Was this the last REAL match for the divas?

[Mustang Sally]

Been waiting to see Beth Phoenix square off against Natalya for quite some time because they're the last two "true" wrestlers on the diva roster. Now, when Beth is leaving, we finally see the match, but as a link in the chain of the "Who attacked Kaitlyn" mini-program.

The gals were good; they really were. A fine exchange of holds, ebb and flow of momentum and skillful selling of each other's moves. Just what women's wrestling ought to be, but seldom is.

As soon as we saw them in the ring, I figured this was going to be Beth's last match, simply because it was the first time in a long time she was involved in a contest that had some meaning attached to it. Honored performers are sometimes sent away with a match that means something and I reasoned they were doing this for Beth.

Instead, the match ended cleanly but the plot is ambiguous. She was suspended.....then quickly un-suspended.....and we don't know whether the "Kaitlyn" plotline will go on without her or not.

Wouldn't it be nice if the company is attempting to change Beth's mind about leaving by placing her in situations and matches that actually mean something? No, I'm not really expecting that, but in the final analysis, if Beth's departure leaves Natalya as the only true female wrestler (as opposed to athletic models who are taught a few wrestling holds), I'm glad Beth's final (or near final) match was one that shows us that divas are capable of doing it right in the ring.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As I was watching this match last night, I kept thinking that these two women showed just what a missed opportunity the Divas have been. I understand that women's wrestling isn't a huge draw, never has been. At the same time, if Vince wanted to have a women's division, then I can't for the life of me think why he wouldn't want it to be, overall, like what we saw last night.

Beth Phoenix & Natalya put on a very good match and they're not the only Divas in WWE that's been capable of putting on great matches. The past few months, match quality and overall quality in the Divas division has improved in my eyes. While the matches aren't classics, they're FAR better than the usual crap that we were getting at this time 6 months ago. The angle that Eve has been working up, as well as what's been happening with AJ, has also been encouraging in the sense that at least there are actually some fairly relevant storylines going on with the Divas. Most of the time, the Divas have served as little more than filler who come out to wrestle seemingly random matches without any reason other than to fill up some air time.

Some people aren't big fans of women's wrestling, which I understand, and will always see it as filler. But, I'd rather have quality filler anytime.

I don't look for anything truly significant to happen to the Divas until Vince steps down. Based on what I've read online over the past several months, Triple H taking over is the best shot that women's wrestling has for being relevant in WWE.

 

[BigThunder]

There was also a really good match a couple of weeks ago on NXT between Alicia Fox and Paige, which JR even obliquely referenced on RAW. I don't think this is the last good match we'll see from the women's division, but I'm disappointed we'll never get a Beth/Kharma feud. It really feels like a lost opportunity.

Losing Beth, K2 and even Raquel (who may be green in the ring but has a ton of charisma and potential) in the span of a week is a pretty huge blow to the division.

 

[Steve0904]

I didn't see the Beth-Natalya match, but I'd just like to mention something. Up until Trish and Lita retired in 2006 along with the departure of Victoria, the women's division was never better IMO. Lita was always a wrestler in every sense of the word, but Trish started out much like the divas of today, and became at least competent in the ring. Trish and Lita were two of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. What I'm trying to say is there's no rule that states that if you're "hot" you can't wrestle or if you can wrestle then you're ugly. I guess Beth and Natalya are good examples of this as well. I hope the divas division can get back to the way it was, and I think it will in time. They'll never draw as much as the men obviously, but I didn't get the impression that people took toilet breaks whenever Trish and/or Lita showed up on the screen.

 

[TJ Matics]

Hopefully that match was a start. Now no two divas on the current main brand roster can put on a better match than Beth.P and Natalya, but the division is not as bad off as it once was. Eve Torres and Layla are both talented female wrestlers, they're not Mickie and Trish, but they can put on a good match. They had a match at a house show not to long ago that got great reviews from backstage officials and a shoutout from CM Punk on Twitter.

Then you have AJ who is definitely not going to welcome in the new year as GM, she also had a good match with Layla not to long ago on Smackdown.

Kaitlyn is certainly green but she isn't nearly as bad as she's made out to be. The same goes for A.Fox who I find to be talented, she botches, but so did Eve and everyone else who's ever stepped in the ring. There's also Naomi who from what I can remember from NXT is very good.

With SDR now helping with the NXT divas, there should be even more talented divas ready for the main roster by 2013.

The talents there, so Beth Phoenix and Natalya's match shouldn't be the last real divas match, but if the division is treated as it has been in the past, and doesn't continue to slowly but surely move forward like it has been the last past month or two, then it very well could be.

 

[DethMetal]

I heard that Triple H wanted to revamp the tag team AND Divas division and give new life to it, and hopefully that match was a taste of things to come. It's a real shame that the Beth is about to split, but with the arrival of Sara Del Rey, and women like Natalya and Eve still around, the Divas division will hopefully improve. Not to mention, you have AJ, who has shown that she can put on a good match. Hopefully, the division will be worth paying attention to again in 2013. There's always hope that Beth could stick around, but if that was her last go in a WWE ring, there wasn't anyone better to have it against.

 

[UltimateCMPunkMark]

It's a shame that she is actually leaving. Beth and Natalya are truly the last two good divas left in the WWE today. Watching her leave is definitely a big disappointment. But look at the bright side, we are granted some good new divas like SDR and Paige. Who knows, maybe these new faces would lighten the divas division up a bit.

 

[TJWWE]

I am a huge fans of the diva divison and seeing these 2 FINALLY compete in a match was a dream come true for me as these 2 are the best divas in the company right now, wrestling wise. I bet Beth and Natalya were stoked to compete in a match and wanted to do the best within 4 minutes and show what the diva division should be like.

Now, on twitter today, i've seen a few comments saying that they thought that the Beth/Natalya match may be overrated.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odnqaOr6Ih0[/YOUTUBE]

So, my question to you is..
'Was The Beth/Natalya Match Overrated?'

 

[XXJJ]

I remember reading that Triple H is not a fan of womans wrestling, but he still wants to have a few capable divas. WWE has been moving away from the model/playmate divas. That makes sense they are a pg company. They cant do the strip shows or lingerie contests like they used to do.

Womans wrestling is not a draw. They will never get 15 minutes on a ppv or on Raw and SD. But like jack-hammer said they can be good filler oppose to bad filler. It would be nice if they can have 3-5 minute matches without it being a trainwreck.

Right now the best diva is AJ. She is decent in ring and is good with her character. Eve is alright. Naomi is a good wrestler. Natty character wise is very dull, but she is solid in ring. They can actually have a respectable divas division. They also need to seperate valets from wrestlers. Aksana is fine as valet or assistant but she should never get in a ring and wrestle.

Kelly-Kelly and Bella twins were just brutal to watch. I am glad they are gone.

 

[GameOver]

have to disagree with sentiments that Women's wrestling isn't a draw, it's not a huge draw but it certainly could've been a draw, it's just not a draw with the way it's booked and the current crop of covergirls.

Same with the guys currently aren't a hugh draw compared to there predecessors just half a decade b4. It's called a lack of engaging talent across the board but specially women

when you look back at the early 80's with Sherri, Moulah, the Glamor Girls, Jumping Bomb Angles amongst others when they were prominant and the later they got huge reactions and were given atleast one decent match on each card and even had several tag teams aswell,
half of the attitude era with Trish, Lita, Molly Holly, Chyna, Jackie, Ivory, Tori etc. they drew bigger then the 80's IMO probably for a "male" reason and were definately given several matches a week + PPV matches and air time and it worked, they were women that could go physically and could also work the mic. (overall performers)

Diva's on the other hand are eye candy for some, the rest are just there for a paycheck and offer nothing to the product other then getting someone off Vince's ass saying they should hire women i guess.

Beth and Natalya are not the last women's wrestlers, Eve can pack a punch and Layla isn't useless + the girls in NXT are promising but beyond that i dunno and i doubt they'll stay the same as they are in NXT atm when they hit the main rosters if at all.

Personally i don't care much, the division hasn't been anything close to decent in along time and the matches do nothing for me entertainment wise so put it out of it's misery and let those involved move onto somewhere they will be appreciated.

They have enough trouble creatively finding stuff for the guys to do let alone the women that they don't even want to feature it seems.

 

[fenfool]

This is a matchup I thought they were building to a long time ago, when they were the divas of destruction, or whatever name they had, but it never materialized...I guess they waited too long, and had to burn it in a TV match where the focus was on Eve. It was a good match...not the cleanest, nor the best you could get from the two, but it was a fun match. Sad that we're not likely to see many more of them.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Yes, I think they might have waited too long. Somehow, I get the feeling the mess with Kharma loused up the timetable for the entire diva division, y'know? Every-damn-thing was going to revolve around her and the Natalya-Beth clash we expected a long time ago might have been incorporated into Kharma's reign of terror. I can't really figure how it would have happened, but it was such an anticipated match-up that it's hard to accept we didn't get it until now, when it's virtually meaningless because Beth has already announced she's leaving.

Yeah, we gals have a right to get pregnant, but it sure can gum up the corporate works, huh?