Wednesday, November 27, 2024

The WrestleMania Seven: Nidia

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So since rolling out the first installment for The WrestleMania Six earlier in the week, I have run into a snag! It looks as though the ‘six’ have become seven after Nidia was announced as the latest participant! So we’ve had to redesign our sets etc., so to speak.

This Sunday at WrestleMania 25, WWE pays homage to it’s 25th anniversary with an honorary 25 Diva battle royal for the title of Miss WrestleMania. Not only will the current crop of Divas have an opportunity to win said title but so will some names and faces from the past – the WrestleMania Seven! Stealing a page from Lost‘s Oceanic Six, we have dubbed our seven returning Divas after the wacky ABC show.

While Hassan looks at the current Divas in WrestleMania Spotlight, over the next few days, I will be looking at the seven returning Divas who will compete in the Miss WrestleMania match.

sd5for500_stephNIDIA
WWE Debut: 2001
WWE Release: 2004
Career Highlights: First ever female Tough Enough Champion

Confirmed or Declined?
Though not officially confirmed, Nidia is in the Houston area and PWInsider reports she will compete tomorrow night.

Past WrestleMania Appearances
Nidia has never competed at ‘Mania.

Nidia’s WrestleMania Moment
WrestleMania 25 will be the Diva’s first appearance.

Miss WrestleMania Threat Factor
As the first ever Tough Enough Champion, Nidia was a prelude to the Divas of the Diva Search. Will she make a bee-line for the likes of Maryse, Michelle and Maria in a battle of Tough Enough vs Diva Search?

Biggest Threats
As I say above, I see some rivalry between the Diva Search finalists and the Tough Enough Champions. I expect Michelle McCool is more than a match for Nidia.

Likelihood of Winning
I’d put Nidia’s chances at slim to none.

The WrestleMania Seven: Molly Holly

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So since rolling out the first installment for The WrestleMania Six earlier in the week, I have run into a snag! It looks as though the ‘six’ have become seven after Nidia was announced as the latest participant! So we’ve had to redesign our sets etc., so to speak.

This Sunday at WrestleMania 25, WWE pays homage to it’s 25th anniversary with an honorary 25 Diva battle royal for the title of Miss WrestleMania. Not only will the current crop of Divas have an opportunity to win said title but so will some names and faces from the past – the WrestleMania Seven! Stealing a page from Lost‘s Oceanic Six, we have dubbed our seven returning Divas after the wacky ABC show.

While Hassan looks at the current Divas in WrestleMania Spotlight, over the next few days, I will be looking at the seven returning Divas who will compete in the Miss WrestleMania match.

sd5for500_stephMOLLY HOLLY
WWE Debut: 2000
WWE Retirement: 2005
Career Highlights: Two time Women’s Champion and Hardcore Champion

Confirmed or Declined?
WWE has confirmed Molly’s appearance in the Miss WrestleMania match, at a press conference.

Past WrestleMania Appearances
Molly competed in her first and only WrestleMania in 2004.

Molly’s WrestleMania Moment
Molly’s WrestleMania moment will go down in history as a classic Diva moment, when she had her head shaved bald after losing to Victoria in a ‘Hair vs Hair’ match for the Women’s Championship at the 20th anniversary of ‘Mania.

Miss WrestleMania Threat Factor
Molly is considered one of the most gifted female wrestlers of our generation, tapes of her matches have been studied by many of the current Divas. One would hope she shows manages to eliminate a few Divas.

Biggest Threats
For some reason, I’m looking forward to seeing Molly face off against Mickie James as well as her old friend, Gail Kim. Could Gail be the one to eliminate her old mentor?

Likelihood of Winning
In a perfect world, she’d stand a chance. I’d put Molly in with a low – slightly moderate chance of winning.

WrestleMania Blast From the Past: WrestleMania XVIII

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With this week being dubbed WrestleMania Week by us here at Diva Dirt, we will be offering you many WrestleMania-themed features over the course of the next few days. With this feature, Blast From the Past, we’ll be looking back at memorable WrestleMania matches from the event’s storied history.

Today, from the eighteenth WrestleMania, we have a Triple Treat match for the Women’s Championship. Hometown Toronto girl Trish Stratus, Lita, and Women’s Champ Jazz took on one another in a match that exemplified the motto “every woman for herself”:

WRESTLEMANIA XVIII: Jazz vs. Trish Stratus vs. Lita – Triple Threat Women’s Title match

The WrestleMania Seven: Sunny

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So since rolling out the first installment for The WrestleMania Six earlier in the week, I have run into a snag! It looks as though the ‘six’ have become seven after Nidia was announced as the latest participant! So we’ve had to redesign our sets etc., so to speak.

This Sunday at WrestleMania 25, WWE pays homage to it’s 25th anniversary with an honorary 25 Diva battle royal for the title of Miss WrestleMania. Not only will the current crop of Divas have an opportunity to win said title but so will some names and faces from the past – the WrestleMania Seven! Stealing a page from Lost‘s Oceanic Six, we have dubbed our seven returning Divas after the wacky ABC show.

While Hassan looks at the current Divas in WrestleMania Spotlight, over the next few days, I will be looking at the seven returning Divas who will compete in the Miss WrestleMania match.

sd5for500_stephSUNNY
WWE Debut: 1993
WWE Release: 1998
Career Highlights: Considered the original WWE Diva

Confirmed or Declined?
WWE has confirmed Sunny’s appearance in the Miss WrestleMania match, at a press conference.

Past WrestleMania Appearances
Sunny has never competed at WrestleMania.

Sunny’s WrestleMania Moment
Believe it or not, this year is Sunny’s WrestleMania moment! Along with the likes of Alicia Fox, Natalya, the Bella Twins etc., Sunny will make her ‘Mania debut!

Miss WrestleMania Threat Factor
Sunny has never been considered a wrestler, thus it’s highly unlikely that she’ll be too much of a threat to the others.

Biggest Threats
I would expect most of the Divas in the match will be somewhat of a threat to the so-called original Diva.

Likelihood of Winning
Slim to none.

SmackDown Redux – April 3rd, 2009

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sdredux3april09

The final SmackDown before WrestleMania thankfully, delivered a lot more promise than the final Raw and ECW before tomorrow’s big event. We saw the real in-ring return of Gail Kim as she teamed up with Maria to take on the Divas Champion, Maryse and Michelle McCool. And the verdict? This match wasn’t bad at all, in fact it was pretty darn good.

In 2004, Gail was released for the likes of Maria, Maryse and Michelle as WWE wanted to take the women’s division in a different direction and they sure did. Now in 2009, Gail is wrestling with those very Divas that she was released for. But thankfully, the women’s division has come a long way since then. Michelle McCool for one, looks like a pro in the ring while Maryse is ever-improving. Then there’s Maria, who in the right spot can be made to look good. And thankfully for Gail’s return match, she was in the right spot.

The tag team work between Maryse and Michelle was really well done. The way they isolated Maria – who works really well in an underdog role – kept the match fast-paced before Gail interjected and cleaned house. There was some really good work from Michelle, who carried Maria effectively through most of the match. Maria did get in a couple of decent spots herself, holding up her end of things on this occassion.

Then Gail gets the hot tag and business really picks up. Gail always looks awesome in the ring and she really picked up the pace of an already decent match, that kick thing to Maryse looked great! I’ve never been a fan of Gail’s neckbreaker finisher, but I thought it was well executed and looked very good on SmackDown. So Gail scores a pinfall victory over the Divas Champion, that should develop her nicely following WrestleMania.

I thought the match was just the right pace and was thoroughly enjoyable, which makes a nice change from Raw, ECW and even last week’s SmackDown. As I wrote last week, Gail’s debut wasn’t handled that great, but I did say she’d really shine in the weeks to come and I think she did that here. Unfortunately, in the long run people will remember debuts and not the next few weeks of action.

On a seperate note, I have to give props to Maria, we often rag on her ‘fashion sense’ here at Diva Dirt but I liked her look on SmackDown minus the Michael Jackson glove. She needs to realise that simple is better, she always looks good when she’s just toned down and I thought she looked cute. Gail looked really good too!

Spotted: Torrie Wilson at Fan Axxess

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torrie-axxessHello upper east… err, what’s that? Oh okay. Erin just threatened to kill me.

So anyhoo, look who it is! Ahead of her big one-off comeback match tomorrow night at WrestleMania, Torrie Wilson was seen signing autographs for fans at WWE’s Fan Axxess event yesterday. Yay!

I personally can’t wait to see Torrie back in the ring tomorrow night, in what will be her first match since November 2007. Torrie has a pretty good WrestleMania track record too, she’s undefeated at the event!

Don’t forget Diva Dirt will have full coverage of the event, in our WrestleMania live blog!

Coming Soon: Golfing with Candice

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candice-golf

Sure must suck to be injured Diva, Candice Michelle, who’ll have to watch all of her fellow Divas and even some past ones go out to the ring tomorrow night for WrestleMania while she’s stuck in the back watching it on the monitor.

But it looks like injury prone Candice could have a new career up her sleeve, if her days truly are numbered within WWE. What do you do after you leave the WWE and still want fame? Fetish films or trashy reality TV! The former Women’s Champion was spotted at WWE’s golfing event earlier in the week, doing all sorts of whacky crap. So here’s the set-up: “Golfing with Candice”, Candice hosts her own trashy reality show where she takes unsuspecting groups to a golf course where they compete in a tournament and the winner wins a cash prize. However, all the while through, Candice tries her best to put everyone off their game.

Sounds like something FOX would pick up in a heart beat (and cancel after two episodes).

WrestleManiArt: Divas Unveil Their Masterpieces

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eve-art

SmackDown Divas, Eve Torres and ‘a Bella’ as WWE.com so kindly put it, unveiled their own artwork at WWE’s WrestleManiArt event in Houston earlier this week. Check out Eve’s expressionist take on what it means to be a Diva. The collage is not unlike what you’d find on someone’s bedroom wall, but nonetheless it’s kinda cool don’t you think? If nothing else, it’s fun for a game of ‘spot the Diva’.

bella-art

Then there’s this self portrait by ‘a Bella’, 50-50 chance as to which one did it, I guess. So what do you think of our Divas’ artistic sides? Hit or miss? Have your say in the old comment box!

Style Showdown: Brie & Nikki Bella on the Red Carpet

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showdown-brie showdown-nikki

How about an impromptu Style Showdown? Once a staple of Diva Dirt, we’re dusting off this classic feature for a few WrestleMania weekend specials. The first of which sees duelling sisters, Brie and Nikki Bella hitting up the red carpet in Houston, Texas for WWE’s WrestleManiArt event on Wednesday.

Both Divas rocked red for the red carpet, Brie on the left in a shouldered side wrap dress and Nikki on the right in a strapless number. Which twin looked the best? Decide!

[poll id=”324″]

WrestleMania Spotlight: Beth Phoenix

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With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.” This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,” Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… bow down to the Slammy Award winning Raw Diva Beth Phoenix!

Diva: Beth Phoenix
Real Name: Elizabeth Carolan Kocanski
Hometown: New York, New York
Birthday: November 24, 1980
Brand: Raw
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 150 lbs.
Finisher: Glam Slam (Elevated Double Chickenwing Wheelbarrow Facebuster)
WWE Debut: May 8, 2006 edition of Raw
Career Highlights: WWE Women’s Champion (x2), ranked #2 of the 50 best female wrestlers of 2008 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Slammy Award Winner for Diva of the Year (2008), OVW Women’s Champion, GLORY Champion, FNW Cruiserweight Champion, appeared in February 2009 issue of FLEX Magazine, first female varsity wrestler at her high school, Northeast Freestyle Women’s Champion for her weight class at the NY Fair in 1999, named most oustanding wrestler of 1999 by Brockport Freestyle Tournament, member of USA Wrestling, competed in first ever Women’s Ladder Match in OVW and first ever “I Quit” match
“Did You Know?” Fact: When Beth was 11 years old, she won a coloring contest held by the WWE where the prize was tickets to a television taping; she credits that moment for how she fell in love with wrestling. She is married to Joey Carolan (Joey Knight). When Beth first entered the independent circuit in 1999-2000, her first opponent was none other than Mickie James

Beth Phoenix is, without a doubt, the Glamazon. When Beth was in high school, she competed on her high school’s varsity wrestling team. In 1999, Beth graduated from high school and enrolled in a professional wrestling school while also attending college. She made rounds in the independent circuit, competing against both men and women as well as appearances in SHIMMER. Phoenix made her debut in OVW during July of 2004 as a valet and on-screen girlfriend to Chris Masters. After feuding with Shelly “Ariel” Martinez, Beth made her debut in the WWE in 2006 as a surprise friend of Trish Stratus to battle the psychotic Mickie James, where the storyline was that Beth and Mickie apparently had a history together, as Beth attacked Mickie for “ruining everything.” Her first stint on Raw was short lived – Beth suffered a fractured mandible on the  June 5, 2006 edition of Raw after a kick to the face by Victoria.

Beth returned to OVW in August of 2006, where she feuded with Katie Lea, competed in the first ever women’s Ladder Match, and went on to become the OVW Women’s Champion. Beth returned to Raw on July 9, 2007 as a heel, coming to the aid of the “injured” Melina to battle Candice and Mickie James and picked up her “Glamazon” nickname. At SummerSlam 2007, Beth Phoenix won an interpromotional Divas Battle Royal to become the #1 contendor to Candice’s Women’s Championship, which she would capture at the No Mercy pay per view later that year. July 14, 2008 saw Beth Phoenix return to the ring after a month off TV, where she accepted an open challenge by Santino Marella and went on to beat him in one of my favorite of Beth Phoenix’s matches since she was able to cleanly beat a male superstar. This “feud” developed into a romance, where the two became known as Glamarella. SummerSlam 2008 saw Beth Phoenix capturing the Women’s Championship for a second time in an intergender tag team winner-takes-all match which she and Santino won. Beth held the title until the Royal Rumble 2009, where Melina won the title.

Slammy award winning Beth Phoenix is clearly one of the front-runners to win this matchup. She is arguably the physically strongest Diva on the roster other than Natalya and also has experience in Battle Royal matches as well as a win at WrestleMania XXIV. Her storyline and character development with Santino has gone over very well with male and Diva fans alike. I personally love every aspect of Beth. She is such a powerhouse and never puts on a bad show. It’s always a treat when WWE puts her in the ring with a male superstar because, since Chyna, she is really so good in the ring that she really could beat several male superstars, in my opinion. I think WWE has worked with her character well, and it’s a shame Natalya didn’t get this kind of luck. I’m pretty confident that if Beth doesn’t win the Battle Royal, she will definitely be one of the last Divas standing. Expect her to make an impact at WrestleMania and eliminate Divas left and right. Her blog feud with Trish Stratus might be further developed since these two have some unfinished business in the ring follow Trish’s one night appearance on Raw a few months back. Beth Phoenix really is the one to watch and, if you’re another Diva in the match, the one to beat.

Beth Phoenix’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: High

WrestleMania Blast From the Past: WrestleMania XX

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With this week being dubbed WrestleMania Week by us here at Diva Dirt, we will be offering you many WrestleMania-themed features over the course of the next few days. With this feature, Blast From the Past, we’ll be looking back at memorable WrestleMania matches from the event’s storied history.

WrestleMania hasn’t always been known to feature technical masterpieces, such as the “Playboy Evening Gown” match that pitted covergirl duo Torrie Wilson and Sable against Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie. It was a fluff match, now doubt, but it was a creative way for the WWE to fit in their (until recently) requisite WrestleMania Playboy match:

WRESTLEMANIA XX: Torrie Wilson & Sable vs. Stacy Keibler & Miss Jackie – Playboy Evening Gown match

A SmackDown Note

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For those wondering, this week’s SmackDown is ‘first look’ to the United States, while international markets received a ‘Best of WrestleMania’ compilation. That means, the only place to see Gail Kim‘s in-ring debut (in the actual sense of the phrase) will be tonight at 8pm on MyNetworkTV.

We’ll have our SmackDown Redux tomorrow!

Chyna, Is That You Girl?

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chyna-paperdollSo Chyna won’t be going to WrestleMania, but she really does have a book coming out. And let me tell you, she is looking fierce. Chyna’s new book, Paper Doll is a photographic collection of the former Intercontinental Champion as you’ve never seen her before.

And if she really is looking like this (i.e. if the pictures weren’t Photoshopped to hell), then I think WWE should consider splashing some cash on dusting off the 9th Wonder of the World for Sunday’s Miss WrestleMania bout.

Click here to order the book. And check out the video promo below:

WrestleMania Spotlight: Gail Kim

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With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.” This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,” Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… check out the returning SmackDown Diva Gail Kim!

Diva: Gail Kim
Real Name: Gail Kim
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Birthday: February 20, 1977
Brand: SmackDown
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 125 lbs.
Finisher: Happy Ending (Straightjacket Neckbreaker Slam), Christo (Tilt-a-Whirl Headscissors Armbar),
WWE Debut: June 30, 2003 edition of Raw (First Time) & March 27, 2009 edition of SmackDown
Career Highlights: WWE Women’s Champion (debut match), first ever TNA Knockout Champion, Knockout of the Year (2007), FC Women’s Champion, AWF Diva of the Year (2001), ranked #3 of the 50 best female wrestlers by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, starred in the movie Royal Kill, featured in Forbes’ list of 40 Most Eligible Bachelorettes in 2007
“Did You Know?” Fact: Gail Kim, who has posed topless for cellphone ads in Korea, admitted to have breast augmentation before she made her debut in the WWE. She had her implants enlarged once she arrived, and was actually sidelined for a while when one of them ruptured. When Gail began wrestling in the AWF in 2000, she wore a mask, which she later competed against Traci Brooks in a Hair vs. Mask match, which she lost and became unmasked. A participant in TNA’s first ever women’s Ladder Match, Gail is the only Diva to hold Championship gold in both WWE and TNA

Gail Kim came into the wrestling industry in December 2000, joining the Canadian company AWF. She then worked in the independent circuit for 2 years, including in the BCW and WXW. She made friends with Jason Sensation, and in 2001, Jason introduced Gail Kim to Molly Holly, who encouraged Gail to tryout for the WWE. In October of 2002, WWE signed Gail to a developmental deal, where she spent 8 months in OVW before debuting on Raw in June of 2003, winning her debut match to become the Women’s Champion, her first and only reign.

Throughout 2003 and 2004, Gail initially worked as a face but later turned on friend Trish Stratus to align with Molly Holly. In November 2002, Gail was sidelined with a collarbone injury. When she returned, she stopped being a high-flyer and adopted a submission style, which was reportedly to avoid injuries again. Gail’s last match was on November 1, 2004 where she helped a heel Trish Stratus attack Lita. Gail was released the next day when WWE told Gail they wanted to take the Women’s Division “in a different direction.”

The October 8, 2005 edition of TNA’s iMPACT! saw the debut of Gail Kim. On May 15, 2006, Gail wrestled her first match on American soil since leaving the WWE and it was also TNA’s first women’s match in over a year. The Bound For Glory pay per view in 2007 saw the crowning of Gail Kim as the first ever TNA Knockout Champion, after she won a 10-Knockout Gauntlet match. At TNA’s Sacrifice, Gail won TNA’s first ever Women’s Ladder Match to become the #1 contendor to the Knockout Championship, which she lost to Awesome Kong. However, on August 20, 2008, Gail Kim and TNA couldn’t reach an agreement on the renewal of Gail’s contract, since the WWE was offering her much more money than TNA did. She was subsequently released from TNA.

The February 20, 2009 edition of SmackDown aired the first return promo for Gail Kim, which confirmed her signing with the WWE. She made her debut on March 27, 2009, interrupting a Divas Championship match on SmackDown between the Divas Champion Maryse and Michelle McCool.

Although the dreadful 18-Diva tag match on the March 30 edition of Raw was Gail’s official return to the ring, she didn’t even participate, so I’m considering the Divas Battle Royal to be her real debut. Gail’s much anticipated arrival to SmackDown has landed her the top face spot for the blue brand. I’m almost 100% confident that it’s only going to be a matter of time before Gail wins the Diva’s Championship and becomes the first Diva to hold the Women’s, Divas, and Knockout Championships. However, although she is the new top face of SmackDown, I don’t think WWE is going to let history repeat itself and have Gail win her first match back in the WWE, which also happens to be a Battle Royal.

I think the main reason people are speculating her to come out victorious is because she’s done it before, but I don’t think thats a good enough reason to give her the win. She still has a very good shot of winning to help push her character, but frankly I can see Michelle or Maryse eliminating Gail from the match as retribution for when Gail made her debut more than I can see her winning. But still, it is great to have her back on the roster and will be amazing to see her in the ring with Victoria, Torrie Wilson, Trish Stratus, and Molly Holly again.

Gail Kim’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: High

TNA Announces Knockouts Lockdown Matches

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April is shaping up to be the biggest month on the calendar for both the Divas and the Knockouts. After this Sunday’s huge WrestleMania event, wrestling fans can look forward to TNA’s annual Lockdown pay per view. That event will see all of the matches contested inside a steel cage.

TNA has revealed the following matches for the Knockouts: Awesome Kong defends the Knockouts Championship in a triple threat match against Taylor Wilde and Angelina Love.

Meanwhile, the second annual ‘Queen of the Cage’ match will feature ODB, Madison Rayne, Daffney and Sojo Bolt. Last year’s Queen, Roxxi won’t be defending her crown.

Interesting to note, TNA has officially renamed The Governer as Daffney, which was her WCW ring name.

Queen of the Ring Grand Final Update

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Over the next couple of days, I am going to be giving you some updates on what has already become a hotly contested grand final to our Queen of the Ring tournament!

In less than 24 hours, I can reveal that 574 votes have been cast. And the vote is so close. There is just a 14 vote difference between the two Divas.

Check back tomorrow for another update!

VOTE FOR YOUR QUEEN OF THE RING

WrestleMania Spotlight: Melina

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With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.” This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,” Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… scream your lungs out and do a split for Raw Diva Melina!

Diva: Melina
Real Name: Melina Perez
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Birthday: March 9, 1979
Brand: Raw
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 123 lbs.
Finisher: Extreme Makeover (Inverted Leg Drop Bulldog into a Split-Legged Pin), LA Sunset (Leg Trap Sunset Flip Powerbomb)
WWE Debut: April 14, 2005 edition of SmackDown
Career Highlights: WWE Women’s Champion (x3), ranked #8 of the 50 best female wrestlers of 2008 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, made it to the final 21 of Tough Enough III, won a Miss California beauty contest, modeled for Nike, appeared in Celebrity Fit Club Boot Camp
“Did You Know?” Fact: Melina’s leg-split ring entrance was created by Melina, her ex-boyfriend John Morrison, and Seth Skyfire while in OVW. Once broken up with John Morrison, Melina dated Batista briefly. She also had a real-life feud with Candice Michelle when Candice accused Melina on her WWE.com blog of stealing a signature move. Melina is the only Tough Enough contestant to win the Women’s Championship and she also competed and won the first ever women’s Falls Count Anywhere Match

Melina began wrestling in 2002 in the EWF, where she was praised as one of the best women to come through the company. After being eliminated on the first episode of Tough Enough, Melina made her OVW debut in March of 2004, where she soon teamed up with John Morrison and Joey Mercury to form MNM, the tag team which would later debut on SmackDown in April of 2005. In June, Melina entered the ring in her first match against Michelle McCool, which she won. Off screen, John Morrison and Joey Mercury didn’t get along, so MNM was split up with Morrison & Melina heading to Raw in May of 2006.

Melina began actively competing in the Divas division in January of 2007 when she feuded with Mickie James and eventually beat her for the title. In April 2007, Mickie won the Women’s Championship at a house show in Paris, but Jonothan Coachman awarded Melina a rematch the same night, where Melina won the title back for her second reign with the gold. Her feud with Beth Phoenix in 2008 led to her face turn, where she would eventually defeat Beth at the 2009 Royal Rumble to win her third Women’s Championship.

I think Melina has a good chance of making it to the end of the Divas Battle Royal, but won’t be the winner. Though Melina is one of my top 3 personal favorite Divas, I think her current run as Women’s Champion (and as a face) is getting pretty stale. She plays a much better heel in my opinion and I think it will be hard to put her over as the winner. There will definitely be plenty of action between her and Beth Phoenix in the match, and Melina has done very well in Battle Royal matches. She won the interpromotional Battle Royal on October 28, 2005 by eliminating Trish Stratus and she also won the Battle Royal on December 29, 2008 to become the #1 contendor to Beth’s title, where she would go on to beat her at the Royal Rumble.

With plenty of experience in the ring as well as in Battle Royal matches, Melina definitely has the wit and the know-how when it comes to winning a match like that. I definitely think that Melina will be one of the last Divas standing and certainly could very well walk away the winner, but I’m not positive WWE will go that route and give Melina the win. On another note, I also think Melina’s run as the face Women’s Champion has run it’s course. Melina played the bitchy, screaming hellcat character so well and I think it’s time for a switcheroo back to being “the most dominant Diva in the WWE.”

Melina’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: High

WrestleMania Blast From the Past: WrestleMania XVI

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With this week being dubbed WrestleMania Week by us here at Diva Dirt, we will be offering you many WrestleMania-themed features over the course of the next few days. With this feature, Blast From the Past, we’ll be looking back at memorable WrestleMania matches from the event’s storied history.

Today, we what was dubbed a “catfight”, as if it were an official type of match – non-wrestling Divas Terri and The Kat battled at the sixteenth WrestleMania in a match that certainly wasn’t destined for the history books, but was entertaining nonetheless. The addition of the Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young gave each Diva a lady in her corner:

WRESTLEMANIA XVI: Teri vs. The Kat – Catfight

Breaking: Nidia in Houston for WrestleMania

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In a surprise curveball to the Miss WrestleMania match this Sunday, PWInsider is reporting that the first ever female Tough Enough Champion, Nidia is in Houston, Texas and will be competing in the 25 Diva battle royal.

The news is a surprise to say the least, as we had expected six past Divas to make up the tally. 18 of the 20 current Divas will be competing in that match (Lilian Garcia and the injured Candice not included), leaving seven spots left. With the build to the match being revolved around Santino, it was expected that he would take a spot leaving six spots.

Those confirmed to compete so far are: Miss Jackie (Jackie Gayda-Haas), Molly Holly, Sunny, Torrie Wilson and Victoria. It looked as though the sixth spot was reserved for Trish Stratus, whom I 100% expected to be in the match this Sunday. With that said, it looks as though Nidia will either take Santino’s spot or Trish’s spot.

Let’s hope for WWE’s sake, Nidia is not a replacement for Trish. You don’t involve past Divas in this match only to not secure the most popular Diva in history. I do still believe that Trish will be there and they haven’t announced her prior in order for her to be a surprise come Sunday.

As for Nidia, since leaving WWE, she has had a daughter and was reported to be living in Italy.

Queen of the Ring: The Grand Final

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The Queen of the Ring tournament is underway! Which Diva will be crowned the ultimate Queen of the Ring for 2009? You decide! Vote for your favourite Divas as we narrow down 16 beautiful and talented women down to just one! It’s a hard job, but the power lies in you, the Diva Dirt audience!

THE GRAND FINAL

The grand final is here! Of the 16 Divas, just two remain! And they are possibly two of the most decorated Divas in WWE history. Their careers have intertwined, they’ve brought out the best in each other for years and now they battle one more time for your vote. It’s Lita and Trish Stratus in the finals of the Queen of the Ring tournament. Make your choice wisely.

The winner of the tournament will be revealed this Sunday, live during Diva Dirt‘s WrestleMania live blog!

VOTING HAS ENDED.

WrestleMania Spotlight: Mickie James

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With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.” This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,” Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… get really hyper and excited for Raw Diva Mickie James!

Diva: Mickie James
Real Name: Mickie Laree James
Hometown: Montpelier, Virginia
Birthday: August 31, 1979
Brand: Raw
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 124 lbs.
Finisher: Long Kiss Goodnight (Kiss followed by Reverse Roundhouse Kick), Mickie-DT (Standing Tornado DDT)
WWE Debut: October 10, 2005 edition of Raw
Career Highlights: WWE Women’s Champion (x4), CSWF Women’s Champion, DCW Women’s Champion, ICW Super Juniors Champion, PWF Universal Women’s Champion, SCW Diva Champion, UCW Women’s Champion, UWF Women’s Champion, ranked #4 out of the top 50 women’s wrestlers of 2008 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, appeared on The Jenny Jones Show “From Nerds to Knockout,” Celebrity Fit Club Boot Camp, Psych, and Redemption Song, the only Diva to compete in TNA’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun match and WWE’s Women’s Falls Count Anywhere Match 
“Did You Know?” Fact: While Native American born Mickie James was in the independent circle, she worked as a waitress at Olive Garden and posed nude for the May 2000 issue of Leg Show magazine. She is passionate about horses and has three of them: Rhapsody, Bunny, and Casanova. Mickie was also engaged to Kenny Dykstra and dated Joey Mercury. She also holds the record for the shortest reign as Women’s Champion. Presently, Mickie is taking online classes to get a Bachelor of Arts Degree in operations management

Mickie James got into the professional wrestling industry after a friend suggested she try out at a wrestling school in Washington DC. She got into the independents in 1999, where she led Tommy Dreamer to the KYDA Heavyweight Championship as his valet. She continued working the independent circuit as well as training in Ring of Honor. In March of 2003, she appeared in TNA under the name Alexis Laree, which is a combination of her dancer name as a child and her middle name. Her time in TNA was spent feuding with Trinity and competing in several male and intergender matches. Finally, after years of calling the WWE and having a tryout match with Dawn Marie, she began appearing in OVW.

October of 2005 saw the debut of Mickie James on Raw as an obsessed Trish Stratus fan. This obsession continued until March of 2006, where Trish told Mickie they should seperate after Trish had enough of Mickie’s outfit copying, interfering, and even kisses. Mickie made her official heel turn at this time, promising to destroy Trish, which she did at WrestleMania 22 when she defeated Trish to earn her first run as Women’s Champion (the fans actually cheered Mickie who was a heel while they boo’d Trish). After Trish retired from the WWE, a tournament was held to crown a new champion. Mickie lost to Lita at Cyber Sunday and Lita became the Champion. However, Mickie defeated Lita in Lita’s final match at Survivor Series to retire Lita and win the Championship again for the second time. Mickie would win the title for a third time at a house show in Paris in a triple threat match against Melina and Victoria, but at a televised rematch just days later, Mickie lost the title back to Melina. Mickie had her fourth run as Champion when she beat Beth Phoenix in London on April 14, 2008. Since losing the title back to Beth, Mickie has continued being one of the most popular Divas among the fans but has taken a backseat to the title hunt to Melina.

If it were up to the fans, Mickie would probably be a front-runner to win the Battle Royal, since she won the fan-voted Halloween Costume contest this past year. However, I don’t see WWE giving Mickie the win here. Since Melina returned as a face and captured the Women’s Championship, Mickie hasn’t been involved in too many storylines other than her recent match with Santino. It seems as if WWE is even pushing Kelly Kelly more than they are Mickie now since Mickie has been doing more backstage segments than actual wrestling. There just seems to be no motive to award Mickie the title of Miss WrestleMania. Since she is so popular among the fans, I still think there’s a possibility. I think she’ll remain in the ring for a good portion of the match but won’t make it to be one of the final Divas standing. Creatively, she really has nothing going on and her face character has been getting stale.

If it were up to me, I also wouldn’t award Mickie the win, but instead, I’d use WrestleMania as a golden opportunity to revive Mickie’s character by turning her into a psycho heel again. If she can get more cheers than Trish as a heel, she should probably get that gimmick back ASAP. If Trish is going to be in the matchup, why not have some retribution and let Mickie toss out Trish? Do it WWE! Make Mickie a heel!

Mickie James’ Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Moderate

WrestleMania Blast From the Past: WrestleMania XVII

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With this week being dubbed WrestleMania Week by us here at Diva Dirt, we will be offering you many WrestleMania-themed features over the course of the next few days. With this feature, Blast From the Past, we’ll be looking back at memorable WrestleMania matches from the event’s storied history.

Today, we have a Women’s Championship match from the seventeenth WrestleMania, with RTC’s token female and Women’s Champ Ivory taking on the “morally corrupt” Playboy covergirl Chyna:

WRESTLEMANIA XVII: Ivory vs. Chyna – Women’s Championship match

Say It Ain’t So!

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Looks like Angela Fong may finally be getting her call up to the main roster… as a manager.

According to reports online, WWE officials are in discussions to bring the Queen of FCW to the main roster as a manager for Cryme Tyme. I don’t know how I feel about this. I would love to see Angela on my screen every Monday, but not as a manager. I would rather have her stay in development until they can bring her up as a wrestler. And why Cryme Tyme?! I don’t think there has ever been a more unlikely teaming. I see a big image change in Angela’s future.

Don’t get too excited though, Angela fans. It is April Fool’s Day, of course, so take this news with a grain of salt.

The WrestleMania Seven: Trish Stratus

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This Sunday at WrestleMania 25, WWE pays homage to it’s 25th anniversary with an honorary 25 Diva battle royal for the title of Miss WrestleMania. Not only will the current crop of Divas have an opportunity to win said title but so will some names and faces from the past – the WrestleMania Six! Stealing a page from Lost‘s Oceanic Six, we have dubbed our six returning Divas after the wacky ABC show.

The formula for the 25 Diva match, it looks like, will work out like this: 18 parts Diva. One part Santino and 6 parts legend (well five plus Jackie Gayda).

While Hassan looks at the current Divas in WrestleMania Spotlight, over the next few days, I will be looking at the six Diva legends (or again, five plus Jackie Gayda) who will compete in the Miss WrestleMania match.

EDIT: Now called The WrestleMania Seven!

sd5for500_stephTRISH STRATUS
WWE Debut: March 2000
WWE Retirement: September 2006
Career Highlights: 7-time Women’s Champion

Confirmed or Declined?
Trish was not one of the five Divas confirmed at yesterday’s press conference. It looks as though they are saving the best till last! I expect Trish will be a surprise come Sunday night. Trish is the centerpiece of the WrestleMania Six. Make no mistake, if they didn’t have her booked and scheduled to appear this Sunday there’s no way they’d have involved past Divas at all.

Past WrestleMania Appearances
Trish has appeared at 7 consecutive WrestleManias and wrestled in four of those events. In her prime, she was considered a featured performer at WrestleMania.

Trish’s WrestleMania Moment
Stratus won the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 19 in a triple threat match featuring Jazz and Victoria.

Miss WrestleMania Threat Factor
Trish, no doubt, will kick some booty in at WrestleMania. You don’t bring back the greatest Diva of all time to not have her throw some bodies over the top rope, right? I’d say the ‘lesser’ Divas like the Bella Twins, Eve, Tiffany, Jillian and Layla could be Trish’s collateral damage.

Biggest Threats
Trish will likely have some competition from the likes of the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool. I definitely think Beth will make it a point to get up in Trish’s face.

Likelihood of Winning
Trish probably stands the most chance of the Diva legends of winning.

WrestleMania Spotlight: Natalya

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With the Divas Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 quickly approaching, Diva Dirt has decided to take a closer look at each of the known and rumored participants in the matchup and assess their odds of winning as being High, Moderate, or Low. The winner, of course, will be crowned the first ever “Miss WrestleMania.” This is a new feature that will take place right up until the big day in Houston, TX on April 5th, 2009 and will be covered by yours truly, the “Mouth of the South,” Hassan! I will save my prediction for the winner as the very last WrestleMania Spotlight profile I do. Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Let’s get right into it… yeah baby, it’s SmackDown/ECW Diva Natalya!

Diva: Natalya
Real Name: Natalie “Nattie” Neidhart
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Birthday: May 27, 1982
Brand: ECW / SmackDown
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 135 lbs.
Finisher: Sharpshooter, Nattie By Nature (Spinning Powerbomb)
WWE Debut: April 4, 2008 edition of SmackDown
Career Highlights: Trained in the Hart family “Dungeon” in amateur wrestling as well as mixed martial arts and jiu-jitsu, ECCW Supergirls Champion, Stampede Women’s Pacific Champion, Women’s Wrestler of the Year for 2005, ranked #19 of the 50 best female wrestlers by Pro Wrestling Illustrated 
“Did You Know?” Fact: Natalya is the first third-generation female wrestler in the world and has been dating TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) since November 2001

Another day, another misused Diva. If there was one Diva on the roster that I would really want to win this match, it would be Natalya. She has such a great character and is so talented in the ring that having her as her boyfriend’s manager on ECW seems like a waste of talent and a paycheck. She doesn’t even really play a vital role in Tyson’s matches besides cheering him on and occasionally exchanging some words with Alicia Fox or Katie Lea.

As the daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and Ellie Hart (the daughter of Stu Hart), Natalya was practically born into the wrestling business and it is in her blood. She came onto the wrestling scene in 2000-2001 where she served as host and ring announcer for Eric Bischoff’s youth promotion, MatRats. In 2003, Natalya entered the ring for her family’s organization, Stampede Wrestling. In 2004, she head over to wrestle in England and Japan. She returned to Canada in 2006 after suffering a torn ligament in Japan, where she first picked up her heel status. Natalya signed a developmental deal with the WWE in 2007, and made her debut in OVW on July 18, 2007 accompanying Teddy Hart and Harry Smith in their tag team matches as the new Hart Foundation. In October of 2007, Natalya went to FCW to further her training.

Natalya made her WWE debut on SmackDown, where she came to the aid of Victoria by attacking Michelle McCool and Cherry. Once the Divas Title was announced, Natalya was the first Diva to qualify for the title match, though she lost to Michelle at the Great American Bash. Following that loss, Natalya sporadically competed in matches while also appearing in FCW alongside Tyson Kidd. She made her debut on ECW with Tyson Kidd on Februay 10, 2009 and competed in her first ECW match against Alicia Fox on March 3, 2009, which she won.

If Natalya had been doing something more worthwhile than serving as a valet to her boyfriend on ECW, I’d have high hopes for her in this match. However, since the WWE is so notorious for putting the more talented Divas in less meaningful positions, I don’t see Natalya winning this. I do predict her to be a huge force to deal with, and I really hope there is a Beth Phoenix/Natalya confrontation as I’d love to see those two go at it. If Trish is the final participant in the match, then surely these two Canadians will go at it, which would definitely be a treat. However, our poor Natalya is being reduced to such a little position and not contributing a whole lot other than getting a decent Divas division going on ECW. Hopefully if Nikki Bella comes to ECW and Tiffany finally starts getting in the ring, we’ll see more of Natalya, which is certainly where she needs to be… in the ring, kicking butt, and taking names. Maybe if WWE were smart, they’d use this opportunity to let Natalya win and put her back on the map and in the hunt for some Championship gold since she is certainly very capable of winning the Battle Royal… but don’t get your hopes up on that happening.

Natalya’s Odds of Winning On The Hassan-O-Meter: Moderate

WrestleMania Week Rampage: WWE Targets Dozens of Diva Fansites

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Webmasters were left on guard yesterday, when WWE launched an assault on wrestling – specficially Diva – fansites. The company’s legal team sent out cease and desist letters to unsuspecting fansite owners and over the last 24 hours, dozens of sites have disappeared.

The cull is unlike anything the company has done before; it seems they are specifically looking to target Diva fansites. The alarmingly high number of fansites being targeted, is also a major cause for concern.

What makes the matter worse is that these often scary and scathing cease and desist letters are being sent out by e-mail to fansite owners, who are typically, high school teenagers. The threat of legal action to someone so young is inexcusable on WWE’s part, considering maintaining a fansite is generally just a pastime.

In most cases, it is in fact the website owners who pour hundreds, even thousands, of dollars into their website and make no profit from them. Their support is lent to WWE by purchasing magazines, pay per views etc. Not to mention the free publicity and exposure they are giving that Diva.

One must also consider the timing of this rampage, with WrestleMania just days away. I guess people are trying to show they’re good at their jobs so they don’t lose them when it draws a lousy buyrate. WrestleMania provides much of the profit for WWE’s fiscal year. It’s funny how they are sending their customers cease and desist letters, and these are the same fans they expect to pay $55 for the pay per view.

It’s a huge shame that the company feels the need to scare young, impressionable teenagers in such a manner. Receiving a cease and desist letter by e-mail must be an incredibly daunting experience. It is times like this that the Internet Diva community should pull together. These actions are nothing short of reprehensible.

• If you are one of the webmasters caught up in WWE’s WrestleMania Week Rampage, we’d love to hear your story. Please leave your comments and your advice for fellow fansite owners!

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