HIT AND MISSES JULY (Divas and KO's)

HITS:

Gail Kim:
I can't give the Divas tag match a Hit. It was fine, but wasn't quite good enough. However, I was very impressed with Gail Kim's performance in the ring. When she came out as Mickie James' partner, I was hesitant. I thought of her role on Smackdown as she often appeared as Melina's partner in matches against Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox. She was secondary to Melina in those matches, and often took the fall. Here, she came out as James' partner against Maryse and Fox, and I was expecting her to play a similar role. I was happy to see her treated as a bigger deal and have more time to show her great skills (still not a lot of time) and actually get the win. I question having her pin Maryse so soon. It would be fine if this were after Night of Champions, but why cloud things up between James and Maryse before then? But, that is a minor complaint as I was happy to see her look so strong on her Raw debut.


Tara Wins TNA Knockouts Title:
This is one of those few exceptions that I don't mind to a match not being announced on TV previously, because it fell into the storyline of Angelina Love wanting to not lose her friendship with Velvet Sky. And not only was the match good, the set-up excellent, but the timing in the show was near perfect. For a long time now, TNA has had a bad commercial break in the top of their second hour. This week, the Tara vs. Velvet Sky match was just wrapping up at the top of the second hour, including the set-up for this title match. I'm willing to bet that the excitement of a title match on free TV kept a few people watching at the top of the hour. Plus the fact that TNA stayed with the match for a while to focus on the effect of it, including the quick backstage segment with Tara and Lauren, was much needed and showed the emphasis that TNA seems to be giving their Knockouts division. Well played, TNA.






MISSES:

Summer Swimsuit Spectacular:
I failed to write down the exact name of this match, so I'm not sure if I got it right or not. I don't really care. This is the PG version of the old Divas water fights with the water balloons, super soakers, and buckets of water. This was a real match, but with the Divas in swimsuits. I prefer this to the other, as you get the sexy women on the screen, but also feature their wrestling ability. Unfortunately, in this particular instance, the wrestling quality wasn't there. Gail Kim and Mickie James are very good wrestlers. Maryse and Kelly Kelly have improved and are on their way. Alicia Fox has shown some skill. I don't think Rosa Mendes belongs in a WWE ring yet. But, that is a good amount of skill in this match. However, it didn't translate to quality in the ring. Even James was sloppy in this one. These women are capable of more while still looking sexy.

Bellas:
This is a minor Miss as the match between Nikki Bella and Katie Lea Burchill was solid for the most part. I have never been a big fan of the twin gimmick, or these particular twins. They are decent in the ring, but nothing more. I honestly don't think either one of them individually would be in WWE without the other. The cutesy "I'm Brie, no I'm actually Nikki" thing before the match was lame. I would actually like the duo better if they were heels, as they have to cheat to win with their gimmick. Bella vs. Burchill was a fine match until the switch.

Maria's Taste in Men:
Maria is always a babyface, yet she always seems to be dating a heel. First it was Santino Marella and now Dolph Ziggler. Is her role just to hang out and date jackasses?


Abyss Gets Doped, Lauren Shows No Effects:
Having Dr. Stevie mysteriously drug Abyss made no sense at all. There was no sign of Abyss having drunk the water which supposedly led to his catatonic state, and the beat down was just strange to watch. And there was absolutely no follow-up whatsoever to Lauren's kidnapping from Dr. Stevie last week. In fact, Lauren seemed absolutely normal with no jitters or anything. I never thought I'd be saying this, but Raven needs to be brought back into this script to get that extra darkness that he somehow brings.


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