WWE Divas – May 23rd, 2013 Superstars Match:
Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls vs. The Usos and The Bella Twins

(Source: ProWrestling.net)

On the May 20th, 2013 episode of WWE RAW, in Women’s Wrestling action was #1 contender for the WWE Divas Champion; AJ Lee, facing Layla El.

WWE Divas – May 20, 2013 RAW Match:
Layla El vs. AJ Lee

—Layla and AJ were seen in the ring for this match, and we saw a recap of AJ’s catfight with Kaitlyn at WWE Extreme Rules (In Video – AJ Lee & Kaitlyn Backstage Fight At Extreme Rules). Layla attempted to remove her jacket from the ring and was then blindsided by a clothesline from AJ (really Layla? Taking your eyes off your opponent). AJ followed up with her double neck-breakers. After a kick-out Layla fired back with strikes; however, AJ was able to take Layla down with a back elbow. To her feet Layla was able to get kicks to AJ, and followed with mocking AJ by skipping around the ring. Layla controlled the moments that followed; however, AJ was able to apply the black widow for the win…

Winner: AJ Lee

Later, We got a backstage segment with Natalya and WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn. This involved Kaitlyn texting her secret admirer, in which Cody Rhodes was mistaken for as he texted backstage…

Thoughts: This week, World Wrestling Entertainment continued to build AJ Lee as a threat. We once again saw her pick up a victory by applying the black widow. This was too short, and had the potential to be a really fun match. Layla was enjoyable here, with her antics actually being funny. Too bad the girls were not given enough time—once again, and like last week; not even getting ring entrances. With Layla’s loss, there were a lot of winners… that certainly was not the mat she was tapping.

As for the back segment, this was business as usual with the secret admirer angle. I wish Kaitlyn having a crush on Cody Rhodes was played up a bit more in the segment.

In case you weren’t watching Extreme Rules last night (and I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t), we actually did get some Diva appearances. We didn’t get a match or anything spectacular but we did get a backstage segment between AJ Lee and our Divas’ Champion Kaitlyn. Things got pretty heated. Watch the segment below after the cut.

Thoughts:

Really nice segment here. I said earlier in the week that I felt it was too early to have the title match on the PPV and hoped we would get some build up at it. This segment was exactly what this feud needed and has really helped it get out of first gate. I was very impressed with Kaitlyn. She was able to take AJ’s taunts and fire back with plenty of her own. I also liked how it was her that attacked AJ this time. It’s really starting to sell the animosity between them. I just hope the title match is booked for the next PPV and not just on Raw tonight. Hopefully it isn’t all, folks (hehe couldn’t resist).

In terms of our Knockouts news, Mickie James was awarded a second title shot against Velvet Sky by the Knockouts VP Brooke Hogan. The match will indeed take place this Thursday on Impact. One must wonder how Gail Kim will factor into this. You can bet her ego won’t allow a title match to take place without her involvement in it somehow, especially after her loss to Velvet this week. We’ll definitely be watching.

Another TNA Knockout has made the news recently. Christy Hemme ran afoul of Austin Aries last week when she mistakenly announced him by the wrong name. In response Aries cornered Christy in the turnbuckle with his crotch in front of her face. When a fan tweeted her about the incident, Christy’s response was “unacceptable”. TMZ is reporting that Aries privately apologised to her afterwards and TNA management have fined him for an undisclosed amount. Christy has reportedly spoken with TNA officials and said she was satisfied with the apology. Read more on the incident at:

http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/15/tna-austin-aries-christy-hemme-crotch-wrestler/

Released Divas Anya (real name: Anna Bogomazova) and Audrey Marie (real name: Ashley Miller) have addressed their departures from WWE on their Twitter accounts. Anya has written

“Blessed with great family and friends! I heard so much nice words! Appreciate  support.”

“I received a million sweet tweets yesterday! Was surprised that people love and support me no matter what! Thanks to everybody”

And in response to a fan, she tweeted

“no worries, I’m not giving up on wrestling”

Audrey meanwhile tweeted:

“#Headsup this is not the end, but merely the beginning”

“I wanted to thank everyone so much for all of your continued support. It’s a wonderful feeling to have the kind words. #notgoinganywhere”

She has also stated she is available for bookings at ashleymbooking@outlook.com

 Thoughts:

I’ve already given my opinions on both their releases but it is good that they’re keeping positive. Anya has definitely said she is not giving up on wrestling so we may get to see her in the squared circle in the very near future. Audrey’s tweets seem to imply that she is continuing with wrestling too so hopefully she pops up on the indies somewhere. With Sara Del Rey as a trainer they’re bound to know that WWE isn’t the be-all, end-all of wrestling in the United States. Audrey’s final WWE match will air on NXT this week.

SHINE Wrestling’s 10^th show will be taking place this Friday May 24^th from the Orpheum in Ybor City, Florida via iPPV. Four more qualifying matches for the SHINE Championship tournament have been set. Leva Bates will take on Taylor Made, Nikki Roxx will face Allysin Kay, Mercedes Martinez takes on Mia Yim and finally Santana Garrett will face Kimberley. Also being advertised for the event is Amber O’Neal who will be making her debut for the promotion. Check out the website for details on how to order the show and more at

http://www.shinewrestling.com/

Over in Canada, a women’s tag team match will be headlining the Toronto Pro Supers Show on June 1^st for the CPW promotion. Silvie Silver and La Rosa Negra will face Melissa Coates and Jewells Malone. The event takes place at 2 pm by the Expo Stage. It is sponsored by the Blue Suede Shoes nightclub where the official after party will take place. If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth checking out. Check out the poster below for more details:

Hello to my loyal Bobbyverse. Hopefully you all enjoyed Extreme Rules as much as I did but now I’ve got something else to offer you. I’m sure we all remember that new promotion that popped up last year titled “BLOW”. I reviewed their debut show back in December and found that it had a certain charm to it. I enjoyed the debut show so much I’m now going back for more. This show took place on May 11th from Iselin, New Jersey. I obviously haven’t been keeping up to date with it that much because this is actually their fourth show. I’m sure you’ll forgive me. Shall we get down to some Bombshell Wrestling then?

The first show was freely available on Youtube but this one was on iPPV courtesy of Highspots.com and the link to it is below:

http://highspots.tv/ippv-bombshell-ladies-of-wrestling-5-11-2013/

Note that this version is the unedited footage of the evening so the actual show doesn’t start until nearly two hours in. The website says an edited version will be available ‘soon’ but I watched on Friday, nearly a week after it happened so it’s up to you whether you want to wait indefinitely. Before I get into the wrestling, I’ll address a few issues about the show. On the last show, one of the main problems were the acoustics of the venue and the difficulty in knowing who was who. This was thankfully fixed with a much better venue where it was easy to hear the ring announcer and they added name bars for the talent this time. Also the live camera switching was very good and the stream itself was quite high quality. There were a few cons with the wrestling itself but I’ll address them further down. So shall we get down to it?

Santana Garrett vs La Rosa Negra

Match 1 – Santana Garrett vs La Rosa Negra:

A very good way to kick off the show; both Santana and La Rosa Negra impressed me on the first SHINE show I watched. La Rosa has apparently become a fixture at BLOW while Santana is making her debut for the promotion. We open with some technical mat-based wrestling which pleases me greatly. Santana opens my eyes early on by getting a standing monkey flip to escape from a wrist lock. She follows this up with a nice corner-flip arm drag and a float-over sunset flip for two. La Rosa takes control with a kitchen sink and she starts delivering some nice leg drops. Repeatedly. Wow, gotta love this aggression from La Rosa. She even busts out the Three Amigos (Amigas?) with the third suplex ending in a bridge pin for two. Santana is able to hit a facebuster and starts to mount her comeback. She gets a series of clotheslines, followed by an absolutely sick facecrusher. She follows that up with the handspring elbow and goes for a superkick but La Rosa counters it into a powerslam. The counter itself is actually a lot fancier and impressive than my writing can make it seem, it’s just really hard to describe. La Rosa goes to the top rope and Santana jumps up to meet her with an attempt at a superplex. Santana tries a Stratusphere which is also blocked. After some brawling on the top rope, La Rosa takes control and jumps down into a single leg Boston Crab. With Santana unable to get to the ropes, she taps out.

Nice little opening match and great to see these two women face each other. La Rosa continues to impress with her intensity and aggression. Santana has now become one of my favourites to watch in the ring and I look forward to seeing her become a regular at BLOW shows. This match itself had a nice pace and great action in it. Santana makes the perfect underdog face for the fans to root behind. I see her easily becoming a promotion’s top babyface in the near future. I did notice a couple of miscommunications in the match but they didn’t hurt it at all. Good start to the show. 7/10

Alicia vs Sumie Sakai

Match 2 – Alicia vs Sumie Sakai:

Alicia is one of WSU’s veteran performers (though she has left that promotion now) and Sumie Sakai impressed at the first BLOW show. She has since dyed her hair blonde which doesn’t really suit her in my opinion. Alicia smiles and waves to the fans while Sakai is a bit more friendly – foreshadowing people. We start off with a test of strength and – you guessed it – Alicia turns heel right there. We still get some really fast-paced action and the ref gets involved in it too. Alicia and Sakai actually sweep him off his feet and cover him. After this, the fun is over and Sakai locks in a camel clutch. Alicia escapes and properly takes control, fully heeling it up. I have to say she makes a better heel. Sakai comes back with a series of dropkicks, looking especially crisp and effective. Alicia cuts her off with a jawbreaker but misses an elbow drop. Sakai traps her in a body scissors and takes her for a ride in a good old barrel roll. She then does something weird by smooching the referee right in the face and giving him a small package – which Alicia counts. After that she uses Sakai’s own trick – a kiss and small package which gets the three count.

Not as solid as the opening match but still very good and with a lot of fun antics. Both women were very solid and entertaining. Sumie Sakai is just adorable and yet quite vicious as well. She reminds me a little of Hiroyo Matsumoto. Involving the ref was weird but it gave the crowd a bit of entertainment and it’s not something you see every day. I personally think Alicia works better as a heel. 6.5/10

Silvie Silver vs Angel Orsini

Match 3 – Silvie Silver vs Angel Orsini:

Silvie caught my eye at the first BLOW show and here she is against an opponent who can match her size. Though this adds a new level of confusion as to where she’s actually from because in other matches she’s been billed from Norway, Finland, Amsterdam and now Russia. Angel Orsini is a name I’ve heard of but this is the first time I’ve seen her work. She comes in with a lot of energy and enthusiasm but she really needn’t have bothered because the crowd seems to be behind Silvie for the whole match. Orsini starts off strong with a couple of arm drags and a northern lights suplex. Silver retreats to ringside and actually headbutts a fan in the front row. Yeesh that’s one way to get heat. She properly takes control once she gets back in the ring. Orsini comes back with a Russian leg sweep but Silver cuts her off with a backbreaker. She throws Orsini out of the ring and strangely waits for her to get back inside. They collide with a double crossbody in the middle of the ring. Next up is a bit of a chop-off as Orsini then delivers a Saito Suplex. She then hits a neckbreaker for two. Silver however distracts the ref, thumbs Orsini in the eyes and powerbombs her. She then pins her with her feet on the ropes for three.

Not as fun as Silvie’s debut match for BLOW with Jewells Malone but still quite fun. You can see Silvie improving in the ring. If she keeps wrestling and working with a variety of opponents then that’ll do plenty of good for her. I think maybe the dynamic would have worked better with Silvie as the face and Angel Orsini as the heel, mostly because Orsini was just like a rag doll during the middle of the match. The worst thing a face can do during a match is stay static and just let the heel drag them everywhere. But those issues didn’t hurt the match too much and it was solid enough. The powerbomb on someone of Orsini’s size was impressive. 6/10

Amazing Kong vs “Pryme Tyme” Amy Lee

Match 4 – Amazing Kong vs Amy Lee [First Blood Match]:

So Amy Lee wrestles as well does she? And we were technically denied a women’s first blood match in TNA so here’s our chance to get to see a full length one. I am eternally thankful to the wrestling gods that Amy Lee wasn’t given a microphone, though she did manage to drop a couple of F-bombs and throw a few middle fingers – lovely behaviour when there are children in the audience. But it is nice to see Kong paired with someone against whom she can believably play a babyface. She brings down a kendo stick while Amy Lee brings down a steel chair. Naturally we get some brawling to start off. And naturally, given the size of the two involved, it’s quite slow. Early on they both collide attempting simultaneous clotheslines. Neither woman goes down showing how evenly matched they are. Kong actually produces a coat hanger and introduces it to Lee’s forehead but it doesn’t break the skin. Lee ends up outside the ring and we get some more ‘brawling’. Kong drags Lee around the ring and hops her head off the ringposts and the apron – but still no blood. She actually bites her on the forehead but still no blood is drawn. Lee comes back by headbutting Kong and throwing her back into the ring. She picks up the kendo stick and…erm…sticks it into a very compromising place. She also chokes Kong out with it. Kong comes back by whipping Lee into the steel chair that had been set up in the corner earlier. The chair ends up outside the ring so a fan actually picks it up and throws it back to Kong. Lee however takes advantage and DDTs Kong onto the chair. But wait! She’s already bleeding from the forehead but the referee has not seen it. She tries to cover the wound with her hair but Kong knocks her down with the spinning back fist. The ref now sees the blood and calls for the bell, declaring Kong the winner.

Well that was awkward to watch. I honestly hate writing negative reviews but there is very little to be positive about this match. People always seem to be excited whenever two giants face each other but the matches tend to be slow and plodding…which this one was. Amazing Kong works best when she has a fiery face to go against and dominate, creating a David vs Goliath battle. Giving her a larger opponent could have worked but Amy Lee does not seem like the right candidate. This is the first match of hers that I’ve seen so I can’t judge her too much but I was not impressed. And I’m sick of her vulgarity. I’m not easily offended but there were children in the crowd and it seemed to be billed as a family friendly show so there was no call for her to curse and make rude hand gestures to get cheap heat. I’m not happy with her doing it in WSU either but at least that’s billed as an “uncensored” show. On paper anyway this match looked fine and there were a few interesting spots. However the execution fell flat and it was the weakest match of the night. 4/10

After this match they took an intermission. This ended up being one of the cons of the evening as well – it was announced as only lasting for ten or fifteen minutes and I think it lasted about forty minutes. It seemed like a few people left and people were getting restless. I’ve had problems with those on shows myself and it’s best for intermissions to be kept short so the crowd doesn’t get bored. During this intermission we get an interview with Silvie Silver. The announcer insinuates that she is possibly a mail-order bride. Now there’s a doozy of a storyline.

Amber Rodriguez vs Cherry Layne

Match 5 – Cherry Layne vs Amber Rodriguez:

Cherry Layne is someone I’ve never heard of and I’m immediately put off by seeing her wrestle in a t-shirt. It looks unprofessional and makes her seem like a bush league wrestler. Getting proper gear is not that hard and even wrestling in a tank top or something unique will look better than a t-shirt. Amber Rodriguez’s name rings a bell and she has a nice look to her. I might keep my eye on this one. Cherry plays cat and mouse games early on, ducking and dodging her opponent. We get some punches in the corner from Amber but there seems to be a mistiming with a clothesline. Nonetheless they carry on and Amber hits a big clothesline. Cherry has had enough it seems and leaves the ring to take a powder. She’s playing possum though and jawbreakers Amber on the ropes to take control of the match. After a couple of minutes of Cherry in control, Amber blocks a vertical suplex and connects with a Samoan Drop for the abrupt win.

And just when it was getting going, it was over. I’m almost positive that this match had its time slashed because the intermission ran too long. That just annoys me when wrestlers have to take time cuts because the promoters have scheduling issues. I don’t pretend to know the reason for the intermission running too long but it still sucks if these two had to take a time cut because of it. I can’t say either of them got the chance to show off much of what they could do in this short match but there were a couple of nice moves. I hope we see them on future BLOW shows where they’ll hopefully be given more time and chances. The low rating is due to the time. 3/10

Serena vs Shelly Martinez

Match 6 – Serena vs Shelly Martinez:

Now here’s a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see Serena in action and I was also surprised to see that her hair has now grown back to its original length. She doesn’t look as perky as she normally does however. Now Shelly Martinez I know by name and reputation but I haven’t had much of a chance to see her wrestle. A guy in the crowd who the announcers call ‘Clark’ is apparently her number 1 fan and gets a hug from her. The crowd is pretty divided between the two women, both getting equal pops and chants. Serena starts off by targeting the arm but Martinez escapes. They go for a test of strength but Serena quickly plays dirty. Martinez is able to come back with a crossbody off the top rope but the match comes to a halt. Serena has apparently been injured. We all know her history with concussions and Martinez helps her out of the ring. The referees escort her backstage as we go to a transition graphic for the next…hold on! Serena has been faking it! She attacks Martinez in the entrance ramp and starts hammering away at her at ringside. Once they’re back in the ring, Serena illegally uses the ropes to apply a camel clutch. After this she seemingly targets her opponent’s neck. Martinez is able to get her own back by sending Serena into the ring post shoulder-first. She continues her momentum with clotheslines and then delivers the spot of the match – a move that can only be described as an inverted wheelbarrow facebuster. It’s quite impressive looking but the momentum of it sends Serena outside the ring. She dodges the baseball slide and regains control. She actually drags Martinez to each corner of the ring to deliver one big punch. Martinez comes back with an atomic drop and then Serena goes for the gutbuster. Martinez however is able to reverse and hit an STO for three.

I’d say this was tied with the Santana/La Rosa match earlier on as match of the evening. However I did feel as though there was something lacking – much like with Silvie/Angel perhaps the dynamic would have worked better with the roles reversed? Serena is in her element when she’s the fiery babyface and Martinez seems to have much more character as a heel. Serena’s heel matches just don’t wow me in the way that her face matches do. That being said, I still enjoyed the match. The fake injury twist was very well done. I know it’s cliché to say this but I genuinely thought she was injured. The women made it look as though they were calling a spot on the fly to try and cover it up and they even showed a graphic to imply that the match was over. But it was a great swerve and an interesting way to pull it off. Martinez’s unique move was also impressive and made the match for me. It is good to see Serena wrestling regularly again especially with her luscious locks back as well. 7/10

Missy Sampson vs Mickie Knuckles

Main Event – Missy Sampson* vs Mickie “Moose” Knuckles [BLOW Championship Match]:

Since the first BLOW show, Missy Sampson defeated all the other competitors to become the first Bombshells Champion. She’s making her defence against a woman who was in TNA briefly in 2008. It seems that BLOW management took note of the cheers Missy was getting at the debut show and now she’s working face. Mickie Knuckles is also a face and cuts a promo to get the crowd excited. She also admits that the two of them have been drinking all evening, which does explain the match we eventually get. She even checks the referee for foreign objects – the first of many things this poor guy has to go through in the next fifteen minutes. We get some very solid chain wrestling to start off with and Knuckles eventually gets the upper hand with a necklock. She actually licks the ref and school girls him – which Sampson counts. Sampson then school girls her own challenger and is in turn rolled up by the referee. She then puts a stop to the fun by attacking Knuckles and the match gets underway. Knuckles connects with a spinning forearm which sends the champion outside the ring. She however delivers a snap suplex to her challenger onto the only part of the floor that doesn’t have padding on it. Back in the ring, Knuckles utilises a few knife-edge chops and an illegal fishhook. She hits a running knee lift and then lands a senton for two. She goes to the top rope but Sampson cuts her off and hits a superplex. She then locks in a cobra clutch on her challenger but Knuckles actually bites the arm to escape. Sampson locks it in a second time but Knuckles is able to get to the ropes. Sampson changes strategies and locks in a rear-naked clutch. Knuckles passes out and Sampson has retained her title.

A pretty solid main event. The crowd were probably feeling a bit restless after the long intermission, exhausting first blood match and the previous match too. So it was good of these two to add some comedy into this match because the crowd enjoyed it. That poor referee though. I wonder if antics like that would go down so well with two male wrestlers and a female ref? The match was pretty entertaining and both women were very solid. Mickie Knuckles has a good character and she reminds me more of a cross between Molly Holly and ODB. She and Missy Sampson move very well for two larger women and they put on an entertaining match, if the ending was a little lacklustre. 6.5/10

 Things aren’t over just yet. Missy Sampson grabs the microphone and announces that she will defend the title at anytime, anywhere and against anyone. Cue some entrance music and La Rosa Negra appears and charges the ring. Sampson drops her with a Sky High but La Rosa gets right up and starts attacking her. Sampson appears to have passed out and the match doesn’t happen. La Rosa starts posing with the belt and leaves with it. According to the referee, since Missy Sampson was unable to compete she has forfeited the belt and La Rosa Negra is the new BLOW Champion. Sampson grabs the microphone and yells at the referee for his decision. The crowd is now chanting “bull shit!” and Sampson says “my thoughts exactly” before leaving.

Well that was a confusing ending to the show. It didn’t really make sense. If Missy Sampson isn’t able to compete then the match should go to a no-contest and the title shouldn’t change hands. Or at least be vacated. It reeks of Vince Russo booking and seems like a clumsy way to get a storyline going. I’m trying to examine what possible direction they could go in from here? Missy Sampson seemed to single the ref out so perhaps a possible intergender storyline between them if he himself is actually a wrestler – he did seem to know how to do a roll up. Nonetheless it was a confusing end to a so-so show.

Well this BLOW show didn’t exactly set my world on fire and it wasn’t as good as the first one. There were good matches but no great ones. They improved in some areas but had problems in others. I’m going to give this promotion the benefit of the doubt because it does have a certain charm to it and I think it’ll find its feet eventually. The quality of the stream and some of the names it has managed to get justifies giving it a few more chances. Oh and if you want to get yourself especially excited for the next BLOW show, they made an announcement; the BLOW Champion (who I guess is La Rosa Negra now) will defend her title against a debuting Bombshell next time – Angelina Love!

On May 17, 2013, news hit the internet that several WWE NXT wrestlers were released from their development contracts. Among them were two NXT Divas…

Anya

The second female talent released was Anya, real name Anna Bogomazova—who was discovered due to her Kickboxing background. Anna was signed in August of 2012 (new Diva Anna Bogomazova (Anya)).

Among the male wrestlers released were Dolph Ziggler’s brother Briley Pierce, Derek Bateman and more.

On the May 17, 2013 episode of WWE Smackdown, in Women of Wrestling action was WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn taking on Aksana.

WWE Divas – May 17, 2013 Smackdown Match
Kaitlyn vs. Aksana

—Aksana was seen in the ring for this match, followed by Divas Champion Kaitlyn making her way to the ring. We then got a backstage segment with Kaitlyn and Natalya, where Kaitlyn received flowers and a glove from her secret admirer. After the bell, we got a lock-up and a take-down by Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn made a cover after a suplex, in which Aksana kicked out of. After some more offense, Aksana was able to counter Kaitlyn’s Inverted DDT and follow with a clothesline. She then hit her catapult back-breaker, and controlled for the majority of the match. Kaitlyn was not able to make a full-comeback; however, she was able to shove Aksana into the ropes where Aksana was then propelled into Kaitlyn’s spear…

Winner: Kaitlyn

Thoughts: This was not exactly the 7 minutes that was reported in the spoilers (WWE Divas Spoilers: May 17, 2013 WWE Smackdown), not even close. However, it was a good three minute match, that got the Champion on television, and continued her current angle. Slow-build storylines seem to have work for Kaitlyn in the past; however, I am not keep on seeing this one drawn-out for months.

On the May 16, 2013 airing of Impact Wrestling, in Women’s Wrestling action was TNA Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky taking on Gail Kim in a non-title match…

Before this match, we saw shots of both Gail Kim and Velvet Sky making their way to the ring.

TNA Wrestling – May 16, 2013 Knockouts Match
Velvet Sky vs. Gail Kim

—Gail Kim was out to the ring first for this match, where we saw a recap of Gail applying the figure-four leg-lock around the steal post to Taryn Terrell two weeks ago. Followed by a clip of her applying the move to Tara on last week’s Impact Wrestling. Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky was out next to the ring, where the show went to commercial breaks.

Back from commercials, we got a backstage segment with Mickie James and Brooke Hogan (awkward placement for this segment). We found out that Mickie James would face Velvet Sky on next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling for the Championship. Back in the ring, Gail made some attempts of offense on Velvet in which Velvet avoided. Velvet instead tripped Gail by the led, and followed with arm drags and a suplex. Velvet Sky continued the assault; however, Gail Kim was eventually able to use Velvet’s injury against her to gain control of the match…

Gail Kim worked over Velvet’s leg for most of the match, with Velvet making an attempt to comeback after pulling Gail Kim off the top ropes. The end saw Gail Kim try to work over Velvet’s leg again; however, Velvet kicked her into one of the corners, and followed up with a roll-up for the win.

Winner: Velvet Sky

After the match, Gail Kim attacked Velvet, and applied the hanging figure-four leg-lock around the steal post to her. ODB broke it up eventually.

Thoughts: Another great match for the Knockouts—this was booked very well. This was another great showing by Velvet Sky, which followed up last week’s really good tag-team match (TNA Knockouts – May 9, 2013 Impact Wrestling results). Velvet does great when given a good storyline to work with, and the injured knee angle has really added nice storytelling to her matches. With Gail Kim applying the figure-four leg-lock to her, we have at least a few more weeks of her favoring her knee in matches.

This leads into next week, where Mickie James challenges Velvet Sky for the title. Velvet Sky does not seem to be in any condition to do so. Could this be the night Mickie James becomes a 3 time Knockouts Champion? or at least the night we see the heel turn fans have been wanting?

As for Gail Kim, it was revealed that she will be facing Taryn Terrell at Slammiversary XI on Sunday, June 2. Sadly we don’t get to see her in a Knockouts Championship match; however, we might actually get two Knockouts matches at the Pay-Per-View.

Summer Rae vs Natalya

Ahoy loyal Bobbyverse and welcome to another edition of NXT. Last week we got a match that we’d seen before but was still very enjoyable. This week we’re getting an extra special treat for two reasons. First of all, it’s a fresh match. And second of all, it pits the best female wrestler on the main roster against one of the best on the developmental roster. The “Ultimate Dungeon Diva” Natalya makes her long awaited return to NXT to take on the First Lady Summer Rae.

Natalya gets a headlock takeover to start off, which leads into quite a nice sequence of mat wrestling. Summer seems able to match what holds Natalya’s dishing out. Nattie gets a fireman’s carry takeover but Summer slaps on a headscissors submission. As Natalya attempts a wristlock, Summer slams her to the mat by her hair. Natalya goes for the Sharpshooter early on but Summer immediately scrambles for the ropes. Nattie keeps her offence coming with a discus clothesline but Summer kicks out at two. She seems to have lost her breath and is calling for a time out, apologising and offering her hand. Naturally it’s all a ruse and she takes the opportunity to throw Natalya out through the ropes. As she’s climbing back in, Summer catches her on the shoulder with an enziguri. As Summer slaps on a key lock, they go to a commercial break.

When they come back, Summer is fully in control and splashes Natalya’s injured arm. Natalya gets a school girl for three but Summer gets back on top again with a DDT and back elbow. She locks in an aggressive-looking arm scissors, hoping to wear the arm down. But what’s this!? Paige has walked out onto the stage! The Anti-Diva strides down to the ring as Natalya escapes from the hold. Nattie’s going for the Sharpshooter as Paige gets up on the apron to seemingly interfere in the match. Summer kicks Natalya away and that knocks her into Paige, who falls off the apron. Summer takes advantage of the distracted Natalya to roll her up for three. The First Lady doesn’t have time to celebrate her victory and high-tails it backstage with Paige right behind her.

Winner: Summer Rae

Thoughts:

Well that was another impressive week for the NXT Divas. Last week I made a point that it seemed like in general the Divas are getting more time to actually wrestle and this week was no different. The match itself ran for six and a half minutes with a commercial break in between. I’m delighted that the girls are being given this much time to work with because it feels like the overall match quality has really gone up as well. Last week I put it down to having two experienced indie talents going at it – but this week we saw the lesser experienced Summer Rae going for a longer match and she looked like a pro out there. When I read the spoilers, I was especially excited for this match because Natalya always brings out the best in her opponents. In the past she was able to make the likes of Maria, Cherry and the Bellas look good out there – while also helping Eve, Kelly Kelly and Layla tap into their full potential. I always feel like Natalya is the perfect opponent to put a Diva against if we want to see what she can really do. And Summer Rae went hold-for-hold with the 3^rd Generation Diva in a nicely back-and-forth match. The start was very well executed, establishing Natalya as the more experienced wrestler and veteran. But then the new heel on the block was able to use her cunning to take control a la Trish Stratus vs Mickie James. Summer Rae is well on her way to becoming the whole package – she’s beautiful, athletic, entertaining on the mic, has tonnes of charisma and her wrestling improves every time we see her. I feel like this woman is going places in WWE and rightfully so. Oh and we got an ending where Natalya lost but wasn’t buried. I’m relieved she’s finally back to being treated like the veteran she is by management.

On the May 13th, 2013 episode of WWE RAW, in Women’s Wrestling action was AJ Lee versus Natalya. Also on the show, was Summer Rae (Danielle Moinet) in a dance contest with Fandango against Chris Jericho and Edyta Śliwińska.

—WWE Raw kicked off with a Dance-off between Fandango and Chris Jericho, which meant we got to see Summer Rae. Chris Jericho’s partner on the other hand was was Dancing with the Stars dancer Edyta Sliwinska. This saw a bit of storyline with Summer Rae, were she faked an injury to help Fandango orchestrate an attack on Chris Jericho…

Later on the show we saw the #1 contender for the WWE Divas Championship in action…

WWE Divas – May 13, 2013 RAW Match:
Natalya vs. AJ Lee

—Natalya’s music was playing, as she and AJ Lee was in the ring for this match. WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn and The Bella Twins were then introduced at the commentary table. The commentators also noted The Great Khali and Hornswoggle’s presence at ringside. As the bell rang, AJ seemed as if she was ready to lock-up with Natalya, but instead skipped around her. Natalya was not amused and and hit a series of offensive moves, as Kaitlyn opened another present from her secret admirer. Natalya continued to dominate, causing AJ to retreat to ringside. After a slap to Natalya, AJ was chased around the ring. AJ was able to kick Natalya to the stomach and then throw her back in the ring. The advantage proved to be short lived as Natalya kicked her to ringside. AJ pretended to be unconscious–as we have seen her done in the past. Back in the ring, AJ was then able to put the “black widow” on Natalya for the win…

Winners: AJ Lee

After the match, Kaitlyn helped Natalya out of the ring.

Thoughts: Usually commentary that distracts from a match is annoying; however, The Bella Twins and Kaitlyn at ringside did not distract from what the segment was about… The purpose was to remind fans that AJ Lee was the #1 contender for the WWE Divas Championship, and push Kaitlyn’s secret admirer story forward. Why Kaitlyn vs. AJ Lee was not announced for Extreme Rules 2013 is another story. With 9 matches already on the card, the girls may have not been priority again. Kaitlyn is set to wrestler on Smackdown (WWE Divas Spoilers: May 17, 2013 WWE Smackdown), so the match could still be announced.

The purpose of The Bella Twins being it ringside was not fully explained. However, it may be foreshadowing. The Bella Twins have been among the names mentioned to be Kaitlyn’s secret admirer. With this rumor around the internet, them being at ringside makes sense. Time will tell.

As for the dance-off… with Fandango’s gimmick skyrocketing in popularity, it is a nice break for Summer Rae to be involved in his gimmick. Despite not being the best dancer, the gimmick suits Summer Rae. It would be great to see her transition into a wrestler, and see her in mixed tag-team matches with Fandango.

Upcoming this week on WWE Smackdown, will be WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn in action…

Here is the WWE Divas match taped for the May 17, 2013 episode of WWE Smackdown…

WWE Divas – May 17, 2013 Smackdown Match:
Kaitlyn vs. Aksana

(Source: prowrestling.net)