Last night’s Raw may not have referenced Star Wars Day like it should have (WWE should have showed more respect to the films that are so bad, they are good) yet that didn’t stop us from seeing the ferocious return of a fearsome Sith Lord known for her trademark love of leather and heavy breathing. No not Darth Vader…
That is right everyone. The followers of Snukism are rejoicing as the almighty Tameezus made her triumphant return, in a rather interesting new role. Yet still with the leather jacket. And a raging bouffant – woohoo!
On top of the resurrection of the Superfly Sith, we also were treated to noteworthy appearances from WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Lana, Naomi, Natalya and Renee Young, in a night crammed with potential-filled moments that nearly made me wet myself with excitement. Oops, a definite TMI moment.
Renee Young was all over Monday Night Raw last night, and rightfully so. Her first appearance saw her look cute as a button as she interviewed Ryback in the ring. She asked him if he knew why Bray Wyatt has attacked him on several occasions recently. And then I zoned out as the segment featured Ryback.
Dominattie is the next Diva in the spotlight as she cheered on her hus-brat Tyson Kidd and Cesaro when they faced the Flopscension. I think you can guess who won that one. More from Natalya later.
Everyone’s favourite PG-version of Terri Runnels, Renee Young is back on-screen next and she catches Seth Rollins backstage. She asks for his reaction to having to face Dean Ambrose, and the implications of if he were to lose, D.A would be added to the Payback main event. Of course, Seth is livid and he says that Kane is a moron. Is that PG?
We head backstage to Byron Saxton next and he is standing by with Lana. The Ice Queen (who is seemingly being thawed by the WWE Universe’s affections) is asked how she feels about the reach positive reaction she has been getting off of the WWE audience. She smiles yet then dismisses such claims. She says her business in WWE is simple. She will steer Rusev on the right path back to the United States Championship.
Before Lana can utter another word, Fandango arrives on screen, He says that Lana needs to experience the euphoria of having the WWE Universe behind her. I like that Fandango is still a total creep now that he is face again. Fandango backs away as the Bulgarian Brute Rusev then storms his way into the picture. He demands (in Russian) that Lana end the interview and get ready for his match. Lana retreats looking a little down in the dumps. FYI, I’m not a translator, I as just guessing.
Lana is back within our sights not too long after her interview as she accompanies Rusev to the ring to face Fandango. Fandango starts the match by smacking Rusev in the face before dropping to the outside of the ring. He turns his attentions to Lana, and gets her start Fandango-ing with him! Rusev is beside himself and it isn’t long before Lana is sent to the back and Fandango is locked in The Accolade.
We get a glimpse of Brie Bella and WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella next as they make their way to the ring for Naomi and Nikki’s upcoming non-title match. Brie and Nikki laugh at The New Day who are still celebrating their big win from earlier.
You guessed it, Renee is back again! She is trying to receive comments from Sami Zayn following his near-miss at capturing the United States title earlier in the night. She is unsuccessful, yet she does get word from The New Day, who are clearly trying to beat Renee in how many appearances they can make in the one night. Renee cringes as The New Day go on and on and on and on about being victorious over Randy Orton and Roman Reigns in the opening match of the night.
Renee soon managed to thankfully flee the scene when Tyson, Cesaro and Natalya come face-to-face with their rivals. Natalya shimmys as her fact-loving men tell New Day that they suck. What is going on with her character? Send answers on a postcard.
It is time for our final segment of the night now and we are set to get a non-title match between Nikki Bella and Naomi. The Bellas make their way to the ring first before out of nowhere, Naomi and Tamina Snuka come charging at them with a head of steam. The pair in black begin to viciously assault The Bellas. The announcers are in shock to see Tamina and her bouffant back in action and she makes sure that she lays into Nikk Bella. Tamina superkicks Nikki’s neck off whilst Naomi slaps Brie and then decks her with a sharp enziguri.
Naomi then takes to the mic. She says that the Bellas hold over the entire Divas division is over as her and Tamina are what family is all about! In case you don’t know the link, Tamina is the cousin of Naomi’s husband, Jimmy Uso. Now is a convenient time for WWE to mention that again it seems!
Afterwards, we get a quick glimpse into Naomi’s mind when she’s interviewed on Raw Fallout:
Naomi berates Renee for questioning her actions, saying that she and Tamina don’t owe anyone an explanation.
Thoughts: Holy coconut tree from the Redemption days of NXT! Whilst this week’s Raw only featured short moments for the Divas, they were absolutely all over the show, and sometimes giving short and sweet moments certainly makes for more interesting television.
The perfect example of the aforementioned point being Naomi and Tamina’s attack on The Bella Twins. The beatdown was surprising, emphatic and absolutely brutal. Both Naomi and Tamina’s impactful kick spots gave me a new lease of life. I thought that the sneak attack was the perfect way to showcase how dangerous ‘The Family’ can be. It was certainly more effective in putting over both Naomi and Tamina than say, if Tamina was to interfere in the match, allowing Naomi to get the win. I imagine Tamina’s presence as an equaliser will come into play on SmackDown or next week’s Raw, earning Naomi a future Divas Championship opportunity.
I certainly feel that whilst Tamina’s connection with Naomi was unexpected, we really should have expected it as it makes total sense. With Tamina being 38 years old too, I honestly don’t see her winning the WWE Divas Championship at this later stage in her career. I am a big fan of her in-ring work yet she honestly doesn’t have the mic skills to pull off a championship reign, so with those factors in mind, her serving as Naomi’s muscle works perfectly as she definitely still has talent that should be utilised.
Whilst the beatdown was short, the Divas were still given a chance to showcase what they could do. The Bellas sold the attack really well and Nao-mina looked red-hot as they stood tall. Props to WWE for allowing Naomi to take the mic too before walking off. That time to talk lifted the segment even more so.
As for Lana, I am very intrigued to see how WWE will package her following her split from Rusev, which is inevitable. The crowd are so over for her at the moment so it is good to see that WWE are capitalising on this. It is even better for them considering her movie will be out shortly too I presume.
Props to Renee Young too tonight, who was seen about 65 times within the broadcast. She is by far WWE’s best backstage announcer and even getting an in-ring moment instead of one of the announce team was a nice touch.
Finally, what is going on with Natalya? Tal is a way more comfortable heel and I am still annoyed at WWE’s random face turn for her and her boys. Frankly, WWE are capitalising on crowd reaction yet are not giving a storyline any time to mature before cementing the turn, like they are with Lana. At least Natalya is being considered as dominant and serious face character here unlike when she was farting and Bollywood dancing with Khali and Hornswoggle.
That is it for this week’s Raw Redux. Myself and everyone’s favourite Diva Dirt writer Bobby are switching things up later in the week as I will also now become Diva Dirt’s NXT Columnist, with Bobby taking over Lucha Underground. It will be sad to let Lucha out of my grasp, yet I may just do a Naomi and take it back and juggle all three!
Each week following Raw, Diva Dirt Weekly will take a look back at the week preceding it, hitting every noteworthy event along the way, from NXT to Impact Wrestling to Raw.
Joining the audio will be Chris, Erin and our host Jake.
Former WWE personality Vickie Guerrero is making the most of her post-wrestling life, receiving an award from her school Herzing University at a gala this past weekend in Tampa, Florida.
The University presented Vickie with a “Raving Fan Award” for her work promoting the programs and services of the school.
Vickie posted a photo of award on Instagram and wrote about the experience:
This program kept her off television since the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw.
It is unknown whether or not Stephanie will appear on tonight’s episode of Raw, but it should be noted that Stephanie mentioned she will be taking another trip with the Eisenhower Fellows Program later this year. The location and date are unknown, but Stephanie should miss another month of programming when the time comes.
Have you missed Stephanie’s presence on TV this past month?
With these glowing endorsements from The Rock, buzzed-about training videos and the hype behind her, Eva Marie has a lot to live up to upon her return to the WWE.
The former NXT Women’s Champion was on the road with WWE this past weekend, working live events with their main roster. She wrestled several matches against Naomi, who had a returning Tamina Snuka in her corner.
This morning, Charlotte posted a gym photo, teasing an appearance on tonight’s Raw:
Good day Knockout fans and welcome to another surprise edition of TNA’s Xplosion. It sure seems like we have been presented with more Knockouts action over at Xplosion; the more the merrier. During this past week’s episode of Xplosion, we have exclusive Knockouts action between former friends and foes Madison Rayne and Gail Kim. Let’s see who will come out on top this time around.
Lyrics for Madison Rayne’s “Killer Queen” theme song hits the Impact Zone as the Queen Bee of the Knockouts division makes her way to the ring, waving to close by fans in beauty pageant style and pretty much teasing anyone she can including referee Brian Hebner.
Unlike Madison, opponent Gail Kim is more than happy to greet fans as she makes her ring entrance and over at the Xplosion commentary booth, Jeremy Borash name drops Gail Kim as a nominee for a future TNA HOF induction. (I knew there was a reason why JB was one of my favorite commentators)
Suddenly, something that ever rarely happens on Xplosion happens – a mic is given to someone before the start of the match! In this case, Madison Rayne has a few choice words for her former BFF. In fact, it’s almost a concern because we all know that Gail Kim REALLY likes to wrestle. So much so, that Gail hopes are to one day be inducted to the TNA HOF! (All the teases make me believe 2015 will be the year for Gail’s induction)
Unlike Gail, Madison doesn’t care for any TNA HOF or the adoration of the TNA fans. However, what Madison does care about is whether or not Gail has had “that talk” with herself. You know, where she takes the ball she’s been rolling with and just goes home. At home, where she can be a wife to celebrity chef Robert Irvine and do what we all do at home, which is watch the Queen Bee on our television screens. Madison Rayne’s mic skills are just untouchable.
Gail snatches the mic from Madison’s hand to respond to her “concern”. Times have changed and in today’s age, women are capable to have a career as well as being a loving wife and/or mother. So, if Madison does indeed want Gail out, she is going to have to drag her out the place.
Madison says she has no problem being Gail’s personal escort, drops the mic and goes after Gail causing the match to officially start. Gail gets the upper hand early on, landing hard forearms and a very swift dropkick to Madison. Concerned over some potential bleeding, Madison outside the ring to safety as we head to a quick break.
Once back from the break, we see Madison find her way back to ring but gets her face hurled to the mat by Gail. Switching gears, Gail takes Madison to a corner turnbuckle, where she lands a low kick before sending her off to an opposite corner. Madison reverses Gail’s Irish whip halfway, sending Gail to the turnbuckle instead. Looking for a counter, Gail lifts her feet up but Madison anticipates this, grabs a hold of them and tosses them to the side mid air. Madison then grabs a handful of Gail’s hair, throws her head onto the mat and goes for the cover.
When Gail manages to kick out at the count of two, Madison decides to give the fans what they want, which is more of Gail. She adds her own twist by taking Gail to the second rope to choke her, letting go only after the referee began his countdown for DQ.
Madison scoops Gail up on her feet, sends her across the ring and hits a back elbow once Gail returns to her direction. She goes for the cover as Gail hits the ground but Gail manages to kick out in time. Looking for a comeback, Gail begins to fight off Madison as she gets back on her feet, landing forearm shots to Madison’s head and running the ropes for a quick attack but Madison finds a way to reverse Gail’s oncoming attack with a Northern Lights Suplex pin.
Gail kicking out again frustrates Madison and she looks to wear Gail down, first with a headlock submission hold and then getting creative by landing repeated face crushers to Gail using only her legs. With all these shots to Gail’s skull, Madison quickly goes for the cover but not even multiple leg trapping face crushers are enough to put away Gail as she continues kicking out. With all these kicks out from Gail, Madison then wonders if the referee can even count to three.
Even with the unsuccessful pin fall, Madison continues working on Gail’s c with another head lock submission but Gail manages to fight through and through time around. She elbows Madison to escape her hold and rebuilds momentum with a quick triple threat combination to Madison that includes a hard forearm, kick to the stomach and running clothesline.
When the Queen Bee tries to find shelter from a corner, in comes Gail Kim with dashing corner cross body. Wasting little time, Gail keeps Madison settled by climbing to ring apron on the flip-side of Madison to hit a straddle attack. Staying in the same ring apron spot, Gail sunset flips Madison into a pin but only gets a two count.
Back inside the ring, Gail climbs to the second rope, looking to hit a reverse cross body but only crashed to the ground when Madison ducks out the way. Capitalizing on Gail’s crash and burn, Madison rolls Gail into a pin but still falls short on getting the three count. Looking to end this match, Madison kicks a groggy Gail and sets her up for the Rayne Check but Gail punches her way out and instead hits her Eat Defeat finisher, going for the pin to get the three count and win this match.
Thoughts: A different kind of beginning to an Xplosion match.
Although the opening promos may have cut some of the match time between these two, I think it helped set the tone for this match. More often than not, matches on Xplosion tend to just be thrown together as exhibition matches with little or no real stories behind them, so having a little exchange before hand helped create a mini story we could get into.
Madison antics were pretty humorous as she continues to pick on Gail’s love for wrestling. She is certainly one of the strongest Knockouts on the mic and it’s nice to see her on some kind of TNA program as she currently isn’t doing much on the main show.
As for the match, again it felt shorter than your typical Xplosion match but the Knockouts made the most with the time given by keeping the match constant and physical. Madison is a hard worker, who I think deserves more credit than she’s given and Gail is always on her A Game.
That’s it for Xplosion this week Knockout fans, hasta la proxima!
‘ello everyone, and welcome to this week’s NXT Redux (aka the last time you’ll have to put up with me).
Last time we met, a triple threat stole the show and crowned Becky Lynch the number one contender to Sasha’s Women’s title. Will the former Baes come to blows tonight? And will Bayley/Emma see continuation? Let’s find out.
First up, we head to a video where Becky Lynch explains that winning the NXT Women’s Title is the proof that she needs to show everyone that she can back up her belief to being the best Diva in NXT. It’s everything for her, and it’s going to be the crowning moment to a ton of hard work that started in a small gym at the age of 15. She didn’t leave home at 17 to go to Canada or train in Japan to simply be second best or just another face in the crowd. She did it because she wants to be number one. That’s her title and this is her empire. The era of N-Bex-T is upon us.
Next, we find Devin Taylor speaking to Bayley ahead of her match against Dana Brooke. Bayley explains that she can’t find any of her extra gear for the night and heads off in a panic… just as Emma pops onto the scene with Bayley’s headbands. She puts one on Devin and explains that she’ll have to go give the goodies to Bayley. Hmm.
Time for some ring action as Bayley spins out and enters the venue. The crowd goes psychotic for Bayley (as they should), before being interrupted by her opponent, the one and only recently debuted Dana Brooke. This theme song is so beautiful. JoJo provides intros as Dana comes off much better with her entrance this week. The bell rings as Dana gets a wristlock early on. They exchange holds, looking for added pressure to attain momentum as Dana ultimately gets slammed in the corner. The fans continue getting behind Bayley, who drop toe holds Dana and spins around to a huge ovation. She misses a fist to the corner as Dana takes her down and gets feisty.
Brooke with her unique chokehold in the corner, rallying the fans behind Bayley. She starts choking Bayley on the rope to the sound of their chants, then lifting her up and dropping her with a huge slam. Yesss Dana. She locks in a great submission, but Bayley manages to fight out. Bayley throws Dana into the ropes and takes her down a few times. She now mounts a comeback and scores with her elbow shots to the corner. Following it up with a suplex, she caps it with… wha?
Bayley’s music hits as Emma struts out in Bayley’s missing gear. Bayley doesn’t know what to do, but Dana ends up attacking her from behind and nails her finisher for the upset win.
Emma looks a bit sarcastically upset as Dana poses over the downed Bayley and celebrates her undefeated streak. Ruh roh… Emma and Dana with the high-five as it looks to be that Emma has joined the dark side.
Backstage, Bayley screams for Emma, but the camera man begins asking what’s going on. She explains that they used to be friends but Emma has her items and she’s getting them back. This isn’t over.
Back to the ring we go as Becky Lynch makes her entrance to a great ovation from the crowd. Her opponent stands in the ring already, introduced by JoJo as being Sarah Dobson. The two lock up as Becky takes control with a beautiful roll up. Sarah with a takedown as Becky bridges out and hits a dropkick, followed by the leg drops. Lynch nails some kicks to the corner and chokes Sarah within the rope. Sarah gets a quick roll up after escaping a bodyslam, but Becky then locks in a nasty submission for the victory.
Backstage one last time we head as Greg promotes the NXT live tour a bit, before he’s interrupted by Enzo, Cass and Carmella. They’re bickering quite loudly, as she tells them to bounce and that she can handle herself. She then sits down alone as she’s approached by Blake and Murphy and Blake’s incredible hair. Murphy tries to put his number in her phone, but she cuts him off and tries to make them run off. They eventually abide, before Alexa Bliss pops into the scene.
Alexa tells Carmella that a so called “princess” should be a bit classier, but Carmella smacks her to the side and tells her to mind her business as she heads off. Blake and Murphy proceed to check on Alexa because they’re great and should be on as much as possible.
Thoughts: This was honestly a beyond perfect week for NXT. The segments… the feuds… everything. This hour long show incorporated three separate women’s stories into one episode, all while continuing to build another Diva up in the process. This is how you do it folks.
Dana Brooke looked so much better this week, and while there is still a bit of improvement needed in the ring (which will come with time as it has for everyone else), I thought she looked great out there this week. Working with Bayley was a great step because Bayley knows how to help matches in terms of keeping the flow and the pace going where other Divas might not be able to as much, and so having her work with the newer, less experienced Divas is what we need to see. The match was pretty good, and I love that we’re getting a continuing story between her and Emma.
Also, I love Dana’s silver hair. Plz keep. And kudos for doing something outside the norm.
Becky’s promo was great for how short it was, and it really helped to build her up as a legitimate person which is what I want them to do over the next few weeks. She is kind of like the dark horse of the division because she steps up in the ring and she’s over, but she’s the one we know the least about when it comes to the core group. All we’ve really been informed of is that she likes rock and took an offer by Sasha to get herself into the spotlight, but I want to know these very things she mentioned this week. I want to feel her passion and be told that she uprooted her life as a teenager because she wants to be the best Diva we’ve ever seen. These are what is going to help sell a Becky/Sasha match (in my opinion at least) even more than their past as a tag team. Through this feud, I want to see Becky Lynch blossom into the star she obviously is, and nights like this are moving in the right direction.
The Carmella/Alexa segment was also pretty great, and I love that they’re putting these two in their own side feud because it gives everyone something to do. I mean, honestly, every TV Diva is now involved in something and it’s the best feeling (in fact, it’s what we want to see the main roster do). Also, they remind me of Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie. I hope to see this evolve into a six person feud that eventually culminates with Carmella ditching Enzo and Cass for Blake and Murphy, as they ditch Alexa when they see they have a shot with Carmella. I don’t need Alexa to join Cass/Enzo or anything like that, but I think it would work as the perfect way to spice up the tag division, capitalizing on all six parties because it gives Blake/Murphy an added mouthpiece, promotes Carmella as a super heel, brings Enzo and Cass even more into the supreme babyface role, and helps give Alexa an added spotlight and even more of a fan base because she does sympathy and facial expressions so well that I have no doubt she could sell the double turn to perfection. I’m ready for this feud and I hope it lives up to everything I’ve planned out because I’m weird.
Tamina made her return to the ring last month on the WWE’s European tour.
House shows are typically used to test out new pairings and gimmicks, so there’s no telling if this alliance will make it to television. Still, it’s interesting to see what the WWE has in mind.
She may have lost at Extreme Rules, but Naomi firmly established that she’s still in the title hunt, defeating Brie Bellaon Raw and refreshing her persona with new entrance music.
Hola Knockout fans and welcome to this week’s Impact Write-Up, the “Free PPV” Hardcore Justice edition. (Not to be confused with the TNA’s ONO Hardcore Justice) As the theme suggests, this week of Impact featured a load of gimmick like matches that include street fight, ladders, stretchers and even a pipe on a pole match. However, our Knockouts championship match would opt out from these hardcore stipulations and be a normal one on one contest as reigning Knockouts champion and newly heel-turned Taryn Terrell takes on number contender Brooke. I miss the one time Sugar and Spice team already.
Before our title match, The Dollhouse Production produces another video this week, this time adding Taryn Terrell in them. In the video, we get a recap of how this stable came together and how the three members were all about to take down Awesome Kong, putting everyone on notice. They don’t play nice and the next person who’d they play with comes in the form of Brooke; so creepy, yet tasteful.
Out first is challenger Brooke, whose excitement for this title match can be felt through her hops and beaming smile coming down the entrance ramp.
Accompanied by her new Dollhouse associates Jade and Marti Bell, the champion makes her entrance next. Taryn poising herself front and center while Jade and Marti ring around her in a complete circle before joining their leader hand in hand to the six sided ring. Once inside the ring, The Dollhouse’s favorite game of Ring-Around-The-Rosie continues, as all three girls gather their hands in the middle and swing, swing, swing! As the mini-game comes to a stop, Jade and Marti unbuckle Taryn’s secured title from her waist and the champion raises her title in air. I just love The Dollhouse’s entrance!
One person who isn’t a fan is Brooke, who is tired of waiting and ready to get this match started already. Mia and Marti exit the ring to find their respective spots at ringside and at the sound of the bell, Taryn starts this title match by tying it up with Brooke. There’s a power struggle until Brooke manages to be the first to gain control of the match, locking in a headlock submission to Taryn. Brooke applies pressure but Taryn manages to fight her way out of it, sending Brooke to the ropes but gets taken down when Brooke comes back with a shoulder tackle.
Brooke manages to keep things in her favor by taking Taryn down again, first with an arm drag and then with a dropkick. Having had enough of this, Taryn rolls to the outside of the ring from the bottom rope to recollect herself as Jade and Marti offer her words of encouragement. Inside the ring, Brooke waits for Taryn and once the champion enters the ring again, Brooke strikes her a few right forearms and then a neck breaker. Brooke goes for the cover but only gets a two count.
Back on their feet, Brooke takes Taryn to a corner and whips her to the other side of the ring but Taryn manages to reverse this to send Brooke to the opposite corner instead. As Taryn charges for an attack, she gets a taste of Brooke’s elbow when Brooke manages to counter and keeps things going by climbing to the second rope and landing a flying clothesline. This causes Marti to jump to the ring apron but immediately comes down when Brooke closes in. As the referee gives his warning to Marti, he doesn’t notice Jade’s interference from the other side of the ring, as she grabs a hold of Brooke’s feet and takes her down.
With Brooke now down, Taryn begins her offense to Brooke, mopping her face to mat which becomes the debating topic over at the commentary booth between Josh Matthews and newest member of the commentary team Al Snow. (Eh… it’s somewhat of an upgrade from Taz on commentary I suppose?) Taryn keeps Brooke on the ground with a camel clutch submission before tossing Brooke’s head to the sandpaper and/or smooth like mat again. Taryn then drops her weight onto Brooke, scoops her from the ground and hits a snap supplex.
The champion mocks Brooke, kicks her in midsection lands a swinging neck breaker and goes for the pin to which Brooke kicks out of. Unsatisfied, Taryn goes for another instant pin but Brooke kicks out again. A third pin fall is attempted but Brooke continues to kick out early on. As the Impact Zone begins to root for Brooke, Taryn takes Brooke to the second rope and begins to choke her using her body weight all while Marti and Jade tease Brooke. As Brooke tries to recover from being choked, Taryn places her foot over Brooke’s head and stomps her face to the mat! Ouch!
Taryn goes high risk next by climbing the top rope for a cross body but misses when rolls out the way to safety. Brooke takes advantage of Taryn’s mistake, rebuilding her momentum by landing several forearms to Taryn as well as several clotheslines. Brooke sends Taryn to a corner with a back elbow and hits a face crusher from the turnbuckle. For a second time in this match, Taryn rolls out ring to the safety of her fellow Dollhouse members to regroup and refocus. This time, however, Brooke doesn’t waste time waiting for Taryn to re-enter the ring. Instead, Brooke climbs the top rope and flies to the outside ring, connecting a cross body to all three members of The Dollhouse and taking them all down.
Brooke then tosses Taryn back to the ring, keeping control of things with a flapjack to Taryn. With Taryn down, Brooke climbs the turnbuckle once again for another high flying attack but the outside members of The Dollhouse have recovered by now and find their way getting involved in this match. The number game get in Brooke’s way, as Marti distracts the referee and Jade throws Brooke off the turnbuckle allowing Taryn to hit her Cutter finisher. The champion straddles on top of Brooke with a suggestive like pin and gets the three count pin to successively retain her title.
As if the defeat wasn’t enough, Jade and Marti join Taryn in the ring after to have more playtime fun with Brooke! Marti and Jade grab a hold of Brooke, swing her around once and then slam her flat on the mat. To top it all off, Marti hands Taryn a jawbreaker (which I now assume is the staple prop of The Dollhouse) and place it in the mouth of a hurt Brooke, much like Awesome Kong and Christy Hemme from last week.
With the dirty deed done, Taryn takes a mic to deliver a message to the rest of the Knockouts. She begins by stating that Awesome Kong couldn’t beat her last week and that Brooke failed to beat her this week. No one is going to be able to beat her because this house is now the house of the Dollhouse!
With that Gail Kim’s music hits and as suggested by Taryn’s eye rolls, she’s not all too thrilled to hear what Gail has to say. Looking ever so flawless, Gail Kim repeats Taryn’s statement of “no one is going to beat me” and is confused by this new mind-set of Taryn to which Taryn answers by telling Gail that she is sick and tired of being in Gail’s shadow! Being the unsung heroine of the Knockouts division,
Gail tries to reason with this new Taryn by telling her that she wants no one to live in her shadow; after all this isn’t about her, it’s about all of the Knockouts. As Gail praises the division she help build, she gets cut off by Taryn who tells Gail that it’s time for a change, a change where it is now Gail who would be living in her shadow. After all, Gail stands alone against the three members of The Dollhouse… or so we think! Gail would reveal that she actually isn’t alone as longtime rival Awesome Kong has agreed to stand by Gail in their battle against The Dollhouse! While this may anger The Dollhouse, I’m in love with every bit of this!
Elsewhere in the evening, we get an update in the whereabouts of Mickie James and her “friendly” relationship with James Storm, much to the disapproval of fiancé Magnus. After asking a camera man to follow Mickie James around (were bodyguards not available?), Magnus gets answers this week when we find Mickie James with her son in the parking lot of a grocery store, picking up diapers for baby Donovan like any good mother would and who else to show up in the same parking lot then James Storm.
While James Storm isn’t exactly shopping for diapers, he is looking for some grub and decides to accompany Mickie to the grocery store. He notices baby Donovan and asks Mickie if he can hold the young child. Seeing as there is no harm, Mickie hands her baby to James with no fuss. James then asks Mickie where Magnus is and she reveals that he stayed behind and the two make their way to the store.
Back in the Impact Zone, Magnus is no happy camper and demands to get to the bottom of what he had just witnessed! James joins Magnus in the ring and reminds him that it was Mickie who agreed to “one more match” and even suggests that they bring her out. Instead, Magnus tells Storm to not be so concerned of Mickie and to be concerned of his position. Magnus appreciated when he protected Mickie during their battle with Bram but now he is crossing the line. He demands that Storm back off his family and stop trying to manipulate her as she isn’t one of his Revolution member puppets.
Instead of respecting Magnus’s wishes, Storm turns the tables around and suggests that Magnus just has trust issues when it comes to Mickie and her choice of “friends”. After all, who hires a cameraman to follow their fiance around and why was it that Magnus had to learn about this grocery shop encounter through him instead of Mickie herself? Storm has known Mickie much longer than Magnus has had, so if he wants answers, he should ask her questions, not him.
Finally, we at last get announcement in regards to this year’s (REAL) PPV as Slammiversary is set to air live on June 28th from the Impact Zone. Well… I would’ve preferred a different location but at least we have a TNA PPV to look forward to next month.
Thoughts: A very nice touch right before next week’s live edition of Impact.
The Knockouts title match was very refreshing as it not only featured a first time contest between Brooke and Taryn but this would also serve as Taryn’s first match as a Heel with her Dollhouse members by her side. Just by their entrance alone, The Dollhouse stable really feels so diverse and different from other Heel stables we’ve seen come. They give me vibes of Josie and the Pussycats with a touch of creepiness to them.
The match itself was enjoyable and I think the Knockouts really made the most with what they were given. Brooke has been on a roll since her return, so it was nice to see her in the title hunt again and the fans continue to respond to her well, making her the ideal person to face this new side of Taryn. While we’ve grown to love bombshell Taryn as Babyface, she is really growing into her new Heel persona with Marti and Jade fitting right in. The addition of the ribbons to Taryn’s attire, eye rolls and dirty tactic just help bring all this together.
Post-match, it was nice to see the Dollhouse follow up with attack to Brooke, as it is a way to show that they are placing themselves as this new threat to the Knockouts division. Taryn’s promo felt much more at ease as a Heel than a Face and while Gail isn’t always the greatest on the mic, her role and message still came across pretty clear as it complimented to Taryn’s message of wanting to break out on her own, as any child growing up would. Never would I have imagined seeing the pairing of Awesome Kong and Gail Kim but TNA have certainly booked this feud well enough for it all to make sense. It’ll be exciting to see next week’s match between Awesome Kong and Gail Kim against The Dollhouse live!
As for Mickie James’s storyline, I’m not a fan of where things seem to be going. This week’s segment just felt too tacky for me and it just felt like that Mickie James is only being used as a stepping stone for Magnus and James Storm to feud, more so now that The Revolution seem to be in a disbanding mode. Still, only time will tell where things go between these three and if we will indeed see Mickie James in another match inside a TNA ring.
Next week’s episode of Impact is live where anything can happen! Will The Dollhouse continue their dominance or can the new unlikely team of Gail Kim and Awesome Kong put a stop to them? Find out next week!
Word has emerged that former Divas Champion Jillian Hall was arrested last month on a charge of driving under the influence.
According to her booking details, Jillian was arrested in Orange County, Florida on April 10th with a blood alcohol level greater than .15. Florida’s legal limit for those 21 and older is .08.
Multiple sites including WrestleZone are reporting that Jillian appeared in court on April 14th, pled not guilty in writing had a pre-trial conference scheduled for May 14th.
Jillian’s WWE contract expired and was not renewed in November 2010. She announced her retirement from wrestling in January 2014.
View Jillian’s mugshot below:
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Hello, readers! It’s SmackDown time once again, and we’ve got another fresh Divas match-up on the card. That wasn’t even sarcasm!
Though she retained the Divas Title at Extreme Rules, Nikki Bella still has some work to do to complete her evolution into a babyface. Here, on SmackDown, she’s getting that chance in the form of a revenge match. Let’s see how it all shakes out:
Backstage, Cameron is gossiping with former-temporary-face-now-heel-for-real Summer Rae about Naomi‘s attack on Brie Bella on Raw. Summer admits that she didn’t think Naomi had a mean streak in her and Cameron takes credit for it, saying she taught her everything she knows.
Suddenly, Nikki appears behind them, horror-movie-villain-like, and approaches. Upon seeing Nikki, Summer splits, leaving Cameron with the Divas Champion. Nikki sarcastically applauds Cameron for her “bravery” in talking trash about Brie when she’s not there. She says they can finish this conversation in the ring tonight.
Cameron says she’ll have no problem doing what Naomi did to Brie to Nikki tonight. Nikki fires back, saying she’s nowhere near as good as Naomi, telling her to stop making the comparison. Ouch! I like sassy babyfaces. They beat the hell out of bland babyfaces. As long as they’re not being hypocrites, I’m cool with them talking trash. It keeps things interesting.
Later in the night, we join Cameron already in the ring (a great sign for her prospects in this match), awaiting the entrance of Nikki.
As Nikki makes her way to the ring, Naomi appears in the corner of the screen to rant about the Bellas. She says the Bellas will fail, as all do-gooders do, and promises to take the belt from Nikki.
The bell rings, and Cameron and Nikki ties up, Nikki immediately taking control and tossing Cameron across the ring. She mocks Cameron with some jumping jacks and continues to toy with her a bit, knocking her off her feet when she attempts an attack. When Cameron comes charging again, Nikki tosses her over her shoulder and locks in an armbar.
Cameron fights her way out and slams Nikki face first into the corner. Nikki fights off her attack, but when she attempts her second rope enziguri, Cameron dodges it. On commentary, the ever insightful Jerry Lawler makes a thinly-veiled Bruce Jenner joke. BE A STAR, WWE! Atta boys.
Cameron goes for a pin off of Nikki’s hard fall, but Nikki quickly kicks out. She beats on Nikki a bit before kicking her out of the ring. She follows the Divas Champ and tosses her into the barricade, jawing with the fans a bit. Nikki favors her knee when Cameron forces her back into the ring and nails her in the back with a baseball slide-like split kick. Cameron attempts a pin again, but Nikki kicks out.
Cameron latches on a modified front facelock, which Nikki soon powers out of. She tosses Cameron away, but is soon slammed to the mat, Cameron taking back control. She locks in a headlock, all the while mocking Nikki. When Nikki starts to fight to her feet, Cameron jumps onto her back, latching on spider-like. Nikki manages to knock her off by backing into the corner with force. She stumbles free and buys herself a breather.
Soon, Cameron comes charging, but Nikki ducks it, hitting some offense of her own. She takes Cameron down with two clotheslines and a dropkick, prompting her to back into a corner. There’s nobody home when Nikki comes charging, but Cameron’s followup attack is thwarted with a back elbow. Nikki nails her second rope enziguri and goes for the pin, but Cameron kicks out.
Nikki goes to pull Cameron to her feet, but Cameron drags her down into a surprise pin attempt. Nikki manages to kick out. Cameron’s still proud of herself, though, slapping the taste out of Nikki’s mouth before taunting the crowd. Nikki returns the favor with a thunderous forearm, knocking Cameron clean off her feet. This sets her up perfectly for the Rack Attack, which Nikki hits, pinning Cameron for a clean victory.
Natalya also made an appearance on the show, managing Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in a failed attempt to regain the Tag Team Titles from Big E and Kofi Kingston of New Day:
Thoughts: Not a mind-blowing match, but one that did its job: cementing Nikki as a babyface. Obviously, she was already in that camp at Extreme Rules, but the change was complete here: she was defending her sister’s honor and proving that she’s capable of winning a match without outside interference, which she obviously used on Sunday.
I’m loving how babyface Nikki is shaping up. She’s still got attitude, not afraid to mock her Cameron, but is also able to pull out the classic babyface heroics that get the crowd behind her. My main fear in turning a strong heel into a babyface is that they’ll lose most of what makes them compelling. This match assuaged my fears a bit, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Nikki needs to keep her attitude and pass the memo along to Brie as well. Deep down, the Bellas have a mean streak – they’re rule-benders. Just because the crowd’s rooting for them doesn’t mean they need to be a pair of goody two-shoes. I’m not expecting them to be tweeners, but a few shades of gray wouldn’t hurt.
It’s still nice to see Cameron get the spotlight coming off of her Triple Threat match win a few weeks ago. I’m not expecting anything solid to come out of it, but she’s proven herself to be an interesting foil. There’s no denying that she gets under people’s skin, so the WWE is smart to take advantage of that.
Lastly, I’m glad to see that Naomi’s definitely still in the title hunt. I expect a rematch to be announced for Payback soon. The question is if the WWE is ready to put the belt on her. I’m all for it – a change-up is needed. It would help Nikki become an even stronger babyface, chasing the title Trish Stratus-style and gaining more of the audience’s sympathy. I’m not counting on it, but I can dream, can’t I?
Lucha Underground let the ladies of Lucha take a small backseat this week after their domination of the show last Wednesday, yet it still did not disappoint! Between that and Channel 4’s The Island with Bear Grylls in the UK, Wednesday nights are so good for TV!
The El Rey Network’s awesomely brilliant exclusive furthered the storyline involving Black Lotus, as the man she wants to “kill with my bare hands” was thrust into backstage segment spotlight. Lucha Underground owner Dario Cueto has seemingly had a connection to the so-called Matanza, and that relationship was revealed this week. Unfortunately, we only got to see Matanza’s monstrous shadow once more.
On top of that, the NEW Trios Tag Team Champions Ivelisse, Son of Havoc and Angelico were given the night off following their main event wins last week, but that didn’t stop the threesome getting everyone talking about them some more in a very dysfunctional ringside interview with Vampiro. I’m beside myself just thinking about the epicness so let’s dive right into the action and pretend we’re Angelico leaping from the office roof!
We open the show with an interesting backstage segment featuring Dario Cueto and The Crew. Dario says that he cannot believe The Crew were unable to beat two guys and one girl with one leg last week when he handed a golden opportunity to them on a silver platter. He tells the three stooges to go inside a dark and dingy room, and the key around Dario’s neck is alluded to be of use inside.
Once inside, The Crew gasp as a large shadow projects across their confused and petrified faces. Dario says that if they let him down again, they can go inside the cage and apologize to him. *Gulp*
So Mr. Cueto is related to the man who murdered Black Lotus’ parents. And so are the Days of our Lives…
Our next point of importance is not just related to a Luchadora, it features one too! Ivelisse is sat at ringside alongside Son of Havoc and Angelico, and Vampiro has drew the short straw to try and pull an interview off and get a word in edge-ways with these guys!
Our favourite wannabe Mexican (who is actually Canadian) introduces the new champs and Ivelisse rolls her eyes when Son of Havoc gets a little more attention from Vamp. Ivelisse says that it feels amazing to the first-ever champions and it is all because she stepped up as team captain and got everyone on the same page by directing traffic.
Son of Havoc says he is in charge as he was the one who got them into the finals yet Angelico thinks he is the top dog due to his amazing dive from the office roof (it really was astounding, yet back to Ivelisse before she hits me with a Singapore cane). Ivelisse says that Angelico has not stopped blabbing on about his big leap. She tells him “it was a just a crossbody” – LOL. He objects and says that it was “the crossbody”!
Angelico says that the situation has not gotten better outside the ring, yet Ivelisse says that when it is her time – cast or not – she will stand up and fight. She then gets annoyed at Havoc for stealing her line and the bickering kicks off yet again. Vampiro casually puts his clipboard down and walks off – he is channeling Sweet Brown… although I think he grabbed shoes, Jesus.
Thoughts: A mix of both fun and incredibly interesting developments this week.
Although Black Lotus was nowhere to be seen, the reveal that Dario Cueto is in fact the brother of the man who murdered her parents was a very cool twist. We also know that Dario’s key is the key to Matanza’s cage. Now all we need to know is when does Dario plan on letting his brother run wild? I imagine that if Black Lotus wants to get to him, she will have to get through Dario and The Crew first.
Ivelisse’s interview was such a cool segment. Ringside interviews filmed like this are very rare, and I really like that Lucha Underground are able to present their talent in a unique way like this. It is awesome that a female has finally got one of them too! Ivelisse stepping up to say that she was the leader first was cool; she is the baddest bitch in building after all, who else would take charge? The excerpts of last week’s matches interspersed with the interview was clever editing to really emphasise what each member of the team were saying.
These guys are a barrel of laughs and secretly, deep down they respect each other. It will be fun to see that come through a little more as Ivelisse reluctantly let’s her guard down some more and start to care about the boys. Let’s hope this doesn’t end up in a love triangle story though. We have seen that way too many times and ‘trouble in paradise’ involving a female character like this is really fresh.
After practically a whole hour last week, I am still satisfied with this week’s shorter amount of action. The whole show is always phenomenal and I already can’t wait for next week. Can we have Catrina come back though please? I miss her!
Tonight, the latest Live With Chris Jericho WWE Network special saw Stephanie McMahon field questions from her former on-screen rival Chris Jericho, touching on her childhood, what it’s like working for her father, her relationship with Triple H, #GiveDivasAChance, her favorite match and more.
Having her father as her boss: She said it’s very challenging, especially since her father is Vince McMahon. She said everyone’s dad has quirks and with her dad, she has to work super hard because he’s driven and that makes her work so much more. They noted Vince was standing there off-camera giving them the finger. Stephanie cracked up. She said the bar of expectation is set very high. She noted Vince grew up living in a trailer and fought for everything he had and Vince wants her to fight and earn it every step of the day.
How Vince deals with mistakes: Stephanie said that she’s made mistakes and that’s the worst feeling, especially when he’s disappointed because he’s so emotional – especially he’s also her dad. She noted that as a performer, he made her re-shoot things. There was a segment where she and Shane McMahon were sent back out at a TV Taping in Boston to re-shoot a segment during the time period where she “owned” ECW in the storylines. Steph said that making it worse was that it was the Boston crowd, saying, “They knew” what was going on and can be “so unforgiving.” She said it was an awesome lesson to be learned but when she came back out there, she had the weight of the world on her because she didn’t want to let fans or anyone else down. Vince warned her, “You can’t let this effect the rest of your performance.”
Being compared to Vince: Stephanie said that Shane McMahon calls her the “Vincess.” She said that she’s been around him so much and studied him so much, but there’s no one like him. She said that to be compared to him is a huge honor.
Her first WWE memories: She told a story about being young (3-6 years range) and being at a show in the Philadelphia Spectrum and seeing George Steele backstage, completely in character and being so scared, she hid behind her father, who laughed. Knowing her dad would defend her, she was surprised that Vince was laughing and then realized her dad was laughing about how bad Steele felt that she was scared and Steele tried to talk to her to make her feel better.
The early days of her relationship with Triple H: Stephanie said that she feels Vince sort of put them together. Jericho joked that the master manipulator strikes again. Steph said, “Yes, he does.” He would say things like Steph needs a guy like HHH but then Shane would say, but not HHH and Vince would say, No not him. So, in a way, he sort of suggested it.
Shane leaving the WWE: [Jericho] asked her if it’s hard that Shane isn’t in the company anymore. Stephanie said, “Of course it is. Shane is my big brother, right?” She said Shane was her protector and best friend growing up. She said WWE is a business and passion that they shared. She said there were other things he wanted to do and made a decision and she supports it. She misses him in the company and says that there is nothing more fun than working with him and “Boy, does he deliver.” She said that she still has a good relationship with him and will see him on Mother’s Day. She said that maybe he’ll come back one day.
Working an angle with Ronda Rousey: Stephanie said that she doesn’t know what the plan will be going forward because she doesn’t know if Ronda Rousey will be back. Stephanie said she was a huge Rousey fan and she is a woman drawing main event money for UFC. She said Rousey is inspiring and she wants her own daughters to look up to someone like Rousey. Stephanie said Rousey is a legitimate bad-ass and could have broken her arm in a second. Stephanie said the crowd was into it and chanting for Ronda because she ever hopped the rail.
#GiveDivasAChance: Jericho asked whether the type of personality and attitude Ronda brings and the fact that Steph wants women that can inspire her own children could lead to changes in how the Divas are portrayed. She said that she hopes so and talked about the #GiveDivasAChance campaign online and how she’s pushing every day for the women to be given more time. They talked about how amazing the WWE NXT Divas are and that they hope it can translate to the main roster. Jericho suggested perhaps using SmackDown to test it.
Her favorite moment/match: Stephanie said her favorite moment and match was the Summerslam 2014 with Brie Bella because it was the first time in 11 years she had wrestled. She said to have a match at the PPV that was one of the best matches on the show after closing Raw several times was amazing, especially having her daughters in the crowd. She said that was one of her favorite moments and noted that if her kids get into the business, they will be fifth generation.
Submissions have been pouring in from WWE hopefuls auditioning for the new season of Tough Enough, a number of them hoping to join the ranks of the Divas.
Your Two Cents is our interactive feature where we ask for the opinions of our Twitter and Facebook followers.
This week, we’re asking this: To celebrate the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, give us your superhero fan castings for women’s wrestlers. We’ve read your responses on our social media pages and picked some of the best submissions to highlight here on the website. As always, you can join the debate by leaving your comments!
@FluffyMikeB: Paige would make a great Raven from the Teen Titans.
Jack Pimentel: Either Alicia Fox or Naomi as Wonder Woman, Charlotte as Ms. Marvel, Paige as Psylocke, Natalya as She-Hulk…
@LanoomAES:Havok as Genocide (Wonder Woman villain).
@Lexys_Knight: Paige as Rogue or Raven, Emma as Supergirl, Summer Rae as Black Canary and Bayley as Shadowcat.
Randi Parker:AJ Lee as Harley Quinn, Naomi as Storm, Lana as someone from the Black Widow program, Alexa Bliss as Supergirl, and Natalya would be a good Wonder Womea!
@SourceDuMal:Sara Del Rey as Wonder Woman, Naomi as Storm, and Maryse as Emma Frost.
Sven Hopschiller: Paige as X-23, Becky Lynch as Jean Gray, Bayley as Kitty Pride/Shadowcat, Alexa Bliss as Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman and Emma as Black Canary.
And now we turn it over to you…
Give us your two cents! What’s your superhero fan casting?
According to a report from The Wrestling Observer (via The Ring Fan), Vince McMahon is said to be a big fan of Lana and has some huge plans for her future in the WWE.
The report states that plans are to make Lana the new female face of the WWE shortly after a face turn. As part of the turn, the WWE is apparently planning to reveal that she is actually American.
At the current moment, the WWE will still be using the name Lana, but they could switch to her real name, CJ. The idea is that fans will associate the name “CJ” with Pamela Anderson‘s character from Baywatch.
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