Hello fellow Diva Fans and welcome to another edition of the SmackDown Redux! This week, Divas Champion Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella in tow) goes head to head with fellow Total Diva Alicia Fox in a non-title match just days removed from her title defense against AJ Lee at TLC. Speaking of AJ, the Diva of the Year joins the commentary team once again to scout her opponent. Can Nikki prove her worth going into TLC or will the Foxy One knock her down a few pegs? Check out (part of) the match below:
Out first are the Bellas, and after a commercial break Alicia and AJ have made their way out to the ring as well. The official signals for the bell and our match is underway! The Divas lock up and Nikki quickly gets the upperhand with a side headlock. Alicia manages to fight her way out of the hold and nails the champ in the face with an impressive dropkick to the face, followed by a leapfrog into a deep armdrag, locking in a submision of her own. Nikki fights out as well, and launches Alicia across the ring with a monkey flip, but Alicia lands on her feet and takes refuge in the corner. Nikki comes charging at Alicia, and Alicia evades with a split on the top rope, but eats a slap to the face and goes crashing to the floor.
Nikki waits for Alicia to roll back and goes on the attack again, leveling her with a snap suplex for a nearfall, before locking in a submission hold. Alicia makes her way back to a vertical base, only to be sent crashing to the canvas yet again, and nails a arm trap body slam for another nearfall. After a bit of taunting, Nikki goes back to a submission hold, but this time Alicia counters with a unique armdrag variation, before launching a flurry of offense, including a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and her signature Northern Lights Suplex for a two count.
Nikki brings Alicia’s momentum to a screeching halt with a facebreaker over the knee, but Alicia sends her crashing into the turnbuckle face-first. Alicia tries to finish Nikki off with a big boot, but Nikki dodges it and blasts her in the face with a huge forearm, followed by the Rack Attack to pick up the win.
Post-match, Nikki sends a message to her opponent at TLC by nailing Alicia with another Rack Attack (Damn AJ… You could have ACTED like you wanted to help, at the very least), ending the segment.
Elsewhere, we saw the continuation of The Miz‘s creeping on Naomi:
With MizDow in tow, Miz tells Naomi that she really needs to consider accepting his offer to further her music career. She says she’s not naive and knows that he’s only doing this to get into Jimmy Uso‘s head. Miz assures her that he really thinks she’s talented. He says he’s sticking his neck out for her.
Later, Naomi lashes out at Jimmy, accusing him of thinking she’s incapable of making her own decisions. Looks like she’ll be taking Miz up on his offer…
Thoughts: Bravo, ladies. In my opinion, a very solid match from these two ladies, and it made Nikki look super strong going into her title defense this Sunday. While I may not have always been the biggest supporter of The Bellas in the past, you’d have to be blind not to see how they have progressed over the years, especially in the case of Nikki.
That said, I can’t wait to see what AJ and Nikki bring to the table this Sunday. I felt kind of robbed after the last PPV, so I can’t wait to finally get the title match that the fans deserve.
That’s all for this week, you guys! Until next time… “You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone…”
