This was a match that I can appreciate now that I’m older, and can see that Beth Phoenix’s and Kelly Kelly’s differences are what makes them such competitors.
In this retro Summerslam match we see Kelly Kelly come out first. She is accompanied to the ring by Eve Torres and see bubbly and confident as always. Michael Cole mentions that Eve is always coming to the ring with Kelly Kelly and that seems a little strange. As a viewer, that puts a red flag in my mind. Eve was one of the strongest competitors on the Divas roster at the time. Surely she wants an opportunity to get that title. Mmm… interesting. Anywho.
Beth comes out with Natalya looking as powerful and dominant as possible. I loved this run for both women. They were the self proclaimed Divas of destruction and were dismantling the Divas roster one bimbo at a time. Even though I wasn’t watching WWE on a regular basis at this time, I always tuned in for Natalya and Beth.
A video clip from two weeks prior on Raw when Beth attacks Kelly Kelly who was at ringside for her match with the Bella’s shows that Beth wants to take out Kelly Kelly. Who she sees as a blonde bimbo. So a Phoenix fan like me feels like I need to get my popcorn ready for this slaughter that I’m about to see.
As the bell rings, Kelly Kelly is smart to try to go for an immediate attack to the Glamazon. She’s trying to get a pin in quick but attempting some high flying moves.
But EVERYTIME, she tries to get a leg up, Beth literally knocks her down. Even hoisting her up in those muscled shoulders to drop the blonde bimbo flat on the mat.
After this Beth just goes to town showing her sheer power and making Kelly Kelly feel bad about coming into this match.
An impressive back breaker should’ve taken Kelly Kelly out, but she’s a tough cookie and maneuvers out of many of Beth’s moves. I think Eve worked with Kelly Kelly before this match but her offensive moves were quite impressive.
Kelly Kelly fires up and gets her second wind. Beth intercepts and tries to get the Glam Slam finisher in. However, Kelly Kelly rolls Beth up and gets a super quick pin to retain the title.
I enjoyed this match because it helped to keep Beth as a monster heel, but gave Kelly Kelly some great moments in the match to show what she learned. To justify having her as a champ. It's not a 20 minute banger that we are spoiled with now. However, as I look back at these matches from the Divas era now, women like Beth Phoenix would use those five minutes and create a full story with that time. Kelly Kelly and the Galamazon put on a great match in this flashback to Summerslam 2011.
Check out this Divas Era match that really holds up.