Tonight on Impact Wrestling’s special Crossroads episode of Impact, Laurel Van Ness defends the Knockouts Champioship against Allie.
Read ImpactWrestling.com‘s preview of tonight’s show below:
Tonight is Crossroads on IMPACT Wrestling as Laurel Van Ness defends her Knockouts Championship against Allie in a match that has been building for quite some time. The protégé and the assistant. That was the relationship between Allie and Laurel Van Ness when both arrived in IMPACT Wrestling alongside Maria.
Laurel Van Ness groomed to be the champion of the future. Allie simply there to carry bags and run errands. As both have evolved (in wild and unpredictable ways particularly in the case of Van Ness), that has remained the core of their relationship with one another. Van Ness the dominant, confident champion – Allie struggling to find her place in a highly competitive Knockouts division.
Allie and Laurel Van Ness became natural enemies in 2016 as Maria pitted them against each other. While they were affiliated with the same group, they never got along. Allie always lived in the shadow of Van Ness – constantly being demeaned and undermined, treated like she doesn’t matter. Allie even captured the Knockouts championship but was forced to relinquish it to Maria because she didn’t have the courage to stand up for herself. Allie would get her own back in small ways – like smashing Maria in the face with a pie for example – but it wasn’t until Laurel was to marry Braxton that everything would change.
Allie was smitten with Braxton Sutter, which naturally infuriated Maria, who lived to make Allie suffer. So Maria concocted a plan. She blackmailed Braxton into marrying Laurel Van Ness and what transpired would transform Laurel entirely. Braxton left Laurel at the alter for Allie and Laurel lost it. Once considered the proto-typical elite athlete from a family of wealth, Laurel became unhinged. She would appear at random still in her wedding dress, drinking her sorrows away. Gone was the poise and class and sense of entitlement and in its place a madness. The hot mess was born.
Allie went in the exact opposite direction. Finally out from the thumb of Laurel and Maria, Allie developed a new found determination. She showed spirit and tenacity in the ring as she developed from unassuming assistant to ass kicking competitor. Spurred on by Rosemary and Gail Kim, she realized that she was capable of competing on the highest level and maybe even challenge for the Knockouts championship. Allie had finally become the wrestler everybody knew she could be. Allie finally believed in herself. Allie the Vegan Slayer was born.
Laurel Van Ness channelled all of her unpredictable rage into a pursuit of the Knockouts championship and captured the vacant title last December, defeating Rosemary. This brought Allie and Laurel back together once more – not over some petty grudge, not being pitted against each other by Maria – this time with the Knockouts championship firmly in focus.
That brings us to Genesis in January. Allie had shown a fire, tenacity and ferocity that we hadn’t seen before in the build up to her Knockouts championship match vs. Laurel Van Ness but one thing was missing. The difference that night was Laurel outsmarted Allie. Laurel struck Allie with the Knockouts championship behind the referee’s back and scuppered Allie’s dreams again. While Allie had the drive and determination (and undeniably the ability) to get the job done, Laurel was one step ahead. Allie was missing that little bit of guile, that slyness that Laurel has in spades. Allie was still naïve.
Naïve no more though as Genesis was a learning experience for Allie. Laurel tried to lay a secret admirer trap for Allie the day after Valentine’s Day but all Van Ness got was a box of chocolates to her face for her troubles. Laurel went a step further, threatening to marry the Knockouts championship solely to lure Allie into her web but Allie outsmarted her again. All the chicanery and cunning Laurel showed at Genesis to keep the Knockouts championship – Allie returned tenfold in the weeks following the show.
Tonight is Crossroads – Allie will challenge Laurel Van Ness once more for the Knockouts championship in what is surely the biggest match of her career. The definition of kindness and decency, in many ways Allie has been the heart and soul of the Knockouts division. Blossoming from unassuming assistant to kick ass competitor – Allie has proved to the world that she can hang with the very best.
Tonight is the ultimate test though. Can Allie prove once and for all that she belongs among the elite of the Knockouts championship? Can she prove that her name should be talked about alongside former champions like Gail Kim, Sienna, Rosemary, Awesome Kong, Taryn Terrell and Mickie James? Can she prove how much she’s grown over the last year both as a wrestler and as a person? Or will Laurel Van Ness prove too much for her once again?
Discuss the show in the comments!
