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Welcome to week two of Divas and the City, the column which analyses the latest Diva/Knockout news and action – from a female perspective, I might add. I am your columnist, Melanie "I Wish My Life Was Like Carrie Bradshaw" Adler, your resident Diva expert. A new issue of "Divas and the City" can be found right here at PWInsider Xtra every weekend, so spare aside some time from your busy weekend schedule, won't ya?

Previously on Divas and the City...

Last week in our debut issue, we discussed the new WWE Divas Championship, which will be launching as part of the SmackDown brand soon. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed in with their feedback, I honestly didn't expect such a response as I received. It's nice to know that people actually read the column and many of you agreed or had your own opinions and I do love reading your Diva ideas! The general consensus is you guys want to see Michelle McCool take on Natalya for the title at Night of Champions, and I certainly agree. I do think this is the match that should kick-start the Divas Championship and I think WWE feels that way too. Let's see how this plays out...

This week: 'Growing Pains'

Our subject this week derives from Tuesday night's broadcast of ECW, in case you missed it (and who could blame you?), it was Kelly Kelly vs Victoria in which we saw an amazing spot that saw Kelly Kelly face-plant from the ring apron onto the floor below, in an uber "ouch moment." Like many, I thought that the spot was real but as revealed by PWInsider earlier in the week, it was in fact a work. What a work, huh? The spot was incredibly believable and very well sold by Kelly Kelly... I can't believe I wrote that. After watching this match, my train of thought continued into how vastly Kelly has improved in the ring and how impressive she has become. Gone is the girl who debuted with no wrestling experience, gone is the girl who the majority branded just another blonde bimbo, gone is that misinformed and misguided girl who made a paycheck simply because she took off her clothes and danced badly in Kelly's Expose. In the past few months, Kelly has shown signs of strength and improvement in the ring; I harken back to the match she had with Natalya just last month – sure she lost, but she put on one hell of an effort. Her selling was spot on and she did a fantastic job in putting over her opponent. Kelly has grown more and more confident in the ring, a far cry from the girl who couldn't even hit a handspring elbow less than a year ago.

And it's not just Kelly Kelly, many of her SmackDown and ECW counterparts have improved leaps and bounds over the past year unfortunately, to less fanfare than one Candice Michelle last year. Is it because these Divas are on the lesser watched shows that they haven't received the same praise? Is it because WWE hasn't pushed their improvements, as they did with Candice? Needless to say, I doubt that the likes of Kelly, Layla or Michelle McCool will be winning "Most Improved Wrestler of the Year", like Candice last year. Candice's push last year wasn't simply down to her own merit, it definitely came at an opportune time as she was pushed to the moon by WWE's "hype machine" but unfortunately for the aforementioned three Divas, lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice. Despite much fanfare, this doesn't deter from their individual accomplishments and thankfully us fans can see how far they've come too. Michelle, particularly has shown significant development both as a wrestler but as a top Diva too – WWE continues to show faith in her, as she shoots to the top of the women's division and is labelled a "commodity." Meanwhile, Kelly Kelly and Layla, whom I so affectionately brand the "least watched Divas on television" have snuck up on us under the radar in showing marked improvement as wrestlers.

As I wrote in last week's column, SmackDown has shown signs of betterment in terms of women's wrestling and it seems all these Divas are stepping up to the plate. Working with the likes of veteran Victoria and training in their own time, can only help these three continue to grow as performers and so far, the results have been  very positive indeed.

For Kelly Kelly, here is a Diva that so few saw potential in – yet in the recent months and weeks she has shown so much more confidence, as a result, is more aware of her surroundings and able to pull off moves. Honestly, looking back at some of her earlier matches to her intense, physical match-up with Natalya on SmackDown – the difference is uncanny. Kelly has overcome a lot of criticism in her two year career and is finally on the right track; it's no secret that WWE loves their "blonde bombshells" and given time, Kelly could follow in the footsteps of Trish Stratus. The key here is not to throw her onto Raw and into the title mixture so abruptly, like Candice Michelle. Let her grow and develop on her current home, ECW and on SmackDown and once she is truly ready, I think Kelly could become a commodity for WWE and a future Women's Champion.

Next we have Kelly's ECW rival, Layla, talk about a seamless transition. Layla has taken to professional wrestling like a duck to water; her matches with Michelle McCool in the recent months have been so good and with "round three" just around the corner (Michelle vs Layla will air on SmackDown next Friday as the show was taped last weekend), I'm really looking for to their next encounter. Earlier this week, at my blog Diva-Dirt.com, I was reading comments that fans don't even associate Layla with the Diva Search anymore and it turns out neither did I, I genuinely forgot that she was a product of the Diva Search. No Diva has been able to shake off that tag as well as, or as soon as Layla. Unlike Kelly, Michelle – even Candice, Maria and Ashley – Layla has forged for herself a character, a real character. Her ability to play the bitchy heel is believable and reminds me somewhat of Melina during her early days on SmackDown – an interesting comparison considering Layla is training with the same man who trained Melina, Jesse Hernandez. Layla has come a long way since the 2006 Diva Search and like Melina, I think she is unique; she has a unique look and she has worked hard to become a better performer and a better character. In less than two years, Layla has come further than the likes of Candice, Ashley, Maria and Michelle who are longer tenured than her. I truly hope WWE knows what they've got in Layla, because she is an asset already yet a work in progress too, there's always room for improvement and Layla's progress already shows that she's top of the class.

Finally, I think I wrote a lot on Michelle McCool last week – this is really a case of the stars aligning for Michelle. Though introduced to SmackDown in 2004, it wasn't until the recent year or so that she's actually been on the programme for a long period. Her sporadic appearances in 2004, 2005 and half of 2006 were the result of injuries, creative and more. However in 2007, the stars really did align – with Torrie Wilson out of the picture, Michelle eased into the role of top babyface Diva of SmackDown. Some may argue that her personal decisions (I think y'all know what I'm talking about) may have something to do with her current push, but at the end of the day – Michelle has proven that she is suited to her role. Her advancement in the ring simply justifies WWE's confidence in her, whether or not they pushed her initially because of her personal choices. Michelle will continue to grow on SmackDown, her feud with Natalya started off well and I have a feeling that she will challenge Natalya for the new Divas Championship which will give her biggest break yet. For Kelly and Layla, it's just a waiting game, but for Michelle she's about to hit the peak of her career and hit that next level.

While Ashley, Maria and Candice may be Raw Divas, in my personal opinion, these three Divas have whizzed by them and being part of Raw doesn't give them superiority over Kelly, Layla and Michelle. Could being on Raw actually be a deterrent for less experienced wrestlers? In the time that Maria, for example, has been on Raw she's shown little to no improvement in the ring – okay she has shown some – but not as much as you'd expect given that Raw is considered the home of the "wrestling Divas" and the Women's Championship. Meanwhile, Kelly, Layla and Michelle have evolved into fine wrestlers. It seems to me that being part of the Raw brand does you no favours if you haven't got the skill set already.

Television Thoughts

- I was actually underwhelmed by all the brands this week, TNA included. I guess something had to give, we had such an action packed week last week. I mean the "I Quit" match, a great tag match on Raw, a Knockout Street Fight and the launch of the Divas Championship. Something had to give this week, right?

- TNA's Slammiversary match was just as I predicted. Great work, but evidently not pay per view calibre. It just didn't justify being on pay per view let alone TNA's anniversary pay per view. I would have much rather have seen an intense singles feud culminate, after all this is meant to be one of the biggest events on the TNA calendar.

- Raw delivered a decent women's match, though those who read Diva Dirt will know I'm not too into Beth-Mickie matches. The saving grace was Melina's attack on Beth at the end. Fantastically done and the crowd was so hot for it! I can't wait to see how this plays out. 

- ECW, shockingly, was the highlight of my Diva viewing this week. The spot with Kelly was just eerie, but for some reason you didn't wanna pull away from the screen. Really well done. One has to wonder though, the logic behind this? Why have they booked this? It doesn't make sense on that level.

- Impact saw a decent match between Gail Kim and Velvet Sky, though not completely enthralling. Gail got her payback, but this whole storyline has been lacklustre. I say get back to one-on-one feuds that actually mean something. 

- The angle with Kurt putting a hit out on Karen was smartly booked, what a great angle (pardon the pun). Nice inclusion of Awesome Kong too. Karen reminds me somewhat as the Stephanie McMahon of TNA, Stephanie the character that is.

- SmackDown saw another "okay" but not great match. As I wrote at Diva Dirt, I feel as though Cherry vs Maryse is more of a starter than a main course. I would much rather see Natalya, Victoria, Michelle, Layla etc. Underwhelming, but both Divas did well. 

- Two new Divas made their debuts this week: Alicia Fox on SmackDown and Tiffany on ECW. Fox is none other than Victoria Crawford of FCW, who was signed along with Kelly Kelly when Johnny Ace saw her in a catalogue. Tiffany is Taryn Terrell, yet another Diva Search reject. Fox could prove a nice addition to SmackDown's women's division as she is an experienced wrestler after two years in developmental… I look forward to seeing her wrestle.