1. Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOl1xVmf7fM In an attempt at reworking the somewhat underwhelming Sable-Tori "obsessed fan" feud, the WWE managed to create the greatest Divas feud of all time. By 2005, Trish Stratus was a veritably megastar in the WWE; named the "Diva of the Decade" and a multi-time Women's Champion, it seemed she had done it all and defeated everyone she had to face. Shortly after returning from an injury to help Ashley Massaro against the trio of "Vince's Devils" (Victoria, Torrie and Candice), Trish was defending her title against Victoria in a singles match. After beating Victoria, the jealous diva attacked Trish, only for a fan to seemingly run in and assault Victoria, saving Stratus. That fan would later introduce herself as Mickie James, Trish's "biggest fan". Mickie seemed to act as Trish's shadow over the coming weeks, becoming more and more obsessed with her as time went on - including sacrificing a match to allow Stratus to be victorious. It soon became clear that Mickie was in fact infatuated with Stratus, culminating in her forcibly kissing Stratus under a piece of mistletoe on a Christmas episode of RAW. The two would eventually be scheduled to face each other at New Year's Revolution for the title; Stratus would be victorious, but the defeat did not quell Mickie's obsession. When Trish informed Mickie that she needed "space", James seemed to take the decision well - until Trish had to draft Mickie in as a last minute tag team replacement for the injured Ashley at Saturday Night's Main Event. The duo won their tag match, but when Mickie's post match celebrations went too far, Stratus rebuked her friend...only for Mickie to finally snap, brutally assaulting Stratus. Mickie began playing mind games with Trish, even abducting Ashley at one stage, building up to a hotly anticipated match at Wrestlemania 22. The crowd at the event were perhaps the hottest ever for a Women's Championship match, as they turned on the face Trish and cheered for the psychotic Mickie, who seemed to feed off the reaction. The match featured some incredible spots, with the most memorable seeing Mickie counter the Stratusfaction by grabbing Trish's crotch and then obscenely lick her hand in "celebration". The ending to the match was unfortunately botched slightly, therefore ruining the overall feel of the match, but it still ranks as one of the best in the WWE's history, particularly for the psychology shown in-ring. The feud would continue briefly, but the Wrestlemania match was indeed the highlight. It was telling that Trish's last match on RAW before her retirement (ignoring her brief cameo appearances since) was against Mickie, the two celebrating afterwards, with Mickie taking up the mantle as the "face" of the Divas for the next few years. It was a true passing on the torch moment that had to be done to celebrate such a wonderful feud.
Chris Halpin
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22 year old Journalist/Producer, with far too much to do and spends far too little of his time actually doing any of it. You can find me on Twitter (@KatsJonouchi) or on my YouTube (katsinthebox)
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