Candice Michelle - Has Trish anything to fear?
Following
Candice’s recent promotion (20/2/2006) to number one contender for the
Women’s Championship after winning a Divas over the top battle royal,
I felt that it would make sense to try and determine just how much of a threat
Candice is to the current women’s champion. The answer may seem to be
a foregone conclusion, but there may be more to Candice than meets the eye.
We all know that Candice is better known for her smouldering photo shoots rather than her in-ring prowess. This is hardly surprising having come from a modelling background and entering the WWE off the back of the 2004 RAW Diva Search competition. Nowhere in the competition was it really suggested or anticipated that the winners or runners up would be expected to wrestle at any stage. Being able to valet and perhaps take part in an occasional gimmick match would suffice. But whether through her own genuine desire to learn or so as to endear herself a bit more to her current employers, Candice has certainly started making some noticeable inroads into becoming a wrestler.
Ashley, another RAW Diva Search contestant has shown a willingness to learn to wrestle and take bumps and is trying to have herself taken seriously as a wrestler. Torrie Wilson who although having been around for several years, has never really progressed in the ring is still on the scene and is of a comparable level. Candice obviously does not wish to become quite as pigeon-holed as the likes of Maria, and has thus attempted to bring herself to a standard comparable to Ashley and Torrie. We have never seen Ashley wrestle Trish properly, and Trish would certainly wipe the floor with Torrie, so the question still remains as to whether Candice, a person with a similar skill level to these two women, will fare any better.
Putting
things into context a little, there is no reason why theoretically Candice could
not be a reasonable contender for Trish's title. Candice has been with the company
for a year and a couple of months. In this time she has started to learn to
wrestle and has employed some technically impressive moves. Her hanging figure
four neck lock, although sometimes overused and unsupported by moves of similar
calibre, is just one example. Within Trish's first year of employment she had
utilised few remotely comparable moves, and really was quite poor in terms of
her wrestling skill. One year in and it can be said with some degree of confidence
that Candice has surpassed the quality of wrestling displayed by the current
women's champion in her formative years. This demonstrates that Candice is a
keen and competent learner with the potential to go far.
(Edit:
6/3/06: Candice's recent use of the Candy Stunner (Osaka Street Cutter) against
Torrie Wilson is an exciting development. Although not performed with the utmost
of urgency on this occasion, the move certainly has the potential to be a useful
and perhaps devastating finisher. Only time will tell as to whether Trish falls
foul of it.)
At last year's Wrestlemania, Trish took on Christy Hemme in what many considered to be a cringe-worthy bout. There were brief moments of acceptable cat-fighting, but as a whole the match was disappointing and it is little wonder that the WWE let the redhead go. With Trish rumoured to defend her belt for the second year in a row at Wrestlemania, the question must be asked, can we expect a match of a similarly poor standard and will Candice suffer the same fate as Christy if it is?
Despite Candice’s amazing body and her experience in gimmick matches such as lingerie contests and pillow fights, it is unlikely that this kind of contest will be taking place at Wrestlemania. With women’s wrestling in the WWE having taken some serious steps forward in the last few months, a match of this type at the biggest pay per view of the year would really undermine all that had gone before it. Therefore it is most likely that we will see what is at least billed as a proper wrestling match.
Candice has competed in relatively few true wrestling matches, but despite this her track record is remarkable. In one on one action against Mickie James she emerged victorious, albeit with the help of Victoria. When competing in Afghanistan, her and her partner Maria managed to get the win over Trish and Ashley. More recently Candice won a Divas over the top battle royal through jointly eliminating Torrie and Mickie. She has also competed in numerous tag matches with Victoria and Torrie, but these have hardly been landmark matches.
(Edit: 6/3/06: Her recent match against Trish, although short-lived showed definite signs of promise. To me, it certainly didn't feel like the usual kind of car crash TV that we can expect when Trish takes on a poorly skilled Diva. Candice was by no means amazing in-ring, but showed a definite amount of promise and a willingness to try some new moves.)
Her impressive victory record looks good on paper, but is not truly the result of pure wrestling skill. Candice can hold her own and put up a reasonable fight, but currently it would appear that she is by no means the best wrestler in the division. Whether she is better than Torrie or Ashley is a moot point. Torrie has been around longer and knows a few more moves, and Ashley is a lot keener on taking bumps. Thus there is no easy answer as to just how good she is. Candice has deployed the usual repertoire of slaps, kicks, knees and hair pulling with aplomb, but has also shown brief moments of greatness with the use of her hanging figure four neck lock.
It
would also appear that Candice has been hitting the gym more recently than she
has done in the past. I may have just been imagining things, but she certainly
looked a lot more toned when she turned against Torrie Wilson recently compared
to when she first graced our TV screens or even the way she looked at the end
of 2005.
In conclusion, if Candice hit the gym harder than she currently does and develops a burning desire to learn how to wrestle properly, she could become an exciting and challenging contender to Trish or any other Diva for that matter. As it stands, she could probably hold her own against the likes of Torrie or perhaps Ashley, but it would take a lot more experience and training before Candice became a real threat to Trish's title.