The End Of John Morrison In The WWE?

Off of just the segment involving John Morrison and Miz, there are two things I would like to talk about. Since I will probably want to spend some time on both, I will split it up. Right now, John Morrison.

The Miz attacked Morrison from behind and took out his knee before their match officially started on Raw last night. Morrison went on with the match anyway, showing some guts. He looked impressive in holding his own for a while, but got taken out again on the stage. Medics then stretchered him out.

There was talk for a long time that John Morrison would not be staying in the WWE. When they gave him that win against Dolph Ziggler and looked to be pushing him again, it looked like things might have been settled or that the WWE was at least trying a little more to convince John Morrison not to leave. I guess it was not enough. John Morrison definitely looks like he has been written off. Looks like WWE may have lost him.

John Morrison is not the kind of guy the WWE would want to lose. Even if Rey Mysterio, Christian, Triple H, and whoever else were not out with injuries right now, or suspended because of the wellness policy, you still had dwindling star power, which was definitely being felt in ratings and other such indicators. Regardless of whether or not you even have a ton of talent or not, John Morrison is a unique performer. He can pull off a lot of crazy spots. Mistakes may happen now and then, but I feel it is a waste to even bring that statement up. Morrison was a solid worker in that respect. Some people may criticize his charisma and mic skills, but if you give this guy the room to do his own character his way, he can do fine. He definitely has the look too.

Judging by the fact that the WWE did not just terminate his contract and toss him out like garbage, they did not want to lose him. Did they do enough to try to keep him? Obviously, I do not work for the WWE and I am not going to be refreshing my favorite wrestling news site every 5 minutes for a report on the situation. I wouldn't blindly believe it anyway. Unless John Morrison himself cares to shed some light on what was going on with negotiations, I can only talk about what I can see myself. What did I see? A losing streak angle. You can make a lot of false promises and BS to your workers backstage, in the end, if their issue is how they are being pushed, not money or other such incentives, people can see for themselves whether or not the workers have a legitimate gripe. Again, a losing streak angle? Most of them lead to something good at the end, and Morrison's almost did, but I don't think they really did enough to convince this guy to stay. It looked like he would still be pushed around all over the place. Considering his potential, he deserved a push a lot more than some of the other guys.

The WWE made another dumb move. Not only would pushing Morrison better in his final weeks have been a good way to convince him to stay, it might have made for some good matches. In that way, even if Morrison still refused to stay, at least you got your money's worth out of him, or tried to. They just sent him out there in a lot of regular matches. He looked impressive here and there, but none of the really amazing spots you could usually expect from him when put in that kind of situation. When they announced what kind of match Miz vs. Morrison was going to be, I expected a spot that would work to write Morrison off, but I was also looking forward to Morrison being allowed to show some of that amazing ability of his that can really get fans interested. Nope. He showed heart in the story of the match, but no really cool spots from him. I can understand if the WWE does not want to treat Morrison as something too impressive, just to make fans even more eager to watch TNA, should he pop up there anytime soon, but was it really worth passing up an opportunity to make their own product look good? If this was their mentality, they might as well had released Morrison already, just sit him out until the contract expired, or have him end his run jobbing on Superstars. I understand that their decision was more for Miz's benefit than Morrison's, and I will get to that next time, but just in terms of using your workers properly to deliver exciting moments that can really draw the fans in, they could have done a lot better with Morrison in his final weeks.

To be fair, maybe the WWE never had a chance to really keep Morrison. Earlier this year, when I talked about the likely possibility that Melina would soon be released, the top reason I gave as to why the WWE may think twice about releasing her was her relationship with John Morrison. I am not going to talk about whether or not Melina has Morrison on a short leash, but the WWE did not seem to be giving Morrison any other great reasons to stay. If they had, he would still be there. Had Melina still been in the WWE today, maybe she would have convinced him to stay and continue to be stuck in the midcard. She was passionate about being in the WWE and did not want to leave. With no Melina and the WWE not providing any signs that great things are really to come, I could understand why Morrison might not want to continue there.

If some kind of other deal has been worked out and Morrison is just taking a short time off, that would be good for the WWE. If not, the WWE may have lost another good worker to TNA.

Melina And Mickie James Speak Up

Melina recently made a few comments following the recent major angle going on currently in the WWE. I won't copy & paste the whole thing. I'm sure you have either read it yourself or can look it up without me. I will quote certain parts that interest me.

I would have walked out on the people who tell lies to the WWE Universe who say they fight for them and that they are trying to make a change but they aren’t trying at all.

I have made a similar comment a lot myself. The WWE liked to pretend that Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne were improving the tag division a few weeks ago. It was really just all hype. Hot air. They were just repackaging the standard push a popular midcard face team would get while holding the titles. The tag division has not really improved just because these two guys are pushed better as a unit and guys like Swagger and Ziggler are tagging up. These are all guys who were pushed very well in singles action previously. In time, that is where they will go again. Same tag division the WWE has liked to push recently. That is just the tag division, so I don't think I even need to mention anything else, including CM Punk's inability to bring any real change.

I do believe the fans deserve 2C what THEY want & not be told what they “should” C. Stop playing & give the fans what they want!

That is pretty much my belief and what I will say is the honest truth about the WWE. The WWE does not care about pleasing the majority of fans, the Internet fans, and certainly not any elitist 10% or less. The WWE's major goal is to push who they want and try to get the fans to buy into it and enjoy it. I have spoken many times about how they have done this in the diva division. One of the best examples is Michelle McCool's feud with Mickie James. McCool was a centerpiece failing to connect with the majority of fans. Does the WWE depush her because the fans aren't too interested? No. They rework things to try to make the fans interested. She can't get heat? Use Mickie James to try to get her a great reaction. I am not saying the WWE has no right to push people they believe have promise over certain other individuals, but when someone they want to work out is just failing hard and still getting overpushed, or when someone they never intended to work out is bringing great results and still not getting good pushes, the WWE pretty much deserves to have crappy ratings and everything else it currently faces. Not all fans are easily swayed by WWE propaganda.

How do I think a lot of the Ignorant Wrestling Community might view Melina's words? Many will view her as just trying to be self-righteous or bitter about how the WWE used her. She is just letting out emotion. Nothing she says is really grounded in fact. Thing is, if you think about it, it really is grounded in fact. I believe the reason some people keep coming back to my blog every week is because I can do somewhat of a good job in arguing that things like what Melina was talking about are sometimes logical conclusions that even a fan can come to by just analyzing what the WWE is doing and has done in the past. Make a prediction off that. If that prediction should happen, you might just have a theory on your hands that really does explain something about what the WWE is doing. I predicted Melina would get released a few months before it did happen. I didn't want it to happen, but my analysis of how the WWE was treating her seemed to have some merit to it. What am I predicting now? No genuine change will come from Melina's words. At the end of the day, it is the same old story and most fans are failing to take it seriously enough.

I always wondered how Vince McMahon felt about the greatest diva his diva division ever created getting booed at Wrestlemania against a new diva on the roster he was simply using to put the centerpiece over. The centerpiece was the face. The new diva was the heel. There had never been anything like that since the diva division was created.

But that is completely irrelevant to what I am about to talk about, right? Mickie James did the "V Lick" to Trish at Wrestlemania in 2006. I ordered that Wrestlemania. I loved that match. That moment did not bother me at all. I loved it. And this was still more than a year before I officially started calling myself a Mickie James fan. In other words, it was not blind love for Mickie that made me enjoy the match, the moment, or her entire gimmick. Problem is, Vince McMahon himself hated it. That is what Mickie James has revealed in a recent interview.

I'm sorry, but was the WWE PG back in 2006 too? No, it was not. Neverthless, I can imagine that some things should just never be done by a performer or promotion because it is in bad taste, too violent, or so on. But who really decides? Let me look back at the WWE history. In 1999, the WWE allowed The Big Bossman to have at least two very tasteless and insensitive storylines. Are you a fan of necrophilia? I'm a probably a pervert in a lot of ways, I'll admit that, but that storyline in the feud between Triple H and Kane was just stupid. How about Vince McMahon exposing his own ass and having people kiss it? Did you watch a certain Hell in a Cell match where Big Show's huge ass was exposed and Vince McMahon's bloody face was shoved right into it? That was just wrong on so many levels. Nudity, disgusting violence, and I do not even want to consider any sexual ideas that may spring from that image. Seriously, I don't. You know what the funniest thing about this sick moment was? It happened months after Mickie's match at Wrestlemania against Trish. Speaking for myself, I don't think Mickie James grabbing Trish's crotch and licking her fingers after is as horrible a scene as Vince McMahon and Big Show getting it on. Ric Flair has been a master of the testicular claw himself. Mickie James played her role as a psycho lesbian and the fans liked it.

Vince McMahon yells at Mickie James because she did something she thought the fans would be drawn to, which would then please Vince himself. As I have just pointed out, the WWE has done many outrageous things over the years, many of which were more tasteless and less effective in entertaining the fans than what Mickie James did. That being said, why would Vince be mad at Mickie? She is trying to do a good job and please him. Thing is, and this goes back to what I always say, it was never Mickie's job do get liked. The WWE did not want her to have the freedom to become as over as possible in that debut storyline. The goal was to put Trish over, like most other instances of diva centerpiece vs. credible diva jobber. Mickie James getting over was never a problem to Vince McMahon? Really? I'm not convinced.

John Morrison Jobs And Jobs

John Morrison did not have any real focus on him last week. It was not surprising that he lost at Night of Champions. His loss to Alberto Del Rio this week was somewhat surprising, and sad. It was a squash.

Del Rio had just lost the WWE title to Cena the night before. I can understand wanting to make him look strong right after, especially since he is getting a rematch, but you needed to squash John Morrison? This is supposed to be entertaining to the general fans? Of course not. But it does sell that Alberto Del Rio is still dangerous and angry. Morrison was just the tool used to convey that point.

People can say that Morrison is being punished for his relationship with Melina right now. I wouldn't say that is entirely it. Morrison did get a very impressive win against R-Truth on Raw a few weeks ago, and that was after Melina was released. This was also before R-Truth and Miz officially got this storyline they now have. Why bring that up? Some people might have thought that Morrison would be the one getting a good push after that win, but the WWE are now pushing R-Truth better. Moreover, things may look depressing for Morrison now, but it will have to end sooner or later.

Does Morrison deserve heat for his relationship with Melina? Whether it come backstage or from fans? I don't think so. Many of Melina's issues in the WWE in the last few months revolved around the WWE mistreating the diva division for the benefit of Trish Stratus and recreating a Trish Stratus. Melina, being a credible jobber, was released because she was no longer needed anyway. Morrison is supposed to be blamed for siding with his girl? Even now, you need good, exciting performances to draw people to as much of your show as possible. Having John Morrison not do his fancy stunts as much does not help that. Is the WWE hurting John Morrison or their own product? Alberto Del Rio squashing him may register for those fans who never change the channel and sat through the match, but what about those fans who are not into that kind of thing? John Morrison is worth more to the WWE than Melina, I will admit that, but if you do not use him correctly, he's nothing.

State Of The WWE Diva Division - August 2011

Melina is released and Gail Kim wants out. Look at their careers, you can see why this is happening. I had forgotten that I had wrote something back in February of this year where I said Melina's release might be likely. As for Gail Kim, she had just faded in and out of being an afterthought and getting mediocre filler feuds and angles. If she doesn't want to be in the WWE, they might as well not try to stop her. What can they do? Change the whole division for her benefit? Give her the Lita treatment? Give her a short push then bury her again?

Where does that leave the diva division? Beth Phoenix recently turned heel on Raw. Coincidence that heel Melina gets released? The Bellas are still heel over there. Maryse as well, but I do not think you can count on her for much when it comes to serious pushes unless she can get it together in the ring and stops getting injured. Your faces are Kelly Kelly, the centerpiece, and Eve, the top sidekick. Gail Kim was your low-level credible jobber. Picture a face version of Jillian. Over on Smackdown, Natalya just turned heel to add to the storyline Beth is now getting as she feuds with Kelly Kelly. Tamina is also heel. I can picture her getting the title eventually, once Beth and Natalya may have had a chance to put over Kelly Kelly. Thing is, Tamina is not over. WWE does not want her over. She was placed with Santino for a while, which may have helped her look cute and get a friendly reaction, but the WWE pulled the plug on that easily and she is back to mediocrity. That is how the overness with women like this is supposed to work. WWE gives and takes. Make and break. Alicia Fox is another heel on Smackdown I could see feuding with Kelly Kelly in time. Rosa. Rosa? She should have been released. Do you really need her as a low jobber on Smackdown? With Natalya going heel, they could have pushed Alicia down for at least a while to jobber status. Kaitlyn seems irrelevant to me. AJ got called up after Layla was injured. AJ has not been booked to do anything too vital on Smackdown since she came. NXT is irrelevant. And has anyone forgotten that she has prior wrestling experience before the WWE? Put it all together, she will follow in the steps of Melina and Gail Kim. I am not saying she will be released this year or next, but as long as diva rules apply in the WWE women's division, there really is little hope for her. Her managing to make herself the most over diva will not save her. WWE wants that to be Kelly Kelly. Layla may not be back yet, but it seems she may regain her spot as Smackdown's centerpiece, which she shared with McCool for over a year and held on her own for a short period before her hiatus. And what does Kharma have to look forward to? I don't think it will be as nice as what Kelly Kelly is getting.

What is on the horizon as far as future divas go? NXT losers. None of these women look like they will really make the division too much better, especially not how I think the WWE will use them. What is happening with the winner of that season, Kaitlyn? Again, nothing. What about the woman many thought would be the savior of women's wrestling, AJ? She's hanging out with Hornswoggle? Even worse, on NXT? That is where the bulk of her relevance lies right now? WWE does not care about her. Enough with NXT, the WWE needs women who can really follow in the line of Melina or Beth Phoenix. They have Tamina, but they need to start prepping for the next generation more. Problem is, with the dissatisfaction of women like Gail Kim and mistreatment of women like Melina, what can the WWE possibly do to make a ton of good women's wrestlers in the indies believe they will not just be treated like crap?

Do a little more foretelling. What happens if Kelly Kelly suffers a serious injury, flops, or decides to leave the company for some other reason? She's the centerpiece. Unlike what has happened in recent years when a centerpiece was gone for the reasons I just mentioned, there is no good replacement readily at hand at the moment. Layla is still injured, and time will tell how she is in the ring or whether she may be more prone to injury. I am not sure the WWE is serious about treating Eve as a centerpiece. Best thing that can happen, or worse is some sense, is that they can bring back McCool, the former centerpiece who still has obvious WWE connections. Forget what I said about best thing. Prepare for more overpushes and overhype if McCool returns. The WWE diva division is definitely fragile right now. This is more than karma paying them back. This is the WWE's own stupidity in handling the division putting them in a position that is quite simply horrible.

WWE Releases Melina And Gail Kim

The WWE has released Gail Kim and Melina. I'm not surprised. It still is depressing. After what the WWE did what they did to Mickie James last year, I promised I would never be surprised like that again. I put thought and analysis into that diva division even more than I had done prior to that year. I could see that Melina and Gail were just like Mickie James. They were always the type of diva who gets released by the WWE or seek release on their own. Just look at how they were being pushed. Look at why they were being pushed. I really don't want to use this day to rub it in and sound smart. You ever lost an elderly loved one? You know their time is near, but it still hurts when you lose them. That is kind of what I am feeling now. The WWE once again proves that these type of women are not as valued as the eye-candy divas.

I'm not providing good analysis right now. More like I am rambling. Out of respect to the two women, I will leave it at that. Another night, I will definitely revisit the diva division.

The Development Of Eve And Kelly Kelly

Let me just say that the WWE played me well with the whole CM Punk thing. I'll give them that. But that is the topic of another night.

I want to talk about diva matters. Namely, Eve and Kelly Kelly. I will start, out of fairness, with a few words about the two heels featured in the match tonight. Melina jobbed. She is the one who got pinned. Not too surprising, since she has the most credibility in this match. Besides that, with Jillian gone, Melina is the new heel lower credible jobber. As for Maryse, she did not look too spectacular there in terms of actual wrestling. Her performance reminds me why the WWE gave up on pushing her as Raw's diva centerpiece over a year ago. Yeah, she can rub her ass in someone's face to steal Kelly Kelly's taunt, which then leads to Kelly Kelly stealing Maryse's hair flip taunt, but this is why the diva division does not have much respect.

Onto the Diva's Champion herself. Kelly Kelly picked up another win. More importantly, she is getting good reactions. In other words, she is getting over, staying over, and possibly even getting more over. And that is exactly what the WWE wants. Kelly Kelly is the centerpiece of the whole diva division. Keep paying attention to how they book her, especially after she loses the title. I am simply waiting for the WWE to pull her into an elaborate storyline involving main-eventers. She had a few touches of this, especially on Smackdown this year, but I am waiting for the WWE to really pull the trigger on making her a main-eventer as they did Trish Stratus.

And Eve? She looks to finally be getting it as well. Wrestling doesn't really matter too much when it comes to getting over. Booty popping? That is PG? If I wanted to see that, I would go to Youtube and watch it. There are pretty much at least 100 videos uploaded everyday of girls doing that kind of thing. And Eve finally learned what she had to do to get a reaction. One of the reasons why I respect Mickie James, I have always found her more crazy and cute than glamorous and slutty, like the average WWE eye-candy wrestler. Even while she was doing her psycho lesbian thing or giving her opponent a kiss before kicking them in the head, she always gave off a different vibe. If she ever has to do the glamorous, sexy thing, I wouldn't turn on her. I know very well she does not need it to show her charisma and her spirit. But Eve? Then again, before I say more, she is the average WWE eye-candy wrestler. I would expect no less from her to try to get over. But Eve did not impress me tonight.

Corre Down And Melina/Morrison/Trish

If anything was really going to go wrong with The Corre, I had a feeling it would come from the WWE's booking of them. They were looking very good last time I talked about them. Three out of four members had gold. They were actually looking strong against Kane and Big Show, two big guys in terms of both size and credibility. What happened?

Last week, heading into Wrestlemania, Corre seemed to lose all its momentum. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It seemed like they would have won at Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania weekend, Corre "destroys" Kozlov, who was in the tag match. Faces suddenly are in trouble. This wasn't a good sign for Corre. Kofi Kingston replaces Kozlov. I have nothing against Kofi Kingston. If he was even there for a crucial or entertaining reason, I would even be more glad that he did make it in. But what happened? The 8-man tag comes off looking like some kind of diva match. To be fair, I am talking about in terms of time. Corre loses. Faces don't look too amazing. Match not that entertaining or worthy of a Wrestlemania. The fans go home happy in that the faces win. Is that still all it takes to make everyone happy?

Next night, Corre crashes The Rock and Cena's intimate moment in the ring. I enjoyed seeing them come out. I was hoping something exciting was going to happen. The Corre gets knocked around to help the two faces look good. Pathetic.

On Smackdown, a little bit of retribution. It was a Wrestlemania rematch, with more time to work. Corre still loses.

Is there some kind of rule that someone has to have a losing streak going to look pathetic at any given time? Sheamus had his turn, and it ended with a U.S. title run. Now it is time for Corre to "pay their dues" for a while? Fine. All hope is not lost yet anyway. Let's see how the feuds break up now over the tag titles and IC title. I may talk too much about these guys, but this concept has potential. It raised interest last year with total rookies. It didn't take the return of The Rock or Austin to make it work. If the WWE did not realize at least some of this themselves, why would they do another version of what is basically still Nexus on Smackdown? I am going to wait and have hope. Then again, that didn't work out back when I used to talk about the divas every day.

Speaking of divas, there seems to be some issues revolving concerning Melina, John Morrison, and Trish Stratus. Morrison and Melina have an obvious relationship. Trish and Morrison tagged together at Wrestlemania and have been on the same side against Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. Trish said in an interview that she feels snubbed by how Morrison was treating at time when they worked together. All the details from all sides are not completely out, but it seems Melina is unhappy about Trish Stratus getting featured at Wrestlemania, while herself and the other divas get nothing. After just saying the other day that I find the recent booking of the diva division, especially on Raw, annoying, I would be a hypocrite if I did not take the side that reports are claiming Melina represents. Who gets the diva spotlight at Wrestlemania this year? Snooki? Trish Stratus gets the hype leading up to the event? None of the other divas get a match or are featured properly at the PPV or in the weeks prior to build it. Last year? Vickie Guerrero? In a large diva tag match? Divas either stand around or play dead on the outside while Vickie Guerrero gets her moment. Year before that? This is my favorite one. 25 divas in one ring. Who wins? Santino Marella! If these were isolated incidents sprinkled between Wrestlemanias that are regularly good for the women that carry the division week after week, I would not complain. But it has been at least three years in a row now. Is some beauty pageant winner on Tough Enough right now going to get her Wrestlemania moment next year? Is that what the division is going to be about?

But it is different? It's Trish! So that makes it okay to treat the women working there regularly like crap? Especially the ones who were hired for actual wrestling ability, which Trish was not? The woman who is arguably the most over on the current roster didn't get screwed over. Vickie was used! She may not be getting cheered, but her reaction is real and loud. What is Trish actually doing for the WWE? Entertaining? Giving meaningful rubs to future stars? My absolute favorite wrestlers were never either The Rock or Steve Austin, but they are bringing it for the WWE. Ratings went up majorly the week after The Rock first returned. Ratings spiked again when they advertised Austin. When they advertised Snooki's appearance and Trish taking on Vickie, ratings fell back down. Admittedly, Austin is a tough act to follow. You can see the numbers here. What about live reactions? You could tell the crowd is usually high for Rock and Austin when they actually show up. Last Monday was the first time in weeks Trish actually got a good reaction, but I already mentioned that that Atlanta crowd was hot. Let me honestly speak for myself. I may not have ever been a die-hard fan of any of these three, but when either The Rock or Austin's theme hits, it gets me pumped. I know something is going to happen. With Trish, nope. Just seeing those two guys walk down the aisle and into the ring, I see the enthusiasm and character that they are about. With Trish, I don't. These men on the mic? Great. Awesome. No adjective comes to mind to give them justice. With Trish? Yes, she has not gotten the mic or time to speak that much, but I would rather watch Vickie talk anyway. I enjoy the heat she gets. And when the words stop? Austin stunners and pours beer everywhere. The Rock layeths the smacketh down. Trish has attacked LayCool and all that, but it was nowhere near as exciting as watching Austin or The Rock do their things.

I mentioned giving rubs. Do I really need to mention who The Rock is putting over greatly just by talking about him? John Cena. The Rock will not take away the heat Cena does get, but he will definitely help Cena look even more like one of the greatest of all time, no matter who wins that Wrestlemania match next year. Cena has already proven that he can stand firm against The Rock in a war of words. The Miz and Alex Riley have also slightly benefited from being involved in this mix. Aside from actually putting over Tough Enough on Raw, the WWE is also using Austin to give rubs to Miz and his sidekick. He's giving CM Punk some attention on Twitter. He buried the diva division, but I was just saying how the WWE is doing that themselves to feature Trish Stratus. Which divas are Trish Stratus actually putting over? Her interactions with LayCool did not seem as strong to me as what was going on with the men I just mentioned. Are LayCool even there to get a rub from Trish? Vickie seems to be doing more for Trish than Trish is doing for any of these divas. Trish doesn't have the toughness of an Austin or Rock, so her getting attacked by McCool won't do much but create a standard diva moment. The fact that hype for both McCool and the current Trish was so mediocre does not help.

Then there was Morrison. So many questions and directions to go here. First of all, it is already obvious that the WWE failed to treat Trish in a way that would actually give LayCool a proper rub, so what really would she have done for John Morrison? Help John Morrison look like he's on Trish's level? Ummm...what do I even say to that? John Morrison is very capable. His matches from a few months ago prove that he can do things that very few WWE superstars, if any, have ever done. He can awe. The character he had back in ECW proves that he can be entertaining in that respect as well. He simply needs the WWE hyping him and pushing him properly. Any rub from Trish Stratus would be meaningless if he jobs to Sheamus and Alex Riley for the rest of the year. Trust me, the WWE would have found some reason to do that to him. Honestly, it seems more likely that Morrison would have done more for Trish than Trish could have done for Morrison, especially when you realize that Trish is the one the WWE consistently pushes as the greatest diva, even though she's retired, and Morrison has been built up to be knocked down on numerous occasions already. Won't change, whether this mess happened or not.

Was Morrison wrong to do what he did? Obviously, I don't know exactly what Trish wanted to do. I don't know exactly how much of a role Melina played. How would people view Morrison if he showed more loyalty to Trish/WWE than Melina? I'm not going to answer that one. Just think about it. Was he wrong to "snub" her? How many times can you play nice and still put up with the same old thing? Let me repeat what I already said. Three Wrestlemanias in a row, people who do not deserve the payoff for the hard work of the women who are carrying the division and trying to get the job done get the spotlight at Wrestlemania. Week after week, Gail Kim, Melina, Natalya, and other women get nothing, while Vickie, Trish, and LayCool get the most of the diva attention on Raw. Doesn't this all seem familiar to when they kicked Mickie James to the curb in 2008 so they could try pushing Candince Michelle and BunnyMania for Wrestlemania? Yeah, now it is even more clear how the WWE viewed Mickie. And who is listening? What is changing? I asked whether these women don't want better for themselves. What does loyalty to this crap get you? A job in TNA? Morrison may have been showing more loyalty to Melina than the whole diva division, according to reports, but this is a start. Morrison the pushover seemed to have stood against something here. Do you think it is easy to snub a woman with heavy WWE backing like Trish Stratus? Batista can get away with humiliating Mickie James because the WWE was more loyal to him than he obviously was to them or they themselves were to Mickie. I am siding with Morrison on this one.

You Say Your Favorite Match Is The One With Melina And Alicia Fox?

Who? Relax. Austin apologized about what he said on Tough Enough. Of all the divas to pick, and there is nothing wrong with picking the divas, why a match with these two? Matter of opinion. You look at it, both of these women are jobbers. That, to me, is more fact than opinion. Neither of them are centerpieces or are meant to be centerpieces. Since they are pushed consistently only in the diva division, their characters are not getting the chance to properly develop from storylines outside of the title picture. If you are not being developed as either a centerpiece or on the sidelines, what are you? Melina did a little self-righteous response to what went on. I respect her. I feel bad for her and most of the other divas in the WWE being held back. But should she really be proud of how far she's come? She's been featured on Superstars more in the last few weeks than Raw. She has been used by the WWE for the benefit of other women more often than not. End of the day, it is a dream job and she still has her fans. What can I possibly say about Alicia Fox? Her sister is on Tough Enough! She's still in afterthought heaven herself ever since Trish Stratus popped back up and Vickie is seeing more time in the ring on Raw than William Regal. I pointed out a few weeks ago that the divas with wrestling experience and true credibility were not getting used on Raw week after week. Even I have to admit that this is getting ridiculous now. Wrestlemania was on Sunday. On Raw this week, it is still Trish and Vickie. Eve defended the title against a Bella many weeks ago. Needless to say, not a worthy title match. Could have been. I don't think these women are that horrible. Just not given enough time and the story in the ring was weak. LayCool madness is still running wild on Smackdown, as you will see this week. Then again, there's no other heels to push there. How convenient? As far as I am concerned, the WWE is once again showing how they really value women like Melina, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, and so on. I'm not saying they whip them backstage and refuse to pay them. But I believe these women would like to be used more and better. Some must anyway. Or have they sacrificed that self-respect for the fame of being a credible jobber on Superstars?

The End Of Melina

Let me first get the necessary stuff out of the way. I DON'T want to see Melina released or mistreated by the WWE. I DON'T hate Melina. This is just my prediction and speculation based on my analysis of what the WWE typically does and what is going on now.

Things do not look good for Melina. The WWE jobbed her rather easily to Natalya for the sake of allowing Natalya to have a successful title feud before shifting the title to another face. Melina is now back to Superstars duties. With Awesome Kong near, Natalya and Bellas possibly going heel, Eve still fresh, and Gail Kim not being so much of an afterthought anymore, not to mention Maryse possibly turning face and a host of potential NXT diva losers who can come on Raw, where does Melina fit in? She is not a priority for them. She has already put over McCool more than once by handing a title to her. The WWE can now start developing other credible diva jobbers.

What will happen to Melina? Release. Get her out of the way. However, if John Morrison has any swing, and the WWE does not want to upset him, they may keep Melina on. If the WWE is also afraid of TNA gaining more women, they may not release Melina. What will happen, however, is that Melina will become a lame duck, much like Victoria was for years before she "retired" from the WWE. The WWE will mistreat and not push her correctly, only using her to develop other divas and give focus when women they would rather push are injured or such. This option, obviously, does not take any grand analytical skills or fortune-telling powers to predict. As I said before, they are already pushing Melina in that direction.

For God's sake, if what I say does come to pass sometime this year, don't listen to the stupid crap dirtsheets will vomit up for this "shocking" development. As I said from the start, I do not want this to happen. Release or depush to insignificant status, neither are things I want for Melina. I just see certain signs.

The WWE Career Of Mickie James - Conclusion

I have been writing that the WWE did not like Mickie James as much as some people may have assumed since 2008. The evidence goes back even before I started talking about it. If you just ask why Mickie was even brought in to begin with and look at why and how the WWE pushed her after that, it seems clear as well. Her release did not catch me that off guard. I should have even saw it coming better. I was still upset about it. It is like when an elderly relative dies in your family. You know it is going to happen sooner or later, but it still can hurt.

Once again, I only did this little series to offer a response to those who buy what wrestling news sites offer as to why Mickie was released. I see a number of strong flaws in what they are arguing. I do not even feel like going over all of it now. It has been over 2 years and I am still waiting for a credible and neutral source to verify that Mickie James and John Cena actually dated. The evidence I see dirtsheets like to use is that John Cena said in an interview/live chat on WWE.com that he would have liked to continue the relationship with Mickie. First of all, the fact that it is a chat done on the WWE's own site, and combine that with the fact that Cena is a kayfabe supporter, it seems more likely he was talking in kayfabe and about his storyline with Mickie James. Second of all, he is the one expressing regret that the relationship is over, if you want to even take him seriously. So what did he do to Mickie James? The rumors also said that Mickie was being punished by being sent to Smackdown. Is that why she got used in the same vein as when she debuted? She was being used to eventually put a centerpiece over in some way. She even won the title. They never respected Mickie James as anything more than a tool. If she was really guilty of so many things, why would they not release her out of the blue? They released her at the same time as other people they simply didn't need or want around anymore. That was Mickie James.

I am not saying all this just for the sake of Mickie James. I see the same crap going on still. I see the WWE doing the same thing. I see dirtsheets doing the same thing. I see ignorant fans doing the same thing. Look at what the WWE did to Melina. Dirtsheets recently gave a stupid report that she is in the doghouse. Some fans obviously bought it. Melina commented on it herself. Mickie James commented on a certain rumor that came up shortly after her TNA return that tried to bury her. These women and men should not have to live their lives responding to every little rumor. I said before that Melina would be treated like this. I am not surprised some people fall back on the oldest excuse in the book to explain her depush. Smarten up. Melina is not a priority to the WWE. She is just a tool. They last used her as a credible face to allow McCool to unify the titles a few months ago. They didn't want McCool going over some mediocre face like Nikki Bella, or some heel. Once Melina served her purpose, she got depushed. Things are going to get even more interesting after AJ gets promoted to the main roster. Do I think they will release Melina or Beth Phoenix? Unless the WWE is afraid of feeding TNA all these women or these women have strong enough contacts with those high up (is Morrison important enough in the eyes of the WWE to keep Melina around?), they will be released. They have already used Natalya to phase out Melina a bit. Whatever happens, women like Melina and Beth are just meant to be tools in the end of the day. They are not the centerpiece. Who cares? If you are a fan of women who are tools and are complaining about it, I suggest you either start understanding this or shut your mouth.

But it will not be as hard when Melina gets released or becomes a lame duck, which is what happened to Victoria before she decided to leave. She is not that super over. Mickie James was. That is what made them releasing her so shocking for so many. I said before that I should have seen it coming better. I made the mistake of thinking her popularity would keep her around. Her popularity was one of the reasons they had to let her go. How do you explain that a woman so over is only a sidekick to women less over and less credible than her? How do you explain that a woman who was given 6 title reigns in 5 years is suddenly not getting the title at all year after year? There was no place they could push her outside of the title picture where they could properly bury her. I already noted that Mickie James NEVER got one storyline outside of the title picture that saw a proper finish and ended up doing anything real for her. Even a lot of her title feuds between her first and last were not that intricate or developed well. They never treated her in this respect as well as they did Lita. They did not want to add to Mickie's legacy at all. She was just in the way of the women they wanted to get over. That's right. The WWE decides who they want to get that great treatment to become monster over, not you or me. We are just supposed to follow like sheep. But you stand up for that company, right?

I see some people want Mickie James to return one day to the WWE. Unless the WWE changes their ways, I say she would be stupid to want to go back there for anything more than a one-day appearance. Lita returned to Raw tonight. Glad to see her back. And I was laughing. No, I was not laughing at what she did to those other divas. I was laughing at her. Did Lita not comment last year that the huge battle royal they had for the divas was a joke? Did she not say they were like prostitutes or something along those lines? Did dirtsheets botch reporting what she said or quoted from an impostor? Wouldn't be the first time. Assuming Lita actually thought that way about it, I find it hilarious that she would just pop in for a comedy diva segment to knock down some face divas and Mark Henry. Contributing to guest star crap. If she wanted to be a part of THIS diva division so bad, she should have pushed harder to be a part of the prostitutes last year.

Until the future tells what Mickie James and the WWE do, Mickie James still earned her spot in the WWE more than the WWE ever wanted. Let me end it with something I am told Jim Ross once said. He once said that many did not think Mickie James would make it in the WWE. Let me not spin his words around and misquote him, but is it really hard to imagine that many did not WANT Mickie James to make it. Even after she achieved what all pro wrestlers really want to achieve in this business, the WWE still kept looking for someone to replace her. There was no good reason not to continue to run with her for her own sake. They didn't care. They were always counting on something else. More than 6 months later, no one they have been counting on has gotten the job done. They cannot connect with those WWE fans like Mickie James worked to do.

The WWE Career Of Mickie James - Part 6

I have talked about that infamous storyline on Smackdown a lot in the past year. This ended up being the farewell angle for Mickie James. Funny how that was one of the ideas they were pushing in it. And I don't think it was a coincidence.

As soon as Mickie James arrived, they pushed this angle in which Michelle McCool and her sidekick at the time, Layla, were bullying her. With the diva trade and Maria on leave, Mickie was the only face diva on Smackdown anyway. They ruined her clothes, cost her a match, and then started the weight angle. Dirtsheets had talked about weight being one of the reasons why Mickie James was "punished" by going to Smackdown like she did. The WWE pushing the storyline like they did fed dirtsheets, fueling that Mickie James was being punished. The timing of the whole thing was very insulting. But why should WWE care? Their mission was to get McCool looking great at the expense of any tool.

It was obvious Mickie James would win the title. Diva bully angles had occurred in the past with Chyna/Ivory and Lita/Trish. In those cases, the faces always win the title from the bully. Not so much an honor as it is how the story is meant to progress.

Mickie James had an infection which caused her to drop the title after just a few weeks. She worked the match to give it back to McCool and had surgery the next week. Many people doubted she would make it back in time for Wrestlemania, but she pushed herself to do it. She did it. But look at how the WWE hyped her return. They didn't. They just randomly placed her into the large, lackluster diva tag match at Wrestlemania. They just had her show up on Raw and stand by Kelly Kelly to watch a match. On Smackdown, they had her run out with the rest of the face divas to run off a bunch of the heels, leaving Beth Phoenix the sole face to get attention. This is not how you treat your most over diva. This was the first and only time Mickie James missed time from traveling with the WWE for an extended period of time due to anything health related. Yes, it only amounted to 3 weeks, but remember when Michelle McCool got injured in 2009? She was only gone for 2 weeks before they hyped when she would be returning. She did not even wrestle for over a month after that on Smackdown. Before she did return, they only mentioned her infrequently in backstage segments to say she had a knee injury. Boring reason leads to boring return. But then again, why would you hype a woman you knew you never liked and would be getting rid of soon enough? Mickie James was always just an option, not something to be treated as a priority.

And that is Mickie's 6th and final title reign. They did not even keep her around for more than a month after that. Their worst nightmare would have been realized if they had. Beth Phoenix injured shortly after. Kelly Kelly almost seriously injured at a house show. Tiffany suspended. They would have had to push Mickie James again to a 7th title reign. Remember who was closest to reaching Moolah's record before Trish eventually did and broke it? Ivory. WWE never let her do it. History repeats with Mickie James. They insulted Mickie James a lot worse than they did Ivory. She even got released while promoting the WWE's own Draft in her hometown. I cannot even measure how that slap in the face must feel.

A nice bit I hear is that "storylines happen". People who say that are missing the kicker. Storylines happen FOR A REASON. And that reason is not always entertainment. The current storyline involving Nexus and Cena is a means to inject credibility in the members, especially Barrett. This guy is getting a bigger rub in the main event than some guys who have been around for years have gotten. What reason can be found in what they did to Mickie James on Smackdown? Do whatever it takes to make Michelle McCool look like a great heel. Mickie James was the most over diva and a very strong worker. McCool was getting that heat. Fans were loudly chanting that she sucked. WWE and McCool have to blame themselves for it fading. They pushed the envelope too far and McCool was just too lame in the end to be a serious heel well enough. Once Mickie served her purpose, they got rid of her completely. Remember when Melina returned to Smackdown last year? Outside of feuding with McCool, she really got no true feuds or meaningful storylines with anyone else. They just used her and spat her back to Raw. She still had a few more reigns in her. Look at what they did to her recently. Put the title on her, used her to make McCool make history again, then immediately kicked her aside to give Natalya a push. You see who the centerpiece is. It is McCool. This storyline was done for her benefit, not Mickie's. Arguably, Mickie James even lost the feud against McCool. The whole thing about weight and being bullied continued after Mickie James won the title. They even added Vickie Guerrero, who served to add more to both the weight aspect and added to the bullies against Mickie. McCool got back the title. Mickie James was never treated with proper hype again after that. They never wanted her to be the centerpiece.

The WWE Career Of Mickie James - Part 4

Mickie James received her push at the end of 2007 after the injury of Candice Michelle. She was the most credible face option to work against Beth and keep her fresh. Mickie James ended up being more than that. The "story" of this feud soon became that Mickie James could not defeat Beth Phoenix. The televised match before their PPV title match, Beth Phoenix pinned Mickie. Without gaining any momentum before the PPV title match, Mickie lost again. Mickie lost to Beth several times after this. The WWE had Mickie James cry and act upset about her inability to defeat Beth. This was done to help Beth look stronger and fresher for Candice's eventual return. Mickie James could not take the title from Beth, but could Candice? This would not be the last time they used the tears of Mickie James. Had the WWE pushed this idea consistently, I would be arguing that this all really was done just for Mickie's sake. The WWE has underdog stories like this all the time. Problem is, they did not push Mickie James against Beth consistently.

In a tag match, Mickie teamed with Kelly Kelly to face Beth and Victoria on Raw. Mickie James pinned Victoria to get her first victory against Beth in any type of match for the first time in 2008. Mickie looked re-energized, like she would be closing in on Beth's title after that. Next week on Raw? Mickie James is not seen at all. Candice Michelle, however, makes her return to Raw to cost Beth a match. Mickie James was put back on Heat. Mickie James remained off of Raw until after Wrestlemania, while the WWE pushed "Bunnymania" between Maria and Candice (later replaced by Ashley) as the faces and Beth and Melina as the heels.

Fans wanted to know what happened to Mickie James. Enter the dirtsheets. They said Mickie James was being punished for saying in an interview that the WWE should treat their women more like TNA treats their women. Back then, when I was a little more naive, I bought it. In retrospect, do you know what it sounds like to me? It sounds like Beth Phoenix is pregnant. It sounds like the WWE is in love with Alicia Fox just because she is holding the title at the same time they sign her sister. It sounds like Eve will be a part of a triple-threat match at Summerslam with Alicia and Melina. It sounds like something I might as well flush down the toilet. The real reason Mickie James was depushed? The centerpiece came back. This is how you know the WWE wanted Candice to have the spot. They push everything else aside going on with Beth, putting the two in the same picture again, the day Candice returns. Mickie James really was meant to just hold things down. She did her job, they gave her a trivial win, and they tossed her aside.

Candice got injured again before Wrestlemania. Did they bring back Mickie James to compete at the big PPV? No. Although she is the most credible face diva and was just involved in issues with Beth before Candice returned, they wanted to push Playboy. Ashley gets Candice Michelle's spot in the match. Mickie James remains on Heat, acting as fodder for the heels in the match.

In a meaningless aside, I remember a certain topic in a message board I posted in at this time. The topic creator asked who your favorite diva was on each show. He even counted Heat as a show, even though it was primarily a place for Raw jobbers to get matches. He chose Mickie James as his favorite "Heat diva". A few others did the same thing. That is what the WWE would have liked to have done with Mickie's importance.

With Candice once again injured, and the WWE not yet at the stage where they would give the title to someone like Maria or Ashley, they once again push the woman they used when Candice got injured in 2007. With not many fresh options to work with Beth to keep the belt on her until Candice returned again and Beth not getting over with the title on her, not to mention the fans' support of Mickie James not breaking during her disappearance from Raw, Mickie James won her fourth Women's Championship in England.

I will skip over most of what happened during the actual reign itself. I have no huge complaints or see any great evidence that the WWE was madly in love with Mickie during this reign. It was still a good reign. However, Mickie's romance angle with John Cena led to many rumors that the two dated in real life. So many other rumors against Mickie James have been built on this. For now, I will only say that I am still waiting for a credible, impartial, direct source to confirm any of it. But I will bring it up again. It looks like one of the main reasons for the angle was just to give Mickie something to keep her busy while Melina turned face and feuded with Beth. Like every other angle Mickie James has ever gotten outside the title scene, this romance angle failed. WWE stopped pushing it. It never elevated Mickie James up the card. WWE just used it to push the idea that Mickie was trying to sleep around and keep it secret. Was that supposed to be the payoff, WWE? It accomplished nothing lasting for Mickie's WWE character.

History repeats itself. I said before that I would argue that the WWE intended for Candice Michelle to be a centerpiece because she was a model who became a credible wrestler under their watch, had a very strong build to the title, and most blatantly, had things pushed aside for her benefit when she returned from injury in early 2008. In August, having already lost momentum on the Raw before the PPV, Mickie James lost the Women's Championship back to Beth. Losing a PPV match to Beth Phoenix after not having momentum going into it? History really does repeat itself! Before the end of the month, Candice Michelle, not surprisingly, once again made her triumphant return to Raw. It is no coincidence that the title was put back on Beth, Mickie James received her "gold watch" victory, and Mickie was starting to be depushed again. The WWE were finally going to push Candice against Beth again. Mickie James was no longer that important to them. In fact, when Mickie James did finally get her rematch, the WWE had Candice Michelle sitting at ringside. They announced that whoever won between Beth and Mickie would face Candice. Could they have done anything more to make it obvious who would win? While Beth and Candice are busy looking at each other and laughing it up, Mickie James wastes her time trying to act like a focused challenger. Beth retained the title.

Let me go back a step. Candice Michelle made a fool of herself in her return match. Raw was taped, so most fans never saw the part edited out. This is not one of those instances where the opponent messes up his or her part, making the person executing the move look bad. Candice was not as solid as she used to be. This is the start of the WWE giving up on Candice Michelle as the centerpiece. That is the thing about centerpieces, they do not change like the seasons so trivially. A person has to really mess up for the WWE to really stop pushing them as a true centerpiece. In one year, Candice Michelle got injured, returned and got injured in her first televised match back, and returned and performed poorly against a solid performer, Beth Phoenix, in her first televised match back. She did not regain the WWE's confidence in the time before her title match. She lost and never got a second shot at Beth.

Does that mean the WWE pushes Mickie James hard against Beth again? If Mickie James really was the centerpiece they wanted, and there is already enough of an argument that she was not, she would have gotten that push. Her previous push against Beth was blown off easily in favor of Candice. Mickie James got one title shot, without any build to it, and did not win the title. She was once again just being used as fodder during this period. Since TNA's Awesome Kong was strong in 2008, the WWE continued pushing Beth hard as an answer to that. They had already bought out Gail Kim. Who would be the main face they push against Beth? They would stall until Melina returned from injury.

The WWE did not reinvest in Mickie James. They mainly treated her as a face diva on the same level as Candice and Kelly Kelly on Raw. They did place Mickie in the storyline between Jamie Noble and William Regal and Layla, but what did that do for her? She never got mic time, did not get adequate focus on her or her real involvement in the feud, and most surprisingly, their was never a televised mixed tag between these people. The feud just got forgotten as William Regal went on to win the Intercontinental Championship. Another failed angle for Mickie James. The WWE did not care to develop her, elevate her, or even keep her that fresh.

Despite being in the midst of this depush, Mickie James won the 2008 Cyber Sunday costume contest. Fans chose her two years in a row. She won over Women's Champion Beth Phoenix and her monster push, Diva's Champion Michelle McCool, Candice Michelle, Kelly Kelly, Maryse, and other women, some of whom the WWE had invested more into in 2008. Speaking of depushes and fans choosing anything, the WWE had a poll on their website for an event they made up called "All-Diva's Day" in early 2008, prior to Wrestlemania. Fans voted for their favorite divas throughout the day. At the end, the final three left were Maria, who was in the midst of her Playboy push, Kelly Kelly, who had gained attention from dancing on ECW, and Mickie James, who was off Raw and exiled on Heat at the time. Mickie James won that poll too. My point? The WWE has no excuse. They knew how over Mickie James was. Nevertheless, they pushed her only when they had to in early 2008, depushed her when the person they were high on came back, then use Mickie James as just an extra body for tag matches and jobbing for the rest of the year. You want to tell me this is the woman they were in love with?

There you have Mickie's fourth title reign. It is clear that she was not the first choice for the push. She was not the intended centerpiece. If she was, she would not have been depushed as she was the two times the same woman returned to Raw in 2008 to claim a title feud against Beth Phoenix. If she was, she would have regained the feud, not necessarily the title, after Candice was depushed. If she was, and since the WWE knew she was over, they would have invested more in elevating her or keeping her fresh outside the title feuds. All she got were angles that never saw a finish and created rumors that damaged her character. It didn't matter. Mickie James was already very over before her title reign in 2008, meaningless rub from Cena, and in between all these attempts to bury her.