Welcome to another Superstars Redux! Yes, I’m as surprised as you are to see another Diva match on this chronically Diva-free show. The times, they are a-changing…
This week, we’ve got a bit of a combination of last week’s Superstars and Main Event matches. Though her win streak didn’t extend past one victory, Summer Rae is determined to start it up again, facing the unpredictable Alicia Fox, who really could use a win of her own. Is it Summer time or Alicia time? Let’s find out:
Summer takes the microphone, mockingly asking Alicia how the Diva Revolution is going. She says when everyone was concerned with “picking teams”, she was creating real change for women in the WWE. If the fans don’t remember that, she’ll remind them by beating Alicia, a “crazy little tutu-wearing Beyonce/Bella wannabe.”
The bell sounds, and Summer’s on the attack immediately, kicking Alicia in the midsection and twisting her arm. She takes her down with a fireman’s carry and continues the assault on her arm with an armbar. Alicia flips backwards and fights free before sending Summer into the ropes. Her first two attacks are ducked by Summer, but the third – a handstand into a headscissors takedown – lands.
Summer slips out of the ring for a moment, regrouping. Alicia yells for Summer and stomps around the ring. When Summer reenters the ring, Alicia takes her down for a pin attempt. Summer kicks out. Alicia sends Summer into the ropes, but Summer takes back control with a kick and a facebuster, covering Alicia for the pin and earning a near fall.
Summer kicks Alicia square in the back and then chokes her against the middle rope. When Alicia backs into a corner, Summer chokes her there with her boot and then takes her down with a mounted front facelock flipped into a pinning position. Alicia kicks out. Summer mounts Alicia for a headlock, thwarting her attempt to grab the ropes for a rope break. When Alicia gets to her feet, Summer slams her to the mat. When she tries to tosses her into the corner, though, Alicia turns the tables, tossing her there instead. Though her charging attack misses, Alicia still lands a series of offensive attacks. She caps it off with a Northern Lights suplex, bridging it into a pin attempt. Summer kicks out.
Summer backs into the corner, drawing Alicia into a failed attack and striking with a spinning heel kick. She goes for the pin, but Alicia kicks out. Alicia stumbles to her feet and fends off Summer, hitting a sunset flip in the corner into a pint attempt. Summer reverses it, though, grabbing the ropes for leverage and stealing a win.
Thoughts: I was bummed to see Alicia play the babyface here, though I suppose it’s par for the course, given how, with Team Bella, she was constantly switching alignments. It just sucks to see her have to tone down her “crazy” antics, since they played so well on last week’s Superstars in her match against Natalya. You saw a bit of them here when Summer left the ring, but I would have loved to see more, especially against Summer, who next to Alicia is probably the least-composed Diva on the roster. It would have been hilarious, and wouldn’t have required Alicia to be fully heel. The fans will cheer if she’s going all “crazy” against a heel and flustering said heel.
It’s great to see Summer back in the division, though. She’s definitely got a unique role to play – cowardly heel whose gracefulness is offset by her completely lack of composure – and her picking up the win here allows her to weave her “comeback” into a narrative. Sure, she lost to Paige last week, but if, judging by the announcers’ reaction to her win here, she’s starting a streak of stolen wins, there’s something to go on there. Her pre-match promos this week and last week prove that she’s got an over-inflated ego, inventing things that never happened to suit her vision of herself. I’d like to see it evolve beyond that, with her pathological lying becoming something that both gets her into trouble and brings her unforeseen opportunities, being the card she plays every time, to wildly varying success. It would shape her into a heel the crowd would be entertained by, being outraged by her unearned advancements and amused by her massive failures.
The match itself was short and largely unmemorable, but I’m hoping if this streak of Superstars and Main Event matches continues, we’ll start seeing longer, more complex matches soon. For now, I’m content with seeing these underserved Divas get a bit of character development, even if it is on a C-show. It still counts in my book!
