As already covered in this week's Raw Super Show Reloaded, current WWE Diva Eve Torres suffered a facial injury during an 8-Diva Tag Team Match on Monday Night Raw. Catching a stiff Clothesline to the face from Beth Phoenix, Torres suffered "a bloody nose" which may or may not be broken, but more than enough to leave a spot of blood on the canvas and for the referee to put on a rubber glove and make the "X" sign with his arms to inform the backstage crew of an in-ring injury.
The former WWE Divas Champion continued on in the match for a few more moments before tagging out, and wasn't even seen during her team's celebrations for winning the match, attended to by the referee on the far side of the ring and unseen by the camera.
Here's hoping the injury isn't serious and she makes a quick recover to return to in-ring action.
Here we are once again, another Tuesday and it's time for another edition of the Raw Super Show Reloaded right here on Divas of Destruction! Last week there was a short match (no surprises there) but for once with a point as a match between Beth Phoenix and Eve led to the continuing saga involving Eve, Kane, Zack Ryder, and John Cena. But with the Elimination Chamber Pay Per View approaching and with WrestleMania in the not too distant future, will this be the night we get a clearer picture of what the Divas have to look forward to at the WWE's biggest show of the year? And will Kharma actually reappear since vanishing after her Royal Rumble appearance?
Making an appearance tonight was the “Geek Goddess” of the WWE in AJ. With neckbrace on and all, she was accompanying her boyfriend the World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan to the ring, at one point standing in front of a downed Bryan on the outside to pleed with Big Show not to attack, which gave Bryan a chance to get a cheap shot in. Later, Big Show almost flattened AJ again but stopped short of it, but regardless Bryan grabbed her and escorted her away up the ramp as he got counted out in the process. I've been enjoying this storyline with AJ being lovestruck and Bryan using her to sneak away and stay as World Champion, so this was fun to see.
Short and sweet on the Vickie-Watch this week. Vickie Guerrero was ringside as her man Dolph Ziggler competed in the Six Pack Challenge main event, but did not win. For the purposes of the level of the match Ziggler is in, it's OK for now for Guerrero to be in the backseat for the moment, but one has to wonder if the many times Vickie comes out but does nothing but stand is a sign that maybe her time as being the manager of Ziggler is coming to an end?
The Match:
In an Eight-Diva Tag Team Match: Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, and Tamina defeated The Bella Twins (Brie Bella and Nikki Bella), Natalya, and WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix when Tamina pinned Brie Bella with a Superfly Splash.
Right into the entrances as Eve's theme plays and Team Orange, I mean Team Good Girls out first with Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox (furry hood with ears and all) all in orange versions of their usual ring gear, while Tamina rebels with black gear but a slightly orange tint to them (or tiger stripes, I don't know). You know that they are all super-duper best friends because they're all matching in the same colour. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
If I had a pound for every time Eve got announced as Eve Torres while the on screen graphic says just Eve, or vica versa, I'd have like, maybe a hundred pounds or something by now. That'd be a good deal. All I'm saying is that the WWE can't even be bothered to care about what Eve's name and not just flip-flopping between the two, but showing the two different variations AT THE SAME TIME.
The announcers remind us of the bother Torres has been in the past few weeks because of the ongoing Kane and John Cena storyline and the attacks on her boyfriend Zack Ryder – but Eve is smiling away like there's no problem as the girls approach the ring and we cut to a recap of last weeks events, but since you all ready the last Raw Super Show Reloaded, we all know what happened, right? Back to the ring and Eve looks saddened at the reminder, Kelly looks concerned, and I'm laughing hard at the “Duuuuuh” look on Alicia's face before she just starts smiling like she doesn't care about what happened to Eve. What a great friend huh? Does Fox not care anymore after getting depushed after that infamous leg drop onto Beth?
Speaking of the WWE Divas Champion, her theme hits and the bag girls arrive in most certainly not matching outfits as The Bella Twins rock blue outfits (OK, they match each other but naturally they do, that's their act after all), Phoenix wears the same black outfit we've seen time and time again from her, and Natalya (let us mention not the gimmick she's being forced to do over on Smackdown) looks lovely in bright pink gear. Michael Cole states that Beth has been dominate and says she spoke to WWE.com “earlier today”, and we get an insert video clip that clearly has tagged on it “LAST MONDAY” that plays as the bad girls complete their entrances and enter the ring.
Starting out is Beth, who in awesome fashion shoos her team mates away, and Eve who goes right for the attack with a Side Headlock, easily pushed off but comes back and ducks a Clothesline as Cole comments that Torres is in a better mindset than last week. Beth ducks her head down but Torres performs a very nice side-roll over Phoenix's back to land on her feet, capitalizing with a Toe Kick to the gut to double Beth over. Eve looks to follow up with the Bicycle Kick but Phoenix captures the leg, and pulls in her opponent...
AND MURDERS EVE WITH A CLOTHESLINE ACROSS THE FACE!!!
Holy melting cheese on a burger, you could hear the slap ringing out and we now know that this very Clothesline broke Eve's nose, and you can see Torres clutching her nose as she's down on the canvas, and there's a bit of confusion as Beth drops down and fires off a couple elbows to the side of Torres – no doubt to cover for time and check on her co-worker – before going for a cover and a two count. Perv King comments that Eve would have a chance at beating Beth if she wasn't distracted by everything going on with Kane and Ryder, while Beth pulls Torres up and sends her down with a Body Slam. The referee steps back out of camera shot but clearly brings the arms up to make the dreaded “X” symbol but our focus goes as Beth slaps one of the Bella Twins HARD across the chest to make a tag, and then in ever-awesome fashion sits down on the ropes to hold them open, demanding the twin show her what she can do.
Coming in we can see a spot of blood on the canvas as the referee puts on a rubber glove on his hand, and Bella Twin A hits a Neckbreaker and give Eve credit here, she's taking it and then takes rather shabby looking (for good reason considering the nose) head slams against the canvas. The legal twin gets up and now talks smack to a bemused but unimpressed Phoenix while the other Bella is bouncing up and down on the apron, as we clearly see the ref throw up the X sign. The twin talks a little too much smack as we hear a tag being made and Beth motions for her team mate to turn around, the twin on the apron yelling “Brie!” as a warning so we now know it's Brie Bella who's in the match! Yay!
Cole and Perv King plug the annual “Bella Bowl” photoshoot that's on WWE.com that Perv King claims “was better than the real SuperBowl” as Tamina comes in and takes full control as she scoops Brie up and drops her with the Samoan Drop. Tamina moves to climb up to but Nikki Bella moves across the apron and yells some smack, but Alicia Fox and Kelly Kelly run around the ring and yank her off the apron. Tamina perches up top and stares across at Beth for a moment before standing tall and as Perv King gushes over the memories of her father “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka doing this, Tamina flies through the air to nail her own Superfly Splash and score the 1, 2, 3 to win it.
Tamina stays kneeling as she stares down and across at Phoenix, and embarrassingly the WWE cameras cut to a shot of a part of the crowd sitting down and not looking too enthusiastic about what they've seen, before it's back to Tamina staring. We then see Beth Phoenix with her title ringside as she has a wide, rather sick smile on her face as she stares right back and this clearly confuses her Divas of Doom partner Natalya but Phoenix just keeps staring back at Tamina as she, Kelly and Fox celebrate in the ring. In the background the referee is on the far side of the ring no doubt checking on Eve, and this ends with Tamina backing away with a sly smile while Beth nods her head in approval.
Thoughts: Firstly, OUCH! That Clothesline sounded like it could hurt, and it obviously did and Eve Torres' nose took the brunt of it but by the looks of it had little effect on the match as moments later there was ample time to tag out and for Tamina to wrap the match up. It's (no pun intended here) a bad break for Torres to get an injury at this time considering her major storyline involvement with the likes of John Cena, Kane, and Zack Ryder. She's been the best actor involved in it and has added lots to the overall saga, so to lose her at this point is a very bad thing, and add in that this injury depending on it's severity could take Torres out of appearances up to, including, and beyond WrestleMaina? Couldn't happen at a worse time for one of Raw and the WWE's top performers.
Secondly, it looks like we're setting up for a Beth Phoenix versus Tamina showdown for the Divas Championship and I'm all for it. It's a fresh match that I don't believe we've seen yet in the WWE and will make a great change for the repeated Beth against Kelly or Beth against Eve contests we saw across 2011. A match-up of power against power, brute force against brute force is something rare in the Divas division and I believe would make for great viewing. Whether this is a long term deal for the run-up to WrestleMania or just for an Elimination Chamber match remains to be seen. For another week though, the force that is Kharma has been absent from our screens. Was her Royal Rumble appearance really just a one-off and she isn't quite ready for a full-time return? I think the WWE is trolling us with that one...
However that actually wasn't the last we saw of Eve Torres this edition of Raw as (in a clearly pre-taped segment) Kane once again terrorized her backstage, getting right into the frightened Diva's face and warning that if Cena didn't stop him, he wasn't going to stop either and was terrified of himself for the first time of what he could do to people. It's again effective storyline progression and could give the WWE a reason for taking Eve off TV while she recovers from the broken nose as they could claim either Kane attacked her or she's just hiding away from Raw in fear. It would be better for Beth's dominance that's being hyped for the WWE to straight up say that Phoenix hurt Torres and that's why she's out of action. We'll wait and see on that one.
That wraps it up for the Raw Super Show Reloaded this week, so thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back next week for all the happenings with the WWE Divas on Monday nights! See you then!
Today we can bring you the latest edition of TNA's India project Ring Ka King, and we get our first look at the "Knockouts" of the promotion, one of them being a current TNA Knockout as well as a former WWE Diva, while the other is a former TNA Knockout who is also the current SHIMMER Champion. It's Mickie James, busting out the classic bell bottom pants gear from her WWE days against Alyssa Flash - the former Alissa Flash and Raesha Saeed in TNA, and the current Cheerleader Melissa. The natch starts at 1:00.
Thoughts: A dream match right here, and the ladies didn't disappoint. How TNA could have let Alissa Flash go in the first place I have simply no idea but we see a taste here of what TNA has been missing out on here.
River City Wrestling has released footage of Ring Ka King star and former TNA Knockout Alissa Flash - also known as current SHIMMER Champion Cheerleader Melissa - winning the RCW International Championship from "Minister" Rick David, and in the process becoming the first woman to hold all of the promotion's championships. It's always great to see gender devides broken down in companies, so take a look and enjoy this footage as Flash gets violent with her opponent before hitting the Air Raid Crash to take home the gold, and enjoy a little post-match celebration as well!
The weekly CHIKARA Podcast A-Go-Go this week brings us footage of Sara Del Rey taking care of business from the company's High Noon iPPV show as she takes on Jakob Hammermeier in an intergender contest. The clip starts at 1:39.
The recent Pro Wrestling: EVE Championship Match held at XWA Wrestling's Goldrush 2012 event over the weekend saw current champion Jenny Sjodin successfully retain the gold in a three-way dance against former team mate April Davids and fellow EVE star Shanna. Sjodin now heads into the promotion's iPPV debut as champion, scheduled to defend against the might The Alpha Female.
However it seems that Shanna may not make the iPPV event, as she suffered a "hyper extended elbow" and a "dislocated shoulder" during the contest according to an EVE press release. It is unknown the exact extent of this injury and how long it will take for her ti fully recover.
Click on to read the full EVE statement about the match and the injury.
'The Female Fight Machine' Jenny Sjodin retained the Pro-Wrestling:EVE Championship last night after a breathtaking and show-stealing Triple Threat match over 'Portugal's Perfect Athlete' Shanna and 'The Lancashire Terrier' April Davids, but perhaps the reigning champion was a little too eager to make a statement ahead of her big Championship defence against Germany's Alpha Female at 'No Man's Land' on February 18 exclusively LIVE on iPPV at Diva-Dirt.com...
After 10 minutes of frantic non-stop innovative action Sweden's Jenny Sjodin forced Shanna to tap out to a fujiwara arm-bar and, unfortunately, in the process hyper-extended the elbow of 'Portugal's Perfect Athlete' in addition to dislocating her shoulder.
Due to being diagnosed and treated in a Lancashire hospital last night, Shanna unfortunately missed her flight back to Portugal at 5.30 this morning, in order to begin a full recovery plan and complete diagnosis and treatment Shanna needs to be back home in Portugal so we're currently unable to announce what kind of effect this will have on "Portugal's Perfect Athelete" long term or how long she will be out for. Rest assured as soon as we further news we will update everyone.
After such a stunning performance Jenny Sjodin's Win Loss Record now moves to 11 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw with Sjodin's only direct losses where she was involved in the decision having taken place on May 8 2010 (to April Davids) and April 8 2011 (to Britani Knight) with both of those avenged 2-1. All eyes are now on Sjodin's next championship defence against Alpha Female (10 Wins, 1 Loss) at No Man's Land, iPPV on www.Diva-Dirt.com/EVElive
As much as Alpha Female does indeed tick the boxes of all the nicknames and adjectives given to her, she is very much the professional predator, power-house and wrecking machine, Sjodin last night displayed the killer instinct required to win such a fight and perhaps now shows just how much of an even fight this is as 'The Shooter' battles 'The Monster'.
Pro-Wrestling:EVE presents No Man's Land: Sjodin vs Alpha on Saturday 18 February EXCLUSIVELY LIVE on iPPV on www.Diva-Dirt.com/EVElive and is available to order NOW!
A very important night for Impact Wrestling as we welcome you to the latest Definitive Impact Wrestling review… or as my flashy new logo at the top says: Impact Wrestling Indepth. I like it. Think we’ll stick with it…
Sorry for my conspicuous absence this week. Sometimes these things happen. Hopefully not again any time soon. Good thing I’m back just in time for Impact Wrestling’s first edition from my neck of the woods. That’s right Impact Wrestling comes live from Wembley Arena in London. Technically I’m a good 6 hours away from London but I know we’re barely half the size of Texas! Last week Tara became the No. 1 contender to Gail Kim’s Knockouts championship and tonight as part of a loaded card, Tara will face the champ in a non-title encounter. Let’s get to it!
Christy Hemme introduces Tara to an absolutely packed Wembley Arena as we see highlights of last week’s triple threat match with Tara, Mickie and Velvet… yes yes I missed it, leave me alone! Up next is Gail who heads down to the ring with Madison Rayne in tow. The arena looks great this week.
The bell rings and we’re underway. The two lock up and Tara’s strength helps her early on. Gail forces her into the corner and goes for a quick cheap shot but Tara ducks. Tara gets some nice arm drags going before hitting a standing moonsault for 2. Tara’s Irish whip is reversed and she ends up in the corner. Gail flings herself at Tara’s torso. Gail climbs on to the apron and Tara is all hung up. Gail punishes Tara on the apron and goes for a sunset flip. Tara tries to react but gets drilled in the back.
Tara is thrown back into the corner and Gail hits a big splash. Gail shoves Tara to the mat and goes for a pin for 2.A second pin attempt gets the same result. Gail targets Victoria’s knee with a pretty nice submission. The crowd rally Tara to her feet and she pushes Gail off. Gail fights straight back with a big clothesline. Gail Kim taunts the crowd and Tara as she struggles to get to her feet. Tara tries to get to her feet a couple of times but Gail knocks her down each time. Gail grabs Tara and applies more pressure to the back. Gail applies a front face lock, which gets countered into another pin attempt for 2.
Gail gets right back on the offense and just like that Tara is down again. Gail goes to the top rope but Tara moves out of the way of a senton just in time! Both Knockouts struggle to their feet and Tara hits a series of rights and a nice fisherman’s suplex. A back body drop is next before a snap slam. Tara knocks Madison off the apron who responds by entering the ring attempting to knock Tara out. She catches Gail Kim instead… right in front of Earl Hebner. Tara throws Madison out and hits Widow’s Peak on Tara for the 3 and a win over the Knockouts champ!
Winner: Tara
The Definitive Angle: Well to be honest the end was completely stupid. Hebner saw EVERYTHING go down yet didn’t disqualify anyone. He just let the match continue. Stupid. Having said that the match was pretty cool. I’m looking forward to seeing these two go at it at the PPV.
That being said TNA wasted a huge opportunity not using their homegrown talent. We British folk have seen Gail Kim, Tara and Mickie James plenty during their WWE days. For their first televised British show they would gotten had a huge reaction out of Velvet Sky from the British crowd. ODB (despite her crap storyline) would have got a pop too. Plus Winter (yes I know she was in WWE) would have got a nice reaction from her hometown crowd. Missed opportunities… maybe next time.
And until next time it’s goodbye from me! See you soon!
In WWE.com's newest Article writer Alex Giannini takes a look at the history of animal Mascots throughout the History of WWE in which it gives a nod to the Superstars and Diva(s) whom attended the WWE arena with a friend in toe. Of course were not looking at what the Superstars brought to the ringm were far more interested in the Divas.
And whom better to be acknowledged that Torrie's infamous pup, Chloe:
Finally, who could forget Torrie Wilson’s puppy, Chloe, and her signature move, the Chloe Tush Push? Chloe was such a popular presence, in fact, that she became the first animal to ever have a Superstar profile on WWE.com. And, really, who doesn’t love puppies?
Which Diva would you pair with a Friendly little animal? Of Course we use the word 'Friendly' lightly.
* Daniel Bryan came to the ring to cut a heel promo about being a role model and a vegan. Big Show comes out and says he just got finished eating a steak. They talk and Show chokeslams him. Show tried to continue the assault but AJ Lee came out and stopped him.
There's been a sudden change to the Pro Wrestling: EVE Championship match to be held this Saturday (February 4th) at XWA Wrestling's Goldrush 2012 event in Morecambe, England.
What had been just a one-on-one contest between defending champion Jenny Sjodin and her former tag team partner April Davids is now a three-way dance with the inclusion of fellow Eve star Shanna.
All three women were once part of the European Empire stable in EVE, and now face each other for EVE's top and only title, and a press release about this match confirms that should a new champion be crowned, then they will next defend their title in another three way dance on EVE's first iPPV event No Man's Land against The Alpha Female and the woman they would have beaten for the gold in Jenny Sjodin.
Remember that Pro Wrestling: EVE's iPPV debut is being broadcast through Diva-Dirt.com on February 18th, so for more information and to per-order head over to http://www.diva-dirt.com/evelive/
Childish or what? During a segment in last weeks Smackdown featuring former WWE Divas Champion Natalya, Aksana, Santino and Teddy Long, Natalya supposedly passed wind in what fans described as a tastless skit for Friday night Smackdown. Well if you hoped that this whole charade was a one off, i regret to inform you that it seems like the latter.
According to PWInisder, Creative plans for The Divas of Doom's Third Generation Natalya to continue down the line with a flatulence involved angle in continuous segments throughout the upcoming weeks.
Thoughts: Honestly talk about De-Pushing a Diva, several weeks ago Natalya and Beth Dominated the entire Divas Division and now Natalya is reduced to this? Sure we may be a little sensitive when it comes to our Divas, but to portray one of you top Female athletes like this? well that's just Pathetic if you ask me.
In just 2 Days time, former WWE Divas Melina and Jillian Hall are set to once again face off as part of the upcoming World Wrestling Fanexperience (WWFX) event held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines on February 4th. Former WWE & TNA Superstar Shawn Daivari (Known as Daivari in his WWE Career) whom is also at the event spoke to The Phil Star, where he had some criticising words when it to the current Diva Division in the WWE.
“They’re the very best in women’s wrestling today. It’s no secret that WWE women’s wrestling has become awful. With the exception of [Beth] Phoenix and Nattie Neidhart, all the girls are models who attempt to become wrestlers. And they’re all, at this point in their careers, terrible.”
“Melina and Jillian aren’t like that. They’re cut from the same mold as Beth and Nattie. They’re the very best at what they do and they happen to be beautiful. They aren’t beautiful women whom a wrestling promoter recruited to teach them enough to get by three minutes on TV as wrestlers. These girls are both very good. The WWE even hired Jillian to train future Divas because she was that good. I’m glad she declined because now she’s coming to Manila to tear down the house with another world champion in Melina and potentially, put on the best women’s match of the year and we’ve just begun the year.”
WOW Just WOW! Sure many of the Divas are not as athletically skilled as Beth and Natalya but the Likes of Naomi and Alicia Fox, just to name a few have grew and grew over the years and are just a prime example of what a Diva from a Model background can do.
It has just been announced that Australian “The Rate Tank” Kellie Skater will be meeting “The Pink Flash” Kira at NCW’s Femmes Fatales VIII in Montreal on Saturday March 10th.
Today Femmes Fatales released this official statement about the match:
“Kira will have her biggest challenge so far in her career on March 10th as she will have to face Australian Kellie Skater. This will be Skater’s third visit in Montreal and she will be looking to finally get her first win there. As for Kira, she will have her first single match on the main card of Femmes Fatales after all the success she had with the Sherbrooke Connexion. At the moment, Kellie Skater is in Japan, and has been there for over a month where she has been training in her Dojo. From there, she is coming directly to Montreal to prove that her training has brought her to the next level. A huge challenge is to expect for the young rising star Kira.”
Make sure to get your tickets here: http://ncw.qc.ca/ff_marchand.html#billets as they are selling quickly and wrestling fans you do not want to miss out on this awesome card!
North Starz was given a response by the ECCW Women’s Champion KC Spinelli in regards to our recent interview with her challenger Mary Jane Payne. The champ wanted to let the fans in on the events that happened this weekend with some photographic evidence and Spinelli also wanted to set the record straight on exactly what will happen this Saturday at the Russian Community Centre in Vanvouver.
Last Saturday night at ECCW’s “Clash Of The Titans” in Surrey, BC, ECCW Women’s Champion KC Spinelli got her hands on Mary Jane Payne and delivered her devastating “Spin Out” finisher on Payne leaving her knocked out and flat on her back in the middle of the ring. According to Spinelli this is only the tip of the iceburg for what’s instore for Mary Jane Payne this Saturday night.
From KC Spinelli:
“We all know Nick Price and The Admin didn’t bring a girl…. let alone u Mary Jane, into their group to wrestle or to take my belt. We know Nick faked getting hurt because like the new V, no one in The Admin is wrestler material except Scott Mac and even my cousin Mr Tony Baroni has handed him a good beating.
In Honour Magazine’s Edition 17 there is a great article on “The Oncoming Storm” Kalamity as one of the rising stars in women’s wrestling. In addition, there is also details about the alliance between NCW Femmes Fatales and WSU. Wrestling fans you definitely have to check this out!
On Saturday January 28, 2012, at Variety Village Children Centre in Scarborough, Ontario, Squared Circle Wrestling held “Golden Hearts” which saw 100% of the proceeds go Variety Village. This action packed card featured an intergender tag team match up between the teams of Xandra Bale & “Psycho” Mike Rollins and Gabriella Vanderpool and Marcus Marquez.
The team of Vanderpool and Marquez were disgusted by the crowd’s reaction to them and in turn showed their complete displeasure and contempt for them in return as they took they time entering the ring as they verbally abused the fans.
North Starz had the chance to speak with Portland, Oregon’s Mary Jane Payne as she is in final preparations for her upcoming ECCW Women’s Championship match against KC Spinelli this Saturday in Vancouver. Payne describes herself as basically the “Manager of Greatness” and she will pull out all the stops to win.
Payne has won championship gold before in her career and is very confident that she will destroy Spinelli and take her belt. As far as Payne is concerned she will outsmart Spinelli each step of the way and when the time is right Spinelli will get hit by a second rope Bull Dog or X Factor and it will be lights out for the champion and for her title reign as well.
North Starz: Thank you for talking the time out of your schedule especially as you prepare for your big championship match this Saturday again KC Spinelli. First off I’d like to ask you some questions to allow the fans the opportunity to learn about your background. What got you into wrestling?
Mary Jane Payne: Well I watched wrestling a bit as a kid but I never thought I could do something like that until I was 18 and met Pat and Chuck. I saw them at training with Colonel Debeers and Buddy Rose and knew that I needed to do it too! The very next week I got in the ring for the first time. The passion begins. . .
Congratulations at the ready, albeit late. Better late than never huh?
WWE's Kharma and her fiance welcomed their first child, Jamie into the world on December 31st reports TMZ. Kharma made a shock return to the ring this past Sunday as part of the Annual Royal Rumble in which she eliminated Michael Cole and Hunico before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. Its reported that Kharma is already training to make a comeback later this year.
Kharma and her Fiancé are set to marry this coming June.
Hello everyone! It's AdamHaze back from the sunny shores of Florida, including a fun trip to watch FCW live, and I am here once again to bring you the Raw Super Show Reloaded right here, only on Divas of Destruction! We've seen the polarizing online blogger Perez Hilton as a guest ring announcer, Eve Torres be on the verge of mental breakdowns due to attacks on her boyfriend Zack Ryder by Kane, and after the events of the Royal Rumble Pay per View we've seen the Divas Champion Beth Phoenix make a TV return along with the much anticipated return of the force that is Kharma! Now we're on the road to WrestleMania, and all eyes go to the butterfly belt to see if we'll for once have a legitimate match for the title, or will it be another cluster of a battle royal, lumber-jill match or *shudder* a match with a reality TV show “celebrity”? I know what I'd much rather watch! Let's get into it, and look over what went down on the Raw Supershow for January 30th 2012!
Oh hey, start of the show and it's announced that Beth Phoenix will be defending the WWE Divas Championship against Eve. Random title match with no build-up? Seems legit to me. Or is the interim G.M. John Laurinaitis trying to play nice to Eve since she game him a severe tongue-lashing when she confronted him backstage at the previous night's Royal Rumble event.
V-V-V-Vickie Watch! Vickie Guerrero accompanied Dolph Ziggler to the ring for his match against Randy Orton, clapping and smiling when Ziggler went into “show off” mode, and yelling at him when he was on the receiving end of the beating. However without her interfering at all, Ziggler ended up losing the match, much to her screaming anger.
Click on to read up on the other Diva appearances on Raw, including that Divas Championship Match.
Also on the show were the “Funk-ettes” of Brodus Clay - Cameron and Naomi, who danced their way in an oh-so eye pleasing way (especially their “elevation” butt-to-butt move on the apron. Hey, I can't deny it's a sight to behold) with this time matching blue outfits. After Clay squashed Tyler Reks, they rushed back to the ring for more dancing. They're getting plenty of TV time but as time goes on, are they going to get more cheers than Clay for their gyrations? And will they get an in-ring match debut (main show debut for Naomi) at any time in the near future?
The Match:
In a WWE Divas Championship Match, champion Beth Phoenix retains over challenger Eve when Phoenix pinned Eve after hitting the Glam Slam.
Out first is a very nervous looking Eve (announced as Eve Torres, screen graphic says Eve – decide what her name is WWE!) looking nice in a pink version of her top and shorts gear, even looking back over her shoulder in fear and no performing her usual poses as she entered the ring, the announcers recapping her feelings due to Zack Ryder being attacked by Kane over the past weeks.
After the sponsors plug, Beth Phoenix is out in the black with pink trim Divas of Doom attire, and the announcers waffle on about “poor AJ” and how they hope she didn't hear her boyfriend Daniel Bryan say that he wanted to marry Meg Ryan. Firstly, I didn't know Meg Ryan was single, and secondly that's relevant to a Divas title match... How?? Eve was putting on the worried facial expressions while Phoenix finished her pose on the corner. Good show of different body language as Eve looked down to the mat, shuffling slightly in worry while Beth stood proud and smug, patting her championship.
Bell rings and Eve charges forward with Forearm Strikes to force Beth back to a corner, the announcers saying that Eve might try to channel her feelings into aggression, continuing with strikes with stomps then more forearms before the referee pulls her away. Phoenix charges out with a major Clothesline that sends Eve down almost onto her head and neck before she flops right over onto her stomach. Reaching down, Phoenix hauls Eve up by the arms, up into the air, nails the Glam Slam, and gets the 1, 2, 3 for the win. It took me longer to write this paragraph than the actual match lasted.
Thoughts: Well, it's storyline progression since Eve was in clearly no state to compete, so got blasted and taken out in quick time. This may be one the few, the very few times where a quick, under minute Divas match is actually acceptable. Very few.
Beth looks unconcerned as she leaves the ring with her title, Eve still down on the mat. ON NOES KANE IS HERE!!! Lights snap to red, Kane's theme plays but as Eve looks afraid, Kane appears on the tron as he taunts Eve by stating that everything that's happened to her boyfriend Zack Ryder has been John Cena's fault, talking about their feud and Cena's refusal to “embrace hate”. Kane ends it by saying he's going to keep hurting Ryder to send a message, but tonight he's going to use Eve as a “conduit” to do that. Guess that means he's going to hurt Eve? OH NOES!!
As Eve looks afraid on her knees in the bathed in red light ring, Kane's pyro goes off and scares the heck out of her, but she's “frozen in fear” in the ring even though she was able to just stand up. HE'S BEHIND YOU! Kane pops up on the other side of the ring so when Eve turns around she jumps back and falls down, screaming in fear as she inches away while Kane approaches. However John Cena runs out and brings a fight to the Big Red Monster, allowing Eve to escape and her role in this storyline for the night is over.
Thoughts: I've said it before, but Eve is the perfect Diva for this role in this storyline, because her body language, facial expressions, and mic work have been top notch all the way through and it's giving her plenty of well deserved attention. I can only dread to think how misused she's going to be when her role in this and the relationship between Ryder and her is ended.
Lastly on the show, Alicia Fox and Kelly Kelly were shown in a brief glimpse, laughing at John Laurinaitis when he passed them and pointed at them on the way to the ring for his “evaluation” in the final segment of Raw. I'm sure they were both discussing nuclear physics or something of the sort.
Final thoughts: OK... So... Where the holy heck was Kharma tonight?? Her big return, eliminating a man during the Royal Rumble match... Only for nothing to happen? No follow up? Was all the time really needed to be put on just a set up for a Kane versus Cena brawl? Very disappointing, and it doesn't bode well for a Mania Divas match if this is what we get after the Rumble. Still, at least Beth Phoenix is back on Raw television, so there may be some hope left... Maybe...
That's your lot for this week's Raw Reloaded so thanks for reading, and be sure to stop by next week when I'll bring you all the happenings with the Divas of Monday Night Raw! See you in seven!
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