Second Contender in Divas' Tournament: The opening match was a Divas' Championship First-Round Tournament Match to determine the new Divas' Champion. It was reported this past Monday that Melina was injured at a WWE Live Event, which means she would be unable to compete, thus, the title has been vacated. Sadly, Melina was brought over on RAW solely to be the champion and enter a feud with the returning Maryse, but those plans have changed. Maryse, as expected, has already advanced in the tournament this past Monday Night after pinning the Bella Twins. This match was Gail Kim, a former Women's Champion, vs. Jillian Hall a recent Divas' Champion in her own right. Much like the first Divas' contest, this match up was less than desirable. Gail Kim, just coming off of an amazing run in TNA, returned to the WWE. She may have gotten a bigger paycheck, but she definitely did not gain better competition. Jillian Hall, possibly one of the worst excuses of a wrestler, slowed down the pace of the match. Jillian's gimmick is too cartoony and thus has impaired her wrestling craft. Jillian took to long to go into a cover, and, when she did, had her leg under the rope. No limb of any of the wrestlers can be underneath the rope during a cover, those are the rules. Jillian obviously has no understanding of her surroundings while in the ring, and fails to quickly execute her maneuvers. Her wrestling is choppy to say the least, and to give her a title win over Mickie James only to lose it five seconds later to Melina has become a footnote in the annals of the WWE. Gail Kim picked up the win, maybe she can become the top face of the RAW Divas' division.Money Trumps Pecks. The following was Ted DiBiase Jr. against "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters w/ Eve Torres. The match was clearly a testament to the evolution of Ted DiBiase. Chris Masters may have a sculpted body, but DiBiase has amazing ring awareness, because each time Chris Masters attempted the Master lock, DiBiase would get himself to the ropes to break the hold. Despite there being some issues within Legacy, Ted DiBiase is looking more and more like a guy that can inch his way to the main event scene thanks to the guidance of Randy Orton. Chris Masters, on the other hand, is doing well for himself... a babyface turn... dancing peck routine... and Eve Torres. However, he has been losing more matches than winning. Chris Masters, incorporating the dancing pecks, tries to intimidate his opponents, but personally, the routine seems out of place. And a sighting of old school was seen in this match... no, not Undertaker's tight rope trick... DiBiase attempted to lock in his father's finisher The Million Dollar Dream, while Masters executed Hogan's Guillotine Leg Drop. Ted DiBiase picked up the win after forcing out of the Master lock and striking with Dream Street.
ECW Match. The following match was Caylen Croft w/ Trent Barreta against Yoshi Tatsu w/ Goldust. The friendship between Tatsu and Dust is merely linguistical... Tatsu learns English while Dust learns Japanese. Croft, recently coming over to ECW, did well in his first singles match. Yoshi attempted a hurricanrana but fell flat because Croft retained a strong grip while on the turnbuckle. Still not to impressed with Croft and Barreta, but at least their entrance song has changed to a generic rock theme rather than that circus one. Yoshi picked up the win with his Roundhouse Kick.
Shillelagh Tops Beard. The main event was Finlay versus Mike Knox. The match was nothing special from all their previous encounters. Knox and Finlay have a set fighting style which is to punch, kick, and claw their way to the finish. Honestly, this should not have been the main event... the DiBiase-Masters match expressed wrestling a lot better than this. Fit Finlay is a 51 year old man who, despite a short run as the United States Champion years back, WWE has no interest in ever putting another title around his waste. Heck, after the aborted McMahon's illegitament child story line, Finlay was forced to change his gimmick after being relevealed that it was his son. Finlay's entrance music started out "My Name is Finlay, and I love to fight." Not anymore... Finlay has fallen far from the reservation and does not look too intimidating. Mike Knox cannot be taken seriously either because, despite having a new gimmick, he doesn't win any matches. He went through a trilogy of matches with Kane and lost all of them. This match up is considered below mid-card in my standards. Mike Knox attempted to cheat after removing the protective padding on the turnbuckle, and dropped it in the middle of the ring. The referee sees the padding and does not look to even attempt to fasten it back on... he just tosses it out. Well, Finlay only needed a second to strike with his shillelagh and he picked up the win. That's another thing, Finlay matches usually end with a shillelagh strike, when has he ever won a fair match? Wrestlers tend to watch videos of the competition and themselves in order to better themselves... but what about the referees? Shouldn't they catch on and think, 'Hey, we shouldn't let Finlay bring that shillelagh anymore. Heck, what do I know?
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