LayCool are an awful & shameless rip off of TBP.

[a0161613]

There. I said it.

Two years ag, the Beautiful People in their original form were a true highlight of TNA. And when they added Madison, they managed to improve their ranks. They were a true force and able to combat Kong and the brilliant talent in the Knockouts divison at the time, they put Angelina on top. It seemed hunky dory and while it was somewhat inevitable that a feud between Velvet and Angelina was coming, we were happy to be on for the ride. We hated them but they made good TV.

They were the force behind the brilliant division TNA had in 2008 & 09. Decent writing, good talent resulted in good angles and good matches. They aren't quite on the level that they were but they are still the faces of their division. And that's even with Lacey von Erich!

And then I see Layla and McCool, Attractive in their own right, and dominant too but something about them truly rankles me.

I saw their promo for Kaval on NXT and cringed. It was beyond awkward. They didnt seem to have chemistry.

With the loss of Mickie James and Pheonix and Melina injured also, the divison has these two dominant heels and no one credible enough to challenge them. It is an indictment of WWE's talent building that they have no one, even on RAW, who could stand upto them.

So are WWE & LayCool suffering due to a lack of great talent to oppose them? Poor writing? Or is the pair just getting going, with better things to come?

 

[Ferbian]

I believe this has already been discussed by D-man, and I wouldn't exactly say that The Beautiful People are the superior ones, while they are great looking and very edgy, LayCool is from my taste, the far more entertaining group.

LayCool may very well be considered a rip off, but it's not awful, like D-man said in his thread, WWE took a thing and potentially made it better, the current Beautiful People is a shade of what it was from my understanding (not a big TNA watcher) and WWE capitalizing on the obvious popularity of The Beautiful People is an inevitable success story, heat wise, looks wise (because don't tell me LayCool doesn't look great) etc.

WWE and LayCool is not gonna suffer due to lack of great opposition, just because they do a rip off, doesn't necessarily make it a bad move.

The writing for LayCool has been absolutely magic, with the co-women's champions, the Pickie James etc.

And yes I think they're just getting going, there's definitely potential behind this group, while it's already doing great, I do believe there's more to come.

 

[a0161613]

The current Beautiful People is a shade of what it was from my understanding (not a big TNA watcher)

Yes they are and its sad.

And WWE capitalizing on the obvious popularity of The Beautiful People is an inevitable success story, heat wise, looks wise (because don't tell me LayCool doesn't look great) etc.

I'm surprised it took them this long. Their looks aren't too my taste. Too sknny for me. Layla is more attractive of the two though.

WWE and LayCool is not gonna suffer due to lack of great opposition, just because they do a rip off, doesn't necessarily make it a bad move.

By opposition, I meant talent to face.

The writing for LayCool has been absolutely magic, with the co-women's champions, the Pickie James etc.

The co champion thing is great. But the Piggie James thing was a disaster to me. Mickie had to get her comeuppance on the biggest stage possible and the Rumble win and a ten diva match at Mania isnt the same. I think in the end she was used to get them over

And yes I think they're just getting going, there's definitely potential behind this group, while it's already doing great, I do believe there's more to come.

I'm not going to say the BP were flawless but they certainly are the blueprint to use. I think they will shine when the current cream of the division return to the ring. Kelly Kelly isnt good enough to fight it on her own. But I'd accept Pheonix and Melina as very credible opposition

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Firstly, I don't think they are a TBP rip-off...if anything, TNA copied WWE...remember Vince's Devils AKA Ladies in Pink.... back in 2005-2006 i believe...it was Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria...

I think LayCool are a great pair...their current co-womens champion is weird...but they are also very good looking...why lie? I do also think it is because they have no one to go against, with Melina and Beth Pheonix injured, they are literally doing nothing...apart from defeating Kelly Kelly and Tiffany...

 

[Jack-Hammer]

To some degree I agree and to some degree I don't. When it comes to personal charisma, I think that Michelle McCool and Layla are definitely lacking in that department. I think that The Beautiful People was definitely an inspiration for the LayCool team, but there are obvious differences considering the WWE's PG rating. The Beautiful People are really the only sex pots among the women wrestlers in TNA that would be right at home swinging on a pole or giving some guy a lapdance. LayCool are definitely a more innocent version that behave more like mean high school cheerleaders than anything else.

As to which is superior, that depends upon how you look at it. When it comes to charisma, TBP definitely have an edge as they're pulling out the whole sex pot/lapdancer persona. When it comes to in-ring ability, however, I definitely have to give the edge to LayCool. Layla is actually pretty decent in the ring these days and McCool has long since been one of the better wrestlers among the Divas. Both TBP and LayCool have their shortcomings but, as of right now, I personally think LayCool is better overall. I'm not saying that they're fantastic but, overall, the WWE has been taking a more serious route when it comes to the Divas overall in the past few months. The Beautiful People aren't nearly as entertaining or fresh as they once were and I think that they're going to continue to head downhill until the faction is finally broken up. Even still, at this point, they're about the only things worth watching in the Knockout Division and are among the only things worth watching in TNA in and of itself. TBP are extremely hot and that's the primary reason why they're among the biggest draws on the TNA roster.

As for LayCool being a rip off of TBP, so what? After all, it's not as if TNA hasn't ripped off the gimmicks, characters and storylines of WCW or the WWE. That's especially true over the course of the past 6 months or so.

 

[Ferbian]

Yes they are and its sad.

Indeed.

I'm surprised it took them this long. Their looks aren't too my taste. Too sknny for me. Layla is more attractive of the two though.

Yeah I'm surprised as well, but it's all the matter that they did take the opportunity to create the "rip off" as you so kindly put it.

I would rather do McCool, but it's all about a matter of taste, we could discuss this for hours, and we'd still be more hot for one over the other.

By opposition, I meant talent to face.

I see, my apologies, indeed they don't have the same talent, but it's not necessarily a bad thing, if booked right, they can still come off great, just because they don't have great in-ring ability matches, it doesn't necessarily hurt them if they're handled properly.

The co champion thing is great. But the Piggie James thing was a disaster to me. Mickie had to get her comeuppance on the biggest stage possible and the Rumble win and a ten diva match at Mania isnt the same. I think in the end she was used to get them over

Again, all a matter of taste, I loved the Piggie James angle, and I think it put McCool and Layla over pretty firmly as great heels, even though that the Royal Rumble thing was absolutely awful, but it ended the storyline.

Continued with Beth, will most likely continue with Kelly Kelly or Tiffany now although.

I'm not going to say the BP were flawless but they certainly are the blueprint to use. I think they will shine when the current cream of the division return to the ring. Kelly Kelly isnt good enough to fight it on her own. But I'd accept Pheonix and Melina as very credible opposition

Of course they're the blueprint to use, WWE, WCW and TNA has ripped off things from promotions all around the world, or each others and succeeded with it in time, The Main Event Mafia, rip off from Evolution, rip off from The Four Horsemen etc. but all 3 factions are praised.

Phoenix and Melina are indeed great opponents, but it will take time for them to return, and in that time, they can build themselves through Kelly Kelly for example, and even build Kelly Kelly as well, with a little hope.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I am mildly surprised that some would agree or disagree with LayCool possibly being a rip-off compared to Michelle McCool ripping off certain TNA stars' finishers...

That to me would be an interesting discussion. But as for The Beautiful People/LayCool thing, I would agree if they added a third member. But then the name LayCool would make absolutely no sense. So I have to disagree entirely.

A group like PMS back in the day could have inspired TBP, and they were WWF(E). So whether or not WWE took from TNA or TNA took from WWE, nothing is new under the sun.

 

[The Scarred One]

Everything nowadays is almost a ripoff of something that took place in the past. There are not many original ideas anymore.

But I wouldn't necessarily say LayCool/Simply Flawless is a ripoff of the Beautiful People as they are different animals to a degree. Like it's already been mentioned, TBP has more of the Barbie, sexpot, Twilight Zone-esque conformist attitude while LayCool is more like the popular, stuck-up and nasty bitches everyone remembers from high school.

I also agree that TBP, although pretty much the main focus of the now-barren Knockout division, is pretty much a shell of its former self. Ever since Angelina Love lost her job for a brief while and they brought in Lacey Von Erich, it just hasn't been the same. It's almost like the Fabulous Freebirds if they got rid of Michael Hayes or the Four Horsemen if they got rid of Ric Flair. Now, Lacey Von Erich is ridiculously hot but she couldn't have a great match if her life depended on it. That's not to say that she can't improve as time goes on though.

Now, for LayCool, I think works great because of the feuds they've had with the likes of Melina, Mickie James and Beth Phoenix over the past year. Much like it was back in high school, the mean girls would pick on and tease the girls who they considered different. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the whole Piggie James storyline, it did help get the team over as heels and it got the crowd to really get behind Mickie James to kick their asses. After all, isn't that a heel's job? Now, Kelly Kelly, on the other hand, I'm having a hard time getting behind this one though because it seems to me that KK would fit in perfectly with LayCool. But that's just me.