Hola Knockout fans and welcome to this week’s Impact Write-Up. After demanding a shot at the Knockouts title last week, Gail Kim begins her awaited journey of defeating every Knockout standing in her way. Though Madison Rayne was the first Knockout to strike Gail with a blind attack, can the Queen Bee go on to defeat Gail in a match and collect Maria Kanellis’ proposed reward? Let’s find out.
We first find Madison collecting her thoughts when the ever-so high pitched Allie walks in from behind to formally introduce her boss- though Maria can live without the prologue. No need to be so modest Maria!
Maria tells Madison that she was impressed by her and thanks Madison for “stepping up” to the plate. Madison backtracks a bit to correctly set the record straight; her actions were done so that the she can be back in the spotlight. After all, since Maria’s debut to TNA, the Queen Bee has been sidelined in favor of Maria’s “beast of a champion” and “chipmunk of an assistance” can be star players. Oh, how I have missed the edgy Heel promos from Madison!
On to the Knockouts of the evening:
Madison offers Gail a friendly handshake before any real action can take place but Gail, naturally, declines after being attacked from behind last week. The Knockouts fight for control early on, striking one another with forearms and trying to get the win through assorted pin covers.
Madison gains a bit of control of the match after halting a running Gail with a knee shot to the midsection and following up with a snap suplex. Madison goes for the cover but Gail kicks out, causing Madison to nearly bump to senior referee Earl Hebner. Poor Earl really needs to watch some of his spotting sometimes.
Gail begins to fight back, delivering a back elbow shot to Madison after countering an Irish whip to a turnbuckle. She climbs to the second rope, hoping to connect a reverse crossbody but Madison dodges out the way and responds with an enziguri. Madison goes for another cover to which Gail manages to kick out of.
Frustrated, Madison decides to inflict more damage to Gail; doing everything she can to lessen Gail. From slamming Gail face first on the mat from the second rope to upper body knee shots and even a sliding baseball elbow drop.
To top it all off, Madison hits her Rayne Check finisher but Gail is able to reach the ropes to break the pin. After some disagreement with the official, Madison turns her attention back to Gail, only to be hit with an Eat Defeat and put away for the three count. An expected start and win for this year’s TNA Hall of Famer.
Our attention then turns to a setting outside the Impact Zone, as we meet with Rosemary and her latest admirer Bram in the “place of secrets”.
A less face painted Rosemary evokes on her childhood, a time of innocence and when she was the proud parent of a beloved cat by the name of Fifi. One day, poor Fifi was ill and though Rosemary’s mother promised to look after Fifi, things took a dark turn when Rosemary found little Fifi dead. As a pet parent myself, I can’t imagine going through such an incident.
The aftermath of this maternal deception would lead Rosemary to hear voices, be introduced to magic in the forest and sign a love letter with her own blood. Wow, brilliant promos from Rosemary! Keep them coming TNA!
Back at the Impact Zone, Rosemary’s Tag Team Champions The Decay take on The BroMans in a Monster Balls match. The champions manage to hold their own and defeat their opponents, even with a run in interference from Raquel.
Thoughts: As mentioned before, with TNA building this case of Gail having to run after to go through the entire Knockouts division for a shot at the Knockouts title again, it was expected for Gail to pick up this win over Madison. The match was all right for it was but lacked any excitement. Madison dominating most of the match and losing abruptly in the end felt anticlimactic.
A listen from the commentators throughout the contest sets the nature that we will see Gail continue to take on opponents’ week in and week out, all with the ideal notion that Gail will get her title match come Bound for Glory; the same weekend where she will officially be inducted to the TNA Hall of Fame.
Perhaps it may be too early to assume this is the route TNA will come October (although would it really surprise anyone if TNA didn’t go this direction?) but I think TNA have invested a lot in the Maria/Gail feud earlier this year and it feel like a waste if they didn’t at least try have a big payoff for it. Sure the fire between Gail and Maria has fizzled a bit but I think there’s still something there.
My favorite part of the night comes from Rosemary, who I just find to be the most fascinating character in women’s wrestling today! Much like she mentioned in an interview before, she brings out these mannerism in her character and we are finding out so much more from her character now through Bram. Initially, I was against the idea of a Bram/Rosemary, simply because of the fear that she’ll break away from the Decay lose a bit of depth but this week was reassuring that there is more to come from these two!
What did you think of this week’s match? Do you think Gail will make it to Bound for Glory with an opportunity to the Knockouts Championship? Are you enjoying the Rosemary/Bram interaction? Let us know in the comments below!
