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Posts Tagged ‘Mickie James’

WWE Women’s champ Beth Phoenix suffered a torn ACL during a WWE Superstars taping this week, and initial assessments have her out for as long as six months before she’ll be ready to return.

This creates a huge hole in the Smackdown brand’s women’s division, where both Mickie James and Maria Kanellis were recently released. Of course, it will provide an opportunity for some current B-list women’s talent to step up, but at the moment, Phoenix’s injury leaves Smackdown’s women’s division sorely lacking in top-flight talent.

Maybe some of their younger women wrestlers, working in Ohio and hawking the best acne treatment, can provide an infusion of talent. Hopefully some of them are ready.

Seven former WWE personalities are probably phoning up TNA as we speak; McMahon’s company announced the release of seven superstars last week.

The biggest names were former University of Minnesota college wrestler and one-time Brock Lesnar buddy, Shelton Benjamin, as well as former top WWE diva Mickie James. Other releases were less notable, but include Mike Knox, diva Katie Lea Burchill, Slam Master J, Fu Naki and Jimmy Wang Yang.

James is a bit of a shock; as a frequent Womens/Diva champion, James helped carry the load of the women’s division for quite some time following the back-to-back retirements of Lita (Amy Dumas) and Trish Stratus (Patricia Anne Stratigias). Guess she won’t be sending Stephanie McMahon any baby shower invitations after this.

Benjamin is the biggest shock from the men’s side, if only because he started out so strong several years ago; but his career fizzled slowly after Lesnar, his fellow Gopher, quit WWE.

Last Monday’s Raw broadcast had one of the best women’s title matches on display in a long time. Champion Beth Phoenix and challenger Mickie James put on a long, roughly seven-minute contest that was surprisingly physical. The payoff came when the imposing Phoenix felt victim to the fast-moving James’ quickness for a surprise win and a title change.

In all honesty, though, the victory is somewhat pyhrric, given that Phoenix was given the title almost immediately upon entering the WWE and was never established well as a character on TV broadcasts. Her title reign was long but rather empty as a result, and putting the title on James gives the fans of WWE a performer who has established an appealing persona, as well as a record of working hard in the ring.

Truth be told, though, this is a match that would have been better-suited to WrestleMania, rather than a Raw broadcast; but the women’s division is currently a bit morose, given too often to sex-appeal matches at PPV, rather than athletic title matches like the one one Raw last Monday.

Perhaps a rematch for grudge purposes will be worked up for a future festool PPV. Give James and Phoenix some time to cut promos against each other and a 12-minute spot to do real ring work, rather than bra-and-panties crap, and you’d have a very watchable WWE Women’s Title match for a future PPV.