Only a few days remain until WWE presents the SLAMMY! Awards on Monday night special 3-hour RAW. In an effort to ease the debate within the WWE as to who should get the awards, I’ve decided to break down each announced category and their nominees. Each day I’ll be breaking down the pros and cons of delivering the coveted award to each nominee. Hopefully, by the end of each column, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect and why the winner of each category deserves it.
Today’s feature takes a look at the Diva of the Year nominees. Be sure to check back Friday for the Match of the Year, and then again on Saturday for the Superstar of the Year.
Diva of the Year
- Mickie James— Mickie has had a relatively quiet year this year, especially in comparison to years’ past. Her role on RAW has been one of filler content, evidenced through the first few months of this year. In the past, we’ve been used to seeing her at the forefront of the chase for the Women’s Championship. This year, it wasn’t until April that she captured her fourth Women’s Championship, this time from the Glamazon. She also successfully defended it a few weeks later when Beth Phoenix used her rematch clause, and then again throughout the summer: Judgment Day (Triple Threat with Melina and Beth Phoenix), and Night of Champions (Katie Lee Burchill). She finally dropped the title back to Beth Phoenix in a ‘Winner Take All’ tag team match at SummerSlam. Her most recent attempt to capture the gold on November 11 at RAW failed due to outside interference from Santino Marella.
– Mickie James should win because… she held the Women’s Championship for three months, the second most of any Diva in the WWE this year. She was also named the #4 Best Female Singles Wrestler by the PWI Female Top 50 for 2008.
– Mickie James should NOT win because… she’s become a bit of a slut over the past year. We’ve had to watch her meaningless PG-rated sex romps with the likes of John Cena and to an extent, Kofi Kingston. Perhaps she IS the new Trish Stratus; and of course, I only mean that in character. - Michelle McCool— Michelle is a classic version of “A Tale of Two Divas”. In January, she was involved in a culminating storyline involving kayfabe boyfriend and motorcycle bad-boy Chuck Palumbo and a squirmy, weasel-nosed Jamie Noble. As the story went, Noble continued pursuing Michelle, eventually setting up a bet where if Noble beat Palumbo for a third straight time, she would go on a date with him. Well, guess who won. Things turned bitter and Chuck turned his back on her. She continued on being seen with Noble until the 2008 draft when he was moved to RAW. Conversely, she has had a great second-half of the year. She was named Top Diva on SmackDown!, and later won the first ever Divas’ Championship after defeating a ferocious Natalya Neidhart at The Great American Bash in the finals of the tournament. She has retained the championship ever since.
– Michelle McCool should win because… she became the first ever Divas’ Champion in the history of the WWE. She has also proven that brains can translate into brawn through hard work and dedication. PWI also ranked her as the #9 Best Female Singles Wrestler in 2008.
– Michelle McCool should NOT win because… she’s been fed cupcake challengers to her Divas’ Championship ever since earning it. This is most likely due to real life heat between her and Natalya backstage, thus prompting WWE to protect their champion. - Kelly Kelly— Out of all of the nominees for the Diva of the Year, Kelly Kelly may be the only one who found their way to this nomination by default. She has not played an integral part of any storylines this year, other than the 2008 Draft (which was minor, if that). Her most revered memory of the year likely came on RAW when Mike Adamle commented to her that they needed to renegotiate her contract (although she was technically contracted to ECW), to which she replied “We have contracts??”
– Kelly Kelly should win because… she has improved leaps over bounds with her ability inside the ring. This one-time Barbie Doll has become a joy to watch each week as we are watching her grow as an entertainer and as an athlete. Kelly Kelly has become the most consistent supportive diva role and will always be found in diva tag team matches, or in their posses.
– Kelly Kelly should NOT win because… let’s face it. What has she really done this year? She hasn’t stood out and her matches are quite forgettable. She was named as the #32 Best Female Singles Wrestler by the PWI Female Top 50 for 2008. Yes, #32… can you even name 31 other current wrestling women? That’s what I thought. That’s not good for her! Let’s hope she uses this past year as a springboard into a more serious running for the Diva of the Year next year! - Beth Phoenix— Beth has truly been the most dominant diva since the days of Chyna, and perhaps of all time. Her combination of beauty and brains and muscles is enough to make many men cower before her, while still lusting for her body. She won her WrestleMania 24 match in which she and Melina defeated Ashley and Maria in a Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match. Two weeks later, she was defeated by Mickie James and lost her Women’s Championship. Although she was naked, in the sense of the title, her utter domination continued throughout the summer annihilating Melina in the first ever Divas’ “I Quit” match at One Night Stand. Soon thereafter, she dumped the serious face and began to play a more comedic role, defeating Santino Marella after he issued an open challenge to any WWE Superstar backstage. The hostile tension soon gave way to sexual tension and the fans of RAW began to see one of the most awkward, yet rewarding and comical, romances blossom before their eyes. The team of the Glamazon and Santino Marella looked to be unstoppable racking up a huge win in the “Winner Take All” match at SummerSlam. The match sent her dominance into full-circle mode, as she pinned the woman who stole her title months earlier: Mickie James
– Beth Phoenix should win because… she has been a permanent fixture on the minds of every RAW fan over the past 49 weeks. She has dominated in every facet of the word. Need evidence? Exhibit A: Sole survivor in the 10-diva elimination match at Survivor Series. Exhibit B: PWI voted her as the #2 Best Female Singles Wrestler of 2008, finishing only behind TNA’s Awesome Kong. Not only has she provided us with some great diva matches, but she’s shown that she can be a player in a major storyline with Santino. If there ever was a deserving Women’s Champion, it’d be Beth Phoenix. Hands down.
– Beth Phoenix should NOT win because… come on! Are you serious? Are you trying to get me in trouble? I’m not stupid enough to speak badly of her! I’m one of those men who cower before her but lu….. yeah, you know the rest. But if I were forced to say something negative about her, it’d be that she terribly botched that slam on Johnny Knoxville a couple months ago.
