What the coconut… This must be the oddest post I’ve ever had the privilege to post here at Diva Dirt. According to Gerweck.net, the first ever WWE Women’s & TNA Knockout Champion, Gail Kim is dating legendary Hall of Famer, Bret “the Hitman” Hart. I’ll give you a second to pick your jaws up off the floor…
Hey, if they got married that would make Gail Natalya‘s aunt! Gail, please sign with WWE already and do battle with your future niece… pretty please?
Michelle McCool has taken to her Fan Nation blog to comment on a few things, mainly the amount of scruntity that she and other Divas endure:
Personality/character: I had someone send me a message saying that I’m this, I’m that, I don’t have this, I don’t have that, I stink at this, I stink at that. Ok…….I get your point – you obviously don’t like or respect me. To my defense, I wish you just knew me before you felt the need to act like you do! :) This will probably come out either ungrateful and mean or extremely passionate (I hope it’s the latter b/c that’s what it’s supposed to be)! I love this business…always have and always will!!! I can only do what I am asked/told to do and I hope that whether you like a superstar or not, you can at least look past what you think you know about him or her and try to respect whatever it is they might be doing. There is a lot more to me than what you have seen on tv and hopefully, in the very near future, you will be able to see that even more. Alot of times, all of the divas are put into the same category as to how they look and/or act. I don’t want that.
We aren’t all the same, we don’t dress the same, we don’t have the same backgrounds, we don’t look the same and we don’t act the same. I myself find that refreshing! We don’t always get the opportunity to show that on tv, so whenever we get a chance to simply be on tv (no matter what the capacity), we try to capitalize on that. It’s just really funny to me….to do this job, it takes a lot of heart, a lot of athleticism, a lot of soul and a whole lot of strength (physical, mental and emotional). The people who are sending these comments obviously have nothing better to do and only see what they want to see (not just with me, with whoever they are sending them to and/or about).
The way I look at it is this…when people don’t expect much from you, you always get the praise of how wonderful you did and how much you have grown. When people think you should be doing better, they don’t look at how far you’ve come or what you may or may not be doing for the other person you are working with. It’s pretty much a double edged sword and I LOVE IT! I know we can’t please you all, but I hope we just continue to entertain you and earn a little bit of your respect. As I’ve said a million times, there are lots of hearts to win and barriers to break. It’s you guys and your feedback that keep us going. So, thank you for that!
Click here to read the full blog.
So, do you agree with her? Are fans too harsh, or do you think Michelle should suck it up and take the criticism? Personally, I feel the Divas shouldn’t be treated like little girls – we should be able to judge their performances and criticize them if we feel it’s warranted. If everything came down to “Oh, but look how far they’ve come!” there’d be no point to discussing matches and pretty much makes this blog pointless. They get paid to do this (wrestle, perform..), so I feel we have every right to question and discuss their talent and ability to do so. Some people are too harsh, but that comes with the territory, I’d think.. What’s your take? Sound off in the comments!
TNA has launched an official website for their upcoming Knocked Out DVD that is dedicated solely to our gorgeous and talented Knockouts. At the site, you can check out all the Knockouts’ entrance videos as well as pictures and trailers! Check it out by clicking here.
One of the things that you’ll find at the site is this extended trailer for the DVD, which features a final audio interview with Gail Kim after news broke of her contract expiring. I’m assuming this will be included on the DVD and if so, I think it’s a very classy move by TNA, allowing Gail’s time with the company have some closure. If you skip to the end of the trailer you can hear a small snippet of that audio interview in which Gail has some final, heart rendering words for her fellow Knockouts:
On a closing note, I’d love to say to the fellow Knockouts, thank you for everything and I think all the accomplishments we’ve achieved, we couldn’t have done without each other. And even though I’m not going to be part of the company, I want them to keep on kicking some butt and keep the women’s wrestling strong and I’m gonna try to do the same wherever I may go. And with the friends, I know everyone supports me in anything I do and what decisions I make. So with the fans I just hope no one’s disappointed because I’m very passionate about wrestling and I will always give 150% when I’m in that ring and I hope that they’ll always be entertained.
View the video below:
WWE Diva and Playboy covergirl, Maria has landed an acting role on (adorable) new CW series, Privileged starring Joanna Garcia and the scrumptious Michael Cassidy…
Oh wait, I’m lying. But Maria does seem to have a teenage doppleganger out there in the form of 19 year old Lucy Hale who does star on Privileged. Upon watching the show’s series premiere last night, I couldn’t help notice the striking resemblence between the two – perhaps the picture above doesn’t do it justice – so I’ve thoughtfully provided some screen captures of Lucy as Rose Baker on the show.
PS: The show is funny, cute… amazing! Check it out every Tuesday night on CW at 9pm. Or download it. You know. Whatever.
So what do we think? Is she the spitting image of our Maria or what?! Vote below!
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Legendary Diva, Tammy Sytch, better known as Sunny revealed that she didn’t think she’d get along with the new generation of Diva – Maria and Melina – when she turned up at Raw’s 15th anniversary show last December. Sunny also reveals that fellow former Diva, Dawn Marie had described to her that the Divas lockerroom was more like the set of Mean Girls, where all the girls hated each other:
I was shocked because here I am, ready to walk into the female locker room after hearing all these horror stories from people like Dawn Marie, who told me how all the girls hated each other, and every single girl in that locker room kissed my butt (laughs). They were awesome. They paid me so much respect, and the girls that I thought I would not like at all, like the girls from the Diva Search like Maria, she was one of the nicest ones there.
I’m not a big fan of the Diva Search thing. I was raised old school in this business. To bring girls in off the street that know nothing about this business and giving them a job when there are so many girls that really respect this business and have learned their craft that can’t get a job, I think that’s the wrong way to go about hiring girls. I was thinking that I definitely was not going to like these girls, but Maria came right over to me; she got me a bottle of water when I was thirsty and couldn’t find anything to drink; she was great. Melina – I didn’t like her character, so I guess she was doing her job really well because I bought into it – she was great. Now we keep in touch all the time. We talk on the phone, we e-mail, we text. She’s awesome. Every girl was just so nice. I was like, “Wait a minute. This is not the locker room that Dawn Marie was warning me about.†It was completely different from what I expected.
Sunny also had an interesting viewpoint on women’s wrestling in the WWE. Warning to Diva fans, it may make you roll your eyes:
First of all, I think if you have more than five girls at one time it’s way too much. It takes all the specialness out of it. When I was [in WWE], there were three of us, and every time you saw one of us it meant something. Now, there’s a girl in practically every single segment on the show. To have a women’s match on every show I think is just too much. I’m not a fan of women’s wrestling. Just leave that part to the guys. When you’ve got 19-20 girls on the roster, it’s redundant and it’s not a special thing. To be honest with you, a lot of girls that came from the Diva Search, I can’t tell one from the next. I don’t know what their names are; all I know is that they came from the Diva Search at some point.
I definitely agree with her opinion on the Diva Search but her old school mentality on women’s wrestling makes my skin crawl. Honestly, Tammy wasn’t much of a wrestler so I think it’s redundant for her to have an opinion on women’s wrestling in the WWE. I won’t get on my soapbox and explain the history that we’ve seen be made since Sunny’s era, such as Trish Stratus, Chyna, Lita, Victoria etc. because you all know that history too. Times have changed since Sunny was famous, I doubt she’d even be able to step into the ring with WWE’s worst Diva. And as for having just three girls? I think I’d go a little stir crazy if I had to watch just three girls every week. I love that WWE has a large Divas roster and if Tammy were to watch the product today, she’d realise that most of the Divas right now are being used in the ring and are showing some penchant for wrestling; for the first time in a long time, we don’t have an entire roster made up of hopeless Diva Search contestants. Tammy is the second old school Diva who has expressed her dislike for women’s wrestling, despite the fact that she is a woman in the wrestling industry. *Eye roll* You can read the rest of the interview by clicking here.
EDIT: Turns out that Adrian (God judges you!!!) plagarised this post from another site, so we have decided to discontinue voting and commenting on this post. Needless to say Adrian is disqualified from our competition. However, you guys had unanimously voted “nay” on this post and commented to that affect also, so not a big loss.
We’ve already had a great response to our casting call for a new blogger to join Diva Dirt. Like any good casting call, we have to put applicants through a rigorous audition process! So just like American Idol/The X Factor (delete as applicable), we’re going to have our candidates audition for the judges – you!
Auditionee number two is Adrian! Read Adrian’s sample blog below and vote “yay” or “nay” on his blogging skills!
This is Victoria Crawford or as some of you wrestling fans know her for her short time on Smackdown as Alicia Fox, she is one of the new Divas from developmental system down in Florida. WWE signed her and Kelly Kelly all the way back in June 2006 – only one of them made it to national TV.
Victoria Crawford would be sent to OVW (former developmental territory) where she would start out by appearing in the audience, then in backstage segments, and eventually she’d be given ring announcer duties at LIVE events. Eventually she made her in-ring debut in the first ever Womens Battle Royal for the OVW Womens Championship. After a few matches on OVW TV she would become the valet of Elijah Burke. Did you know that she once wrestled the demented Glamazon known to man as Beth Phoenix? She always once won the prestigious Womens Championship during a house show but it wasn’t a recognized victory.
More after the cut:
I’ve finally gotten around to recording my own podcast! In it I talk about the differences between the latest Women’s Championship and Divas Championship matches, why SmackDown is better than Raw, and Smackdown Spoilers for this Friday. There’s even a little bit of photoshoot discussion, so check it out!
[audio:podcast10sept08.mp3]
Run Time: 12:57
Okay, bad pun, I know.
There seems to be a general consensus among fans and journalists alike that Mickie James has been drawn the short straw in Candice Michelle‘s return. Despite being Women’s Champion and at the forefront of the women’s division in Candice’s absence, the expectation is Mickie will now be pushed further and further back in the division behind Candice. This is evident as Candice, two weeks removed from her return, already has a title shot against Beth Phoenix. However, the feeling is that Mickie’s fourth title reign and her push in recent months has simply been because there was no other top face to give that push to and had Candice been around, Mickie most likely would not be a four time Women’s Champion.
It is sad that Mickie works so hard but was only awarded her fourth title out of necessity, not by of choice because WWE Creative wanted her to have a big storyline or run as Women’s Champion. This past year, Mickie has been the glue that has held the Raw women’s division together amid injuries, the Draft and releases. Mickie has worked consistently on 90% of the Raw shows produced since Candice’s injury without being rewarded any real storylines and when they began to develop storylines (with Beth and Katie Lea), the booking was shoddy. After holding together the division, Mickie has to relinquish that top spot now and that is a little disheartening.
But to play devil’s advocate, Mickie James the character has become stale and boring. Perhaps taking her out of the picture will allow WWE to refresh the character and inject some creative juice into Mickie. One of the scenarios that I see to be likely is that Mickie will turn heel by the end of the year or in the new year and challenge Candice for the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. Beth vs Candice can’t go on forever and I definitely see Candice winning the title by the end of the year, so it’d make logical sense to have Mickie turn heel and be Candice’s next challenger, setting up a programme for WrestleMania. With Melina due back by the end of the year, I think they can afford to have Mickie turn heel so long as Melina returns as a face.
With all the Candice hubbub going on, it’s easy to forget that Beth Phoenix is actually the Women’s Champion. Her new photoshoot, “Queen of Glam”, may help refresh your memories, because in my opinion, she looks positively golden! Of all of the variations on her ring attire, this might be my favorite. That, paired with a matching headband and a wavy mass of hair makes this a look that is Glamazon enough to fit her persona, but beautiful enough to make for a fantastic photoshoot.
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Stratusphere is the brand new travel series from former Women’s Champion and legendary Diva, Trish Stratus. With kind permission of Tracy from 100% Stratusfied, we’ll be bringing you full episodes each week right here at Diva Dirt. Be sure to check out 100% Stratusfied for more Trish goodness!
In the second episode of Stratusphere, Trish jets off to Vietnam! Watch the full episode below:
We’ve already had a great response to our casting call for a new blogger to join Diva Dirt. Like any good casting call, we have to put applicants through a rigorous audition process! So just like American Idol/The X Factor (delete as applicable), we’re going to have our candidates audition for the judges – you!
Auditionee number one is Steven, who was the first person to answer our casting call. Read Steven’s sample blog below and vote “yay” or “nay” on his blogging skills!
Well with the end of the year swiftly approaching, there’s no better time to rank our WWE Divas. While some divas have soared to new heights in 2008, others have plummeted faster than the 2008 VMA ratings. Here’s the roundup of who did and didn’t make the grade in 2008 (so far).
RAW
Mickie James – Raw’s Lil’ Firecracker
Early 2008 was a great time for Mickie James. She beat her nemesis, Beth Phoenix for Women’s Championship, was the top face on Raw, and possibly the most popular diva in the WWE. Fast Foward to the present: Mickie lost the title to the Glamazon, is lacking a solid character or feud, and is in danger of being pushed to the background by the returning Candice Michelle. Mickie could use a heel turn and a decent feud, (maybe a jealous rage against the overrated Candice?), if she’s to return to her former glory.
Grade: B+
More after the cut:
This Friday is not only payday for yours truly but it looks like there’s gonna be a great SmackDown Divas match too! Double yay! Spoilers below:
EDIT: Extra details added!
Brie Bella, Maria & Michelle McCool def. Maryse, Natalya & Victoria in a six Diva tag team match. Brie switched places with Nicole, who picked up the pinfall.
We’ve dreamed up yet another new feature for Diva Dirt – Project Diva! We’ll be taking a particular outfit a Diva or Knockout had worn and give our take on it. We’ll suggest improvements and – most importantly – locate it on the web so you can duplicate the look, if you so wish!
This week, we’re kicking off with the most stylish Diva in all the WWE! We were so enamored with Layla‘s look on Raw that we were inspired to find out where she purchased each piece – thus the birth of this feature. Take a look at the full outfit below:
So, what do we think? You know we’d have an opinion on the matter. ;)
Erin: I love the simplicity of the look. Layla, unlike maannnyyy other Divas, doesn’t have a penchant to over-accessorize – she’s not wearing statement earrings with a dozen bracelets and a heavy necklace. The tank-jeans-boots combo is sleek and sexy without showing too much. Layla shows that a Diva can dress rather casually without having her boobs spill out or looking like someone dumped a Claire’s store on her head. Frankly, I think she’s one of the few Divas with any real sense of style, and this look proves it.
Melanie: This is such a polished look from Layla, I always love her outfits and this is just another perfect example. When I saw her on Raw, I fell in love with her top so Erin and I did some googling which led us to create this here feature! Layla could wear a potato sack and still look hot, thankfully she isn’t wearing one though! Her outfits are always so simple and well accessorised, she proves that less is more.
To see where you can find Layla’s look online and find out how we’d alter Layla’s outfit to create a more “street style†look, follow the cut.
We are holding an open casting call (kinda), to find a potential blogger for Diva Dirt. Have you ever read our blogs and wished you could have a forum to write your own? Well Diva Dirt could be it! We’ve tried to find someone to join our team before and unfortunately, it’s never really worked out. Therefore we are not guaranteeing a position with the site, but if we get a response from the right type of person, we may offer you a job.
What do you have to do? Simply e-mail us a sample blog, showcasing your writing skills on anything Diva-related. Remember to be fun, witty and share your opinions, that’s what a blog is all about. You can e-mail your submissions to [email protected] and if we like what we see, you may be hearing from us.
Please note: Diva Dirt reserves the right to post your sample blogs on the homepage for our readers to read and we may even let you guys vote for who you think should join the team.
Good luck to everyone and we look forwarding to reading your sample blogs!
When I said I wanted to see more Victoria photoshoots, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Granted, this shoot, “Don’t Mess”, isn’t downright terrible, but I’m sure there’s better of her out there. The fishnet shirt and khaki pants combo brings me back to the late 90s, and that’s not a good thing. Also, I find it strange that Victoria often goes around in bra/bikini tops. Is it because she feels the need to offset her more muscular figure? I wish she wouldn’t, because it isn’t the most flattering look, no matter what kind of figure you have..
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This week on Raw: Beth Phoenix defeated Mickie James in a Women’s Championship rematch and it was revealed that she will now face Candice Michelle for the title at No Mercy. Elsewhere, Layla continued her storyline with Jamie Noble and William Regal. Plus some random appearances from Kelly Kelly!
Thoughts & Reactions
Last night on Raw, WWE showed a) That their Creative Team, between them, haven’t got a brain to share, as they lack logic to the extent where a two year old could poke holes through their booking and b) They fully displayed their bias for Candice Michelle.
Candice comes back one week and the very next week she has a title shot? WWE’s blatant favouritism was on show as they couldn’t even book a simple scenario to suggest that Candice deserves the title shot that she will be receiving at No Mercy. How hard is it to kayfabe, have Candice come out and attack Beth after her match with Mickie James, with the announcers putting over that Candice wants revenge? How hard would it have been to have a #1 Contender’s match between Mickie and Candice with the winner facing the Women’s Champion, Beth Phoenix? Apparently, a match with Candice is a far bigger prize than the title belt, as WWE so gratiously offered the winner of Beth vs Mickie such a “reward.” There is no logic to this booking at all.
Since Candice has come back, in no way have WWE pushed a feud with Beth and it aggravates me to no end, the pathetic booking we see from WWE when it comes to the Divas. This is not a feud. This is just Candice vs Beth, they are not promoting this feud one tiny bit. If they wanted to promote a feud they’d have Candice act all riled up and out for revenge, attacking Beth and really putting this over. But last week, in an unspectacular fashion, they have Candice come out and pin Beth right off the bat. How about booking this so that when the eventual match does happen, it means something? This match means nothing at this point. Considering Candice is WWE’s golden girl, I honestly thought for the first time in a long time, WWE would actually book a half decent feud for Candice’s comeback against Beth. The booking for this match at No Mercy is so far, non-existent. There may as well be no history between Beth and Candice, because that’s the way this thing is being booked. If WWE can’t fucking be bothered to show interest in their own work, why should we care? Honestly, I don’t care. I rolled my eyes through this entire match. The booking is lame, we have no investment in seeing this match because WWE has offered us none.
The match itself, this has to be one of the worst matches Beth and Mickie have put on together. The whole thing was pretty sloppy and awkward to watch. There were some spots that were fun, but on the whole, I think these two have produced better work. This coming from me, who has never really enjoyed the singles matches between Beth and Mickie. I don’t think I have much more to say about this match, we’ve seen it far too many times this past year.
As for the staredown between Beth and Candice, is this WWE’s idea of booking a feud? Coz let me tell you, it was not effective at all. I just felt like, “Move along…” waiting for the camera to cut to backstage or something. Speculate as you will, but I certainly lol’d that Candice didn’t have a match this week on live television. I particularly loved how Candice got her own special director’s chair, yet Layla has to make do for a shitty chair next to The King.
Nice segue there, because we’re moving onto Layla now. And finally, here’s some booking that was exciting – well it wouldn’t take much to top the Divas match. Last month or so, it was teased that William Regal and Layla may be hooking up. On the August 4th edition of Raw, I think Regal was about to say to Layla: “Every King needs a Queen…” when he was interrupted by Jamie Noble. The thought of Queen Layla certainly appealed to me at the time so hopefully, after Layla walked off with Regal last night – it just might happen!
Oh also, Kelly Kelly appeared in one or two useless segments, including one with Mike Adamle as he explained to her why he replaced Punk in the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. Why would Kelly give a flying fuck? If I was Kelly, I’d be like, “I don’t care. What I want to know is why Candice got a title shot over me when I beat Beth in a singles match and I’ve been working like a bitch for the past two months.” Because let’s face it, Kelly has worked really, really hard since joining Raw and she does have a victory over Beth. Even if she gets a title match on Raw and loses, who cares? The fact is, she deserves it. I love how they try to compensate for pushing Kelly to the back of the division by having her appear in shitty segments.
Tonight on Raw it was revealed that Candice Michelle would face the winner of a Women’s Championship match between Beth Phoenix and Mickie James at No Mercy. Beth beat Mickie, meaning it’ll be Beth vs Candice for the title at the pay per view on October 5th.
It was at No Mercy one year ago, that Beth defeated Candice to capture her first Women’s Championship. How do you feel about this development? Sound off in the comments!
Like “Terminator” to “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, Screen Sirens is transitioning from the big screen to the small screen! With the summer now over, we have no more female protagonists to analyse so we’ve decided to honour the launch of the 2008-2009 television season! Every September marks the launch of a new season in TV, with all our favourite shows coming back for new seasons and new shows starting too! In Small Screen Sirens, we will be finding out which female characters from our favourite shows would be a good fit for the Divas and Knockouts you see covered here at Diva Dirt.
Last week, “Gossip Girl” returned to our screens for it’s sophomore season. This is the show that has had teens and fans online hooked with it’s use of old school teen drama (such as those depicted in Beverly Hills, 90210, The O.C. so forth) but bringing it into the new age with use of technology such as blogging! The whole world fell in love with our Upper East Siders including vixens Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf!
Torrie Wilson may have nothing nice to say about her former husband, Billy Kidman, but one of her best friends does. Candice Michelle has praised Billy Kidman, who is currently a trainer in WWE’s developmental territory, for working with her to get her ring-ready for her return. This blog just comes days after Torrie blasted Kidman in an audio interview, in which she said:
I have absolutely nothing nice to say about that individual. His views on morals are very different from mine.
In Candice’s blog today, she writes:
The day that the doctor released me to train, I let WWE know … and that day, not the next week or month, I had travel in place to train at FCW! I had the privilege of training at Steve Keirn’s school with amazing agents and talent! I owe a huge thanks to Billy Kidman, who came early for me, stayed late, and even came in on his day off because I wanted to get as much training in as I could!
Awkward. I don’t know what I can say lol. Candice also seems aware of the furore she caused on the Internet last week with her comeback match:
That night when I returned may not have been my perfect match, but I did make my presence known! A good friend gave me some advice. She said, “I have to walk before I can run!” As much as I want to sprint right now, I realize time will get me there!
You can check out the rest of Candice’s essay blog by clicking here. If anything, she seems genuinely excited and enthusiastic about returning and wrestling.
The first ever Divas Championship match at Unforgiven – and the first ever Divas Championship title defence – is in the books. The All American Girl, Michelle McCool retained her title against the French-Canadian hottie who just happened to dress like Iron Man, Maryse. What’s the verdict? I’d say it was positive. In SmackDown’s second pay per view outing, the stars aligned for our Divas at Unforgiven, making up for the lack of time and excitement at Great American Bash when Michelle first won her title by defeating Natalya. This time around, the two Divas involved really worked it out, using their surroundings well to make a fun match up, plus they were afforded more time than the Divas are usually given on pay per view. The result was a good match from the SmackDown blondes – if a lot sloppy at times.
All in all, I think the work was strong, there was a lot of movement and a lot of story told in this match with Maryse going after Michelle’s leg and such. Neither Michelle or Maryse are at Mickie James or Beth Phoenix level so I definitely expected some sloppiness, but I think these two overcame the odds and by the time the final bell rang, they delivered a good match. The action was fast paced which I did not expect from these two, they both showed a lot of athleticism and I think it’s a true testament to how SmackDown has developed. Anyone who reads my Raw or SmackDown Redux, knows that I think it’s great when the Divas go on the outside and get a little rough and this was Raw calibre right here. Given they are not the most experienced Divas on the roster, I think it was great that they took the risk and Maryse throwing Michelle over the barricade and then Michelle clotheslining Maryse jumping off the barricade. I don’t think I’ve seen the Divas really do that, sure they brawl on the outside and stuff but this took it to the next level.
The second half of the match told more of a story, which I appreciated, with Maryse working on Michelle’s knee and her more on the offensive. We’re used to see Michelle dominating matches, so it was a nice change of pace and we got to see some great work from Maryse. I knew from the outset that Michelle would win, but I feel both Divas got some equal time to show off their moves and even though Maryse lost, she got to work it out. As I was talking about in the live blog last night, seems as though Michelle has changed her “Wings of Love” from an Awesome Kong “Implant Buster” to a simple front suplex, it doesn’t look as good or as effective.
It could have used a little more crowd injection, I don’t think they were into the match. I have a feeling because not as many people watch SmackDown as Raw, maybe the audience isn’t as familiar with the SmackDown Divas? Or maybe they just straight up don’t like what they saw? But in all, I enjoyed the match and the work from both Divas.
Watch the match & see the photos after the cut:
Another podcast! Check out my initial thoughts on last night’s Unforgiven match between Michelle McCool and Maryse as well as thoughts on Stacy Keibler on Samurai Girl, Mickie James on Psych and Gail Kim‘s future! Listen below!
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Run Time: 07:04
PS: One thing I forgot to mention in the podcast is thanks to everyone who took part in last night’s live blog! Even though it did turn into a Unforgiven/VMAs live blog =P
Tonight at Unforgiven, Michelle McCool defends her Divas Championship for the very first time against Maryse. It’ll be a SmackDown affair to remember. Who’ll come out on top? We’ll be live blogging throughout the show tonight live, so join us at 7:45pm Eastern (12:45am UK) for that! But now read our predictions on tonight’s outcome:
Erin: They may be pushing Maryse pretty hard rather suddenly, but I still feel that Michelle McCool is their golden girl. She hasn’t had the opportunity to properly defend her title, so it would be silly to take it off of her before she truly was able to prove her worth as Champ. If they really want to push Maryse, they’ll keep her in an extended feud with Michelle, and that would be best achieved by having her lose tonight and continue to improve and eventually meet Michelle on a level playing field. Building up this feud would benefils, t both giras this would legitimize Michelle as Champion and give Maryse a chance to develop into SmackDown’s top heel. Both sides, I feel, would benefit the most from Michelle walking out tonight still Divas Champion. I have a sneaking suspicion that the WWE feels the same way and will likely go that route.
Melanie: I definitely see Michelle coming out on top, I don’t think she’ll lose her title in her first defence and I’m all for her winning to be honest. While Maryse has definitely improved and come so far, I think it’s far too soon for her to be the champion. Maryse could definitely continue to improve and become “title worthy” in the next couple of months, if and when she wins the title, I want her to have truly deserved it. Sure she’s come a long way, but I feel if she wins tonight, WWE will have rushed into it. Maryse could really strengthen her character and her in-ring skills and in a month or two, she could really be worthy of the title. Plus as mentioned earlier, this is Michelle’s first title defence and I don’t see her losing the title. I also want to see the Michelle-Natalya rivalry revisited so I’d have this by an easy win and have her go back to feuding with Natalya and perhaps drop the title to the third-generation Diva. In conclusion, Michelle goes over.
The Perfect 10 returns! The premise is simple: We will rank the ten Divas or Knockouts who we think have had the best week of television, similar to WWE.com’s Power 25. Who will make the grade and who will fall short? It’s all new and exclusive only at Diva Dirt!
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 1ST – SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2008
10. Layla (New Entry)
A brand new entry kicks off this week’s Perfect 10. Layla returned to Raw after a three week absence and boy did she look fine! Jamie Noble finally won over the 2006 Diva Search winner on Raw after weeks of Layla playing hot and cold. Layla likes what she sees and we like what we saw!
Erin: She may not be wrestling, but it’s still pretty interesting to see Layla involved in a storyline. This is a bit different from the norm, and the female has control of the relationship (I don’t consider Beth to be in sole control of hers, BTW), so there’s really no telling where this could go. Hopefully she can interject herself in some Diva matches soon, but for now, this is fine – the Women’s division is pretty crowded as it is.
Melanie: Nice to see Layla back on Raw after her time away to deal with her mother’s passing. Anyhoo, it was cool that they didn’t drop this storyline completely and we had Layla continuing her storyline with Jamie Noble.
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09. Victoria (New Entry)
Former Women’s Champion, Victoria may be on a two week losing streak but she’s a winner in our books. Victoria has plotted out two impressive matches with Brie Bella in as many weeks. Plus, anyone who adds their own commentary to their match, especially someone as naturally funny as Victoria, wins cool points with us.
Erin: I did call her a jobber a few days ago, but to be honest, she does it better than anyone else. She puts over her opponent so selflessly it’s ridiculous. I’d love for her to actually get a few wins once in a while, but she more than serves her purpose – to put over the younger wrestlers. She can carry them if need be, and with how vocal she is in the ring, it’s almost as if she’s doing 90% of the work sometimes.
Melanie: Victoria made the list because she works like no other Diva. Even though she’s on a losing streak, she is fantastic at what she does and has done a great, great job with Brie Bella recently.
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08. Michelle McCool (Last Week: #9)
Sure, Michelle didn’t have a match this week but she certainly made an impact on Maryse. The two blondes of SmackDown will collide for the Divas Championship at Unforgiven. Michelle showed her opponent that she was up for the challenge.
Erin: She didn’t do much of anything this week, so there’s not much to say. However, I’m really glad she’ll finally get the chance to defend her title. We’ll see what she’s made of, I guess..
Melanie: Michelle may not have wrestled on SmackDown, but we did get her put over her match for Unforgiven.
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07. Mickie James (New Entry)
Mickie James is a new entry at #7 this week, after her team picked up the victory on Raw. However, of the three Divas on the team, Mickie polls first… where will her partners come?
Erin: I hope she won’t be pushed to the backburner with Candice’s return, but that seems to be the case. This match showed that she can be an entertaining worker and fire up the crowd, but she’s still pretty bland as a face. Heel turn, perhaps? There are a billion and a half heels on Raw, I know, but a girl can dream, right?
Melanie: Mickie gave a great performance on Raw, one of her most enthusiastic matches in quite some time.
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06. Awesome Kong (Last Week: #6)
Kong continues to reign at #6 for the second straight week after one hell of a brawl on Impact. The monster left more than a few marks on ODB and someone better check on Roxxi, after she suffered an Awesome Bomb on a steel chair.
Erin: That’s what she’s best at – decimating. If she continues to do that week in and week out (and at this rate, she probably will), she’ll be on this list for a longgggg time. ODB might knock her down a few pegs, but I don’t see her losing her “monster” reputation for a long time, if ever.
Melanie: Kong is always a delight to watch and even if she doesn’t have a match, she always manages to make an impact.
Introducing yet another new feature to Diva Dirt – Hit or Miss?! We’ll be examining the week’s news bits and deeming them hits or misses. These won’t be storyline-based – we won’t be judging by a character’s progression. Instead, we’ll be looking at the real-life drama. For instance, did a Diva develop some backstage heat? That’s a miss. What about a Knockout match receiving the highest ratings of the show? That’s a hit. I’ll rate each story by stars (out of 5) – more stars for a hit, less for a miss. Got it? Let’s dive in..
Story #1: Candice makes like Superman and “Returns”.
Candice Michelle made her long-awated return to the ring on this past Monday’s RAW, 
getting the win for her team and getting one-up on Beth Phoenix. However, her in-ring performance was highly debated amongst fans. The ending was even edited to cut out multiple botches. So, was it sloppy work or simply a case of ring rust?
Rating:
Hit or Miss?: 2 stars makes it a MISS. Yes, she was returning after a year away. Yes, she has every excuse to be a little rusty. However, if you saw the unedited footage, you can tell that it was pretty damn sloppy, and there’s no excuse for that kind of work. We can debate the reason for this until the cows come home, but the bottom line was that she wasn’t ready to wrestle on live TV. The WWE should have given her more time to wrestle at house shows to work off the ring rust. Is that her fault? No, but one would think she’d have prepared herself better for her big return. I’m just hoping she’ll put on a much better performance this coming Monday – after all, this one will be live, and that means no editing!
Story #2: Maria gets all cam-whore for the Fan Nation.
Maria added a few photos to her WWE Fan Nation 
profile, and the results were nothing more than a few vain pictures that harkens to a 13-year-old girl’s MySpace page. We got the “digitized” photo, the black-and-white hoodie photos, the trout pout, and the “flatttering angle” photos. All in all, it shows that even a WWE Diva has too much time on her hands every now and then. (See the original post.)
Rating:
Hit or Miss?: 1/2 a star makes it a MISS. Really, all this shows is that either Maria has the mentality of your everyday camera whore (meaning they take a billion photos of themselves, not meaning they’re stripping or anything) or she had a serious lapse in judgment. Honestly, looking sexy in photos you obviously took of yourself is best left in high school. Maria, clearly, is long graduated – but is she really? I’m just glad to see that her famous trout-pout is her own move, not the photo director’s. Now I can aim my hate solely on her for unleashing such a horrid facial expression onto WWE.com and beyond.
This week on SmackDown: the #1 Contender for the Divas Championship, Maryse was on a high roll on her way to Unforgiven with a win over Maria. Following the match, Maryse and the champ herself, Michelle McCool had an almighty staredown at the top of the rampway. Next up, Brie Bella once again scored an impressive victory over Victoria… or did she?
Thoughts & Reactions
Did not see it coming. What am I referring to? The match between Maryse and Maria on SmackDown last night. Given the two Divas involved, I wasn’t expecting a match of this calibre – okay it wasn’t exactly Beth Phoenix vs Melina, but honestly, I thought Maryse and Maria delivered a very good match on Friday’s show. I didn’t have high hopes for this match, neither of these two Divas is that great in the ring, despite Maryse really improving – she is still not of the calibre of Michelle or Natalya but the two girls really carried this match well. As to be expected, there was some awkwardness but I honestly think both Divas gave a valiant effort and this match really exceeded my expectations.
I liked that, first of all, we got to see these two Divas who were less experienced than our veterans go on the outside and really make it work. It’s nice to see both Maria and Maryse willing to take bumps and take risks on the outside of the ring, it added a nice feel to the match too. Some of you think that I seem to hate Maria, but I don’t, she’s usually just not very good in the ring. Who knew that she’d really pull it out of the bag in a match with Maryse of all people? Her hurricanrana, in my estimation, was exactly spot on. Great work, honestly, I’ve seen the veteran Mickie James pull off some bad hurricanranas and she’s a four time Women’s Champion. This is the first time I’ve seen Maria do it and it was perfection. It looks like Maryse watched Brie Bella’s match last week and took some tips, she tried to make her moves look more interesting by finding fun ways to execute them. As for her DDT at the end, I love the way she executes it, that hair flip thing looks hot and her DDT is executed perfectly. Again to make a contrast, half the time Lita‘s DDTs looked pretty sloppy but Maryse’s was nice and neat.
I loved the staredown between Michelle and Maryse and I’m genuinely excited for their match on pay per view tomorrow night, it could be pretty good. Then again I did say that about Michelle vs Natalya at the Great American Bash and that match was a letdown.
Oh I nearly forgot to mention that backstage promo between Maryse and Maria before the match. Lol, “You seem in the hurry”, says our Maryse. “You’re not going in the ring wearing this, don’t you?” Honestly, I’m not trying to make fun of Maryse, in fact, I find her little mess-ups to be really cute. Obviously, not having English as her first language is a barrier for Maryse, but I thought these little mistakes were really endearing and made me go “aww.” As for Maria’s promo skills, I have to say you wouldn’t be able to tell she’s a face. Now that she’s ditched the ditzy character, in her promos she comes across really bratty and bitchy.
Anyhoo, we got even more Divas action this week and after their great match last week, I really doubted if Brie and Victoria could pull off a match of the same calibre. I’m sad to report that it wasn’t as good last week but it was still good. Victoria controlled the match much more this week, so we didn’t really get to see Brie’s impressive moveset but I felt the match really built up Brie as the underdog rising star and I appreciated the work from both Divas. I noticed this week, the announcers are dropping hints to the switcheroo business as though we’re slowly but surely uncovering the truth that Brie is switching places with Nicole. JR’s commentary certainly insinuated so, I just want this to be a slow burner. I don’t want the reveal to happen too soon because I think there’s a lot of life in this storyline that could carry on for a good few months. Again in this match, we had less experienced newbie taking risks by jumping off the ring apron onto Victoria on the outside.
Honestly, both the matches this week were a great watch and miles ahead of the six Diva tag on Raw. These SmackDown girls are really working it out!
Take it from me, Torrie Wilson is one of the nicest, sweetest people out there so imagine my shock when I read what Torrie had to say about her former husband, Billy Kidman in an audio interview with “The Interactive Interview”. In a game of word association Torrie said the following on her partner of 6 years:
I have absolutely nothing nice to say about that individual. His views on morals are very different from mine.
Torrie has never been one to talk about her relationships in public, so I was first shocked that she touched upon the subject and double-shocked to read the above. In the two years since their divorce, Torrie has kept schtum on what led to her divorce but from this statement, one has to wonder what happened to turn this sweetheart to utter such bitter words.
