WWE has announced that Paige and Alicia Fox will be joining the cast of Total Divas next season, which premieres Sunday, January 4th, 2015. WWE.com reports:
“When ‘Total Divas’ returns with all-new episodes on Jan. 4 at 10/9 CT, a new duo emerges to shake up the dynamics of the cast: WWE Divas Paige and Alicia Fox. Former WWE Divas Champion Paige is a raven-haired Diva who preaches a simple message: She wants to mix it up in the ring. She first began battling when she was 13, following her family of English wrestlers, and gained prominence inside the WWE’s NXT Division, as the first NXT Women’s Champion. Similarly, the stunning and lithesome Alicia Fox has proven herself to be far more ferocious and eccentric than anyone ever expected. The talented Ms. Fox has etched her name in WWE record books as the first African-American woman to win the Divas Championship. Together, the two ladies, along with friend WWE Diva Rosa Mendes, form a clique in the locker room that rivals The Bella Twins and WWE Diva Cameron, leaving Nattie stuck in the middle.”
The Total Divas Season 3 mid-season finale airs this Sunday, October 26th at 9/8 CT on E!
WWE announced a second match for this coming Monday’s edition of RAW. In a Divas tag-team match, AJ Lee will get to team with a partner of her choosing to take on Paige and Alicia Fox.
The Divas tag match joins the aforementioned handicap street fight announced for the show, which features John Cena and Dean Ambrose teaming up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
Also announced for Monday’s RAW, the Hell In A Cell cage will be hanging above the ring during the show, as revealed by Triple H in his latest WWE.com sit-down interview with Michael Cole.
The following are highlights of a new v2 Wrestling Podcast interview with TNA Knockout Gail Kim:
On whether she was comfortable seeing Dixie Carter go through a table: “Oh my God, yes, I felt very comfortable with it. I was so excited. Because, you know, if you wrestle this long, you’ve seen it all – not that you’ve seen it all – but it’s hard to maybe get surprised by something. And that was the first thing in a long time where I was saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.’ I think the fans were excited, I think we were all excited. I thought it was a great thing that happened.”
On whether the Knockouts belong in the main event: “I definitely think so. I think it shows that Impact Wrestling has confidence in their women, and I think that they should because we are just as passionate and we can deliver when the pressure is on. I can’t speak for the fans and I’ve only heard positive reactions in terms of us main eventing the show, but I think we have something different to offer that the other promotion doesn’t offer, and that’s a strong women’s division. I think we have all taken the ball and ran with it.”
On the WWE Divas: “I don’t get to watch a lot of wrestling because I’m on the road all the time, but I still have friends there. Alicia Fox has always been a really good friend of mine from the day that we started together there, and we kind of catch up every once in a while and I hear what’s going on in that world. To me, I don’t think they’ll ever give the girls the main event. I mean, they have in the past, but I just feel that it hasn’t happened as consistently for years with the way that women’s wrestling is portrayed there. Hey, I want to be wrong, but all I can do is really concentrate on my job and where our women’s division is going. I just want to make this a success and I want to give the fans an opportunity to see the girls on that platform, and I think it’s a great alternative.”
On possibly being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame: “I don’t think about those things, I always think about the now. I’m very honored that people even bring up my name. Without Impact Wrestling I wouldn’t have been able to create all those moments, so I just thank them that they gave me the platform to do what I do best. I hope [to be inducted] in the future and we’ll just come to that when the moment happens, if it happens.”
On the audition process for British Bootcamp 2: “We were there in terms of the first process. The first round is ‘show your personality’ – we kind of get to know each contestant and see what they’ve got. If you can entertain us and show us something, whether it’s presence or charisma, then you can move on to the next round and show us what you have in the ring. Sometimes we would ask them to show us a little bit of physicality in the ring. Certain people are known for their wrestling, so we wanted them to show us a little bit of their strengths. I think we picked the right ones; everybody can see on October 19th when the show premieres. I’ve been told that we picked the right ones, so we’ll just let the viewers decide.”
TMZ recently caught up with WWE Divas Cameron, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox and asked them about the subject of “wardrobe malfunctions.”
Cameron and Mendes both claimed to have experienced one. Mendes said “didn’t want to talk about her wardrobe malfunctions,” while Cameron admitted to having one at WrestleMania. (Photos of which you can see here).
This led to Mendes copping to hers. “[My] butt [was] shown on Main Event,” said the newest member of the Total Divas cast. (You can check out Rosa’s Main Event wardrobe malfunction here).
The trio was also asked why WWE Divas often date wrestlers, which led to Rosa saying, “We’re around each other so much, it’s kind of like, like we’re around each other more than our families, so we tend to see each other more, so that’s why it usually happens.”
Alicia Fox added, “I’m not looking for a wrestler, I’m looking for a cowboy.” Rosa said she’s looking for a “muscle man.”
The following matches were taped at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee prior to Monday’s post-Night Of Champions edition of RAW for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
WWE Superstars Spoilers (Air date: September 25, 2014)
– Naomi def. Alicia Fox in Divas action to open the show. Naomi picked up the win via submission when Fox tapped out after a few minutes in what was described as a decent little Divas match.
– Kofi Kingston def. Justin Gabriel in the main event of the show in what was said to be a pretty fun match with a lot of high-impact and fast-paced offense. In the end, Kingston nailed Gabriel with his “Trouble in Paradise” finisher for the 1-2-3.
With Total Divas season three beginning this Sunday, September 7th, WWE fans will notice the newest member of the group Rosa Mendes on the show. This was a surprising move by WWE to add Mendes out of all the divas on the roster. She is never on WWE programming. Even when she was on, Mendes was only there for her looks as a valet.
WWE fans will already notice that WWE is going to showcase Mendes a bit more since she has become part of the Total Divas show. She teamed with Natalya against Summer Rae and Layla on the September 1st edition of Main Event.
With all this said, here are three better options WWE could have chosen for the newest member of Total Divas.
Layla
Speaking of Summer Rae’s new best friend, Layla would be a very appropriate addition to the E! reality show. Layla has had a very successful career in WWE. She is a former Women’s and Diva’s champion. Her run with Michelle McCool as LayCool was one of the best storylines divas were having at that time. WWE is capitalizing on the success of LayCool by having Summer Rae join Layla in the 2014 version.
With Layla partnering with a current member of Total Divas already in Summer Rae, the choice to add her to the show is a logical one. WWE fans would see how the two work together backstage before they enter ringside together as partners.
Alicia Fox
Alicia Fox is a diva who has an on again off again relationship with WWE programming. She had a great run as Divas Champion in 2010, but since then has been used as a jobber until a few months ago. Fox took on the role of a crazy diva, similar to AJ Lee, and found herself as the number one contender to the divas title. While she didn’t win the gold, at least she was showcased more temporarily.
Because of this run as the number one contender, she would be a logical choice to join Total Divas in season three. It wouldn’t be so obvious that WWE was only giving Fox TV time because of the show like they are doing with Mendes. Plus, Fox can play the role of a babyface or heel so WWE would have options with her direction on the show.
Eden
Cody Rhodes, I mean Stardust’s real life wife Eden would be an excellent addition to third season of Total Divas. Like Summer Rae and Eva Marie, Eden would give fans the prospective of a newcomer. However, unlike the other newbies, Eden would give viewers a look into the development of an announcer rather than a wrestler.
Eden also makes a great addition to the cast due to her relationship with Rhodes. Clearly WWE loves when the divas have real life relationships with their superstars. Nattie and Tyson Kidd, The Bellas with John Cena and Daniel Bryan. Eden would add a nice combination of being a newcomer and having a relationship with a WWE superstar.
Who do you think should have been the newest member of Total Divas? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Seth Guttenplan is a math and computer technology teacher for special education students in New Jersey. In his free time, Seth writes about wrestling. Follow Seth on twitter @sethgutt
The following matches were taped prior to this Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Des Moines, Iowa for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
– Alicia Fox def. Emma in Divas action to open up the show. This was said to be your basic Divas match. Nothing special.
– Sin Cara def. Justin Gabriel in the main event of the show. This match was supposedly pretty good, with Sin Cara and Gabriel hitting a lot of high-spots.
– There is a strong advance for tomorrow’s WWE RAW in Anaheim, California. The arena is set up to hold 12,000 people and it is believed that the show will ultimately sell out. If not, it will likely come close, as Anaheim is considered a good “walk-up market,” which means a lot of tickets will be sold right before the show begins.
– WWE’s catering crew chief, Jen Hagopian recently spoke to FirstWeFeast.com about the company’s “bizarre world of catering” and revealed the favorite snacks of many of WWE’s top Superstars. Hagopian noted that The Undertaker likes Diet Dr. Pepper, John Cena likes diet orange soda, Dean Ambrose enjoys Oats -n- Honey granola bars and Alicia Fox likes almond butter and cocoa powder.
The following matches were taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars prior to WWE RAW on Monday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.
– El Torito & La Bacca (aka Hornswoggle) def. Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil in the opening tag-team bout for this week’s show. This was said to be mostly a comedy match.
– Emma def. Alicia Fox in Divas competition to close out this week’s show. This was said to be your basic Divas type of match, nothing special.
The following matches were taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars prior to Monday’s RAW in Portland, Oregon.
– Emma def. Alicia Fox in Divas action to open the show. Apparently Emma botched a spot during the match bad enough that the crowd laughed at her. In the end, Emma picked up the win after hitting Fox with her finisher.
– Adam Rose def. Fandango in the main event of the show. There was said to be a lot of comedy spots throughout the match, which Rose won in the end.
Tonight’s episode of Raw took place in Montreal, Canada and featured a total of eleven matches, including a first ever one-on-one meeting between the WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena and Money in the Bank briefcase holder Seth Rollins.
Canadian icon and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart graced the WWE Universe with his presence and cut a promo. Of course, he brought up the Montreal Screw Job, but it was a nice moment. Also, WWE continued to promote current on-going storylines leading up to Battleground.
Last week’s episode of Raw was one of the best and most exciting in recent history. Did this edition live up to last week’s high standards? Without further ado, here are highlights, lowlights and my random thoughts on the 7/7/2014 edition of Monday Night Raw:
BEST MATCH: The opening bout between the Usos and the Wyatt Family was the best match of the night. There were two other matches that could have stolen the show, but they failed to do so for a couple of reasons. First, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose gave it their best effort, but it was clear to see that the two didn’t have very much chemistry, at least when it comes to singles action. Also, the Dean Ambrose botch wasn’t a crowd-pleasing moment.
Chris Jericho vs. the Miz could have been special, but the match didn’t last as long as I hoped. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins had the most promise, but they weren’t given enough time to do anything memorable and the obvious interference by Kane and Randy Orton ruined the match for me.
What was your favorite match of the night?
WORST MATCH: AJ Lee/Paige vs. Naomi/Cameron was the worst match of the night. Aside from the main event and the tag team match between the Usos and the Wyatt Family, there weren’t any real standout matches. However, this bout stood out for all the wrong reasons and it was a poor showing amongst the four Divas involved. Bo Dallas vs. El Torito was a close second for the worst match of the night award because at least the crowd was somewhat into it.
The worst segment of the night was the Nikki Bella/Alicia Fox disaster, but I don’t think there was an opening bell and nobody was declared the winner. Therefore, Idon’t consider this to be a match; otherwise, it would have won the award.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: Kofi Kingston defeating Cesaro was the upset of the night. I know that Kofi defeated Cesaro last week on Raw, but I didn’t expect him to do it again and I don’t think the fans/crowd did either. I see Cesaro winning the Intercontinental Title at Battleground and Kingston falling into obscurity once again, but at least Kofi is living in the moment now.
To quote the great Mike Adamle, Kofi be Jamaican me crazy.
MOST SHOCKING MOMENT: I expected Randy Orton to defeat Dean Ambrose in their match tonight, but I was anticipating Seth Rollins to screw Ambrose over, resulting in Ambrose losing cleanly. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Ambrose has been really hot as of late and Rollins costing him the match would have protected Ambrose a bit more. Also, it would have spiced things up and furthered the Ambrose/Rollins feud.
– WWE has added the debut edition of “@WWEInsider” to their official YouTube channel. The official description for the show, which you can view below, reads as follows:
What is Natalya stockpiling in her home? Host Alicia Fox dishes on the Diva’s secret obsession in this episode of @WWEInsider, a new original digital series that digs deep into the private lives of Superstars and Divas. Tweet us: @wweinsider
MMANEWS.COM: Top UFC Fighter Talks CM Punk/WWE Situation, Ronda Rousey At SSlam?!
The following are results of the matches taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars, which took place prior to WWE RAW on Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio.
– Nikki Bella def. Alicia Fox in a Divas match to open the show. After the loss, Fox did another one of her trademark “meltdowns.”
– Rob Van Dam def. Jack Swagger in the main event of the show.
– In light of WWE’s ongoing financial troubles and the company’s efforts to make the WWE Network profitable, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrios recently stated that we might see advertisements on the Network soon.
According to industry sources, ads could begin popping up on the WWE Network as early as the first quarter of 2015. As previously reported, there has also been some discussion about increasing the monthly subscription cost to bring in additional revenue.
– The ringside timekeeper who got a ‘wedgie’ from Alicia Fox last night on RAW was Berkley Ottman, son of former WWE Superstar Fred “Tugboat/Typhoon” Ottman.
– Renee Young got ribbed backstage at Monday’s WWE RAW from Knoxville, Tennessee. During a backstage interview with Evolution that aired after RAW on the WWE Network, Triple H told her that The Shield should not bring a pen to a sledgehammer fight. Randy Orton said that they’ve already proved they are the superior faction and Batista joked that they should sue if The Shield doesn’t show up for their fight on Sunday.
As they were wrapping up the interview, Triple H asked Renee why she wasn’t wearing any shoes. She responded, “I don’t really have an answer…” The camera then panned down to show Renee Young standing there barefoot as she stood there looking flustered.
– Here are this week’s RAW Fallout videos:
Alicia Fox speaks about her match with Emma on Raw.
Adam Rose and his Rosebuds get the party started to celebrate his debut victory on Raw.
Currently there are three matches officially announced for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st in Chicago, Illinois. Those matches are The Shield vs. Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination match, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match and Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Other matches likely for WWE Payback include The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag-Team Championships, Paige vs. Alicia Fox for the WWE Divas Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship, Adam Rose vs. Jack Swagger, Rusev vs. Big E. and Summer Rae vs. Layla with Fandango as special guest referee.
As far as the No Holds Barred Elimination main event, a possible scenario being considered is one that would see Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins eliminated early, leaving Roman Reigns to make a huge comeback on all three Evolution members by himself.
The match will be Batista’s final match in WWE for several months, and based on plans for the future, could be one of Triple H’s last for a while as well.
Alicia Fox reportedly worked as a baby face in her match against Aksana at the WWE live event earlier today in Rome, Italy.
Speaking of Divas on the WWE European tour, The Bella Twins are scheduled to start appearing at the live events overseas, and are only arriving late because they were sent by WWE to attend the NBCUniversal up-fronts in New York City earlier today.
– Batista has recently been added to the official advertising for Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in London, England.
– The story line coming out of Alicia Fox’s “meltdown” on this week’s WWE Main Event is that ring announcer Tony Chimel “suffered a concussion” after she slapped him.
– Below is a preview clip for this Sunday’s edition of WWE Total Divas:
– The Jim Ross “RINGSIDE” show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 9th drew approximately 750 fans.
– The May 12th edition of WWE RAW in Greensboro, South Carolina drew approximately 6,700 fans. The May 13th edition of WWE SmackDown in Greensboro, North Carolina drew approximately 6,000 fans.
– The following is a video of Alicia Fox’s recent “meltdown,” courtesy of the official WWE YouTube channel.
The following are highlights of a new website Q&A update by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On the booking of The Wyatt Family and WWE turning heels into faces: “I don’t know the intention as I don’t understand the positioning or the meaning of much of today’s creative in a variety of promotions.”
On if he’ll ever retire: “I plan on retiring the same day that I’m buried.”
On multiple false-finishes in main event matches: “It’s a sensationalistic short cut and was impressive the first time that I saw it but not any more.”
On CM Punk and the way WWE has been handling that situation: “My take is that Punk should do whatever makes him happy. If he’s done with wrestling, he had a magnificent career. I respect his decision but WWE is stupid if they attempt to erase his legacy….and WWE isn’t stupid.”
On Alicia Fox: “I have no way of knowing. Alicia had one stellar night this past week on RAW and now we will wait and see if she can replicate the same on a regular basis.”
On the state of WWE’s Divas division: “WWE’s diva division is seemingly improving. Alicia Fox stole the divas show on Monday.”
Check out more of JR’s Q&A at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
In his latest blog at JRsBarBQ.com, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross wrote:
“Really loved Alicia Fox’ performance on RAW as her post match antics were eye opening and showed just how marketable the lovely young woman can be if she is cast properly and she raises her game as she did tonight. Minutes Maximized.”
Since announcing to Stephanie McMahon that she is “quitting” – Alicia Fox spoke to Tom Phillips on the WWE App and denies she had a meltdown. She says she had a “moment” but is not a quitter. She added that her “milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.”
The following are results of the matches taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars. The matches were taped on Monday night in Albany, New York prior to the start of WWE RAW.
– The Usos def. 3MB in a non-title match. Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal represented 3MB in this one. The finish saw The Usos hit their top-rope splash for the 1-2-3.
– Paige def. Alicia Fox in a non-title match. The Divas champ picked up the win via her Scorpion Cross-Lock submission finisher.
The following are results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which aired live on the WWE Network on Tuesday, April 29, 2014.
– Goldust def. Alberto Del Rio in a singles bout to open the show. The match saw a lot of back-and-forth action until Goldust counters Del Rio’s superkick attempt and blasts him with his Final Cut finisher for the 1-2-3 and the victory.
– After Goldust picks up the victory, Cody Rhodes comes in and congratulates him. Renee Young enters the ring and interviews both guys. She asks if their recent singles matches means they are going their separate ways. Goldust says that the Brotherhood is still together. He says they may work singles matches from time-to-time, but ultimately they have each others backs. Young asks Rhodes if he is proud of his brother. He seems offended at the question and asks if she thinks Goldust is better than him because he won tonight and Cody lost on RAW. Eventually he apologizes and reiterates the fact that the Brotherhood is together and says things will stay that way. The two hug and that’s that.
– Paige def. Alicia Fox in Divas action to retain her WWE Divas Championship. The match went back-and-forth, with Paige taking a lot of punishment before ultimately hitting Fox with a big DDT to score the pin fall victory. After the match, as Paige was walking up the ramp, Tamina Snuka comes out to the top of the stage and the two have a staredown.
– Backstage, Renee Young is with Sheamus. She asks Sheamus for his level of concern knowing he has to face Bray Wyatt in the main event tonight. Sheamus talks briefly about how he’s not afraid and informs Wyatt that tonight — it’s time to fight.
– Bad News Barrett def. Kofi Kingston in singles competition. Barrett cuts a promo before the match dressing down Big E., informing him that he’s going to take his WWE Intercontinental Championship this Sunday at Extreme Rules. The two have a solid back-and-forth match that ends when Kingston leaps in the air off of the ringside steps, but gets caught on the way down with the Bull Hammer Elbow from Barrett. Barrett rolls Kingston back in the ring and covers him. 1-2-3. Barrett wins.
– Bray Wyatt def. Sheamus in the headline bout of this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. Bray Wyatt sings along with the crowd, singing of course, “he’s got the whole world in his hands.” He sings along with them until Sheamus’ music hits to interupt him. The two end up having an extremely competitive match that sees Erick Rowan and Luke Harper distract Sheamus at the end, allowing Wyatt to hit him with his Sister Abigail finisher for the 1-2-3.
– After the main event ends, Rowan and Harper join Wyatt in a three-on-one beatdown of Sheamus until The Usos come out to make the save. The show goes off the air with all six guys staring each other down.
Apparently WWE is booking Divas Champion Paige is a very specific way, with a design behind it. The feeling is she needs to connect with the WWE audience before competing in high-profile matches with top talent.
WWE is having Paige work with lower-level heels, such as Aksana and Alicia Fox, as a way to allow the fans to get to know her and have a reason to get behind her, before she advances into bigger matches, such as the one coming up with Tamina Snuka at Extreme Rules.