Damsels in Distress – The Decline of the Divas Division
Hello again and thank you for joining me on this Wednesday. I am your cunning host, Rhett Davis, and this is your Mid-Week relief from the turmoil of the daily grind: The O’Really Report. This week will include the Diva’s Division, how far it’s fallen, and how it can be rebuilt. But first there are pressing matters to address from this last week.
-The biggest news on SmackDown this week was the World Heavyweight Championship match in which the cards were stacked against Edge. Vickie was the special referee, but apparently she injured herself attempting a Spear on Edge and was aided outside of the ring. While she was hurt on the outside of the ring, she looked on as Edge hit the Spear on Dolph which should have been a disqualification and lead to Dolph obtaining the World Title after Vickie banned the move. In her place, Clay Matthews, of the newly crowned SuperBowl Champions Packers team, came out in a referee shirt to count the three for Edge after the Spear.
On RAW, however, Vickie came out to tell Edge that the new World Heavyweight Champion is Dolph Ziggler and that Edge lost the title when he speared Ziggles on Friday.
She then goes on to tell him that he may be losing his job along with his belt. Vickie says she has evidence that Edge took out T-Lo because that makes sense. Why would he take out the General Manager that has been nothing but fair to him this go around?
Other news on RAW is that The Rock is now the Host of WrestleMania. Sorry tweeners, no Justin Bieber hosting Mania this year. The Rock showed up on RAW and just proved that no one will ever have the charisma that Rocky had. He could turn the deadest crowd into an interactive studio audience. Not only did he make Cena seem like a fool, he downplayed the RAW Mystery GM (will we ever find out who it is?), Michael Cole, and The Miz. WrestleMania now looks worth the $60 thanks to The Rock.
In other news, TNA’s Against All Odds PPV was last Sunday. I had high hopes for the PPV and I can’t say I was disappointed too much. I mean… it’s a TNA PPV after all. The last one had me shaking my head in sympathy.
-The Kaz/Robbie match was thrown together after the Bucks were stopped in Utah. It made Kaz look like a strong champion while making Robbie look like a smarmy heel that relies on his manager to do all of his work for him.
– The Cluster of a 6 Man Tag looked insane and did nothing but give Steiner and Beer Money a slot on the PPV. Even though I really want to see that Frankensteiner. I always loved that move when Steiner did it. Surprised the lug can still get it off.
– The Joe/Pope match was what I had picked for the MOTN, but it seems like it wasn’t up to par. The end seemed botched. Pope tapping early seemed a little premature and seemed almost as bad as when Cena locks in the STF.
– The Knockout Title match looked good up until Rayne tried to pin Mickie. Doh! Didn’t someone explain the rules in a Last Man/Knockout Standing match? TEN COUNT TO WIN MADISON.
– The RVD/Hardy match, that should have been a ladder match instead of the main event, was better than last month’s. Not that is really saying much.
– The Dudleys’ match appeared better than I was giving it credit in my Roundtable pick, but I am not excited the feud is going on from this show.
– No comment on Angle/Jarrett as I was disappointed that Angle is retiring… AGAIN. Didn’t Jarrett just comment on that like… two weeks ago?
– I am interested in where the TNA Title goes from here. Jeffrey Nero Hardy is once again champion despite the drug charges. He has many possible opponents though. More so than Anderson did. Jeffrey has AJ, Anderson, Morgan, RVD, possibly Angle if he isn’t actually retiring, Roode maybe if he continues to get the push, and finally Scott Steiner.
Now enough with TNA, it’s time for the Divas…
When you read through Inside Pulse, it’s fairly easy to see comments such as “… I didn’t see the Diva’s match as I used that as a bathroom break…†or “I fast forwarded through it.â€Â Remember the days when Trish Stratus, Lita, Jazz, Molly Holly, Victoria, Ivory, and Gail Kim were dominating the WOMEN’s Division? What happened to those days? How’d we go from women who actually could keep a match going with our interest to the pits the division has sunk to now? These girls don’t hold a match more than 5 minutes most of the time today. The reason is fairly simple…
Emphasis.
How does the WWE expect the fans to get behind a Divas match when even the announcers can’t keep their attention on the match? On RAW, Cole and Matthews spent as much time talking about last week’s confrontation between Sheamus and Mark Henry than the TITLE match going on. The Divas Division would be MUCH greater if these girls were given something worth fighting for. Right now all they have to fight over is the Butterfly belt that essentially means nothing because almost everyone has held that belt. It’s sad when the only Divas I deem worthy to even hold the strap are Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Natalya Neidhart, and Michelle McCool. Which leads me to my next point…
Wrestling Ability.
Look I know it’s hard to find Divas who can fight, but maybe WWE should stop looking at runway models and start looking at the Indy Circuit? Now it looked like WWE was finally getting right and then what do they do? They give Eve the title. Eve just doesn’t impress me in the ring. Natty was a great champion minus the lack of competition. The Beth/ Natty collision I thought was sure on the horizon had me anxious. Now I have Eve versus Melina/Maryse/McCool to look forward to. What the WWE needs to do is let some of the Divas who actually can fight… FIGHT. I want to see Kim/Natty, Kim/McCool, Kim/Beth, and Beth/Natty. Not an offensive storyline about how ‘fat’ Natty and Beth are compared to the toothpicks of McCool and Layla. With the lurking Amazing Kong on the horizon, the Divas division maybe on a rebound, but I won’t hold my breath.
The Divas division is in a state of depression because the WWE won’t give them the time, the importance, or the proper training. Divas from the Trish/Lita/Molly/company era didn’t need to be absolutely gorgeous; they just needed to be able to get the job done in the ring. The catch phrase for the Divas is that they are Smart, Sexy, and Powerful. How Powerful or Smart do you really think the Bella Twins, Alicia Fox, or Katelyn are? It’s time for a change. We need more Divas that can put on a match that won’t send us on a bathroom break, but more Divas that will make our eyes glued to the screen in amazement.
Thanks for reading.
And quite frankly my dear… that’s a wrap.
