So this week on WWE television we were treated to a double dose of Lay-Cool (Layla and Michelle McCool for those of you who are new to WWE wrestling…) as the former co-Diva Champions appear on Raw and their home show, SmackDown. On Raw, we were privy to their innermost thoughts as they joined the team of Jerry “The King” Lawler, Josh Matthews, and CM (God) Punk for commentary. Post Natalya/Melina match, Lay-Cool treated the champ to a beatdown. Typical Lay-Cool, eh? Well on SmackDown, Natalya made sure the same fate didn’t await her as she took on Layla in a singles match. The hot Canadian Diva brought a partner down to the ring with her.
Beth Phoenix, the Glamazon. Lets take a look at what went down.
Lay-Cool head to the ring first and can I just break kayfabe here for one second and say, my damn Michelle looks fierce tonight?! At times, she truly does put other women to shame. But anyway, Lay-Cool are walking to the ring and up on the Titan Tron a video package highlighting what went down between Lay-Cool and Natalya at the conclusion of Monday’s match against Melina started to play. Lay-Cool were quite proud of their actions and Layla even started to stroke her imaginary beard as the girls got settled inside the ring. Natalya’s music hits and the WWE Diva’s Champion makes her way onto the stage. She pauses and smiles (while she wears my favorite outfit of hers) and she looks down at the ring. That smile gets even brighter when Natalya’s music fades and the Glamazon’s music hits. Beth walks out and joins Natalya, much to the chagrin of Lay-Cool, and both blonde beauties walk down to the ring.
Before the bell rings, Layla kicks us off with… a kick. She locks Natalya in a side headlock, but Nattie bats her off, tosses her into the ropes, and divas down onto the ground. Layla comes firing back from the other side, Natalya leaps over her, and Layla comes off the ropes again. She armdrags Natalya down, flips over her, and goes for a quick cover. Natalya turns it around into a pinning attempt benefiting her but Layla is able to slide out of it. Both Divas hop to their feet and Layla clocks Natalya with a forearm to the jaw. She tries to whip her into the corner, but Nattie isn’t having it. She turns Layla around and scoops her up for her squat/powerslam combination. Layla hits the mat hard and grips her lower back in pain. Natalya goes for a cover but she only gets a two count.
After that, Layla rolls out to the ring where Michelle starts to console her. The referee holds Natalya back from going after them, and Layla tries to collect her bearings. Natalya sneaks out of the ring from the other side and brutally shoves Michelle down to the floor. Layla gets back inside the ring, but Natalya is able to catch her ankle. She loses her grip and Layla uses to the ropes to kick Natalya right off the apron. She lands right in front of Michelle, but Michelle backs off as Beth inserts herself into the picture. They exchange words but Beth goes to checking on Natalya while the referee starts the ten count. Natalya rolls back into the ring where Layla is waiting, but the savvy champ is able to pick up the first ever British-born Women’s Champion and power her into the corner. Nattie backs up and charges Layla, but Layla is able to get her foot up just in time. It catches the champ right on the jaw and she goes staggering back.
Natalya shakes it off and Layla comes flying out of the corner. Both girls catch one another with a clothesline and both end up flat on their backs. Layla rebounds first and sends Natalya crashing into the ropes. Layla looks to capitalize but Nattie is able to reverse it and lock Layla into the Sharpshooter. Michelle grips her bestie’s hand but Nattie uses her strength to drag Michelle into the ring as well. Beth comes in from the other side and jerks Michelle out of the ring. She hits the ground with a sickening thud and Layla is forced to tap out to the Sharpshooter. Natalya celebrates her victory with Beth, and Lay-Cool have officially been put in their place.
At least for this week!
Random Observations: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Layla and Natalya’s chemistry is off the charts. They work so well together it gives me chills. I love each and every time they’re in the ring together and tonight was no exception. The match was a bit on the short side, but so much action was crammed in it and done so well I find it hard to complain about anything to be honest. The match started off hot. The interaction at the beginning was VINTAGE Nattie/Layla. They always have such strong chain wrestling between them. You can tell they’re both very comfortable in there with one another and Nattie is just so good at what she does. With matches like these, Layla is only going to get better and to me, that’s a frightening thought because she’s pretty damn good as it is.
One thing I truly enjoyed about this match is that the offense and defense was pretty even. Each woman gave just as good as she got. If there is one thing I hate, it’s a one-sided, virtual squash match. No one deserves that. All these people put their bodies on the line and everyone deserves a chance to have a good showing in whatever match it is that they wrestle. I especially love Diva matches that tell both sides of a story. Natalya and Layla looked like equals tonight and no, that doesn’t suggest that I feel both are on the same level. Come on now. But when it comes down to it, Natalya and Layla make each other better. Nattie has wrestled her best against Layla thus far in the WWE. I’m not the biggest fan of her matches with Michelle and she while she clicks with Alicia Fox, Layla is her best opponent. Not sure what it is, but it certainly has me gushing like a fan girl.
Lets see, what else did I really like? Hmmm. Oh! The bumps Michelle took on the outside were awesome. She always goes down so hard and it always makes such a sickening thud. I love it. Beth and Nattie as a team… love it more. Want to see this tag team thing continue to develop and eventually implode.
But more on that in the next Southern Belle Smack! Until next week!
