It’s been five years since Trish Stratus last competed at WrestleMania. This weekend she makes her return, but today we take a look back at her last appearance.
It was the feud that captivated fans and is highly regarded as one of the best Diva storylines of all time. For months, Mickie James tried to woo Trish — before deciding she’d rather take her down instead. It all culminated at WrestleMania 22 in 2006…
Part two:
Tonight is the night!
We are inviting our visitors in Atlanta this weekend to join us for a night of fun with fellow women’s wrestling fans!
This year’s program picture courtesy of David at Axxess. Notice that Trish’s hair isn’t Photoshopped this time? Success! [nggallery id=471]
Diva Dirt’s Mr Glamazon brings us her exclusive daily blog detailing her adventures in Atlanta for WrestleMania 27 this weekend. Check back each day for a new entry!
I admit I stress about it too much. What am I going to wear? What tie should I pick out? Did I wear this color last year? It basically takes me a few weeks to make a decision. This year I even jumped on eBay and bought a new pocket square… you know in case I wanted to go with a pocket square (what am I, 60?) I hang the suit in my closet and try all sorts of color combinations. Finally I settle on an outfit, until I change my mind a few days later. It’s exhausting.
But it’s all worth it because the WrestleMania Art Show is one of my favorite nights of the year. I had such a good time the past few years that now I have really high hopes. So yeah I go overboard but when a normal night is sitting on our couch, watching American Idol, and drinking a bottle of cheap wine, well, you tend to get really excited for these things. (I truly wish we had 4 more kids, 2 just isn’t enough work…)
So I finally put it all together: black suit, blue striped shirt, black and blue tie. Perfect.
WrestleMania festivities officially kicked off in Atlanta last night with the annual WrestleMania Art charity event — and what would a red carpet event be without some Divas?
There was plenty of flower power on show as Natalya and Beth Phoenix both opted for frilly frocks. Meanwhile, Alicia Fox is spotted all smiles in a black number.
It’s been a busy couple of months for the legendary 7-time Women’s Champ, Trish Stratus. She’s back in the WWE fold with the USA Network revival of Tough Enough, she’s going to WrestleMania this Sunday, has a movie premiering in one week and is on the cover of Oxygen magazine! With so much going on in the Stratusphere, we decided to give the Diva Dirt Legacy Award winner a call and discuss!
Diva Dirt’s Mr Glamazon brings us her exclusive daily blog detailing her adventures in Atlanta for WrestleMania 27 this weekend. Check back each day for a new entry!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the WWE Art Show is the best event of the year for wrestling fans. You may not believe me but here’s the deal. It is the first event of the week so a lot of fans aren’t in town yet. It is nice and intimate. The food is great. The drinks are flowing. The art is interesting (and for sale). The WWE stars are relaxed and just hanging around. If you want to meet one of your favorite stars, trust me, the Art Show is the way to go. The Axxess sessions are a lot of fun too, but there are a ton of people there, the lines are long, and you only get a brief moment with the star. Tonight will be my third Art Show and if it’s anything like the first two, I’m going to have a blast.
Two years ago it was all about Beth.
It was all about meeting Beth and thanking her for being such an inspiration. Thanking her for being a great role model. Thanking her for the Glamasuits, the tiaras, the Glam Slam…everything. (And um, I do find her kind of attractive…so that’s nice too.)
WWE celebrity guest star, Snooki and Stephanie McMahon took the stage earlier today in New York for one last press conference before Sunday’s WrestleMania event. Snooki sported a ‘Brunette Mafia’ t-shirt (more on the origins of that name in our interview with Trish) and posed with the likes of The Rock and John Cena. According … Read more
WWE has announced a huge six person tag team match for WrestleMania 27 on April 3rd.
Lay-Cool and Dolph Ziggler will team up to take on the team of John Morrison, Diva legend Trish Stratus and Jersey Shore star Snooki!
WWE sent out the following press release regarding Snooki’s appearance:
In the words of Ke$ha: “We are taking over!” Diva Dirt is coming to Hotlanta for WrestleMania 27 and we are inviting all of our fellow ‘Mania-goers to join us!
With so many fans heading to Atlanta, we thought we’d unite the visitors of Diva Dirt in the area for a meet-up! This is your chance to meet Diva Dirt staff members, David (Mr Glamazon) and Cryssi as well as fellow readers of the site!
Oh, and did we mention that there’ll be free drinks and surprise guests?!
The latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter rumors a tentative line-up for WrestleMania 27.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed until it’s announced on TV or WWE.com, but here goes:
Next year’s WrestleMania, the 28th edition, will air live from Miami, FL on April 1st, 2012. Divas Champion, Eve Torres was on hand for a press conference today in Miami. The news is notable because it had previously been reported that Toronto was being considered as a possible location, leading to rumor that Trish Stratus … Read more
Many fans noticed Vickie Guerrero‘s tribute to her late husband, Eddie at WrestleMania 26, from the flames on her tights to her salute from the top turnbuckle. In a rare out of character moment for the Official SmackDown Consultant, WWE.com posted an article about Vickie’s tribute. Excerpt below: From the top rope Vickie put her … Read more
Yes, we’re still riding that WrestleMania wave! While the Divas match at WrestleMania caused a frenzy, we may have overlooked some other Diva moments at ‘Mania that were equally, or perhaps more, memorable. On Monday, we reviewed the 10-Diva tag team match and today, we’re going to look at a few points that were perhaps forgotten. Let’s discuss:
Natalya slaps Vince
Doesn’t everyone dream of slapping their boss? Sadly, so few of us get to do it. However, here’s Natalya getting to slap Vince McMahon with all the force in her right arm and gets paid to do so. Let us live vicariously through her! When we saw Natalya come out to the ring at WrestleMania 26, we popped. It was about time that Nattie and her Hart Dynasty cohorts got a little somethin’-somethin’ out of Uncle Bret’s big return, right? Up until now, they’d been over on SmackDown pretty much floundering. Needless to say, Natalya’s presence at ringside was a much welcome surprise. However, when we saw Natalya strike Vince like a pimp who had just been short changed, not only did we pop, but we may have peed a little with excitement. Okay, obviously embellished that last part [that would just be super gross] but you get the gist. Nattie’s slap could perhaps rival that of Daddy’s Little Girl herself, Stephanie McMahon. Methinks a slap-off is in order for WrestleMania 27!
Savannah debuts
Sweet little Savannah! That super smiley face makes me just want to pinch her cheeks… Okay, that’s another story. But anyway, ECW-turned-NXT ring announcer Savannah made her debut at WrestleMania 26 announcing the Money in the Bank ladder match as well as the pre-show 26 man battle royal. Didn’t she do a great job? Though we’d much rather see her wrestle, I’m sure, Savvy is proving to be a little Lilian in the making with her belting voice just oozing with confidence. Her ‘Mania announcing debut may have just been the one match [on television, that is] but still, calling out ten men one after another must be a little daunting for your first big show. And then there’s the super cute that was gushed over in the ‘Mania Style Jury special. Perhaps unintentional, but Savannah looked super cute as she paid what we’d like to think is an homage to the Decade Diva, Lilian Garcia, who razzled and dazzled us with her sparkly dresses at this annual event.
More after the cut:
Diva Dirt correspondent and Beth Phoenix super fan, David aka Mr. Glamazon is on hand at this week’s WrestleMania festivities and will be checking in daily with his experiences in Phoenix. Check back everyday to find out which Divas he’s rubbed shoulders with in Phoenix — complete with exclusive pictures!
Sunday, March 28th (Day 5)
ANOTHER WRESTLEMANIA IN THE BOOKS, AND ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DIVAS
From Bill Simmons’s ESPN.com WrestleMania recap: “I’m skipping over details of the 10-women diva match that just happened; it was excruciating enough live. It ended with the only unattractive woman in the match executing something called “The hog splash.” Say no more.” Sadly this seems to be the reaction of many fans, although that wasn’t nice to say about Vickie; she is not the typical Diva but very sweet and it is a shame she gets ridiculed so much. PS – his recap on ESPN.com is very funny I just hope Matt Striker doesn’t read it. Good golly!
I do have to agree with Bill on this one though. Maybe I am old school. Maybe I am out of touch. Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy. But I just don’t think every WWE Superstar and Diva needs to be shown on WrestleMania. I kind of feel like being on the card should be an award for a year of exceptional work by the WWE performer. When dealing with the Divas, it seems the WWE is more concerned about simply getting the girls on the show versus giving us a WrestleMania caliber match. I do sympathize with the girls in this sense – I respect each and every one of them and if they get a “WrestleMania moment” that they cherish forever, then I think that’s great. But isn’t that what the WrestleMania 25 Battle Royal was for?! (Which was even won by a man, good gracious lets hit the DELETE button on that one…) Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James vs. champion Michelle McCool would have been an exciting, interesting triple threat match that had been teased for 4-5 months (even Beth/Mickie vs. Simply Flawless would have been fine, or a unified title match, or SOMETHING other than a huge (meaningless) tag team match). The tag match got Vickie over but she was ALREADY way over, so what was gained? I looked around and few people really were interested in the match, sadly. I think this was a missed opportunity to deliver a dynamite women’s match because there are stars on this roster. This was WrestleMania, not Bragging Rights. And where is it written that you need to be ON the pay-per-view to collect a big paycheck?!? Take it from someone who was there all week, each and every star from Edge to Slam Master J to Jillian Hall put in a LONG week of public appearances and company commitments…they each earn their money, no doubt! As a viewer I want to see the BEST matches, not the SmackDown roster page.
NOTE – thank you to the staff of Diva Dirt and to all of you that posted after the show – I loved hearing / reading your reactions. Great stuff!
Thankfully, we went into this year’s WrestleMania with rock-bottom expectations for the Divas and thus, you couldn’t exactly be disappointed. For the second year in a row, the Divas match centered around an outlandish character and ‘comedy’ rather than giving the Divas a showcase. It’s not as though this match didn’t have some talented girls in it that could have wrestled for 3-5 minutes which seems to be all the time they had for the girls, instead this became the ‘signature move melee’ that often plagues these multi-Diva tag team matches. Lazy booking to get a cheap pop. The end, with Vickie Guerrero going over with what WWE refers to as the ‘hog splash’ on Kelly Kelly, pretty much echoed what happened last year in the Miss WrestleMania battle royal. Even with fans, critics, the Divas past and present and company officials within WWE scolding last year’s trainwreck, they evidently still haven’t learnt from their mistakes.
The show opened this year more positively than last year with Vickie and company getting a backstage promo which eventually featured cameos from Jillian and an injured Melina, the first time she’s appeared on WWE TV in 2010. I can’t recall the last time, if ever, that the Divas got to cut a promo at WrestleMania but I liked that they were given some extra attention this year. I absolutely loved the facial expressions from Alicia and Maryse in the background as Jillian was singing and my eyes were totally focused on those two. It was really lovely to see Melina get to be part of ‘Mania — I had an inkling she would somehow make a cameo because Candice did last year while she was injured. There was a nice reaction when she popped up on screen too, so nice to know she hasn’t been forgotten. Let’s not even discuss Mae Young…
Next up, it was time for the Divas bout. Watch below:
First of all, out comes Team Vickie to Michelle McCool‘s music. I’m one of those people that finds entrances interesting as I believe it tells you what WWE thinks of its Divas — who the current flavour is etc. Seeing the Divas come out to McCool’s music and seeing her front and center in the lineup was no surprise. Usually, the Diva who is announced last is the one that is the ‘star’ of the team; her being announced last as the Women’s Champ, taking precedent over the Divas Champ Maryse, was again no surprise but I still found it interesting. We know WWE loves Maryse but in the long run, McCool really is becoming top dog for the Divas roster entirely. Next out are the babyfaces and anyone who listened to the After Show last night will know that I was bewildered that the babyface team came out to Eve Torres‘ music. I know she’s the current flavour of the month over on Raw but going by the fact that Beth Phoenix was the one that was front and center and announced last, which are my two tell-tale signs, why did they come out to Eve’s music? Surely they should’ve come out to Beth’s music? Nit-picking, I know and it’s hardly a big deal but still, this kind of stuff interests me and in this case, baffles me.
Tonight at WrestleMania, 10 Divas will be showcased at the grandest stage of them all. The team of Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly & Mickie James will take on the team of Women’s Champion Michelle McCool, Divas Champion Maryse, Alicia Fox, Layla and Vickie Guerrero. Who will come out on top? The … Read more
For the past two weeks you have been voting for your favourite Divas match in WrestleMania history. We have counted over 5,000 votes and now it’s time to reveal the winner.
Will it be Jazz vs Trish vs Victoria from WrestleMania 19 or will it be Mickie vs Trish from WrestleMania 22?
The winner is…
Diva Dirt correspondent and Beth Phoenix super fan, David aka Mr. Glamazon is on hand at this week’s WrestleMania festivities and will be checking in daily with his experiences in Phoenix. Check back everyday to find out which Divas he’s rubbed shoulders with in Phoenix — complete with exclusive pictures!
Saturday, March 27th (Day 4)
A HALL OF FAME NIGHT AND A HALL OF FAME DRESS
I tried. I really did. I tried to report the events of WrestleMania in an unbiased way. I think I have done a decent job, at least until Beth picked out the most incredible dress ever for the Hall of Fame ceremony last night. Stunning. Classy. The dress itself will go into the WWE HOF in 5 years. Our favorite Glamazon was radiant and people who met her at the Fan Axxess session later that night couldn’t believe how magnificent she looked. I know this was Wendi Richter’s night, but as a self-professed Beth mark, this dress was the highlight of the trip. I may never be the same.
My friend and I enjoyed the HOF ceremony last night and… wait, who am I kidding. Other than Wendi, Bob Uecker and Stu Hart it was a snoozefest. I’m pretty sure most people didn’t even know who Bob Uecker was judging by the comments I heard (although Jamie & I are big baseball fans so we liked him). His inductor was Dick Ebersol – a GIANT in the TV business – so that was cool to see him. He told a story about Vince, Jesse the Body, and himself flying to Arizona in 1987 to convince Mr. Baseball to host WM3. Good stuff.
Bret Hart was cool, K2 and Eve looked stellar as the stage escorts, and Ted DiBiase told us we could all be bought and had money fall from the ceiling (sadly not enough to refund our ticket price). Otherwise the stories lacked any real passion and after the energy of Stone Cold’s induction last year this was pretty bland.
Diva Dirt reader Tommy sent the following report on his experiences at Axxess: I spent the majority of my Saturday at WWE Axxess sessions 1 and 3. A vast number of Divas made appearances throughout the day and I first met Natalya. She was extremely sweet and was truly happy to be there with all … Read more
Diva Dirt reader, Rob Pagano sent along the following report from yesterday’s Axxess festivities: I got last minute tickets to this. The WWE changed things up at the last minute. Apart from Vickie none of the Divas who were announced actually appeared. The Divas who did signings or photos between 8am and 10:00 were Vickie, … Read more
Diva Dirt correspondent and Beth Phoenix super fan, David aka Mr. Glamazon is on hand at this week’s WrestleMania festivities and will be checking in daily with his experiences in Phoenix. Check back everyday to find out which Divas he’s rubbed shoulders with in Phoenix — complete with exclusive pictures!
Friday, March 26th (Day 3)
STAYING MCCOOL IN ARIZONA
WWE Axxess continued on Friday, March 26th at the Phoenix Convention Center and most of the WWE Universe came to see the feature star of the night, the Undertaker. ‘Taker came out to his usual entrance and cut a 5 minute promo about the “Streak vs. Career” match and then turned around and walked (slowly) to the back. It was a little disappointing… all the other stars took questions from the fans and seemed to enjoy the interaction. Undertaker came out and did his usual routine and then left. Guess it was time to rest in peace. I will say the crowd was a split, there were plenty of HBK fans there chanting his name.
I wanted to add something I forgot to mention yesterday – during the Hart Dynasty vs. Cryme Tyme match at Axxess on Thursday, Natalya worked the crowd hard and played the heel perfectly. Everything from taunting the fans to threatening announcer Justin Roberts to selling the defeat, Natalya showed great energy and reminded everybody again that she is a solid worker with a great future. Kudos Nattie! (This was similar to a house show I attended with my family in November 2009… Natalya stole the show outside the ring).
Back to Friday’s Axxess, Michelle McCool, Mickie James, Vickie Guerrero, Katie Lea Burchill, and Jillian Hall made appearances. It was nice to see Mickie! She looked happy and healthy, although I guess the question still remains whether she can work on Sunday night (even though the program shows them on the card). Mickie fans should feel good, she looks to be on the road to recovery! My buddy and I were checking out Mickie’s legs quite a bit, strictly looking for signs of her surgery/recovery, umm… and for no other reason. OK, let’s just move on.
WrestleMania isn’t just the grandest stage of them all for wrestling — it’s also the one time of year when Superstars and Divas put that extra mile into creating show-stopping ring attire. WrestleMania for ring attire is like the red carpet at the Oscars, this is the one outfit that you must get right because it will be etched in the annals in history forever! So, being the style hounds that we are, we’ve delved into the history books to bring you some of the best and worst looks from WrestleManias past!
Beth Phoenix, WrestleMania 25
Just last year, the Glamazon certainly looked dramatic in all the right ways for the Miss WrestleMania battle royal in her silver Glamasuit complete with a cape. This had a Roman gladiator feel to it that fits perfectly with Beth. Too bad that given the nature of the awful match she wore it in, we barely got to see Beth’s outfit on the show but it was definitely a striking look for Beth. Perhaps she could get away with wearing it two years in a row tomorrow night? After all, no one really got a good look at it last year and it seems like such a waste! I mean, we’d be pissed. However, Beth can seek comfort in the fact that we consider it to be Glam Slam-ingly breathtaking.
Chyna, WrestleMania 17
Not to sound offensive but Chyna was never really known for her femininity during her time with WWE. Often seen in black and built like one of the guys, Chyna’s venture into the women’s division in 2001 saw a more feminine side to the 9th Wonder of the World. For WrestleMania 17, Chyna ditched the black and went with a captivating purple ensemble and even accesorized! Not dissimilar to Beth’s headband above, Chyna sported some funky headgear too and even a choker around her neck. This was not the hard-faced, braid-wearing Diva we had met several years prior. Chyna looked great and had a picture perfect moment that night when she added another accessory to her outfit — the Women’s Championship.
More after the cut:
Over the next few days, in the lead up to this Sunday’s big WrestleMania 26 event, we’ll be taking a look back at some of the memorable moments in WrestleMania history that involved the WWE Divas. Each of the Diva Dirt team have picked a moment that they loved to share with you all. Today, … Read more
Five time WWE Women’s Champion, Mickie James performed last night at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Phoenix and a whole band of fellow Divas showed up to lend support. James performed her debut single ‘Are You With Me’ as well as other tracks from her album, ‘Strangers & Angels’. Divas that were there to support Mickie … Read more