SPOTLIGHT: THE WOMEN OF WWE
By Joel C Croyle on 6/28/2008 12:00 PM
Welcome back Spotlighters! With the 2008 WWE draft in the books, and assuming WWE doesn’t change any of the new placements of their superstars, there were some changes made to the DIVA roster that were great and some not I decided it was time for spotlight to look at the current roster of female talent in WWE. For months now it seems every major internet site has been touting TNA’s Knockouts (as they should since it is fantastic) but with the changes made I think we might be able to look forward to some good matches in the WWE’s women’s division as well. Also, a new female “DIVA” title is being set up on Smackdown. So let’s look at what each diva brings to the table and where we are headed…
RAW
Mickie James – The women’s champ (at least till Sunday) is currently looking stronger than ever. She hasn’t had a “spotlight” put on her like the last few months since she entered in her little crazy “I’m Trish Stratus but I want to (insert expletive here) Trish too gimmick. Her battles with Phoenix were very good and her partnership as of late with Melina has been on a roll. I think she is quite honestly the most talented female wrestler on the planet right now and that includes TNA. She has a spot, she is going to keep it and I figure she might just hang on to the women’s championship for a long time.
Ashley – She’s been beaten, battered and broken for most the year. The problem is that so far whenever she has come back she really hasn’t impressed me. She also doesn’t seem to have the same fan base she once did. Her character needs a complete revamp. Honestly, if and when she does come back I think she needs to do two things; One, she needs to be moved to Smackdown or ECW immediately and she should be chasing the new “Diva” title. I also think it would be a fantastic idea to turn her heel and possibly put her with a heel tag team like Miz and Morrison as a manager type.
Beth Phoenix – The glamazon lost some steam in the past few months. She was a dominating champion who then got beat and really hasn’t had much luck, to the point that she isn’t even fighting for the championship at Night of Champions. She has a good base of wrestling training under her belt but is still green in some areas. She needs assistance on the mike skills for sure. That said, I think she is a really positive addition to RAW and I think she is going to be great one day.
Candice Michelle – She, like Ashley, seems to be injury prone. But the difference here is that wrestling wise she outshines most the competition in WWE with the exception of Mickie, Melina and Victoria. She has turned her self from eye candy to a great deliverer of matches in the ring. She also has an enormous fan base, in fact, probably the largest of all the Diva’s. Those “go daddy” spots helped a bit too in that male demographic.
Jillian – Make no mistake, this girl can wrestle and can do it well. She is a very good entertainer. We love to hate her. That is her JOB. Yes, she is a horrible singer, or at least she makes us believe that. Her whole schtick reminds me a bit of when Steve Austin did his heel bit with Kurt Angle and the guitar. She really is a great entertainer but for some reason isn’t taken seriously. That said, her character needs a fine tuning – not a complete change. One thing I think WWE should consider is placing her back as JBL’s manager – I thought she was always best in that role and quite frankly Bradshaw could really use the help.
Katie Lea Burchill – I have no idea what to make of this girl. I know I don’t like the “incest” character. I do think she makes a good combo with Paul though. She is getting her chance this weekend at a major PPV in a major match. She has a tremendous amount of skill, I have a feeling, but we haven’t quite seen it yet. She is a slow burn – that might be just what the doctor ordered as I am interested to see where she goes. In a way, she reminds me a lot of Trish Stratus and she just might be as good as her and Lita one day.
Layla – She was part of the “Diva Search” machine and other than a spot on Project Runway and a few botched moves over the past couple years she hasn’t done much. That said, I think she is being used poorly. She is a great dancer, use it, she seems to be one of the better “actresses” in the girl locker room, use it, she isn’t a great wrestler, so don’t use it…it is a simple formula with her – use her talent. That said, I don’t see much uphill for her. She is staying right where she is.
Lillian Garcia (announcer) – She isn’t a wrestler but she is now the 2nd biggest staple of Monday Nights with JR gone. She has a powerful commanding presence whenever that mike is in front of her beautiful lips and she should be awarded financially for the great body of work she has put together. Her album was fair as well and she is a tremendous musical talent. I’d love to see her in a short romantic storyline with a major RAW superstar…maybe….like….JAMIE NOBLE!!!
Melina – Two words – Unfortunate Mishap. Monday night at the draft Melina broke her heel and that is a big ouch not only physically but to her career right now as well. This is a woman who has totally proven herself as a number one commodity in the wrestling world. She is hot, has a great move set, has ring psychology up the ying yang, can talk, can manage and can outsmart most any opponent – and none of that is written into the storylines – that comes from her, and you can tell. Her getting injured while in a small push and program with Phoenix was really bad timed. But she’ll bounce back and have a title around her waist when she does
RAW OVERALL - They have the most in ring talent and they have a great focused crew. Mickie and Melina are forever leading the pack but others like Phoenix and Burchill aren’t too far behind. The only thing RAW should worry about in regards to its female talent is TNA throwing money at the girls to lure them away.
Smackdown
Cherry – She is better than anyone believed she would be. They were smart to let her loose from Deuce and Domino. Her character might be evolving but they are doing it slowly. If she could strengthen her move set I could see her as a new version of Molly Holly.
Eve Torres – I just don’t see her making it. She is very beautiful but has shown no improvement in any part of the game since winning the 2007 Diva Search. I just don’t get her.
Maria – She isn’t the best in the ring but her stint with Santino was great. She is smart and sexy which helps and she has a great flare for comedic timing. She uses her limited skill in the ring to make others look good and that is a big old positive. I wouldn’t be surprised if Maria ends up being the mystery opponent for Natalya on Sunday and then wins the first ever Diva belt.
Maryse – She is another one that I dislike very much though her in ring ability is getting better. The thing that holds her back is her work on the mike – she is absolutely dreadful but whatever, she is trying and that can be seen very easily.
Michelle McCool – She, Victoria and Natalya are the best athletes on Smackdown. She has a fantastic move set and is always doing new things – this past Friday when she did that “ Ankle Bridge ” out of Natalya’s submission move, I was wowed completely. She has a fire in her ring study and it is working. She is going to be a big star.
Natalya – She comes from the loins of the Anvil, she comes from the line of the Hearts, and she also is an original, amazing wrestler in her own right. She just might be the best overall wrestler in the entire company but hasn’t gotten the complete time to show it. I’d really like to see her and M. James get it on somewhere down the line. I’d like to see her dad brought in for s short stint as a manager too,
Victoria – She is the ring general of the entire DIVA roster, everyone knows it. She has great charisma, excellent in ring timing, phenomenal submission maneuvers. She is like the Kurt Angle of the females. Where she falters is on the mike and in making herself standout as of late.
Vickie Guerrero (General Manager) – She isn’t a wrestler (thank god) but she has wrestled on occasion. She takes a good bump and quite frankly she just might be THE greatest heel personality (both male and female included) in the entire wrestling world today. No one gets more heat than her, nobody. I would like to see her get away from Edge and the La Famillia angle. She is a great part of SD! Though.
Smackdown overall – Smackdown is playing second fiddle to RAW because RAW has all the talent. Getting Maria really isn’t going to help that much and I am not so sure a “diva” title will either. They have some greats and some not so greats – only time will tell…
ECW
Kelly Kelly – I thought she had been moved to SD but according to wwe.com I was mistaken. That said, she just had a match this past week on SD and she was great. She actually hit a version of a hurricanranna. She is improving and has her whole time as a WWE diva. I am more proud as a wrestling fan of Kelly Kelly than I am of any other person right now. She seems genuine too which makes me like her even more.
Lena Yada - WHO??? Apparently she is ranked 8th in the world in surfing, is that right? You never know – maybe she’ll be the next Laylani Kai
ECW overall – Not good for the Diva’s, not good at all. I think they should just move both of them to SD or RAW and be done with it.
Closing – The WWE’s women division is heating up. We know who the great one’s are and the one’s who need work. Will they every match TNA, maybe someday. Women’s wrestling was on a high when Jazz, Jackie, Molly Holly, Trish and Lita were all getting it on, I don’t know if we will ever get back there in either major wrestling company, but we might. It is a waiting game.
To talk with the Spotlight master general Joel, catch him at www.myspace.com/joelcroyle (PS _ I just added some new tracks there too which you might dig,)
