Both the Divas Championship and Women’s Championship are on the line tonight. Who will make bank? The Diva Dirt team weigh in:
Divas Championship: Alicia Fox vs Eve Torres
Cryssi: This match is weird to me because honestly, it shouldn’t even be happening. Eve did nothing to deserve this title shot, and the reasoning behind the booking of this is just stupid. The only bright side to this is that it’s given us an unprecedented two diva matches on the same pay-per-view. That’s not happened since Night of Champions, when they’re REQUIRED to give us two diva matches. Alicia and Eve have proven that they don’t exactly equal magic in the ring. Eve is boring and needs to find a personality before she is given the belt again. As far as Alicia goes, it would be ridiculous for the WWE to take the title from her at this point because she’s actually bringing something to it that we haven’t seen since Maryse‘s first run with the thing. I beliEVE in Alicia Fox as Diva’s Champion and I’m counting on the WWE to do the right thing tonight and keep that championship on her. Get it done, Foxy.
David: Tonight’s “Money in the Bank” PPV is a big opportunity for the Raw Divas. Eve gets a rematch with Divas Champion Alicia Fox as mandated by AOL (“You’ve Got Mail!”) and I’m hopeful the WWE gives these girls enough time to showcase their in-ring talents. I have enjoyed watching both of them lately and, although I’m not sure I love the “Alicia injury” angle, I think there has been decent build for this match. With Maryse out of the title picture for the moment, this is an important opportunity for both girls to show that the next generation of Divas can be counted on under the bright lights. I expect Alicia Fox to retain the title in a match that hopefully ends with her monster axe kick (a move that deserves its own “don’t try this at home” PSA) and not a soft continuation of the “injured” champion storyline.
Erin: Alicia’s being painted as the cowardly heel as of late, and with this match Eve seems to be getting Alicia right where she wants her. But to me, for Eve to “get” Alicia so soon would be to run to the payoff way too quickly. In my opinion, Alicia’s still got plenty of steam in her title reign, despite the WWE booking her weakly, and there’s no real reason for Eve to win the title back so soon. Let Alicia Fox have some more fun with it.
Jennifer: This rematch has only had a week or so to percolate, so there wasn’t much time to build it up. It would’ve been better had they presented Eve as furious right off the bat with her loss, but instead the Raw after the Fatal 4-Way PPV had her dancing with the Great Khali after a short mixed tag. Doesn’t exactly scream, “I want my title back!” That said, I love the cocky attitude exhibited by Alicia since her title win. Her taunting Eve at every turn has been a nice touch. I’m going to say tonight Alicia Fox retains and hopefully moves on to a feud with Gail Kim over the belt.
Melanie: I’m excited to see what these two Divas can do in a singles match. Alicia, in the past few weeks, has really developed some character and given reason for Eve to come at her, so I hope they show that intensity. Alicia has weasled her way out of giving Eve a fair rematch before — they should play up the fact that there’s nowhere to hide for Alicia tonight, she has to defend the belt against Eve in a legit match. If they go that route, it could add some layers to this match. I hope Alicia will be the heel Divas Champ that Maryse wasn’t; let her have short matches and weasel her way out of matches on TV, but on pay per view she should wrestle and fight for her belt. I say Alicia retains.
As much as I would love to see Alicia or Gail pick up the belt, like Erin, I don’t think their inclusion in this match was to push them for the belt. To me, it’s still very much a two Diva affair: it’s going to be Eve or Maryse. I know Alicia has been in WWE’s good books of late after that awesome segment with Zack Ryder & Ashton Kutcher, so she could be a dark horse but I really think it’s between Eve and Maryse. My gut says Eve retains.
Steven: The longer this feud goes on, the more it reminds me of the Eve/Maryse feud. It’s being run into the ground and a new contender for the belt is desperately needed. I’m really digging Alicia as champ and I think it’d be foolish to take the title from her right. She needs to pick up some high profile wins as champion to solidify her status as top heel Diva. I expect Alicia Fox to pick up the win tonight and hopefully a new challenger will step up to the the plate. *coughGailcough*
Women’s Championship: Kelly Kelly vs Layla
Cryssi: Up until this past Friday night, the build to this match had been so, so, so much fun. Layla and Kelly have a history that spans pretty much their entire careers so their familiarity and chemistry with one another was making for some very entertaining segments. When you throw in Michelle and Tiffany you have a fun little story playing out on television. Kelly won on Smackdown, so by all intents and purposes, Layla should end up retaining tonight. BUT I don’t see that happening, at least not in a conventional way. Kelly no doubt pins Layla tonight but she will not become the Women’s Champion because right when the referee goes to hand a happy Kelly her title, Vickie Guerrero will show up and announce that since Lay-Cool are the CO-Women’s Champions, Kelly must now turn around and beat Michelle. Michelle will be waiting. Kelly will find herself locked in and put out with the Faith Breaker and Lay-Cool will retain their title(s).
David: I knew I would order this pay-per-view as soon as I heard Layla was defending her Women’s Championship. In Beth’s absence she has become my favorite personality and I’m really looking forward to her match with Kelly. Although I’m not a huge K2 fan, I have to admit she has shown improvement on Friday nights and she deserves this title shot. I can even see Kelly with a championship belt at some point in the future. But I hope it’s not tonight. The timing isn’t quite right. Taking the belt off of Lay-Cool now is short-sighted because they are the biggest stars in the division and far more interesting with people chasing them for the titles. I’m worried the WWE disagrees with me and will decide to hand over the title to their golden girl. Either way, I just hope Layla and Kelly get enough 1-on-1 time before this turns into a free-for-all with Michelle and Tiffany. In the end I’m picking Layla, but I might be thinking more with my heart than my head.
Erin: I just can’t see the WWE putting the belt around Kelly’s waist just yet. Sure, the crowds love her and the WWE seems to know that, but there just isn’t enough there to make a champion out of. Of course, the WWE could easily ignore that, but to crown Kelly champ would be to not only take the title off of Layla, but also Michelle. I’m not sure the WWE would be up for that just yet — Lay-Cool’s still got some juice in it, at least until this NXT season is over. Until then, I expect the WWE to keep pushing Lay-Cool as much as they can, and that means Layla retains.
Jennifer: Kelly has really been built up as a credible contender for the belt. She’s scored wins over both Michelle and Layla in singles bouts, and the fire she’s exhibited recently is a welcome change from her smiley demeanor. But I still believe she’s not ready to join the ranks of those who’ve held the Women’s Championship. She needs to expand her repertoire and continue to grow as an actual character. More promos, more depth is sorely needed for Kelly. I’m going with Layla to pull out the win, perhaps separating from Michelle at some point to establish herself as a solid champion.
Melanie: I really see a swerve coming here. For some reason, I just don’t see us getting two straight one-on-one matches tonight. I think this may be turned into a handicap match or there’ll be some swerve that sees Michelle get involved. This is Layla’s first title defense, she can’t lose the belt just yet… or rather, I hope she won’t. She needs a few months of being built up as champion before losing it, I say. I could see Kelly getting the upset but I’m going to go with my gut and say Layla retains.
Steven: I’d be lying if I said I was expecting great things from this match. While both have come a long way from their ECW days, I’m not sure if they can put on a match that is PPV-worthy. I fully expect the Lay-Cool BFF champ factor to play a large role in this match. I’m sure Tiffany will have Kelly’s back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Lay-Cool have some sort of arrangement with Vickie Guerrero due to their dual ownership of the title. In short, whether Kelly Kelly gets the pin or not at Money in the Bank, expect Layla to leave this PPV with gold around her waist.
Leave your predictions in the comments.
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