Wednesday, December 10, 2025
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A Week of Drastic Change (But Not Really) in Women’s Wrestling

It’s funny how things can change so much in just seven days, yet still remain very much the same. Since last Thursday, it’s been one bombshell after another. In the last seven days, both WWE and TNA have made, I’m sure what they consider to be ‘wise business decisions’, in releasing Mickie James and allowing Tara to slip through their fingers. It is odd to watch this as a fan, as we effectively need to readjust the way we watch women’s wrestling on national television and prepare ourselves to no longer see two women, who combined, have probably entertained us for some 12-13 years. When it rains, it pours, right?

I say that things still remain the same because though these two extremely popular women have moved on or are going to move on, the status quo remains unchanged and that status quo is that the women aren’t considered as valuable as the men. Who’d have thought that Mickie James, the heir apparent to Trish Stratus’ throne, would leave under any circumstance other than her own? James seemingly had a meal ticket for as long as she wanted and seemingly had a send-off somewhere between Trish’s and the then-Victoria’s whenever she did hang up her boots. Where did it all go wrong? I’m sure you’re reading much speculation on the Internet, but it baffles me that WWE would dismiss the fact that Mickie was the most popular Diva in the WWE with audience reaction far more than that of some of the men they seem intent on pushing to the moon. Perhaps Mickie’s release should have been foreshadowed when WWE pulled a similar stunt in February, releasing Maria Kanellis, also extremely popular as proven by the fact that she won a worldwide fan vote for ‘Diva of the Year’ in December. Are the women that expendable? Are they that interchangeable?

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes: Issue #3

WITH THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2010 DIVAS DRAFT, RAW SELECTS….

We all thought my friend Matt was the crazy one. Each April at Gettysburg College we would be out celebrating SpringFest – a college-wide party filled with live music, dancing, games, great food, and adult beverages. The party started early and lasted all day. It is one of the best memories from school each year. (Funniest SpringFest memory – my girlfriend (now wife) wanted to step into the inflatable boxing ring with me. I kept saying “no” but after I had had enough of her nagging, I climbed into the ring, put on the giant boxing gloves, and proceeded to punch her right through the ropes and out onto the grass. We laugh about it now, but I remember sleeping alone that night. Truthfully though I had little remorse, “hey babe, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time”. I officially retired with a 2-1 record after some guy challenged me later that same day and turned me into Mankind.)

As fun at SpringFest was every year, my friend Matt always chose to skip it to “prepare” for the NFL draft. He was dead serious. The NFL draft was his favorite day of the year and it usually fell on the day of the party. I can’t tell you how much fun we made of him for this. Aside from being a Bengals fan (which is bad enough), he would compose multiple mock drafts and stress about which trades or picks each team should make, and then watch the draft for 10 straight hours. It was a little bizarre – he didn’t even take his actually classes that seriously. We graduated in 1995. Fast forward to today. He has now been working as a scout in the NFL for 14 years and wears a Super Bowl ring (1999-2000 St. Louis Rams). I’m not even sure how it happened…but he met the right person who introduced him to another person and so on. Next thing you know he is working for the Rams, scouting college football games, and hanging out with the players at summer BBQs. Pretty good for a kid who never really played football. Guess he wasn’t so crazy after all!

I was thinking about Matt the other day as I was piecing together my 2010 Divas Draft. Seemed pretty ironic to me that now I was the one looking at stats, making predictions, and stressing about match-ups and trades. Plus I felt like Stephen King with writer’s block. I kept putting thoughts down on paper, shaking my head, and then dramatically throwing the paper into the trash. This killed several hours at work, which is OK to admit because I’m 145% sure my boss doesn’t read this column (he barely reads the reports I turn). I felt a sense of purpose to get this right. After all, the WWE claims “For the eighth time in WWE history, the WWE Draft promises to realign the stars within the cosmos of the WWE Universe.” The cosmos of the WWE Universe?!? What the hell does that mean? Sounds important though huh?!

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes: Issue #2

Well I think our first date went well. I picked you up on time, bought you dinner, told some funny jokes, picked a decent movie, and then dropped you back home before curfew. All in all it was a good night, except for one thing. I did all the talking. It was all about me. So, enough about me…for our second date lets climb the ropes together and turn our attention to where it belongs, the wrestling ring.

I thought in general this was a shaky week for the WWE. I like Jack Swagger and think he has a great future, but to have him cash in his MITB briefcase on a taped program like Smackdown seemed to detract from the moment, from the important elevation of his career. Nothing is as exciting when you know it is taped. Whether the WWE wants to admit it or not, show spoilers are out there and people do find out results beforehand. Michael Cole called us “Internet geeks” this past week. Whatever. Maybe it’s not a huge percentage, and maybe it’s not their target audience (i.e. kids), but there are plenty of us that do read the results beforehand and I felt the intimacy of the moment was stolen from Swagger. Do it on RAW (they cross brands all the time) or at a PPV. Give him that special “live” moment. I kind of felt bad for him even though this win is great for his career. I don’t know. Am I wrong here? To what degree should the WWE care about how the Internet affects their business?

And just to remind you…there are only 4 weeks to go until the first “rookie” is eliminated from NXT. Settle down. I know the excitement is overwhelming. I can only imagine the “innovative” challenges NXT has in store for us over the next few weeks, maybe jumping rope, maybe karaoke. This past week was bizarre, although I haven’t had that much fun watching dudes carry a keg around since I was a junior in college. For me personally NXT has been a major let-down. I support the concept – trying to establish new stars – but I expected this show to be a “peek” into the training and conditioning of future superstars, not 8-on-1 matches vs. Kane. I think NXT is so contrived I find myself missing The Abraham Washington Show. And at least with ECW we would get the occasional Rosa Mendes “cha cha cha”. (Speaking of bad WWE TV, what happened to WWE Superstars? They should just change the tag line from “Expect Everything” to “Expect William Regal and a Colon Brother”.)

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Mr. Glamazon’s Hitting the Ropes: Issue #1

Based on your response to his efforts as our correspondent on-scene at WrestleMania 26, we are very excited to welcome aboard David aka Mr. Glamazon as a regular featured columnist here at Diva Dirt. Check back every week for a new edition of ‘Hitting the Ropes’.

When Melanie asked if I wanted to write a weekly column for Diva Dirt, I jumped at the chance. Not because I thought I had so much to share with the readers or because I felt I could make an impact on the wrestling community. Nope, it was much more basic than that. Basically, writing a column for this site sounded a lot more fun than changing diapers, making bottles, mowing the lawn, working, and cleaning the house. (Seriously, kids are great, but for those of you who don’t have kids yet… get up, stretch, look around, and appreciate your freedom. Do it right now. Smile. Today is yours!) I need more fun in my life. This column could be therapeutic and give me something to think about while I am cleaning applesauce off the floor. So I said sure I’ll give this a try. I had a good time reporting from WrestleMania and you all seemed to like what I wrote, so let’s hit the ropes and get started!

Here’s my background so you know a little bit about me. Credibility is important. To this point, from the audio shows you know that I a) love Beth Phoenix, and b) don’t know anything about TNA. Pretty impressive credentials, huh? I fell in love with professional wrestling in October 1985 at the old Hershey Park Arena in Hershey, PA. My friend dragged me to a show that night and it happened to be a (then) WWF taping of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Since Hulk Hogan was on the card, the arena was full and all the people were going crazy. From the moment S.D. Jones came out to start the show (I didn’t know what a jobber was back then), I was hooked. I loved everything. The athleticism. The spectacle. The energy of the crowd. The pageantry. I soaked it all in and when Hulk came out for his tag match with Andre the Giant, I knew something inside of me had changed forever. (It wasn’t until Jim Duggan and the Iron Sheik got pulled over by a NJ state trooper that I realized something was “fishy” about this sport. That state trooper smartened up a generation of kids. In a way I hate him for it.)

For the next seven years the WWF was my main interest outside of school and sports. My friend Jamie (who went to WrestleMania 26 with me) and I actually thought we were the Mega-Powers. We begged our parents relentlessly until they agreed to take us to shows in Hershey. We broke more of our parents baking sheets and folding chairs than I care to remember. We watched the TV shows religiously (Brother Love really was my minister). We booked matches with our LJN action figures. And then we hit the jackpot when WrestleManias 4 and 5 came to Atlantic City, NJ. Those trips to AC remain some of my happiest childhood memories because we felt we were a part of something special: Donald Trump, the title tournament, Macho Man’s World Championship, and then the Mega-Powers exploding. (We were also in Hershey the night the “Madness Met the Mania” on SNME… or as I call it, “One of the Best Nights of My Life” somewhere next to my wedding day and the birth of my children, but don’t make me put them in order. I mean, Hogan, Savage, Liz, the Harts, Honky… good lord!)

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Krissy Vaine’s Final Vainety Fair: A Death and a Rebirth

What’s is in a name? Does it define who and what we are? What we mean to people? Or what we mean to ourselves? In some cases I think so… Krissy Vaine was a character that I conjured up in my imagination about eight years ago. She’s been to a lot of places and done a lot of things. She has been a WWE Diva (for a hot second) and spent many hours on the road working the independent circuit. She has made friends and enemies. She has seen the good, the bad and the ugly (and has been ugly herself) of the wrestling world and still managed to come out alive, yet different if that makes sense? All of these experiences must have an effect and change a person, right? I hope so. Otherwise what has all this been for? Krissy Vaine, eight years ago and Mrs. Vaine of the present are two completely different people. I’m now older, wiser and much, much more patient. All of the ups and downs and the crazy rollercoaster was for the better good of my growth — at least that’s how I’ve come to look at it. Slowly but surely, I’ve begun to resonate less and less with ‘Krissy VAINNNNE’. After 29 years, I believe that I’m actually comfortable with looking in the mirror and saying, “Hello Kristin, how the heck are ya? Glad to have ya back.”

Krissy Vaine was a mask. A facade to cover up the fact that on the inside, Kristin was a real hot mess. Krissy Vaine had confidence, while Kristin did not. Krissy Vaine had many people who loved her, while Kristin did not, Vaine knew who she was and Kristin did not have a clue… I knew who and what I wanted to be, but I was far from attaining it. The thing about masks and facades is that they only last for so long. You can only attempt to be something you are not for a certain period of time before it’s so hard on your soul that you snap. I fortunately got to snap in front of the whole world… Yay me! Haha. Something else that began to happen was that I really started to believe I was the ‘fake replica’ that I had conjured up of myself and I became that monster. I was lost and needed to find myself again. And with a quickness.

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try to Hide Your Astonishment

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“If at first you don’t succeed, try to hide your astonishment” could not have been a more perfect title to Vainety Fair today. Just the thought made me double over in laughter to put a light spin on what could be considered a painful day. You see, I was rejected today. Yes me, Krissy Vaine, rejected for the millionth, bazillionth time in my life and it was not fun! Honestly, rejection never gets easier, but the amount of time I take it personally has reduced drastically over the years. Thank goodness! Fear of rejection is what I believe, keeps many people in their same redundant ‘safe’ life. Scared to come outside of their box, scared to spread their wings and fly. Luckily, I think of myself as pretty resilient, though it’s not always easy to be so! Human nature craves acceptance and it is one of the best feelings in the world when we do get it. But not everything can be rosy all the time! That wouldn’t even make sense… how would we grow? As a wrestling diva, model, actress and person who’s chosen to be in the entertainment business, I’ve had my fair share of both. But to be honest with all of you, there are many more nos in this business than yeses. That being said, it still doesn’t make it any easier.

Last week, I had an audition here in the town where I live for a big production that would be taking place in the springtime. Funny thing about these auditions is that you are often in a waiting room staring at your competition. Sizing them up. Wondering what their credentials are in comparison to yours and of course, if the role calls for a certain ‘look’, trying to figure out who is the best fit. Of course in my own mind, I was above and beyond the best person for the role. I nailed the audition, fit the character prototype perfectly, and honestly in my opinion, was the bomb diggity and a shoe in. (At this point, a piece of humble pie would be appreciated.) Good grief!

You can imagine my shock and utter amazement when I am informed by email that someone else was given the part! Grr, what?! EXCUSE ME??? In 0.2 seconds flat, my ego began to take over; tears started to well in my eyes, my bottom lip started to quiver and the waterworks started. It took me back to the 10th grade when I was cut from the cheerleading squad. In 10th grade, I thought my life was over. I had been cheering since I was practically born and what would I do for the year without it? And why me? What had I done to deserve that? However, somehow I got through that year and I expanded my horizons and branched out to learn things I never would have if I had been busy with the squad. I traveled with a theatre group and I started my first job that would teach me to work for my independence. The next year, I made the squad again as if a beat had never been skipped. The year without it had actually been a blessing and many lessons had been learned.

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The “Piggie James” Impact

If you’re a fan of women’s wrestling and more specifically, the WWE Divas, then you are familiar with the “Piggie James” storyline that has graced our television screens in recent weeks. The angle has ignited a lot of discussion and controversy due to the sensitive issue it has been dealing with; a woman’s weight and image. The WWE constantly promotes their women as smart, sexy, and powerful and with those labels come certain expectations. I’m almost positive the girls employed by World Wrestling Entertainment are expected to maintain their appearance at the highest level they possibly can. I’m purely speculating here, but seeing as how the majority of their roster is filled with models, the girls get hired for their looks alone. If want to sit here and nitpick, the male portion of the roster has its fair share of lookers to but that’s not what’s important today. In the entertainment world, looks are everything, and as sad as it is, Mickie James could be considered big for a diva by some people.

Personally, I find it absolutely ridiculous to call Mickie James fat, but the writers over at the ‘E saw a chance for a storyline and they decided to role with it. Week after week we got a chance to see then Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, and her BFF, Layla, humiliate and taunt Mickie for being “overweight”. Team Laycool (and sometimes Beth Phoenix) made Mickie’s life a living hell until the Royal Rumble when Mickie finally got some much needed and oh so sweet revenge. Laycool got served a nasty little dish of their own medicine and Michelle suffered the ultimate embarrassment of losing her precious title in less than a minute. I thought the end justified the storyline, and overall I thought the angle was brilliant. Lets face it, the WWE just doesn’t care about their divas like they used too. The Diva division has suffered in the post-Trish era. I don’t know if it’s because the WWE just doesn’t care these days, or if it’s because they don’t have the confidence in any of their women like they had Trish. Either way, women haven’t had legit storylines in a long time and their three minute matches have been sloppily put together and terrible to say the least.

Since the draft last April, Smackdown has more than proven itself as the place to be if you’re a diva. The girls on the blue brand are given a little more time and for the most part, better writing. As a diva fan, I didn’t find Piggie James appalling whatsoever. I found it funny, dramatic, annoying, and I enjoyed it. As a woman, I sympathized with Mickie and wanted to punch Michelle McCool and her perfect little self in the face. Us diva fans were FINALLY given a storyline we could get emotionally attached too. We were made to root for Mickie and we were made to hate on LayCool for their terrible actions. All women were given mic time. They were given segments. The storyline had extreme build and that’s something we haven’t seen since the days of Trish and Lita. Our girls were finally given time to shine. I had no idea Michelle was capable of comedy. I had no clue I could ever be made to want Mickie James win a match. I was so excited to see what Beth Phoenix would do and which side she would pick. I even marked out for Maria when she got herself involved and cut the best promo she’s ever done. This simple, childish storyline brought something out of each and every woman involved and it was refreshing to see. Despite the touchy issue it was built on, I think everything worked out well in the end. Us Diva fans were finally given a reason to get excited and emotional.

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Who Believes in You?

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“Who believes in me?”… A question I have often asked myself and at times had a hard time answering, just as I’m sure many of you have. Sometimes I don’t even believe in myself. How can I possibly say that? We should all believe in ourselves. Have faith we can attain our goals and achieve our dreams, but what blocks us from doing so? I’m a prime example of fear over running my life and letting it get the best of me. How do we, myself included, keep from living a “fear based” life in a fear based world? Turn on the news, the radio, open up a newspaper and all you see is trouble, sadness, and anxiety that brinks on paranoia. I try not to watch or read any of these things at this point in my life. The human race has become so focused on what is negative and fearful that we almost don’t know how to receive positive and good in our life. We don’t know how to accept “great news” for fear that we don’t deserve it, and something bad may be lurking around the corner. We walk around with the attitude that mediocrity is ok. That we are supposed to go to school, get a good job with “benefits” and live the same doldrum life until we die??? What about finding true happiness? Realizing what makes your soul sing and come alive!

Whenever I think of someone who always believed in me a loving, no GLEAMING, thought of my grandfather “Alvin” comes to mind. He called me “Hollywood” from the time I was a tiny tot. This was before I had dreams or aspirations to become anything at all. He always acknowledged something special about me and was never afraid to tell me. When I think back was really a rare thing in my family. He was such an amazing man.. The most loveable, fun and young spirited man I’ve ever met to this day. In his sixties he was watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and would keep me updated if I missed an episode.

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The Revelation That is Kristal Lashley

Five years ago, a petite, young, pretty model took part in a little competition called the Diva Search — who knew then that she’d open her mouth and turn out to be one of the best talkers we have right now? A Vickie Guerrero for TNA if you will, Kristal Lashley has been extremely impressive … Read more

Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Randomness with the ADHD Kicking

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Gosh, where do I start? Everyone prepare themselves for a random column this week! First of all, hey y’all! How you doing? I hope everyone is doing great this holiday season! I sure am! Whew, I have been slammed recently with my business and it has left me little to no time at the computer! I’m not complaining though — I feel totally blessed. We are in a recession, you know! So much has been happening, I don’t even know where to start.

Well here’s some good news — I have started working out again (first time in a gym in two years) lol. Gosh, that is totally embarassing and a true athlete would never admit to that, right? Oh well, I’m honest, like me or not! It feels good though. I enjoyed being ‘skinny fat’ for the last two years but honestly, I had taken a long enough break! Speaking of ‘breaks’ I’ve also had a pretty long one from wrestling… I think now that I’m training to become to become a 5-star athlete (wink,wink, hee hee hee) again maybe I’ll give wrestling another go. I had a ‘semi-comeback’ last year but that wasn’t really working out the way I wanted. You know by the time you get to a certain age, you just really like to march to the beat of your own drum. Actually I’ve always been like that lol! So I’ve taken some time and regrouped. Oh I’ll give you a lil spoiler, you won’t be seeing Krissy Vaine at TNA for the tag tournament next week. That synchronicity thing I’ve talked about before is so funny! Timing is everything and unfortunately I was already obligated to something else by the time this idea came to fruition. This go round, because I have looked less than professional in the past (and that is not my nature) I have to do things the right way. It’s really important for me to do so. So whomever I’m with, I’ll be giving that company 100%  — no more one show appearances for me. Its not fair to anyone involved. I do have some very exciting and interesting things going on in the New Year.

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Making Sense of Last Night’s Slammy Shocker

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Last night’s WWE Slammy Awards were the nail in the coffin for what has been a year of disappointment. From the Miss WrestleMania battle royal to the ‘Mayweather Melee‘ to the Diva Bowl and not forgetting the ‘Indians vs Pilgrims‘ match leading into Maryse’s lackluster return. Given the track record WWE has had with it’s Divas this year, in hindsight, we were far too optimistic for the Slammys to be the exception to the rule. From the nominations fiasco to the award being handed out on Raw, it’s been a marred process.

Clearly, it hasn’t been a good year for the Divas and last night summed up precisely what was so wrong about it. But try to make sense of the situation:

Maria’s win
Before we even begin, I’m not going to sit here and blast Maria for winning Diva of the Year, her win wasn’t under her control and it’s unfair to judge her personally for being chosen to win. It’s her moment and good for her. I can’t say I think she deserves the award but I’m not going to hold it against her.

Who deserves the blame
Let’s direct this annoyance at the people that it should be directed at — WWE. As the opening paragraph suggests, this whole year has been letdown after letdown at the hands of WWE. A year that could make even the most unrelenting Diva fan question why they continue to watch. Whether the vote was truly the results of a fan vote or if it was booked in Maria’s favour we’ll never know, but I’m sure there are theories to suggest both.

As pointed out in the Post-Raw Show and in the Raw Redux, Maria is set to be part of a big ensemble cast for the Celebrity Apprentice on NBC next year. Perhaps Maria’s Slammy win was their way of pushing her in that series. If you hear Donald Trump putting her over on the show as WWE’s Diva of the Year, then you’ll know. Especially since the show has already filmed. I mean, you gotta compensate Maria on that show somehow right? The show often boasts about the celebrities’ accolades in creating a competitive atmosphere. “Maria, WWE Diva” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “Cyndi Lauper, multi-platinum selling artist” does it? “Maria, WWE Diva of the Year” is a little more grandiose.

One of the things everyone, fans and critics alike, have pointed out is if this was truly fan voted, wouldn’t Mickie James win? Mickie is usually the winner of all of these fan polls and is unarguably, the most popular Diva in the WWE right now. That’s not to downplay Maria’s popularity — because she is up there. She and Kelly have a great rapport with the fans and are usually second or third in past fan-voted contests. But given Mickie’s current disposition with the company, would they really award her the Diva of the Year prize? Probably not. You’re pretty much calling the girl ‘fat and ugly’ every single week with all the ‘Piggie James’ BS that we’ve seen, you’re not going to give her an award. The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that Mickie probably topped the poll but they went for the second highest polling Diva.

It’s clear that WWE has positioned the Divas division to be so much of an afterthought that the average fan won’t care what they do with the girls. And as such, they can get away with murder. I mean in reality, we’re but a fraction of the total audience, right?

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Follow Your Fate?

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How many of us actually follow our fate? Our life purpose? Or our path? The signs seem to always be there, but do we listen or pay attention? And how long can you ignore what keeps being put in front of you by something that is bigger than you. My signs have always been pretty prevalent and loud, sort of like my personality. There have been times when I have paid attention and there have been times when I have chosen ego over a divine purpose. I believe we are all here to do something, but how do we grasp what that might be?

We can pay attention to synchronicity for starters. Synchronicity happens all the time and there are constantly ‘hints’ being thrown in front of us to help us to us reach our potential. If something drops in front of your face more than three times, I’d rest assured someone or something is trying to tell you something. For me,  it’s always been the wrestling business. No matter what I do, it always calls on me — even if I’m attempting anonymity. This business has given me a platform to reach and touch many people and it continues to do so even as an inactive performer and jobberette extraordinaire ;) I have not had that kind of success in any other business (as hard as I’ve tried), it just hasn’t happened . I used to think it was the devil on my shoulder, but I’m beginning to wonder if my ‘plans’ and my ‘path’ are two different things. You see our ‘egos’ plan. They instill us with fear, induce anxiety and promote worry. Our ‘paths’ just take us where we are supposed to go with no ulterior motives. Our path just wants us to have the peace that we are doing what we are supposed to do and the universe is thrilled by it. When this happens we are truly in sync. I’m working on it but definitely not quite there myself.

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Report: Vince Behind Diva Trade + Why It’s Band Aid Covering Bullet Hole

Reports circulating on various websites are that WWE head honcho, Vince McMahon was behind the Diva Trade of Monday night, feeling that the women’s division needed a shake up. According to one website, McMahon had become frustrated with the division (much like the fans) and had determined that it had become stale. Other websites report … Read more

Diva Trade Analysis: Looking at Each Individual Trade

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Just under 24 hours removed from last night’s Diva Trade, what do the moves mean for each of the 7 Divas that have changed homes? We aim to offer our insight into what they could be getting up to:

draft_bellasThe Bella Twins
Returning to Monday Night Raw, the Bella Twins’ brief excursion to ECW seems to be over… unfortunately. That said, given the fact they have been making trips to Raw over the past month or two anyway, it only seems fitting to make it official, right? I don’t expect the Bellas will be doing much in the way of wrestling on Raw, nor will they probably have much part in the women’s division at all — except at house shows. If they do wrestle, it will likely be as rarely as they did on ECW. So what does that leave them to do? What they’ve been doing already — backstage segments with the Guest Host for the week, maybe even a few skits here and there with Santino. It looks to me as though they were brought back to Raw for that reason, to serve as characters rather than wrestlers which I guess, is okay.

breaker

draft_bellasBeth Phoenix
I’m not entirely happy with this move for Beth, I truly feel not all of the avenues of the Beth Phoenix character were explored and there was more that she could have offered to Raw; feuding with Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly and possibly even Melina again. On SmackDown, while there is the possibility [technically] that she could go toe-to-toe with Michelle McCool or Natalya — both of which are salivating prospects — it just doesn’t seem likely with all three as heels. That just leaves two Divas: Maria and Mickie James. One of those feuds we’ve seen already and would be like beating a dead horse, the other of those feuds seems like an extremely mismatched affair. Nonetheless, it seems like Maria vs Beth could be the only avenue they explore in a singles situation. There is always the chance of a three-way feud with Michelle McCool and Mickie James also. Beyond those two storylines, I don’t see there being much for Beth to accomplish on SmackDown.

More after the cut:

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Diva Trade Analysis: Has WWE Lost it’s Enamour with Mickie James?

There were many, many shocks delivered last night on Monday Night Raw and the WWE.com Diva Trade that succeeded it, but perhaps the biggest shocker is WWE’s top Diva Mickie James being shipped to SmackDown. Losing her Divas Championship so inauspiciously to Jillian and then being announced as moving to SmackDown; it seems like there … Read more

Diva Trade Analysis: Looking at the New Divas Rosters

Just for the sake of compilation and to give you [and us] a picture of what your new Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights will look like, we have made lists of the new Divas roster on each brand: Raw Faces: Melina (Divas Champion) Brie Bella Eve Torres Gail Kim Kelly Kelly Nikki Bella Heels: Alicia … Read more

Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Pretty is as Pretty Does

vainetyfair

I’d like to think that I have a knack for knowing something or someone special, or seeing something worth looking at or paying attention to. I believe everyone has that power. Whether or not we pay attention to it is our own decision. My time as a full time Diva made life very interesting as there were always those coming in and out of the system and I would pretty much be able to peg them and their future. Although I could always see the fate of others, I never was able to do the same for myself. Lord knows I wish that I could have. Life would have been much simpler. So I guess the question is what makes someone special? It seems that everyone has something to give to the world. Those who know that gift are unstoppable, normally they can be seen from a distance and seem to ‘glow’ and bring ‘light’ into your life when they are around. Those who don’t know why they are here are lost and also easily recognized. They walk around sad with a ‘gloom and doom’ negative, nasty attitude. I’ve been both of those people. I prefer what’s behind door number one, however! Not that we all don’t get lost, I think the best decision we can make is one with our hearts and not with our heads. Our human egos get us into a lot of trouble and can cause a lot of unhappiness. If you’re not doing something for the ‘right’ reason, then why do it at all? It’s bound to eat you alive in the end, right?

Many examples in my life have shown me where I was supposed to go. Odd coincidences, random run-ins and lots of trials and tribulations. Each for their own very good reason came into my life and then at some point exited — or I kicked their jabroni butt out for bringing down my vibe! We all know people like that. They suck the life out of you and take, take, take. Never giving back to you what you give to them. The feed off your energy to make themselves feel stronger or more powerful. Be it a boss, a family member or a friend. These people are leeches and not good for any of us. It’s okay to take a stand and say to that person or just do it without saying, “You are not good for me, I’m taking my energy back!” Wow, will you feel better after you take that first step!

I’ve found that every time I start to feel down or am starting to feel sad, I pick up a book. I tend to gravitate towards healing and self help books (I admit, I need them lol!). Just like I’m prone to write stories that make everyone seem more relatable or hopefully tell a good story that means something. Divas, just like Hollywood starlets, are just regular girls who get great makeup and hair for TV. Bet you wouldn’t recognize most of them walking down the street because we all look so different without our ‘masks’. That’s another thing I struggle with — I’ve always felt like such a misfit because who I am on the outside does not match up with the me on the inside. Being judged stinks, I think we can all agree. I’ve mentioned before that being ‘pretty’ gets old and stagnant and what does that really mean? What difference is that really going to make when I’m not in this world? Sometimes it feels like a curse, but I know it’s not. I find myself constantly on a mission to show that ‘pretty is as pretty does, and I’d venture to say that is one of my life’s works. Pretty girls can be nice and it is totally refreshing when they are! Like a tall glass of water! Some of the other “grizzled Divas,” can now officially start taking notes, wink wink.

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Krissy Vaine’s Vainety Fair: Heroes in Wrestling

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I had been stumped as to what to write about this week. I’m one of those people who have to be ‘inspired’ in order to speak or write in this case. I guess I feel like if what I have to say isn’t interesting or if I can’t be passionate while writing, then it’s just best to sit back on my pink aura lol (insert joke here) and simmer. But alas, something came to me tonight; I felt fidgety like I needed to talk but couldn’t tell if, maybe, it was just the full moon coming this week that’s throwing off my balance or what the reason for my restlessness was. And then it came to me… this week in the ‘Fair’, I’m gonna discuss heroes in the wrestling business.

When I started out many years ago, I was a bright eyed, naive, sheltered teenager eager to jump feet first into the world of pro wrestling. Being a North Carolinian, I grew up knowing the names of Ric Flair (fave wrestler ever), Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes and many others. With Crockett Promotions taking place practically in my backyard I couldn’t help but be educated. I would not have called myself a fan, however. My quite ‘southern’ father, an avid fisherman, hunter and ‘rassling’ fan made sure to keep me updated though on all that was professional wrestling. He would turn on wrestling every Saturday morning and make me watch Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Repeating to me weekend after weekend: “Kristin, you’re gonna grow up and be a rassler. You’re just as strong and as pretty as those girls.” I would always retort in my prissy way: “No I’m NOT gonna be one of those girls Daddy! I am a lady!” I couldn’t have been more than ten years old at the time, but my father had just predicted my future. Well to a point. Becoming a wrestler did become part of my path and I’d like to think I remained a lady while doing so. But we are talking about heroes right? I guess in the GLOW era it would’ve been Tina Ferrari but Barbie was my first love, not that you can tell that by looking at me (wink wink). As I grew up, the Saturday morning tradition faded however it apparently stayed with me through at least my late-teens when I decided to give up my budding modeling career and pursue wrestling. Hey, if Trish could do it, so could I! Here was a girl who looked like a Barbie (my first love)  but was a wrestler. I thought back to my father’s words… he was right! And I had found the person who would become my guide… or so I thought.

Ahh, silly, clueless, overzealous Krissy Vaine. I jumped in and I moved up. I had a drive and a determination. It was calling to me and I knew it. Great things would lie ahead, hard work and dedication would get me to the big show! I just knew Vince would be calling me at any minute. No one on the independent circuit looked like me and I knew it. The ball was in my court. Five years into my venture I received the call. I was brought in for my first tryout…

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Are There Flaws in the ‘Female 50’?

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Last week, Pro Wrestling Illustrated released it’s second annual Female 50, a list of the ‘top’ women wrestlers of today. Similar to last year’s list, this year’s Female 50 was met with praise by some but criticism by most. The Female 50 is ranked by popularity, skill, and merit, yet there’s still a few girls on there that has us fans scratching our heads. Is Rosa Mendes really more skilled than say, Alicia Fox? Is Madison Rayne more popular than Natalya? Is Mickie James really the ‘Queen of the Hill’?

As Stew Allen accurately points out on the Women of Wrestling Podcast, “Women’s wrestling is a niche within a niche.” While this is true, I have noticed that women’s wrestling fans tend to be a lot more outspoken and hard to please than your run-of-the-mill wrestling fan. That being the case, how can you put together a list such as this one and still please everyone?

In order to expose and possibly repair the flaws in the Female 50, we really need to look at the actual structure of said list. According to Dan Murphy, one of the men behind this year’s list, several factors went into compiling the 50 names that made the list: “Work rate, promotional push, talent, marketability and other criteria.” Murphy also notes that the list received input from some ‘respected women in the industry’.

One of these women that he’s referring to is Missy Hyatt. Not to take anything away from Missy, but she wasn’t really a wrestler, was she? Maybe someone with more of a hand in the wrestling aspect of the industry would have been a better choice to give feedback on the list. Women like Jazz, Jacqueline and Molly Holly are seasoned veterans, who have a firm grasp of all aspects of the industry and are, quite frankly altogether more credible than Missy Hyatt. I really think that someone of their experience could have helped PWI trim some of the fat off of that list and add some substance.

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Diva B-Sides Double Dip: The Bellas and Katie Lea

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We can all agree that, with a few exceptions, Divas get the short end of the stick when comes to entrance themes. While the male superstars get music from actual bands and artists or custom made songs with lyrics, Divas get stuck with crappy production music. If I had the chance I would change all the Divas music to something a little… well, better. Hence, Diva B-Sides was born; a Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. This week I’m covering ECW Divas Katie Lea and The Bella Twins.

BellasBsides

THE BELLAS TWINS – “PATRON TEQUILA” BY PARADISO GIRLS

ECW’s resident dynamic duo debuted a new theme this Thursday on WWE Superstars, and boy was it awful. Not as bad Jenna’s music, but still cringe-worthy nonetheless. Sounds like these girls are in need of a emergency B-Side.

As Melanie pointed out on the Diva Dirt Twitter, their new theme sounds like cheap Pussycat Dolls rip-off. That said, what better than an imitation PCD to sing their B-Side? 

Honestly speaking, I should be ashamed that I know (or like) this song, but I really think it’s energy and danceable beat suits the Bellas quite nicely. The subject matter may be a bit questionable, but who’s really paying that much attention to The Bellas. Really…        [audio:The Bellas-Paradiso Girls – Patron Tequila.mp3]

Katie’s B-Side after the cut

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Saturday Supplement: Dating While Diva

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In the Saturday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.

ss9-kellyTalks of Divas in the media has been ample and well… I’m striking while the iron is hot.  A woman’s personal life is her personal life, whether or not she may be in show business.  And don’t you try to tell her any differently.  However, when it comes to the disesteemed offense of “Dating while Diva,” is there a double standard?

We’ve seen this trend more recently this past week.  In break of some rather personal news, Superstars like Batista will be called “man-whores” by boasting their alleged sexual prowess to the masses… while Divas such as one Kelly Kelly will receive just as much, if not more criticism for being spotted in a harmless social engagement.  The very same can be said for Divas like Michelle McCool who have been accused for dating for power.  It seems as though the Divas can’t catch a break when it comes to relationships outside of the ring.

Recently, it was reported that Batista has courted none other than Raw’s Rosa Mendes.  The reaction to the story was universal.  “What a pig/sicko/pervert…how disrespectful…women are not to be objectified.”  So on and so forth.  It became apparent that the Animal plows through Divas like cornfields, and Diva fans were none too pleased with the discovery.  Somewhat of an outpour of outrage and disgust commenced as news broke on the Internet.  Some even suspect that Rosa’s success on Raw can be somewhat attributed to any passed relationships she might have attained. Whether or not there may be any truth to that, there is little question that men like Batista have major pull backstage.  So, what’s the appeal?

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