Hey guys, welcome to another edition of the Raw Redux. I apologize in advance for this as it seems like I’m suffering flu-like symptoms. But I don’t want to miss another one unless it can’t be helped, and I’m not falling asleep yet. So let’s get started. The 20th anniversary of Raw is well underway and we were hit with a heck of a rumor earlier today. Eve Torres could very well be on her way out? If that’s the case, then I think we can safely assume that Kaitlyn may end up as Divas Champ tonight, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They’ve already teased us with a segment featuring Eve, along with Booker T and Teddy Long.
It is announced that tonight’s match will be no count out and no DQ? Hmmmm. This just got a bit more interesting. What makes this so great is that we rarely, if ever get Diva matches like this. I hope it comes off well.
My hopes don’t get off to a good start with Kaitlyn already in the ring as we return from commercial. She’s playing to her home state with a Texas shirt. Cute. Luckily, the match itself doesn’t disappoint. The unique stipulation basically ensured us that we would get an actual match, and the ending doesn’t come as a surprise given the news we heard earlier. Before I get to that, I want to recap some spots.
The hit Kaitlyn took on the outside was really well done. I love it when Divas take bumps like that. Kaitlyn has come so far and she sold it really well, and I like the extra added bonus of Eve rushing into the ring with her back to Kaitlyn, not knowing that the Texas native wasn’t going to be down for long. Eve is such a great heel.
The spear was beautiful. It made me think of when Kelly Kelly defended the World Heavyweight Championship on SmackDown and had the crowd in the palm of her hand. They went for an “OMG” finish, playing on the fact Kaitlyn was in her own backyard, and it worked. Eve folded up like an accordion, and it was perfection. I also enjoyed Kaitlyn’s emotion after winning her first title.
Eve as this heel character deserves to be applauded as well. I wrote her off as a face, to be honest. Her title reigns were generic and kind of boring, and like all other faces, nothing about her stood out. But when they gave her this role, they struck gold. I can’t really put into words just how good Eve has become. She already had the skills, it doesn’t take rocket science to see that. Then she got great at the rest of it, and I hope and pray this really isn’t the end. We can only speculate and hope and pray that it isn’t over, and with the WWE you never really know until you know. You know?
And now we know. After the match, and as covered by us, Eve has quit the WWE in character of course.
So I take it tonight was a passing of the torch kind of thing. It’s kind of bittersweet and I’m very sad to see Eve go. She was the perfect spokeswoman for the WWE. She’s intelligent, hard-working, eloquent, and the epitome of class. The WWE had a gem in Eve, as she was perfect for marketing. The fiery Diva had a heck of a year last year, both personally and professionally, and perhaps she feels like it’s time to move on. Whatever her reasons for leavings, the WWE has lost yet another Diva, and this particular loss might be the one that hurts the most.
I do believe Kaitlyn has potential to fill that gap, however. She’s a very fresh face who is so natural, and I’ve been drawn to her since NXT. She literally came out of nowhere to win the contest over favorites AJ and Naomi, and Kaitlyn has had to pay her dues. She wasn’t given a lot to work with after winning NXT and she worked her butt off in FCW. I really feel like she’s the perfect face for the fans to relate too right now. And in a lot of ways, she’s just like AJ. Her personality is just random, and natural, and she’s charismatic without even trying. I think it was the right move to put the championship on her with heels like AJ floating around, and a WrestleMania feud between the two former BFFs could be something worth getting excited for.
There comes a time where we’ve all got to move on and whatever Eve does now, the sky is the limit for her. I wish her nothing but the best and I also hope we get to see her again one day.
