killeroflegends

Just feel like making a casual note about Eve tonight. A few weeks ago, I remember seeing someone say that Eve was better than Lita. Whether that person honestly meant it or was trying to cause a bit of controversy for the benefit of starting an argument, I may never know for sure. One thing is for sure, there are similarities between these two women. Obviously, both are Hispanic. They come from that ethnic group. No one will ever accuse the WWE of being racist, right? Eve has also been making use of the moonsault. Admittedly, Lita did not invent the move. She was not the first woman to ever do the move in wrestling. The move is still linked to her. A Hispanic woman doing a moonsault? An obvious mirror image of Lita, isn’t she?

There are also differences between the two women. Lita did not enter wrestling as a “Diva Search” winner. Moreover, Lita was lucky enough to be in the WWE at a time where they let her push a distinct style and gimmick. She was that punkish/rebel/tomboy (obviously nothing I know about directly) woman alongside the Hardy Boyz and then Edge. Eve has her own luck to her. She is in the WWE in an era where they push “Sexy, Smart and Powerful” above any character the women have or may want to portray. Some women are not under the direct weight of the thumb of this rule, but most of these women are not exactly treated very well either. For some divas, this is an obvious hindrance. For others without a great charismatic character, the motto makes them look like first-class figures in the company. Getting back to Eve, she is obviously no Lita in terms of her character style. I would not say she is some unique character either. Not in my judgment. Lastly, although she is improving well, she does not yet have the experience under her name that Lita has. For that reason, I would not be too quick to say she is better than Lita.

How focused is the WWE on recreating the success of the past? Their many attempts to find a glamorously hot model to turn into the next Trish has not worked too well so far. Do they see the chance to turn a glamorously hot model into the next Lita? Interesting concept, but I am not convinced yet. I will say more as the WWE continues pushing her. In a final note, I would not mind see her getting a title shot sometime soon. How many times in a row is Michelle McCool going to defend her title in a serious pay-per-view match against Melina before it is all over? Will they give the title back to Melina so she can feud with Natalya? Before that becomes  a possibility, it would be nice for McCool to have a real feud against one other face to add more to her current reign. Maryse did not only have a serious feud with Michelle McCool to win the Diva’s Championship and a serious feud with Mickie James to end it, but she feuded with Gail Kim briefly as well. Her brief title defenses against Kelly Kelly may count to some, but they were really details in her larger feud with Mickie James. Point is, Eve seems like a fresh choice. The WWE has been treating her as a credible wrestler, she did pin Natalya. It is up to them to know for sure if she is ready.

Coming off of Raw’s tag match and Maryse being out after surgery, rumors are flying that a Raw face diva may be turning heel. Gail Kim made a blind tag after Mickie James had everything in control in the match. Mickie James, going by the storyline, did not look too pleased. She even played on Gail Kim taking the win later that night in a live chat. This can either lead to Mickie turning on Gail out of jealousy or Gail turning for some similar reason. Kelly Kelly is not in the equation directly. That is, if a turn actually happens.

Considering if the rumors about the WWE wanting to turn one of the faces into a heel is true, should Mickie turn? A lot of internet fans want it. I will not even address the stale argument about why they want it or the even staler counterarguments I always use. Be careful what you wish for, that is all. Back to the point, Mickie can turn heel and feud with a face Gail Kim. I do not think that makes much sense however. The Diva’s Championship was won by a woman who held it even during a period of showing heelish qualities, won by a full heel who took it to Raw, and is now held by a woman who may take it with her as she turns heel too? Why not let a full face-reign be connected to the title? Her wrestling style will change, which may be a plus. She may start jobbing regularly to Kelly Kelly, which will bring a tear to some of the eyes of Mickie fans. Do not expect a psycho heel or skirts to return. This will be a jealous and seriously angry heel. I am imagining how Michelle McCool is, but I hope that does not happen to Mickie, should she turn in this feud. However, Mickie James has not been a heel since 2006. Is that reason enough to turn her? Then again, when was the last time Maria or Kelly Kelly were true heels? Think about it. There is also the argument used by some on why Vince will not turn Cena heel. Cena attracts so many young fans and sells a lot of merchandise. Turning him heel may drop sales. Should merchandise sales begin to level off, then Vince may feel like turning him. Problem is, Mickie James does not really have a lot of merchandise for sale, so the argument may not hold up to not turn her heel based on that. In the end, if Mickie James has to turn heel, and speaking for myself, I would rather it be a turn that elevated her up to the main event or allowed her to portray a unique character, not a typical jealous diva. WWE may not be that creative these days.

Should Gail turn? They can have her refuse to be in the shadow of another woman on Raw and feud with Mickie based on that. To say Gail Kim is stale would not be fair. She just returned to the WWE a few months ago. She was just drafted a few weeks ago to Raw. She is already being worked into another angle involving the Diva’s Championship. Many believe that Gail Kim should not be the one to turn heel. I said to call her stale would not be fair, but to call her very popular in the WWE right now may be a straight lie. To try to get the fans caring more, because she is great in the ring and not held back, should they turn her? Problem is, a heel often has to change his or her style. Heel Carlito will not do as many fancy moves of agility or high-flying than face Carlito. If it is a big money match, you may see heel Carlito pull some of those moves out more. Heels typically use a lot of grounding moves so the fans can rally behind the face to fight back. Then again, if that style is not enough in combination with the heel character push to get them over, the WWE may still allow the wrestler to do what ever he can. As a heel, Gail will be using more technical ability. That may still be enough to get her over. It may be a good move for Gail.

After looking at how likely a heel turn for either diva may be, I will now just dissect the rumor. Turn a diva heel because Marsye is out right now? Really? Just like they turned Beth face a few months ago with the end of her angle with Santino? Create a scenario of two faces (Kelly Kelly with either Mickie or Gail) standing against four healthy heels (Beth, Rosa, Alicia, and either Gail or Mickie). When either Jillian or Maryse return, they randomly turn face to balance things back out? It all seems horribly illogical. That does not mean that the WWE will not do it, and they may have a smart plan I cannot see now, but that I do not see it as likely. Should Gail turn heel, leaving Mickie and Kelly as faces, what should happen if Mickie gets injured seriously? Kelly Kelly crushes all the heels by herself until the WWE finds a smooth way to turn one face or bring a face from ECW or Smackdown? Both sides are even at three each. Evenness is ideal. Having one or two more on each side may not hurt, but evenness is good. Moreover, a triple threat can occur without someone necessarily turning. In the recent match between Triple H, Cena, and Randy Orton, no one turned. Then again, and basing so much just on one night, it does seem like the WWE is building some friction in the face camp. That may be a way to make Gail’s character seem more interesting or find a more elaborate way to form a triple threat with Gail, Mickie, and Beth than randomly making it so or have both Gail and Beth win a battle royal in some controversial fashion lacking a storyline build. Lastly, I do not see a heel turn as necessary because there is options already among the heels. I do not mean just Beth Phoenix, but also Alicia Fox. This week saw her first official pinfall loss since coming to Raw, but it did seem like the WWE had plans for her last week. She got the pin in that match. If they are not going to use it to build her up, what was the purpose? Reward her for something? Punish Kelly Kelly? The way things have turned out, it seems just like a random win that will go nowhere in terms of building her as a challenger for the title or keep her over/get her over with the fans. Pinning Kelly Kelly by roll up will not impress the fans that much. I would rather see her get built up. Alicia can go either way right now, but it looks like she will follow the jobber path.

Time will tell where the feud develops. Summerslam needs a big match, so I can understand wanting a match that only features former Women’s Champions challenging the current Diva’s Champion. Like I said before, that does not necessarily mean a face has to turn heel.

I will now look at the current divas on Smackdown in giving my opinion of who should get pushed to the main event and how close they all are. I am not going to be looking at the women on ECW. Pushing anyone to the main event there is almost the equivelant of setting them up for a midcard push on Raw or Smackdown.

Like I did last time, I am going to lump some divas together. Eve and Layla do not have any real main-event fit nor do they deserve that push right now, in my opinion. Layla is the heel jobber who has been showing hints of being a face now and then recently. Her closest connection to the main event may have been through William Regal, King of the Ring and Intercontinental Champion for a period last year, but this was not a main-event push for Regal by the time he returned from suspension. Eve has had even less than that. Her interactions with Cryme Tyme are not a huge elevation either. Like I said about Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, and Jillian last time, let these two Smackdown divas first make a solid name for themselves wrestling the other divas. When solid overness is there, then start building them up, if the WWE wants to go there.

Maria is not that credible in the ring either, but she does have more on her resume than Layla and Eve. I seem to recall her being in at least one main event match on Raw. Once again, the presence of John Cena helped. In a mixed-tag match, John Cena and Maria once took on Edge and Lita. Maria even got the pin on Lita. That is a huge rub for a woman with no excellent wrestling talent. Maria also got destroyed by Umaga once. This was during the time Umaga was feuding with Cena, and Cena did end up coming out. Umaga, although he never became WWE Champion and is now released, was pretty close to the main event himself for a long time. Maria enduring some punishment from him will earn her some respect in the hearts of the fans out there. Switching to Maria on Smackdown, she has not really had that great of a push alongside top stars who can elevate her into the main event. Her angle with Dolph Ziggler is fine to give her something to do, but he is still a midcarder. Nevertheless, Maria still has some experience being alongside main-eventers. The WWE may choose to push her there again in the future alongside a young face entering the main event. I do not think she deserves it. Her usual character is not strong enough for serious angles in the main event. Too much puppy love may make some sick.

Natalya is back on Smackdown with the Hart Dynasty. I am going to somewhat break the rule I just created about getting a main-event push on ECW not meaning much on the main shows. The Hart Dynasty started on ECW. They got a solid push there. Even though they were somewhat on the fence between the main event and the midcard at this time, they managed to set up some dominance there. Natalya was not regularly getting matches, but neither was Trish Stratus as purely a manager for T&A, until the time was right anyway. It helped to create an image for the group. On Smackdown, that image may get lost in the crowd, but their potential greatness is there. It is like how the WWE likes to play with Rhodes and DiBiase being future main-eventers, and some fans love to discuss that potential in second generation wrestlers in the works. The Hart Dynasty has that. They have the direct connection to the Hart family, main-eventers and legends. That is a plus in one day getting Natalya into the main event, but probably only if she is along for the ride with Tyson Kidd and DH Smith. Aside from the faction, Natalya has no connection to the main event. She is not that close to making that jump. Like I mentioned with Gail Kim the other day, it would be best if Natalya got to show something in the actual Smackdown diva division first.

Melina has had a great rub with the main event in her past. Just as Trish started out as a manager for a tag team, Melina was a part of MNM. They feuded for the tag titles with Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. In at least one occasion, they made it into the main event on Smackdown to defend their titles against such as Eddie and Batista. This was a huge start for a young team, and Melina was along for the ride. She even had a brief personal angle with Batista. Batista was already established in the main event by this time. When she came to Raw, Melina was not always stuck between title feuds and nothing good, like certain other women. She was still the manager of Nitro as he got some pretty big pushes. In the summer of 2006, she was involved in the feud between Ric Flair and Mick Foley. These are two legends. Her involvement was not really necessary, but it did have a huge impact in Mick Foley losing to Ric Flair in an I Quit match. Melina would then betray Mick Foley and help Mr. McMahon humiliate him. There was also a backstage segment where Melina got slapped by Linda McMahon. I would honestly say that she was the last diva that the McMahons really worked with to give a rub. They have had one-time segments with a few women here and there, but nothing that elevated them or was part of an angle connected between them and the diva. She has been stuck with just matters involving the Women’s Championship since returning to Smackdown, but she has had a great build in the past. Does she deserve to somehow be propelled into the main event again? If the WWE thought she was good enough a few short years ago, it should only be a matter of time before she should get a push alongside the men once again very soon. However, I do not believe that can be now. If Melina is taken out of women’s matches to be involved in angles alongside CM Punk, Jericho, John Morrison, and the other main-eventers of Smackdown, who is the next credible face to carry matches in the division? Eve? Maria? The division needs Melina.

I honestly do not know how to approach Michelle McCool. Similar to Melina, McCool started on Smackdown at a time when there was no official title for which the women could compete. McCool got angles with men here and there, but never anything to elevate her, unlike Melina. Even since winning her first title, she has never done much outside of the diva’s division. Michael Cole may have a better main-event credibility than her. But a part of me believes McCool (McTaker to her haters) can be bumped up to the main event easily. She has support backstage, whether you believe the rumors about her or not. She has this serious, no-nonsense attitude to her. It may come off as boring to anyone with taste, but it may match up with a serious main-event heel. They can find some role for her. Does she deserve it? I believe so. I argued that Mickie James deserves to be elevated on Raw because of her being held back currently in what is expected of her in the ring, needing it to let her popularity develop, and just as an overall reward for being used for so long to try to make other women look good. McCool, on the other hand, is not held back in the ring. All she has is her solid wrestling technique. She is not regularly used to make other women look great. The WWE is not holding back her offense in the ring, hoping continued solid performances will get her over. If no one is eating the potato salad at your party, you don’t bring out another bowl every two minutes. What do I mean? I have no idea. To get to it, McCool is allowed to perform in the ring, has no great popularity to her that needs to grow out, and has been continuously rewarded for the sake of just getting her over. Why elevate her? First, maybe this main-event push will actually get her over. Second, there will be a time soon when Natalya is ready for the top heel spot. McCool will not disappear. The WWE will find something for her. It may just be in the main event.

It is somewhat ironic how the two women I feel deserve a push into the main event happen to be the current Diva’s Champion and Women’s Champion. Of course, my reasoning was very different for both. Some may argue my whole three-part discussion was a waste. Any diva can be made a main-eventer at anytime. A match between Ricky Ortiz and Goldust cannot be the main event of Raw. Aside from both being on different rosters, they do not have a great main-event fit right now. If the match featured these two and eight other men against Cena and Batista, you may have a Raw main event. Why? Because Cena and Batista are established main-eventers. A main-eventer really does have to be built up. Divas can go through this process too. It has been so long since it has been done far enough. Some of the current divas have some encounters with the main event, but none can hold a match with another woman on the current roster in the main event of Raw or Smackdown without an additional man already in the main-event, at the least. Will it draw? Will it have reason to trump Cena and Triple H? There are many hungry divas wanting a title reign, and their rabid fans who want them to have it. If certain women were moved out of the title picture, they can still get the best of it by working in the main event, and their own rabid fans will not be left disappointed and crying at a depush.

Last week, I looked at how Trish Stratus and Lita were built to be in the main event. Which of the current divas are near taking that raise and which deserve it? None are there now. I will explore the Raw divas here.

Lumping some divas together, Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes have never really been near the main event and are too new for me to say they deserve such a huge push. Alicia’s initial angle did involve Edge/Vickie on Smackdown, but it went absolutely nowhere for her. These women must first be allowed to get over and gain credibility in the ring. Pushing them alongside the likes of Triple H would seem awkward right now. Jillian Hall, who is still out, has been treated just as weakly as Alicia and Rosa. She, however, was alongside JBL for some time on Smackdown. That was a good spot for her. Sadly, all that momentum has dried up since she came to Raw. All three of these women are heel jobbers. If they are going to get a push, it should be a wrestling push in the diva’s division. Pairing them with midcard wrestlers, like Trish and Lita were, may be another option to start them on the path to the main event. In the end, I feel there are women closer to making that step who deserve it more. However, JBL himself went from being a tag wrestler to a main-eventer on Smackdown almost overnight. Things happen.

Kelly Kelly may be the closest thing to a face diva jobber on Raw currently. The WWE still pushes her well based on her sexiness, allows her to look strong in many matches, and she does have fan support. If the WWE really wants to find a spot for her, a good angle may help. She has a better main-event fit than the three heels I just mentioned. She was teased to be the partner of John Cena on the night he ended up tagging with Trish Stratus to take on Santino and Beth Phoenix. The presence of John Cena was enough to qualify it for the main event. The return of Trish was an added kicker. Even though she was not in the match, Kelly was still teased as a main-eventer. That could have started the foundation of her continued use in the main event. A while later, she began a romance angle with Kane/Randy Orton. I mentioned before how a romance angle with Kane both helped to elevate Lita further into the main event and led to her eventual main event with Trish. Orton is no stranger to the main event either. Kelly’s angle got killed completely. Nothing continued for her with either Kane or Orton. Kelly Kelly has not had a good build to be in the main event. Does she deserve it? Again, if the WWE really wants to find a place for her, a main-event push may be an option. She is hot, reason enough to use her?

Speaking of hot, what happens when Maryse returns from injury? Title hunt again? She has had those segments with The Miz. The Miz cannot give her a main-event rub. Miz is still a midcarder. That does not elevate Maryse. Aside from that, Maryse has not really had contact with top men. All her feuds and angles have mainly been meant to get her character over and put her over in the ring in some way. They are not elevating her too fast. Should they? Until she recovers, would an angle with a main-event heel get her over? If Raw could finally get a regular GM again, she could get an angle with that person. If it is a man, the WWE can do with Maryse what they did with Trish in her early career. In the end, I do not think it would work out or that Maryse deserves it. Her angle with Miz has possibilities already and she can benefit from pushes he gets.

Gail Kim has no main-event fit in the WWE. During her first run in the WWE, she was always involved in just diva feuds. Feuding with both Lita and Trish is not enough to get another woman into the main-event scene. It really does take interaction with established men. With her return, she is in a similar spot. In TNA, Gail Kim was a main-eventer. Her relationship with Jeff Jarrett in the start of her run helped to push that. When a title for the knockouts was created, having her win it first and be impressive in the ring helped to give great credibility to both herself and the division. I could analyze it more, but it will be a waste in a discussion focusing on the WWE. The WWE is not going to push Gail into the main event. It will only be a matter of time before she wins a title, and possibly becomes the top face of Raw, but that is not the same as being a main-eventer in the WWE. It takes more than putting on a possible “match of the night” to get in the main event. Will the segment draw? In TNA, Gail Kim’s matches were huge draws, which further helped to get her in the main event. In the WWE, with the way they treat women, diva segments will not draw that much. The only way a diva can get time in the main event is if she is alongside a top male or has been built up to be a main-event draw, like Trish and Lita. How can Gail be raised to that level? They can make her a valet to Randy Orton, the top heel, mirroring her TNA push. I have my doubts. She does not have a great charisma that adds a spectrum to her character. She should be in the title hunt more. Elevate her there. While she is not held back greatly, she can add to the division.

Arguably, Beth Phoenix has had a better build for the main event than any current Raw diva. She has had many important interactions with main-eventers. Of all the current Raw divas, she is the only one to be in a Raw main event, Cena/Trish vs. Santino/Beth. She has also gotten physical with the men. The Great Khali gave her a chop to the head a few months ago. Not much, but still a physical interaction with a former World Champion. Batista teased giving Beth Phoenix a title shot after he won the World Championship. Nothing came of that, besides a spinebuster for Beth. Another physical altercation. I mentioned how getting physical with main-eventers helped Trish and Lita actually gain more overness and better fit in the main event. The WWE is always teasing having Beth face men. Similar to Chyna? Chyna was a main-event caliber diva too. All this was a tool meant to get Beth over, not a reward for what she had already accomplished. She does not have the character to get over by that alone. I do not feel the WWE should continue to build Beth in the main event yet. Have her solidify her technique in the ring, build a better character, and get her over first. A good foundation to the main event has already been set up by the WWE, so it should not be hard to push her again later.

That leaves Mickie James. She has never had a truly complete feud outside of the title scene in the WWE. She has had scattered matches with heels not linked to a feud for herself. She has been a sidekick in men’s feuds. She had a failed feud with Jamie Noble against William Regal and Layla. Some may consider the build to the 25-diva battle royal at this year’s Wrestlemania as a feud (I honestly do not), but it was still for something treated as a title, and the victories Mickie got in those few weeks were meant more to build her back up for the coming feud, her title feud with Maryse. Looking at angles not directly connected to title feuds, she has had a failed romance angle with Trevor Murdoch and another with John Cena. What is my point? Mickie James has never gotten anything good outside of the title hunt. Her performance in her debut angle with Trish helped to got her over. Her talent in many of her matches soon after, as well as her charisma, helped to keep her over. Between failed romance angles, titles feuds, and being treated as a sidekick, Mickie gets absolutely nothing at all. I believe Mickie James should be elevated out of the women’s division after her title reign ends and brought into a main-event program. Before I delve further into my reasoning why, how well has the WWE built her up so far to be a main-event diva? Unlike Beth, Mickie has never gotten physical in the ring with big names. Her only true rub with the main event was her brief angle with John Cena. It led to her interacting with JBL on two occasions, but only in backstage promos meant to put over JBL’s feud with Cena without bringing Mickie further into it. The angle never got Mickie deeply involved in Cena’s storyline. It ended before much could be done. For some fans, it may have helped to link the top male face to the top female face, but Mickie James did not need help getting over with the fans using John Cena. But he could have helped her go up in the card. The WWE did not allow that. Popularity will not be enough to carry Mickie into a main-event match. Going back to why I think she should be elevated, the WWE is utilizing Mickie’s popularity and selling ability in attempts to get other divas over. That is fine, but they are using her in that sense too much. She has not faced a truly credible opponent in a match not meant to have that opponent build overness in a while. Her televised matches with Beth usually feature Beth selling Mickie’s spread of offense stiffly, not making Mickie look good, but keeping Beth looking strong. Her feud with Katie Lea often featured Mickie selling to make Katie Lea look like a great threat, especially in matches where Katie was not getting the win. By the time the few minutes given to a diva match are up, Mickie either only has time to make use of her well-known explosive offense (running forearms, low dropkick, going to the top rope, etc.) or her selling ability that makes herself look weak. In matches where more time is given, a mixture of those two qualities can be seen, as well as possible new spots, but Mickie is limited by who she faces. Her recent match with Maryse was given a lot of time, but a hurting Maryse did not make it easy for either of the women to step up the match to what some may have liked. Mickie had to wrestle Maryse’s match. How long can she stay over with just this? Working to get other women over? Not enough time to show what else she can do? As this goes on, Gail Kim is not as held back. Push her to be the star face? The WWE should realize that Mickie trying as hard as she does during matches to get others over is not working for the mass audience. It may help some fans on the internet say that Mickie is not great and Katie Lea or Beth Phoenix is better than her since they look impressive in the ring against her, but thank the booking and Mickie James for doing her part. However, Gail Kim may provide a new face. She will not sell as well as Mickie to make herself look that weak, which is a negative in some sense, but it will be something fresh and new. They are not allowing Mickie James to be that in the ring. Let Gail Kim get over using the area she has an advantage, the ring. What about Mickie? One of the problems I had in January 2009 was Mickie and Candice being left out every single week, as the same four women competed every week. They must find a better televised role for Mickie, and talking to Cody Rhodes does not count. They can push Mickie in the main event. Mickie James is not just strong in the ring, but has character to her. She would not be out of place in angles with men not regularly involving matches for her. As Gail Kim gains fan support, she can then be called upon to get these other women over. When the time is right, Mickie James, who was involved in the main event the whole time, can step back into the title picture. The Diva’s Championship thus has some main-event credibility to it. And with Mickie a main-event diva, she can help other divas get over or move to the main event themselves. The ties to her angle with Cena are still there. The strings can be reconnected at any time. Mickie James has been on Raw longer than any of the current wrestling divas there. Are they just going to let her ride her popularity through an endless cycle of title feuds and depushes until she retires?

The new Diva’s Champion, Mickie James, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes, and Alicia Fox were the only divas that saw time tonight. The heels wrestled the faces in a 6-diva tag. Reports are saying Maryse is taking time off for on-going knee problems. If that is the case, I will take a step back on some of the criticisms I have been handing her for months. Nevertheless, if all this was true, the WWE really should have gotten the title off her sooner. Do not let her risk worsening the injury or bring down quality of matches. Then there is the return of Beth Phoenix. I said that she may turn up very soon. Will wrestling sites take credit by saying they stirred the fan community to care? In light of everything, I still stand by the idea that it was to get Maryse some time to get the top heel spot solely on her, just like Katie Lea was meant to have last year.

Going to the match, there were a few tags made on both sides. Back and forth tags do not occur a lot in diva matches. Kelly Kelly, however, was not officially involved in the match. She stopped Rosa from getting involved in the end of the match. Gail Kim started out and was arguably meant to be the star performer in this match, taking and giving it to the heels. A lot of good spots from her. Mickie James gets the tag and dominates for her run in there. You may come across a certain person who writes Raw reports for the news sites calling it Mickie turning “Super Cena.” I have two problems with that. First, the whole complaint against Cena is that he gets beaten down for a long time and then battles back like nothing happened with a new freshness. Mickie James came into the match already fresh, with no damage taken from the heels. When Mickie James does take hits from other divas, as I mention a lot, she sells very well to make herself look weak. Second, Mickie’s dominance in the ring was meant to tell a tale. While Mickie was still in control, Gail Kim tagged herself back in and got the pin for her team. Mickie was eying Gail a bit for that. Moreover, after the match, the camera kept going to Beth Phoenix as well. Focus on Beth, Gail getting the pin, and Mickie James is Diva’s Champion. Is the WWE planning a triple threat? Could be interesting. But to go back to what I said before, Mickie James did not pull a “Super Cena” and her dominance was meant to tease some tension between her and Gail after Gail just tagged herself in. Will someone turn heel from this? Time will tell. Gail Kim, Mickie James, and Kelly Kelly defeat Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, and Rosa Mendes.

I actually got my predictions right for once. Two diva matches to talk about. Maria was also alongside Dolph Ziggler for his title match against Rey Mysterio. I will put off talking about until another time. Just focusing on the title matches tonight.

The Women’s Championship match was up first on the card. Melina faced the Champion, Michelle McCool. McCool was pretty vicious in some parts of this match. Picking up on the character portion of her performance will not hurt her. It was a good back and forth match. McCool manages to get the win to continue her reign. Melina does not look weak from the loss. In a side note, when Vengeance was first evolving into Night of Champions two years ago, Melina lost. Undefeated/defeated streaks at pay-per-views interest me. They sometime provide an obvious hint of what the outcome may be for a match. Does the WWE plan on keeping a defeated streak on Melina for a while, or is it all just random coincidence? In any case, Michelle McCool defeats Melina to retain the Women’s Championship.

Before I go into the second match, Maryse had a backstage segment with The Miz before her title defense. She slammed Miz for being a loser by not winning his match. I hope Maryse remembers those words right now.

Maryse and Mickie James battled for the Diva’s Championship. It is interesting to note that this match came right after a match featuring Triple H, Randy Orton, and John Cena fighting for the WWE Championship. This divas match was obviously meant for a cooldown period for the fans, who would have spent most of their energy in the previous match and still had a big match between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk in a while. Aside from the fact that knowing that may be interesting to some, I bring this up because I see some news sites reporting the matches of the event and continuously bringing up the lack of a fan response in this match. Beyond exaggerating it a bit too much, it would be nice if they offered the explanation why the fans were as they were and why the match was placed in that spot. The WWE knew what it was doing. Anyway, the match was a little more competitive than I expected. Maryse was still doing a bit of her antics for a while, but it was not too bad. The most notable spot of what I just mentioned may be Maryse trying to use the hairspray/perfume in the match. Mickie managed to get it away from her and looked to use it, but the ref took it away from her, giving Maryse a small advantage and continuing the use of the symbolic weapon that Mickie has felt twice. To the lovers of just pure competition, it may take you out of the match and make you hate it. In terms of telling a story, which pro wrestling is about, it was a nice thing to include that did not take away too much time from the match and did show some continuity to the character Maryse has been building and the feud between the two. There were actually a good amount of near falls as well. But as I said when I previewed this match, had Maryse really had the solid skills many may dream she has, more might have been done in this match. In the end, Mickie James hits her DDT to capture the butterfly title. What was that Maryse had said to Miz earlier? Maybe these two will still be hooking up in the near future? Mickie James defeated Maryse to win the Diva’s Championship.

Just a few final notes. First, since I talked about Melina possibly building a losing streak at this pay-per-view, how about Mickie’s streak? She has won at Night of Champions for the second year in a row? Will that mean anything? Will the WWE work on that in years to come in some angle? It may sound like idiotic analysis now, but Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania was not pushed as an angle or huge accomplishment at his first few Wrestlemanias. Did anyone, including Vince McMahon, really have such a huge thing planned so far in advance? Second, the WWE may try to articulate Mickie’s win as some huge piece of history by becoming a diva who has held both the Diva’s Championship and Women’s Championship, treating it as a “privileged class” with McCool, but it does fail in comparison to being the first to do it. In time, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Maryse, and others may join the elite group, much like men who have held both of the World titles in the WWE. The fan community cannot ignore that it was always meant for McCool to truly make history. Mickie James still accomplished something. She is the first Women’s Champion to win the Diva’s Championship, and that does sound better, but it fails in comparison to McCool doing it first, in terms of making history. Some say second is best, but not always. Whatever people may argue or believe when talking about what Mickie James accomplished, she still accomplished something. MICKIE FREAKIN JAMES IS A CHAMPION AGAIN!

Raw’s diva match at Night of Champions will feature Maryse defending the Diva’s Championship against Mickie James. I have spent time talking about this feud in relation to the grand race to make history, how it was unique from Smackdown’s diva feud, why it was structured how it was for the benefit of Maryse, and so on. All that is left is to look at who may win.

This whole feud was built on the fact that Maryse was afraid to face Mickie James, who had pinned her twice. Maryse was the one with something to prove. Could she beat Mickie? She did pin her in a tag match. If this was a math problem, that victory may negate Mickie’s own tag win over Maryse. However, Mickie still holds a pinfall victory in a singles match. Mickie is still one ahead. Could Maryse get the win in the title match to even things out? If the purpose of this feud is to get Maryse over, it will look good for her to overcome Mickie James. Does the victory she already hold against Mickie make that impossible? Look at Dolph Ziggler’s recent feud with The Great Khali. Ziggler actually lost a match by pinfall to Khali, but the WWE still pushed the feud past this point. The reason for that was obvious. In the continued build, Ziggler got wins by DQ and countout, but never pinned Khali. That was the only thing left. Sure enough, at the pay-per-view match, thanks to Kane, Ziggler finally pinned The Great Khali in a singles match. Going back to my main point, what is left for the two women? Mickie has proven she can pin Maryse in tag matches or singles matches. Maryse has yet to prove she can beat Mickie James in a singles match. If she does that, she would have totally proven everyone wrong about the negative assumptions the WWE was pushing in this feud. Will The Miz play a role? He has his own business at the event, but a power couple can be formed if both these heels walk out with gold. If the WWE really wants to get Maryse over, I would not be surprised if they stacked resources for Maryse.

People have incorrectly talked about the momentum being on Mickie’s side for too much of the first portion of this feud, as I have discussed before. But Maryse did get momentum by costing Mickie a title shot months ago and by getting a win by pinning Kelly Kelly in a tag match that also included Mickie. Mickie did not gain momentum there. Over the last two weeks, Maryse further gained more momentum at the expense of Mickie, once again utilizing the hairspray trick. Why do I bring this back up? Because I do not believe Maryse will look weak if she does lose to Mickie James. Maryse has had the moments I just mentioned, a brief program over Kelly Kelly in the midst of it all, and continually got promo time to help her character get over. Unlike the Ziggler/Khali feud, there is a title involved here. Maryse won the Diva’s Championship before Melina won the Women’s Championship in January. Maryse still holds her title even after Melina lost her title recently. I am counting 7 months in Maryse’s reign and I cannot believe it. She has had four official title defenses, outside of house shows. Many fans are not happy with the quality of her reign. It may very well be time to end it. It looks as if the WWE may be building up Alicia Fox, a heel. Mickie James, a face, can win the title and feud against Alicia down the road. Maryse will not be left with nothing if paired with Miz. If Maryse retains, Gail Kim may be the likely choice to feud with her. She pinned Maryse on her first night on Raw. Problem is, this feud already happened on Smackdown a few months ago. In terms of freshness, I would like to see Mickie/Alicia. Gail Kim already has a lot of credentials to her. Alicia could use the push.

Not just speaking as a fan of Mickie James, I believe she will win the title this Sunday. Maryse has the momentum going into the big match. Maryse has already proven she can beat Mickie James. I brought up the Ziggler/Khali feud, but I do not see what is going on here as completely the same. If the WWE was going to build Mickie up as a challenge for Maryse to eventually prove she can overcome, they would have done better to have Maryse prove that by having Maryse pin Mickie in the big match. After that, Maryse pinning Mickie in any match would not have to be as epic. Momentum can shift from Mickie to Maryse by having Maryse cost Mickie matches. Have her help Rosa or Beth pin Mickie. Bring out the hairspray more often. Toss out more promos berating Mickie. It would make Maryse look good. Instead, the WWE already had Maryse pin Mickie. That takes some of the edge out of it, should Maryse win. Some may call feuds like that predictable, but the unpredictable does sometimes happen. Batista mowed over Triple in 2005. With all the momentum Batista had throughout each stage of the feud, it seemed like he should not defeat Triple H in the big matches. Of course, he did beat Triple H over and over again, and it was done to build Batista up fast. There are other reasons to have a  “one-sided” feud like that, but my point is a person who is undefeated against another person may not automatically lose at the big match coming up. Had the WWE spread momentum smartly, Mickie could have remained undefeated against Maryse, yet not seem like the obvious winner or loser in the coming title match. I do not see Maryse winning this match after she has proven her part. As for match quality, it would be best if Maryse dominates most of it just for Mickie to battle back to win. I would love to see a great match, but I do not believe it will be given time and I do not believe Maryse can work best with Mickie James. Mickie might do best to just make Maryse look strong during the match through her selling. Will Mickie James become the second woman to have held the two female titles in the WWE?

For the first time in a very long time, a WWE pay-per-view will feature two actual diva matches on the card. I usually lump my thoughts of what to expect from the divas in one sitting. Since there is so much to say for each title match, I decided to split it. Since Smackdown just aired a few hours ago, I am going to look at Michelle McCool defending her Women’s Championship against Melina first.

Melina got the momentum going into the event by utilizing the epic powder attack on Michelle McCool backstage. As I always say, trading wins is not the only way to move momentum around. Michelle McCool heads into Night of Champions somewhat humiliated. By typical booking, she should be keeping the title based on that. Yes, I said a similar thing about Melina’s chances of retaining a few weeks ago, but McCool gored right through her. Will the same thing happen to McCool in her first official title defense? I doubt it. Even though Melina did lose the title when many of her fans were not expecting it, she had a long reign and did have a few successful title defenses. McCool cannot say that. The whole point of her winning the Women’s Championship was for her to make history. She did that. Does that mean they just hand it back to Melina just like that? It seems awkward. Melina becomes a fast 4-time Women’s Champion. McCool can still say she made history, but if the reign just ends that fast, I just see it as a bit of an insult. They wanted to keep the title on Melina, but rushed it on McCool just so she can make history before a diva on Raw? I have already spoken about how that race to history could have been more entertaining as well. Point is, the title should stay on McCool so she can actually use it to get over, if that is the WWE’s concern.

Poor Melina, on the other hand, did pretty much look weak during the feud for weeks. What can the WWE do to remedy that situation? Give her back the title? I spoke about the signs pointing against a win for Melina and why it would seem awkward for the title to fly between the two before McCool can really do anything great with it, but what happens after these two move on from each other? If McCool wins the match, who will her next opponent be? Maria? I doubt it. Eve? They are building her up, but is she ready? If Melina regains the title, who may she face next, after a possible third title match with McCool? Layla? Stuck in limbo. Natalya? Why not? Have Melina feud with Natalya. She has more credibility than the faces and heels on Smackdown not already involved in the title feud. If McCool retains, I doubt we will see this match. There really is no great option if McCool retains. For the sake of freshness and a good feud, maybe they should put it back on Melina.

The match quality at Night of Champions should be good. Alicia Fox will not be a factor this time. Maybe that will mean Melina winning the title this time around. Maybe it will allow McCool to gain a bit more credibility by winning the match solely by herself. In the end, I believe McCool will retain. The WWE may find some excuse to give Melina a second shot in the near future, where she will regain the title. Batista is known for getting multiple rematches. It can happen. McCool has what she wants, history. Where does the Women’s Championship now go?

There seems to be reports going around now about Beth Phoenix’s disappearance from Raw recently. Apparently, she is not hurt or has heat, but the WWE just does not have use for her right now as they push, if I may use the phrasing of the report I came across, “bikini-looking” divas. Bikini-looking? Really? Kelly Kelly looks like a bikini? She should get that fixed. I just feel some of these rumor writers should graduate from high school before they start writing reports for wrestling fans to consider. A random fan writing a blog should not have to be showing more professionalism than well-known wrestling news sites getting a greater amount of traffic a day. That is another story.

The WWE has nothing for Beth Phoenix. Is it really that revolutionary and controversial? In the past, the WWE has had nothing for Mickie James, Maria, Katie Lea, and many other women. At times, these same dirt sheets have either botched or simply created a nice fairy tale in trying to explain why these women are not getting used. Depushes happen, losses happen, disappearneces happen. My favorite example is always the multiple reports in the past that CM Punk is in the doghouse. Just because the man is jobbing to Chavo Guerrero and not in a title feud forever does not mean he has grand heat holding him back. Is there something wrong with the WWE utilizing Punk to try to get Chavo over as ECW Champion? Is there something wrong about the WWE spreading the spotlight and not having room all the time for all the stars they would like to push? Do not let the treatment Triple H and John Cena get blind you. Not everyone gets pushed that well. That is an understatement. If I remember correctly, shortly after one of those reports about CM Punk being in the doghouse, he won his first Money in the Bank. The man has moved from being undefeated upon his debut in ECW to being treated as a top face there to getting a title feud building to his eventual ECW title win. From there, he went from Money in the Bank winner to World Heavyweight Champion on Raw to winning the tag titles to winning the IC title to winning Money in the Bank again, and that brings us to where he is today. The man seems to lose one title just to gain another. Where does he find the time to be in the doghouse? Using him to put other people over, especially at a time when he was not at the main-event level he is now, is not asking too much either. A long rant, but my point is that you cannot trust these reports all the time.

Moving back to Beth Phoenix, it is true that she has not been featured on Raw recently. It is true that she has not had house show matches either. But you must realize, what reason would she have for being at house shows since her disappearance? Maryse and Mickie James are the main players right now. A singles match must include either of these two. That is the way the WWE will operate. Maryse is the top heel right now, not Beth. During the period when they were still pushing that Maryse could not beat Mickie, they frequently had Kelly Kelly wrestle Maryse in title matches at house shows so she could at least give Maryse some wins. In other singles matches, it was Mickie James taking on Maryse. There have been tag matches recently at house shows, mirroring the same match we saw on the Raw after the trade. Gail Kim and Alicia Fox, both just traded to Raw, have a right to some kind of initial push. The three men from ECW that came to Raw have had some big wins or big matches in the recent past or coming up. The Hart Dynasty were put right into a feud with Cryme Tyme. Why should Gail Kim and Alicia Fox both end up like Goldust straight out of the gate? I believe it is a good choice to use them now. More importantly, it does not help that there is an imbalance on Raw. There are only three faces. There are four heels healthy. I keep bringing it up, but it is an issue. Had there been another face right there, it would have been easier to use the heel left out. Yes, they can alternate some weeks by having Beth take Rosa’s place or Alicia’s. However, if they are planning to build Alicia up as a challenger, she will need weekly exposure. As for Rosa, when is she finally going to move out of Beth’s shadow? She needs to step up her skills and stand on her own sooner or later, or she is done. The WWE may still alternate in coming weeks. Beth has only missed three weeks, one Raw being taped on the same night as another.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Beth missed a few weeks of Raw last year as well in the summer. Why? So Katie Lea can stand alone as a threat to Mickie’s Women’s Championship. When Beth did return, they pushed her straight back into regaining  the title. Just like with CM Punk, what seems like a depush is not always punishment.

And the WWE would rather focus on the “bikini-looking” women right now? It is easy to see how news sites jumped to that conclusion to form a bit of controversy. They had that bikini match last week. Beth Phoenix was left out. They had another skin match this week, Beth left out. Well, it seems Beth Phoenix is too overweight and hideous to be in such matches? That is somewhat what the reports want to imply the WWE’s rationale for not using Beth is. If the WWE still really wanted to use Beth, they would have found something for her, even if she did not have to show skin. Divas have regularly been given useless segments when the WWE had no real angles for them.

My final point in the issue of Beth Phoenix not being used for three consecutive weeks is simple. I said many months ago that a true depush may be coming for Beth Phoenix if she continued to fail to get over. I argued that her angle with Santina was initially meant to try to get some charisma and character out of her. Giving her countless wins and strong booking since 2007 was not getting it done. I said that it would only be a matter of time before the WWE tried their resources with someone else. Maryse, the current Diva’s Champion, is that person right now. I almost want to say that the bikini match was not just meant for random eye-candy moments, but to give Maryse, as well as certain other diva(s), an added resource to put over their sexiness. Then again, I may be getting too paranoid. Point is, the WWE is trying to get Maryse to look great. Having another top heel threatening her spot, Beth Phoenix, may not help in the eyes of the WWE. The commentators will be putting over Beth’s strength and accomplishments, but what can they say about Maryse? She’s hot? That’ll do it! If the WWE really wants to make Maryse look like a top heel and leader, it helps to have her with the heels like Rosa and Alicia. Remember, as I said before, this was one of the reasons Beth disappeared last year. It let Katie stand alone as a threat. Going back to my point, this depush should not be a surprise. The WWE has moved on to Maryse and there may not be a good spot for Beth near her.

What about Rosa? She was Beth’s sidekick through it all. It seems like I talk about this every few months. Yes, I did not like that this angle between the two started out too similar to Sable/Tori a decade ago. Nevertheless, I would have liked some continuity and an interesting story. The angle had been left to roll in its own without much added momentum for a while now. Recently, it seems Beth’s sidekick is just a generic diva at the side of Maryse or Alicia Fox. She is everyone’s sidekick now? To play the same tune again, the WWE dropped the ball with Rosa. It does not help that her wrestling ability is not fabulous, although she is not completely useless. The WWE could have found a random use for Beth through Rosa recently. Have her accompany her up to the ramp. That is, unless the angle between the two was supposedly killed by the friction they had the last time they did have a match. That is a stupid and weak way to end the angle, however. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is exactly the path the WWE took.

I have already explained how the feud between Mickie James and Maryse is more than just a basic title feud. It was always meant to be more than just a race to making history, especially since that race was ran and won rather easily by the other contestant. This Raw diva feud was guided by the idea that Maryse was afraid to defend her title against Mickie James and could not defeat her. Right now, I am going to try to move away from looking at how the feud was structured to why it may have possibly been structured as it was.

Of course, the easy answer is that having the feud like this makes it more entertaining than a basic title feud. Sure, and having Randy Orton be in a feud against the McMahons/Batista/Triple H until the end of time is entertaining everybody, isn’t it? There is more than entertainment going on here. Aside from possibly putting the Diva’s Championship on Mickie James, which still could have been done in a pretty simple title feud, this feud between Maryse and Mickie was executed to try to get Maryse over. To those on the internet already big Maryse fans, you can smile arrogantly constantly like your idol and not let anything get to you, but the lack of response she has been getting on Raw for a long time was definitely noticeable. The WWE does not want that. They rolled the dice when they gave her the Diva’s Championship.

I can hear some people argue that there is a huge flaw in my reasoning. Maryse lost twice to Mickie in a row when this feud started, and had taken a few other losses here and there. If they want to get her over, should not Maryse be the one gaining all the wins in the start of the feud? There are two things about that argument. First, how well did constant wins and strong booking work in getting Beth Phoenix over. She was booked as unstoppable. Some people actually bought it, but not the majority. Her reaction has been just as weak as that of Maryse. Wins alone failed to get her over. Second, even if you constantly have Maryse get wins, will that get her over as a great wrestler? You also have to look at the performance she is giving. If she is putting on a sloppy and weak performance, but still winning, fans will either not care or boo her out of how bad she is. Going back to Beth Phoenix, it was her angle with Santino which gave her the best shot of any she had in the WWE of getting over. An angle. An actual storyline. Promos. Something like that is what helps. That is why I stand by my point that a feud consisting of losses for one individual can still be a way to get that person over.

Those two losses to Mickie were needed to start the whole foundation of the feud. From then on, the ball has really been in Maryse’s court in a sense. Yes, the commentator’s mentioned Mickie possibly having the Champion’s number and all that. But in terms of actual interactions between the two, it all opened the door for Maryse to show some character. It was about letting her heelish character shine. Who really got the most promo time in this feud? Mickie got one night on commentary and the interview segment on Raw this week. Maryse has had time on commentary, just sat there to watch Mickie’s match once to have a little interaction after, had many interactions with The Miz backstage, and played a role in Mickie’s own interview segment this week. In virtually all these instances outside of wrestling action, Maryse was given the chance to show her cuteness, sexiness, arrogance, and whatever else she had. Even if just sitting there watching the match, the camera would pick up on her facial expressions and the commentators would fill in the gap to help portray her character. In instances where Maryse was just backing down from Mickie, she was still often showing some arrogance. How long will it take the fans to warm up to this “fun”character?

For Mickie James, arguably the most over diva on Raw right now, these promos and wins have not really been for her benefit that much. Yes, she pinned the Diva’s Champion twice. However, even before these two first had a singles match, if anyone thought Maryse had more actual wrestling credibility than Mickie James, you are an idiot. No fancy talk. Consider a feud between The Undertaker and CM Punk, the current World’s Heavyweight Champion. Would Taker gaining two straight victories over Punk in non-title scenarios really mean that much in terms of actually building Taker’s credibility, not speaking in terms of creating a feud for the title. It seems more likely that CM Punk pinning Taker twice may give him a bigger rub than the previous scenario. Point is, Mickie James already had a ton of credibility in the ring, so pinning a pretty much rookie like Maryse, even if she is Diva’s Champion, will not do much, beyond starting the feud, as I mentioned. Moreover, building Mickie up a bit helped in making Maryse look a little better when she did get that pinfall victory last week. Not only did she pin the credible Mickie James, but got some payback.

Look at the promos. As I have mentioned before, Mickie James made herself look like the target Maryse had to overcome. She was helping to put that ball in Maryse’s court. That night she was out there on commentary, it was not about being entertaining or getting herself over with the fans that much. It was about making herself seem like the serious threat to Maryse’s arrogant, entertaining character. She was not there to take Maryse’s spotlight. In many of the unspoken interactions between the two, it is basically Mickie trying to give Maryse the space to try to get her, but Maryse smiling and walking away confidently. Mickie did have a few cute moments, but it has mostly been her acting serious. Maryse is left with more space to seem as the entertaining figure in this feud. As I have said before, in pro wrestling, it is a combination of talent and how you must filter that talent for the situation. Maryse is the one that has to get over in this situation. Then there are instances where some may figure that Mickie is really getting buried out there. At this week’s Raw, Miz was pretty much making Mickie James look unattractive and inferior when compared to Maryse. Mickie James had some things to say to put Miz back in his place. Of course, Maryse was left standing at the end of that night. In instances that Maryse has gotten to speak, she once again downplays Mickie’s beauty. Many fans may take it as just a heel talking trash, but Mickie James has not exactly had a chance to defend her looks. The WWE helps Maryse a lot by pushing her sexiness and glamor. Not so much Mickie James. After a while, it does sink into the minds of the fans sitting at home and watching this.

In the end, some may complain that this feud was too much in favor of Mickie James, but it is not entirely true. Look beyond the top layer of competition. Look at the deeper importance of getting someone over. Mickie James has looked weak in this feud, and even before the loss last week. That infamous night Maryse first sprayed Mickie in the eyes, costing her a title shot, made Mickie look weak. It not only slowed down Mickie’s title hunt, it added some character to Maryse. I am not entirely surprised that they repeated the same trick. In terms of spreading character overness, I would say that this feud was about giving Maryse the great advantage. And I did not even focus on how Maryse has really two angles going on. One is her title feud against Mickie James. The other is her romance angle with Miz. Do not forget that something similar was done with Beth Phoenix not too long ago to try to help her get over. She was Women’s Champion, had a romance angle with Santino, and then later had a full entourage when Rosa came aboard. The WWE is really trying to get Maryse over. They are using Mickie James to do it. That is a good thing, but it is influencing her character. She is obviously not acting like a psycho. She is acting serious. Some will call this the infamous “boring face” diva. Whatever the case may be, it is being done to make Maryse look entertaining. Let her character shine out. Have Mickie put her own charisma in check to some degree. Will it get Maryse over in the end? Will the fans grow so in love with her, they turn on “boring” Mickie James? Will this lead to Maryse’s face turn? Once she has that fan support, the WWE will be at a better spot to push her high.