What’s up Diva fans? Welcome to this week’s SmackDown Redux. Steven is busy making up the numbers as part of Aces & Eights over on Impact so I’m here this week to round up the blue brand’s proceedings. This week’s notable segments were a backstage segment featuring new Divas Champion Kaitlyn being congratulated by Alicia Fox and Layla and then our new bottle spinning champ faced off in a non-title match against Aksana. So without further ado, I bring you the blue!
We first go backstage and see our new Divas Champ talking to Little Muffin Layla and the fierce Floridian Alicia. Layla has a feel of the belt and has forgotten how heavy it was. If Layla has forgotten after just a few months, I dread to think of Alicia’s memory! Alicia tells Kaitlyn that she could “totally kick out two pairs of shoes” with the belt and frankly, I have no idea what that even means so I’ll skip past that! Kaitlyn says she’s not really a shoes girl. Maybe she’s into handbags? Girls are into either one or the other, right? Alicia looks shocked at a fact she clearly would have known by now, but hey, maybe she couldn’t remember as she’s been too busy flopping from face to heel! Layla then stares and smiles at the Divas Title that is still in her grasp and then says a few goofy lines before giving it back.
SmackDown GM Booker T and his shadow Deputy Supervisor Teddy Long come along next and congratulatd Kaitlyn on her big win on Raw. Teddy mentions how he was especially happy as Kaitlyn’s win forced Eve Torres to quit WWE. Hey, maybe he’ll make a tag match to celebrate. After that, Kaitlyn slow-mo struts her way to the ring. She looks pretty stunning to me!
We’re in the ring now and adult movie music is blasting through the arena. Has Chyna returned? Oh no, it’s just Aksana, who is seductively warming up against the ring ropes after making her non-entrance. I wonder who’ll win this match? *Scratches head* DU DU DU DU DU DU ricochets in my ears and Kaitlyn makes her way to the ring. I remember when these two had a match way back on NXT and it’s amazing to see that Kaitlyn has evolved and has grasped that butterfly belt. Aksana, well, she’s still in the cocoon stage for me but I’m sure she’ll make a terrific moth someday! (Moths are heels, by the way.) We see a recap of the brilliant finish to the match on Raw and then the bell sounds.
The action begins with Aksana prodding Kaitlyn before the girls lock-up. The grappling continues to ensue until Kaitlyn applies a waistlock on Aksana and slams her down to the mat. The Hybrid Diva gives the Lithuanian Lovely a spank on the bum for good measure and Aksana lets out a little squeal. The NXT Season 3 winner then hits a suplex and goes for a victory but Aksana kicks out. Kaitlyn then tries to grab her foe by the hair but Aksana delivers a kick to our new Divas Champion’s head. Kaitlyn rolls to the apron and manages to punch Aksana but just as she’s trying to climb high, the infamous backstage attacker rams Kaitlyn right onto the floor face first – ouch!
The momentum has shifted and the Divo-Dropping Diva throws Kaitlyn back in the ring. Aksana gets a one-count before elbowing Kaitlyn in the shoulders and neck area. Aksana then applies a headlock (get your stopwatches running to see how long this will be) as Kaitlyn grimaces in either pain or the fact she could be locked in a four minute headlock! The crowd are thankfully showing genuine interest as the champ tries to make a comeback but that attempt is thwarted as Aksana wallops Kaitlyn back down. Aksana then applies a really awkward looking submission which doesn’t look in anyway painful but Kaitlyn is selling it like a trooper. Aksana then switches things up and does a wristlock before deciding to stop using pointless submission and just fight dirty.
Somewhere Joey Styles’ hyperbolic self is shouting “CATFIGHT” as the girls start scrapping. Referee Mike Chioda is wise enough to sidestep the action and avoid the clichéd ‘divas knock ref down and roll over him’ whilst Aksana shrugs off Kaitlyn. The ex-wife of Goldust then smacks Kaitlyn with a clothesline. Aksana then hits Kait with knees and blows in the corner and she is getting irate with WWE’s senior official. It seems as Aksana was arguing for a little too long as out of nowhere, Kaitlyn crashes into Aksana with a devastating spear and picks up a win, in the same way that she won the belt.
Thoughts: This match was very forgettable for me. Sadly, absolutely nothing stood out to me but there are some positives to take from it. Firstly, Kaitlyn was established as a dominant champion as she fought through all of the hurting to win the match. Secondly, the match solidified Kaitlyn’s use of the Spear and I am really glad that she has transitioned from the Gutbuster, which I wasn’t really a fan of. Kaitlyn bills herself as the Hybrid Diva and this move represents her brawn brutality perfectly.
In terms of Aksana, she is really not doing it for me. She was so good back in FCW but her offense here (perhaps due to the way the match was booked) was sloppy and unimaginative. Aksana needs to watch more tapes and take more lessons from Sara Del Rey, if you ask me.
Overall, not a bad episode of SmackDown. The girls got a backstage segment which is always good and other Divas such as AJ Lee, Natalya and Rosa Mendes all got some form of screen time, even if it wasn’t really worth noting. Kaitlyn is the new Divas Champion and she is looking sick with the belt. I, for one, am interested in seeing how she fares with the title. And with that, stay tuned, Jack will be back!
