Diva Dirt Countdown takes on various aspects of women’s wrestling, ranking them and presenting them to you.
Hosted by Diva Dirt’s Jake, its aim is to prompt debates about everything from matches and clothing to entrances, music and more.
As this month marks the 15th anniversary of SmackDown, this week’s Diva Dirt Countdown takes on best SmackDown moments, featuring what you chose as the top five.
Watch the latest Diva Dirt Countdown below:
Do you agree with the list?
Whose star shone brightest this week? You tell us!
With our Star of the Week poll, we’ll pick the week’s top five women in wrestling and let you choose who is number one.
The poll will open each Saturday and close on Sunday afternoon.
Let’s take a look at this week’s top five:
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AJ LeeAJ Lee defeated Paige and Nikki Bella in a Triple Threat match at Night of Champions to become a three-time Divas Champion.
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Bayley |
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Brie BellaBrie Bella got the better of Nikki on Raw, responding to her sister’s taunts by beating her down and nearly capturing her in the Yes Lock.
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Carmella |
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NaomiThough Naomi lost on Main Event, Paige had to cheat to beat her. Naomi then bounced back with a win over Alicia Fox on Superstars.
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The 25th season of The Amazing Race features a team that gives every wrestling fan someone to root for: TNA’s Brooke and Robbie E.
Each week, as long as Brooke and Robbie are in the competition, we’ll recap the newest episode, updating fans on where #TheWrestlers stand in the race.
The season all starts in Time Square, where the teams are introduced and grab their first clues and head to Flushing Meadows Park.
The clue at the globe instructs them to fly to St. Thomas island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, there are only seats for five teams on the first flight. The rest will have to wait for the second flight, which takes off 40 minutes later.
Brooke and Robbie aren’t among the first five teams, so they’re stuck on the second flight.
When they arrive in St. Thomas, they all book seaplane flights. Brooke and Robbie, unfortunately, are at the very back of the pack in 11th place.
When the seaplane lands, the teams must climb a rock and leap two stories into the Caribbean Sea, where they’ll grab their next clue. This takes them to a pirate ship, where they get another clue that leads them to the first road block. They must use a liquid compass to locate buried treasure, in which is stowed another clue.
This directs them to the first pit stop: Fort Christian. The last team the check in there will be eliminated.
As most of the teams land and start digging, Brooke and Robbie are making their way to the rock, currently in 10th (next to last) place. They make the leap off the rock, claiming that it’s nothing – put a table there, and they’d do it.
Despite sinking their boat on the way to the shore, Brooke and Robbie manage to find their treasure so quickly that they leap right into 3rd place.
They end up making it to Fort Christian in 4th place, but not after taking the “scenic route”.
The Realtors find themselves in last place, getting eliminated from the competition. Brooke and Robbie live to fight another day!
What did you think of the premiere? Do Robbie and Brooke have a shot at winning?
RELATED: Exclusive: Brooke Adams and Robbie E on The Amazing Race, What Gives Them an Edge on the Competition
Hello all, and welcome to this week’s edition of the SmackDown Redux! In a rematch from this past week’s Raw, Natalya and her new protege, Rosa Mendes go head to head against Layla and Summer Rae. Can Nattie shut Summer up once and for all? Check out the match below:
We kick off the match with both teams already in the ring, and Nattie is itching to get a piece of Summer. As soon as the bell rings, Nattie makes a beeline right for her archenemy, but Summer wants nothing to do with her and tags her partner in. Layla and Nattie lock up, and Nattie rolls Layla up with a school boy pin, looking for the quick win, but Layla kicks out at one. Layla hits a kick to the gut, followed by an arm wringer, but Natalya counters with an impressive reversal into an arm wringer of her own. Nattie goes for an Irish whip, which is reversed by Layla with a lucha style pin, but Nattie reverses once again and goes for the Sharpshooter, sending Layla scrambling to her corner.
Reluctantly, Summer tags in, but Natalya opts to bring her the hard way, and drills with a patented discus clothesline, followed by a picture perfect suplex. Summer retreats to the corner, begging for Nattie’s mercy, but as soon as she is within reach, Summer smashes her face into the turnbuckle, gaining the advantage. From here on out, Layla and Summer keep Nattie isolated on their side of the ring, utilizing frequent tags. The tide changes when Nattie avoids a legdrop from Summer and makes her way back to her corner. And comes Rosa…
Rosa Mendes comes into the match, taking the ‘Slayers’ out with a flurry of offense, but it is quickly staunched by a kick to the head from Layla. Nattie breaks up the resulting pin and neutralizes Summer, but gets kicked to the floor by Layla. Rosa tries to capitalize on the all these distractions, but Layla rolls her up to get the win for her team.
Thoughts: The match was honestly what I expected from our Total Divas match of the week, but I enjoyed Monday’s match much more. This match was going pretty well until the hot tag…
Now I know I’m going to get some heat by saying this, but here goes… Maybe it’s just time for Rosa to hang up the boots. Now that’s not to say that I think that she should quit, or be released. Not at all. I just think it’s time for her to find a role that’s more suited to her. As best said by my partner-in-crime, and fellow staffer, Cryssi, “Not every Diva needs to be a wrestler.”, and I believe this applies to Rosa. While she has tried the valet route before, maybe she just hasn’t found the right fit yet. She has plenty of personality and charisma, as exhibited on Total Divas, and it would be utilized to it’s maximum potential if she could be teamed with just the right Superstar. I’m sure Rosa can pave a path of greatness in this industry, but I just don’t think it’s going to be inside the squared circle. End rant…
Well, that’s all for this week, guys. Until next time… “STOP!!! JUST STOP, NATTIE!!!”
Following a loss in tag action on SmackDown, Natalya met up with Eden on SmackDown Fallout to discuss the defeat and her ongoing issues with Summer Rae.
Eden brings up a tweet from Summer, in which she claimed she “dethroned the Queen of Harts.” Natalya responds by admitting that she unfollowed Summer on Twitter, so she wouldn\’t know what she tweeted.
As for the actual claim, Natalya says that she wasn\’t dethroned: Layla pinned Rosa Mendes. Natalya also blames Rosa for the bad blood that still exists between her and Summer.
She then reminds us that the last time they went one-on-one, Summer was the one left counting the ceiling lights.
Watch the interview below:
Do you want to see a full feud between Natalya and Summer?
Tune in to SmackDown tonight at 8pm ET on SyFy.
Discuss the show in the comments!
Independent Women is changing its format! Now, the videos will act like dispatches, giving you quick and timely looks into the lives of indy women’s wrestlers.
Our first three dispatches from Cheerleader Melissa continue her journey in Japan.
In the first video, she shows us a Japanese bathroom stall with one very unique feature:
Next, she watches some Stardom matches with fellow wrestlers Kris Wolf and Starfire:
In the last video dispatch, Melissa heads to Shibuya, walking down the streets with Kris and Starfire:
Independent Women is Diva Dirt’s original web series that gives fans a peek behind the scenes at the lives of women’s wrestlers on the independent scene, from life on the road to the action backstage.
If you are an indy wrestler interested in getting involved, please contact us!
Welcome, Diva fans, to this week’s Superstars Redux! We got a double dose of Naomi this week as she pulled double duty on both Main Event and Superstars, and last night she took on the one and only Alicia Fox. Curious as to how our favorite wild card is doing? Me too! Let’s get right down to it.
Naomi heads out first, and enters the ring in true Naomi fashion. The always gorgeous Renee Young in on commentary, and Alicia Fox is heading out next. (I’m eternally jealous of Renee Young. All you Ambrose lovers know what I’m saying.)
Renee points out that Alicia does have cause to envy Naomi, who is one of the stars of Total Divas and who has a great marriage (she clearly hasn’t seen the preview for next week. Tables be flippin’.) Alicia and Naomi waste little time in sizing each other up and get right to work, locking up as the referee calls for the bell.
Naomi takes an early lead but Alicia soon turns things around and gets quite physical, knocking Naomi down to the mat and locking in an arm bar. Naomi’s athleticism shines through once again as she gets herself out of a tough spot and utilizes the same move she used on Paige a few days ago. It’s executed much better against Alicia and Naomi connects with a stiff kick to the jaw.
Alicia is, ahem, not impressed by this turn of events and turns on Naomi. She growls (I think it’s a growl? I’m trying to think of what the opposite of meow is) and Naomi is just kind of done with it.
Alicia sees red and knocks Naomi down before attempting a suplex, which Naomi quickly reverses into a pin attempt. She gets a two count for her efforts, and then knee to the gut for good measure. Naomi gets all up in Alicia’s face (quite literally) but Alicia’s not so keen on the view and drops Naomi with a kick the chest.
Alicia throws Naomi around like her personal play thing and applies a hold, but Naomi fights out. It’s a brief comeback, as Alicia soon puts Naomi down with an impressive back breaker. Alicia gets a two count, and she’s very unhappy about it.
Alicia’s doing best to keep Naomi grounded, but the fans egg Naomi on and soon she’s back to fighting spirit. Alicia attempts to cut off her attempts again, positioning herself on the top rope, but Naomi flies in with an amazing inseguri that knocks a few blocks off Alicia’s Lego set (i.e. her head).
Naomi back in the game with some fierce dropkicks and a great running hurricanrana, but a well timed elbow from Alicia knocks her down yet again. Naomi’s having to dig deep in this match in order to come back, as Renee and Tom remind us that Alicia is a former Divas Champion.
(An Undefined one, actually, but we don’t talk about that.)
Alicia plays with Naomi a little, dragging her around by the hair, but Naomi’s well prepared and flies into a roll up, which she quickly turns into a submission hold! It’s the Slayomition! (I see what you did there.)
Alicia taps almost immediately, and Naomi walks away with two very impressive showings in one week. She’s walking right down Number One Contender’s Lane.
Thoughts: Naomi looked great in this match, and Foxy is always impressive when she’s being crazy but the question remains; where are these ladies headed? Alicia came firing out of the gate a few months back against Paige, and it really looked like she was becoming a force to be reckoned with. Since AJ’s return, she’s sunk back in the shadows. I’m not dissing AJ, but Alicia was plainly a place holder until she came back. Where does she go from here? (Personally I’d prefer to see her on Total Divas over Rosa, but there we are.)
Naomi. Naomi, Naomi, Naomi. Somebody give her a championship already! Even if you don’t connect with her, you can’t disagree that she’s easily one of the most – if not the most – dynamic diva in WWE right now. She does things that the others don’t. She flies high and makes it look effortless. She’s just great, and needs a run with the belt, like, yesterday.
Triple Threat, submission-only match? Paige vs. AJ vs. Naomi? UM YES PLEASE.
That’s all for this week, folks. See you next Wednesday! x
Good morning/afternoon/evening (circle whichever applies) and welcome to this week’s NXT Redux. I’m not feeling as intro-heavy this week, but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t a stellar Diva-filled episode now does it?
This week, we’ve got a never before seen match up consisting of Bayley taking on Alexa Bliss. Add in appearances by Charlotte, Natalya and Carmella… and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get into the action!~
Let’s go chronologically throughout the show this week, shall we?
I can’t find video of this first segment online, so you know what to do. $9.99 and all that.
We head backstage to see NXT General Manager, William Regal, speaking to a nearby assistant. It appears that the conversation is regarding treats that some sort of woman leaves for him, but before we can dig deeper into this issue, Natalya bursts onto the scene! She wants to ask Regal for a favor, but without Tyson Kidd knowing she’s doing this. What sort of favor you ask? She wants Tyson to get one more shot at Adrian Neville‘s NXT Championship. William asks why considering he’s lost time and time again, and Natalya’s argument is that he can truly prove himself with just one more shot. Regal agrees to give him one more chance… but it’s the LAST one he’s going to get. If he doesn’t win, Tyson will never get to face Adrian again for it as long as he’s champion.
“Glitter. Glitz. Sparkle. Blissssss”
Holy jam. I’m here for this new theme as Alexa Bliss skips out from the back. As usual, her pixie dust blowing is cut for reasons we can only assume are that the higher ups are heartless and refuse to give us everything we want. Nonetheless, she still curtsies and continues down the ramp, sliding into the ring and removing her tutu. Up next comes her opponent for tonight in this first time match-up, Bayley! And speaking of jams, this theme is also a 10/10, much like Bayley in terms of overall perfection. The tunes stop though, and the bell sounds as we get underway with some “Bayley” chantss. The two circle each other and Bayley applies a waist lock that the crowd takes as close enough to a hug! A roll through into another cheering waistlock, but Alexa counters out and applies her own.
Bayley backs out of it and repeatedly hug-slams her into the corner before taking her down for a two count. Alexa is sent towards the turnbuckle again, only this time she flips out and into a nice sunset flip! Just a two count. Alexa with another rolling pin attempt, then nailing a headscissors takedown! The crowd gets behind Alexa as both women high five and then go back to work as Bayley focuses on the arm. Alexa tries for a hop off the corner bottom rope, however, Bayley stays back and continues working over the arm. A nice double roll through into a pin, before Alexa gets sent off the ropes and hits a clothesline! Dropkick! She goes for the moonsault into the double knee, but Bayley rolls through and nails the Hug-plex for the victory!
After the match, she grabs a microphone and calls out Charlotte from the back. Out struts Charlotte as requested, walking into the ring to stand toe to toe with Bayley. The huggable Diva hasn’t been able to sleep since NXT Takeover. She let herself down. She let EVERYONE down. All Bayley wants is one more chance to beat Charlotte for the Womens Championship, and the crowd now breaks out in a “One More Time” chant. Charlotte claims she didn’t let her down… rather, she finally earned her respect. Regardless, the second time is still going to be the same as the first and the rematch is on for next week!
We head to the performance center as Big Cass and Enzo Amore walk in the building with Carmella(!!!!) by their side. Enzo asks why she said she was his sister last week, to which she quips that she was just trying to get in the building. That has to make the talent feel safe and secure right? He tries to hit on her, but she shoves him off quickly and asks where the ring is because she wants to knock these chicks out! They instruct her that before a ring can come into play, she has to get in shape. She seems confused by that statement because… well, look at her. But Enzo claims she’s hairdresser hot — not Diva hot.
Enzo starts working on the treadmill as he and Cass go back and forth with the way he talks to women. Suddenly, Carmella walks back into the scene wearing some skimpy workout gear and asks if this is hot enough for them. Cass is pretty much freaking out, as Enzo continues to downplay her looks. She starts stretching in the background, which causes Enzo to get way more distracted than he thought he would, falling off the treadmill and nearly decking her with a kick to the head. She calls him an idiot as he begs Cass not to upload the video footage anywhere. Cass agrees but thankfully doesn’t do as requested!
Thoughts: Huzzah!~ I really enjoyed this weeks NXT a lot. The match was very fresh since we’ve never seen any sort of interaction between these two before, and I thought it came off great. Alexa is definitely improving each time she steps in the ring now, and I’m so glad she’s starting to mix it up and incorporate new moves into her arsenal as opposed to sticking with the same batch like when she first started. It makes her matches feel a lot more memorable and cohesive, and in the long run I think it will work out great for her. The theme is also an upgrade, and I’m particularly here for the voiceover and beats at the start. It kind of gets a littttle 70’s porno sounding when she gets towards the ring, but not too bad.
Working Bayley also did nothing but help her, as Bayley has proven to be one of the best Divas to work against when it comes to the lesser experienced Divas. She is always on point and always has that fire which resonates through the screen. Much like Sasha Banks in my opinion, you can genuinely tell she wants each match to feel special and memorable to where it can’t be compared to any of the rest. I don’t always get that feeling with some of the Divas in WWE as a whole, but these two especially show that each and every week.
Carmella… do I need to even say any word other than star? This girl has got everything. She can act (and not only general acting, but comedic as well!), she looks like a million bucks, she has a gimmick, and from what I’ve gotten to see at least, she can work. I think I said this before, but she reminds me a lot of Maxine if Maxine had a love of cheetah print and a thick accent. So well versed and I can’t wait to see her debut, especially because they’re actually introducing her and it’s not going to be her just popping up like when Becky Lynch debuted. The next few weeks need to hurry because I want Carmella in the division and I want it now.
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Tonight on CBS, The Amazing Race returns, bringing with it one captivating power couple: TNA’s Brooke and Robbie E.
In an exclusive interview with Diva Dirt’s Chris and Jake, Brooke and Robbie talk about competing on the Emmy-winning reality show, revealing why they decided to take on the challenge.
They tell us what their biggest advantage over the competition is – and it has nothing to do with being pro wrestlers.
Robbie also shares the greatest piece of advice he got from fellow BroMan Jessie Godderz, who previously appeared on CBS’s Big Brother.
RELATED: Videos: Brooke and Robbie E Highlighted in The Amazing Race Promos
Things get tense partway through the interview, Robbie and Brooke giving us a taste of the dysfunction the competition might bring out of them.
All of this, along with talk on what they would do with the $1 million prize, their plans for having children and Brooke’s TNA future in the interview below.
Listen below or download by right clicking here.
[yendifplayer audio=62]
The Amazing Race season 25 premieres tonight at 8pm ET on CBS.
Follow Brooke on Twitter: @RealBrookeAdams.
Follow Robbie on Twitter: @RobbieEImpact.
WWE is taping four weeks worth of NXT tonight at Full Sail University. Spoilers below:
Hola Knockout fans and welcome to what will be a very brief edition of Impact Write-Up this week.
After last night’s VERY uneventful Knockouts episode of Impact Wrestling, I was debating on whether this Write-Up was worth putting together. However, in the event that anyone happened to miss Impact this week (it’s okay if you did..) it seemed reasonable to follow through my commitment of bringing in the weekly Knockouts overview whether it be a good week or, in this case, a bad one.
Our only Knockout sighting of the night comes from Rebel who, along with her Menagerie clan of The Freak and Crazzy Steve, accompanied their ring leader Knux as he takes on the common denominator of greatness that is Austin Aries as part of NYC Gold Rush Tournament:
Despite having his entire clique by him at ringside, Knux was unsuccessful in getting the win to advance in the finals of the NYC Gold Rush tournament. Maybe it’s time to come up with a new plan to save the family business guys?
Prior to his own participation in the Gold Rush tournament, we are taking backstage where Robbie E is discussing with his bros, Jessie Godderz and DJ Z, all the good that is going on the life of Robbie:
He’s pumped for his match that night, he has a hot girlfriend in Velvet Sky and he will soon begin an amazing journey around the world as he takes part in the Emmy winning reality show The Amazing Race along with his partner, fellow Knockout Brooke! That’s two Knockouts for Robbie E that no one is going to find out about! Having prior reality television experience in Big Brother (I was rooting for you to win this year Victoria!!!) , Big Brother alumni Jessie warns Robbie his plan of keeping things under the rug may not go well given that cameras are rolling everywhere…. including right there as they’re having said conversation.
In anticipation to the big Knockouts Championship match between champion Gail Kim and Havok next week (that’s right, it’s happening next week instead of the assumed Bound For Glory…) we are treated to a minute long promo that highlights Havok’s destruction since arriving to TNA. Stealing the title, wreaking havoc to the other Knockouts and even security!
Thoughts: Not only was this a weak episode for the Knockouts but it was weak for TNA all together. Certainly not the best way to leave the summer of NYC after having so many other great shows.
I don’t mind seeing Rebel accompany Knux, or anyone for that matter, to ring side during matches as she isn’t all ready to wrestle full time but I’d like for her to do something more than just be there. She was brought in with a storyline to help Knux save his father’s business so why not retouch on that?
The Brooke name drop from Robbie’s promo was quite a surprise! A surprise only because we have not seen Brooke in so long! Of course, this may have only happened because of the two participation in “The Amazing Race” this week but it’ll be interesting to see if TNA will somehow incorporate Brooke into the BroMans and Beautiful People pairing. Highly unlikely but you never know!
The Havok and Gail promo was short and sweet. While I am very excited to see the two square off, it’s disappointing that it is happening on an already taped episode of Impact instead of Bound For Glory. Given that TNA has already taped well beyond Bound For Glory, have not advertised any Knockouts for the show and the card for the PPV seems to be finalized, it would appear that the Knockouts will be cut from the show. A shame really but at this point it is what it is so all we can do move forward to see what the upcoming weeks will bring to us!
That’ll do it this week! Hasta luego Knockout fans!
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: Rumor has it that the WWE wants to develop more “risqué” Diva storylines. Do you think this is a good idea? 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!
And now we turn it over to you…
Give us your two cents! Are you interested in seeing more risqué Diva storylines?
Mickie James can add another title to her impressive resume: mother.
The five-time Women’s Champion and TNA star Magnus welcomed their son Donovan Patrick Aldis into the world this morning, according to PWInsider.
Mickie confirmed her pregnancy back in May following weeks of speculation.
This is the first child for both. Congratulations to the happy couple!
TNA’s biggest Pay-Per-View of the year may not feature a Knockouts match.
The event, which is set to emanate from Tokyo, Japan, is part of a partnership between TNA and Japanese promotion Wrestle-1.
After attending a meeting with TNA’s John Gaburick, Mike Tenay, Taz and Bob Ryder, Wrestle-1 official Jimmy Suzuki revealed that there might not be room for the Knockouts on the card, as it is already stacked:
We have too many good cards and having difficulty make it less than 10… Sorry but I don't think there will be a room for girls this time.
— Jimmy Suzuki (?????? (@JimmySuzuki1) September 3, 2014
He went on to explain that having too many bouts on the card might result in five minute matches, which they don’t want:
We don't want 5 min matches . We want to show good solid wrestling as a speciality of Japanese wrestling organization .
— Jimmy Suzuki (?????? (@JimmySuzuki1) September 3, 2014
This is by no means a confirmation, but it should be worrying news for Knockouts fans.
Bound For Glory will take place in Tokyo, Japan on October 12th.
Do you think there will be a Knockouts match at Bound For Glory? Should there be?
She may not be wearing a mask anymore, but Jenny Rose is every bit as dynamic as she was when she first stepped into the ring over four years ago.
In an exclusive interview with Diva Dirt’s Jack, Jenny talks about the inspiration behind her former persona, the masked Jamilia Craft, as well as getting thrown into the deep end in her debut match against veteran MsChif.
Jenny talks about her time training and wrestling for DIANA in Japan, a place she “misses every day”. She also shares her hopes for scoring gold in WSU, a promotion which she says “feels like home”.
As a competitor in the Super 8 ChickFight tournament, Jenny is confident that she can top her competition, citing her experience competing in tournaments. In this interview, she reveals the one woman she’s most interested in facing on October 11th.
All of this, along with talk about making a SHIMMER return, wrestling WWE trainer Sara Del Rey in ROH and the indy stars she still wants to face in the interview below.
Listen below or download by right clicking here.
[yendifplayer audio=61]
The first ever Super 8 ChickFight tournament takes place October 11th in Carney’s Point, New Jersey. For more information, click here.
Follow Jenny on Twitter: @JennyRose_JRo.
Greetings from Wales, Divas fans! The weather here is very strange at the moment. Yesterday (I think?) was officially the first day of Autumn over here in the UK (or Fall, for you non-Brits). It’s blazing hot at the minute, but we had fog and rain this morning that had a cold winter chill. Global warming, huh?
I’ve no idea why I started this redux that way but, alas, here we are. And onward we go!
Last night, former Divas champion Paige went toe to toe with the Dynamo Diva herself, Naomi. I just made that up. This is actually the first time I’m ever writing about Paige’s wrestling, I think. I can’t remember having done it before…
How awesome was the triple threat at Night of Champions though, guys? I LOVED IT. Nikki looked phenomenal.
Out first is the new Divas champ, AJ Lee, who will be providing commentary for the forthcoming match. When we come back from commercial, Naomi is already in the ring. I have to be honest – I hate pretty much all of Naomi’s attires since her split from Cameron. This week’s isn’t as bad as the rest, mercifully. I don’t want to see the racing themed one again. The black and white one I mean. Noooope.
Paige heads out to the ring as we’re shown a recap of what went down this past Sunday. AJ mentions that Paige has countered the Black Widow twice in recent months to win the title, but she just couldn’t do it on Sunday; it was quite a physical match.
AJ says there’s no one who’s made her doubt herself as much as Paige has. Interesting.
The bell rings and Paige and Naomi lock up. Paige takes early control but Naomi’s not down for that. She takes the former champ down with… umm… something, and immediately goes for a pin. Whatever it was, it was pretty effective. Naomi focused on parting Paige’s feet, which knocked her off balance, and she was able to get some quick knocks in to ground her opponent. Naomi gets a count of one.
Naomi is displaying tremendous athleticism, whipping herself up and over the top rope, connecting with a boot to Paige’s face on the ring apron and finishing with a hurricanrana off the ropes. Very impressive. Naomi with another cover now, and a count of two.
Naomi is flying around the ring. She hits a modified Thesz press but keep Paige down. Michael Cole mentions that Paige appears to be off her game, and I have to agree. Clearly her loss at NOC is still fresh in her mind and with AJ at ringside, flaunting the belt Paige lost, it seems only natural that the Englishwoman is distracted. Paige rolls out of the ring and onto the apron, then catches Naomi on the middle rope and follows up with a big boot to the face.
Paige screams at AJ from across the ring and then goes for the pin, perhaps leaving it a little too long as Naomi kicks out quickly. Paige drags her to the ropes and carries on with some knees to the ribcage, before dropping Naomi in the corner and piling her with kicks. Distracted for a moment, Paige yells once again at AJ. It allowed Naomi to roll her up, but Paige scrambles out of it and gets back on the offensive. Naomi lands a kick to the skull while she’s down on the mat.
Naomi gains some momentum now, keeping Paige at bay with many a drop kick and a second hurricanrana. Seriously, this girl can GO. She uses a modified headlock take down (the scientific term, ahem) and lands Paige square on the mat, but it still only gets her a two count. Clearly frustrated, Naomi doles out kicks in the corner, before tossing Paige across the ring.
Paige has had enough. As Naomi looks for a count of ten knocks, Paige drops her on the turnbuckle and rolls her up, using the ropes as leverage. Paige gets the three count, but someone’s not too happy about it. Quick as a cat, AJ rushes the ring and blind sides Paige with the championship belt! Certaintly, from the way she fell, it looks like Paige may have tweaked her left shoulder/arm. Alas, she screams that she hates AJ, who has skipped right on out of there.
Thoughts: I enjoyed this match. Naomi is firing all her cannons and just looks untouchable when it comes to her athleticism. She’s very gifted and isn’t afraid to hold back, which I love. Paige looked good too, though more in the psychological sense. She’s clearly reeling from NOC and it’s affecting her wrestling. The blinde side at the end from AJ was a great touch, because it really divides people on who they should be rooting for? That was a veeeery heely tactic by AJ, but I thought she was the face in all this? Either way, this feud is far from over.
Naomi seems to be in some kind of limbo at the moment. Since her split with Cam-Cam both girls have sort of fizzled out of the limelight, which isn’t great. Naomi proved tonight that she can take any ball and roll with it; she’s an all around performer, and I feel about her the same as I do with Cameron. They both need mic time. Cameron needs it because, like Naomi tells us on Total Divas, she talks the talk. But Naomi walks the walk, and I feel like if she was given the chance, mic time and opportunity, she’d make a fantastic Divas Champion in the very near future.
AJ has the line of the night: ‘Paige is next in line for the throne, but I’m not done being queen.’
Until next time, ciao! x
On this week’s episode of Total Divas, Natalya celebrates her birthday with a small family get-together.
Things seem to be going fine until her husband Tyson Kidd reveals his birthday gift to her: a strange piece of exercise equipment. Natalya isn’t happy with it, and even suspects that Tyson bought it for himself.
Watch the clip below:
Total Divas airs on Sundays at 9pm ET on E!.
Synopsis for episode 4, “Divas Unchained”: “An unexpected colleague puts the moves on Nattie while she’s taking a break from her relationship with TJ; Jon is frustrated by a lack of intimacy with Trinity; and Brie is shocked when Bryan and Nikki team up to stage an intervention.”
WWE Main Event airs tonight at 8pm ET on the WWE Network.
Discuss the show in the comments!
On this week’s episode of Total Divas, a trip to a used appliance store opens up a can of worms between Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan.
Having researched the kind of washer and dryer she wanted, Brie is resistant to buying them used. An argument ensues, revealing Brie’s resentment towards what she sees as Daniel’s selfishness.
Watch the clip below:
Total Divas airs on Sundays at 9pm ET on E!.
Synopsis for episode 4, “Divas Unchained”: “An unexpected colleague puts the moves on Nattie while she’s taking a break from her relationship with TJ; Jon is frustrated by a lack of intimacy with Trinity; and Brie is shocked when Bryan and Nikki team up to stage an intervention.”
*Plays violin* Paige lost the title you guys! :(
There’s no time to nurse the physical wounds of Night of Champions for our Divas or the emotional ones for us Nikki Bella and Paige fans as Raw was tumultuous last night! Following the absolutely fantastic Triple Threat match on Sunday, we have a new Divas Champion in AJ Lee and to be honest, I am happy WWE threw us yet another curveball with our coveted Divas. An ecstatic AJ appeared on Raw to take on Nikki Bella, whilst we also saw appearances from Brie Bella and Paige around about the same time. Throw in a Natalya vs Summer Rae match and additional appearances from Lana, Layla, Rosa Mendes and Stephanie McMahon and we have the makings of a decent episode of Raw. Did the Divas deliver like they did at Night of Champions? Let’s find out.
TO THE VIDEOS!
Already in the ring for our first segment is Summer Rae, posing with her fellow Slayer Layla and the two are pretending to take pictures using an imaginary camera. Do all the Divas have to be padded-cell material?! Summer’s smile quickly turns to a grimace as everyone’s favourite Dungeon Diva Natalya (unless you count Chyna‘s M-rated dungeon experiences) and she’s accompanied by a very touchy-feely Rosa Mendes.
Following a Total Divas recap of Natalya and Summer’s ridiculously epic roadside scrap, Summer takes to the microphone. She declares that she is the best looking Diva on the roster and Natalya is simply jealous of her. She says that although Summertime is over for everyone else, it is always Summertime for her and ‘Lay’. Ok then… whatever that means!
The bell rings and Nattie charges right at Summer. The cowardly Summer backs off and wraps herself between the ropes to get out of harms way as the referee tells a feisty Nat to back off. Taking advantage of the referee’s obstruction, Summer shoves Natalya right in the face before clobbering her with a sick spinning heel kick. Summer then mounts Nattie and hits several slaps to the face before kicking Nattie in the gut. Summer then applies a bodyscissors submission, a lock she transitions into a lotus lock. Natalya tries to pin Summer to force her way out, yet Summer manages to revert back to the bodyscissors and intensifies it with a front facelock to dish out more punishment.
Eventually, Natalya breaks free and she knocks the wind out of the Sizzling Slayer with a scoop slam, a move that she follows up by dropping Summer right on her face. Tal then runs right over Summer and hits a basement dropkick before more-or-less catching Summer with a discus clothesline. Nattie repeatedly knees Summer in the stomach next, yet she becomes distracted by a troublesome Layla on the apron. Summer tries to capitalize with a roll-up yet Natalya reverses it. It looks like it could be Sharpshooter time yet Layla tries one last attempt at scuppering Natalya’s chances. An unlikely hero in Rosa Mendes saves the day, pulling Layla from the apron, sending the London-born Diva crashing to the arena floor. Natalya locks in the Sharpshooter fully and Summertime turns into Loser time!
My eyes enter the Queendom next as the fantastically dastardly Stephanie McMahon shows off how incredibly savvy she is. With Dean Ambrose brawling with The Authority, instead of ordering the Lunatic Fringe out of the building, she says to lock him in a security-guarded room. At least then he’ll be restrained. Stephanie has learned from her families bazillion mistakes in the past at sending someone out of building, as they always end up coming back. Well, except Aksana. She never came back. Oh wait, that’s because she was released. Oops.
We next are witnesses to the majesty of Lana and Rusev. Before the video, an opportunistic Lana goads Mark Henry into a rematch from Night of Champions and the super-athlete Rusev betters Henry yet again. Mark Henry passes out as a wickedly seductive Lana looks on. As much as Lana’s mic work is getting a little same-old, same-old, she looks phenomenal and her acting is second-to-none. As for Rusev, his intensity is awesome. His selling is also spot on; everything he does is made to look believable. Anyway, this isn’t Rusev Dirt so let’s move on before I list another 60 reasons as to why he is an excellent wrestler.
Our final segments of the night are all contained in one neat video and we first get a glimpse of Nikki Bella pulling off her best ‘sexy pout face’ backstage. Wait, did WWE’s sound department mess up? Why is she strutting to JJ Bella‘s music? Oh no wait, that’s the Total Divas theme song too…
We return from commercial and Nikki Bella makes her entrance. It’s just dawned on me that now the Bellas have split, we’ll never seem them shake their asses out of time from one another on their way to the ring anymore. Womp womp.
Nikki takes to the mic and she berates Brie, blaming her and her words in a Night of Champions backstage interview for causing her not to have her mind fully focused on winning the Divas Championship. Brie and her autotune-tastic theme song enter the mix and Brie is not happy. Brie blasphemes that Nikki is acting totally pathetically. Nikki says that this isn’t about her loss (it was about 10 seconds ago goldfish!) and it’s about how Brie has never supported her. Brie said that she’s simply tired of Nikki making up garbage about her (here, here sister) and that’s not going to stand there and listen to it anymore. Nikki declares Brie an embarrassment and she demands that Brie drop the Bella surname so that she can be ‘THE Nikki Bella’.
Childish and petty yet I loved that part.
Brie defends herself by saying that Bella is as much her name as it Nikki’s and she won’t give it up. Nikki thinks Brie could take the Bryan surname before she insults the YES! man. Having heard more than enough, Brie slaps the eggs out of Nikki’s ovaries and starts beating her ass. She goes for the Yes! Lock, yet Nikki escapes. Nikki won’t escape from AJ though, who enters the arena.
After some more adverts, we return to the arena to see that Paige has joined the commentary theme. It’s not even Thursday yet Paige is throwing it back with her classic black attire – awesome!
The bell sounds and AJ begins the match by working over Nikki’s arm. Next, AJ hits a headscissor takeover, corner clothesline and double neckbreaker combination which net her a two count. Nikki gains momentum in a major way, decking AJ with a hard clothesline whilst Paige sits pretty in Sarcasm City. It’s near Parts Unknown.
Nikki gets a two count and then decides to utilise the strangest submission ever. AJ’s stomach gets clamped between the middle rope and Nikki’s ASSets. Wouldn’t Nikki’s other two raised twin areas be more effective pain delivering tools? Nikki kicks AJ outside before throwing her right into Paige at the commentary desk. Just because she can. Paige calls Nikki a sweetheart (haha yes!) as Nikki throws AJ back in the ring.
The Busty Bella locks AJ in a spinning chokehold which has AJ trapped for a while, yet AJ breaks free with an arm drag. The momentum far from shifts though as AJ walks slap bang into a stiff big boot. Nikki changes tactic and goes after AJ’s arm, applying the same cross armbreaker that she debuted at Night of Champions. AJ wriggles and squirms like one of The Boogeyman‘s worms (most random simile ever) yet she eventually gets Nikki to release the hold. Nikki still keeps the offense going though as she sends AJ crashing to the mat Alabama Slam style. Even though the punishment keeps coming, AJ kicks out yet again! Good stuff here.
Nikki works over AJ in the corner with some shoulder thrusts and looks to get a run up to hit a third. Nikki charges yet AJ jolts to the top rope. AJ then resourcefully locks in the Black Widow and just like that, Nikki has no choice but to tap. AJ and Paige stare down as the wraps things up for Raw.
Thoughts: Let’s address the action chronologically and kick things off with Natalya vs Summer Rae. The match was short yet sweet and it’s obvious that these two have great chemistry. I often feel that although 10/10 in the charisma department, Summer is often overrated in the ring, yet last night, everything was on point. Natalya was crisp and reliable as always and she didn’t utilise all of her cliched moves in this match, which I liked even more.
Onto the secondary characters in Layla and Rosa and both impressed me. Layla was LayCool-esque comedy gold. Her antics hit the mark and she sold the apron bump to perfection. Rosa playing the touchy-feely friend was brilliant and who would have thought that I would be enjoying a Natalya/Rosa unrequited lesbian love/”I’ve been to rehab and I’m misreading the signals” storyline.
The Bellas story arch improved upon recent weeks, yet I was still underwhelmed with Brie and Nikki’s acting. Nikki, as always, performed better, yet I wasn’t overly impressed with the script writing for them both. These two are meant to be pissed at each other the writers make them say adjectives like “horrible” and “toxic”. We need more “you absolute skank” and “you total bitch”. More references to Total Divas dialogue would have been cool.
I can’t really complain about the match though as it was good for the time they had. Nikki throwing AJ into Paige was really nice and Nikki’s expanding moveset is also refreshing to see. I would have liked AJ to show-off a comeback set of moves as she tends to quickly hit the Black Widow ‘unexpectedly’ and then that’s it yet meh, she looked good coming off a PPV title win.
As for Paige no longer loving AJ, I’m glad WWE have went down this path instead of continuing the mind games. Paige has tried that before and it’s ended with her losing the title again. so now she’s in full-on angry goth mode and she doesn’t give a damn. She wants the title back and she’s going to let her wrestling do the damage and not rely on words. I like that.
Even though Paige and AJ’s feud is continuing, I still think AJ winning clean here was the wrong move. Surely, AJ vs Nikki for the title will happen down the line and then that will eventually lead to AJ vs Stephanie. Nikki losing now bills her as less of a threat when that happens later on down the line. Either a botched Paige interference or Brie returning to get even more slap-happy would have been better in my opinion.
Until next time!
GLOW fans will get their first chance in over 25 years to speak to much of the original cast of the all-women promotion in a Q&A next month.
On October 25th, the ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles will host an “AfterGLOW Fan Party” with a number of GLOW stars, including Roxy Astor, Godiva, Little Egypt, MTV, Daisy, Gremlina, Jail Bait, Sonny, Major Tanya and Debbie Dallas.
The party, which will feature a Q&A session, will start at 8pm PT. Tickets are $25 if bought online on ACMEComedy.com and $30 at the door, if available.
Previously on Total Divas….
Well, honestly, I’m not exactly sure what happened last week because I still haven’t seen the episode. I was having surgery and then recuperating from it, but all is well now in my world. This week’s episode promises to deliver, seeing as how Natalya snaps on Summer Rae. Anytime Nattie’s true colors show is a fun time, so I’m pumped.
We start off with WWE’s Pay-Per-View, Payback, and it gives us a backstage look at the angle between Stephanie McMahon and Queen Brie “Mother Earth” Bella. We got to watch her quit and slap the taste out of her boss’ mouth (something I used to fantasized about over and over), and get congratulated by the girls backstage afterwards. With Brie and Daniel Bryan both off the road for the time being, both are forced to think about life after wrestling and what they could possibly do. Coming to the conclusion that they really have no general skills that could help them in the corporate world, not even with Mama Bella’s help, Bryan goes online to look for ideas. Cue music!
Brie and Bryan decide that an eco-friendly bed and breakfast might be their best chance to have a comfortable life after wrestling, and decide to travel to Flagstaff, Arizona to look for the perfect place. They find it in the form of this beautiful, rustic operating B&B that is on acres of land, and immediately Brie is in love. Unfortunately the cost of the property is pretty expensive, and it requires a down payment of at least $150K to secure it. Not wanting to go into debt, Daniel vetoes the idea but Brie is determined to figure out how she can turn her dream into a reality.
Brie puts her plan into motion by inviting Nikki out to happy hour. She proposes that she borrows money from Nikki and John Cena, along with putting some of her own money with it. Nikki seems all for the idea and they hatch a plan for Brie to pay John back at two grand a month, which would pay off the loan in about six years. Later on, when Nikki proposes this to John, he is very quick to shoot it down. He explains his reasonings why, which Nikki does understand, but Brie isn’t so understanding.
She ends up in hot water with Bryan, who is livid she would go back his back and ask for money (he finds out from John), and it causes a bit of tension between the twins, but Nikki really didn’t do anything wrong. The girls end up working things out, and Brie and Bryan come to an understanding that all major decisions needs to be discussed, and no one needs to go behind anyone’s back.
Another one of our couples, Eva Marie and Jonathan, experienced some drama during the Fourth of July weekend. They had made a pact to just enjoy the weekend with their families and Eva Marie’s family’s home, and not discuss their wedding. But of course, that pact is short lived. Eva Marie’s overbearing brothers have to get involve and bring up Jonathan converting, and despite the fact Eva shuts the conversation down, she knows it isn’t going away. When they sit down for dinner, wedding talks comes up. Jonathan’s mom wants them to have whatever type of wedding they both want, and when Eva’s dad asks her what she wants, she admits she wants a Catholic wedding.
Jonathan is upset and rightfully so; Eva did promise to have his back whenever wedding talk came up and about his converting to Catholicism came up. He left the table to avoid a scene, but Eva follows him anyway. He doesn’t want to yell at her, or make the situation worse, and after a moment he is able to calmly explain why he’s so upset. She’s upset as well because of everything going on with her father, and how she wants to have this wedding for him. Jonathan has to remind her that they are married, man and wife, and that she needs to look out for him as well. It leaves Eva with a lot to think about.
She goes back to the party and finds her dad, and finally tells him that Jonathan isn’t going to convert. She’s crying and her dad promises that he is going to support her regardless of what type of wedding they have. Eva brings up the fact that she’s always loved how her mom and dad always have each other’s backs no matter what, and she feels awful she didn’t support Jonathan in front of his mother and her family. Eva’s dad is so awesome in this scene, and you can tell their bond is extremely special to both of them. And in the end, Jonathan and Eva both get to have whatever kind of wedding they want.
And we’ve already seen some of the pictures thanks to social media. I literally can not wait to see the wedding. Eva Marie looks drop dead gorgeous in the photos!
This was a pretty great episode of the show, and it was highlighted by the continuing drama between Natalya and Summer Rae, who made her return to the company after shooting The Marine 4. We got to see a highlight of Nattie kicking Summer off her property again, which made me smile, and the addition of Rosa Mendes just added fuel to the fire. Rosa wasn’t aware of the entire history between the two girls, but got a small dose of it when Summer showed up at the gym Nattie and Rosa were at. Nattie was her typical bitchy self when Summer is involved, and Summer isn’t much better.
Rosa was a little surprised by the situation and decided to play peacemaker between the two. She invited Summer to ride with them and of course, it turned ugly. Nattie was driving and after going back and forth with Summer, Nattie pulls off on the side of the road “in podunk Indiana”, snatches Summer’s luggage out of the car, and decides to physically remove the problem. She grabs Summer by the hair and pulls her from the car. They don’t end up fighting, but it gets pretty close, and Rosa basically has a mental breakdown over all of it. She flips out and makes them all get back in the car, but stops all of them from talking.
It’s probably my favorite scene in Total Divas history.
This episode was amazing. The tease of twin drama is real, and we know it’s coming. I want more Summer/Nattie and Rosa has been a shockingly superb addition to the cast. Next week looks good too with Naomi/Jimmy Uso issues, and more Bella fights. There are no hidden gems this week because I feel like the episode was pretty much a gem in itself. So with that being said, I’ll wrap this up and bid all of you a goodbye for now.
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Sunday\’s episode of Total Divas rebounded in the ratings, drawings 1.18 million viewers according to TV By the Numbers.
This is up from last week\’s 0.974 million viewers and comes close to matching the 1.2 million that tuned in to the season three premiere.
In the 18-49 demo, the episode matched the premiere with a 0.6 rating.
These numbers are impressive, given that the episode was in direct competition from the WWE\’s Night of Champions Pay-Per-View and a slew of season premieres for shows on major networks.
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Taryn Terrell was recently interviewed by Fanatix, discussing multiple topics including her WWE release, working as a referee for TNA and dealing with ring rust.
On starting her TNA career as a referee: “I came in as a referee, and I didn’t want to be a referee or a general manager, I wanted to be a wrestler. So every time I’ve been put in a position where I’m not wrestling I’m doing everything I can to say: ‘please let me wrestle, that’s what I want to do, that’s where my passion is at. My focus was so much on doing everything I could to prove to them that I was a wrestler. Then all of a sudden, without even being aware of what was happening, I was feuding with Gail Kim who, let’s face it, is the Knockouts Division, she’s the reason that we exist.”
On Gail Kim: “Gail is an incredible wrestler, no matter who she is working with she has incredible matches, and I was blessed with the opportunity to be able to have that with her. I think there are things about Gail and I that are very similar – we do whatever, we’re not scared, we’re going to take risks, and we were able to do that together. I’m forever grateful to her for giving me the best matches of my career. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
On taking time off to have her first child, Emerson: “Of course [there were some mixed feelings], every day I’m working towards being a better wrestler. I’m never satisfied; I’m always striving to be better. And then I have to take this time off. It’s scary coming back – thinking is my body going to be able to handle this, am I mentally going to able to handle being back out on the road – because my mind is on my baby all the time, she’s my world.
Don’t get me wrong there is ring rust there of course, I’m not 100% yet. It takes a bit of time to get accustomed to it all again. But I feel like I’ve got such amazing support from TNA, and to be able to come back and do what I’m passionate about is an amazing opportunity. I feel very excited about what the future holds, I’ve never been Knockouts champions, and that’s something that is a humongous goal for me. And I feel that every day I get to work in the ring I’m working towards that goal.”
On her stunt work and acting career: “I really wanted to work with TNA and it wasn’t happening yet, so I decided to start a film career. Somehow my agent started getting me auditions, I started landing acting roles, and I’ve met the right people. Wrestling was my focus, and it was my focus until I was released by WWE. Then I wanted to go with TNA and they didn’t have a place for me at the time, so I went to do stunts. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this but I like to beat myself up a little bit. I like to be rough, and do crazy stuff and set myself on fire, get hit by cars – that for me is fun. So that was my goal and acting just kind of happened alongside it.”
You can read the full interview on Fanatix.
What do you think of Taryn’s in-ring performance since her return?