Hello there, Diva Dirt readers! I’m back and feeling good. Many thanks to Jack for taking over the reigns of the Impact Write-Up last week! It’s a great week for me to be back as we finally got to see Taryn Terrell square off against her bitter rival, Gail Kim! Not only that, we got a great dosage of ODB and a lovely helping of Brooke Hogan on the side (ringside, that is).
Skip to 18:10.
Our first glimpse of the Knockouts comes via the VP of the division, Brooke, as she runs into Joey Ryan backstage. He requests she let him referee the match between Gail and Taryn, to which Brooke replies that she’s already hired someone. Who could it be? They talk a little more, Joey gets all sleazy and for a minute Brooke looks like she might be in to him. Psych! She pushes him off and says that he embarrassed her last week.
‘Keep your hands off me,’ she says as she storms away.
Joey is so slimy.
We kicked off the in-ring action this week with a little recap video package of all that’s gone down between Taryn and Gail, including last week’s tag team match. After the video, we’re taken into the Impact Zone, where Christy Hemme is waiting to introduce the competitors. Out first is Gail Kim, followed swiftly by Taryn. They both look right and ready to go as Christy announces the referee for the match will be… ODB! Gail is not impressed as ODB makes her way to the ring. Gail insists she’s not going through with this, that it isn’t fair. As she attempts to get around the ring, she gets into a back and forth with a fan at ringside. They’re interrupted by ODB, who is demonstrabily ready to start as she hoists Gail onto the ring apron. Gail doesn’t have time to look offended before Taryn pulls her into the ring by the hair! The bell rings and we are underway!
Taryn takes it to Gail right off the bat with a hard clothesline, knocking Gail to the mat. She staggers into the corner but Taryn doesn’t give her time to breathe. She delivers a great suplex to Gail. The self-proclaimed ‘greatest women’s wrestler ever’ crawls to the opposite corner, but Taryn is in pursuit and springboards Gail into the centre of the ring again. Gail sends Taryn into the corner, trying to get a quick moment to recover. Taryn comes back with an elbow to Gail. Taryn ascends the ropes .Bad move when your opponent is still on their feet and pretty much lucid. Gail grabs Taryn by the ankle and yanks her out of the corner. Taryn lands hard on the mat and Gail finally has her opportunity in this match.
Gail attacks with a flurry of kicks to the downed Taryn, then proceeds to throw her into the corner. She attacks again, this time with a few hard knocks to the gut. Abusing the five count, Gail is given a warning by ODB as the ref pulls her off her opponent. Gail has no time for this; she promptly shoos ODB away. How rude!
Taryn manages to gain some momentum back, and delivers some shots to Gail before being knocked back down with a hard shoulder block. Gail saunters around looking very pleased with herself, but the crowd is getting behind Taryn, chanting her name! My, my… I can’t remember the last time I watched a women’s match where the crowd chanted for the competitor (but that’s WWE for you). I digress.
After dropping her hard to the mat, Gail drags Taryn over to the ropes and chokes her there. ODB is having none of that and reprimands Gail again, but Gail just gets in her face! Taryn tries to come back with an Irish whip into the corner but Gail counters and rolls Taryn up. She might have won had ODB not seen the handful of tights Gail was grabbing! With her opponent distracted, Taryn seizes the opportunity and reverses, rolling Gail up for the three count! With that, Taryn Terrell has won her debut match in TNA!
Gail is not happy with the decision and once again starts trash-talking ODB! She appears to take it too far, however, as moments later she hightails it out of there with ODB hot on her heels. Meanwhile, Taryn is all smiles as Christy grabs her for an interview post match.
‘I have waited a long time to get physical with Gail Kim!’ she says. ‘The question is, who wants to get physical with me?’
Not to suprisingly, her comments garner her a cheering response from the male-dominated crowd. Grinning from ear to ear, she makes her way to the back.
Skip to 13:20.
Later in the evening, it’s time for the Heavyweight Championship match between Jeff Hardy and Bully Ray and, as anticipated, Brooke Hogan is at ringside! She looks gorgeous in green, and she’s showing her estranged husband exactly what he’s missing. We cut to Brooke as Bully makes his way to the ring, and she looks totally unimpressed. Shocker.
A few minutes into the match, Jeff and Bully spill to the outside, right where Brooke is sitting. She tries to help the Charismatic Enigma to his feet, but he’s not going anywhere for a bit. With Jeff down and out, Bully takes the chance to get in Brooke’s face and scream at her. He tells her to SIT DOWN! Disgusting behaviour, and Brooke is having none of it! Brooke quite happily shows off her middle finger to Bully Ray. Quite the gesture. He taunts her some more, and she’s had enough. She delivers an almighty slap to his face, sending him into the barrier, and then she goes back for more! She smacks him upside the head! Yes, Brooke! I am loving it!
Sadly, Bully walked out still champion, and Brooke looked utterly distraught as she left ringside.
Thoughts: First of all, I have to say how much I enjoyed the match. It was physical and it told a great story. I’m all about telling a story. Taryn and Gail have chemistry in the ring, and I just loved the physicality between them. The match showed how far Taryn has come since her days as Tiffany too, and I can only hope that this isn’t the end of this rivalry! Given next week’s spoilers, we’ll just have to wait and see!
As for Brooke? I lover her. Admittedly when she started out in TNA I just wasn’t sure about her, but I love the character that she’s developed. She can be vulnerable when she needs to be, but can kick some ass too! Just ask Bully Ray how his cheek is feeling today. I always look forward to seeing what she’s going to get up to, so I hope she continues to shine in this storyline.
Eleri out!
