week in review for women's wrestling once again

http://betterwithbob.blogspot.com/2012/04/week-in-review-for-womens-wrestling-42.html

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And it's that week when WrestleMania is over and done with and normally for the girls in WWE actual storylines can begin to develop. We were offered a special live Smackdown where we were guaranteed to see some follow up to Daniel Bryan dumping AJ as well as a match on the show where the girls actually get time. In other news, it's time once again for TNA to deliver the go-home segments for their upcoming PPV, not to mention a certain set of champions tying the knot on TV this week. Also, there's romantic drama over in Bollywood and down in FCW tapings have begun once again.

Raw Watch:
Well there's almost no point in recapping this since it was one lousy backstage segment and it didn't develop into anything on Smackdown. I guess the only place for Eve to go now is to get a shot at the Divas' title. I'm not wild about that and personally I was hoping for some actual follow up on the Zack Ryder storyline. She's one-upped him twice and made a fool out of him. Where's his revenge? Shouldn't he give Eve some kind of comeuppance? WWE does like to stop and start storylines so with Layla being rumoured to return once WWE finishes its European tour it's likely they'll pick it back up if that's the direction they're going in. I guess all they need to do is find Eve a partner to feud with Zack. In other news Vickie Guerrero looked smoking hot and Cameron and Naomi danced as they always did.

Smackdown - The Bella Twins & Drew McIntyre vs The Great Khali, Natalya & Alicia Fox:
Well Natalya is officially a babyface again as everyone knows only the good girls dance around with the Great Khali. Honestly as soon as I heard this was going to be a "Legends" special of Smackdown I knew it was going to be a dud. And of course it was - I mean I think Khali got more ring time than the girls. I'm just surprised that they chose to put these four girls on TV when none of them have been involved in any storylines recently. I might be reaching but it looks like I saw some tension between the Bellas after the match. I have a feeling since their contracts are expiring they'll split them and give them a grudge match at Extreme Rules, then have Kharma return to destroy them both. That'd be a fitting departure for them. Though I'd honestly much rather see Eve/Kelly or Beth/Natalya on PPV since the twins had a singles match before and it wasn't very good. 1/10

AJ on Piper's Pit:
Now this was one of the three segments that saved the night from being a complete bomb. Last week I thought WWE had Daniel Bryan dump AJ a bit too soon considering they were in a very smarky pro-Bryan area and all their momentum was ruined. However this week I think they counteracted that by having AJ continue to go back to him. It's like Trish going back to Vince after he turned on her. This way it builds more sympathy for AJ as Daniel Bryan continues to degrade her and abuse her. Obviously it's PG television so he can't do that much to her but hopefully they'll continue to develop this storyline well. Judging by the crowd reactions (on a live show I might add) the fans seem to be swinging in her favour so this is a step in the right direction on WWE's part. AJ spoke very well and her acting is pretty consistent as well - she didn't ham it up or underdo it so this is something I'm looking forward to in the next few weeks. Segment rating: 7/10

NXT Watch:
No matches this week but some great story developments. Maxine came down to ringside during Johnny Curtis's match and ended up leaving with William Regal. Then she pulled the crocodile tears trick on Kaitlyn and Derrick Bateman to get them to help her find Matt Stryker who was found tied up in the janitor's closet. This show is one of the most hilarious things WWE are putting out there and it's just great. It's the perfect place to look if you feel most of your favourites aren't getting used right on Raw and Smackdown. The segments they're doing are complete nonsense of course but that's why we all love them. In other news Titus O'Neil attempted to woo Tamina (who was looking pretty fine) by giving her the gift of a coconut tree. Tamina's character and speaking skills are really improving and I actually think she fits this face role just fine which is surprising to me since she's such a natural heel. Now since Aksana's storyline with Teddy Long has apparently been dropped move her onto the show and get her involved too.

Ring Ka King - Angelina Love vs Raisha Saeed:
Surprised to be getting the second singles match so soon and if I'm being honest, I much preferred the one against Alyssa Flash. It had more time and the interactions were much more fun. This one was good as well of course but it lacked that fire and spark that the previous match had. Raisha didn't really get much offence in apart from the basic heel tactics and then suddenly Angelina got her comeback. It almost felt too much like a jobbing affair instead of the back and forth type of action it was supposed to be. Again, it wasn't a bad match but just not a very memorable one either. The good stuff came when the match was over as Angelina got not one but two marriage proposals. And in an interview after the match she revealed she doesn't know which to accept to but that she will be getting married in a Ring Ka King ring. I get the feeling she's going to go for the Indian version of Hornswoggle because that has so much more comedy potential. 6/10

Superstars - Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella:
Yet another match between these two and yet a match that wasn't too bad. Obviously neither of these two are in-ring technicians but they produced a good enough match that pleased me. Kelly's character continues to baffle me with how heel like she can be - stomping Brie aggressively, using an illegal submission hold, attacking her at ringside. You know what, I like it. Kelly often gets lumped with the generic girls and called bland but to me she's anything but. She has a character in the ring and it's one I enjoy seeing. The exchanges here were switched up from what we normally see. Brie, *shock horror*, actually did new moves. It was a nice sidewalk slam and she too shined with her character. I get the feeling they're throwing the Bellas on TV every week to make the most of them while they've still got them but I stand by my theory of an Extreme Rules grudge match. The ending was refreshing - it's a little different from a typical roll up ending though I was surprising that actually got the win. On commentary Scott Stanford also put over a possible Divas' Championship match between Beth and Kelly. Oh what fun. 6/10

Impact - ODB & Eric Young's Wedding:
This was single handedly one of the best segments of the year. It was hilarious, it moved a storyline along, got a couple of heels over and even moved me a little. And it was done all without a stupid shocking swerve. I know Russo is gone from TNA but I still had a feeling they'd swerve us and ruin the whole thing. But this segment was just brilliant in every way. I know I'm missing the point but ODB looks damn fine when she cleans herself up and she's got plenty going on in other departments. I was surprised to see Sarita & Rosita brought in because I thought their match was just a one-off. Are they properly feuding now? I can see TNA adding a last minute Tag Team Championship match at the PPV though I'd prefer for them to take things slow with this feud. A normal progression would be Rosita beating ODB in a singles match, then Sarita the next week and then maybe both of them beating Eric in a handicap match. Obviously I won't get too hung up on details because I love this duo and I loved this segment #MuiCaliente. Segment rating: 10/10

Gail Kim & Madison Rayne vs Velvet Sky & Mickie James:
And we got a final go-home segment for Gail and Velvet's title match. While TNA haven't exactly upped the ante for this match I'm still looking forward to seeing it because of the proven formula of Gail Kim+steel cage = happy Knockouts fans. As for the tag match, this is a rematch that we saw back in November which I touted as one of the best Knockouts tag matches I'd ever seen. This one wasn't as hot as that but still pretty damn good. As always I love seeing Mickie and Velvet wrestle as a team because they have such great chemistry with each other. The heels didn't really control as much as I expected them to but I guess this match was all about putting Velvet forward as a strong contender. I was expecting Gail to pick up the win and use the classic momentum shift that wrestling fans all know and love but who could win this match is up in the air right now. If Gail wins then good because we can continue the feud. If Velvet wins that's fine as well. It should be a very entertaining and exciting match. 7.5/10

FCW - Rick Victor & Paige vs Aiden English & Audrey Marie:
Is this the first mixed tag match in FCW history? I'm surprised it took so long for me to finally see one on the show. Anyway I like Paige's new gear and I also love how she's given herself a unique look that makes her stand out by keeping her skin pale. It really does make sense for her Anti-Diva Army tandem. I enjoyed the interactions between Paige and Audrey a lot more in this match than I did in their last match together. They flowed well together and Paige sold very well for her. It was also really cool to see Paige properly get involved and have interactions with the men. You don't really get to see heel Divas get physical with the guys that much. Also interesting that when the women were tagged back in, Paige was in control right away instead of the typical face hot tag sequence. I think that works because Paige is a newcomer to FCW and it's important to show her controlling her matches to put her over as a strong competitor. The run in during the match was a bit all over the place as the cameras were too focused on that when there was still a match going on. Maybe saving it for after the match was over would have been better. Sofia Cortez was used well in her role, not taking too much away from the match. Well, at least until the run in. Now this is a storyline I can really get into since it involves so many girls. I want to see Paige and Sofia in more singles matches and I'd like to see Caylee Turner return to the ring as well. 6/10

Pretty eventful week on every show that wasn't Raw. But what else is new right? Two weeks until Extreme Rules and we have a certain set of twins' contracts expiring the night after the PPV while Lockdown is this Sunday and I'm sure Gail and Velvet will deliver a great contest. Who knows, we might get a second match added on at the last minute. Elsewhere wedding bells are ringing for another Knockout and the FCW Divas are getting in on the Anti-Barbie mentality that was so hot last Summer. Quite an eventful week I must say.