be so much more during her tenure on SmackDown! playing a conniving, soap opera-esque heel to perfection as well as being more than adequate in the ring. Dawn could easily replace Christy Hemme as TNA’s part-T&A-part-wrestler and do a hell of a better job!
3. Nidia
Possibly the best thing to come out of WWE’s Tough Enough competition ever, Nidia’s WWE career was over before it began. When Nidia finally made the transition to RAW after two years on SmackDown!, many (including herself) thought this would be the start of a Women’s Championship-oriented career. Instead, within months of moving to Monday nights she was released. Nidia’s wrestling talents have long gone ignored, could TNA be the answer?
4. Trinity
Poor Trinity, this girl can never catch a break. She was underutilised during her first tenure in TNA, then she was underutilised in WWE as they stuck her on ECW. This daredevil had the makings to become either brand’s next best high-risk, high-flying Diva/Knockout. Finally, TNA has a women’s division, is it time for Trinity to find her way home?
5. Molly Holly
I guess you could call this one a long shot, as she still has allegiances to WWE – but Molly Holly is considered to be the best female wrestler ever. I’m sure TNA has already tried to contract her, but try harder damnit!
Who else do you think TNA should try to snap up? Comment and let us know!
WWE’s Next Top Model is officially underway! It’s time to vote for your favourite Diva to stop them from facing the chop! Which Diva has the most top model potential? Vote now! The Diva with the least votes will be eliminated this weekend!
[poll=11]
Highlight below for explosive, gargantuan spoilers from tonight’s RAW that will have you going “OMFG!”
Heat
Melina & Jillian def. Maria & AshleyRAW
Mickie def. Beth Phoenix to become the new Women’s Champion! They do “big fight” introductions. Afterwards, Mickie cries with joy and Ashley and Maria come to congratulate her.
Our thoughts after the cut:
Hurrah! The Women’s Championship will be contested tonight on RAW, between Beth Phoenix and Mickie James. The match will take place before a sold out crowd in my hometown of London, England. Now, I hate to embrace a stereotype but I think British modesty has rubbed off on WWE as they finally begin to stop the wheels on Maria‘s Playboy push and put someone worthy in Beth Phoenix’s warpath!
That said, given the less than exciting matches Beth and Mickie have put on in the past together we can’t really count ourselves that lucky. In fact, it took the injection of Melina into a triple threat match with the pair to add some spice to this rivalry. As I type, RAW is taping so we should have spoilers shortly.
Kelly, Layla, Melina and Mickie appeared on Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp last night and as head instructor said, it was more like booty camp! Check out the Divas, all of whom looked phenomenal I might add, leading a workout (courtesy of Melina-Perez.org):
Be sure to check for TNA’s LockDown pay per view tonight, which will feature not one, not two, but three Knockout matches!
Mixed Tag Team Match
Booker T & Sharmell vs Robert Roode & Payton BanksWomen’s Tag Team Match
Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed vs Gail Kim & ODBQueen of the Cage
Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Salinas vs. Rhaka Khan vs. Traci Brooks vs. Christy Hemme vs. Jacqueline vs. Roxxi Laveaux
All the matches will be contested in six sides of steel! LockDown airs on pay per view tonight at 8pm ET.
Natalya Neidhart, SmackDown!’s newest Diva on the block spoke to WWE.com this weekend and the third generation Diva had some fighting words that should have some of WWE’s less experienced Divas quaking in their boots:
“In The Dungeon, you learn to fight for your life and defend yourself. If you can last in The Dungeon, you’re going to have a grittiness to you that none of the Divas can touch. I’m going to bring that same grittiness to the ring along with my combination of power, of strength, and of execution,†said Natalya, the first Diva to come out of The Dungeon. “My explosiveness in the ring is what will define me as the top Diva in the WWE. You don’t just learn to be physical; you learn that everything in life is a mental game. That’s where I believe I have the advantage over any opponent.â€
Now, with the same confidence as the family members who preceded her, Natayla looks to take the SmackDown women’s division by storm.
“The other Divas may say that I’m cocky and arrogant, but I’m not. I am confident in my abilities. I’ve done my homework and am ready to spread my wings. I’m proud of what [my family has] accomplished, but I’m the first Diva of the Hart family to step in the squared circle and defend The Dungeon and what my grandfather taught. I dare any Diva to step one foot in the ring with me.â€
We can’t wait to see Natalya put her skills to the test, she certainly sounds like the real deal but will her bite prove as vicious as her bark? Who would win in a match between Natalya and Beth Phoenix?
Previously on WWE’s Next Top Model… In the casting call, you voted between a variety of 20 WWE Divas, 10 of whom would make it through to the competition.
And now we can reveal the 10 Divas you have chosen to compete for the chance to become WWE’s Next Top Model. 103 votes were cast, so a big thank you to everyone who voted. The Divas in alphabetical order are:
The competition begins tomorrow, when you’ll have the power to vote for your favourite Diva and more importantly, the Diva with the most Top Model potential. The Diva with the least votes will have to pack their bags and go home. Who will be WWE’s Next Top Model?
The Divas were asked who they felt were the hardest and least hardest working of the contestants, and Layla & Melina had a few interesting things to say about former ANTM contestant Toccara:
But there was one celebrity all of the Divas really clicked with: Toccara. The feisty model is a big fan of WWE Divas and has aspirations to be one of the Sexiest Women on Television.
“My favorite celebrity would probably be Toccara because she’s just got a great personality. She’s vivacious, larger than life and she wants to be a WWE Diva,†Layla said.
Melina said the sassy model insisted she could make it in WWE, so Melina told her to prove herself.
“When I saw that little attitude of hers, I was like… she could totally be a WWE Diva. Let’s get her in the ring. And then she’s got that badonkadonk that she’d totally smush people [with]. That would be her trademark,†Melina laughed.
Well at least, from what they say, Toccara’s stink face would be more powerful than Torrie’s. Sign her up! She’s certainly got the attitude of a Diva, regardez:
A British female wrestler, who once aspired to be a WWE Diva is now a Gladiator! Following the success of American Gladiators, UK’s Sky One commissioned the return of the British version of the show. 24 year old Jemma Palmer, whose profile on the show’s official websites cites that she was once invited to be a WWE Diva Search finalist, has made the cut and will appear on the show when it premieres in May 2008. Jemma will go by the name of Inferno. Read her profile below:
Jemma is a wrestler, trained by the team behind Ultimate Warrior, having won a scholarship with Ultimate Pro Wrestling. She was also invited to be a WWE Diva Search finalist and was a Musclemania finalist and fitness competitor. Jemma has been a Miss Hawaiian Tropic finalist, a Ms USA Dream Bikini Body finalist, a Maxim Little Black Book UK top three winner and a Miss Maxim UK finalist. She also has a purple belt in submission wrestling.
Upon doing some googling, Diva Dirt found out that Jemma was one of a select few British wrestlers who received a tryout when WWE was doing an overseas tour in the UK in November 2005. In fact, there is an interview with Jemma still on WWE.com, which you can read by clicking here. It’s interesting to note, that one of the other girls also invited to the tryout was Katarina Waters – now known as Katie Lea! Gladiators premieres on Sky One in the UK, in May. For more information on the show click here.
One scoop or two? Actually, you better make it two – in fact, you could name them Deuce and Domino. SmackDown! continues it’s creative lead over RAW this week, the blue brand has received much praise from Diva Dirt for it’s story-telling and action in the recent Michelle–Natalya–Victoria feud but the show’s writers to continue to work their magic off screen too.
Capitalising on Cherry‘s rise during the SmackDown! Diva contest, Michael Hayes and co. have created a “WWE.com exclusive”, teasing a split between Cherry and her tag team clients, Deuce and Domino:
Deuce and Domino tell Cherry they are surprised she made it as far in the diva competition as she did. They also said if she dressed better she could have won the contest. Then they brought in Maryse, who was all over Domino while Deuce was hawking her too. (Courtesy of PWInsider)
It’s nice to see the blue crew continuing stories and developing them, making use of WWE’s official website rather than dropping the angle altogether (as seems to be the strategy employed by the red brand). There’s only so much you can fit into one and a half hours of television (not including commercials), once again we applause SmackDown! for one of their best weeks of Diva action ever. Let’s just hope that this angle is able to transition onto TV in the coming weeks. Check out the segment by clicking here.
This week’s Diva action from SmackDown! has found it’s way online and is a pretty good watch, if you ask me! Check out the official introduction of Nattie Neidhart – now known as Natalya Neidhart – as well as a match between Michelle McCool and Victoria.
Torrie Wilson has updated her MySpace page, giving us a sad and shocking update on her back injury. It looks as though Torrie’s in-ring career may be at an end =( Read below:
My health is doing ok as far as back problems. I must say there are days that I wake up and ask myself why the heck I put my body through what I did the last few years but it’s all worthe it. I can never trade all of the awesome experiences that I have had in the WWE and of course all of the great life long friends that I have made along the way. I have been told by 2 back surgeons that I should never set foot in a wrestling ring again if I want to be moving around in a few years on my own. Pretty depressing if you ask me….I don’t even have some awesome memory of what my last match even was or who it was with. Hopefully it was with Victoria and I beat her! (-:Â I guess everything happens for a reason for sure.
I hope you’ll join us in wishing Torrie well, I know that she wouldn’t want her career to end this way, she’d want it to be on her own terms. We’re rooting for you Torrie <3
At ‘Mania and the week leading up to it, emotions ran high and history was made… Do we forget that? Do we take those moments for granted and not realize what we are witnessing and what we are a part of – WWE history? I really hope not.
The Hall of Fame is so incredible and I look forward to it each year. I cry like a baby and I am so overwhelmed with emotions. I am filled with pride and am inspired. When I hear about what the inductees went through in their lives and how they saw the business, I feel for them and it reassures me that they went through the same things that I went through and am going through… And look! We are there celebrating their greatness and thanking them for what they have done. Instantly, I am more motivated than I have ever been before.
I admire each and every one of the Hall of Famers, but I always look forward to the women who are inducted the most. There are so few women in wrestling, so few getting inducted. On that night, you hear stories about their journey and you hear about the person they are and were. I look forward to hearing the women because there is no one better to identify with and to thank for why I am here than those women who made this all possible.
Welcome to another edition of the Playlist, our regularly scheduled music column! This week all eyes are on Mariah Carey as the diva prepares to release her 11th studio album, E=MC2 next week! Check out our review of the album…
In 2005, Mariah (or should we say Mimi?) was emancipated and now, the world’s biggest selling female artist is unleashing another 14 tracks of fun, bliss and emotion on her “lambs.” E=MC2 is the 11th studio album from the one and only Mariah Carey, whose storied career has spanned nearly 15 years. Still, the diva continues to remain relevant in music today – after all her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi was the biggest selling album of the year, spawning the #1 smash hit We Belong Together which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 weeks. Mariah described her latest offering as the dessert to the main course that was Mimi… and she couldn’t be more right! Though this offering doesn’t quite match her comeback album, Mariah still has it and puts the other rising female artists in their places with a knockout album.
Already the album has made history, it’s lead single Touch My Body became Mariah’s 18th #1 hit in the United States making her second only to the Beatles in terms of artists with the most #1s (the Beatles have 20). But having listened to this album, I can almost guarantee that Mariah will be able to match, if not surpass, the legendary British band. It’s fair to say that every song on the album has single potential, yet all the songs are an eclectic mix.
It looks like SmackDown! continues to be the “one to watch” having read this week’s spoilers, which can be found below. Highlight to read:
Victoria introduced Natalia Neidhart. They did a video package on her and put over she was Jim Neidhart’s daughter. She cut a promo and did his trademark laugh. Victoria defeated Michelle McCool after Neidhart distracted her.
Follow the cut for more (contains spoilers):
