killeroflegends

I know I wrote about which Smackdown divas should turn face weeks ago. This is not an update or redo of that. I have just been seeing people make some comments about certain heel divas on Smackdown here and there, so why not take a minute to look over the heel army on Smackdown?

First, what could I possibly say that is bad about Vickie Guerrero. She may not be a wrestler, but many, not only myself, can see that she gets more heat than a lot of other heels, male or female. She also illustrates the idea that the fans like seeing heels get what they deserve. This week alone, Vickie got embarrassed on Raw by Santino and on Smackdown by Escobar. Humiliation was nothing new for her during her first WWE run. And she came back? She had to have known what she was getting herself involved in again. Give her credit for that. She seems to enjoy doing her role, and that is a great sign of a respectable pro wrestler, and I mean from the character aspect. She humiliates herself a lot of the time by how she acts. Now that things are over between her and Escobar, what will she do? Feuding with Teddy Long has been done before. Is there something more original for one of the best heels in the WWE today?

Where is Natalya now? I know I said this recently, but after her win against Mickie James, she is still just by the side of her two guys. Is Natalya herself getting anything to gain her lasting heat in the ring? Will she get a regular reaction anywhere outside of Canada? I am not saying the WWE needs to hand her a title now, like I see some fans saying. I am saying that she needs to get more time to put the attention really on her. Let her really get involved in these matches involving her two guys. Let me guess, the WWE does not want to push her better because of her weight? I am sure TNA would not mind using another Neidhart.

Beth Phoenix’s grand push is up in smoke already? What grand push? I am referring to her constant squash matches. Some people actually considered that a push in itself. I do not fully agree there. It was just to build her up for when a real push did come. That push was supposedly meant to be a face turn. She had backstage segments teasing wanting to come after the Women’s Championship. I have already explained how squash matches can be a tool to turn someone face. Some believe the squash matches ended because Beth was getting cheered, but the WWE was not yet ready to turn her face. That may be part of it, but it can also be that they figured it was a waste of time to have her squash people every week. You need to mix in dominance in the ring with signs of where her character will be going by using segments. They stopped the segments when they started having her squash people. And do not forget a few notes about that pop Beth was getting. Her first squash match on Smackdown was done not too far away from her hometown. She would have definitely had supporters that night, people she did not need to win over by doing anything at all. The reactions are also not always that magnificent in all the squash matches. She is being allowed to impress. No other point of her squash matches. When she pulls off her big power moves, that can get a response. But will that last on and after the closing seconds of the match? That good reaction cannot just last for impressive spots. It has to stay with you before and after the matches. Besides all that, what would happen when the squash matches had to end? What happens when Beth would have to show weakness and tone her offense back down? Would fans still have a lasting love for her? A lot of wrestlers have gotten over without a run of squash matches to get them a response first. In fact, it is sometimes the better matches that come after the squashes that really make or break a wrestler. Whatever happens to Beth, Smackdown still needs more faces.

I have actually seen some people say that Michelle McCool and Layla are great heels. They say that Smackdown’s diva matters would be boring without them. To me, that is like saying that no one would be running the United States if Barack Obama was never around to begin with. Not the case. If McCool and Layla were not around, the WWE would still be pushing another heel or two in a way to try to get them heat. These same fans would then automatically be saying that these other women are great heels. Just because you are pushed as a great heel, that does not make you a great heel automatically. John Cena is pushed as a top face, someone who is supposed to be liked, but does that automatically mean that all the fans fall for the facade? No. That is exactly what the WWE is trying to create around McCool and Layla. A facade. The WWE has done a lot to try to make McCool look like a strong heel. She picks on Mickie James. She attacks other heels. She leaves other heels to fend for themselves, like this week on Raw. That is not McCool’s own character doing that. That is what the WWE wants her and Layla to do. These two are often acting as plain bullies. Will that get them over as heels? Maybe. What decides? The fans. Will McCool and Layla get that reaction? Will they get half the heat Vickie Guerrero gets? Can they even muster a constant response like John Cena? Whether booed or cheered, at least he gets a response, although not always for the right reasons. Point is, Layla and McCool really are not at the level of great heels based on their characters alone. The WWE is carrying them. The fans are not giving them the response they need. The WWE can try to build you to be great, but that does not automatically make you great. That is what the WWE is doing with McCool and Layla. They are on the path of being built, being made to look like strong heels, but they are not there yet if no one cares at the end of the day. On the other side of the coin, it should not be too hard to realize that the WWE can try to break a wrestler to look weak, but that does not automatically shut out whether this wrestler is great or not. The fans out there are not easily fooled.

Very dry Smackdown for the divas. No matches at all. Michelle McCool and Layla, the two main heels in the main diva angle going on for Smackdown, got nothing. Beth Phoenix got nothing. A few assorted segments here and there.

First, although not a diva match, Cryme Tyme took on the Hart Dynasty. Natalya was at ringside doing her usual stuff. Will this “rivalry” ever end? I can hardly see this as a real feud. Why are they fighting? Because the WWE tells them to. Nice. The commentators made note of Natalya beating Mickie James a few weeks ago, but where exactly has that gotten her? I made this point before, they did not put enough attention on Natalya, so that win will not do much for her. When it does come time to push her again, they will still have to build her back up. Wasted momentum right now. Not that they were really planning anything different anyway. Cryme Tyme actually took the loss this week.

The big move for storylines involving women has to be the latest developments between Escobar and Vickie. Vickie managed to convince Teddy Long to give her man a shot at John Morrison’s Intercontinental Championship. Escobar lost. Vickie snapped and treated him like garbage. In another segment, Escobar turns the tables, humiliates Vickie once again, and seemingly ends the relationship. I cannot say I am surprised it ended. I am just surprised it ended so fast. How will this impact Vickie Guerrero’s involvement on Smackdown? I think they could have done a better job of leading up to this point, but it is obvious the WWE was not thinking about creativity as its chief goal. And you have to once again give it to Vickie for humiliating herself.

Speaking of humiliation, this marks one week since the Smackdown aired that featured a humiliating segment on Mickie James. I said last week that what happened to Mickie James did not have to be in vain if the WWE used it to propel this storyline to a greater level, and took Mickie James along for the ride. That did not happen at Survivor Series. That is fine, since they did not have much time to do much beyond take care of the match and passing out momentum there. Nothing happened on Raw. I can live with that. Let that be Melina’s night to look good, just so it means even more when Maryse attacks her. But tonight? Something should have happened tonight to really further that angle. Mickie James was used. She had a brief backstage segment where whe basically said she was not going to let McCool and Layla force her to quit. I do not like the direction this may be going. The WWE expected Mickie James to put over the fact that she is strong? Then why did they have her cry last week? I know the answer to that. It was meant to make Mickie look weak, give the heels the advantage going into the big match, and try to make McCool seem like a greater heel. But if they are going to come back the following week and have Mickie brush it all aside, they are having her contradict herself. They are not building her character for this storyline very well in one direction. This would not be the first time they did not treat Mickie’s character well. Maryse sprays her in the eyes, costing her a title shot. What does Mickie do the next week? She comes out all smiles to team with Santino Marella. And what does this mean for the current storyline? Does it drop down to a typical title feud now? Horrible. This is what I feared. That would mean Mickie James was humiliated last week just for the sake of being humiliated. Almost any attempt the WWE will make to have her seem like McCool’s promo meant nothing to her will fail. It is a contradiction. They created a humiliating promo for a reason. They expected Mickie James to show a certain emotion for a reason. Everything that has followed so far has been a disappointment. A creative drop. It is as if the WWE started something they knew would cause some kind of response or uproar, but folded from the pressure way too soon. They would never make it on the poker table.

Was this segment possibly only a paragraph in the same story I believe should be told? Is this strong front Mickie put forth just a thin layer of armour? Will the WWE use that to redouble the heel’s efforts to break her? That would not be too bad. Yes, this is a Mickie James fan talking about it being fine for Mickie to be treated badly, but in terms of the storyline anyway. In the end, it allows Mickie to show her character. In the end, if things play out right, the heels should get what they deserve. On that note, I liked that smile Mickie gave at the end of her interview. I do not want to be one of those fans who reads too much into body language of pro wrestlers, but it was somewhat fiendish in my eyes. Would it be nice if Mickie turned to getting revenge now? That is what I want to see. Not the Mickie James that shrugs things off, like the WWE is building her up to be constantly.

On a last note, there are many great possibilities the WWE could have had this week for this storyline. McCool, or Layla the sidekick, could have intervened in Mickie’s interview to keep the tension going. They could have tested how hard Mickie’s armour really is, if continuing the bullying of Mickie James is the direction they want to go. After Beth Phoenix attacked Mickie James at Survivor Series, a match between the two would have been logical for this week. Whether Mickie won or lost, the McCool and Layla could have easily been a part of that. What excuse do they have not to have a match? It is not like Mickie really got to wrestle in her match on Raw this week anyway. Attention could have shifted to McCool and Layla with another segment designed to hurt Mickie. You can probably come up with something else. Point is, the way they did choose to continue this storyline, it seems almost as if they are trying to bury what happened to Mickie’s character last week. They came too far to just shrug it off. Even if it does save Mickie’s character, it may ruin the storyline. Mickie looking stronger in the storyline would have saved her character a lot more than a segment of words backstage. 

To all who celebrate it, happy Thanksgiving!

The few who follow what I write here regularly may see that I sometimes may be contradicting myself when talking about Maryse. I seem to be anti-Maryse some of the time, but then I make it sound like her return is something great. The fact that I like to be sarcastic makes it even harder to tell what I really believe. To put it simply, I believe there are obvious pros and cons to having Maryse back. I just want to make those clear.

Why am I happy to see Maryse back? The Raw diva division has been a wasteland for creativity, properly building talent, and giving respectable and meaningful matches since Maryse left for her surgery a few months ago. That does not mean that none of the women left behind were capable of bringing what I felt was lacking. It does not imply that Maryse’s capabilities alone carry the division on Raw. The WWE just cared less when the diva they wish to make it huge was away. Why bother building any other talent too much when the real person you intend to have the solid spotlight will return shortly? Is that kind of treatment fair? Can you really blame Maryse entirely for what the WWE did? Fact is, the second Maryse returned, things changed for the better. I have been pointing out that Melina never got a chance to speak on Raw since the trade. On Raw this week, she finally did. And why? So Maryse could attack her. An actual feud is finally here again. Yes, it will be another title feud. However, it will be more personal and intriguing than any other “feud” for the Diva’s Championship since Maryse lost it. The build will involve more than just what happens in the confines of a match. It will be more than a match to find the top contender followed by the title match. It already has been more than that. The second Maryse returned, you could tell the WWE had something creative planned again. That is a sign of better treatment for the Raw divas.

What makes me still uncertain about the great hope Maryse will bring? How had she been performing since she returned from her previous injury? Not too great. Her matches were more about character than actual wrestling. Most fans do not care. Guys like that she is hot. Girls like that she is acting funny. And when she strips, like she was doing a little of this week on Raw, she may be getting the best reaction for a heel diva right now. But will the reaction last? That is what the WWE wants. How far will they be willing to go to get this woman over? You have seen some of the things they will try to get Michelle McCool heel heat. Back to the main problem, how will she perform in the ring? She has been working off the ring rust in recent weeks, but what does that mean? Does that mean she will be wrestling better than she ever has when she returns? Does it mean she will bring the same performance she did in between her two breaks from the WWE? Or does it mean she will botch horribly and severely during the first big spot she is really tested? If that happens, the WWE basically held off treating the Raw women properly for months so they can stall for another failed Trish Stratus to return.

I do not really want Maryse to fail. I may not be completely in love with her character, but I understand that some people like her. Her character does have potential. It is her wrestling that really needs  to be taken into another level. There is another reason I do not want her to fail. Will it cause the WWE to just go stale on their Raw divas  again? They already have enough reason not to have too much faith in it. Then they go and punish the trained wrestlers for bad matches with inexperienced models? That is one of the biggest problems the WWE has. Do they honestly think doing what the women do out there is easy? Anyone can do a chinlock. I can do a chinlock. I can do a bodyscissors. I can do a lot of basic wrestling holds. I have never had any wrestling training, or any fighting training, in my life, but I can still do it. But I cannot do risky counters Mickie James even attempts. Once Rosa Mendes masters a chinlock, she is ready to put on a solid performance with any diva? The WWE is punishing the wrong women. If you go to a garage dump to plant one flower to make the place seem more fresh and appealing, do you honestly think it is going to work? Garbage dump = The standard WWE diva division at times. Flower = One female wrestler that knows what she is doing, has the heart to push herself to entertain, and can bring results. One flower, or even a small number of them, cannot stand much of a chance in undoing the stench of the entire garbage dump. It becomes ridiculous to even waste time planting it there. The flower is left looking stupidly out of place. Does my comparison fail? Yes. In wrestling, the reputation and very safety of human beings is on the line. If a flower gets squashed, a person may not cry. If an inexperienced wrestler misses doing her part correctly in one spot, someone may get injured. There will be tears. Someone will be criticized. The WWE, however, just never seems to learn. Sorry for the tangent. Point is, if Maryse should really fail in the wrestling aspect this time, I seriously want to see the WWE change their strategy in treating these women. Maryse has not proven herself to be a flower surrounded by the garbage. She has proven herself to often be part of the garbage. She is not as bad as others, and does have redeemable qualities, but she has not helped the overall atmosphere. She has not brought a serious respect to wrestling action since her return earlier this year. She has not brought much of the crowd’s attention into her or her matches well enough. Crickets used to reign supreme when she would make her entrance. Will they be returning too?

This piece of news has no impact on any storylines or actual wrestling, but it is still worth mentioning. ECW’s ring announcer, Lauren Mayhew, is done with the WWE already. She came just last month. Gone so soon? Ironically, her stint in the WWE lasted longer than many diva angles that could have really been interesting. How about Gail Kim’s possible heel turn a few months ago? I can go into a long rant about the WWE hiring a woman to go out on television every week, getting some fans to become invested in her, and just let things slip away like that. I never cared about her myself, but I see that a few others are upset about this. I get more upset when the WWE lets good storylines and feuds slip away, but that is another issue. She was meant to replace Lilian Garcia. It went nowhere.

Some are talking about Rosa Mendes becoming ring announcer on ECW. The WWE has invested too much into her character to just try to use her as a regular ring announcer. She can work as a special ring announcer, such as in matches where she will play a role either in the action or a storyline revolving around the match. She has been used this way before. Nothing wrong with that. But for her to be a regular ring announcer, I do not see how they can still have her dress the way she does and act the way she sometimes does. I do not know if her voice has that tone to it to make her a great choice. To put it simply, I think she should stick to ECW storylines. If she keeps improving in the ring, she will have to be pushed as a wrestler again soon anyway.

It may be time for the WWE to find another “Lilian Garcia” for ECW, and later possibly Raw? No tears for Lauren either. She has her own things going on.

Raw is saved! All the Raw divas saw time tonight, as well as a few from Smackdown.

Natalya was out for DX vs. Hart Dynasty. She did nothing beyond bounce up and down and look frustrated after the inevitable loss.

Teddy Long got a backstage segment with Vickie Guerrero and Escobar. She once again was pushing the fact that she has power. Long wanted to smash some potatoes in her face, but Escobar saved her. How long will this Teddy/Vickie angle last this time? Will it end up the same way it did last time?

The rest of the Raw divas who were not in the match tonight were in a backstage segment with Santino. Gail Kim and Alicia Fox started out. Santino came in with a sexist promo. They pied him. The Bellas pied him. Eve pied him. Vickie tried to pie him, but he ended up slapping it back into her face. Good to see they are still treating Vickie as well as around the time she left the last time. As for the other women, all their characters are left as generic once again. None really had anything that stuck out for me. Then again, that was not their job. Their job was to be generic. It was Santino’s job to be funny. Pie in the face is also funny. However, and I have said it before, good charisma is not about the action, but how it is acted. In terms of that, nothing special from any of the divas involved in this segment, except Vickie. She seemed fiendish. She’s still got it.

And there was a match tonight. I know Thanksgiving is this week in the United States, but “Mayflower Melee”? Pilgrims vs. Indians? Stupid. The two sides even came out to music that is supposed to represent the two types of people. Special titantrons too. The heels, Michelle McCool, Jillian, and Layla, were not too happy about it. That is what was expected of them anyway. McCool gave a short promo against it. Smarks are going to love her for that, right? The faces were Melina, Mickie James, and Kelly Kelly. The Gobbledy Gooker was timekeeper, but that is the best thing of this match. I will get back to the giant turkey in a moment. If it needs to be said, the faces were dressed as American Indians. The heels were Pilgrims. The match saw only Jillian and Melina officially involved. McCool and Layla did nothing much beyond try to cheap shot Melina once, have it backfire, and then just leave Jillian alone. Solidarity between McCool and Layla right there. Mickie and Kelly got to do even less. Raw is famous for putting divas in costume matches and creating tag matches where most of the divas do nothing at all. Tonight was the first time they went there in a while, but they went there indeed. Without saying much about the exact match quality, it was a better exchange between Melina and Jillian than they have put forth in the last month. Melina gets the pin. Melina, Mickie James, and Kelly Kelly defeat Jillian, Michelle McCool, and Layla.

After the match, Lawler and the turkey got in the ring. Lawler wanted to interview Melina, so Mickie and Kelly leave. As Melina is saying how glad she is about things, the Gobbledy Gooker attacks her. Guess who? Maryse is back. She spent some time stripping out of the outfit. That actually got a good response from some of the fans. The hot blonde gets cheered just for stripping. She dumped the outfit on Melina. She was doing her infamous hand gesture through it all. I think this sends a clear message. She wants her title back. No surprise there. Giving Melina the momentum from last night and tonight were good to not make her look second-class for when Maryse returns and starts taking momentum at Melina’s expense, like tonight. I am actually glad Maryse is back. The second she returned the way she did, you could tell that real creativity was there for the women on Raw again. An actual feud is finally here. How will the wrestling be? We will see when Maryse gets in the ring. It actually hurts a bit that I was right. I threw around the idea here and there that the WWE put treating the Diva’s Championship scene with a bit more respect and creativity off until Maryse could return. How does she return? With a surprise attack on Melina to start a feud strong. It was an actual segment in a real feud. Emotion was there. It was what was really missing from the Raw divas since Maryse left. I do not blame the women themselves, but the WWE’s lack of faith. I wish Maryse the best of luck. I do not want to watch Raw every week just to be bored by the divas.

It is worth noting how this match was positioned between the two title matches. It was obviously meant as a cooling point. What’s new?

The match itself was not too bad. Since it was positioned where it was, I figured it would be rushed badly. For the first few minutes, it was. Layla, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Jillian, and Eve were all eliminated pretty quickly. Layla, Gail Kim, and Jillian never got to pin anyone. Just jobbers. Eve and Kelly Kelly got to pin the heel jobbers, which is a good sign for them. McCool pinned Gail Kim, which is the only elimination the Women’s Champion got. Beth Phoenix dominated for the heels. She eliminated both Eve and Kelly Kelly in quick succession. That is giving her a ton of momentum. Mickie James came in and managed to eliminate Beth, who then attacked her after. This makes Mickie the wounded face. However, Mickie James dominated for the faces, in terms of eliminations. She still managed to eliminate Alicia Fox. That left it two against one. Did I forget to mention Melina? She’s coming. McCool got to dominate Mickie. That heightened the moment when Mickie would tag out. Melina came out and cleaned up on McCool. After a brief exchange, Melina hits her finisher to eliminate McCool and win the match for Team Mickie. That was a good thing to do for Melina. McCool has mowed over her many times on Smackdown, Melina got pinned at Bragging Rights, and she has had bad luck on Raw for a while in her matches. The Diva’s Champion pins the Women’s Champion, and that gives her momentum for the coming return of Maryse. For Mickie James, she got to look very strong as well. She did not need to pin McCool tonight. That may have rushed the feud too fast. McCool looked strong in her interaction with Mickie, but could not beat her. Neither could Mickie beat McCool. What will happen when there is no Melina to tag in? What will happen when there is no Beth Phoenix or Alicia Fox to go through? As for the exact quality of the match, I enjoyed it overall. There may be a spot here or there you want to criticize, but considering Shawn Michaels almost slipped off the top rope in his match tonight, I see nothing in the diva match worth even mentioning. Team Mickie defeats Team McCool with Melina and Mickie James surviving.

Also worth noting, they did not tease any other angles in this match, such as friction between the members of either team. If Beth is going to turn face, they have not really started that exact storyline yet. Moreover, Mickie James remains undefeated at Survivor Series. She defeated Lita in a title match in 2006. She won the match for her team in 2007. She was on the winning team in 2008, despite elimination. And she is one of the survivors this year. After the humiliation they have put her through recently, I am glad she won here.

For the third Survivor Series in a row, there will be a huge tag match. Just like last year, it will be an elimination match. Team Mickie (Mickie James, Eve, Kelly Kelly, Melina, and Gail Kim) take on Team McCool (Michelle McCool, Jillian, Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Alicia Fox).

First, why this match? Some people may feel it should be Melina leading the faces against McCool. Three reasons why that is not the best option. One, you just had Team Melina vs. Team McCool at Bragging Rights. Two, you have a “Raw vs. Raw” team match in terms of Kofi and Orton (both from Raw) both being team captains, and you have a “Raw vs. Smackdown” team match in terms of Miz (Raw) captaining one team against Morrison (Smackdown) and his team. Raw gets its own elimination match. There is some Raw vs. Smackdown going on. Where is Smackdown vs. Smackdown? That is Team McCool vs. Team Mickie. Lastly, this match is personally between Mickie and McCool. That is why it had to be those two captaining the teams.

Who should win this match? Keep in mind that Mickie James has never lost a match at this event. She beat Lita in 2006. She led her team to victory in 2007. She was on the winning team in 2008. Also keep in mind that McCool has been on a huge roll. She has not lost a match in a while. She won at Bragging Rights. Will the heels win two pay-per-views in a row?

The heels, namely McCool, definitely have the momentum heading into the match. Mickie James may have won her match against Layla recently, but McCool still got the last word in. Mickie James cried at being humiliated, and that gives McCool the momentum. Had Mickie James just shrugged off McCool’s promo, that would leave Mickie looking strong heading into this match. She would have beaten Layla and brushed McCool aside easily. That begs the question, why waste time having the promo at all then? Just to show that McCool is an ineffective heel? That is the opposite of what the WWE wants for McCool. I know I am running away from the real focus of the pay-per-view match, but I will get back there. I saw that at least one fan criticized Mickie’s crying because she should be stronger than that after everything she has been through in the WWE. Really? Is it still real to you, dammit? If the WWE wants you to show a certain emotion, that is your job. If they want you to look weak, that is what you have to do. I hear a lot of people saying what Mickie’s character should be. They look at everything the WWE has had her do and try to make conclusions from that. Not a bad way to do things, but the WWE gives and takes. They may treat you well for a long time, but then have you be humiliated just like that. Mickie James was supposed to show emotion after that promo to make McCool look strong, not keep her own character as solid as stone. Honestly, it hurts to see Mickie James having to do that to make heels look strong, but I understand it. Is it fair to her character? As I pointed out before, it seems to be killing her image in the eyes of some. But keep in mind, there is a difference between how a pro wrestler should react, based on how her character has been developed so far, and how that person willreact, based on what the WWE expects from her. The WWE’s concern was building McCool’s heel status, and at the expense of Mickie James. Do not forget that Mickie James also cried after losing multiple times to Beth Phoenix in 2008. Again, not real. It was a storyline. People who want to say that Mickie James should know not to cry for losing, they should know that it was just a storyline. The WWE wanted her to look weak for the sake of making Beth look strong. Mickie James can show emotion, so she makes for a good target to go out there and do this kind of thing. Back to the topic, and sticking strictly to the storyline, Mickie’s tears once again hand the momentum to her foes. As usual, the side that has the momentum going into a big match usually ends up losing. That rule, however, has been broken before for the benefit of Michelle McCool, who mowed over Melina to win the title earlier this year. It has also been broken for the detriment of Mickie James, who has went into big matches looking weak and has still lost.

What would it mean for Mickie James to win? She gets a measure of revenge against Michelle McCool. She gets some big momentum in her coming title feud. After the humiliating promo, and expecting Mickie James to make herself look weaker by crying for the benefit of McCool, I feel they owe it to her to keep her undefeated streak at Survivor Series alive.

What would it mean for Michelle McCool to win? She basically shut out Mickie James. She humiliated Mickie James, talked big against her, and then wins the match. What reason would Mickie James have to come back from that? There are no other faces on Smackdown to provide her with a shoulder to lean on. Things would easily fall flat. McCool would remain undefeated for the longest while, outside of house shows of course. There would be no faces with momentum to challenge her. Is that when they push Beth Phoenix to turn her face by going after the title? Totally unfair to Mickie James.

I expect the match quality to be fine. There are not many matches on the card, so this match should be given some time. Aside from the big story of Mickie vs. McCool, it would be interesting to see if Beth Phoenix shows signs of turning face, Gail Kim shows signs of going heel, and see if any old rivalries get heated up. I am predicting the faces to win. McCool has been looking too strong. Mickie James has been humiliated a lot in the past few weeks. Poking fun at her for her weight and expecting her to cry for the sake of the feud and making McCool look strong as a heel are tools in themselves to bury her. But if she loses after all that in a pay-per-view she was undefeated in, she may as well be planning to retire from the WWE.

It just doesn’t feel like Smackdown without Beth Phoenix squashing jobbers, does it? Nevertheless, the show did go on to add a little more to the story between the two main divas involved in this Sunday’s match.

First, Vickie Guerrero had an interesting backstage segment with Teddy Long and Vince McMahon. Escobar was standing around too. I had a feeling he would not go too far. But it does seem the WWE has plans for Vickie. As Vickie is on her way up, Escobar has to be along for the ride. Vince named Vickie a consultant for Smackdown. That will not make Teddy Long too happy. How long before things turn back to what last year was like? Will Vickie run Smackdown again?

Moving on to the action, Mickie James once again faced Layla. She got a measure of payback for the humiliation from last week. The match was very short. It had to be so they can fit in the McCool promo after, and I will be ranting on that shortly. I do not want to overlook this match. Raw also featured a short match this week. It was a title match too. Speaking honestly, I enjoyed the short Smackdown match more than Raw’s title match. Mickie got to perform to show her anger towards Layla. Layla still managed to get the better of Mickie for a moment. Mickie pulled off a counter of her own and followed it up with a roll up to win. Short. However, it was a lot smoother than Raw’s match. Give Layla credit for being better than certain women Mickie has had to work with on Raw. Give Mickie credit for still knowing how to work even the small matches well. I am still glad she escaped Raw, despite what I am now going to talk about. Mickie James defeats Layla.

Layla lost to a roll up, so she still had her senses to grab the mic and direct Mickie’s attention to the screen. Michelle McCool did a farm promo, comparing Mickie James to a pig. Wow. I am going to approach this segment from two directions, and neither will be from the viewpoint of a blind Mickie James fan.

In terms of treating your most over face diva right, this segment was horrible. The WWE was pandering directly to those internet fans who bash Mickie James for her weight. I understand very well that some humiliation and controversy can be used to propel a wrestler’s career, but humiliating Mickie James for her weight is going a bit too far. This is something personal and beyond kayfabe (character world). In my opinion, it should stay there. When was the last time a face diva was humiliated like this? Face Lita, during her pregnancy angle with Kane, got humiliated. Thing is, that bit of humiliation was part of a huge push, which involved Lita going on to win the Women’s Championship in the main event of Raw, not to mention having her wedding with Kane take a very elaborate main event segment on Raw as well. It really helped build on her greatness. And most importantly, the pregnancy was not real. It was all a storyline. Making fun of Mickie’s weight? That is not a storyline. I fail to see how that will propel Mickie into the main event. It may only add more fuel to those internet fans who want to make fun of Mickie James. There will be a sign in the crowd calling Mickie a pig sooner or later. I can go on a tangent about how this treats women with similar body types to Mickie James, and what it says about beauty overall, but I am not going to. Why did the WWE do it? Most importantly, to get McCool heat. I said before that they do not want her to fail as a heel. What better way to get her heat than have her pick on the most over diva? Is that one of the reasons Mickie was sent to Smackdown? To be used as a tool to get McCool over? She arguably had a similar purpose on Raw with Maryse. In the end, was this all done to try to bury Mickie James? Are they trying to make her look unattractive? They say the WWE likes to humiliate talent who are on their way out. I will say no more.

I am now actually going to step out of everything I just said. Controversy is good. It gets people talking. People have definitely been talking about this thing, no matter the side they choose. I even fell for the trap of just ranting about it. Looking at the actual promo McCool gave, teenagers in high school could have done a better job of really humiliating someone. What made the segment work? Mickie’s emotion. She sold it to make it look like it hurt. She is the one that sent the message that mocking her weight does hurt. She showed weakness to try to make that segment work. You have to give her credit for going through that segment and having the ability to show the emotion to get people talking.

I looked at this thing from two ways, but it all boils down to what the WWE will do next. As I said, humiliation for even faces is nothing new. I do feel it has been a while since a face diva has been humiliated quite like Mickie has, but that is something I do not need to go into again. In most cases, when a face gets humiliated by a heel, that heel always gets it back in the end. Vince McMahon literally treated Trish Stratus like a dog a few years ago. Trish was at ringside shortly after when Vince got his head crammed into Rikishi’s backside. Moreover, Trish went on to become a great main-eventer through her interactions with The Rock and Vince. Humiliation was a small evil in the larger ocean of her success. Will Mickie get a creative revenge on McCool? Will she get all angry and brawl with her this Sunday? Will she win the title back? Sounds good to you? Not to me. That is all so simplistic. Mickie has enough reason to want to fight McCool just for the past few weeks of interactions. If she wins the Women’s Championship back at some pay-per-view down the road, or a midcard match on Smackdown, so what? She would have gotten it sooner or later without tonight’s promo humiliating her. If the point of this promo was to take the storyline to a higher level, Mickie James needs to get back at McCool. Eye for an eye. Once you build up a heel to be great, the fans would want to see that heel get humiliated. Heel Triple H has been humiliated before. Not only will McCool getting humiliated be entertaining for the audience, it would help Mickie’s character really shine. I have been comparing Mickie and Kofi Kingston a lot recently. On the Raw after Orton lost his title, he attacked Kofi. Did Kofi just get all mad, brawl with Orton later that night, and then toss his name into the title hunt? No. He messed up Orton’s car that same night. The heel gets it. I honestly believe Kofi Kingston arrived with that segment. If McCool wanted to make Mickie’s life hell, Mickie needs to turn the tables beyond just showing aggression against McCool in the confines of matches and eventually winning the title. If that is all that ends up happening, McCool’s promo on Mickie ends up just humiliating Mickie for the sake of humiliation. It basically ends up a tool to bury Mickie. And I doubt it will even succeed alone in making McCool that great of a heel. However, if all this does eventually lead to Mickie James in the main event, getting an entertaining revenge on McCool, or anything beyond the basic title push, it was a necessary evil to get to that point. If all it should accomplish is strengthen fan support and sympathy for Mickie James, what did the WWE really accomplish? She was already very over. Congratulations, WWE, all you accomplished was pandering to the internet. They’re not going to buy your overpriced pay-per-views anyway.

I know my main focus here is the women of wrestling, but let me swerve a bit over to shed a few tears for Jack Swagger. The guy has been growing on me for a while. He is still in the midst of a push, but it just seems that the WWE does not have a good creative vision for him. What’s new in midcard hell?

They had Swagger give the bold claim a few months ago that he would remain undefeated for the rest of the year. There was a lot of potential there. What happens? He gets pinned by Evan Bourne just last week. There are no excuses of a DQ finish or losing a tag match. He got pinned in a singles match just like that. The undefeated angle just did not factor in at all. Wasted words from Swagger. Moreover, the man who would have eventually ended Swagger’s undefeated streak, had it even gotten really out of the starting gate, would have easily gained a ton of momentum for a good push. Bourne’s win was treated as a fluke. Bourne even went on to lose this week. This is not the first time that Bourne and Swagger just traded wins like this on Raw. Bourne is still just pretty much a jobber right now. Swagger is still getting pushed, but the creativity that appeared to be there is wasted.

Swagger also appeared to have his eye on Eve for a few weeks. I did not feel that this relationship would propel Swagger up the card very well, like an undefeated angle might have, but I still am not happy if it just ends with no finish. Did it even get out of the starting gate? You can decide for yourself. My point is that creativity just fell through the cracks again. I am getting tired of it. The WWE seriously needs to think before they leap. Do not start an angle just to drop it without a word shortly after. The wrestlers and the WWE itself are not the only ones investing in this. The fans are getting hooked and interested in it. That is great. Why drop the ball so easily and frequently. It happens a lot with divas, but Swagger has been getting the short end of the stick recently too.

There is one thing still going for Swagger. He still has a bit of that tension with The Miz. Although both are heels, they have had altercations since a few months ago, while Kofi Kingston still had the United States Championship. Now Miz has the title, but Swagger is still teased as a contender here and there. What will happen between them at Survivor Series? I would love to see them be the final two survivors, or at least have Swagger outlast Miz. That would make for an interesting discussion between the two the next night on Raw. And since Maryse is returning, and if she does slide back into an angle with Miz, the feud between Swagger and Miz becomes even more interesting. Two options. One, bring Eve back into the picture with Swagger. Couple-against-couple feud. Second option, forget Eve. Have Maryse be the love interest that both Swagger and Miz want. All three are heels anyway. There would be no confusion about whether Eve will turn heel to join Swagger or Swagger turn face. A heel romance triangle. Personally, I think the latter option can be a lot more fun and cause more talk. You can get the fans talking about which man Maryse should choose. The WWE wants to push Maryse, so why not this idea? Problem is, this idea leaves Eve with still seemingly nothing to do. Maryse, on the other hand, would have both this romance angle and the title feud with Melina. Is that fair? You sometimes may have to sacrifice fairness for the sake of entertainment. Eve would just have to hang in there. After Maryse regains the title and Melina gets her rematch(es), Eve would surely deserve some kind of feud against Maryse.

I started talking about Jack Swagger, ended up talking about Eve and Maryse. My overall point is simply that the WWE has a great lack of creativity right now. When it does appear that something may be in the works, they drop it without a word of death. I still will not be crying too much for Jack Swagger. Unlike most divas, the WWE still pushes him pretty well. How about having a diva enjoy Swagger’s push while he is getting it?