Last week’s episode of WWE Superstars gave us two solid Divas matches, one of them being one of the best Divas matches (in my opinion) so far this year. That match featured Gail Kim, and this week we’re treated to another Kim showing. This time, she’s taking on Alicia Fox:
The Divas start with a tie-up, and Alicia gains control, locking Gail into a side headlock. She quickly brings it to the mat, flipping Gail to the ground while keeping the hold locked. Alicia gets back to her feet and Gail fights free, but it stopped in her tracks when Alicia yanks her to the mat by her hair. Alicia goes for a pin and Gail kicks out rather quickly. She latches on another side headlock, but Gail soon pushes her against the ropes, shoving her across the ring and freeing herself. On the return, however, Alicia knocks her down with sheer momentum.
Alicia makes a move for the ropes, but Gail grabs a leg, stopping her short and causing her to land face-first on the mat. Gail quickly bridges over Alicia for a pin, but she kicks out. After a few blows dealt to Alicia, Gail goes for another pin, but the result is the same. Alicia manages to reverse an irish-whip from Gail, sending her into the corner. She eats boot when she tries to attack Gail, and is subsequently sent flying with a hurricanrana. Alicia, with her long legs, is sent all the way to the other side of the ring and is practically hanging out of it. Gail stops Alicia from mounting a return attack, keeping her against the ropes.
Alicia uses the ropes as a refuge for a moment, darting away from am attack by Gail but turning right into a body splash. She manages to catch Gail, though, and rams her into the corner. She suplexes Gail and bridges into a pin, getting a 2-count. Frustrated, she starts to play a little dirty with Gail, ramming her hair against the mat and grabbing some hair. She hits a body slam and takes a moment to pose a bit for the crowd, looking quite confident as she winks and sends out an air kiss.
Gail takes advantage of this self-distraction, battling back and going for a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Alicia manages to stop her momentum, though, and hoists Gail up, slamming her down into a backbreaker. This calls for another pin attempt, which draws a 2-count. Alicia send Gail vaulting into the corner with a rough irish-whip, and Gail slams into it and falls to the mat. She goes for another pin, garnering the same count. She props Gail up against her knee and pulls her head back by the chin. Gail battles back and goes for another headscissors, but only it results in another backbreaker. Gail looked like a damn pinwheel there!
Alicia goes for two separate pin attempts, getting the magical 2-count both times. Her frustration visible, Alicia sets up for her scissors kick, but Gail ducks out of the way, hitting a series of clotheslines. Her momentum is broken when Alicia reverses an irish-whip and clotheslines her. She plants a boot into her back and when she gets to her feet, whipping her into the corner. Gail again skirts out of the way of an attack, hitting a scoop slam the moment Alicia turns back around. She attempts a pin of her own, but Alicia kicks out at 2.
Gail nails Alicia in the corner, slipping through the ropes and climbign up the turnbuckle. Just as she gets her footing, though, Alicia jerks the ropes, causing her to land stomach-first into them. With Gail draped over the top rope, Alicia hits a scissors kick, brining Gail back to the mat and allowing Alicia to get the pin and the win.
This match, while not as great as Gail’s match with Jillian last week, was still very exciting. Alicia has a bit of a vindictive streak going, and I’d like to see her expand on that a bit more, perhaps being more relentless with various submissions and choke holds. Gail was as firey and exciting as always, though I feel she may need to start taking out certain moves and not perform them every single match. It gets repetitive, and you know Gail’s got the ability to do more than that “nail opponent in the corner and slip out of the ring” move in every match. Still, she’s got the ability to make every match seem fresh with how she breaks out moves seemingly out of nowhere.
Alicia and Gail compliment each other well, as Alicia is able to take Gail’s high-flying moves and sell them well by flailing her tall body around the ring. The two of them have drastically different body types, yet they utilize each other’s stature to pull off interesting moves–Gail with her ring-spanning hurricanrana and Alicia with her momentum-stealing backbreakers. I especially loved the scissors kick parallel to the ropes–it was a unique spin on Alicia’s signature move and gave the match an unexpected ending.
If given more time, I’m sure Gail and Alicia could build something great. I love that there’s a venue for these types of matches, and girls like Gail and Alicia (and Jillian last week) are getting a chance to show that while they may sit on the sidelines on Monday nights, they’re more than deserving of getting a slice of that spotlight.
