Tagged: Trish Stratus
The Maria Kanellis Initiative
A face that the WWE Divas could definitely do with right now. And a championship run?
Maria Kanellis was a WWE Diva that has been iced out of the division because of her long standing feud with the Bella Twins.
Maria was a diva unlike any other. She had an onscreen presence that you couldn’t quite place in the ‘super happy fun-time’ box yet wasn’t exactly ‘anti-diva’ either.
Maria had an onscreen romance with the Milan Miracle, Santino Marella and seemingly never really rose above that station – not that you’d be uncomfortable with that fact.
The best way to describe Maria having watched her interviews circa WWE and post WWE is that she genuinely enjoys what she’s doing as well as most importantly believing in what she is doing.
She has a particular spot in the hearts of moat fans as she was a contestant during the mostly awful diva search competition in 2006. She was eliminated but began working under the tutelage of the one and only Paul Heyman down in the (then) development grounds for WWE, Ohio Valley Wrestling.
On a technicality this would make her a Heyman girl.
Her work and ideas input lead her to a role on RAW as a ditzy backstage interviewer. Her quirk here was that she was playing the dumb blonde despite being brunette. This role continued and was a nice break from whatever action was going on.
Her breakout moment came a little further along in her role as an interviewer when WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley asked Maria during the trial of Eric Bischoff her view on the Raw GM. Her answer was designed to stun and did not disappoint when she replied:
“Last week Bischoff abused his power in a way that was both malicious and capricious, and it’s this rash of discourse that ultimately led to a locker room of disdain and mutiny, and it should be grounds for his immediate dismissal.”
It was one of those rare “say whaaat?!” Moments that would be a cornerstone in any Maria flashback VT.
From there she elevated into her wonderful relationship with santino.
It culminated in him wanting to cover her up as she landed a cover on playboy. He gave her an ultimatum that no woman (or man) could ever have any difficulty choosing between: it was him or international glory of the playboy cover.
Ultimately she chose the cover and ended her relationship with Marella.
It was rumoured that she was recently asked to come back to the WWE, which would have been a welcome sight most definitely. Alas it did not come to pass, with the main reason being touted as the return of the Bella Twins halted Maria’s ascension back. It is alleged the Bellas had a legitimate off-screen beef with Maria and thus squashed any return plans. Being that the Bella twins are dating the two top stars in the company, it may only be a allegation, but one that holds alot of weight, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Maria has however shown she is the bigger woman and is at least attempting to heal any old rifts that may lie between them, paving the way for a possible return, by apologizing via social media to the twins:
@nicoleandbri I’m sorry for anything that I have said that may have hurt you. I’d like for everyone to move past this. I wish you both well.
— Maria Kanellis (@MariaLKanellis) February 19, 2014
Could this be the beginning of the journey back?
Let’s hope so.
Big Daddy V
R.I.P Big Daddy V.
Nelson Frasier Jr., Also known as King Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V, has died feom a heart attack aged 43.
The varied career of the big man will be looked on by many writers in detailed depth but I’m choosing to focus on his Big Daddy V years as they’re arguably the most prolific.
This goes back to 2005 and his reintroduction to WWE Universe. Big Daddy V, or as he was known as at this point Viscera, exploded back onto the scene as hired muscle for the Texan Tycoon, JBL. His target at the time was The Undertaker.
Once this episode passed he once again hired as a part of the Trish vs Lita storyline involving Kane. Of course with their adversaries being married Big Vis took a swing at bat so to speak with Trish. Alas it was a swing and a miss and from there, The world’s largest love machine was coined.
He seemingly had a thing for the Universe’s smallest women as his next target was none other than Lilian Garcia. His in-ring style had changed along with his attitude and the ultimate non PG move was his finisher/Signature move: Visagra.
If you’ve never seen the…move in question it basically was dry humping his opponent’s back. Ultimately this move was more a humiliation tactic than anything else but the sheer fact the company was heading in a PG direction and this move was permitted was confusing.
Depending on his opponent, this move would cause a few laughs. Atrocious move aside, Big Vis was definitely a relic in terms of the really big big men of the WWE. He was big but in all honesty, cumbersome.
As he transitioned into the Big Daddy V phase of his career, his upper torso was a little exposed in his attire. Impressive tattoo work aside, it was difficult to watch him in the ring. There must’ve been some WWE PTB that felt the same as he was released in early 2008.
The fact that another of WWE’S big men has died of a heart attack at such a young age further highlights how much the WWE has changed in the past decade.
Nelson was an entertaining man in his Viscera days and even more so as tge jolly King Mabel. Will this lead to a post humorous induction into the WWE hall of fame next year? It’s a possibility to cover the obligatory African-American entrant.
Or given the time of year, he’ll be a shoe-in for the black history month VT collection.
With all due respect – Rest In Peace, Big V.
You Still Got It! 