WWE SummerSlam 2011: 11 Things You Need to Know About K2 vs Beth Phoenix

At this month's WWE Summerslam PPV Kelly Kelly (or K2 as some fans like to call her) will take on 'The Glamazon' Beth Phoenix in what is shaping up to be the most grudge-fuelled WWE women's match in a long, long time. With this in mind, here are some fun facts wrestling fans might like to know about these two lady grapplers—as well as what importance the outcome of this match can hold for the future of the female division. 

Mainstream Success?

Kelly may be on her way to being the first diva to achieve genuine mainstream success since Trish Stratus. She had a cameo in the Timbaland video “Throw it on me” and also had a stint on "Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp" as a trainer.  She also managed to snag a spot on "Maxim’s Hot 100" list (the only WWE Diva to make the list).

Beth Making History

Beth is only the second women in WWE history to compete in the annual Royal Rumble match. The first was, of course, Chyna. Beth did not win, of course, but impressively managed to eliminate the giant Khali (granted, she had to use her feminine wiles distract him with a long, lingering kiss, but still, it was impressive nonetheless).  

The Most Interesting Women's Storyline in a While.

This program is already far superior to most women's feuds in WWE. WWE creative have actually put some effort into this one, unlike the dreadful Kelly vs Bella twins program, which started because Brie and Nikki decided Kelly was “too thin” and obviously “malnutured” (Huh?) in what was a rather bizarre attempt to get an anti-bullying message across. Eh, it didn't exactly take off and this storyline has—thankfully—been forgotten about. Prior to that, there was the half-hearted Laycool break-up and feud, which wasn't terribly interesting either. To their credit, Gail Kim and Melina were working on a real grudge feud ... on Superstars, which, like, five people watch. And then they both got released. With Beth and Kelly, the audience have been given a clear, coherent storyline that has been allowed a decent amount of time to develop and allow both women to shine. By current WWE standards, this is impressive.

A Woman Scorned!

Beth is determined to win. Seriously. This is not a woman to mess with. “Kelly, your days as the perky, cute, blond little bimbo are officially over!” she snarled into the mic after viciously destroying Kelly Kelly out of nowhere on Raw. This week, she dispatched former Divas Champion Eve Torres with little to no effort.  Beth wants her belt back, and if she gets to annihilate Kelly in the process? All the better.

Each Girl's History with the Title

Beth is aiming to win her forth women’s title. Her first title run came in 2007 at the No Mercy PPV when she beat Candice Michelle. She later lost it to Mickie James. Kelly, on the other hand, is still on her first run: she beat Brie Bella in an emotional match (she cried tears of joy afterwards) after fan voting awarded her a title shot on the June 20th Raw.

Punk Will Be Watching

CM Punk will have his eyes glued to the screen when match time come. He has strongly praised Beth's ability in the past, telling "GQ" magazine she is one of WWE's most under-used talents. I'm sure this has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact he's her real-life boyfriend, of course. Come to think of it, Punk has been the boyfriend of a fair amount of divas during his time in WWE, hasn't he? 

Barbie Blank

Kelly’s real name is actually Barbie Blank, which WWE refused to let her keep when she joined the main roster, apparently feeling it was too unrealistic of a name (um…and Kelly Kelly is?)

Experience and History

Kelly and Beth could not have more different backgrounds: Kelly was a bikini model when Johnny Ace signed her (and Alicia Fox) to developmental contracts in 2006. Kelly knew little of wrestling and was not a fan. Phoenix, on the other hand, was a wrestling fan from childhood and worked on the indie scene (including all-female promotion Shimmer) for years before getting a contract with WWE. This happened after Molly Holly (real name: Nora Greenwald) kindly passed a copy of some of Beth’s matches on to WWE talent scouts and recommended her for a spot.       

Nattie and Beth Teaming Up?

The Beth/Kelly storyline can find its parallel on Smackdown right now, if Nattie’s recent violent beatdown of newcomer A.J Lee after their match last week is anything to go by (personally, I think AJ deserved a beating for that atrocious theme music, if nothing else). Hmmm…I smell an alliance. Are Beth and Nattie a future heel tag team, perhaps? Maybe they will be a meaner, tougher version of Laycool.

Injuries That Beth Has Suffered

In 2006, shortly after her debut in angle with Mickie James, Beth suffered an extremely serious jaw injury in a match with Victoria (currently Tara in TNA) which kept her out for almost a year. Yikes. She also suffered a horribly torn ACL after a botched landing in a match with Rosa last year and was out for five months.

It Will Almost Certainly Be Better Than Kelly's Last PPV Match

Whatever the result at SummerSlam, Kelly and Beth would have to actively trying to be bad, in order to repeat the utter atrociousness that was Brie Bella vs Kelly at Money in the Bank last month. In that respect, they have very low standards to live up to for this match.