Nov 08 2008
Issues Between Smackdown Divas?
In a recent blog, Jim Ross noted tension within the diva locker room on Smackdown, saying, “Something big may be brewing in Divaland.” There is a chance that this can be a message just to further the feud between Michelle McCool and Maria, since someone is obviously turning heel there, but a blog is a strange place to further the feud, it could have been less vague, and most importantly, this is J.R. here. It seems he may be talking about real tension brewing backstage, not that the rumors of that are too new. And who is usually the star of those past rumors, and probably the instigator of the possible problems Jim Ross alluded to?
Michelle McCool has taken a leadership role in the diva locker room for a while now, which amazes me somewhat since she is nowhere near being considered a veteran as compared to such female wrestlers as Victoria. Then again, considering who the heavy rumors are saying she is dating, it does not surprise me that she is taking advantage of her position.
This feud between Maria and Michelle McCool may possibly be based on real feelings between the two. I do not want to sound like an internet idiot who just tosses out random rumors out there, which then get picked up by more internet idiots, and so fuel to hate on a diva is created. Because of that, just as quickly as I said that this angle may be based on an actual issue between the two women, I will admit that I am probably wrong. That does not mean that there has not been some well-documented instances of McCool overstepping her bounds.
The most infamous case is her treatment of Natalia Neidhart. Natalia is the daughter of a legend, tough, and has been wrestling for years. Michelle McCool chose to take it upon herself to teach her how to wrestle the “WWE style”. McCool is a rookie in the wrestling world when compared to Neidhart, and yet she feels it is her duty to teach her how she should be wrestling. Neidhart was a top contender for the Diva Championship, but lost to McCool, allowing her to be the first woman to hold the title. Even after that initial defeat, Neidhart still seemed to be the top contender for weeks, and may have eventually won it, but then all of a sudden, Maryse is the top contender and getting the push. Neidhart has been doing not much of interest beyond being Victoria’s sidekick during the Bella Twins angle, which sounds very much like the burial Mickie James is getting, only Mickie is getting even less than that and what she does get often is taken away quickly.
Since I am talking about Mickie James, there were a lot of rumors that she would be going to Smackdown earlier this year in the draft. The only thing that seemingly saved her was that she was Women’s Champion at the time, which only occurred because Candice was injured again and they decided against using Ashley. Mickie is very lucky in how circumstances worked out. Had she gone to Smackdown, she would have been at the mercy of McCool. It is already apparent that McCool likes to push her weight around, and Mickie would be a target with her huge popularity. Just like she had a hand in burying Neidhart, McCool would have had a say in Mickie being treated as simply a sidekick. Yes, I will admit that being a sidekick on Smackdown would not be much different from what Mickie is doing now on Raw. Mickie would possibly be treated even worse under McCool. I would not be surprised if McCool was eager to have Mickie stay on Raw with her Women’s title, and then just have the WWE make another title for her to be the first holder, which is definitely what legends are made of. Mickie James would have been in the midst of the crap J.R. mentioned had she been drafted to Smackdown.
There is one Raw diva, however, who would have benefited in going to Smackdown, Jillian Hall. Some within the WWE wanted to send Jillian to Smackdown to have her feud for, and eventually win, the Diva Championship. McCool was against this. She instead pushed for a Jillian staying on Raw, and having herself feud with Maryse, who was not going to win the title anytime soon anyway. I am not a fan of Jillian Hall. I think her wrestling ability is very sloppy at times, especially for her many years in the business, much like Beth Phoenix, and I think her bad singer gimmick only serves to get cheap heat and is getting old. Nevertheless, how McCool acted shows an abuse of power, and it is a power I do not even think she should have. Even though I do not like Jillian, I can see how she could rightfully deserve a title reign to reward her for her years of service and how well she did do her gimmick when it was fresh. A change to Smackdown would have revitalized her career. McCool did not give it to her, but instead gave the push to an eye-candy diva who becomes a solid wrestler after already being hired, and knew this diva would not be getting the title so soon. Michelle McCool’s touch, therefor, seems to extend to Raw as well.
Problems in the Smackdown diva locker room are not new, especially since the rise of Michelle McCool. It is interesting that J.R. is now noting it, however. Are the divas getting tired of it? Is it turning into more of a gang war, with divas taking sides? Is McCool taking more liberties? Most importantly, is something big really brewing?
