For the first time in over a month, the Divas are on WWE Main Event! Recent injuries have left the Divas bench not quite as deep as it was a few months ago, but Alicia Fox and Tamina Snuka are ready to square off in another battle of Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. Who will do their faction proud? Let’s see:
Alicia enters first, sans Brie Bella. Tamina is also flying solo, but is debuting new Team B.A.D. theme music in the process. I like it!
The bell rings, and the Divas circle. They tie up and Tamina shoves Alicia off. When she takes a swing at Alicia, Tamina misses and finds herself locked in a waistlock. She elbows herself free.
Alicia stumbles back to a corner but telegraphs Tamina’s charging attack, taking her down with a sunset flip. She goes for a pin, but Tamina kicks out. Alicia keeps on Tamina, but her Irish whip attempt is blocked, Tamina roughly tossing her into the ropes. Tamina takes control, headbutting Alicia.
Alicia ducks a blow from Tamina and runs the ropes, only to be taken down with a powerslam. She goes for the pin, but Alicia kicks out. She takes Alicia to the ropes, choking her for a few moments before tossing her back to the center of the ring. She toys with Alicia, shoving her knee into Alicia’s head before pulling her to her feet and delivering another vicious headbutt.
Tamina stands on Alicia’s head and hair, taunting the crowd. She locks in a chinlock, but Alicia quickly gets to her feet. Tamina lets go of the hold but keeps Alicia at bay, attacking her in the corner and sending her into the opposite one, nailing her with a running hip attack. Tamina pulls Alicia towards the middle of the ring and is taken down with a surprise pin attempt. Tamina kicks out.
Alicia maintains control with a series of dropkicks, but misses a big boot, Tamina grabbing her bodily and shoving her to the mat. Alicia backs into a corner and dodges a splash from Tamina, dropping low and pulling her into a schoolboy pin. She uses her entire body for leverage, and it’s enough to earn the three count!
Alicia doesn’t get much time to celebrate, as Tamina quickly gets to her feet and tosses her across the ring by her hair. Hit Team B.A.D.’s music!
Thoughts: Well, that was aggravatingly short. I would ask, “What’s the point?”, but I do see a lot of value in highlighting underused talent like Alicia and Tamina, especially in the context of a Team B.A.D./Team Bella feud. But, with neither having a teammate at ringside and this match lasting all of four minutes, this match feels like an empty gesture. It’s better than nothing, but it’s still not much. The action was pretty much forgettable, too, and Tamina’s post-match attack felt much more half-assed than one a tough-as-nails heel like her would deliver to someone who just “stole” a win from her.
The most exciting part of this match for me was hearing the new Team B.A.D. music for the first time. I didn’t bother watching the fan videos taken at live events, because I didn’t want my first impression of it to be based off of that. I really like it – it’s like a marriage of Naomi and Sasha Banks‘s themes. Mercifully, Tamina’s outdated theme is nowhere to be found. Hopefully this means the WWE is interested in pushing Team B.A.D. far, and not in a “female New Day” way, allowing them to find their own niche and run with it.
Team Bella, it seems, is just waiting for Nikki Bella to heal up, which could take some time. Unfortunately for Brie, that means jobbing to the moon and back. At least Alicia is picking up wins, though, even if they’re in four-minute matches on Main Event.
When these string of injuries – Nikki’s neck/back, Paige‘s concussion and Sasha’s knee – heal up, I’m hoping the WWE is able to refocus and use the Divas to their fullest. There’s only so much a “Diva Revolution” can do when all you get outside the Divas Title feud are inconsequential, blink-and-you-miss-it matches.
