killeroflegends

I know I wrote about which Smackdown divas should turn face weeks ago. This is not an update or redo of that. I have just been seeing people make some comments about certain heel divas on Smackdown here and there, so why not take a minute to look over the heel army on Smackdown?

First, what could I possibly say that is bad about Vickie Guerrero. She may not be a wrestler, but many, not only myself, can see that she gets more heat than a lot of other heels, male or female. She also illustrates the idea that the fans like seeing heels get what they deserve. This week alone, Vickie got embarrassed on Raw by Santino and on Smackdown by Escobar. Humiliation was nothing new for her during her first WWE run. And she came back? She had to have known what she was getting herself involved in again. Give her credit for that. She seems to enjoy doing her role, and that is a great sign of a respectable pro wrestler, and I mean from the character aspect. She humiliates herself a lot of the time by how she acts. Now that things are over between her and Escobar, what will she do? Feuding with Teddy Long has been done before. Is there something more original for one of the best heels in the WWE today?

Where is Natalya now? I know I said this recently, but after her win against Mickie James, she is still just by the side of her two guys. Is Natalya herself getting anything to gain her lasting heat in the ring? Will she get a regular reaction anywhere outside of Canada? I am not saying the WWE needs to hand her a title now, like I see some fans saying. I am saying that she needs to get more time to put the attention really on her. Let her really get involved in these matches involving her two guys. Let me guess, the WWE does not want to push her better because of her weight? I am sure TNA would not mind using another Neidhart.

Beth Phoenix’s grand push is up in smoke already? What grand push? I am referring to her constant squash matches. Some people actually considered that a push in itself. I do not fully agree there. It was just to build her up for when a real push did come. That push was supposedly meant to be a face turn. She had backstage segments teasing wanting to come after the Women’s Championship. I have already explained how squash matches can be a tool to turn someone face. Some believe the squash matches ended because Beth was getting cheered, but the WWE was not yet ready to turn her face. That may be part of it, but it can also be that they figured it was a waste of time to have her squash people every week. You need to mix in dominance in the ring with signs of where her character will be going by using segments. They stopped the segments when they started having her squash people. And do not forget a few notes about that pop Beth was getting. Her first squash match on Smackdown was done not too far away from her hometown. She would have definitely had supporters that night, people she did not need to win over by doing anything at all. The reactions are also not always that magnificent in all the squash matches. She is being allowed to impress. No other point of her squash matches. When she pulls off her big power moves, that can get a response. But will that last on and after the closing seconds of the match? That good reaction cannot just last for impressive spots. It has to stay with you before and after the matches. Besides all that, what would happen when the squash matches had to end? What happens when Beth would have to show weakness and tone her offense back down? Would fans still have a lasting love for her? A lot of wrestlers have gotten over without a run of squash matches to get them a response first. In fact, it is sometimes the better matches that come after the squashes that really make or break a wrestler. Whatever happens to Beth, Smackdown still needs more faces.

I have actually seen some people say that Michelle McCool and Layla are great heels. They say that Smackdown’s diva matters would be boring without them. To me, that is like saying that no one would be running the United States if Barack Obama was never around to begin with. Not the case. If McCool and Layla were not around, the WWE would still be pushing another heel or two in a way to try to get them heat. These same fans would then automatically be saying that these other women are great heels. Just because you are pushed as a great heel, that does not make you a great heel automatically. John Cena is pushed as a top face, someone who is supposed to be liked, but does that automatically mean that all the fans fall for the facade? No. That is exactly what the WWE is trying to create around McCool and Layla. A facade. The WWE has done a lot to try to make McCool look like a strong heel. She picks on Mickie James. She attacks other heels. She leaves other heels to fend for themselves, like this week on Raw. That is not McCool’s own character doing that. That is what the WWE wants her and Layla to do. These two are often acting as plain bullies. Will that get them over as heels? Maybe. What decides? The fans. Will McCool and Layla get that reaction? Will they get half the heat Vickie Guerrero gets? Can they even muster a constant response like John Cena? Whether booed or cheered, at least he gets a response, although not always for the right reasons. Point is, Layla and McCool really are not at the level of great heels based on their characters alone. The WWE is carrying them. The fans are not giving them the response they need. The WWE can try to build you to be great, but that does not automatically make you great. That is what the WWE is doing with McCool and Layla. They are on the path of being built, being made to look like strong heels, but they are not there yet if no one cares at the end of the day. On the other side of the coin, it should not be too hard to realize that the WWE can try to break a wrestler to look weak, but that does not automatically shut out whether this wrestler is great or not. The fans out there are not easily fooled.

Very dry Smackdown for the divas. No matches at all. Michelle McCool and Layla, the two main heels in the main diva angle going on for Smackdown, got nothing. Beth Phoenix got nothing. A few assorted segments here and there.

First, although not a diva match, Cryme Tyme took on the Hart Dynasty. Natalya was at ringside doing her usual stuff. Will this “rivalry” ever end? I can hardly see this as a real feud. Why are they fighting? Because the WWE tells them to. Nice. The commentators made note of Natalya beating Mickie James a few weeks ago, but where exactly has that gotten her? I made this point before, they did not put enough attention on Natalya, so that win will not do much for her. When it does come time to push her again, they will still have to build her back up. Wasted momentum right now. Not that they were really planning anything different anyway. Cryme Tyme actually took the loss this week.

The big move for storylines involving women has to be the latest developments between Escobar and Vickie. Vickie managed to convince Teddy Long to give her man a shot at John Morrison’s Intercontinental Championship. Escobar lost. Vickie snapped and treated him like garbage. In another segment, Escobar turns the tables, humiliates Vickie once again, and seemingly ends the relationship. I cannot say I am surprised it ended. I am just surprised it ended so fast. How will this impact Vickie Guerrero’s involvement on Smackdown? I think they could have done a better job of leading up to this point, but it is obvious the WWE was not thinking about creativity as its chief goal. And you have to once again give it to Vickie for humiliating herself.

Speaking of humiliation, this marks one week since the Smackdown aired that featured a humiliating segment on Mickie James. I said last week that what happened to Mickie James did not have to be in vain if the WWE used it to propel this storyline to a greater level, and took Mickie James along for the ride. That did not happen at Survivor Series. That is fine, since they did not have much time to do much beyond take care of the match and passing out momentum there. Nothing happened on Raw. I can live with that. Let that be Melina’s night to look good, just so it means even more when Maryse attacks her. But tonight? Something should have happened tonight to really further that angle. Mickie James was used. She had a brief backstage segment where whe basically said she was not going to let McCool and Layla force her to quit. I do not like the direction this may be going. The WWE expected Mickie James to put over the fact that she is strong? Then why did they have her cry last week? I know the answer to that. It was meant to make Mickie look weak, give the heels the advantage going into the big match, and try to make McCool seem like a greater heel. But if they are going to come back the following week and have Mickie brush it all aside, they are having her contradict herself. They are not building her character for this storyline very well in one direction. This would not be the first time they did not treat Mickie’s character well. Maryse sprays her in the eyes, costing her a title shot. What does Mickie do the next week? She comes out all smiles to team with Santino Marella. And what does this mean for the current storyline? Does it drop down to a typical title feud now? Horrible. This is what I feared. That would mean Mickie James was humiliated last week just for the sake of being humiliated. Almost any attempt the WWE will make to have her seem like McCool’s promo meant nothing to her will fail. It is a contradiction. They created a humiliating promo for a reason. They expected Mickie James to show a certain emotion for a reason. Everything that has followed so far has been a disappointment. A creative drop. It is as if the WWE started something they knew would cause some kind of response or uproar, but folded from the pressure way too soon. They would never make it on the poker table.

Was this segment possibly only a paragraph in the same story I believe should be told? Is this strong front Mickie put forth just a thin layer of armour? Will the WWE use that to redouble the heel’s efforts to break her? That would not be too bad. Yes, this is a Mickie James fan talking about it being fine for Mickie to be treated badly, but in terms of the storyline anyway. In the end, it allows Mickie to show her character. In the end, if things play out right, the heels should get what they deserve. On that note, I liked that smile Mickie gave at the end of her interview. I do not want to be one of those fans who reads too much into body language of pro wrestlers, but it was somewhat fiendish in my eyes. Would it be nice if Mickie turned to getting revenge now? That is what I want to see. Not the Mickie James that shrugs things off, like the WWE is building her up to be constantly.

On a last note, there are many great possibilities the WWE could have had this week for this storyline. McCool, or Layla the sidekick, could have intervened in Mickie’s interview to keep the tension going. They could have tested how hard Mickie’s armour really is, if continuing the bullying of Mickie James is the direction they want to go. After Beth Phoenix attacked Mickie James at Survivor Series, a match between the two would have been logical for this week. Whether Mickie won or lost, the McCool and Layla could have easily been a part of that. What excuse do they have not to have a match? It is not like Mickie really got to wrestle in her match on Raw this week anyway. Attention could have shifted to McCool and Layla with another segment designed to hurt Mickie. You can probably come up with something else. Point is, the way they did choose to continue this storyline, it seems almost as if they are trying to bury what happened to Mickie’s character last week. They came too far to just shrug it off. Even if it does save Mickie’s character, it may ruin the storyline. Mickie looking stronger in the storyline would have saved her character a lot more than a segment of words backstage. 

Raw is saved! All the Raw divas saw time tonight, as well as a few from Smackdown.

Natalya was out for DX vs. Hart Dynasty. She did nothing beyond bounce up and down and look frustrated after the inevitable loss.

Teddy Long got a backstage segment with Vickie Guerrero and Escobar. She once again was pushing the fact that she has power. Long wanted to smash some potatoes in her face, but Escobar saved her. How long will this Teddy/Vickie angle last this time? Will it end up the same way it did last time?

The rest of the Raw divas who were not in the match tonight were in a backstage segment with Santino. Gail Kim and Alicia Fox started out. Santino came in with a sexist promo. They pied him. The Bellas pied him. Eve pied him. Vickie tried to pie him, but he ended up slapping it back into her face. Good to see they are still treating Vickie as well as around the time she left the last time. As for the other women, all their characters are left as generic once again. None really had anything that stuck out for me. Then again, that was not their job. Their job was to be generic. It was Santino’s job to be funny. Pie in the face is also funny. However, and I have said it before, good charisma is not about the action, but how it is acted. In terms of that, nothing special from any of the divas involved in this segment, except Vickie. She seemed fiendish. She’s still got it.

And there was a match tonight. I know Thanksgiving is this week in the United States, but “Mayflower Melee”? Pilgrims vs. Indians? Stupid. The two sides even came out to music that is supposed to represent the two types of people. Special titantrons too. The heels, Michelle McCool, Jillian, and Layla, were not too happy about it. That is what was expected of them anyway. McCool gave a short promo against it. Smarks are going to love her for that, right? The faces were Melina, Mickie James, and Kelly Kelly. The Gobbledy Gooker was timekeeper, but that is the best thing of this match. I will get back to the giant turkey in a moment. If it needs to be said, the faces were dressed as American Indians. The heels were Pilgrims. The match saw only Jillian and Melina officially involved. McCool and Layla did nothing much beyond try to cheap shot Melina once, have it backfire, and then just leave Jillian alone. Solidarity between McCool and Layla right there. Mickie and Kelly got to do even less. Raw is famous for putting divas in costume matches and creating tag matches where most of the divas do nothing at all. Tonight was the first time they went there in a while, but they went there indeed. Without saying much about the exact match quality, it was a better exchange between Melina and Jillian than they have put forth in the last month. Melina gets the pin. Melina, Mickie James, and Kelly Kelly defeat Jillian, Michelle McCool, and Layla.

After the match, Lawler and the turkey got in the ring. Lawler wanted to interview Melina, so Mickie and Kelly leave. As Melina is saying how glad she is about things, the Gobbledy Gooker attacks her. Guess who? Maryse is back. She spent some time stripping out of the outfit. That actually got a good response from some of the fans. The hot blonde gets cheered just for stripping. She dumped the outfit on Melina. She was doing her infamous hand gesture through it all. I think this sends a clear message. She wants her title back. No surprise there. Giving Melina the momentum from last night and tonight were good to not make her look second-class for when Maryse returns and starts taking momentum at Melina’s expense, like tonight. I am actually glad Maryse is back. The second she returned the way she did, you could tell that real creativity was there for the women on Raw again. An actual feud is finally here. How will the wrestling be? We will see when Maryse gets in the ring. It actually hurts a bit that I was right. I threw around the idea here and there that the WWE put treating the Diva’s Championship scene with a bit more respect and creativity off until Maryse could return. How does she return? With a surprise attack on Melina to start a feud strong. It was an actual segment in a real feud. Emotion was there. It was what was really missing from the Raw divas since Maryse left. I do not blame the women themselves, but the WWE’s lack of faith. I wish Maryse the best of luck. I do not want to watch Raw every week just to be bored by the divas.

It is worth noting how this match was positioned between the two title matches. It was obviously meant as a cooling point. What’s new?

The match itself was not too bad. Since it was positioned where it was, I figured it would be rushed badly. For the first few minutes, it was. Layla, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Jillian, and Eve were all eliminated pretty quickly. Layla, Gail Kim, and Jillian never got to pin anyone. Just jobbers. Eve and Kelly Kelly got to pin the heel jobbers, which is a good sign for them. McCool pinned Gail Kim, which is the only elimination the Women’s Champion got. Beth Phoenix dominated for the heels. She eliminated both Eve and Kelly Kelly in quick succession. That is giving her a ton of momentum. Mickie James came in and managed to eliminate Beth, who then attacked her after. This makes Mickie the wounded face. However, Mickie James dominated for the faces, in terms of eliminations. She still managed to eliminate Alicia Fox. That left it two against one. Did I forget to mention Melina? She’s coming. McCool got to dominate Mickie. That heightened the moment when Mickie would tag out. Melina came out and cleaned up on McCool. After a brief exchange, Melina hits her finisher to eliminate McCool and win the match for Team Mickie. That was a good thing to do for Melina. McCool has mowed over her many times on Smackdown, Melina got pinned at Bragging Rights, and she has had bad luck on Raw for a while in her matches. The Diva’s Champion pins the Women’s Champion, and that gives her momentum for the coming return of Maryse. For Mickie James, she got to look very strong as well. She did not need to pin McCool tonight. That may have rushed the feud too fast. McCool looked strong in her interaction with Mickie, but could not beat her. Neither could Mickie beat McCool. What will happen when there is no Melina to tag in? What will happen when there is no Beth Phoenix or Alicia Fox to go through? As for the exact quality of the match, I enjoyed it overall. There may be a spot here or there you want to criticize, but considering Shawn Michaels almost slipped off the top rope in his match tonight, I see nothing in the diva match worth even mentioning. Team Mickie defeats Team McCool with Melina and Mickie James surviving.

Also worth noting, they did not tease any other angles in this match, such as friction between the members of either team. If Beth is going to turn face, they have not really started that exact storyline yet. Moreover, Mickie James remains undefeated at Survivor Series. She defeated Lita in a title match in 2006. She won the match for her team in 2007. She was on the winning team in 2008, despite elimination. And she is one of the survivors this year. After the humiliation they have put her through recently, I am glad she won here.

For the third Survivor Series in a row, there will be a huge tag match. Just like last year, it will be an elimination match. Team Mickie (Mickie James, Eve, Kelly Kelly, Melina, and Gail Kim) take on Team McCool (Michelle McCool, Jillian, Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Alicia Fox).

First, why this match? Some people may feel it should be Melina leading the faces against McCool. Three reasons why that is not the best option. One, you just had Team Melina vs. Team McCool at Bragging Rights. Two, you have a “Raw vs. Raw” team match in terms of Kofi and Orton (both from Raw) both being team captains, and you have a “Raw vs. Smackdown” team match in terms of Miz (Raw) captaining one team against Morrison (Smackdown) and his team. Raw gets its own elimination match. There is some Raw vs. Smackdown going on. Where is Smackdown vs. Smackdown? That is Team McCool vs. Team Mickie. Lastly, this match is personally between Mickie and McCool. That is why it had to be those two captaining the teams.

Who should win this match? Keep in mind that Mickie James has never lost a match at this event. She beat Lita in 2006. She led her team to victory in 2007. She was on the winning team in 2008. Also keep in mind that McCool has been on a huge roll. She has not lost a match in a while. She won at Bragging Rights. Will the heels win two pay-per-views in a row?

The heels, namely McCool, definitely have the momentum heading into the match. Mickie James may have won her match against Layla recently, but McCool still got the last word in. Mickie James cried at being humiliated, and that gives McCool the momentum. Had Mickie James just shrugged off McCool’s promo, that would leave Mickie looking strong heading into this match. She would have beaten Layla and brushed McCool aside easily. That begs the question, why waste time having the promo at all then? Just to show that McCool is an ineffective heel? That is the opposite of what the WWE wants for McCool. I know I am running away from the real focus of the pay-per-view match, but I will get back there. I saw that at least one fan criticized Mickie’s crying because she should be stronger than that after everything she has been through in the WWE. Really? Is it still real to you, dammit? If the WWE wants you to show a certain emotion, that is your job. If they want you to look weak, that is what you have to do. I hear a lot of people saying what Mickie’s character should be. They look at everything the WWE has had her do and try to make conclusions from that. Not a bad way to do things, but the WWE gives and takes. They may treat you well for a long time, but then have you be humiliated just like that. Mickie James was supposed to show emotion after that promo to make McCool look strong, not keep her own character as solid as stone. Honestly, it hurts to see Mickie James having to do that to make heels look strong, but I understand it. Is it fair to her character? As I pointed out before, it seems to be killing her image in the eyes of some. But keep in mind, there is a difference between how a pro wrestler should react, based on how her character has been developed so far, and how that person willreact, based on what the WWE expects from her. The WWE’s concern was building McCool’s heel status, and at the expense of Mickie James. Do not forget that Mickie James also cried after losing multiple times to Beth Phoenix in 2008. Again, not real. It was a storyline. People who want to say that Mickie James should know not to cry for losing, they should know that it was just a storyline. The WWE wanted her to look weak for the sake of making Beth look strong. Mickie James can show emotion, so she makes for a good target to go out there and do this kind of thing. Back to the topic, and sticking strictly to the storyline, Mickie’s tears once again hand the momentum to her foes. As usual, the side that has the momentum going into a big match usually ends up losing. That rule, however, has been broken before for the benefit of Michelle McCool, who mowed over Melina to win the title earlier this year. It has also been broken for the detriment of Mickie James, who has went into big matches looking weak and has still lost.

What would it mean for Mickie James to win? She gets a measure of revenge against Michelle McCool. She gets some big momentum in her coming title feud. After the humiliating promo, and expecting Mickie James to make herself look weaker by crying for the benefit of McCool, I feel they owe it to her to keep her undefeated streak at Survivor Series alive.

What would it mean for Michelle McCool to win? She basically shut out Mickie James. She humiliated Mickie James, talked big against her, and then wins the match. What reason would Mickie James have to come back from that? There are no other faces on Smackdown to provide her with a shoulder to lean on. Things would easily fall flat. McCool would remain undefeated for the longest while, outside of house shows of course. There would be no faces with momentum to challenge her. Is that when they push Beth Phoenix to turn her face by going after the title? Totally unfair to Mickie James.

I expect the match quality to be fine. There are not many matches on the card, so this match should be given some time. Aside from the big story of Mickie vs. McCool, it would be interesting to see if Beth Phoenix shows signs of turning face, Gail Kim shows signs of going heel, and see if any old rivalries get heated up. I am predicting the faces to win. McCool has been looking too strong. Mickie James has been humiliated a lot in the past few weeks. Poking fun at her for her weight and expecting her to cry for the sake of the feud and making McCool look strong as a heel are tools in themselves to bury her. But if she loses after all that in a pay-per-view she was undefeated in, she may as well be planning to retire from the WWE.

It just doesn’t feel like Smackdown without Beth Phoenix squashing jobbers, does it? Nevertheless, the show did go on to add a little more to the story between the two main divas involved in this Sunday’s match.

First, Vickie Guerrero had an interesting backstage segment with Teddy Long and Vince McMahon. Escobar was standing around too. I had a feeling he would not go too far. But it does seem the WWE has plans for Vickie. As Vickie is on her way up, Escobar has to be along for the ride. Vince named Vickie a consultant for Smackdown. That will not make Teddy Long too happy. How long before things turn back to what last year was like? Will Vickie run Smackdown again?

Moving on to the action, Mickie James once again faced Layla. She got a measure of payback for the humiliation from last week. The match was very short. It had to be so they can fit in the McCool promo after, and I will be ranting on that shortly. I do not want to overlook this match. Raw also featured a short match this week. It was a title match too. Speaking honestly, I enjoyed the short Smackdown match more than Raw’s title match. Mickie got to perform to show her anger towards Layla. Layla still managed to get the better of Mickie for a moment. Mickie pulled off a counter of her own and followed it up with a roll up to win. Short. However, it was a lot smoother than Raw’s match. Give Layla credit for being better than certain women Mickie has had to work with on Raw. Give Mickie credit for still knowing how to work even the small matches well. I am still glad she escaped Raw, despite what I am now going to talk about. Mickie James defeats Layla.

Layla lost to a roll up, so she still had her senses to grab the mic and direct Mickie’s attention to the screen. Michelle McCool did a farm promo, comparing Mickie James to a pig. Wow. I am going to approach this segment from two directions, and neither will be from the viewpoint of a blind Mickie James fan.

In terms of treating your most over face diva right, this segment was horrible. The WWE was pandering directly to those internet fans who bash Mickie James for her weight. I understand very well that some humiliation and controversy can be used to propel a wrestler’s career, but humiliating Mickie James for her weight is going a bit too far. This is something personal and beyond kayfabe (character world). In my opinion, it should stay there. When was the last time a face diva was humiliated like this? Face Lita, during her pregnancy angle with Kane, got humiliated. Thing is, that bit of humiliation was part of a huge push, which involved Lita going on to win the Women’s Championship in the main event of Raw, not to mention having her wedding with Kane take a very elaborate main event segment on Raw as well. It really helped build on her greatness. And most importantly, the pregnancy was not real. It was all a storyline. Making fun of Mickie’s weight? That is not a storyline. I fail to see how that will propel Mickie into the main event. It may only add more fuel to those internet fans who want to make fun of Mickie James. There will be a sign in the crowd calling Mickie a pig sooner or later. I can go on a tangent about how this treats women with similar body types to Mickie James, and what it says about beauty overall, but I am not going to. Why did the WWE do it? Most importantly, to get McCool heat. I said before that they do not want her to fail as a heel. What better way to get her heat than have her pick on the most over diva? Is that one of the reasons Mickie was sent to Smackdown? To be used as a tool to get McCool over? She arguably had a similar purpose on Raw with Maryse. In the end, was this all done to try to bury Mickie James? Are they trying to make her look unattractive? They say the WWE likes to humiliate talent who are on their way out. I will say no more.

I am now actually going to step out of everything I just said. Controversy is good. It gets people talking. People have definitely been talking about this thing, no matter the side they choose. I even fell for the trap of just ranting about it. Looking at the actual promo McCool gave, teenagers in high school could have done a better job of really humiliating someone. What made the segment work? Mickie’s emotion. She sold it to make it look like it hurt. She is the one that sent the message that mocking her weight does hurt. She showed weakness to try to make that segment work. You have to give her credit for going through that segment and having the ability to show the emotion to get people talking.

I looked at this thing from two ways, but it all boils down to what the WWE will do next. As I said, humiliation for even faces is nothing new. I do feel it has been a while since a face diva has been humiliated quite like Mickie has, but that is something I do not need to go into again. In most cases, when a face gets humiliated by a heel, that heel always gets it back in the end. Vince McMahon literally treated Trish Stratus like a dog a few years ago. Trish was at ringside shortly after when Vince got his head crammed into Rikishi’s backside. Moreover, Trish went on to become a great main-eventer through her interactions with The Rock and Vince. Humiliation was a small evil in the larger ocean of her success. Will Mickie get a creative revenge on McCool? Will she get all angry and brawl with her this Sunday? Will she win the title back? Sounds good to you? Not to me. That is all so simplistic. Mickie has enough reason to want to fight McCool just for the past few weeks of interactions. If she wins the Women’s Championship back at some pay-per-view down the road, or a midcard match on Smackdown, so what? She would have gotten it sooner or later without tonight’s promo humiliating her. If the point of this promo was to take the storyline to a higher level, Mickie James needs to get back at McCool. Eye for an eye. Once you build up a heel to be great, the fans would want to see that heel get humiliated. Heel Triple H has been humiliated before. Not only will McCool getting humiliated be entertaining for the audience, it would help Mickie’s character really shine. I have been comparing Mickie and Kofi Kingston a lot recently. On the Raw after Orton lost his title, he attacked Kofi. Did Kofi just get all mad, brawl with Orton later that night, and then toss his name into the title hunt? No. He messed up Orton’s car that same night. The heel gets it. I honestly believe Kofi Kingston arrived with that segment. If McCool wanted to make Mickie’s life hell, Mickie needs to turn the tables beyond just showing aggression against McCool in the confines of matches and eventually winning the title. If that is all that ends up happening, McCool’s promo on Mickie ends up just humiliating Mickie for the sake of humiliation. It basically ends up a tool to bury Mickie. And I doubt it will even succeed alone in making McCool that great of a heel. However, if all this does eventually lead to Mickie James in the main event, getting an entertaining revenge on McCool, or anything beyond the basic title push, it was a necessary evil to get to that point. If all it should accomplish is strengthen fan support and sympathy for Mickie James, what did the WWE really accomplish? She was already very over. Congratulations, WWE, all you accomplished was pandering to the internet. They’re not going to buy your overpriced pay-per-views anyway.

This is another one of those topics which is partially based on a reader’s recent comments. The reader made the comparison between the current Raw diva division and the current Smackdown diva division. I have been inserting how I feel about that same topic in other posts I have made almost every week. What I find more interesting is how things have changed since a few months ago. There was a clear difference between Raw and Smackdown then too. That is what I want to talk about now. How has that difference changed?

Months ago, before Maryse took a hiatus from Raw for surgery, the main issue going on was over who would make history first by becoming the first diva to have held both the Diva’s Championship and Women’s Championship. At least, that was a big deal for the fans. I have already written enough about how the WWE failed in its part to make that race to history interesting. Point is, Maryse was defending her title against Mickie James and Melina was defending her title against Michelle McCool. Starting with Raw, this is the show that was all about storylines. Good wrestling action seemed to come second. How could it possibly come first? Maryse was not bringing wrestling first in her matches, but she was pushing her character. The feud revolved around the idea of whether Maryse could beat Mickie James. The Miz was inserted to tease that a bit more, as well as for other reasons. There was no linear path between Mickie entering the feud, becoming contender, and winning the title. The WWE tossed in Kelly Kelly, giving her two official title shots, before Mickie finally got her chance. That was used to add a little more dimension and story to this Raw feud, as well as prolong it so McCool can make history first and to keep Maryse a bit strong. On the other hand, over on Smackdown at this time, it was only about wrestling. There was no real storyline. Melina was Women’s Champion. McCool wanted it. She won the right to face Melina. She won the title. There was no great build to it. There was nothing more to this feud than the title. All the filler matches in between were just that, filler. They never added anything much to the feud besides an exchange of momentum, which McCool had most of going into her title win. The matches were solid. McCool is a very solid worker. In the end, neither show seemed to have the full package of both serious wrestling and an actual storyline going with the feuds.

Post-Maryse, and also after a diva trade, things changed drastically. First, even though it started in the previous era, guest hosts were running Raw now, and taking up a lot of time. From the point Mickie James won the Diva’s Championship, all title feuds on Raw have been pretty rushed and linear. A person gains a title shot and gets it. Her feud with Alicia Fox is the only one that offered more of a build to it, but even that could have been a lot better and was still just over the title. It seems like it was supposed to be about wrestling only on Raw, like it was for Smackdown for a while. Problem is, many of the women Mickie was facing are inexperienced. Not a lot of time has been devoted to many of the matches. Guest host matters have been trumping many of these matches. Having the divas wrestle in boxing gear? Football gear? I can go on. A lot of fans are not going to take that seriously. On one hand, you are trying to push just serious wrestling without great storylines, but on the other hand, you are not making it easy for the women to work and be taken seriously. After the diva trade, Melina and Mickie switched places. Melina is in the same boat Mickie was in. Nothing has changed. Short matches. A lot of comedy. Matches are either boring or sloppy for whatever reason. There are no real storylines involving the title. Meanwhile, I am liking what is going on over at Smackdown. It is still about serious wrestling. However, there are actually backstage segments happening often. These are not trivial segments. They are actually building a storyline. When Mickie James does get her official title shot, it would be after a real feud over more than just the title. They are also stressing the need for a new face diva on Smackdown, which makes that interesting as well. Michelle McCool is getting to show some character to gain heel heat. As you can see, a good storyline can serve more purposes than just to entertain, although that is an important part in a sport where the outcome is fixed, such as pro wrestling.

Why has this change occurred? Starting with Raw, the guest hosts are obviously causing some trouble. Nevertheless, it would not have been too hard for the WWE to have done an interesting storyline. They have teased Gail Kim possibly turning on a few occasions. Nothing ever comes of that. Why? Because they are waiting for Maryse. I already wrote a lot on that a few days ago, so I will not say too much more. However, you can see how things suddenly changed right after Maryse left. When she returns, I expect them to change again. Storylines will pop back up, but I doubt wrestling will be taken seriously again. On Smackdown, where it was originally just wrestling being stressed in the title scene, things may have arguably changed because of Michelle McCool. She was not as over as a face as the WWE would have liked. They cannot let her fail as a heel. Interestingly, a storyline popped up in the form of Maria’s romance with Dolph Ziggler. I did not like how it remained a backstage storyline for most of the period, but it did get a lot of people involved, including Michelle McCool, and while she was injured. That storyline was allowing her heelish character to show. That is important. The WWE wants that. Sadly, because the storyline never brought the act into the ring well enough and died before it can leave a great lasting effect, many can say that it failed. When McCool healed up, she was pretty much gone from the storyline and just wrestling again. Since Mickie James came to Smackdown, things have picked up again. The act is actually getting in the ring this time. There is more than just wrestling matches going on. Things may change after they finally get that new face, or if they decide it is not working out for Michelle McCool and want to just push her wrestling again, but I like what is going on. It almost makes up for the WWE dropping the ball on treating the “grand race to history” as a real angle.

To put it simply, Smackdown is treating their women better than on Raw. Raw had the edge in terms of creativity for a while, but they lost that when Maryse took off. Smackdown is having storylines and wrestling matches that are solid. They even have the title many people consider the “real” title. Yes, the butterfly title is still seen as a joke. Melina gets to be the third diva to make that infamous piece of history, but is she missing Smackdown now?

Layla and Michelle McCool have made good on their promise to make life on Smackdown miserable for Mickie James, the sole face diva of the brand. In a backstage segment, Layla distracted Mickie James while McCool entered Mickie’s dressing room. Good to see that McCool has officially found a new Alicia Fox.

Mickie took on Natalya Neidhart for the first time tonight in a singles match. A short match, but not a very bad one. This may be one of those times where youtube is not your friend. A version of the match I saw on there edited out a brief portion of the match that was actually shown in the televised version. The finish of the match is what is important here. Layla and McCool come out with one of Mickie’s other wrestling outfits, which McCool must have gotten after sneaking into Mickie’s dressing room. They start destroying it, distracting Mickie. Natalya knocks Mickie down and locks in the Hart family’s favorite submission. Mickie taps out for the first time in her WWE run. I wish they would have saved that moment for a more meaningful purpose than to put over the fact that Layla and McCool are making Mickie’s life miserable. I do not feel it gave Natalya a good enough rub. In any case, attention immediately shifts away from Natalya and onto the two other heels, still destroying her outfit. The purpose of this match was to only further the build for the Survivor Series match and push the need for another face to help Mickie out. Still, the result of this match still remains what it is. Layla and Michelle McCool defeat Mickie James. Oh, I mean Natalya defeats Mickie James. The win will not do that much for her at this moment.

Beth Phoenix continued to do her thing with random jobbers. If only life was so easy that you can do whatever you want every week with a rag doll. Lisa Taylor looked like she was going to try to put on some kind of fight in the start, but nothing. Beth gets to look untouchable. She is allowed to bring out any move she is capable of doing. And she gets to showcase her strength. The WWE is really trying to get her popular. Giving her a huge push and making her look untouchable did not work in 2007. Giving her storylines and pairing her with one of the most charismatic men on Raw, Santino Marella, failed in 2008 and into 2009. They are now just having her run through jobbers. I want to say that this should work. If it fails, I do not know what else the WWE can pull in a PG environment to get her over. Maybe they should just start treating her like Chyna? Beth Phoenix defeats Lisa Taylor.

Beth Phoenix once again got a match against a jobber, Brittany Carter. Brittany was just as weak-looking as last week’s victim. Striker once again tried to add a small story to the match to make it seem like Brittany had a chance. She didn’t. How long will these matches continue? They may help turn Beth face. As I have said many times before, the average pro wrestling fan only appreciates 100% offense. What does Beth Phoenix get to do in these matches? 100% offense. They are keeping Beth looking very strong. And since she is not facing faces the people care about, she should be getting the better end of the deal in terms of getting over. If it needs to be said, Beth Phoenix defeats Brittany Carter.

The main news comes off of a backstage segment with Mickie James, Michelle McCool, and Layla. There will be a tag match at Survivor Series. Team McCool vs. Team Mickie. Large tag matches do not interest me usually. This one, however, still has some time to actually be developed and does seem to have an actual story to it so far. Focusing on the segment itself, Layla and McCool surrounded Mickie and mocked her. They said she had to beg for this match. They said no one likes her backstage because she cried when she had to be traded to Raw. They said they will make her life hell. First, of course none of the divas like her backstage. With Maria gone, Mickie is the only face right now. Those heels are not going to like her. And it seems the writers want to play with the rumors of Mickie crying about going to Smackdown. I would not make too much of that. It would not be the first time the WWE has played with the internet fans. The Miz’s whole feud with Cena focused on that. The romance angle between Mickie and Cena, which reports tried to claim was real, led to segments where they teased that Mickie was sleeping her way to the top. It does not seem like the two really were romantically involved in reality, so of course the promos of her sleeping her way to the top were just made up as well. And in terms of continuity, the present storyline misses the fact that Mickie was already featured in a segment where she was glad to be on Smackdown, just like the romance angle of last year missed the fact that Mickie was already Women’s Champion before the angle even started, so “sleeping her way to the top” did nothing for her at all. Why did I even spend time with this minor issue? Because I know some people are going to think that it is automatically real. Whether it is or not, it was obviously an easy tool the writers saw to make Mickie James look bullied in the segment. If Mickie did cry about going to Smackdown, she had her reasons for it, just like Melina did. But you have to keep in mind that it is an act in the end. Do not automatically buy in to the rumor sites. Going back to the segment, all this arrogance from the two heels served the purpose of trying to break Mickie down. It did not work. She handed it back to both of them, promising to be Women’s Champion again. It is interesting to note that she is still outnumbered out there. If McCool and Layla are going to make things hard for her, she may need help. For some reason, picturing Maria run out to make the save does not seem too credible. Will Beth Phoenix, who is being built up for something, finally turn face? Mickie has been sole face on Smackdown for a month now. It does not make things easy for her or the division.

All Smackdown divas saw time except for Maria, who has not been used for quite a few weeks now. That further makes things lonely for the only credible face diva on this show.

First, there was a match tonight between Beth Phoenix and a local jobber, Jenny Brooks. It has been a while since they had a diva jobber like that get squashed. The small woman got no offense at all and was just smacked around like she had no life in her. Why was Beth in this match and not the diva segment later on? First, they are still building her for a singles push. Having her get involved in what was going on later may complicate what they hoped to do. Second, they were only a small distance from Beth’s hometown. And she definitely had some supporters there. Why not have her look impressive since she could not compete on Raw, which was in Buffalo? Lastly, maybe this match was just a nice diva filler? Beth showed more emotion in this match, which is always good. But how will she continue to work in real matches away from her backyard? A Glam Slam is enough to give Beth her first singles match victory since coming to Smackdown. Beth Phoenix defeats Jenny Brooks.

Vickie Guerrero, dressed as a princess, accompanied her man, Eric Escobar, for his match against Matt Hardy. She once again got mic time. She seems to be doing her manager role pretty well. Sadly, her man took a loss. That does not mean his push is over, but if he does go downhill, what happens to Vickie? Is that when we see a climax to Teddy Long’s storyline about being on probation?

The main diva segment featured four women and Cryme Tyme in a Halloween costume contest. Natalya was a matador. Layla dressed up as the late Michael Jackson. Michelle McCool was a devil. And Mickie James was Elektra. I do not like segments like this as a whole, but they do allow the women to show character and can be used to further feuds, which did happen tonight. Natalya used a red cloth to play the matador bit with Shad as the bull. Layla did what she has been doing even before the WWE, dance. Michelle McCool walked around a bit and tried to dance. The devil dances? She just did not care. Mickie James did a nice little routine with those sai (name of those kind of knives). Natalya and McCool did not get that great of a reaction. Layla, considering who she was dressed as, did get a good reaction. Mickie James gets the reaction to win. Like always, the losers do not like it. Natalya and Layla start getting in Mickie’s face. Natalya inadvertently takes out Layla. Mickie takes out Natalya. McCool gets a kick in to Mickie’s back. She follows up with one to Mickie’s face to daze her. That ends the segment. The feud between Mickie and McCool finally gets physical. How long until they finally face each other in a title match? House shows do not count. Will Beth be tossed into the picture? I like how they are treating the feud so far.