Welcome one and all to the first SmackDown Redux of the new year! Kicking off 2014 for the Divas on the blue brand, Aksana squares off against Nikki Bella, after picking up an upset victory over Nikki in a tag match this past Monday on Raw. Can the Lithuanian pick up another win over Nikki or will the Total Diva secure her spot “on top of the world”? Check out the match below:
We kick off the match with Aksana already in the ring. Nikki is out next and our match is quickly underway. The ladies lock up and Nikki powers Aksana into the ropes, prompting a break. Aksana takes her eyes off of Nikki to taunt, and gets blasted with a forearm to the face. Nikki launches into a flurry of offense, ending with a vertical suplex for a two count.
Aksana rolls out of the ring for a breather, and Nikki pursues, but gets get arm smashed into the ringpost for her trouble. Aksana quickly goes to work on the injured arm, before powering Nikki down to the canvas with a sidewalk slam. As Nikki nurses her injury, Aksana slithered around the ring and nails her with a kick to that injured arm for a one count.
Without missing a beat, Aksana slaps a key lock on Nikki’s injured arm, doing some damage, before is able to fight out and get some offense in for another nearfall.
Aksana tries to mount a comeback by whipping Nikki into the corner, but Nikki evades and hits her torture rack backbreaker to pick up the win.
Thoughts: While it did absolutely nothing to advance any storylines or establish any new ones, I really enjoyed this match. Nikki and Aksana had some good chemistry, which I wasn’t expecting at all. Very good match from both Divas.
While I don’t mind a good exhibition match, I’d much rather WWE relegate those matches to Superstars and Main Event and save the main shows for progressing the storylines. Let’s hope we get some momentum going in the Divas title picture in this coming week on the main shows.
Well, that’s all for this week! Until next time!
