Welcome, Diva fans to another Superstars Redux! This week, we were treated to a match between Alicia Fox and Layla. This is a singles pairing that, despite the Divas’ shared years in the WWE, we haven’t seen too often.
Watch the match below:
The Divas get the fans hyped up before starting the match and then tie up in the middle of the ring, Alicia backing Layla up into the ropes. She gets scolded a bit by the referee before Layla turns the tables, using her legs to choke Fox against the ropes. Once she’s done with that, Layla sweeps Alicia’s legs out from under her, sending her to the mat face first.
Once back in the ring Layla maintains control of the match, hitting Alicia with a drop kick and a drop toe hold before smacking her butt for good measure. And then… the video freezes on a great shot of Alicia, whose face seems to be saying, “Did she really just do that?” Yes Alicia, she did.
Alicia soon finds herself on the apron, and Layla sneaks up on her, hitting her with a butt bump when she turns around. Fox soon gets some revenge, dropkicking Layla off the apron and causing the Diva to hit her head pretty hard on the way down. She doesn’t want this match to end in a count out, though, because she hurries to toss Layla back into the ring, going for a pin attempt that ends in a two count.
She tries again, because that has definitely worked sometime, somewhere. Layla, of course, kicks out. Alicia keeps on the attack, eventually choking Layla against the ropes with a long leg hitched up to increase the pressure. She breaks the hold at the referee’s request… and then does it again. Oh Alicia, the Magic Eight Ball definitely told you to be a heel today!
She goes for the pin, but Layla kicks out. The fans start to get behind Layla as Alicia applies a headscissors. She holds Layla in it for some time, eventually releasing the hold to clothesline Layla and send her into the corner. Layla dodges a charging Fox, causing her to catch her foot above the top rope. Layla moves quickly, taking advantage of Alicia’s prone position to roll her up into a pin attempt. Alicia kicks out.
Layla comes at her again, turning an arm drag into a sudden pin, which Alicia narrowly kicks out of. She slams Alicia to the mat thrice before hitting her with the LOL. She goes for the pin, but Alicia kicks out yet again. Layla comes charging at her off the ropes, but Alicia turns her momentum against her, spinning her into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
Layla ducks a scissors kick but can’t dodge a kick to the stomach, doubling over and getting into a power struggle with Alicia. She wins out, though, eventually kicking Alicia in the head and earning the coveted three count.
Thoughts: It wasn’t a very long or interesting match, but I liked it for the fact that we saw two Divas go head to head that we haven’t seen paired up a billion times. In that way, it felt fresh. Though their chemistry leaves a lot to be desired, I think the combination of their styles has the potential to create interesting encounters. This bout didn’t take full advantage of that, though you can blame that partially on the lack of time they were given – a scant six minutes, which on a show like WWE Superstars feels way too rushed.
Given certain developments set to take place in the very near future (spoiler alert!), I’d like to see how this match would play out in a few weeks’ time. Just sayin’.
