Over the weekend we reported that FCW’s Angela Fong was on the road with the Raw brand & the possible upside that could have to a main roster callup. Well there’s good news and bad news; Angela is being groomed for the main roster but not as a full-fledged, ass-kicking Diva.
The Diva has been working as a ring announcer filling in for Lilian Garcia and could be brought up in such a capacity. Now, as we also reported, WWE is looking for a new female announcer but that spot could be filled by Angela.
From what I’ve been told, the main duty of the fourth set of lungs would be to take over announcing duties for the WWE Superstars show. Currently the set-up is each brand’s announcer doing the honours for their respective matches, but that doesn’t look good for continuity. Having one announcer would even the flow. She would also be used to help out if & when necessary on the other brands.
Being a girl and thinking about these things, it’s funny to note that WWE Superstars is taped over two nights – Monday and Tuesday, which means if WWE wants to keep up continuity, Angela or whoever they may hire – would have to wear the same outfit on both nights! Okay so technically not a big deal, but just a thought!
It’s been almost a month since the last SHIMMER match on Ring of Honor, but the wait is over. Watch below as SHIMMER Champion, MsChif(with the equally creepy Jimmy Jacobs) takes on former SHIMMER Tag Champ, Neveah in non-title action:
Â
MSCHIF VS. NEVEAH
When I initially heard about this match, I was positive it would be a total squash match for the champ. After all, Neveah is a relative newcomer to SHIMMER and ROH, and is used to competing in a tag team. Much to my delight, Neveah put on a great showing in this match. I was sure she’d fall flat without  Ashley Lane aka Madison Rayne, but thankfully I was wrong.
Neveah starts off the match, keeping MsChif grounded with a series of headlock takeovers and forearms. A well-placed backfist a la Awesome Kong puts the Champion in control and she lets Nevaeh have it with a sick looking double stomp to the back.
Neveah tries to get back in the game, but is taken out by a stiff clothesline. Here’s where things get a bit sketchy. MsChif executes a awkward looking standing submission into a (botchy) modified gourdbuster. The submission reminded me of Melina vs Beth at the Royal Rumble or MsChif vs Melissa on SHIMMER Vol.1, just not as good. Nice try, though.
In a attempt to dust Neveah off, MsChif eats mat on a beautiful moonsault. Neveah takes advantage, executing an impressive flurry of attacks and awesome german suplex.
Fast forward to Jimmy distracting the referee, which allows MsChif to hit Neveah with the green mist followed by The Desecrator for the win.
Steven’s Thoughts:
Once again, the SHIMMER girls impress on Ring of Honor. Like I said above, I expected a squash match to put over the Champion, but was proven wrong. Neveah managed to prove herself as a singles competitor, and I see big things for her in the future. I would even put her ahead of her former tag partner, Madison Rayne, in terms of skills. I wouldnt be shocked to see her competing in TNA sometime in the near future.
MsChif was impressive as usual, save for the slightly botched finisher at the end. My only gripe would be MsChif’s association with Jimmy Jacobs. I don’t care for the way she’s used him as a crutch to win her last two matches. MsChif is more than capable of handling herself; having Jacobs there to cheat and distract just takes away from her as a Champion. Besides that, he’s just really weird and creepy. Â
What did you think of the match? Do you want to see more of SHIMMER on ROH? Sound off in the comments!
For all intents and purposes, the Knockouts Title match between Angelina Love and Victoria(Tara) failed to properly live up to the hype and positive development surrounding Tara’s highly anticipated debut. It wasn’t, however, a wasted effort (imagine your mother’s matronly voice telling you that she’s not mad, just ‘disappointed’). While the aspiration seemed to be there, last night’s match just did not live up to the quality of work I’d expect from either competitor.
While we here at Diva Dirt were correct in predicting the outcome of the match, ayone who has ever prayed for brighter days in the women’s division would have hoped for a better showing of Tara’s experience and Angelina’s abilities. Now, we were not a complete loss as this was not a bad display by either lady. However, just as Tara begins to build momentum at the very start of the match, an interference from the Beautiful People occurs, which is to be expected in a match of this caliber. Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne make due of their purpose to keep the competition in Angelina’s favour with the help of good timing and negligent officiating. Though, not before Tara hits a snapshot-worthy spinning backbreaker on the Champion. Tara neglects a pin attempt for a piece of the Bratz dolls. Before long, many calculated attacks are exchanged between Tara and Angelina’s lackeys, which consequently takes away from the entire feeling and purpose of the match. At some point, it seems as though Tara makes a costly decision to eliminate outside interference by taking out Velvet and Madison, but wastes precious time in which she could have become champion. In the end, the heelish advances pay off when Tara receives a mouthful of proverbial hair spray and a devastating kick in the face for her troubles … and for the finish. Angelina lives another day, another accolade, as your reigning TNA Knockouts Champion. You like her, you really like her?
With Angelina retaining the Knockouts title and Awesome Kong slowly being pushed back into the title picture, the possibilities regarding the division have rendered themselves endless. Though, I wouldn’t count Tara out yet. This match just screams ‘stepping stone,’ and an apparent ‘holding back’ for greater things to come. Whether or not she will eventually earn the belt still seems to be without question. I’m not sure what kind of game TNA is playing here, but seems to revolve around specific timing and circumstance.
Watch the match below:
Thoughts on the Monster’s Ball & video after the cut:
The Beautiful People have made history as the first Knockouts to take the promotional campaign for a TNA pay per view. Knockouts Champion Angelina Love, Velvet Sky (“Vel-Vel” ugh!) and Madison Rayne are the poster girls for the company’s July PPV, busting out their patriotic best for the poster – despite the Knockout front and center not actually being American lol. Click here for the full view.
The theme harkens back to Torrie Wilson‘s patriotic Great American Bash posters, when she was the PPV’s poster girl in 2004 and 2005. Who do you think rocked it best?
We’re debuting a new format for our Eye Candy posts – complete with more detailed critiques and “graded” categories. View the photoshoot we’ve “hung” on our wall, read our critique, vote, and last but not least – sound off in the comments!
The Look: Layla’s modified a t-shirt to her liking, crafting it into a shoulder-and-belly baring top. It’s cute and casual, but with that much bra strap showing, it’s almost a little hoochie. The big earrings don’t help that, either. The jeans and boots are nice, though, and cover enough skin to balance out the look. In a few photos, her hair looks a little limp and damp, like she just had water dumped on her, but others it’s big and beautiful. Much like her hair, the whole look is a bit hit-or-miss. Grade: B-
The Poses: Her poses are very sensual, her hands messing with her hair and resting on her hips. She’s got the “fierce face” down pat, grimacing just enough into the camera without heading into “pained look” territory. They’re almost a little rigid, now that I think about it. Though, it may have something to do with the fact that her entire midriff is exposed – she doesn’t want to risk any unflattering belly shots, I suppose. I have to say that I much prefer a more spontaneous Layla, even if it means covering up a bit for the sake of her poses. Grade: B
Uniqueness: This is pretty much your standard “casual look” photoshoot, and Layla’s poses don’t add much excitement either. She may look gorgeous and sexy (which she certainly does), but there’s nothing particularly unique about it. Grade: B-
Overall: The shoot is good, but nothing mind-blowing. It falls somewhere in between “forgettable” and “unforgettable”, which pretty much guarantees that I’ll forget it anyways. :P Grade: B
It’s here, it’s finally here! Welcome folks, this is it – the launch of 50 Sexiest Divas 2009. Last year, nearly 1000 votes were cast and you crowned Melinaas the Sexiest Diva of 2008! Can the Women’s Champion successfully defend her crown this summer or will we have a new Sexiest Diva for 2009? The competition starts here and continues all summer long!
HOW IT WORKS: This year, the format is a little different. We have collated a list of 100 women from around North America, past and present. From WWE to TNA to SHIMMER, we’ve got them all! Those 100 women have been randomly put into five groups (Groups A-E), with 20 Divas in each group. Every week through the month of June, we will give you a chance to vote for your favourite Diva or Divas in each group. From each group, the 10 Divas with the most votes will secure a place in the top 50, and the 10 with the least votes will be cut. Once you have voted for every group, we will have the 50 Divas who will make up the ‘Sexiest’ list for 2009… but it doesn’t stop there! You will then vote for your favourite Diva or Divas in the top 50 to secure their place in the chart. This is when you’ll decide who is #1 all the way up to #50.
It’s time for the penultimate longlist vote! Another 20 women battle it out in Group D of the vote! This time, current reigning Divas Champion, Maryse battles Velvet Sky, Beth Phoenix, Sunny and many more!
Next week is the final round of voting for the ‘group voting’.
Brand new audio bulletin! This time I take a look back at last night’s Slammiversary pay per view, including my thoughts on what I thought was a disappointing Knockouts Championship match between Victoria and Angelina Love as well as the awesome Monster’s Ball mixed tag match. Plus some more thoughts on this Sunday’s Bash pay per view [including the announcement of a live blog here at Diva Dirt].
Things to note: Listening back, I realise I say “You know” far too many times, I’ll try and fix that next time lol. Also around half way through, there’s some buzzing noise that continues till the end but you can still hear me clearly, I think. Sorry about that!
Following last night’s death-defying Monster’s Ball Match at Slammiversary that saw Taylor Wilde leap from an amplifier and Daffney slammed into a pool of thumbtacks, TNA seem to be milking the spot for all it’s worth — the company have announced the first ever Knockouts 10,000 Tacks Match for Impact this Thursday night between the two women.
I fully appreciate that TNA breaks boundaries and pushes the envelope, but I felt the whole thumbtacks thing last night was going a little too far and it really made me feel uncomfortable watching it. I can understand why they did it, it was a cool spot in an awesome match and gave fans a great PPV payoff, but why can’t they just draw a line under it there?
This match on Impact, to me, is pushing the envelope a little far. What do you think? Should TNA have left it at that or are you looking forward to seeing a 10,000 Tacks Match?
Tonight, TNA holds it’s annual anniversary pay per view, Slammiversary with the Knockouts Championship on the line when champion Angelina Love defends against the one and only Victoria. Plus Taylor Wilde and Daffney continue their feud in a mixed tag Monster’s Ball Match, Taylor teams with Abyss and Daffney teams with Raven.
Be sure to check out the pay per view from 8pm ET. We’ll be providing up to the minute coverage of the Knockouts matches on our Twitter page.
Before the PPV tonight, our writers wrote in their predictions for tonight’s event. I’d like to take this moment to introduce the newest member of the Diva Dirt team, Tiffany who I’m sure you’ll come to know in the near future as our resident TNA writer. Tiffany will be updating our TNA coverage with a weekly Impact column and monthly pay per view columns.
Knockouts Championship Match: Angelina Love (c) vs Victoria
Erin: I know in these circumstances, both TNA and the WWE have shown a tendency to throw the title on the hot newcomer in order to capitalize on the initial buzz of their arrival. However, I’m going to guess that TNA wants to delay the inevitable a bit (because you know Victoria is going to eventually win the title) and have Angelina win. That way, they can milk this feud for all it’s worth while giving rubs to all three girls in the Beautiful People, as well as Victoria. Madison Rayne can continue to grow into her role in TBP, being shoved into altercations with Victoria while the Vicious Vixen develops her TNA persona and gradually builds up to a more grandiose title win.
Melanie: Since joining TNA, Victoria has been on such a hot streak that logic almost dictates that Angelina must retain here just to off-set it. Usually it would make sense to do that but in this situation, with this particular person – I am actually going to go ahead and call a title switch tonight. By having her come in on such a high and then have her losing here, I think it’d be too much of a loss for her to recover from – unless they do some shady finish with someone costing her the title. I think giving her the win and the title puts her over as your new face of the Knockouts division which is the ultimate goal. I’m banking on Victoria here.
Steven: Last week, my bet would have been Victoria for champion. Her acquisition has brought alot of attention to the division in the last month or so. I could see TNA making her the new face of the Knockouts and rightfully so. However, the staredown between her and Awesome Kong has me thinking otherwise. I see Kong playing a part in Sunday’s match, possibly costing Victoria her shot and adding another layer to this feud. If Victoria manages to snag the belt, I see Kong making a post match run-in and taking out Victoria. Kong made it clear she wants the title on Impact! and I don’t see her having a problem going through Victoria to get it. Expect a 3-way at TNA’s next PPV. Another factor is the other members of The Beautiful People, who will undoubtedly run some sort of interference. In short, I would be shocked if Victoria came out of Slammiversary as Champ. She will definitely be champion sometime in the future, just not Sunday.
Welcome to the Perfect 10! Following a week of rough-and-tumble Diva and Knockout action, where do our ladies rank? Who scored an impressive victory? Who faltered in the ring? Were championships decided? The Perfect 10 ranks the ten best Diva performances for the week!
THIS
WEEK
MOVEMENT
DIVA
LAST
WEEK
MICHELLE MCCOOL
The #1 Contender for the Women’s Champion has upped her game, she’s pinned the champ and now brutally attacked her. All that’s left is taking the title.
MICKIE JAMES
The uncrowned #1 Contender for the Divas Champion scored a victory over Rosa Mendes on Raw. But just when will she get her title shot?
MELINA
The Women’s Champion overcame Alicia Fox but she was caught off guard by #1 Contender, Michelle McCool.
MARYSE
The Divas Champion continues to get under Mickie James’ skin with her usual cocky fashion.
EVE TORRES
Eve remains undefeated against her recent rival, Layla. However it looks like the competition is over and the Diva Search winners are now friends.
AWESOME KONG
Awesome Kong returned to Impact this week & cleaned house pinning Daffney. There was also an interesting staredown between her and Victoria…
TAYLOR WILDE
Taylor teamed with an unlikely opponent in Awesome Kong, but was on the winning team. Can she do the same tonight at Slammiversary?
VICTORIA
Victoria’s first few weeks in TNA have been hot, on Impact she showed everyone who’s boss… that is until she was introduced to Awesome Kong. Can she become the Knockouts Champion tonight?
ALICIA FOX
A-Fox lost her match on SmackDown but gave as good as she got against the more experienced Melina. Work it girl!
ROSA MENDES
Relative newcomer, Rosa Mendes got a big break in her first singles match on Raw with Mickie James. She lost but it’s a start!
Diva Dirt is dusting off an old classic, which just so happens to dust off old classics itself. Welcome back to YouTube Classics! Everyday (read: whenever we feel like it) we’ll be posting a classic Divas match/segment/moment from our trusty friend, YouTube!
Tonight at Slammiversary, the former Victoria faces off against Angelina Love for the Knockouts Championship, so we thought it was fitting to look back at last year’s event – the first time the Knockouts got to wrestle on this particular pay per view.
You may have heard reports that Serena Deebof OVW and SHIMMER fame has signed to WWE. It is noted on her Wikipedia page that she recently debuted in FCW in tag match defeating Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox. Well it turns out you can’t believe everything you read on Wikipedia (Go figure).
Despite appearing in a few backstage cameos with Finlay and Mark Henry on ECW, Serena has gone on record saying she hasn’t been offered a formal contract from WWE as of yet. And if that’s not enough for you, I have a secondhand quote from Ms. Deeb herself. In regards to her ‘debut’ in FCW, Serena says:
…[she’s] wondering where people come up with this stuff. She’s not even in Florida
Well there you go people. Serena is not part of the WWE roster (yet). Let’s all keep our fingers crossed though, because I hear there’s a sudden opening over on Smackdown.
You know what time it is people! Really? You don’t? Well I’ll clue you in. It’s time your weekly dose of SHIMMER goodness. Every weekend, I’ll be bringing you profiles on the hard hitting ladies of SHIMMER. Everyone from the major players like MsChif to the up and coming rookies like Ashley Lane and Portia Perez. So lets get to the good stuff, guys.
Accomplishments:Can-Am Wrestling Women’s Championship (1 time); FILL Women’s Championship (1 time)(Mexico); LLF Juvenil Championship (1 time)(Mexico); Ranked #24 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Female 50
A few months months ago, news hit that TNA had signed canadian luchadora princess and SHIMMER star Sarah Stockto their roster of Knockouts. Fans of her work in SHIMMER and in Mexico were excited to see what her high-flying, lucha libre style would bring to the diverse Knockouts division. More on that later.
Stock originally started in the canadian indies, debuting in Can-Am Wrestling and winning the Can-Am Women’s Championship in her first match. Her rookie year also saw her compete in many other promotions including: Real Action Wrestling, Main Stream Wrestling and Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Stock’s biggest success in America came while she was in Afa Anoa’i’s World Xtreme Wrestling promotion in Pennsylvania. There she competed against fellow indy stars Charlotte Webb, Valentina and future SHIMMER phenom, Mercedes Martinez. She also participated in a high profile feud with indy wrestler Kyle Kruze, including Bra and Panties and ‘Kiss My Ass’ matches.
In 2003, Sarah moved to Mexico to further develop her skills in the ring.  Much like fellow ex-Knockout Gail Kim, Sarah found success in a masked persona known as ‘Dark Angel’. Even with the obvious language barrier, Sarah managed to put on great matches with likes of Princess Sugey and fellow American wrestler Simply Lucious. She split her time between Mexico and well known promotion Ring of Honor, where she had a match against SHIMMER mainstay Allison Danger. In December 2008, she wrestled for OVW under the ringname Sarah Griffin in a losing effort to Passion. Staying true to her roots, Stock continued to wrestle in Canada, feuding with WWE Diva and SHIMMER alumni, Nattie Neidhart.
In 2007, Stock debuted in SHIMMER as part of a tournament to crown the first ever SHIMMER champion. To the surprise of many, Sarah managed to eliminate SHIMMER originals, MsChif and Cheerleader Melissa who were favorites to win. She was eliminated by the eventual winner, Sara Del Rey, but earned a title shot in a later volume by defeating Daizee Haze. Sarah came up short once again, losing to Del Rey in a two out of three falls match.
In April, Sarah competed in two dark matches for TNA under the name Sarita. She lost to Awesome Kong, but picked up a win against former Knockouts Champ Taylor Wilde.
As of this writing Sarah has yet to officially debut for the company. It’s rumored that she was slated for the top babyface slot, but was bumped for the incoming Victoria/Tara. Personally, I would rather see Sarah make moves in WWE. With her high flying arsenal, she could easily be the Evan Bourne of the Divas’ roster. I think she could breathe new life into the increasingly stale Raw title picture by pushing talent like Beth Phoenix, Mickie James and even Maryse to a whole new level. Â
As usual, here’s a vid or two to get you familiar. Enjoy!
Rising FCW talent, Angela Fong has joined the Raw brand on the road this weekend which may or may not be a sign of the much-buzzed about Diva being readied for a jump to the main roster.
Since joining FCW in February 2008, Angela has been praised for being one of the best female talents to be trained in developmental in a long time. She most recently won the ‘Queen of FCW’ tournament on the promotion’s television series.
WWE often brings developmental talents who they feel have the most potential to travel with the main roster on the house show circuit, giving them a feel for life on the road as well as exposing them to WWE audiences. Sometimes this leads to a main roster call up and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for Angela, as being invited onto the road is a sign of confidence. I can’t say I’m really looking for another new Diva on the main roster but Angela is as good as [if not better] than some of the Divas on the main roster.
Fresh from her WWE release last night, Candice made a gutsy move to go post a blog on the WWE Universe website (which has since been deleted). But being the super sleuths you Diva fans are, it is already online on various message boards.
In the blog Candice namechecks some of her Diva friends within the company [past and present] including Melina and Mickie James as well as the other two thirds of Vince’s Devils, Torrie Wilson and Victoria.
Check out Candice’s statement in full below:
Today is the first day of my next journey! I am filled with excitement and gratitude that I wanna express! First and foremost I wanna say thank-you to the McMahon family! Thank-you Vince, Linda, and Stephanie! I have had an amazing 5years wrestling for you guys! You have taught me and given me so many incredible memories! My time in the WWE was so heartfelt and an incredible journey that I will never forget. I wanna thank the people who have helped me there to be successful! Thank-You Johnny Laurenitis, Mark Corrono, and the rest of talent relations! You guys are awesome at what you do and I appreciate everything you have done for me! Thanks to the amazing agents Arn, Dean, Ricky, Mike, Fit, Barry, Steve, and Billy. You guys are incredible at what you do and it was so exciting for me to get the oppurtunity to learn from the BEST! Speaking of the best, John Cena was a champ in every sense of the word, inside and outside of the ring! Thank-you John for our great friendship, conversations, and encouragement in the business! I have so many fun filled memories on the road that I will never forget thanks to Victoria, Torrie(vote for her, shes amazing), Carlito, Tommy ( what a Dream), and Mickie ( one half of the nasty girls)! You guys will be my buddies for life and I will never forget you! Thank you to the other amazing superstars and Divas! You guys are simply the best at what you do! You have contributed so much in me becoming a wrestler, thanks to HHH, Big Show, Melina, Mickie, John Cena, Tommy Dreamer, Shawn Michaels, and everyone else who every helped me in the ring(in no particular order)! Thanks to the awesome crew and people behind the scenes, without them the show wouldnt even begin, they are all so incredible and full of talent! My time in the WWE was a true blessing!
I am excited that I was the FIRST WWE Diva Search contestant to become the WWE Womans Champion! I know I have paved a way for the woman like me and am so proud of them now! Go get em ladies, your all so talented and beautiful!
A special dedication to all the amazing and wonderful fans who have supported me, made sites for me, were always positive, and mostly just showed your love! I really appreciate you! I hope to see you in my next journey! I feel it coming fast! You can see my new website in less than 1.5 months at candicemichelle.com and catch up with my updates, also on twitter!
I have loved that journey and am ready to grow into this next chapter! Stay tuned…. much more to come!
Now if you didn’t know by now, I am not Candice’s biggest fan but contrary to what some of you may think, I am able to separate my personal opinion of someone from my opinion of their character. I can’t say I will miss Candice in WWE, but that is no reflection on her as a person. I’m sure she’s a lovely person & I wish her all the best.
That truly was a classy statement and it’s such a shame that WWE went and deleted it – which to be fair, they do with all released talents – but surely they could’ve left it up a little longer? It’s not like she bashed the company. That was a classy way to say goodbye, fan or not.
This week’s Friday Night SmackDown sees a return match from a few weeks ago, as Melinafaced off against Alicia Fox with Michelle McCool in her corner. With just 9 days to go until these two Divas face off at The Bash, McCool made a point to turn up the heat with a pay per view match now secure. Watch below:
The Divas kept it short & sweet on SmackDown this week, the bell-to-bell action wasn’t like the norm but even with a shortened match, the SmackDown Divas utilised their time perfectly. With a match at The Bash in the bag, it was on like Donkey Kong for Michelle McCool as this feud just went from ‘simmering’ to ‘boiling’ with a PPV match on the horizon.
I’m going to go on record and say it: Alicia Fox is in my estimation, the best ‘non-wrestler’ Diva in the roster right now. And by that I mean, she’s the best wrestler of the girls right now who came from a ‘model’ background or a Diva Search background. That group however, doesn’t include Michelle McCool, who to me has graduated to ‘wrestler’ status. You may agree with me or you may not but I honestly think watching Alicia Fox is like watching a star in the making & I think she exceeds the Divas Champion, Maryse too. Yes, I went there and I 100% believe that and stand by it, so test me if you will in the comments. I truly hope Alicia gets the nurturing she deserves and the opportunities in future that she deserves to elevate her to become a top Diva; I fear that they won’t truly tap into her potential because she’s not on the Beth/Melina/Mickie/Michelle level of talent & because she’s not the cookie cutter Diva like Maryse or Kelly Kelly. Right now though, the SmackDown writers are using her pretty well and one can only hope they cut her the breaks she deserves in future.
Unlike their previous exchange, Alicia was the more dominant in this match and she worked very well with the Women’s Champion. Starting off with that lockup into a hair smash, Alicia set the tone and continued it throughout the match. Melina however, did manage to get in a few of her patented moves like the ‘MaTrish’ into the overhead kick. But it was Alicia who ultimately controlled the match, countering Melina’s headscissors attempt into a very nice backbreaker & then going into that awesome submission move where we got to see Melina’s flexibility on show. Melina definitely uses that to her advantage as she is able to sell moves even more and make them look even more devastating by contorting her whole body, as we’ve seen in matches with Beth Phoenix and she used her flexibility here to give the less tenured Alicia a bit of a rub.
Out of the submission move and I really liked the way these two used the ropes for that chokehold and the way Melina did her ‘MaTrish’ across the middle rope and countered Alicia. It’s only a small spot but I think it changes things up some.
Melina then sets up the finish, which looked a bit odd. She starts out by going for a Gail Kim-esque submission move, Alicia tries to counter into a spinebuster but Melina ultimately hits her Last Call for the win, which was executed nicely.
Post match, things heat up for Melina and Michelle McCool as this feud gets taken to the next level ahead of their match at The Bash. Like Raw’s Mickie-Maryse feud, this feud had been ‘simmering’ with no pay-off match in sight, but with a match now booked, the writers have cranked things up. I really liked Michelle’s attack on Melina, that running knee into the announce table just looked sick! It looked awesome when she did it on Eve back in January and it looked awesome here on Melina.
Michelle then takes the mic, a department where she isn’t overly qualified, but in my opinion she delivered one of, if not her best promos to date. I think it was very effective and obviously Michelle has improved.
Overall, I really enjoyed this week’s stuff and I’m so excited for The Bash and that was definitely the objective here – to get fans excited.
EDIT: There was also a backstage segment with Eve, Layla and Maria. Following last night’s match on Superstars, it looks like the trio are now friends — effectively turning Layla face. What a load of crap!
So this is what the parting of the red sea must feel like. Though not officially announced, the Wrestling Observer has announced that a Women’s Championship match is expected to take place at The Bash pay per view on June 28th.
The Bash will be the first Divas pay per view match since January [WrestleMania doesn’t count], as Melinadefends the Women’s Championship against Michelle McCool. Ironically, it was in the last Divas PPV match that Melina won the title against Beth Phoenix at the Royal Rumble.
It’s been a long drought folks, but our patience has paid off!And what a doozy is our first pay per view match back, I am totally checking for Melina and Michelle. As I revealed in my audio bulletin earlier this week, I was feeling confident that the Divas would get onto this pay per view card as WWE seem to be in a mad rush to book the event, as they haven’t left themselves much time in between the Extreme Rules pay per view and this one. Usually that leads to sloppy booking, but it works well for our Divas who this year have been disregarded from PPV events. I really hope Melina and Michelle get a good 10 minutes to slug it out, their work thus far has been great.
EDIT: As you can see from the image above, the match is now official and was announced on this week’s SmackDown.
Last night on Superstars, feuding SmackDown Divas Eve and Laylatook their rivalry to the tri-branded ring in a rematch from their much hyped singles bout a few weeks ago. Adding extra ‘flavour’ to the proceedings was a special guest referee, in the form of a very gaudy looking Maria:
You’d think by now that I’d be desensitized to Maria’s god awful outfits, but with each passing week, she manages to assault my senses even more. This chick clearly skipped the queue when God was handing out class. In WWE’s world, the announcers have to say she looks ~gorgeous~ but in reality, she looks like she’s about to moonlight after the show.
In the ‘What’s Layla wearing?’ department, our favourite style icon has opted for red this week. Definitely a step up from that horrible black concoction a few weeks back, but still not up to par with her hot look during her Raw days. Next time someone sees her at an airport, pin her down and straighten her hair please! I miss the black shiny leggings and form-fitting tops.
Onto the match, I am not the biggest fan of Eve’s in-ring work as you all know. She’s okay but she’s generic to me, much like Rosa Mendes. These two girls can work it out in the ring and have a decent match without many botches [unlike the referee in this match] but the problem is, their moveset are pretty much the basics that they teach you down in FCW. There’s nothing that really stands out or makes them unique in the ring. It just feels like to me, they’re going from one move to another without the fluidity and the sense of story-telling. Then there’s the fact that Eve looks incredibly winded and out of breath by the end of the match, not a good look.
Despite some of her flaws in this match, I think Eve showed the biggest improvement of all at the end of the match, when she hit that awesome backflip into a standing moonsault on Layla. I have to say, I was very impressed.
The match on the whole was pretty good, in fact I’d say better than their initial SmackDown match. This match didn’t have the ‘catfight’ quality of the first match and the pace was much faster, which is a good thing. It looks like these girls have gotten comfortable working with each other now that they can have a good match. An impressive start, as Eve cartwheels out of Layla’s arm lock and then hits her with an arm drag. Things get a little iffy here, when we go into a rest-hold and it’s not too clear what Layla’s trying to do, but she manages to hit a snapmare.
Later Eve shows her greenness with an awkward arm drag and powerslam, that powerslam was weird to watch. Then there’s the return of her equally awkward one-legged dropkick. This all leads into the very good finish from Eve who gets the win.
After the match, I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish with the whole handshake thing but it just seemed pointless.
Former Knockouts Champion, Awesome Kong returns to Impact tonight, her first appearance on the show since before the Sacrifice pay per view. Interestingly, it looks like TNA is booking Kong as a full-fledged babyface, as she teams with her former rival,Taylor Wildeagainst Angelina Love and Daffney.
What do you think? Are you buying Diva Dirt‘s favourite Tweeter as a face?
Also on TV tonight, Eve vs Layla on WWE Superstars with everyone’s favourite Diva Dirt fan, Maria as special referee.
Welcome to Diva B-Sides, the Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. This week I’m introducing a slightly different format for Diva B-Sides. From now on I will only cover ONE Diva/Knockout per post, but I’ll provide at least two songs per Diva/Knockout. Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get right into things. This week Diva B-Side is for SmackDown Diva Alicia Fox.
PICK #1: “SUPERSONIC” BY FAMILY FORCE 5
Alicia really hit the jackpot when she got sent to the blue brand in this year’s draft. Unfortunately, she crapped out again when it comes to her entrance theme. The Diva Dirt Team, as well as the majority of you readers agreed that Alicia’s new Nelly-esque theme is not doing the job. I know I already did a B-Side for Alicia, but her new theme in conjunction with her recent heel turn more than warranted a second go-round.
I usually wouldn’t have picked a rock song for Alicia, but this song in particular has a really cool hip hop beat meshed with some hard guitar riffs. It’s a really unique song, but I think Alicia has the personality to rock it out.
Former pornstar-turned-wrestler,Trina Michaels has hinted on her MySpace page that she could be joining TNA. Michaels retired from porn last year and sent out a press release in which she said, she was “giving up gangbangs to enter battle royals.”
She writes: “You can’t spell Trina without using the letters TNA… Find out THIS THURSDAY June 18 by watching IMPACT..Spike TV..9pm”
With TNA it seems every good move they make [signing Victoria], they take a little step back too. I don’t know if Michaels is under contract or being offered one, but I’m not checking for another Knockout, least of all this chick. You’ve got Sarah Stock and Ayako Hamada signed and not being used.
TNA makes my braincells die a little more and more with each ‘celebrity’ signing, yes Jenna Morasca, looking at you.
Former Women’s Champion and everyone’s favourite tack princess, Candice Michelle has been cleared for an in-ring return. Celebrating the news, the Diva wrote on her Twitter page: “Houston I am cleared for take off!!!”
Let’s hope for her sake that statement doesn’t turn into “Houston, we have a problem.” We’ll see if Can-Can can stay healthy this go around.
Personally, I’m hoping for Nero to set a course to London and pop me off now. I’ll let y’all know if I find Captain Kirk aka Chris Fine on my travels!
Last month, Melanie got to talk to former Knockout and current SHIMMER star Roxxi about her release from TNA, backstage altercations and more. Well since that was a resounding success, I’ve decided to try my damnedest to bring you more exclusive interviews from the world of SHIMMER. Vote below for the SHIMMER star you’d like me to chat with and I’ll reach out to some of my ‘secret sources’ and try to make it happen.
VICTORIA
ALICIA FOX
ROSA MENDES
Welcome to Diva B-Sides, the Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. This week I’m introducing a slightly different format for Diva B-Sides. From now on I will only cover ONE Diva/Knockout per post, but I’ll provide at least two songs per Diva/Knockout. Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get right into things. This week Diva B-Side is for SmackDown Diva 
