Dear typical man that is Michael Cole

Alright, ENOUGH already with the interrupting of a women's match by Michael Cole. He has cemented his character as a total douche bag, there's no reason to continue to disrespect the women's division by screaming over their matches, calling for it to be over already. This storyline is just bad. So unless it is leading up to all of the Divas kicking his little midget ass,  it needs to end.

Honestly, I get why they're doing it, but it's just in bad taste. Because the company is already known for not giving their female wrestlers much respect, and this just brings it to light. They should be trying to get away from that image, to compete with what TNA is doing.

Speaking of which - there were TWO women's matches on RAW last night...ok, one was an intergender match - but it still counts! There were women in the ring fighting, twice. Maybe us females out here, who complain on blogs about female wrestlers are getting some notice? Probably not, but I can dream.

Seeing Trish come out made my night. She got some slow mo entrance action with John Morrison, and the one on one between he and Dolph Ziggler soon became an intergender match when, of course, LayCool and Vickie wanted to butt in. The only problem was it was four on two, so we all know how that ended.

Dear Angelina and Winter

So I finally pushed myself (I hate spending money on myself) to buy my running sneakers and my Jillian Michaels dumbbell set today - through amazon of course! I saved $30 on shipping and everything should come in about a week. Not to let anyone down, I've still been working out with my little weights here on my yoga mat. Once the sneakers arrive (I somehow lost ONE sneaker in the move to our new home, so haven't been able to go jogging) I'll soon be heading outside in our new spring weather. 

Next on the list is to see if I can find Vega shakes anywhere around here. A vegetarian fitness expert who found me on twitter recommended the instant powder mix to me, since it doesn't carry animal products in it. I have a feeling Whole Foods might have it...

Earlier I was watching some TNA matches with Winter in the mix, so for fun, here's a match for you!

Dear TNA's Winter

I'm really digging your vibe Winter, I like the mystery and oddness...The fact that you came to the ring blindfolded with black lace was pretty damn cool. And the spinning sideslam backbreaker that you finished your opponent off with was gorgeous. So my new fave to watch.

I liked the mix tag action this past week on Impact. I missed Smackdown, but I usually don't miss out on much when I do. So I don't feel so bad.

Today it's beautiful outside. I wish I had bought myself new sneakers to go jogging in. I've got to force myself to do that this week. Instead I'm gonna go work on my arms, and attempt some manly pushups. So just a short blog today, it's just too nice out.

Dear 3/14/11's Raw

All week I was excited for Monday night Raw, knowing that Trish Stratus was returning for a match against Vickie Guerrero. And knowing this was her opponent, obviously the match wasn't going to be spectacular. But nonetheless I was dying to see Trish in the ring again. The feuds between her and Lita were what got me watching women's wrestling to begin with, so as far as I'm concerned, she pioneered the way for me.

So there was some silliness, Vickie doing an en garde with her sneaker, Snooki sitting at ringside. It was all pretty ridiculous. But LayCool emerged from the back to make it a battle, and we got to see some moves  there. Good news came at the end when LayCool were apart of a challenge to Trish and Snooki for a Wrestlemania match. Trish + Wrestlemania = ppv money well spent in my eyes.

And did I mention that Layla has been looking really good lately? Well she is. I wish they'd expand her character and let her actually - you know - be good at being a wrestler.

This week I'm looking at getting a punching bag - or maybe even Bob. You know the creepy looking rubber dude that you get to wail on? I told my fiance if I do end up buying him, that I'm making him wear a shirt, because his peachy rubber muscles look creepy. I'll keep you updated on what I decide on getting.

Dear TNA Redemption

I decided to give you another chance TNA. After all, it isn't fair to shape an entire opinion on something after only one experience with it. If that were the case, New Jersey would have wiped out strip clubs for me indefinitely. Just awful. So I tuned in Thursday night with fingers crossed and decided my second time around that there are some pros with the cons. So good for you guys!

The Pros:

• The women had two matches on TV Thursday night. Two. I would kill to see that in the WWE.
• The characters and dialogue are more natural, like if you were to hang out with them for a night this is probably how they'd really be - minus the boob punching.
• I like that the responses are plausible, i.e Mickie James staring down Madison and actually looking tough and angry, getting her to back off, as opposed to, lets says, Layla in the WWE talking trash and then running to the ropes for saving by Michelle McCool and her broken foot.
• It seems to me that uniqueness is allowed in TNA. The odd or even just crazy characters seem to be allowed to play out their mannerisms instead of conforming to a predictable script. Making me more interested in who these women are.

The Cons:

• It seemed like a lot more scrabbling than professional moves within these matches. Maybe not a fair  assessment of the division as a whole, since I only saw 2 weeks worth of matches so far.
• Cheap pops for sex appeal ran rampant, with Angelina & Velvet especially, as they shook their asses right into the camera while Taz on commentary yelled "release the pigeons!" WTF does that mean? I guess if WWE's "puppies" means "tits" then TNA's "release the pigeons!" is code for "show us your anus!" I'm all for sexy women - but not to the point of degrading themselves to anus level. 

But I will concede and say that the matches were at least refreshing. TNA, I'll keep watching. You got me.

*Note : nothing special to report about Smackdown last night. That is all.

Dear WWE Superstars, why a Chicago station?

After a little afternoon workout today I came upstairs into my loft (which is a bit of a workout in and of itself, climbing to the third floor by way of spiral staircases) and took a break on the computer. I stumbled across WWE Superstars on Hulu. I had never watched the show, and found the reason why is that the channel (WGN america) doesn't air here in Philadelphia on Comcast. Of course.

I hate you Comcast, because I would like to watch this show. The girls actually get to wrestle!  I watched a match  between Natalya and Alicia Fox - and was not only impressed with how they played off of each other - but how they were actually allowed a ton of ring time.

Now on RAW and Smackdown as we all know, it's a miracle to get a solid match from the womens division anymore. But at least on the episode I watched, Natalya got to show off what all of her training in the Hart Dungeon produced and Alicia Fox can actually sell pretty damn well. Natalya did botch a move at the end by slamming Alicia down onto her side, (maybe it was Alicia's fault for not holding herself up correctly, not sure) but the majority of the match was very solid.

Maybe there's hope after all *tear* ... if WGN america wants to get on the ball and get over onto Comcast. Get to it strange station I never heard of until now!

Dear men who forgot what month it is

Shocker - the men made a mockery of the women's match this week on Raw - during Women's History Month. Not only did the show's commentator, Michael Cole, get to jump up on the mic and proclaim to the audience that the match that was in progress between Eve and one of the Bellas needed to be over already, that no one there cared or wanted to see the women wrestling, but some of the fat, redneck morons in the front row actually began to clap for this chauvinistic display.

I get it, it's apart of the story, apart of making Michael Cole a huge douche bag - but some writer actually sat there and decided it was appropriate to throw these women under the bus to make it happen. While they're already having a tough time with the men hecklers in the audience who couldn't care less about the women's division, they now have to deal with their own company treating their match with no dignity or respect.

And it's a real shame, because the match actually had some good momentum going before they decided to use it as fodder. We finally had the Bellas caught in their switcheroo trick, and the Bella that was getting schooled by Eve had no option but to take her finishing moves. I give them credit for dealing with the distraction of a man yelling the opinion of all the macho idiots in the arena who only care about seeing tits, rather than talent, I do. But it was like watching two little girls at a pool party pleading "look at us" as they cannonball off of a diving board, only to come back up and be told by their father that he didn't watch it - oh, and that he also pissed in the water.

But I digress, and report that my muscles are feeling nice and sore after my yoga workout last night. Did my light weights today and some easy leg exercises to just take it easy. I've also been ebaying it up, which I love to do, for some WWE women's wrestling merch. I wanted to decorate a little workout area here with it, just as some fun inspiration. I'm looking to get the Natalya action figure which is apparently rare with only one being in every case, so I cant order one until the end of the month. There are also some neat cards that have pieces of the event used mats in them that the various women wrestled on. I'll decide on some things soon, and will post the pics of the space I eventually create.

Beyond searching ebay, I happened upon the WWE website's Women's history dedication. So for those of you who aren't the type to heckle women out of a ring, they do at least have a section up on their site for us, so check it out here.

Dear Jillian Michaels

So I'm dying to try out your adjustable dumbbell set Jillian Michaels, unfortunately I can't find it anywhere. And your site wants to charge me ON TOP of shipping, an extra $20 to deliver it to my door? No thanks. 

I tried amazon, but the set is sold out, they only have a single for the same price of getting the pair when it's on sale. Again, no thanks. So I'm stuck here with my measly 3 pound weights again, until either the Michaels set comes in, or I find another set I like.

I was excited to buy my weights, since my income tax check came in, and I could actually splurge on something, but I guess for this week I'll do the Jillian Michaels Yoga workout. This isn't your typical yoga now, it's Yoga MELTDOWN. And yes, she will make your body feel like it's going to melt into a puddle by the end. I did it a few months back for a while, but now that I'm sticking to this getting into top physical shape thing, I think I'll go back to it - and try not to cry.

I also love the fact that Trish Stratus will be like a yoga drill sergeant on WWE's Tough Enough show, which I cant wait for! She looks great. Definitely something to aim for.

Dear TNA's "creative" writing team

I cannot begin to express the disappointment I felt when tuning in to TNA this past Thursday to catch the Knockouts match, instead finding a mixture of The Jersey Shore and an anorexic porn star as the segment's focal points. Sad. This is not what I expected to find, considering how highly many spoke of the women wrestlers in this league.

When I think of the women I look up to, and the look I hope to achieve through my own training, I DO NOT think of this:

Thankfully my week of following the ladies did not end on a sour note, Smackdown gave the women a little bit more time to show everybody what they got, (but just a little) with Beth Phoenix and Rosa vs. LayCool.

And as much as people want to hate on the WWE, and how polished it is, at least the women aren't so polished that all credibility in their talent is scrubbed away. To do what these girls do, I know they have to train hard, to take the bumps and to pull off the maneuvers they can achieve with their bodies. I will hold out hope that the WWE will follow in TNA's footsteps in one aspect though, and give these women the time in the ring they need, to be able to prove that they can either play in the big leagues, or that they need to join botox bimbo over in the Knockouts. That's right, I said it. Angel Williams looks like a blow up doll.

Dear TNA Knockouts

Today I chatted a bit on a forum in between my workouts for TNA wrestling fans (Total Nonstop Action) just asking around for people's opinions on how the Knockouts differ from the Divas. These are the names given to the female wrestlers within the different companies. I found that most everyone (except for one poster who warned me against watching TNA because it would "have a negative impact on my mental faculties") recommended that I switch over to the dark side and start watching their womens matches. Unlike in the WWE, where the women are so overshadowed that they often run through a match like a jog in the park, in TNA women are given more time in the ring, and not only that, they are even given main event matches - unheard of in the WWE.

One poster was nice enough to give me the link to the following main event match - a steel cage match between Mickie James and Tara, two TNA Knockouts. Needless to say, I was impressed. Looks like I'll be watching you ladies from now on on Thursday nights. And next week when I get my dumbbell set, I'll push it extra hard in your honor.