This week on RAW: We were treated to not one, but two feuds brewing before our very eyes! Melina continued to chase Beth Phoenix, while Katie Lea got her official introduction into the women’s division challenging Mickie James.
Thoughts & Reactions
Thank you WWE!!! Thank you the Gods above!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! What a fantastic night for the Divas… again! I’m beginning to think WWE actually likes women’s wrestling as much as we do! Last night’s RAW saw the brewing of not one, but two feuds and damn… these are two feuds I cannot wait to see culminate! I was not expecting what WWE dished out last night; I was expecting Melina to be dropped and Beth to go after Mickie and it certainly looked that way for a little while: when Melina came out to the announce table, my heart and my gut told me that we were going to get Beth Phoenix vs Mickie James. But damn, I have never in my entire life been more pleased to see Maria!!! Sure this match was short but you have to think about it in terms of development of storylines, this match developed the storyline between Beth Phoenix and Melina and it was fantastic stuff. WWE is telling a story, letting a feud unfold and that’s something they haven’t really done for the past couple of years. They just throw the Divas out in there in matches, no real bad blood or feud and say “Here’s your weekly three minute Diva match… eat it up, bitches” to us fans. But over the past few weeks, they have really stepped up their game and treated the Divas with the respect they deserve – getting a real storyline.
I absolutely loved the gutsy play by Melina, attacking Beth and then Beth laying her out. The pop Melina got as she ran through the ring and up the ramp left no doubt in my mind that the fans can and will accept Melina as a face! This was really well done and I think it will lead to a physical, brutal match-up (maybe a strap match?) at One Night Stand – a major step-up from a fucking pudding match last year. This segment was really well done and set up this feud nicely. I was expecting them to drop Melina and just revert back to Beth-Mickie but they really followed through and rather than just elevate two Divas to the top of the division (Beth and Mickie), they are actually elevating three, Melina included. Fantastic!
Given her big win at Judgment Day, I expected maybe a second match-up (Mickie vs Jillian?) or some appearance by Mickie because it would be ridiculous for her to not appear after her win the night before. But what we got was even better! I’ve been waiting anxiously to see Katie Lea become part of the women’s division and I think she just has! Say it with me – YAY!!!! This segment, again, was really well done and set up Katie as a heel nicely. The bitchy retorts… I lol’d! It’s hard to believe but WWE is actually using logic with the women’s division *enter chorus of gasps here* With Melina turning to the light (becoming a face), they’ve introduced Katie into the division to counteract that heel void left by her. Again, I cannot wait to see this feud and this match develop, I think this could be the feud of the summer. I hope they let it simmer and be a slow burner, because this is a match I want to see at SummerSlam.
RAW was quite the event this week for our Divas, I cannot wait to see where these two story arcs go next! I’m about 75% certain Beth and Melina will face off at One Night Stand, and hopefully we’ll have some continunation of the Katie-Mickie feud too. Again, this should be a slow burner, hopefully something like Katie taunting Mickie or coming out and scouting her during a match. Fabulous!
Individual Assessments
In this portion we will look at each of the Divas individually and the role they played, adding more thoughts yadda yadda:
Beth Phoenix: Beth once again came off as the uber-heel bitch. Strong and silent type on RAW, worked perfectly.
Katie Lea: Thank you God! Who else is panting with excitement at the thought of Katie vs Mickie?!
Maria: Maria, Maria… how the mighty fall. I think it’s time to move to SmackDown!
Melina: Melina is progressing day by day, she was awesome on RAW and the huge pop she got showed how much the fans are into this feud and that Melina can be a face!
Mickie James: Mickie looked pretty good on RAW, her acting on the other hand…
Fashion Focus
The Good: I have to say, I think Melina and Mickie looked pretty fierce.
The Bad: Shock horror… no bad reviews here!
The In-Between: Beth, Maria and Katie all looked as usual.
