Hey everyone! Erin’s here, filling in for Jack again. Someone stop me before I write this whole Redux in the third person. On this week’s WWE Superstars, we’ve got a Total Divas collision as Natalya takes on Naomi. As they’re both babyfaces, this match seems set up to be good-natured competition. But will it stay that way?
Watch the match below:
Natalya is out first, accompanied by rookie Diva and fellow Total Divas star Eva Marie, who just so happens to be making her debut in front of the WWE crowd. She looks a like nervous, so it’s nice to see Natalya offering a comforting hand.
The announcers then mention Natalya’s recent wedding to Tyson Kidd, so I guess the cat’s completely out of the bag. It’s only a matter of time before she has to break it off with Khali! Poor guy.
Naomi’s out next, accompanied by fellow Funkadactyl Cameron. It’s kind of strange to see Naomi in her gear when Cameron’s in a floor-length dress, but kind of cool too. We don’t often get to see Naomi as a singles competitor, so it’s a bit of a treat.
Naomi enters the ring by launching herself over the top rope, which it itself elicits awe from the announcers. She hands her pom poms over to Cameron, and we begin the match.
Both Divas hype up the crowd before starting this babyface-versus-babyface match, tying up to start things off. Natalya immediately takes control, tossing Naomi to the mat and locking her in a headlock. Naomi uses her legs to free herself, latching them around Natalya’s neck in a headscissors.
Natalya immediately gets out of it, and the match doesn’t slow down from there: the Divas exchange attempts to take control, Naomi eventually catching Natalya in a shoulder-twisting submission. Natalya gets to her feet and tries to whip Naomi into the ropes, but it’s reversed. Natalya gets the best of the situation, though, knocking Naomi to the mat on the return.
Natalya runs the ropes, but Naomi hits the splits to avoid her, finally taking her down with a butt bump. She goes for the pin, but only gets two.
When she tries to pull Natalya to her feet, she pays for it, because out of nowhere Natalya drops her to her back, prepping her for the Sharpshooter. Naomi wriggles free, though, and misses a blow, getting slammed stomach-first to the mat and locked into a front face-lock by Natalya.
Natalya then hoists Naomi up for a delayed suplex, hanging Naomi upside down for a few seconds before dropping her to the mat. Natalya playfully goes for the pin by sitting on Naomi’s chest. Naomi’s having none of this, pushing her off. Natalya’s back on the attack, though, wrapping herself around Naomi in an abdominal stretch. After a few moments, she ups the stakes by taking Naomi’s right leg and wrapping it back.
Naomi manages to battle back, tossing Natalya away with an arm drag. She dropkicks Natalya, sending the veteran Diva to the outside. As Eva Marie gets Natalya to her feet, Naomi extends a friendly hand (or is it?), opening the ropes for her. Natalya slowly gets back on the ring apron, giving Naomi a bit of a death stare. Man, if looks could kill..
The tension breaks when Natalya gets back in the ring, as the Divas exchange friendly smiles and square off again. They shake hands, but Naomi takes Natalya off-guard, rolling her into a pin attempt. Natalya kicks out, but Naomi keeps on the attack, hitting some lightning-fast offense on Natalya capped off with a hurricanrana. She goes for another pin attempt, but Natalya kicks out at two.
Naomi goes for another attack but Natalya slips out of her grip. However, when Natalya tries her own attack, Naomi wriggles free too. Naomi misses a kick and leaves her legs prone, and Natalya immediately locks her into the Sharpshooter. Naomi drags herself to the ropes, but Natalya pulls her back to the center of the ring. Naomi has no choice but to tap, and Natalya is awarded the victory.
Naomi is a good sport, though, hugging Natalya post-match and allowing Eva Marie to raise her hand alongside Natalya. Look at that–a happy ending!
Thoughts: This match left me conflicted: on one hand, I loved the chemistry between Natalya and Naomi; on the other hand, it was too short! In a sense, it was a tease, because it showed us the kind of show-stopping match these two could put on at the Pay-Per-View level. Naomi is undoubtedly a star, and Natalya is always great. Their styles complimented each other perfectly.
The match was also helped by the babyface-versus-babyface dynamic, which allowed for the match to have a fun feel with a dash of tension when things seemed to get too personal. It will probably play off great if they show bits of it on Total Divas, giving non-wrestling fans a great example of what Divas can do though Natalya’s technical prowess and Naomi’s eye-popping athleticism. It also shows that Divas can have matches built on good-natured competition, not just catty hatred.
I’d pay a pretty penny to see these two face off in a full-on feud. Naomi’s energetic move set lends itself to a babyface persona, so perhaps Natalya could be the heel. Then again, a good girl-versus-good girl feud has its own intriguing possibilities. The bottom line is this: this match showed the kind of greatness the WWE could put on display, if they choose to tap into it.
