Diva matches on WWE Superstars are a rarity. In fact, the last one took place all the way back in June. I suppose you could consider this the first Superstars appearance of the “Diva Revolution era”, which isn’t really saying much. If the Revolution was as effective as some would have us believe, the Divas would be wrestling on every bit of WWE programming. That’s not the case, obviously, but it’s never too late to change.
This week, Brie Bella takes on Naomi. Naomi already picked up a win on this week’s WWE Main Event. Can she make it two-for-two this week? Let’s watch:
As the Divas make their entrances, we see that Brie, of course, has Alicia Fox by her side. Naomi, however, is down one partner, having Tamina Snuka but no Sasha Banks in her corner.
Off the bell, they tie up, Brie taking control by claiming Naomi’s left arm. Naomi quickly fights back, flipping and reversing the hold. She delivers punishment to Brie’s left shoulder, slamming into it repeatedly. Brie finds the ropes and uses them to flip backwards and reverse control again, taking Naomi to the mat.
Brie locks in an armbar, but she doesn’t hold it for long, Naomi fighting her off. When Brie tries to battle back with kicks to the chest, Naomi catches her boot and takes her feet out from under her. Brie backs in to the corner and fends off Naomi’s attack with a back elbow. She climbs to the second rope, but distraction from Tamina allows Naomi to slip in and knock her off, sending her crashing to the mat.
Naomi goes for the pin, but Brie kicks out. Naomi follows Brie across the ring and stomps on her against the bottom rope. Brie grabs the bottom rope in attempt to prevent more damage, but Naomi simply grabs her by the legs and catapults her into it, throat-first. Naomi pulls Brie away from the ropes and makes another pin attempt, but Brie again kicks out.
Naomi locks in a headlock, but Brie quickly gets to her feet, fighting her off. After a bit of a struggle, Brie knocks Naomi off her feet, but Naomi responds with a spinning body attack, flattening Brie. Another pin attempt, another kickout by Brie. Naomi goes for a headlock again, but soon decides against it, kicking Brie in the back. Brie gets to her feet and starts to get in some offense, but Naomi is quick to regain control, sending Brie face-first into the middle turnbuckle with a bulldog.
Naomi stomps on Brie and climbs the ropes, going for a split-legged moonsault. Brie rolls out of the way, though, leaving Naomi to crash on the mat. When they get to their feet, Brie starts battling back, hitting a series of clotheslines topped off by a missile dropkick. She starts to go for a running knee strike, but Tamina distract hers, and Naomi again look to take advantage of this, charging at Brie. Brie vaults her over the ropes, but Naomi lands on the apron and kicks her in the head.
Naomi leaps over the ropes and hits a sunset slip, but Brie rolls through it and is on the attack immediately, hitting Naomi square in the chest with repeated kicks. She then runs the ropes and hits a dropkick, which sends Naomi tumbling. She comes to rest against the bottom rope, setting herself up for Brie’s running knee strike. She hits it and pulls Naomi to the middle of the ring, going for a pin. Naomi kicks out.
When Brie tries to pull Naomi to her feet, Naomi fights back, sending her into the ropes. Brie hangs on to the ropes, though, avoiding being hit by the Rear View. She kicks Naomi in the stomach and hits the Bella Buster, earning the pin and the win.
Thoughts: This wasn’t the smoothest match, especially after seeing the chemistry Naomi and Alicia displayed on Main Event. I suppose Brie and Naomi’s styles just don’t mesh well, as the pacing was off and they never seemed to find a groove. The match was pretty short for a Superstars bout, but I appreciate that they didn’t stretch it out with unnecessary rest holds. They kept the action moving, and that’s definitely a good thing in my book.
As I said in the Main Event Redux, there could be a way to incorporate Brie and Alicia into the Team B.A.D./Natalya feud, since they’re pretty much playing babyfaces now. Any hope of a Survivor Series Kickoff match seems dead in the water at this point, but going forward, it would benefit the division greatly to make use of as many Divas as possible.
Hell, if NXT can put on three Divas matches in an hour long show, the WWE can use its seven hours of main roster programming (Raw, SmackDown, Main Event and Superstars) to showcase more than a handful of Divas. All it takes is a willingness to try, which is the root problem, I suspect. At least we know all the inspiration they need is on a show airing weekly on the WWE Network.
