This week on SmackDown: Layla and Michelle McCool put on another great match before the crowd as Natalya watched on from the ramp.
Thoughts & Reactions
After a lackluster Raw, SmackDown was on fine form this week and I thoroughly enjoyed the match between Layla and Michelle McCool. The duo have had, I believe, three matches alone this year on SmackDown and each has been better than the last. This time the Divas got more ring time than their last encounter and thus, were afforded the chance to be more creative. It’s a rare to see the WWE Divas take the action outside of the ring, but we had a cool spot with Layla and Michelle doing just that, battling on the outside which added to the match. Michelle hitting the ring apron face first was nicely done too.
This match wasn’t the usual “job to Michelle”, in fact Layla controlled most of the match as the aggressor and looked confident in her role. Sure, she’s still got a long way to go but she is definitely on the right track. These two Divas seem to have great in-ring chemistry and are a lot of fun to watch… I hope one day we see a real one-on-one feud between them.
Layla really made Michelle work for her victory and the end spot was again, well done and the addition of Natalya added some emphasis to the new Divas Championship. I think it’s pretty obvious Michelle will be the other title contender and I, for one, am looking forward to the match. Unfortunately, there has been no mention of the Divas Championship being decided at Night of Champions – this has been pure speculation by us fans. This has me worried! Hopefully, the match will be announced on SmackDown next week or they could even announce it earlier in the week with Vickie Guerrero explaining her decision for Natalya’s challenger on WWE.com.
Individual Assessments
In this portion we will look at each of the Divas individually and the role they played, adding more thoughts yadda yadda:
Layla: Layla got her biggest break yet this week, as she led a match and did a pretty good job. She’s far more advanced than some of her Raw counterparts, though not perfect. I like what I’m seeing though.
Michelle McCool: I think we’re so used to seeing Michelle get easy victories, as she has done in recent months, that in this match she really worked for her victory. Is WWE foreshadowing a physical, gruelling match-up between Michelle and Natalya? If so, they did a good job showing Michelle having to work hard as no doubt, she has a tough challenge with the third generation Diva.
Natalya: There’s not much to say about Natalya’s SmackDown appearance, but it set up the eventual title match which is good.
Fashion Focus
The Good: Natalya looked hot this week, her dress was gorgeous.
The Bad: None.
The In-Between: Layla and Michelle.
Photos
Below, are digitals of the Divas match from SmackDown Copyright to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Video
Watch Layla vs Michelle below:
