Forgive me if I sounded like I’d just gotten high on sugar in this week’s RAW Redux, the truth is… I was high. High on Divas! I ain’t gonna lie – I marked out during RAW. Twice. I know that makes me sad and means I don’t have a life but if last night’s RAW was anything to go by, this summer for the WWE Divas is going to be just sizzling! And it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Gossip Girl wrapped it’s first season last night and I think I’ve just found my new guilty pleasures – RAW and SmackDown! Namely, the Divas. Is the WWE women’s division heading for another boom period? It looks that way and I certainly hope so!
Over the last few years, WWE has really lost sight of the women’s division and then we were dealt further blows – the loss of Trish Stratus and Lita. WWE tried to compensate with “hot” girls in bikinis, in pillowfights, rather than emphasising that these Divas are athletes, are wrestlers. Since WrestleMania 24, SmackDown! has captured some of that competetive edge with it’s developing women’s division – the feud between Natalya and Michelle McCool continues to grow and is making SmackDown! must watch television for many of us. Finally shrugging off the dreaded BunnyMania and Playboy angle, RAW too, it seems is jumping on the bandwagon! The feud between between Beth Phoenix, Melina and Mickie James has had me hooked to RAW over the past couple of weeks. Will Melina turn face? How many more ways can Beth inflict such pain? Melina and Beth have really rejuvenated my love for RAW, I had gotten real tired, real quick of seeing Mickie as the only credible face Diva on RAW. I had gotten really tired of seeing Ashley and Maria wrestle. The Melina-Beth feud interests me because they both started out as heels, I admit I’m partial to Melina – I think that’s she’s one of the best personalities the women’s division has introduced in the past few years. She really understands the whole psyche of wrestling: having the look, the persona/character, the in-ring skills; she is a well rounded package. Her counterparts like Beth and Mickie lack in persona/character, while the likes of Ashley and Maria lack in wrestling skills. Anyway, this feud is fresh, interesting – it’s not just about “Oh, she’s jealous”, “Oh, she dissed me” and throwing them into the ring with no storyline to it. They are creating a storyline and not just throwing the match together one week before a pay per view as is the case regularly.
Meanwhile, this past week on RAW, it seems WWE officially introduced Katie Lea to the women’s division as an adversary to Mickie James. I look at Katie and I see a girl with so much potential, who has the opportunity to make a big impact on the women’s division and I’m glad that WWE is seeing that too. I can’t wait to see her wrestle, I can’t wait to see her involved with the Divas and from the looks of it, I can’t wait to see Katie vs Mickie James. RAW went off the air in a very good state of affairs Divas wise, this past week.
We have more Divas feuds than ever (whether they be in development or ongoing) even the “lesser feuds” such as the never-ending Kelly Kelly–Layla feud is gaining traction, with both Divas stepping up their game in the ring last night on ECW. And SmackDown!, as well as their key feud between Michelle and Natalya, is utilising Cherry and Maryse too.
It seems across the board, the Divas are headed in the right direction and it could just be a matter of time before we see another boom period for the women’s division. A women’s division that thrives on wrestling, competition and above all else – non-generic storylines.
