Mar 03 2009
Raw Diva Notes 3/2/03
That is no mistake up there, Smackdown’s Diva Champion was on Raw and made the biggest impact on Raw. No Candice or Layla tonight. Vickie came out at the end to name Big Show as top contender to Edge’s title. Now to look at the action more closely.
I am going to start backwards and work to the match. Why? I am going to do some crying and complaining later. Maryse and Melina were on commentary. The two champions right there. Maryse did some big bragging here and there. That is her gimmick. After the match, a brawl broke out in the ring. Melina went to help, but Maryse stopped her and gave her a DDT. There are shades of Trish Stratus in this woman. I will get to that later this week. Looks like Melina and Maryse will feud. Is that our Wrestlemania diva match? I will have more to say on that later on as well, if it is made.
The match tonight was Beth Phoenix and Jillian vs. Mickie James and Kelly Kelly. That is right, they actually modified the textbook Beth/Jillian vs. Melina/Kelly. I always complain about short matches, and I will do so again right now. The match lasted a little over two minutes and thirty seconds. The entrances in an Undertaker vs. Triple H match would last longer than that. This match was only meant to lead up to the brawl after, continue Rosa/Beth, and to showcase more of Kelly Kelly. The time for this match and aftermath was not helped by the fact that they also had to get Orton and his gang out soon after. The entire show did not have a lot of time for guys like JBL and CM Punk, among others. I am grateful that Mickie even got time. But in less than three minutes, with four women who have to work, they are going to feel a little rushed. Thankfully, no botches or sloppiness tonight. Kelly Kelly did a lot of flips and moves of agility, winning the match with an impressive roll up from the top rope. I still want to know what this woman can do besides the fancy agility. I am a Mickie fan because of her agility, but also because she can compliment it with actual wrestling, good selling, ring psychology, and other talents. If the WWE thinks they can just toss out one diva who is all agility and another who is all technical skill, it will be a very long time before any female wrestler in the WWE comes close to impressing me as much as Mickie James. Jillian Hall had her time in the ring to shine and impress. People saying she is underrated, why is she not proving otherwise? Yes, she was the sidekick of this match, but both members of the face team worked. Jillian hits some basic hair pulls and punches, with the highlight of her performance being her handstand back-elbow attempt. It got countered, but I will give her credit for trying. Beth phoenix looked good in the match too, but did not get to do a whole lot due to the time. Mickie James was only in there for under a minute, but managed to attempt more offense in that time than some of the other women did all match. How is that possible? It is that fire and energy she has. Did she take none of the opponents’ offense in the match? No, she did her share of taking as well. Why do I even bring that up? People who say Mickie is overrated or an underachiever, would Mickie try so hard to work if she really was either of the two? An underachiever would not even try to look good when she is not in the spotlight. Someone who is overrated would easily be overshadowed by the other wrestlers in the match in terms of performance. None of that happened to Mickie. In the end, this match was not meant to put the spotlight on Mickie. Not even looking at the aftermath, the match itself was to give Kelly Kelly the spotlight with her impressive win. After the match, Rosa initiates the brawl with Kelly, Mickie comes in for the save, Beth enters, Jillian still there, and the rest is history, ending with Melina out cold at the hands of Maryse. Mickie James (her second match of the year and first win) and Kelly Kelly defeat Beth Phoenix and Jillian.
I am not done crying and complaining yet. I am in a mood to rant. First, it seems Mickie will miss her third Wrestlemania in a row. Melina fans, rejoice! Melina may be making history with the most consecutive diva matches at Wrestlemania. But I will get back to Mickie and Wrestlemania on another date. Second, the WWE is still pushing Mickie aside to get Kelly Kelly over. When was the last time Mickie won a match by pinfall? The closest thing was Survivor Series in November last year. She eliminated McCool by pinfall after hitting her DDT and her team ended up winning, but she was eliminated herself in that match. She won the match, but did not get the spotlight. Point is, and I may be wrong, she has not won a televised match by pinning her opponent herself since August 2008. Why do I make a big deal out of this when Jillian has never pinned anyone in years? Mickie is popular. If you do not foster this popularity by having her look like a winner at times, she will lose that popularity despite her hard work. What does Jillian have to lose from continued jobbing? I said before that the WWE was burying Mickie James smartly this time. Short matches, tag matches, treat Mickie as a leader just to have Kelly Kelly get the spotlight with the pin, and other smart tricks may serve to transfer popularity away from Mickie and to other women. Is this fair? I already wrote on that a few days ago. The women that they are getting over are not the total package in terms of what Mickie can bring to the table. Instead of giving them an incentive to improve while seeing what improvement can get you, which would be if Mickie James was treated well, the WWE will just lower the bar. There will come a time when Kelly Kelly gets injured, the WWE needs a face jobber, or some other reason to use Mickie and her popularity arises. It may not still be there. Keep taking it for granted. Keep burying it.
