Happy September Knockout fans and welcome to this week’s Impact Write-Up. Despite there not being a Knockouts match on this week’s episode of Impact, we do witness a big shake up surrounding the Knockouts title picture. We also see the seeds being planted TNA’s second Deletion Match being dubbed #DELETEorDECAY, which will include some involvement from managing Knockouts Rosemary and Reby Hardy.
Our first stop this week actually takes place outside the Impact Zone, as we pay a visit to the Hardy Mansion. Inside, we listen to Reby Sky on the piano and leading the entire Hardy clan, Señor Benjamin included, to singing the Hardy’s “Obsolete” theme song. Well at least this theme is more catchy than most of the current Knockouts’ theme songs.
Broken Matt Hardy suddenly has a vision through the use of his sixth sense of an incoming intruder. Matt and Jeff “Brother Nero” Hardy decide to take a proactive approach by venturing off to the Impact Zone, to fend off against this potential attack. Reby and King Maxel stay behind but Reby assures to her husband that they’ll be safe, pulling out a slaying weapon.
When the Hardys arrive to the Impact Zone, Matt manages to defeat a solo fighting Crazzy Steve, thanks to some help from Brother Nero, only to realize afterwards that the match was a mere distraction. Steve would inform Hardy that the Decay are everywhere and have already made their way to the Hardy estate, where King Maxel will soon become Rosemary’s baby. Kudos for that pun TNA!
Upon hearing Matt’s warning about Rosemary via Face Time, Reby takes her son to the “safe room”, where she leaves him with Señor Benjamin so that she can take care of Rosemary herself, blading sword in hand.
Reby’s hunt for the female Death Dealer would lead to an outside standoff, where Rosemary challenged Reby’s love for her child. From a balcony, Rosemary tossed a “baby” towards a grounded Reby who used her motherly instincts to catch the fake child.
Reby breakdown but is relieved when Señor Benjamin comes out with a healthy and safe Maxel. Once again, Señor Benjamin has saved the day! Rosemary escapes the premises but not from Reby’s outrage, who instructs the housekeeper to set up the battlefield for what will be a massacre! DUN DUN DUN!
It is time for a special Knockouts championship celebration:
Jeremy Borash is backstage with the new Knockouts champion Allie who comes on our screens with a handful of colorful balloons. She tells JB that Ms. Maria Kanellis provided specific instructions in getting these balloons, along with streamers and confetti for the evening event.
The celebration commences with an opening speech by Allie, who thanks the fans for cheering her name last week when she won the Knockouts title. Before Allie continues her speech, she is interrupted by Maria and the former Knockouts champion Sienna. Naturally, an angered Sienna lashes out at Allie but Maria calms her down, blames the title switch on Gail Kim for some reason, and sends her away giving her the night off along with all the other Knockouts.
Now standing one on one across Allie, Maria drops some surprising news about the celebration taking place. She calls Allie worthless, who never does anything right and reveals that the ceremony is actually for Allie’s opponent. A confused Allie wonders who Maria is speaking about given that all the other Knockouts had the night off.
Maria proceeds with her plot by ordering Allie to lay down in the middle of the ring, much to the audience’s displeasure. Allie initially declines to obey but Maria manages to bully Allie to follow through with the action.
The Leader of the Knockouts brings in a referee, calls for the ring bell and makes an easy pin over her assistant/apprentice (who is still wearing the Knockouts title around her waist) in one of the quickest Knockouts title match in history. *Sigh*
If that weren’t bad enough, Maria takes her mean sting a bit further by ordering Allie to announce her as the new Knockouts Champion and to place the belt around her waist, to which Allie reluctantly obeys. Confetti and streamers drops fly from the sky, a champaign bottle is brought out and Maria is all smiles of her evil deed. Poor Allie!
The new Knockouts champion makes one more appearance during the night’s episode; standing at ringside as husband Mike Bennett challenges Lashley for the TNA World Heavyweight title in a no DQ match.
Even with his wife, who takes a big shot at Lashley in the head with her newly won Knockouts title, and supposed friend Moose by his side, Mike fails to capture Lashley’s title and finds himself in a whole lot of trouble against Moose.
Thoughts: Another Impact Wrestling, another hot potato game of passing around the Knockouts title. At this point, the Knockouts title feels like a prop with some value being lost to it.
Since April, we’ve seen the title change hands four times, including this week, to four brand new names. While on paper it looks great that TNA are bringing in new blood for the Knockouts division and giving them a chance to shine, it really doesn’t come across that way since the last three reigns weren’t all that memorable.
As I’ve said in my thoughts last week, part of the problem for this stems from the title picture having to take a backseat in favor of the ongoing Gail/Maria feud. I’ve been enjoying the build up to this feud and TNA have been doing a great job of investing in it without the need of inserting a title in the mix. It feels like more than anything, that these last title changes were nothing more than a way to get the belt on Maria without having to wrestle at all.
Though Allie’s charter doesn’t “know” how to wrestle, (we know she really can) giving the title to someone who isn’t active in the ring is just a head scratcher if it weren’t already obvious that this was to, again, further Maria’s feud with Gail.
OK, now to try and spin some positive on all of this. I will say that Maria’s “win” here was certainly one of the most memorable ways of the title changing hands, whether you perceive it as it being done in a good or bad way. At the very least, Maria will bring the Knockouts tile back to spotlight. Another positive was seeing how over Allie with the crowd.
Despite some distaste I may have on the gimmick, Allie is making it work and I absolutely sympathized with her this week; she is giving fans a reason to care for her! Of course, part of the credit goes to Maria who also has been doing very well in this Heel tyrant persona. Hopefully once/if Allie makes that full on babyface turn, the crowd will be just as hot for her and she’ll “learn” to have wrestled by then.
On to more positivity: the Reby and Rosemary interaction! I can honestly say that I wasn’t too crazy about the first Deletion match between the Hardy Brothers; it wasn’t an actual wrestling match in my eyes and was a bit over the top for me.
Sure some things this week between Rosemary and Reby were over the top as well- a flying scanner that detects intruders and sings “Obsolete” and Rosemary somehow gliding up a pole? Still it was fun, told a different kind of story and gives TNA a reason to use these managing Knockouts; two of which are part of TNA’s hottest act at the moment!
What are your thoughts on Maria as Knockouts Champion? Did you enjoy the Reby/Rosemary chase? Are you looking forward to their in involvement in next week’s #DELETEorDECAY match? Let us in the comments below!
