Salutations, kind readers, and welcome to this week’s Impact Write-Up. If much like myself, you’re still engulfed in your Christmas gifts (Friday Night Lights marathon all day/every day here), then never fear, for I do not want to disturb the indulgence of presents. I merely come to bring another gift in the form of our last Knockout related match of 2012! It’s open fight night, and never one to shy away from the spotlight (in her TNA run at least… unless you count the brilliance that was her brief feud with the Bella Twins which I will now provide a link to just so I can relive it again myself), Gail Kim is out with a bone to pick against one, Brooke Tessmacher. These two are no strangers to one another, but who will head into the new year looking dominant? Only time will tell.
Seriously… the last week of the year and we don’t get a Christy Hemme pan up shot? What gives, TNA? Oh yes, and here comes our graceful history making former champion, Gail Kim, whose tron and theme I particularly love. Gail wants a microphone, and once she gets it, she runs down how 2012 was the year of Gail Kim… until SOMEONE ended her reign of dominance. She’s calling out the Texas tease, Brooke Tessmacher! The equally amazing theme music strikes, as our red, white, and blue adorned Knockout poses for her loyal Tessflockers.
The bell sounds by order of Taryn Terrell, as Kim scores with a takedown early on. She then locks in a wristhold, as Tessmacher tries to flip out to the best of her abilities. Nice jackknife cover by Brooke, with Gail kicking out quickly. Brooke continues to be on the offense, knocking Kim into the corner and planting her with the Ass-tastic! Gail slips to the ring apron, but Tessmacher drops her with a clothesline and awaits the ninja to slide back in. Unfortunately, Gail takes a little too long and our peppy Texan decides to slide out and throw her back in herself.
As Brooke tries to get back, Gail drops her face first and then begins to taunt. A Back suplex gets a two count, with Kim hoisting Brooke into the top of the corner. Gail is now on the top rope, as she goes for a… sweet lord almighty she nearly just fell on her head. Brooke decides to take this moment and turn it in her favor with an awesome dragon sleeper from the corner that has to be broken by the count of five. Kim with a kick to the head, now just decimating Brooke as the crowd gets behind Tess.
Gail again goes for a back suplex, but Brooke counters into a bulldog! Both women are down, as Taryn administers the count and Tessmacher makes a comeback. Brooke with a beautiful hurricanrana, now jumping into the corner and… hmm, how do I describe this? She thrusts herself into Gail’s face and somehow that doesn’t attain a three count! Brooke attempts the Tess Shocker, but Kim strikes her in the back of the neck. Brooke now scores with a sit out clothesline and ascends to the top rope. She’s going for it… ahh, Gail just rolls out of the way in time and plants Brooke with the Eat Defeat for the victory!
Also check out Tara as she manages Jesse in a Bro-Off against Robbie E and Robbie T:
Thoughts: Wow, honestly I think anything I say about this match is going to be an understatement to how much I enjoyed it. Brooke and Gail have been pretty consistently a hit for me when it comes to their ring action aside from maybe one showing, but tonight may have just been my favorite encounter yet. This had pretty much everything you could ask, and I absolutely love that Gail got a promo in order to make the match have a meaning behind it as opposed to just happening for no reason.
I know majority of Gail Kim’s TNA run thus far since her return has drawn controversy, and I’ll be the first to admit that even though I am a fan of her, I wasn’t a big supporter of how she won every title when she first arrived. Regardless though, I’m loving what she has brought to the division this year. Her wrestling is unprecedented, and I would probably go as far as to say she’s my ultimate female wrestler in terms of the ring work because she pretty much can do anything. She’s lightning quick indeed, but she can also work in a submission or two and pretty much put on great matches with anyone. I can’t recall her having a bad showing at all which is a great thing to say about someone.
Another thing is that I feel like she is actually relatable now. In WWE, she was basically a mute (no offense!), but here we actually get to see her show personality during her matches and prove that she has a voice. After essentially nine years of seeing her on TV, she still makes me excited to watch her perform and I find myself excited to hear that she has a match. I think part of that is going back to what I said earlier about how unpredictable her style is, which makes me not think I’m seeing the same match every time she goes out there. Most wrestlers have a set number of moves they get in almost every match, but with Gail (and Natalya as well as some others), I don’t get that feeling when I watch them perform. It generally feels like each time they go out there, they have a completely different match than what we’ve seen before, or at least to me anyways. I guess what I’m trying to say in that monstrosity of paragraphs is that I like Gail Kim!
Now the Texas tease! (P.S. – It feels like I’m writing hall of fame speeches or something, but I just figured I’d switch it up a little for the final redux of 2012.) Brooke has just had a phenomenal year in TNA. Even if she hasn’t been seen much outside the summer months, it truly feels like she’s been a focus for far more than that. Her wrestling rose to a new level this year, and working with the likes of Tara and Gail Kim will only help it to grow even more. It’s scary to think what she could be like in a year from now when you look back and remember this is the girl who danced every week on ECW a few years ago. No one would’ve thought she would go on to have an actual career filled with titles when she was released from the WWE, but here she is putting on great matches week in and week out. Couldn’t be happier for her to achieve the success she’s gotten this year, and I honestly hope 2013 brings her even more of it.
2012 as a whole was an okay year for the Knockouts in my opinion. We had a few entertaining feuds, and the hot potato title switches didn’t happen too much which is a plus. Unfortunately, the tag titles continue to collect dust (can you believe those belts haven’t changed hands in nine months?… and not even a good nine months like a defending champion style reign) I have no idea why they even have them to be honest. But let’s hope 2013 brings us tag teams. Sign the Blossoms. Bring back Sarita and Rosita who have actually been gone almost as long as the belts have gone without being defended. Do something! Aren’t titles expensive to make? And they’re not even ugly belts so they probably cost even more to actually look nice and presentable. Why spend the money and essentially waste it I will never know, but please, new year, put an end to this dilemma. I beg of you.
I guess if I could change some things heading into the next year, it would be to put emphasis on feuds with more legitimate storylines, acknowledge you have tag titles, and not let some of the roster sit at home for months with nothing to do. There are side roles they can play to keep them on TV, which is why it’s disheartening that they’re not being used more.
The one thing I will say that must stay the same is the time and devotion the women get each week. This segment was 8 minutes long… that’s 8 minutes on a 2 hour show when the Divas matches can barely surpass 4 minutes on a 3 hour one. These women get to show what they can do with little to no restrictions, and they get to have time and create their own personas. Granted, I wish we had more fun gimmicks like Winter or The Beautiful People, but at least we can separate them by Mickie having her country-ness, Tara having her over the top Hollywood persona, Brooke being the Texan colored underdog, etc. I’ve loved to watch them compete because they all bring something different to the table, but it’s up to the powers that be to give the females not in the title picture more things to do instead of nada. So let’s hope 2013 brings us more fun with the same great action.
