Final Resolution: Gail retains (with a bit of help)
After going through six out of ten Knockouts in a gauntlet match, Mickie James became number one contender to Gail Kim‘s TNA Knockouts Championship. Between then and now, Karen Jarrett made Mickie’s path to the pay-per-view a difficult one. Karen reinstated ODB and gave her the order: hurt Mickie and pin her, and she would become number one contender. Despite her best efforts in a street fight, Mickie pinned ODB after kicking a chair into the latter’s face. Karen then called upon Gail’s tag team partner, Madison Rayne, and called her her “lynch pin.” She ordered Madison to tear Mickie apart so she would be unable to show at Final Resolution. Again, to no avail – Mickie pinned Madison after a jumping DDT.
The last time these two met was when they were employed by WWE on August 17th, 2009. Mickie defended her Divas title against Gail Kim in what was an unqualified disaster of a match. When Gail returned to TNA, people wondered how long it would be until the two wrestled again, and if the match would turn out better or worse than the last time. At Final Resolution, Gail kept the Knockouts Championship after Madison distracted Mickie long enough for Gail to hit Eat Defeat. Let me break it down into what was Batman, what was Batman Returns and what was Batman & Robin… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (22 November 2011)
Since the last Roundup, Allison Danger has received another British stamp in her passport, and her luggage going home was a little heavier, as it contained the World Association of Women’s Wrestling’s World Championship belt. The 34-year old defeated Sweet Saraya for the vacant belt on Saturday – after Blue Nikita was stripped of the title – in the main event of WAWW’s The Return show, which was the promotion’s first card in two years, and its first all-women show in three. Danger won the belt with an armbar with manager Tommy Lee pushing against her for extra leverage out of the referee’s view. It was Danger’s sole win of the weekend, as she was beaten by Saraya the previous evening for the vacant Herts and Essex Wrestling Women’s title and was on the losing end alongside Liberty against Saraya and daughter Britani Knight on Sunday.
That tag team match was also Britani’s last match in World Association of Wrestling – her family’s promotion where the 19-year old made her in-ring debut at the age of 13 back in 2005. Couldn’t tell you what she’s doing next though… (more…)
Bound For Glory: Velvet gets the gold
After a series of qualifying matches, the TNA Knockouts title match was set as a four way between champion Winter, Mickie James, Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky. At Bound for Glory, Velvet finally won her first Knockouts Championship by hitting a Pedigree on Madison. The eight year veteran was visibly emotional as she was awarded the belt by Traci Brooks.
Originally, Karen Jarrett had named herself as the referee for the match, saying she was not about to let “those four prostitutes run around.” She told Traci to remain in the back unless she suffered physical harm. Of course, you knew then something would happen to Karen. Before all this, however, we saw Mexican America with Sarita & Rosita take on Ink Inc. with new member Christina Von Eerie. Christina has been given a new name – Toxine. TNA and their names… The women didn’t mix it up, but Toxine did rip the face mask off Sarita and depanted Anarquia. Mexican America, despite this, retained the tag titles. Lets get down to business and look at the Knockouts match. So what was roses, what was dandelions and what was weeds? (more…)
Christina Von Eerie arrives in TNA, plus BFG news
Quite frankly it’s long overdue, but Christina Von Eerie has finally made her official debut in TNA.
The 22-year old first appeared on-screen as part of an angle involving Mexican America and Ink, Inc. back on the September 22 episode, where – without her spiked hair – she played the role of a tattoo shop owner who got involved in the brawl between the two tag teams. On last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling, the Californian, whose real-life fiance is Ink, Inc. member Jesse Neal, came to the aid of Neal and Shannon Moore during another brawl with Hernandez, Anarquia, Sarita and Rosita, and cleared the ring of the former Knockouts Tag Team Champions, though she was never officially introduced by name, so they may not be going with the name Christina Von Eerie.
As we pointed out, it has been a long time coming for Von Eerie. She received a tryout with TNA more than a year ago due to the company’s relationship with lucha libre promotion AAA, where she held the World Mixed Tag Team Championship with Alex Koslov between July and October last year. In her tryout, she teamed with Moore against Cookie (Becky Bayless) and Okada, in what was reportedly a messy affair, and shortly after, it was reported in Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly that she had signed a contract. However, things stalled for a while, which led to Christina making her SHIMMER debut back in March. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (11 October 2011)
If you’re a women’s wrestling fan living in the western hemisphere, chances are you’ve had your fill of top in-ring action over the last two weeks. In the US, there was SHIMMER (results and thoughts here and here); Canada had nCw Femmes Fatales (detailed results here); and in the UK, Pro Wrestling: EVE collaborated with Ice Ribbon to present three shows over two days (results and photos here and here, and interviews here). While there were big names, such as Cheerleader Melissa, Serena Deeb and LuFisto who achieved or surpassed what fans have grown to expect of them, there have been some wrestlers who have managed to break into that next echelon of success and have opened up a new world of possibilities. In this week’s Roundup, I’ll be having a look at them.
The first to make an impact (lower-case I) was Athena, who turned babyface in SHIMMER as part of a double-turn which saw Mercedes Martinez go heel. In a pretty accurate homage to Steve Austin and Bret Hart flip-flopping sides back in 1997 at WrestleMania 13, Martinez got frustrated by the less experienced Athena refusing to stay down, and used a chair to attack her ankle in full view of the referee, intentionally disqualifying herself. Refusing to be beaten, Athena got on the mic to say she would be back when her leg was 100% again.
I’ve been harping on for a while now that Athena’s athletic, high flying moveset, attitude and look lend themselves to being a flashy yet tough babyface. In most promotions, she is portrayed as a heel, which she does well, but fans still applaud her when she executes some of her aerial moves – such as her springboard attacks, which virtually no other female in America does at the moment, and even fewer do it with such grace and ability. By turning her babyface, those reactions look set to become more passionate cheers, rather than applause of begrudging respect. As long as she keeps calling people hussies, keeps the swagger and tempers the flying to make it mean more when she does it, Athena looks set to be a massive star in SHIMMER. Granted, she is a multi-time American Joshi Champion in Anarchy Championship Wrestling, but the worldwide reach of SHIMMER will see her profile and stock shoot up in 2012. Best of luck to her. (more…)
No Surrender: Mickie doesn’t learn
In a case of deja vu, Winter won the Knockouts title for the second straight TNA pay-per-view, defeating Mickie James to win the gold. It’s led to a hot potato effect with the title, as the pair are trading the belt between themselves at the moment.
Not only was the result the same as last month at Hardcore Justice, the ending was also the same – Winter spat blood/mist into the eyes of the champion and covered her for the pin, albeit after trying it just moments before and catching Angelina Love in the face. Whether that’s a move that you can go for a cover straight afterwards is debateable, as it isn’t strictly a move that would incapacitate you to the point that someone can pin you, though this is somethnig that I mused about last month and TNA seems to be going with it, so I guess I’m in no point to complain about it any further. However, there are other points to highlight, so once again, lets look at what’s lobster, what’s shrimp, and what’s fish sticks… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (6 September 2011)
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. – Warren Buffett
On Sunday, the Bella Twins must have over-indulged as part of Labor Day weekend. They decided to take .357 Magnums, aim them square at their own feet and pull the triggers until they went click.
WWE.com writer Katie Raymond wrote an article about the Divas of Doom, asking if they were a solution or foil to what is perceived as the Diva-norm portrayed by the likes of Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres and the Bella Twins.
In the article, Raymond wrote:
Stinkfaces. Booty poppin’. If you’re a purist about a woman’s place inside the WWE ring, you might be wondering what Fabulous Moolah is thinking looking down on the Divas division. Would the iconic figure chalk up the current flux of the division on changing times, or would she say, “Someone needs to save this”?
Beth Phoenix and Natalya, the “Divas of Doom,” think so. However, are The Glamazon and third-generation Diva just the two women to call “saviors”?
So does the Divas division need to be saved? Not just yet. But Beth Phoenix and Natalya are certainly doing their share to rejuvenate it.
Taking this as some kind of personal insult, Diva supporters took to Twitter to bombard Raymond with vitriol, insults and threats for writing a KAYFABED article on the company’s KAYFABED website. The number of filters that this would have had to have gone through is ridiculous, yet fans got all butthurt about it, seeing it as a personal insult against the girls, instead of as a piece to fluff up the storyline between the Divas Of Doom and the rest of the roster – and it really needs it, as the storyline has lost so much steam since SummerSlam’s Phoenix v Kelly match that it makes you wonder if WWE had a plan for after the match. While the reaction of the fans was silly, it was expected to a certain extent. However, everything went into meltdown when the Divas themselves started talking about it like it was real. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (30 August 2011)
After three weeks of leading with Melina, let’s have something different…
A report by Power Slam Magazine claims that former WWE Divas Mickie James and Christy Hemme are earning around $100,000 in TNA, while everyone else is unlikely to be earning much more than $38,000, and that’s only if they’re booked on a regular basis. As they’re only paid on a per appearance agreement, there’s a strong chance that it could be a considerable amount less. It’s likely to be acts like Velvet Sky – who is in favour with TNA – who is on that amount, while others will be on less.
If you factor in that they need to pay their own expenses for things like road transport and accommodation during house show circuits, and then tax needs to be paid on their earnings, that’s a really shitty wage for wrestlers in what is supposed to be the number 2 wrestling promotion in the United States. In the past, we’ve heard of female wrestlers in TNA having issues with their income – Gail Kim left because of it, Kharma pointed it out after she was released from the promotion, Taylor Wilde admitted having to work at Sunglass Hut while as Knockouts Champion to make ends meet, and Madison Rayne was reportedly unable to work the house show circuits at one point last year because the income wouldn’t have covered her costs.
If that is the case, good for James and Hemme – you’re getting a good amount of money for the work that you do. In fact, the biggest praise must go to Christy herself, who would be getting that much for being a ring announcer, and doesn’t have to take any punishment in the ring. I support them getting as much money as they can. After all, we live in a capitalist society – unless you’re reading this in China, Cuba or North Korea… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (16 August 2011)
So it’s official; Melina’s return to indie wrestling will be on November 19 at Women Superstars Uncensored’s Breaking Barriers II iPPV where she will wrestle fellow ex-WWE employee Serena Deeb. WSU made the match official in its press release yesterday, where it claims “Melina, who has a very storied career in WWE, wants to prove to the world that she is not just a diva, but a full-fledged womens wrestler. She will get that opportunity on 11/19. Serena is calling herself “The Best in the World”. We’ll find out if that rings true on 11/19 in this first time ever one-on-one clash.”
In theory, this is will be a comfortable return for Melina to a different style of action than you normally see on WWE TV, as she and Serena can work a half WWE, half indie style. It’s a decent idea, considering she has not been on the indie scene since 2004, a mere three years into her wrestling career. It’s also Melina’s best opportunity to create a new first impression…
32-year old Melina Perez has a reputation for being troublesome behind the scenes, with a number of reports from a number of different sources – some of them could be true, some of them could be phoney. However, after a number of reported incidents, it becomes ever more likely that the next incident will be more readily believed, regardless of its validity. Melina polarises opinions – some think she is excellent, others think she is more trouble than she is worth – but she has a chance to sell herself to a fresh set of eyes on November 19. In essence, she has an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and give us the chance to see that she is taking wrestling seriously, and is willing to muck in and work towards presenting a better product for women’s wrestling fans. (more…)
Hardcore Justice: New Knockouts Champ, Tara/Tessmacher retain
As part of a double helping of women’s action, TNA Hardcore Justice saw the first British Knockouts Champion crowned in Winter, a title which she adds to her WILD Championship that she won on Thursday. Earlier on in the pay-per-view, Tara & Miss Tessmacher retained their Knockouts Tag Team Titles over the former champs, Mexican America’s Sarita and Rosita.
Winter won the title after spitting red mist into Mickie James‘ eyes, leading to her being pinned while she could not see. No such shenanigans in the tag team match though, where Rosita was pinned cleanly by Tara following her Widow’s Peak finisher.
As is customary for PPV reports here at Ringbelles, let us take a look at what was mineral water, what was tap water, and what was toilet water. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (26 July 2011)
Back in the July 5 Roundup, we let you know about Nanae Takahashi’s 15th anniversary plans, and how she would be facing Women Superstars Uncensored World Champion Mercedes Martinez in the semi-final of the Queen of Stardom tournament to crown its first champion. That event took place on Sunday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo in front of a full house of 1,310 paying fans, with Takahashi not only defeating Martinez, but going on to beat Yoko Bito – who got by Mika Nagano earlier in the night to make it to the finals – to claim the championship in the promotion that she helped to create.
Some may complain that Takahashi winning the championship is a bit of a swizz, considering that she’s a founder of Stardom and has been booked to be the first champion. I can understand that complaint, considering it seems that it’s an exercise in ego-stroking, but I believe it means more than that. For example, Nanae winning the title is a recognition of her work since debuting in 1996, and if she is the best wrestler in the promotion – which is somewhat likely, considering its main function is to season younger wrestlers to get them ready, then should she not be the first champion to give the title some traction, so when one of the younger wrestlers matures, it will be a more prestigious title to win? (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (19 July 2011)
Thursday, July 19, 2001 was a pretty humdrum day in world history. As a frame of reference, the most newsworthy thing was the Code Red virus taking hold of a massive number of computers after being released online 6 days previously.
In the world of wrestling, Steve Austin was on SmackDown, showing “the old Stone Cold” was back when he stunnered everyone in the ring ahead of the WWF Invasion pay-per-view, which was to take place in three days. It would intrigue wrestling fans who wondered what would happen if the WWF and WCW ever clashed on one show. As it turned out, it would be a decent – and high grossing – show which was followed by months of killing the WCW image to the point that it was worthless by November.
However, also on this very day ten years ago at Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, MO, a young lady by the name of Christine was handed her first ever defeat in a mid-card contest at the hands of a debuting wrestler to Gateway Championship Wrestling. That wrestler was MsChif.
Rachel Collins had been asked by her colleague at her human genetics job – the role she had before going into microbiology – what she would love to do more than anything. Concluding that it would be to learn to wrestle, she decided to train at at GCW under the tutelage of Johnny Greenpeace (who was the tough trainer) and Jack Adonis (who was the comic relief), with the black-metal-banshee character naturally evolving while she was learning her craft. Even though she never believed that she would wrestle outside of St Louis, MsChif would go on to win a shedload of top championships including the SHIMMER title, the NWA World Women’s Title and the NWA Midwest/IWA Mid-South Women’s Title – which she held all at one time during 2008 and 2009 – as well as winning ChickFight IV and being ranked 4th in the PWI Female Fifty for 2009.
When asked for comment, MsChif told Ringbelles: “It’s crazy to think I’ve been wrestling for 10 years now. It doesn’t feel like it’s been so long. Wrestling has brought on some very amazing times, places and people. I couldn’t imagine life without wrestling.” (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (12 July 2011)
After withdrawing from CHIKARA and moving back to Australia, many would have expected SHIMMER and PWWA Champion Madison Eagles to rest up her injured shoulder and prepare herself for the return of PWWA on September 3 for her next SHIMMER title defence against both Nicole Matthews and former tag team partner Jessie McKay.
But this is Madison Eagles we’re talking about. This is the woman who perforated her eardrum during her #1 contenders’ match against Cheerleader Melissa in SHIMMER and came back the next day to wrestle MsChif and win the title. This is the woman who fractured her wrist and elbow last year and carried on training through it. This is the woman who had racked her shoulder up in a car accident in April and still went balls to the wall against Courtney Rush at nCw Femmes Fatales VI less than two months later.
So when she returned unannounced to her home fed of PWA in Liverpool, Australia on Friday after living in the US for six months, she wasn’t there to stand and wave at the fans. Instead, she turned heel by kicking Jessie McKay in the face and delivering a Hellbound (Death Valley Driver over the knee) to Robbie Eagles, setting the stall for the SHIMMER title match Before the turn, it would have been heel Matthews against babyfaces McKay and Eagles. Now, the pressure is on Everybody’s Favourite Girlfriend, who has her longtime SHIMMER rival in Matthews, and former tag team partner and regular opponent Eagles gunning for her. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (5 July 2011)
Nanae Takahashi could have chosen to wrestle anyone in her 15th anniversary match. After all, she is one of the founders of STARDOM – a promotion formed in late 2010 to help season the younger generation of aspiring joshi stars and train up new ones from different aspects of the entertainment industry, such as Yuzuki Aikawa, who had been a model, ballet dancer, and girl group singer. Takahashi could have picked any woman from any promotion in Japan, seeing as many promotions share and exchange talent these days. However, the 32-year old decided that instead of picking a domestic star to take on, she would select someone who has never wrestled in Japan before – the Women Superstars Uncensored World Champion Mercedes Martinez.
We’ll get to Martinez in a moment, but first, a quick biography of her opponent on July 24 in Tokyo, and the promotion that is her current pet project.
Takahashi debuted in 1996 at the age of 17, and shot out of the blocks, winning two All Japan Women tag team titles in two years. Taking the bull by the horns in the previous decade, Nanae started 2000 by winning the AJW singles gold on March. She followed it up over the next 10 by winning the WWWA singles and tag titles (her first WWWA solo title win was over Ayako Hamada on May 11, 2003), and was the singles champ when the promotion folded in 2006.
During that year (which was also her 10 year anniversary, in case you weren’t keeping track) announced her intention to start her own promotion. That promotion was Pro Wrestling SUN, which still exists to this very day, under the handling of one Allison Danger and is based in the US. At the time, the promotion recognised the AWA Women’s Championship and had Takahashi as its champion, though she lost it to Amazing Kong, who then entered a war with then-NWA World Women’s Champion MsChif.
After SUN entered inactivity in 2008, Nanae won the NEO singles and tag titles, the Ice Ribbon Triangle Ribbon and International Ribbon Tag Team Titles, and even the JWP Openweight championship. As you can tell, this is a woman who has had her fair share of success. And other people’s share. And on July 24, Takahashi could add another title to that list of accomplishments – the newly created World of STARDOM championship. (more…)
Mickie James to return to AAA
Looks like one TNA Knockout impressed enough with her appearance at AAA’s TripleMania XIX to be invited back. Knockouts Champion Mickie James is scheduled to appear for the promotion on Saturday night, teaming with AAA’s resident heel luchadora Sexy Star against Fabi and Mari Apache.
The telling thing is that neither Angelina Love nor Velvet Sky were booked for the show. While their match was well received by the fans, it seems their conduct behind the curtain may have rubbed some people up the wrong way. From last week’s Wrestling Observer:
Of the TNA talent, Angelina Love & Velvet Sky got over doing their old Beautiful People act. However, from the AAA standpoint there was a feeling that they didn’t act like doing TripleMania was a big deal and it must have rubbed some people the wrong way, because to AAA, this is a huge show. On the flip side, the feeling was Mickie James and Abyss both saw appearing on this show as a big deal and AAA was interested in bringing both back.
Incidentally, Abyss is also booked on the TV tapings in Veracruz, Mexico, so there may be validity to the report.
Considering that the Knockouts don’t seem to get many wrestling dates outside of TNA these days, it could be that Sky and Love missed out on a great opportunity to get more bookings in a new environment where they could pick up new skills and network even further. Kudos to James for taking advantage of the situation and expanding her horizons.
TripleMania XIX: Team TNA wins
The visiting Knockouts from TNA made an impact (yes, I know, crap joke) at AAA TripleMania XIX in Mexico City, Mexico last night, as Mickie James, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love & AAA regular Sexi Star defeated Fabi and Mari Apache, Lolita & Cinthia Moreno in the opening contest of the show.
According to Superluchas, Star got the most elaborate entrance of the match, coming to the ring in a car – it makes sense, I suppose, as she is one of AAA’s full-time wrestlers. As for the match itself, opinions will obviously vary between fans, but two consecutive posts from the Luchablog chatroom claim that the women were blowing spots. Honestly, that’s not that much of a surprise for a number of reasons, which include this being the first time most of the TNA girls will have wrestled their opponents, and if Sky’s lucha attempts with Sarita on Impact are anything to go by, a lot of this may have been watched through the fingers to try and shield yourself from the horror. For the record, Mickie James got the pin on Fabi Apache with her jumping DDT, which hopefully looked better than it did last Sunday at Slammiversary IX. (more…)
Slammiversary: Mickie v Angelina falls flat
Mickie James is still TNA Knockouts Champion after beating Angelina Love at Slammiversary IX. Despite copious amounts of interference by Love’s friend/aide/guide/master Winter, James managed to overcome the odds to retain the title using the Mickie DT for the three.
As with all PPV matches involving Divas and Knockouts, we stick the match under the microscope. So let’s see what made me smile, what made me frown, and what made me slam my head into a desk.
The Good
This is probably Winter’s best work in a long time. Her interference all made sense, was enough to warrant frustration at her and it looked like she genuinely gave a crap about the outcome of the contest. On a similar note, referee Earl Hebner had his back turned to all of Winter’s activity (a good thing, as if he watches it happen and does nothing about it, it makes a ref look flaccid) until he caught her swiping James’ hand off the rope during a pin attempt by Angelina.
For the most part, the actual moves looked fine too. However, there was one massive exception. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (17 May 2011)
The Big News
Hide your kids, hide your wife – Wrestlicious is back.
On Monday, it was announced that the second season of TakeDown would be shown on a cable network owned by Viacom. That could mean it could be hosted on Comedy Central, an MTV channel, VH1 or even Spike – the channel which currently hosts TNA TV.
In the official press release, Union Square Agency, with whom Wrestlicious has formed this partnership, says it will provide sponsorship sales, television production, syndication, media sales, event extensions, venue selection, strategic partnerships and manage licensing and merchandising.
Wrestlicious launched on TV in the US and Canada last year, two years after host and producer Johnny Cafarella and Jimmy Hart teamed up with Jonathan Vargas, a 19-year old who won $35.3 million on the Powerball Lottery. The original concept for Wrestlicious was dreamt up in 2003 when Hart produced a pilot for Crush, which was exactly the same as what Wrestlicious is – a mix of cartoony wrestling with comedy skits spliced in. Featuring wrestlers like Melina, Lacey, Rain and Cheerleader Melissa, it had proper wrestlers as well as models who would be trained up – sound familiar? Some of the characters were even recycled – the Felony character was originally played in Crush by Melissa, but seeing as she was contracted to TNA at the time, Felony was played by Rain in Wrestlicious. (more…)
Sacrifice: Chyna returns, Mickie retains, Tara free
There were two matches involving female in-ring action last night at TNA Sacrifice (are they still called TNA or is it now Impact Wrestling? We can’t tell, it’s confusing). In one match, Mickie James retained her Knockouts title by beating Madison Rayne with the help of Rayne’s now-former associate Tara, who clocked her overbearing boss with the infamous loaded glove to free herself from her their agreement; in the the semi-main event, Kurt Angle and Chyna defeated Jeff and Karen Jarrett.
So let us take a look at what worked, what didn’t, and what was downright awful: (more…)
Mickie James to appear in AAA
Lucha libre promotion AAA has announced that TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James will be appearing at its biggest show of the year, TripleMania XIX on June 18 at the Palacio de los Deportes (“Sports Palace”) in Mexico City, Mexico.
It made the announcement on its Twitter page earlier today:
MICKIE JAMES será la invitada especial en #Triplemanía XIX! Gracias por sus votos!
For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, that translates to:
MICKIE JAMES will be the special guest in #Triplemanía XIX! Thanks for the votes!
We told you in yesterday’s Ringbelles Roundup about how AAA was running a fan poll to see which Knockout they would like to appear at TripleMania. Everyone exept Sarita was eligible (she couldn’t make an appearance, as she is contracted to rival promotion CMLL), and the people wanted Mickie.
This is the second year that TNA wrestlers will be appearing at TripleMania – last year, Beer Money, Christopher Daniels and Abyss competed on the show – but James will be the first TNA contracted female to be there. However, last year saw former Knockout Peyton Banks – under her more well-known character of Rain – team with Jennifer Blake and Sexi Star (as Las Gringas Locas) to beat Cinthia Moreno, Mari and Faby Apache.
You can find out more about AAA by clicking here.
Ringbelles Roundup (3 May 2011)
The Big News
We start with the departure from WWE by Michelle McCool, and my Women Of Wrestling Podcast colleague Stew Allen has stepped in to write a great biography of her career. I’ll let him take the floor.
After a few weeks of teasers, we finally got to see the WWE debut of the former Amazing Kong, now known as Kharma, but just as interesting is the sudden and unexpected departure of Michelle McCool, who by losing her match to former LayCool partner Layla El, is now “gone” from WWE. Taking to twitter soon after the match, McCool confirmed “I know there will always be rumours, but that was it – real talk!” News of McCool’s then impending departure was first broken by PWInsider a few days ago when it became clear that McCool’s challenge from SmackDown had been hastily (and badly) redubbed from “Loser leaves SmackDown” to “Loser leaves WWE”.
It has been an eventful seven year ride since married middle school teacher Michelle McCool-Alexander decided to apply to be a competitor in the inaugural WWE Diva Search in 2004. McCool was unique amongst the competitors not only for being the only one not supplied by a modelling agency, but also because she was an actual wrestling fan, having attended old NWA shows at the National Guard Armory in her native Palatka, FL. Though eliminated fairly quickly, McCool was amongst a clutch of Diva Search competitors who ended up being offered a developmental contract anyway. Her athleticism was undeniable (as she proved by schooling the WWE Divas in Dodgeball at SummerSlam of that year) and is undoubtedly genetic, as most of her family have excelled at sports. In fact, McCool herself picked up the Hancock Trophy in 1988 for her exploits in volleyball, softball and basketball at Palatka High. A forgettable early run on Smackdown ended when she was eventually redeployed to developmental territories Deep South Wrestling, and then Ohio Valley Wrestling before being returned to the main roster mid ’06. Unfortunately, much of the next two years saw a struggle as Michelle battled to find any real traction and identity, as WWE stumbled about from storyline to storyline. From “sexy schoolteacher” McCool, who was paired with the tag team of KC James & Idol Stevens (known affectionately as The Teacher’s Pets) to the object of Jamie Noble’s affections in a bizarre love triangle with Chuck Palumbo, McCool was on a road to nowhere. The undoubted highlight of early Michelle McCool for many was the unintentionally hilarious promo videos which saw her proclaim how much she was “lovin’ life” as she roller-skated, took a swim, and generally just stood around. These early years also saw personal tribulation for McCool, who divorced her former high school sweetheart Jeremy Alexander and ended 2007 with an enforced two week stay in hospital for an enlarged kidney, electrolyte balance and low sodium levels which could, in the words of WWE Doctor Ferdinand Rios, have led to heart or kidney failure. Rumours have persisted that these were side effects from the extreme dieting she had to do to maintain her perfect TV figure, though these rumours have never been confirmed by either Michelle or WWE. In recalling the incident, McCool says “One night I was apparently so dehydrated, Dr. Rios hooked me up to an IV. Thank the good Lord that he was with me — along with several WWE Superstars — who took such good care of me. I can never truly repay them”. (more…)
New RESPECT issue released
The latest issue of Captured Beauty’s RESPECT magazine’s available, with some great articles for you to check out…
Featured in this month’s issue include an interview with Cheerleader Melissa on the Raisha Saeed and Alissa Flash characters, her reasons for leaving TNA and the ethos of the Female Fight League; a piece on Mickie James becoming the first owman to win the TNA Knockouts Title as well as the WWE Women’s and Divas titles; an article written by Mercedes Martinez which includes her goals for 2011 and what her latest tattoo means, and; a biopic of Britani Knight, including her recent success in SHIMMER and Pro Wrestling: EVE.
You’ll also find results, news and reviews – including one of SHIMMER Volume 36.
To read the latest issue, just click the image to the left.
We at Ringbelles are happy to help promote RESPECT, as well as other projects looking to put the spotlight on women’s wrestling – if you would like us to give you a plug, send us an email to ringbelles@gmail.com
Follow RESPECT on Twitter
Ringbelles Roundup (19 April 2011)
The Big News
Card subject to change.
It’s a phrase used by nearly all wrestling promotions to cover themselves in case an advertised match doesn’t happen, or an advertised wrestler doesn’t appear. While no promotion wants to let down the paying audience, sometimes circumstances happen and alternative decisions have to be made. It’s the nature of the beast when you’re dealing with a high-contact sport such as professional wrestling – accidents and injuries happen, transport fails, some even hold up promoters for more money. Whatever the reason, it’s a useful get-out clause if what you had planned can’t materialise.
TNA forgot those four words on Sunday at Lockdown.
Instead of engaging in a competitive contest which would put over the might and will of the champion and thusly make the title mean more when the challenger defeats her, Mickie James ended Madison Rayne’s record 188-day run as Knockouts Champion in just 34 seconds. This was because James still hasn’t fully recovered from the separated shoulder she suffered a few weeks ago – in fact, Dave Meltzer reports that James arrived at Lockdown in Cincinnati, OH with her arm still in a sling, and only took it off for the match before putting it back on when she got to the back.
If this is the case, it explains why the match was so short, but doesn’t explain why the match had to happen at all. (more…)
Ringbelles Retro: The Divas match that was a WrestleMania draw
I know, that title sounds pretty implausible, but it really happened.
Think back to 2006, when WrestleMania 22 was main evented by John Cena v Triple H. While that was undoubtedly the marquee match, the secondary pull was the Women’s title affair – almost literally as well as figuratively – between champion Trish Stratus and her “biggest fan” turned stalker turned enemy Mickie James.
James had debuted about 7 months previously, rescuing Trish, hanging around her all the time, pretending to be her, wanting to be her, and also being jealous at how Stratus’ friend Ashley Massaro always seemed to be in the mix. Massaro and James fought at the Royal Rumble, setting the turn, and it was compounded when Mickie made a pass at Stratus which was rejected. The two agreed to give each other some space after teaming at Saturday Night’s Main Event in February 2006, but James gave her own personal farewell to her idol by kicking her in the head.
Then this happened… (more…)
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