Welcome to another Main Event Redux! This week, two tragically neglected Divas go head-to-head when Alicia Fox takes on Naomi.
Will their performance force the WWE to see the error of their ways? Probably not, but knowing these two Divas, it won’t be for lack of trying. Let’s see what they’ve got:
Alicia enters first, flanked by Brie Bella. Naomi has twice the backup, bringing Sasha Banks and Tamina Snuka along for the ride.
Alicia takes control off of the opening bell, taking Naomi to the mat with a side headlock. Naomi frees herself by latching on a headscissors, forcing Alicia to let go. Both Divas gets to their feet and circle one another. They tied up again, repeating the previous exchange but reversing the roles, Naomi taking Alicia to the mat and Alicia locking in the headscissors to break the hold.
When they face off again, Alicia take hold of Naomi’s arm, twisting it and sending her into the corner. Naomi vaults over Alicia and sends her flying with a monkeyflip, but Alicia lands on her feet! Alicia celebrates that feat, but turns right into an attack from Naomi. Naomi goes for the pin, but Alicia kicks out.
Naomi bends Alicia’s left arm and twists it, putting pressure on her shoulder. Alicia quickly gets to her feet and flips to claim control. Naomi quickly does the same, flipping forward and knocking Alicia into a seated position. She punctuates this with a kick straight to the face.
Naomi runs the ropes, starting off a chain of leaps and ducks that keep the Divas charging towards and away from each other. It all ends when Alicia finally gets hold of Naomi and plants her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. she goes for the pin, but it’s not enough.
Naomi immediately heads to the outside of the ring for a breather, Sasha and Tamina joining her. After a few moments, she climbs onto the ring apron and Alicia is on her, grabbing her by the hair. Naomi fights back, landing a kick to the side of the head. She then drapes Alicia over the middle rope and knees her in the face. Naomi reenters the ring and pins Alicia, but only earns a near fall.
Alicia sits up, only to be met with a swift kick to the back. Naomi grabs her by the head and send her into the corner, stomping on her repeatedly. Alicia crawls to the ropes, where Naomi chokes her against the bottom one. She then snapmares her to the center of the ring and locks in a headlock.
Alicia struggles and soon gets to her feet, fighting Naomi off and smoothly rolling backwards, catching Naomi’s head between her boots and hitting a headscissors takedown. Naomi stumbles to the corner, but when Alicia follows, she springs up, catching Alicia with her boots and pulling her into a butt shake to the face. She then kicks Alicia in the chest, sending her flying across the ring.
When Alicia gets to her feet, Naomi charges forward, taking her down effortlessly with a hurricanrana. Naomi goes for the pin again, but Alicia kicks out. Naomi follows Alicia across the ring, kicking her in the midsection and choking her with her boot. Alicia starts to fight back, but when she runs the ropes, Naomi does the same, and the Divas end up taking each other out with tandem takedowns.
Alicia gets to her feet first and strikes, hitting Naomi with two dropkicks. Naomi reverses a whip into the corner, but Alicia catches herself and takes Naomi down with a sunset flip. Naomi rolls through, but finds herself on the receiving end of the Foxy Buster. Alicia covers her for the pin, but it’s not enough.
Sasha springs up on the ring apron, distracting Alicia. Tamina does some distracting of her own, too. Brie climbs up on the opposite side, but can’t do much more than yell warnings at Alicia. Still, Naomi manages to sneak up behind her and rolls her into the Slaymission! Alicia taps out!
Thoughts: This was such a fun match. These two play off each other so well, their athleticism making for really cool spots and producing a level of energy you don’t often see in main roster Divas matches. Sometimes, Alicia and Naomi are derided for “sloppiness”, but if they were as sloppy as their critics would argue, this match would have been a mess. As it was, they were in sync, and it was a joy to see. I especially loved seeing the Slaymission again.
I can’t recall seeing Alicia and Naomi go one-on-one too often, but this should be happening a lot more often. Hell, it should have happened more often when the team warfare was still a thing. As enjoyable as this was, I can’t help but think it could have been even more so if there were actual stakes. A neutered Team Bella (no offense to Brie and Alicia, but without their figurehead they seem rudderless) versus a Team B.A.D. that is busy waging war against Natalya isn’t exactly impactful.
I know Team Bella’s face/heel status has been inconsistent over the past few months, but I’m not too bummed about them losing their uber heel status while they wait for Nikki to return. It does make me wonder, though, why they don’t have Brie and Alicia forming a temporary alliance with Natalya against Team B.A.D. That way, with some additional Divas added to the mix, we could have had a traditional Survivor Series Elimination match this Sunday. But, ya know, coulda, shoulda woulda…
