Hallelujah! Can’t you feel the uplifting spirit for TNA this week for Knockout fans?
Of course, things like having a semi-live program, a debuting Aron Rex (formerly known as Damien Sandow) and the announcement that Bound for Glory will take place on October 2nd are all great but, as it would appear, we are also that much closer to finding out whether or not Gail Kim will get another shot at the Knockouts Championship! Place your bets now Knockout fans!
This week, Gail faces Marti Bell but not before Bosslady Maria Kanellis can add a few tweaks to try and stack the odds against the future TNA Hall of Famer. Let’s see what Maria exactly has planned for Gail Kim.
We first find Maria backstage with assistant/apprentice Allie, taking a coffee order for her boss when Gail Kim stumbles in. Gail tries to advise Allie to not obey all these orders from Maria. For her part, Maria tells Gail that she should worry more about her little legacy as this week, Gail will guarantee lose her match. Whatever you say Maria…
Gail tries to figure out what Maria has in store her for this week and would be informed that this week’s match would be a one-on-one match. The catch? There would be a no DQ stipulation. Before Gail can ask who her opponent will be, she gets her answer when Marti Bell attacks from behind with her signature baton.
Marti Bell makes her entrance to the Impact Zone with some swagger in her step. Meanwhile, Gail only makes it about halfway to the entrance ramp when she comes out as Marti Bell would go straight for an attack. Marti swings her weapon towards Gail but Gail ducks out the way. She lands several forearms to Marti and tosses inside the six sided ring.
Also making their way to the ring are Maria and a reluctant Allie. Before Gail can enter the ring, she becomes distracted when Allie weakly shoves her from behind. The surprise shove doesn’t do much harm but it does cause enough distraction for Marti to land a cheap kick Gail’s back.
Marti throws Gail in the ring and the official ring bell sounds off. Marti starts off with two suplexes and a Russian leg sweep combination on Gail. She then keeps Gail grounded at a corner turnbuckle, hoping to land sprinting maneuver but Gail dodges out the way.
As Gail begins to try and take control of the match, Allie interferes again, allowing Marti to land another cheap kick, this time knocking Gail off the ring apron and landing on the cold guardrails outside the ring. Gail takes another blow from the guardrails when Marti throws her to a second set of them.
With the damage done, Marti would throw Gail back to the ring to try and finisher her off. Gail reverses to an Eat Defeat setup but Marti counters out before the finisher can connect. Gail takes back control of the match with several forearms and lands a diving blockbuster. Gail goes for the cover but Marti kicks out at two.
Still at ringside, Maria becomes frustrated to see Gail continue on with this match and gets involved by pushing Gail off the top rope when she goes for another high flying attack. Maria then turns to Allie, hands her Mart’s baton and orders for Allie to attack Gail with it!
Allie is unsure of this but obliges. Allie’s hesitation worked in Gail’s favor as she manages to catch her breath before Allie can strike, toss her to Marti and then cover Marti into a small package pin cover for the three count!
Gail isn’t even able to get on her feet to embrace her win as Marti and Allie begin a beatdown to Gail. Jade runs to make the save and clears the ring of the Heels. Maria takes a mic and announces that since Jade wants to be so heavily involved in this scheme, next week she will face her BFF Gail.
Madam President Dixie Carter returns from her safari trip this week and is alongside Billy Corgan to get an earful from Lashley. It would appear that the World Heavyweight, X-Division and (now) King of the Mountain Champion is not too pleased that James Storm is being packaged with all these good feel moment videos.
Lashley accuses the duo in power of playing favoritism to their Nashville TNA original but Billy argues that Lashley’s people turned them down to follow the Champion with cameras. Since when Lashley have “people”?
And finally, our favorite Death Dealer resident Rosemary sings her praises of teaching Bram last week that she isn’t like other girls. She uses Bram to send a message to anyone who may challenge the Decay: you may think you’re climbing a ladder of success when in reality, you’ll be ascending a stairway to Hell.
Thoughts: Another week, another name Gail can cross off her list of foes she needs to go through to finish the quest that has been placed upon her. While it was pretty predictable that Gail would come out on top at the end, I am glad that TNA tried changing up the routine this week, more so with the semi-live element in play.
While no real weapons were used in the match, the no DQ stipulation did allow for the Maria and Allie shenanigans to further hint that Allie will turn on Maria down the road. The match in itself was pretty short, with very little memorable spots outside the use of guardrails and maybe Gail’s blockbuster from the second rope.
Jade running in to make the save and clearing the ring was a bit sloppy but it was a nice way to set up for the Jade versus Gail match. Looking back to when this Gail Kim journey started, Jade outspokenly said she wouldn’t take part in Maria’s games. I just ask that TNA find a way to deliver this match outside the normal one-on-one match. Maybe raise the stakes a bit or add another stipulation again.
If I do remember correctly, Jade will also mark the “last” Knockout standing in Gail’s way for a future Knockouts title shot. There’s still a chance that Jade may be the one to stop Gail’s quest. She is due a proper Knockouts title rematch from Slammiversary after all, no? If not, then I do wonder where things will go for the Gail/Maria feud that still seems to be in the works.
As always, only time will tell.
What did you think of this week’s no DQ match? Who do you think will win next week’s match between Gail Kim and Jade? Do you think Allie is coming closer to break out on her own? Let us know in the comments below!
