I almost feel blasphemous for being negative towards the TNA women’s division, but felt compelled to write openly to TNA’s writers: give the gimmick matches a freakin’ rest already, okay?! We’ve just come off the heels of a Queen of the Cage match at LockDown, which we appreciate – but these gimmick matches are okay for once in a while, but not every freakin’ pay per view. TNA announced at their tapings last night for next week’s iMPACT! that at their next PPV, Sacrifice there will be a Makeover Battle Royal:
The TNA Knockouts come to the ring. Jim Cornette announces a “Makeover Battle Royal” for the Sacrifice PPV. The last two competitors will compete then in a Ladder Match. The winner is the person who grabs a Knockouts title shot contract from above the Ring to face Awesome Kong. The loser will have their head shaved in a “Britney Spears Makeover.”
That’s two months in a row now that they’ve put on gimmick matches, we appreciate that they want to get as many Knockouts on the card as possible but this match is just ridiculous. I understand the logic of wanting to push as many boundaries for women’s wrestling as possible, hence the ladder match, but honestly – this match is just bad. BAD. Has TNA finally succumb to their own lackluster booking? When the Knockout division launched in October, it was praised as being the only thing that TNA was getting right – well it seems like they’ve finally caught up with themselves, giving the women’s division their unique “Midas Touch” aka crapping it up. TNA relies far too heavily on gimmicks and for a while there, it seemed the women’s division was exempt from their over the top booking, but not anymore…
It seems TNA is taking a lesson from WWE’s Creative Team, who since the departures of Trish and Lita have been trying to get as many women involved in matches as possible to make up for the lack of big names in the division. Case in point, for the past two years lumberjills at WrestleMania, a battle royal at SummerSlam and a 10 Diva tag team match at Survivor Series. TNA has done an amazing job in building stars in the likes of Awesome Kong, Gail Kim and ODB to name but a few – so why are they regressing now? Their emphasis should be on creating the women’s division around the Knockout Championship, adding prestige to the title – making it the envy of all the Knockouts in the lockerroom. Using the stars they have (such as the three named above) to put on amazing matches, as well as creating new stars who can go for the title in the near future. They’re wasting the likes of Roxxi Laveaux, Angelina Love and Rhaka Khan, who I think are all viable challengers for the Knockout title. Not just bulking up matches with as many girls as possible and doing a “flavour of the month” gimmick match – it does nothing to advance the women’s division or propel their talent.
