killeroflegends

A few months ago, I commented on Lance Storm’s “rant” on Sojourner Bolt’s heel turn, focusing on how a certain wrestling news site was defending the heel turn and TNA Knockouts as major draws. I defended Lance Storm’s view, stating that if TNA failed to make this heel turn interesting, it would not draw ratings in the long run. Enough of the recap, where are we now?

Sojourner joined The Kongtourage. She aligned herself with Awesome Kong. I was not that surprised. That was lazy on TNA’s part, but it does not seem like they really wanted to give her a real push anyway. They were just feeling for a place to put her. How can you say Lance Storm was wrong now? The heel turn failed to draw in the long run. That match in which she turned heel, taking on Christy Hemme, may have been the highest rated segment then, but last time I read a report, a match involving the Main Event Mafia topped the ratings. The TNA Knockouts used to do that consistently, but things may be changing. TNA is fishing for a top face after Gail Kim left for WWE and Christy Hemme got injured. Can ODB take the spot? Fact is, Sojourner’s heel turn did not lead into any big matches or segments. No one is talking about it that much anymore. She is heel, done. It makes me wonder, like Lance Storm said, why they gave that Hemme vs. Bolt match so much time on that night, while giving some of the guys mere minutes. TNA did not follow through on something that could have grabbed the viewers’ attention.

I just want to note on last thing about this heel turn. I am sure there were many fans who may have wanted Sojourner Bolt to turn heel, feeling she was being wasted as a face and getting boring. I have heard this rhetoric for so many women, but what do these fans say now? She is a heel, yet she is nothing but a lackey. How about turn her face? Have her feud with Kong for the title? Can the hypocrites realize that face/heel distinctions mean very little? What matters is how much of the spotlight the promotion is willing to actually give you in relation to the other women. This is a classic example of that, and I may return to this case again when talking about other heel/face changes. Lance Storm was not exactly just a raving, ranting lunatic.

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Trish Stratus stated that she was not contacted to wrestle at Wrestlemania this year, but seems to like the idea of competing. As I have said before, I find it disgusting that the WWE keeps pulling in the woman that had years of dream booking, and do not do better with their own women currently under contract. I have compared Trish Stratus to Hulk Hogan before, and let me go there again, since Hogan had resurfaced recently. He drove by FCW a few weeks ago, teased wrestling there that night, drove away, and was never seen there. The guy just cannot have the spotlight off him for that long. I will not even mention the plans he had tossed around concerning Wrestlemania this year. I like wrestlers who show more class when they retire and actually stop competing, and here I am thinking about a man that saw his last match at last year’s Wrestlemania. I have always been a big fan of this man. Tears were shed when he retired, a politician praised him, and I pray that he does not play with emotions by ever teasing a return. I think you can figure out who I mean.

Back to Trish Stratus, she tossed around two names as to who she would like to compete against. First, a singles match with Beth Phoenix. Describing this match, she actually says she wants it to be “just one dominant female against the other.” Dominant? In terms of what? Beth has shown to be sloppy in many of her past matches, even when competing against women with wrestling talent. Moreover, the only real dominance can be seen in terms of wins, title reigns, and attention given overall. Has Trish forgotten that these are decided mainly by booking and the WWE? It would be the best booked woman of the past ten years against the best booked woman currently. That is not exactly a match I care about. Then Trish talks about taking on Natalya. That would be nice. Trish says that Natalya will be a ”major player soon.” I honestly wish that would be true. I am not a huge fan of Natalya, but I do not like seeing the real wrestlers being treated like crap. But the WWE will not be pushing Natalya anytime soon, so it is empty words. This is probably all based on some trash talk Beth and Natalya gave Trish a few months ago. That would make all this talk about wanting to face them, dominance, and all that just empty hype.

By just looking at pure booking and possible matches and feuds, let me try to also show why it seems unlikely that Trish will compete at this year’s Wrestlemania. First of all, note that the WWE rarely has more than two women’s matches at Wrestlemania, and sometimes it is only one. On Raw, you have the main angle, and pretty much only current angle, between Women’s Champion Melina, Beth Phoenix, and Rosa Mendez. It seems likely that this will make its way to Wrestlemania. Melina has competed at two Wrestlemanias in a row. Beth Phoenix is being booked as a dominant force, much like Trish. Rosa Mendez, if you follow previous “obsessed fan” angles, will see action in the ring soon. On Smackdown, where things are even more mixed up, believe it or not, you have Michelle McCool being the top heel. She is still feuding with Maria, but I doubt that feud can go all the way to Wrestlemania, unless the Diva’s Championship is involved. There were also rumors of McCool wrestling Trish at Wrestlemania. But you also have a heel Diva’s Champion, Maryse. She may be injured, but the title is still on her. Will she keep it until Wrestlemania? You can interject her in McCool vs. Maria, making it a triple threat, or you can also give her a separate feud. The former seems likely. However, you have Gail Kim still waiting. Will Wrestlemania come and go without her? I did not even mention if a diva does Playboy this year. This consistently leads to something at Wrestlemania. Playboy, Melina vs. Beth/Rosa (possibly triple threat or just Beth vs. Rosa), McCool vs. Maria, the Diva’s Championship, Gail Kim, and now possibly Trish Stratus vs. Natalya, Beth or McCool? Natalya is out of place at the moment. McCool and Beth are involved in feuds already. The options for women’s matches already seem stacked without involving Trish. The WWE can still choose to give Trish the time, but which match will have to pay the price for that? They can always push back Gail Kim’s return for another two months, right? 

I honestly hope the WWE continues to use Trish very sparingly. I do not even like her coming out of retirement for “one night only,” but I know it will be done. This reliance on the past is disrespectful to the women they have now, as I said before. Moreover, Trish is pretty overrated, to me anyway. Her “dominace” was nothing more than dream booking. I was never hooked by her wrestling skill, promo ability, the “Matrix” move, or a lot of other things about her. Yes, she did improve tremendously to be able to put on solid matches. Yes, she was sexy. And yes, she could execute some impressive spots. But in the end, improvement should not bury other women who already possess a talent equal or superior to the person who improved. In the end, most WWE divas are sexy. And in the end, I do not equate executing impressive spots to having great wrestling ability automatically. Just like people got tired of having Cena shoved down their throat a few years ago, I had gotten tired of Trish Stratus. But if she gets a match at Wrestlemania, I will wish her the best of luck.

I usually try my best to not be biased and call things like I honestly see it. I mostly give critiques of matches, promos, and storylines, reactions to rumors, try to predict where storylines and feuds are going, and regularly wish for better for these women of wrestling. What I am going to say here is more of a rant, analysis of presumptions, or you can call it a hypothesis. When I am going to rant, I will admit it. Take what I am going to say with a grain of salt, it is not based on any solid understanding of what the WWE is doing. I am just connecting some dots.

It is no surprise that I am a Mickie James fan. People that say she is nowhere near the level of Trish or Lita, I ask you one thing, in terms of what? In terms of title reigns (I will not even talk about her having just as many WWE Women’s title reigns as Lita)? In terms of how many wins she holds? In terms of the number of matches she is given? In terms of what she does each week on Raw? Newsflash, the WWE is the main decider of these aspects. What about in terms of talent? In terms of wrestling ability? Promo ability? Charisma? The WWE cannot control these things as much. This is where the indivual really gets to shine. And in terms of this, and with all due respect to Lita and others, Mickie James is at their level and has sometimes proven to excel above them.

Some people even state that there are reasons she should be pushed aside. Really? She is getting up there in age? She is the same age as Melina, Victoria retired in her late 30s, Gail Kim is older than Mickie, and even TNA’s Jackie Moore is still mixing it up in her 40s. She pulled a botchfest against Trish Stratus at Wrestlemania 22? I watched that event, not even being a Mickie fan at the time, and had to admit that this match stole the show for me. Was there any botches? By my eye, only one real botch. Can you really condemn Mickie? Moreover, Stratusfaction relies on the receiver to hold the executor up long enough to hit the ropes. Watch the ending again and again if you do not believe me, but Trish Stratus collapsed before Mickie James could bounce off the ropes. I am not saying Mickie James NEVER botches, but saying that spot was all her fault would not be correct. And then others may say she should be pushed aside for others to get time? Fine, I can agree with that to some degree, but not when some of these “others” are being pushed not even for actual talent.

It sickens me when I see fans saying that Mickie James does not have that fire anymore, is boring, needs to turn heel, or any of that. These people do not realize that the WWE is the cuplrit for this, not Mickie. They are pushing her aside. They are trying to get other women over. They are burying Mickie James. It has been a while since I have written on Mickie getting buried, because I was not expecting them to use her much during her injury, knew that Melina would get the push she deserved, and I was still expecting to see Mickie being used well in some way. Four weeks, useless backstage segments or less, Kelly Kelly getting matches each time.

Let me get down to the meat of this rant. Why is Kelly Kelly getting all this match time? She is improving gradually, but is still not putting on that great of a performance. Moreover, her style seems very familiar. I know she has an acrobatic background, but has looked very sloppy while in ECW. When she first came to Raw, tagging with Mickie, I noticed how well the two worked together and Kelly’s initial improvement. It seemed like Mickie was helping to improve her replacement. After looking at a certain spot Kelly Kelly did on Raw, going for a reverse headscissors at the corner but getting tossed to the apron to land on her feet, I just pictured Mickie doing something like that. That is why I decided to write this rant. I am not saying that Mickie owns a trademark to such spots, but I am saying that there is no rule saying two wrestlers with similar styles cannot both perform in one night, or even in the same month. This brings me to my little conspiracy theory. What if the WWE believes that it is Mickie’s agility that makes her so popular in the ring? Push Kelly Kelly as being a wrestler with great agility? Have her do similar spots to Mickie James? Do not use Mickie James, possibly to have the fans forget that she could do the same things? Do they believe they can then bring Mickie back at a later date, have her work, but the fans will no longer be interested since they have Kelly? That is how the burial process usually works. Nevertheless, I may be reaching too far, and I admit that.

You have to realize one thing, however, turning Mickie heel, sending her to Smackdown, and all the other fancy ideas will mean nothing in the end. People saying Mickie has lost some of her popularity, do you honestly believe that is Mickie’s fault? Do you think it is easy for her to remain popular when she only gets 10 seconds on TV, is used as a sidekick to the women they want to push when given matches, and given storylines and feuds that either only get seen on the web, end abruptly, or do not give her quality promo time? I will not even talk about them trying, but failing, to portray her as they do John Cena. She is better than that. Regardless of whether heel or face, what show she is on, and all these aspects, what is really important is how the WWE fosters that popularity you may have. Umaga returned from injury to Smackdown. He is still doing the same thing he did when he first debuted on Raw and first got drafted to Smackdown, squashing jobbers. That’s super! Turn Mickie heel, or whatever grand change, but do not really put her in the spotlight and actually push her. What is the outcome? Pretty much the same Mickie James you have now, just a heel. The burial continues. What will separate whether Mickie James is viewed as a top diva, like Trish and Lita, or a misused diva, like Victoria and so many others, is not really an issue of how much talent she possesses and how hard she wants to work, but how the WWE will treat her. They would rather push Kelly Kelly until she gets that wrestling talent to match her beauty. While they do that, Mickie’s popularity will suffer, and is suffering. People will start to doubt her, and they are. They will say she is overrated, and I see it being said now. In the end, I know better. Mickie James is my favorite female wrestler of all time, and that will never change easily. I do not doubt her ability, and never will. The burial will not work on me.

I just want to mention that Alicia Fox and DJ Gabriel were once again left off TV, while Katie Lea was alongside her brother as he lost again. Good to see Paul Burchill being used. If he can keep up solid performances, a push should be his soon. Katie will be elevated at the same time. Or it can just be that the “creative team” is not being very creative for these two. A feud with the Boogeyman could have easily started. Katie Lea is still being somewhat wasted, but at least she is the top heel of ECW. How much is that worth?

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The new Cryme Tyme plot segment is out. For the Mickie James fans out there, you have to be excited, this is the only real proof that she was even on Raw or got to do anything this week. This time, we see “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and Mickie trying escape with a briefcase from an arena cop, Richard Johnson (”Big Dick” Johnson before PG). Glad to see he is still around too. Duggan got to do his trademark “USA! USA!” yell. Mickie got a few good lines in there as well. “O-M-G!” was pretty cute. She used an excited tone this time, until Richard Johnson showed up. Then she gave off a guilty, nervous, but still crazy character. I loved seeing this because it reminded me of how fun and wild Mickie James can be. Overall, the whole tone of this segment was comedic, as the full tone of the scheme will be.

Nevertheless, I am still hoping for more. It is still not clear what this scheme is about. Were they stealing money? They were taking merchandise last week, supposedly for something bigger. I have to believe that this is more than simple theft. Mickie James getting arrested for that? Big failure in my eyes. But now things are more interesting with a cop after them. Will they get caught? Tune in next week and find out!

I guess this also gives them an excuse not to have Mickie wrestle. How can she go out there like everything is fine, but then be backstage stealing things and avoiding cops? I know the WWE will probably do something next week to ruin the sensibility of this, but it is making sense right now. I would have rather she be wrestling, but understand she cannot with the lack of heels and the big push for Kelly Kelly. It kind of makes this whole scheme seem really to be meant just for her in a way. Duggan does not need it, since the WWE regularly can afford to ignore him. Cryme Tyme can always get involved in any segment with their gimmick, but this scheme is the biggest non-wrestling plot they have done, to my memory anyway. Even then, this is the second week in a row that they were not really featured in the segment. It is also interesting that these segments are really letting Mickie shine through her dialogue, facial expressions, and overall acting. I would like to know who came up with this storyline, and who, if anyone, is making the dialogue for them. Mickie may be making a lot of it up on the spot. She is showing her promo skills and charisma off, but nevertheless, and in the end, I do not like them treating her like she cannot wrestle and must rely on those two talents I just mentioned. I have not forgotten what she can do in the ring, and Kelly Kelly cannot bury that. I will soon rant on that, did not forget.

I honestly do not even feel like giving my thoughts about the women of Raw tonight. I really have nothing that new to say in respect to the matches. Let me start like I always do anyway.

Layla was with the same guy she has been with for months now. I am running out of new ways to say it.

Candice and Mickie James got nothing. They may have been out there when many of the wrestlers came out, but I did not notice them. Even if they were, what is that? That is earning your pay? Were either not in the arena that night? At least pointless backstage segments usually put the attention on them in a minimal way, but just standing with the rest of the wrestlers on the stage is a downgrade. You are a face in the crowd. People can argue that they had nothing for them, and I am getting to that.

In terms of wrestling, we got Melina and Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix and Jillian. Sound familiar? It is the same match booked from last month, and the same match booked for a few weeks ago that never started because of a beatdown before the match officially started. Here is another fact, it has been those same four women seeing action every week for the last 4 weeks. Tag match this week, Beth vs. Kelly and Melina vs. Jillian week before that, tag match prior to that, Kelly vs. Jillian and Beth and Melina in an intergender tag match to start it all off. I can understand using Melina and Beth, since they are in the main feud. I can understand using Jillian, because she is the only other credible heel wrestler and needed as a sidekick. I cannot understand, and do not even want to hear an explanation concerning, why Kelly Kelly? She is not the only face diva that can be a sidekick.

Candice or Mickie? As a Mickie fan, I would obviously want them to use her, and it would make sense, and here I am implying the friendship the two were demonstrating before Kelly Kelly took the sidekick role. But I can also understand not giving Mickie the spot, if she is still doing the Cryme Tyme scheme. It would not be fair to leave Candice with absolutely nothing, but that is what they are doing anyway. If they are going to turn Candice heel later, pairing her with Melina early can spark a bond. It will mean a lot when Candice breaks that bond to turn heel later. Is Candice injured? She was wrestling at a house show just a few days ago. Is Mickie injured? I have read no reports on that whatsoever. Is she still healing from her shoulder injury? If that is true, there is no way she would have tried the spot in the last match she had, in which she held on to the top rope after being tossed over the top in the Diva Battle Royal. She showed no discomfort after that spot, so I doubt she was injured again. Even if she was, Candice is still there. Alternate, please.

If Kelly Kelly was actually putting on an amazing job, and I believe I have said this before, I would not complain. Looking at tonight’s match itself, Melina did not get to do much. Jillian was used to take a lot of Kelly Kelly’s offense. Beth did nothing interesting aside from her finisher. Kelly Kelly got to do more flips, and they honestly do not look that smooth to me, even after all these months. She pulled off a spot reminiscent of Mickie James, but I am not the type of fan who says certain wrestlers necessarily own a trademark to spots. I did find it interesting and will rant on it later (Yes, I admit when I do rants). I will admit that Kelly Kelly is finally getting a good ring attitude and demeanor. Nevertheless, I am tired of seeing her same old wrestling ability/improvement. Other women are waiting. Not a very good match, but Beth Phoenix and Jillian defeat Melina and Kelly Kelly.

By the way, the win came thanks to the interference of Rosa Mendez. A day late, Rosa, Beth already lost the title. In a backstage segment, Beth made it official that she was letting Rosa align with her. Things are finally moving a little further away from Sable/Tori. I liked the anger Rosa Mendez (Roucka) used while she spoke. It was not what I would call psychotic, but it was strong. And just because the two are on the same side now, that does not mean Beth may not turn on Rosa later, especially if the latter inadvertently costs the former a match. It is only a matter of time.

For the second week in a row, the most interesting part of Raw in terms of the women, for me anyway, was Stephanie McMahon and Orton. Stephanie McMahon was out for vengeance against Orton for taking out her father, but she was going to do better than fire Randy Orton. Out comes Shane McMahon to squash Orton and his two henchmen. I like how Legacy is actually staying together as a unit through this. I was partially expecting DiBiase and Rhodes to side with Stephanie. I am glad they did not. An Orton vs. Shane feud is in the making. If Orton loses, he loses his title shot? Maybe. The plot may seem linear so far, but the chance for a swerve is still there. Consider if Orton does wrestle Shane, and Stephanie McMahon just happens to be by the ring. She ejects Rhodes and DiBiase, so things are fair, right? Or so it can be easier for Stephanie to stab Shane in the back. Last time both were on Raw, Stephanie told Shane to hit the road, Raw was her show. What if Stephanie wanted Orton to take Vince out of the picture? What if she knew Shane would want payback, and saw a chance to make sure he does not intervene in her reign as GM? As I said before, Stephanie can fit right into Legacy. I am very interested in how this develops further. 

Yes, I was wrong in saying that Rosa Mendez would get involved in the match. I guess I should never use the word “obviously” again. They certainly could have done a better job in promoting the Beth/Rosa angle there, but letting the match be clean was a good choice. At least I was correct in predicting Randy Orton as the Royal Rumble match winner. How much further this Orton/Stephanie thing will go will be known on Raw. But save that for another day, onto Melina vs. Beth.

It was a short, but good match. I feel like I am saying that too much for women’s matches in the WWE. It was a pretty even match. Maybe a few too many submissions here and there. I am a fan of submissions, but I know these two have more in their arsenal. I may have honestly called it the match of the night if it was given more time to have them do more. Melina once again made use of her infamous flexibility in the match. Beth Phoenix once again lost to an infamous roll up. I did not really like the exact finish of the match, not only because it was once again a roll up, but because of how similar it was to a previous Beth Phoenix match. Think about it. Melina defeats Beth Phoenix for the WWE Women’s Championship.

What does this mean for the future? I am not sure why they dropped an awesome chance to further Beth/Rosa, I know I said that before, but it is true. Maybe they decided to swerve the fans who were complaining about it being too similar to certain past diva storylines. One thing is for sure, Melina may be Women’s Champion, but Beth Phoenix is still the top heel on Raw. Jillian and Layla are jobbers, if you consider the latter even a wrestler. Candice has not officially turned heel yet, and she did work a recent house show as face. They can still turn her heel to feud with Melina. Before that, it seems more likely that Beth Phoenix will still be facing Melina. Unless Rosa Mendez is fired or something, that angle will still be going on. The title scene and Rosa/Beth may or may not diverge, depending how long the WWE wants Melina to hold the title, but I have a feeling the two will cross paths, if not run on the same road until one runs out of gas.

For the first time in months, Beth Phoenix finally defends her Women’s Championship on a televised event again. Melina vs. Beth at the Royal Rumble. Rosa Mendez will obviously be involved somehow. I know I used the word “obviously” before when talking about Kelly Kelly getting involved in Randy Orton vs. Kane a few weeks ago, and I was wrong about that. I had no idea they were dropping the angle so suddenly. There is no reason to drop Rosa Mendez that fast. She will be involved.

By typical WWE style, the person who has the momentum going into the pay-per-view usually loses. Two problems here. First, so many heels are looking strong currently. Beth, JBL, Edge, Swagger, Orton, and a few others in the Royal Rumble match all cannot lose. It will be weird to have only faces win their matches, even though it is a small card. Second, Beth usually breaks this rule herself. She can have momentum going into a big match and still be booked to win that math. The WWE loves making her look strong. Point is, just because Beth looked strong after beating down Melina on Raw does not mean Melina will definitely win, following the classic WWE pattern.

Consider it in terms of storyline and future feuds. Rosa Mendez can inadvertently cost Beth the match. Beth may have her rematch against Melina, but the Rosa angle will get furthered greatly. As for Melina, assuming they do not give her the title just to drop it to Beth in the rematch, who is she supposed to feud with after Beth? If it is true that Candice is turning heel, it could be to create a challenger for Melina to defend her title against. All the other heels on Raw are jobbers. At the same time, however, Rosa will still be working with Beth. Two diva angles on Raw? I am not sure if this will happen. The angle between Rosa and Beth seems like it will last a while longer.

Rosa can successfully interfere on Beth’s behalf, leading to Beth retaining. This will strengthen Rosa’s claim in wanting to impress Beth tremendously, while keeping Beth annoyed at Rosa for helping her when she did not ask for it. Melina can then join Mickie James in the backseat as Raw becomes the playground of Rosa Mendez/Beth Phoenix. It is also worth noting that the WWE is bent on getting Beth over and portraying her as a top diva above all others currently on the roster. It will not surprise me if they only built Melina up for Beth to eat her up. Following earlier “diva fan” angles, it also seems likely that Beth will retain here until Beth vs. Rosa develops.

I have weighed both possibilities to the match. Melina or Beth? I believe Beth is going to retain. I do not want her to win, but I feel it will happen. The WWE is not ready to downplay Beth Phoenix. Her angle with Rosa will continue after Sunday, but keeping the Women’s Championship with Beth just gives it more attention. Beth retaining against Melina will give her more character (kayfabe) credibility as the “Dominant Female of the WWE.” It will be boring, disgusting, and not change much. I hope very much to be proven wrong at the Royal Rumble.

Gail Kim said in a blog recently that the fans should be patient in awaiting her WWE return. I am being patient. I am just wondering why the WWE is waiting so long. Is there an ulterior motive here? I will not entertain any conspiracy theories here and go insane. Not yet, at least. I am just also wondering how much Gail knows about what they actually have planned for her.

It seemed likely that they were ready to bring her on Smackdown. If this was the case, the injury of Maryse may have ruined things for the time being. McCool could have feuded with Maria, leaving Maryse to take on Gail Kim. As soon as I finished typing that, I realized how unlikely it would be. The WWE having two diva feuds on one show? It is possible, but not likely. With Maryse back, she seems to be watching the feud of Maria and McCool. There is space for Gail Kim. They may choose to end the Maria-McCool feud first, but where would that leave McCool? I do not see her getting tossed out the picture, unless she is really humbling herself backstage.

How about Gail to Raw? Raw is short on some good heels, but Candice may be filling that. Besides that, it is only a matter of time before Rosa starts wrestling, although Beth may have turned on her by then. I see no reason to bring Gail Kim to Raw as a face, unless someone does turn heel.

Gail going to ECW gets no comment.

Things just look sad. Mickie James and other women who can wrestle get nothing. Victoria is gone. Kelly Kelly is being treated like a true wrestler. And Gail Kim is stuck in waiting. I will keep waiting.

Maryse will be on Smackdown tonight. I am very glad. I was beginning to think they were going to pull a vintage “Trish Stratus” move. Think about it, figure it out. She will not be competing, so I still have to wonder how much longer until her first title defense. It has been a month now. Beth Phoenix has not defended her Women’s Championship on a televised event since November. It will be two months before she finally defends it against Melina this Sunday. We have some great champs here.

Back to Maryse, just because she is back on camera does not mean she may be wrestling next week. They may put her in a tag match to see how much ring rust she still has. They may choose to have a match to decide the top contender first. It will most likely be Michelle McCool vs. Maria, if it is a singles match. They may choose a battle royal kind of match to include all the women as well, but Maria and McCool are definitely the key players. It would make sense for the face to win, Maria. They may decide to give McCool the win as well. That may lead to her regaining the title, the WWE possibly believing that Maryse cannot work as a long-term Diva’s Champion, preferring McCool to feud with the awaiting Gail Kim over the title, or maybe Maryse was only meant to be a transitional champion. McCool is supposed to have a rematch clause, but the WWE can ignore that. I cannot see Maria becoming top contender and winning the title. She will most likely lose to Maryse, with possible interference from McCool. At the same time, the reverse situation can happen. McCool can take on Maryse, but Maria can rob McCool. I just think we saw elements of that when Maryse first won the title. It would be a slow way to progress this feud.

Once again, glad to see Maryse back. I just hope she does not backslide like Candice Michelle did recently. The WWE has spent a ton of resources, time, and has had many women job to Maryse to make her look strong. It would be a shame if it was all in vain.

It is obvious that Stephanie McMahon will be on Raw for a while longer. Even if Vince had not gotten kicked in the head, it seems the two would have shared power. I think many people were expecting the swerve of Vince siding with Stephanie. Jericho was just making it seem so likely that Vince was coming to punish Stephanie, that a swerve had to be coming. There has been a lot of speculation of more possible swerves to come.

In the simplest storyline, Stephanie stays face and wants revenge against Randy Orton. This can get even more interesting if Orton actually wins the Royal Rumble. Stephanie can put roadblocks in his path. Will a punt or RKO be in Stephanie’s future?

But consider if this leads to a swerve. What if Orton and Stephanie were on the same side? What if Stephanie did not want to share power, but have it all? Would it really be out of the question for Stephanie to join Legacy, a group of second and third generation wrestlers? Last time I checked, Stephanie’s dad is not the janitor at the local YMCA. Her family hasn’t been in the housekeeping industry for generations. She could fit right in, giving the group a better atmosphere of power. The group can use that. If Orton does win the Royal Rumble, Stephanie can be in his corner at Wrestlemania. Whoever the World Champion is, possibly Cena, can have Vince or Shane in his corner. Will an FU (Throwback or whatever they will call it) be in Stephanie’s future?

What if Shane returns sooner rather than later? What if he was disgusted by how Stephanie was running Raw? What if he knew Vince would do nothing? What if he took matters into his own hands? He could side with Orton. He could be made to be the one behind Orton going out there. Just like Stephanie, Shane has those wrestling roots to join Legacy. If it is Orton vs. Cena at Wrestlemania, Shane will be in Orton’s corner and Stephanie in Cena’s. Stephanie vs. Shane. Some nice stuff can happen there.

There are more possible swerves and scenarios out there, but these are just the ones I am thinking about. Of course, I am working on a few assumptions, such as Orton getting in the title scene at Wrestlemania. A feud between Orton and Cena can still happen without the title. Moreover, Stephanie McMahon has to keep working to get back in shape so she can be able to take some bumps. Judging by the past few weeks, she is on that road. Something good is coming, that much is for sure.