killeroflegends

The women did not get much in terms of time tonight, but eighteen of them were used. Poor use, as it was a huge tag match. But it was still hype for Wrestlemania.

Melina, Gail Kim, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Eve, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Tiffany, and Maria took on Maryse, Beth Phoenix, Jillian, Katie Lea, Michelle McCool, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendez, Natalya, and Layla. That is who was booked to be in the match. Only Mickie James, Tiffany, Jillian, Katie Lea, and Beth Phoenix actually saw action. I will not be too quick to complain about that. ECW and Smackdown were also taped tonight, so the WWE may not have wanted to overuse certain women in the ring. But that still leaves around seven women who saw no action at all tonight, including ECW and Smackdown matches. For that, I blame the quickness with which everything had to be done. Tiffany wins it with a roll up on Katie Lea. Faces defeat heels.

There are a lot of points I want to bring up about this seemingly simple match. The first has to be Santino. I am getting even more tired of his comedy crap. I will agree with a sign in the crowd tonight, push Santino! Push him out of the women’s division, push him to feud with John Cena, mix him in the tag division, draft him to ECW, make him a GM, or do whatever else to stop pushing him as the star attraction of the women’s division. I do not want to go back to the age where a man held the Women’s Championship. He will be at Wrestlemania, but please keep his role in the battle royal to a minimum, if he does have one.

Next, tonight was Gail Kim’s first official televised match back. She had worked house shows recently, and you can argue that the match taped for Smackdown this week came first, but in terms of airing, this Raw match was her first match. She won. A little more hype for her would have been nice, but save that for Friday.

I had mentioned before that Rosa worked some house shows a few weeks ago, and now she is suddenly in a match on Raw. She saw no action, but still had her first televised match as well. She lost. I am not happy with how the WWE rushed things with her. She was an intern? Did I miss a WWE Mobile Alert or some WWE.com segment? Even if I did, the transition from non-wrestler to wrestler should have really been done through a televised segment. I may return to this point on another day.

Then you have the star of the match, Tiffany. Her first match was tonight as well. Solid job, meaning no botches, but now she needs to be given real time to see how impressive she can be. When I mentioned spreading the spotlight around, I did not really have her in mind. Nevertheless, she may be someone to keep your eye on in later weeks as the WWE decides who to push next.

Finally, I just want to go back to the match overall again. Huge tag matches like this, as I have said before, will not help a woman showcase what she can do. That will not help her keep her popularity strong or strengthen it further. Huge tag matches is not treating your women right. They have to be given the time to work. The crowd’s interest will not last. The crowd did not react well tonight for that match. The fans are not there only to watch slides from Randy Orton or see almost two dozen women stand around the ring for nothing. These wrestlers are supposed to be there to pump the crowd and entertain. The women can do it. It is a mistake to rely so heavily on Santino Marella. It is a mistake to not give them time to work. And it is a mistake to throw so many together. The less involved for the WWE women, the more personal things can get, and the more the audience can focus on the talent, not extra bodies all over the place, and respond better.

It looks like that All-Divas Special on ECW will not be happening this week either. Wrestlemania is just a few days away, so it is obvious it will not happen to hype the 25-diva battle royal, as many people, including myself, had expected. That is a foolish move. If the WWE is going to have it at all, why not have it in time to hype the diva match for Wrestlemania? The feud between Miz/Morrison and Carlito/Primo could easily get enough hype just on Smackdown. The eight men in Money in the Bank are already getting good hype on just Raw and Smackdown. But it is obvious the women are lower on the ladder than that.

They can go on and have Tiffany continue to hype this special event, whether it ever happens or not, but I have already started losing interest. It could have meant so much more if done sooner.

I know that I mentioned what I am going to say here briefly a few weeks ago, but based on how the storyline between Triple H/Stephanie and Orton/Legacy is going, it may be a good idea to consider this option again.

I know I cannot be the only one who finds Orton destroying the McMahons and seemingly getting off so easy as business as usual. Even in the fake wrestling world, it seems like a bit of a stretch. It seems likely that this feud will go beyond Wrestlemania, especially if the 2009 Royal Rumble winner becomes WWE Champion. There is a definite power imbalance, and then there is the fact that this guy is a heel, so he is not even supposed to have the fan support with him. All Orton really has is DiBiase and Rhodes. Triple H supposedly has the backing of the McMahons. Psychological disorder or not, the McMahons can easily make life difficult for Orton. So how do you balance this out, and also raise the stakes at the same time?

Where has Shane McMahon been recently? Still selling that punt? I brought up the huge swerve of Stephanie joining with Orton, but now may be the time to seriously consider another possible swerve. As I said, I have already mentioned how Shane can fit into Legacy a few weeks ago. Shane turning heel may make more sense than Stephanie doing so. The WWE has already brought the marriage between Stephanie and Triple H into the storyline, so having her turn, possibly start a divorce angle, make out with Orton on live television again, take a beating from Triple H, and all that may seem a bit convoluted. How hard would it be for a jealous Shane to side with Legacy? Stephanie did basically send him on his way from Raw last year. I never did like that they dropped a good sibling rivalry angle right there. Now is the chance to pick that back up. And Legacy gets a powerful backing. Do not forget that Stone Cold Steve Austin had some help from Linda McMahon and a commissioner here and there in his war against Vince. Some are drawing comparisons between Orton and Austin. The Viper may very well be on that path, but he needs some powerful backing. It can easily be Shane McMahon.

Some can argue that it could be Vince. Beyond the huge age difference between Vince and the members of Legacy, I am thinking it is time he did let Stephanie and Shane start taking that on-screen position of power more and more. Let the next generation slowly take the spot Vince will not have one day anyway. Let his children have that feud between each other, Stephanie with Triple H and Shane with Legacy. That can possibly bring something more to the main event in the coming months. When all chaos has broken loose, Vince can finally make his return. It would be a great swerve if he then chose to side with Legacy and Shane. In the end, it is a possibility for Wrestlemania. Let the siblings feud. 

I rarely talk about TNA and the knockouts there, but I am heading there now. If you missed it, Awesome Kong turned back the challenge of Sojourner Bolt a few days ago. I am not altogether surprised about that, but I am a little saddened by the aftermath since then. Sojo is out of the picture so soon?

This may very well be a mistake from TNA. Yes, I agree very much that they treat their women better than the WWE in terms of letting them work in the ring, but the booking can be questionable at times. For months now, it has been one challenger stepping up, getting knocked down, and move on to the next. And what is the impetus for these feuds? These women just want the title? Is that it? It is missing something more. That is where the WWE sometimes has TNA beat, good storylines. I am not saying that the WWE always has good storylines, and they frequently just rely on “You have title, Me want title” feuds, but the feuds usually are given more time than just the space of weeks between two pay-per-views to start and finish.

With what they are doing with Awesome Kong, she is coming off looking very dominant in silencing all her opponents before moving on easily to the next. That will not necessarily help their faces really build as much as they could from intricate, lengthy feuds with Kong. I understand that they are on the hunt for a top face. I understand that they were banking on Christy Hemme. None of that, however, means they have to run weak feuds in terms of storylines. Use Awesome Kong and her dominance in more innovative ways to make the faces look more interesting. That does not necessarily mean “Overcome The Odds” angles. John Cena can attest to how wonderful those are, but there is more potential there. Who is next? The Governor? Taylor Wilde? Beautiful People? Will they be used to make Kong look more dominant? How about using them to simply give an entertaining storyline first? You are treating the women right in the ring, but more can be done outside.

The WWE has supposedly decided to make next week’s ECW the All-Divas Special. They must have just decided to push it off a week. Not a bad idea, since it is now closer to Wrestlemania itself. The 25-diva battle royal will have fresh hype going into it in this way.

So what can the fans expect from this special event next Tuesday? You can always read the spoilers on Monday night, since ECW is taped before Raw, but there is still time for some speculation of what can happen. Less than one hour should give enough time for about three matches and some time for promos. Give them promo time. Santino is the only person that has really been hyping this match from the wrestlers’ side. Speaking of Santino, I doubt this special really will have only women. Where Beth and Rosa go, Santino usually follows. I am getting really tired of this, but that is a topic for another day. Since Gail Kim is back, and has wrestled at house shows recently, she will definitely be there. Will she wrestle McCool? I doubt we will see any title matches involving either Melina or Maryse. This event should be pure hype for Wrestlemania, not be used to rush title feuds and changes. I also expect to see at least one tag match. It is the easiest way to fit a lot of divas in one match without making it a battle royal itself.

As I mentioned weeks ago, I hope this event is used to spread the spotlight. Giving these women the mic is the easiest way to do that without giving spotlight in matches. But do not give them ten seconds to say why they will be Miss Wrestlemania, as if this was some campaigning time for a Cyber Sunday costume contest. Katie Lea, Jillian, Natalya, and others may get a chance to get some hype at the expense of the heavily-pushed women like Maryse and McCool.

Since I already looked at whether the first Diva Search winner ever deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame, it would only be fair to look at the first female winner of the show that was meant to bring in real wrestling talent. Tough Enough’s first female winner was Nidia.

Tough Enough is what brought Nidia into the WWE, but what did she accomplish after that? She will probably be remembered as the trashy valet for Jamie Noble on Smackdown. This was back in around 2002, when the WWE actually cared about pushing Jamie Noble well. The guy is a former Cruiserweight Champion. The two were a great couple with a gimmick. I am sure many fans enjoyed watching their sloppy make-out sessions. The two had a feud storyline against Billy Gunn and Torrie Wilson. It certainly led to an interesting encounter in the bedroom. I will say no more. Like all good relationships, Noble and Nidia parted ways. That is putting it mildly, since Noble defeated his former girlfriend in a match. Nidia would then move on to Raw, where she would be allowed to work more in the ring and less as a valet. She had a few encounters with top divas, like Trish Stratus, but was eventually released.

The outline of her WWE career certainly makes her seem like an interesting character somewhat worthy of being in the Hall of Fame one day, but I have to fill in some of the gaps. Nidia got to be part of one of the top couples of Smackdown at the time, but she was never really propelled much further as the WWE could have allowed. Jamie Noble and Billy Gunn were top guys, but Noble and his girl could have really been pushed to stardom in the upper-midcard. She never really got to shine in the ring on Smackdown. On Raw, as I mentioned before, she did get a little more serious a push in the ring, but it was still sad. I will never forget her winning the right to face Trish Stratus for the title, but jobbing to Trish right after gaining that shot. That is not something to be remembered for. She never really accomplished much else on Raw.

I am able to see shades of Nidia in some recent divas and their gimmicks. She was definitely a diva with a great start. If Jamie Noble had gone on to greater heights in his own career, whether Nidia had been released or not, I believe that still would have made her contribution to his early WWE career worth more, and so make her a legendary figure in that sense. That is not how history has gone. As it stands, Nidia and Noble’s romance angle was not taken to greater heights for either, so it can hardly be used to get Nidia into the Hall of Fame on that alone. Her wrestling ability was not extravagantly amazing, and she never got a great push either, so that hurts her too. In the end, I do not believe the first woman to win Tough Enough got to do enough in the WWE to be in the Hall of Fame.

This week’s installment of “Top Rope Theatre” does not feature any divas, but I will still discuss it since it will impact Mickie James and Kelly Kelly later on. Before I go there, I just want to mention the current poll on the Raw page of the WWE website. It does relate. The poll as of now reads, “Will Hacksaw Jim Duggan ever be returned to Cryme Tyme and Kelly Kelly on ‘Top Rope Theatre?’” Can you see the issue I am having? This poll went live before this week’s installment was released. Kelly Kelly and her boss had Duggan. It is Mickie James and Cryme Tyme who are trying to get him back. Cryme Tyme and Kelly are not on the same team in this. The fair part of me knows mistakes will happen. The paranoid part, however, wants to know what the hell this is. Mistakes happen, but when they happen often, in the same manner, or to the same persons, you would have to be a fool to believe it is still a mistake or accident. Does the idiot who put that poll up even pay attention to the shows? Or, giving him that benefit of the doubt, is someone just trying to write Mickie out even further? Some may argue still that the question must have meant if Duggan would be taken away from Noble (spoilers for this week) and given back to either Cryme Tyme or Kelly Kelly and her boss. Then “or” would have been used in the question, not “and” as it is now. Some may argue that Kelly joined Cryme Tyme after she learned about Duggan possibly being her dad. Do not read too far into it, they never had her change sides officially. In the end, someone obviously botched with this poll. It should have been Mickie James in there, not Kelly. I just want to know how accidental or intentional it was. It may seem like I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I know too well that small things can add up to huge matters when continuously passed over. It just feels like disrespect towards Mickie James.

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Moving on, and trying to change moods, this week’s episode features two of the bounty hunters with their own agenda. Michael Cole, once again being hilarious in a way I never thought I would see him, is approached by the villainous Jamie Noble. Noble has found “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who seems lost and hungry. Now the double-cross begins. The two plan to collect the reward without returning Duggan. In situations like this, the double-crossers usually hold on to the hostage or thing of value in hopes of getting more for it later on. Duggan is valuable? Maybe Noble and Cole can try to press Cryme Tyme for more money, or they can try to sell him back to Kelly Kelly’s boss. That is where this seems to be leading, if the two bounty hunters have their way. 

Since there are no divas to examine their acting, I will just end it with how this furthers the story. Beyond the great comedy elements from Michael Cole and Duggan, Noble’s character provides the movement for the storyline. Mickie James was the one who wanted bounty hunters, and they were successful in their job, but now there is a price to pay. Cryme Tyme were against it, so if Noble and Cole succeed in tricking them, will there be consequences for Mickie James from Cryme Tyme? I love how this installment wrapped up two main plot points rather easily. Duggan had not been seen in weeks (I do not count the “ghost” dream), but now we know he is still around and fine, except for being hungry. The bounty idea saw immediate results, which I liked better than possibly jumping to another Kelly Kelly segment and prolonging things. This adds more to the momentum and build of things. Points are wrapped up, but now a definite issue is left for future episodes. If anyone actually reads my critiques of these episodes, you may or may not really care for it, but as a reader and writer of narratives, I enjoy a good one when I see it, analyze to learn from it, and have to give credit to the actors and creative writers when they do a solid job.

After months of reviewing what the women do on Raw every week, the WWE has finally given me a reason to put Mickie’s picture up there. I wish it was for a little more, and I almost put Stephanie McMahon up there as the star female tonight, but I will get there later.

Layla was out for Regal’s match. That is all.

Vickie Guerrero has her wheelchair again. Edge and Big Show continue to play for her affection and support. I really think this can finally lead to a divorce angle for Vickie and Edge.

Beth and Rosa came out with Santino. Melina and Kelly Kelly came out with Mickie. Do not cry too much about no Jillian or Melina not getting the spotlight. Those two faced each other in the dark match before tapings began. Besides that, there is nothing wrong with sharing the spotlight. I love it when WWE does that because they usually only have time for putting the main spotlight on the Women’s Champion and her feud. They still usually manage to alternate a little now and then. Beth Phoenix and Mickie James were not always in the spotlight during their last two respective reigns. That is how you help get other women built up, while still not overusing one woman.

The match was Mickie James vs. Santino, who had one arm tied behind his back initially. If Santino won, he would be in the 25-Diva Battle Royal. I was tossing ideas of Santino getting in the match for a few days, and I am glad that it will not happen. Less comedy, please. That is what much of this match was. I found the first match Mickie and Santino had last year more competitive, but tonight’s was still enjoyable. Mickie managed to tie both Santino’s hands behind his back. Santino still manages to get some offense in, but makes the mistake of going to the top rope. Beth accidentally pulled the ropes, causing Santino to fall, but it would have taken him a long time to get prepared at the rate he was going anyway. Mickie hits her kick finisher to win the match. This was Mickie’s first televised singles match of the year, against a guy, and it is nice that she won it. I am also glad that it was not by some fancy roll up that she won. Too many matches for the divas are ending like that. This also gives Mickie James a little momentum going into Wrestlemania, building on what I said last week about spreading the spotlight. Mickie James defeats Santino.

The main event beating on Triple H brought out Stephanie McMahon. Looks like her return came last week and ended tonight. Legacy had Triple H cuffed to the ropes. Stephanie came out to try to stop them, but then she eats a DDT off the ropes for her trouble from Orton. She is definitely looking great now. Orton even kissed her after knocking her out. That takes this feud to huge new levels. It is sadistically personal now. If a swerve will come in the future, moments like this will be legendary in building that storyline. I do not expect to see Stephanie next week. But her appearance tonight was definitely worth more than Triple H destroying DiBiase, Legacy destroying Triple H alone, or a simple staredown closing the show.

And last note, the All-Divas Special on ECW has been canned. Maybe some other time? Some can only hope so.

There are reports that Stephanie McMahon will return for a regular televised role on Raw again starting tonight. As I said last week, that would be great. She can add some more spice to the feud between her husband and Legacy. And if any kind of swerve is going to occur involving her, it would be nice to have her around to build it up a little from now.

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Maria recently did an interview talking about her Greek heritage and other subjects. She mentioned her aspirations for winning the Diva’s Championship, but also said she wanted to go back to Raw for the Women’s Championship. Of course, anyone doing such interviews has to sound focused on achievement, but if she is serious about winning a title in the wrestling ring, repeating what I said months ago, she really needs to kick it up further in the ring. The days of the WWE handing the title to women who are not credible ended in 2000. I do not want to see a movement backwards.

I just want to go back to what I wrote last week about Mickie James and her popularity. Yes, believe it or not, there is actually a lot more I could have written, but I actually trimmed a bit down. I have read what some other people had to say about my article on another site, and I want to make a note about the “sexiness” argument. Yes, many guys find her sexy. As I said, many people will have their own personal reasons, but I was looking for common themes to explain Mickie’s unique popularity placement. Sexiness does not fit. I find the vast majority of the current divas hot. The ones I do not like, others do find hot. So if guys will give huge support just for that, every diva would be getting huge pops. Does not happen. Moreover, if hotness was all the guys were attracted to, then why the cheers during matches? The sexiness is always there, so it should either be one continuous pop or a pop at only the entrance. But Mickie’s pop comes alive again during her matches. Sexiness and Mickie’s certain best asset (you know what I mean) do not explain it all. It only makes my fellow men seem like sexists. And lastly, if sexiness is the issue, separate it between beauty and actual sexiness, or sex appeal. One is highly reliant on charisma, which I already talked about being one of the reasons Mickie is over. And in the end, there are divas who act A LOT sexier than Mickie. Where are their huge pops?

I recently mentioned how the WWE should pair back up Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly to help further develop their characters. There is an example of what I have in mind going on currently, but I failed to bring it up. I should have brought it up when it started weeks ago, but coming off what I just wrote yesterday, now is a good time to mention it. What I am talking about is the Bella Twins getting mixed up in Miz & Morrisons feud with Carlito and Primo.

You have the two current tag champs feuding, and that seems like it should be enough for a great feud, right? But adding in this extra element of both teams wanting some of the Bellas takes it to a more interesting level. More is on the line here than just greed for gold, which will take center stage at Wrestlemania. The entertainment value of this feud is increased with these sisters. Beyond the addition of some sex appeal, you can have comedy moments. The date from a few weeks ago is an example of that. Some may even find the fact that the Bellas are treated as titles themselves kind of interesting. I am not a huge fan of that aspect. I did not like it when they used Layla in a similar role with Regal and Noble, and I still am not ecstatic about it now. I am no huge feminist, but it just seems like they are treating these women as if their minds are only attracted to who wins a match. Allegiance changing weekly is hilariously disgusting to me. But no more on that. Adding the Bellas to the storyline, in the end, still takes it to a more interesting level.

What does this mean specifically for the two girls? You obviously cannot have them wrestling every single week. You pretty much cannot have one without the other involved in most situations. They can be on opposite teams, at ringside while the other has a singles match, and so on, but it is hard to separate them when they are right there on the same show. Possible change coming in the draft? Topic for another day. So if they cannot be competing all the time, what happens? You either find another role for them on camera or keep them off. The fact that the WWE is allowing the Bellas to be involved in this feud shows that they want these two to get attention. One of the reasons I believe Mickie James will never be comparable to Lita and Trish in the long run is that the WWE has failed to give her any good angles in years that actually saw a finish. But the WWE seems to have plans for the Bellas. They had their debut angle, a little push wrestling-wise, and now are involved with the tag-title feud. They have not even been around a full year yet. And in the end, as I said yesterday, this angle they have will give them a chance to develop their characters further. When it does come time to give them serious wrestling pushes again, they will have their ring skills and actual characters to impress the fans.