Mar 31 2009
Raw Diva Notes 3/30/08
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.
If your favorite Diva web site has disappeared………thank Vince.
Diva Dirt • The Women’s Wrestling Bible • WrestleMania Week
Webmasters were left on guard yesterday, when WWE launched an assault on wrestling - specficially Diva - fansites. The company’s legal team sent out cease and desist letters to unsuspecting fansite owners and over the last 24 hours, dozens of sites have disappeared.
The cull is unlike anything the company has done before; it seems they are specifically looking to target Diva fansites. The alarmingly high number of fansites being targeted, is also a major cause for concern.
What makes the matter worse is that these often scary and scathing cease and desist letters are being sent out by e-mail to fansite owners, who are typically, high school teenagers. The threat of legal action to someone so young is inexcusable on WWE’s part, considering maintaining a fansite is generally just a pastime.
In most cases, it is in fact the website owners who pour hundreds, even thousands, of dollars into their website and make no profit from them. Their support is lent to WWE by purchasing magazines, pay per views etc. Not to mention the free publicity and exposure they are giving that Diva.
One must also consider the timing of this rampage, with WrestleMania just days away. I guess people are trying to show they’re good at their jobs so they don’t lose them when it draws a lousy buyrate. WrestleMania provides much of the profit for WWE’s fiscal year. It’s funny how they are sending their customers cease and desist letters, and these are the same fans they expect to pay $55 for the pay per view.
It’s a huge shame that the company feels the need to scare young, impressionable teenagers in such a manner. Receiving a cease and desist letter by e-mail must be an incredibly daunting experience. It is times like this that the Internet Diva community should pull together. These actions are nothing short of reprehensible.
• If you are one of the webmasters caught up in WWE’s WrestleMania Week Rampage, we’d love to hear your story. Please leave your comments and your advice for fellow fansite owners!