Gail Kim walks out on a Battle Royal and WWE management never even noticed? Gail Kim walks up and says, “I quit,” and according to her she gets laughed in the face? Three days later, Melina gets ‘future endeavored,’ as well as Chris Masters, Vladimir Kozlov and David Hart Smith, but WWE doesn’t seem to notice that Gail wants to leave?

We don’t know what the conversation was last Monday that convinced Gail Kim to slide out of the Battle Royal and follow Melina up the ramp during WWE RAW, but apparently it was the proverbial straw for Gail. Now, we’re shocked to hear that Gail Kim turned in her notice with WWE and we’re shocked by the the way she went about it, but what is up with WWE’s management?

Recently Gail Kim and Melina created buzz online by building a feud between them on Twitter and facebook to create a backstory for their matches on SUPERSTARS. Sure, it’s great that Kelly Kelly is champion, and its great they have a program set up between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix, to replace the feud between Kelly Kelly and Kharma. But Gail and Melina created buzz with their feud on SUPERSTARS and the reward for their efforts is no booking for Gail or Melina for a month before the decision came down to fire Melina.

So Kelly Kelly is WWE’s blonde face of the Diva division because management wants it this way and if women wrestlers (not entertainers) stand up and plye their trade the way they’re supposed to, the response is to bury the girls, punish them for being good at their jobs and fire one of them- as what? A warning to the other to know her place?

The WWE handlers for the Divas apparently want the Divas to act like cattle. It’s sad that the apparent contempt WWE shows the fans of their Diva division is also apparently shown to the very talented and beautiful Divas themselves. And if Gail Kim- who is a mature woman and not cattle- decides this isn’t what she signed up for, then Gail Kim has the right to walk.

Gail put in notice on Monday and doesn’t say anything until Thursday that she had quit WWE on Monday, after WWE posts the latest ‘future endeavors.’ In our opinion, Gail Kim is a terrific company person. We feel shocked and embarressed for Gail Kim that Twitter is her only way of getting the word out to someone in WWE management that she doesn’t want to work in the WWE anymore. My god, imagine if you had to turn to twitter to tell people you quit your job just to get someone in management to notice!

Imagine having your boss completely humiliate you. You respond by telling your boss you quit. Your boss laughs in your face! Then, a few days later, the schedule comes out and your boss wants to know why you’re not at work. Just how professional do you think you’re going to be at that point?

There is speculation that the WWE will not release Gail Kim from her contract as punishment for Gail Kim’s unprofessional conduct during the Battle Royal and on Twitter. Gail Kim’s contract expires within two months, so that’s not a long time. But management trying to punish a worker for standing up for herself against unfair and disrespectful treatment by management is a good way to lose a lawsuit. What is WWE thinking?

The WWE pulled a swerve on me with Kharma on Monday’s Raw that left me confused, intrigued, and ultimately amazed. A four on four match between Melina, the Bella Twins and Maryse and Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim and Eve had just begun with Kelly Kelly taking it to Brie Bella for pulling twin magic the night before at the ‘Over the Limit’ PPV. Suddenly, Kharma music hits and out struts the women herself, down to the ring. Kharma doesn’t hesitate to enter the ring and Beth directs the Divas to circle the Diva Killer. Kharma looks like shes getting ready to summon some ‘awesome’ power, and I’m wondering what’s going on, as I don’t see Kharma as actually able to take on every Diva at the same time. Then, Kia Steven falls on her knees and begins to cry! We’re talking real tears, eyes looking so wounded you think her heart has been ripped out. And the Divas are all looking on wondering what the heck is going on as Raw goes to commercial break.

My first reaction to this was, “I can’t believe they just buried Kharma.” Then, I realised what had just been shattered was my expectation of Kharma. A moment flashed in my mind’s eye as I recalled Vince McMahon looking at Bret ‘The Hitman’ Heart and asking, “Tell me, where can we go with Bret Hart?” It was a moment describing the events that lead up to the infamous Montreal Screwjob and it brought the situation into perspective for me. Vince knows he’s got something good in Kia Stevens, but a 2D monster who rips through the division only works until it’s stale and then there’s no where else to go with Kharma and she has to be released. By introducing an emotional vulnerability to Kharma, WWE has preserved Kharma as physically the ultimate Diva Killer and unmatched physically by any other Diva in the division, while destroying a 2D persona and replacing it with something that has durability.

This is a good time to point out that Kia Stevens just sold the angle of her life in the ring, and did it amazingly well. I get really pissed off when people knock the drama represented in wrestling. To me, wrestling is the modern-day equivalent of the people’s theatre and therefore enherits a very proud tradition of being an art form that communicates the daily trials of the masses. That’s you if don’t own a yact and roll like a gangster, or make your living of the back of the common man. That was an oscar worthy performance, improvised on the fly in front of thousands of booing fans.

So what the heck is going on? Well, there are several possibilities that come from this. WWE is in the middle of an anti-bullying campaign right now, and Kharma may be the poster child for this campaign. At the same time, Kharma now has the same emotional complexity of…Mankind, Kane, and other monster heels with issues. There is only so much that Kane can do in the ring, but his character is complex enough that he continues to be a draw after 14 years with WWE. And you know with Kane there’s this monster under the surface that can come out at any time and set Kane off on a rampage. The Big Show is dangerous normally, but tick him off and he can take on the entire WWE roster. Kharma now joins that rank of WWE monster heels as a long-term asset.

I expect a dedicated followup on what’s going on in Friday’s Smackdown, because WWE needs to explain this new and more complex Kharma to the audience ASAP! Maybe Layla can approach Kharma and get her talking. I find it hard to believe that a character this complex can be silent, so I’m expecting to hear Kharma talk and say what’s on her mind. I have seen Kia Stevens stomp and glare and emote the perfect monster- I mean, when she starts to glare you’d think she’s suddenly seven feet tall and four hundred pounds- but until I saw Kia break down in the ring on Monday, I had no idea just how good this woman is as a performer. I am now looking forward to seeing how good Kia can be on the mic. Does Kharma truly possess all three traits of a great performer? We shall see.

As weird as it all is, I have to give a nodd to Vince for throwing the dice and doing something unpredictable for a change. I’ll say it again, I am confused and intrigued by this swerve- it has truly thrown off my expectations and I can’t wait to see what happens next on Friday. Well done, Vince!

What a crazy night for the Divas at Extreme Rules 2011!

Layla and Michelle McCool, unable to reconcile their issues in spite of multiple sessions with a relationship counsellor, fought in tonight’s PPV in a ‘Loser quits’ match. Layla pulled through and won the match by countering a faithbreaker for a pinfall! Layla then left in tears as her ex-BFFF Michelle cried her tears out in the ring. What happens next sent shivers down my spine…

Somebody left the rear door unwatched, because Awesome Kong -now calling herself Kharma- slipped inside and is now in the WWE. Kong/Kharma isn’t a beauty pageant contestent, she’s a monster heel! And a girl! In the WWE? The rumour is that Jim Ross and Steve Austin held the emergency door open for her. Kudos to Kong and thanks to Jim Ross and Steve Austin!

The WWE has been promoting her debute for several weeks now on RAW, SMACKDOWN and SUPERSTARS. In these insightful videos, Kong lays out her strategy for the divas. Kong’s strategy is to pop the heads and legs off the barbie doll wrestlers in the WWE. While laughing maniacally.

Michelle McCool should have run for the front exit when Kharma’s music hit after Layla left because what happens next ain’t pretty. Kharma marched down the ramp to the ring, grabbed Michelle and gave her an implant buster, laying her flat out. Then she laughed maniacally. Kong then left the ring, mercifully leaving a laid out Michelle McCool her head and legs.

Folks, what a great moment for the Divas. I wasn’t sure what the WWE had in mind for Kong and how the audience was going to respond to Kharma, but what I saw I liked! Every division needs a giant, and now the Divas have Kharma!

There has been speculation that Michelle was planning on stepping away from WWE. This really makes a person wonder about Michelle’s other half, known in some circles as the Undertaker. With Michelle evidently planning for life after wrestling, it’s a strong signal that the deadman’s career clock has hit the number 11. Even time tolls for thee, Deadman.

Michelle being buried by Kharma on her way out was a fantastic way to debute Kong. Kudos to you, Michelle for giving that bump perfectly! Now, I have to admit in the past I bought into the rumors about Michelle’s attitude backstage. In restrospect, what I’ve always seen from Michelle has been a serious attitude about the business and becoming as good as she could be in the ring, on the mic, in a promo and with the fans. Michelle may not have gotten over with every fan, but she did win me over. Love her or hate her, we should acknowledge that Michelle approached wrestling as a professional, she loves wrestling and gave her opportunities 100%.

Thank you, Michelle McCool!

Layla apologized to the Divas in the locker room after the match for the way she acted. Does this mean Layla’s going face? Well, before that happens, I expecting Layla to continue to show loyalty to her ex-flawless friends and call Kharma out for that implant buster! Poor Layla, so full of personality, but just not that sharp a tack. PREDICTION: Layla will become the second Diva to be laid out by Kharma. Whatever else happens, I hope WWE continues to give Layla opportunities to hold a mic…and I hope she can still chew food after Kharma’s done with her…

Last question is about the future direction of the Diva division. I guess we’re going to be seeing plenty of ‘Instant Kharma’ around the divas on RAW, as Kong is going to be beating (expletive)’s dead. We’re going to get some amazing matches involving Kharma versus Natalya, Beth Phoenex, Melina, and maybe even a Gail Kim versus Kong, round 2? As for Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, the twins, and others…better reserve a bed in the local emergency room, ladies.

Kharma’s goinna getcha!

It’s been a couple of weeks since WWE Pro Vickie Guerrero ‘fired’ WWE Nxt contestant Aloisia for ‘not respecting her.’ So, what happened to Aloisia? Aloisia went from the cornerstone of this season’s WWE Nxt, to being sent to developmental, to being released altogether from WWE.

Speculation in forums was that Aloisia was released for posing for an erotic shoot previous to coming to WWE and that the WWE showed a double standard by letting Aloisia go for not representing a PG image. This decision to ship out Aloisia came in spite of the WWE Divas posing for bikini shoots, Diva of the day shoots and some current members of the roster (including Gail Kim and Maryse) having posed previous to WWE in erotic shoots themselves. This double standard has of course caused some controversy and anger among women wrestling fans.

There is no double standard in this instance. What outraged fans don’t seem to want to consider is that the Divas are marketed first on their looks- their sex appeal and their marketability- and their in-ring ability and mic skills a distance second. The Divas have to look sexy, appealing and unattainable to WWE fans.

Aloisia is big and her size alone makes her a potential star. But, WWE is the big time and if Aloisia wants to make it in the big event, she has to develop an image that fits the WWE Diva brand.

The hardest thing to hear is feedback that you’re not good enough for something that you really want. What defines a person isn’t in failing to attain what they want the first time through, but in what they do with what they learned from their failure. In this case, what do you do with feedback as personal as how you look?

Aloisia doesn’t have body that comes from a cookie cutter- she’s 6’9”- and she certainly doesn’t blend into a crowd of WWE Divas. The women’s program would be built around Aloisia if she went to RAW or Smackdown. Aloisia would reshape the WWE Diva brand. That’s a big gamble for WWE and not knowing what’s floating out there in the internet that could embarrass the company- like that horrid photo shoot- was just too much of a gamble for the WWE.

Forget your opinion of whether this was fair, or right. That’s just the way it is with WWE.

We didn’t think Aloisia looked bad in her sit-down interview for WWE Nxt, or her photoshoot for Nxt promotional pictures. Aloisia has come a long way from the controversial shoot which she agreed to (to paraphrase her) when she was 18 and on her own, overweight, desperate and (her word) stupid.

Apparently Aloisia needs to work on her image, her look and her physique if she wants to work for WWE. Like it or not, that’s just the WWE standard.

Aloisia doesn’t need our advice, by the way. Aloisia doesn’t whine in her well-written blog at www.aloisiaonline.com about being let go and she certainly hasn’t been deterred from her desire to work for the WWE. Aloisia is totally upfront about the controversial (no nudity) photo shoot. She respects the WWE as a business while implying she thinks the WWE has made a mistake in letting her go. Aloisia has a new training regiment with a new trainer.

In her words,

I may be off NXT, but I intend to use this time to get even bigger and stronger and sculpt my 6’9″ body into a veritable work of art. I’ll be sure to post video of my training session, you can all see how hard I’m working for you, my loyal fans. Mark my words…I WILL be back and when I return, Vickie Guerrero, you better pack your bags and run for the hills. And Beth Phoenix, honey…I’ve got you in my sights as well. Every time you look in your rear view mirror, that’s me you see coming up behind you. And yes, I stole that line from Mad Men

Aloisia's mistake wasn't in posing for a shoot- it was in posing in a really bad shoot that did nothing to show her in an attractive way.

Michelle McCool defeated Diva’s Champion Melina thanks to some help from the other half of team LayCool, WWE Diva Layla to become the first Unified Divas Champion. The match took place September 19, 2010 during the WWE Night of Champions PPV event. Congratulations to Michelle, as she continues to rip through her competition and continues to prove that she is the top Diva in WWE!

Layla’s willingness to help Michelle McCool seems pretty foolish and shows a gullibility in Layla that’s going to lead to some hard life lessons. On Friday’s WWE Smackdown, Layla agreed to decide who would fight Melina at the PPV by drawing a name from a hat. Layla discovered after McCool won the draw that all the names in the hat were McCool: she rigged the vote. Layla resolved on Friday not to help McCool during the lumberjill match.

But, now WWE reports that this was all a ruse and Michelle McCool and Layla had this swerve planned for the Night of Champions.

We’re not so sure that Layla was in the know- we just think Layla was doing what friends do for freinds. The problem for Layla is, now that Michelle McCool has the title- is she really willing to share the belt with Layla? Knowing just how rutheless McCool can be- we’re betting this freindship is over as of next Smackdown.

What could really come out of this- something that would really show McCool’s heel nature- would be that Michelle dumps her BFF for the belt and treats her ex-freind like crap until Beth Phoenix returns. If McCool then turns back to Layla for help against the Glamazon, she will look like a total…heel.

There’s been a flurry of opinion pieces posted on the internet over the last week regarding WWE’s NXT Season 3. The buzz is around the WWE’s choice to build Season 3 around the WWE Divas. People are blogging that the “pros” have a lack experience to be taken seriously as pros. There is some suggestion that WWE has all but given up on NXT (as they struggle to find a new channel to broadcast NXT on) and this season is a throwaway. There has even been the suggestion that this is a hidden threat to the current Diva roster to shape up, or they will be replaced. Many, many marks say that NXT Season 3 is going to flop.

Not so, not so, I’m thinking! There’s plenty of opportunity here for the Divas to step up and shut up their biggest detractors.

We’ve blogged here before at womenswrestlingxposed that women’s wrestling needs to tap into ‘reality TV’ to build its storylines. Now, we said this in context to SHIMMER and other indie promotions, suggesting that a ‘reality TV’ format built around a former WWE Diva (such as Lisa Marie Varon) could succeed because the cost of production and the originality of the content would allow to the show to survive in a specialty niche. Women’s wrestling should be seen as heavenly content to cable providers because it’s cheap and should appeal to young male demographics.

WWE has a style that relies on drama and storytelling to bring the audiences into what happens in the ring. The biggest failure the WWE Divas have is that in being hired at the top based on looks and not skill, the Divas can’t be trusted with airtime to sell the WWE product. The Divas are in the big times without the skills to be anything more than eye candy. Not that the Divas aren’t trying, they’re stuck in a vicious circle. Let that be a lesson kids, earn your way to the top- don’t rely on superficiality to make your way and you won’t get caught like that.

The listed ‘pros’ are hardly on their own here. It’s safe to assume that other WWE Divas and stars are going to be involved as well. You can bank on the Glamazon, LayCool, Gail Kim, Eve, Jillian and Natalya making appearances. I personally would love to see Golddust interacting with the Divas (“May I smell your hair?”). We might even see a cameo with Trish Stratus sometime during the competition!

I like what Chris B from Bleacherreport.com said regarding the Divas:

“basically, WWE isn’t expecting Diva NXT to work. Even worse, they aren’t expecting anything from Diva NXT. This brings about the question, why should the Divas themselves care then?
|Well, I think they should care because if they bring in the ratings they’ll catch WWE’s attention. If the women can keep NXT’s ratings the same as before, or increase them, WWE might want to invest more in them. They might be able to flourish once more, and a new, better era of women’s wrestling in WWE can start. It’s a good chance for these girls to get over as well”

I agree also with Chris B other points, first one that the Diva’s sex appeal will bring in male viewers. And we cannot undervalue what time given to the Divas can do for the Divas. The Divas have the chance here to show their skills and actually try to get over with the crowd through promos. Finally, Chris points out that there is a large following of women wrestling fans online- although I’m not certain we make up 30% of the WWE’s fan base (Unless Chris is referring the 30% of fans who don’t go to the washroom at a live event when the Divas are wrestling?) I kid, as Chris has a point that if the online fans do their part to pump up NXT Season 3, we could have an impact on the ratings, absolutely.

The FCW’s smaller venue will also work well for the Divas. Women’s wrestling, in my opinion, simply works better with a smaller crowd. The TNA studio’s size actually works to the Knockouts advantage. One reason I think this is because there’s no way to take the sex appeal of women who are fit out of the equation- but distance from the ring is a hindrance for ogling fans. The other reason is that large venues work with characters that are larger than life and the average women wrestler weighs in at less than 120 pounds- the big venues just eat them up. What I’m trying to say is that women wrestlers are more engaging the closer you are to them and so smaller venues are better.

So fellow women wrestling fans, here’s our chance to stand up and be proud to be a fan of women who wrestle. The Divas have a chance here to shake things up in WWE and take a more active roll- provided they prove they can get over with the fans. Tell your friends to tune in and let’s give our favorite Diva ‘pros’- and the ‘rookies’- our support.

Botchedspot.com may be in hiatus until September 6, but they posted this hilarious comic regarding the Divas taking the driving seat of NXT Season 3. We haven’t seen much of Gail Kim for the last couple of weeks and considering the short shelf life of a WWE Diva, that makes us nervous. Then again, Gail was looking relaxed and happy in a recent interview with Arda Ocal at the Score charity golf tournament for testicular cancer, which you can check out by following this link, so we’re assuming all is well for Gail Kim.

Botchedspot.com did comment on the comic and Gail not being a part of NXT Season 3.

NXT Season 3 HAS to be a slap in the face for poor Gail Kim! While watching the pros and rookies get named for the third season of the show all I could think about was how depressed she must be! Kelly Kelly as a pro? Primo? The Bella twins? And I thought calling Zack Ryder a pro was pushing it! I understand the scripted nature of wrestling, but they’re really pushing my suspension of disbelief by telling me that the Bellas are going to be teaching anyone anything.

Overall I like the concept of an all-diva season, mostly because I’m curious about how they’re going to pull it off considering the divas on Raw and Smackdown already get so little time. I thought it was just going to be used as a format to build up Aloisia, but apparently Vickie Guerrero has just “fired” according to wwe.com, so who knows. Like most people, I hated the diva search segments that used to fill up Raw a few years back, but considering these rookies have a little more background and have a hour long show to fill, I’m interested to see what it’ll be like.

Check out the rest of the article and botchedspot.com by clicking here.

This is too good not to pass on…

“After I wound down with TNA, I took a nice long vacation with my family in California.

“I noticed that I am back on the WWE.com Alumni page. I had a long run with them, and it’s always nice to be recognized along side of some of wrestling’s all time greats. I heard that I’m supposedly talking to WWE about a return. There are a lot of things that I loved about working with WWE. But at this point, there are other things that I’m trying to do while I still have the opportunity. I think we all feel that Victoria ran her course at WWE.

“I also noticed that the wrestling websites picked up the fact that I had some money stolen while working at the Philly Comic-Con. I probably shouldn’t have posted that on my twitter account, but I was letting people know that I was staying around an extra day. It was actually the second time I was robbed in two weeks. Shortly before that, I had a set of $3000 wheels stolen off a car outside my house. Then I had the money stolen at the show. It wasn’t so much the lost money, but it doesn’t feel good to be the victim of a crime. But get this…about a week after I got back from the show, I get a call from the guys at Black Widow Customs. Apparantly a customer had come in asking how to get a set of wheels on his vehicle that weren’t made for his vehicle. The Wheel Tech went to his car to look at the wheel. Guess what ?! You got it…it was my wheel !!! The tech played it cool, took the wheel in the back, and found the markings that we put inside our wheels for just such an occasion. They then called the police, and “politely requested” that the customer wait for the police. He confessed to the police to taking the wheels. He was arrested, and I got my wheels back

“I will be going to the Bellator MMA show on Thursday Night. Don’t read too much into that. I’m going with my coach, who will be cornering the Main Event. But I do have a meeting with their matchmaker before the show. We’ll see what he has to say.

“After that I’m going to visit Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, and Sharmell in Texas for the weekend. Lookout Texas, it’s gonna be a girls night out.

“At Black Widow Customs we are currently building a vehicle that is unlike anything on the road today. I don’t want to overhype it, but we are very excited about it. I will put the first pics on my MySpace page.”

Lisa Marie Varon training for MMA

Congratulations go to sexy, smart, powerful Alicia Fox for capitalizing on the moment and stealing the Diva Championship away from now former Divas Champion Eve Torres! This is Alicia Fox’s first major championship in the WWE.

Alicia defeated Eve Torres, Maryse and Gail Kim in a fatal 4-Way this Sunday, by pinning Maryse after throwing Eve out of the ring.