Excuse me for moving away from my usual witty openings, but it’s a beautiful day here in the land of Impact Wrestling! Yes, the company did announce they will be airing live throughout the summer, which excited me to no end because the Knockout matches are so much more fun when you don’t know things ahead of time and can watch them unfold… but, BUT, on top of that, news has also broken that TNA will be giving me what I’ve been wanting to happen for so long: a Knockouts VP! Yes, I’m heartbroken it’s not my Queen, Miss Karen, but at this point I will take anyone to get them actual speaking roles on the show again. And honestly, I have nothing against Brooke Hogan. It might turn out to be fun, who knows?!
But both Brooke and the live Impacts don’t begin for another two weeks, so let’s get on to this week’s show. It was a big triple threat match to determine the Knockouts Champion, as Gail Kim defended her belt against challengers Brooke Tessmacher and Velvet Sky. This was actually what I expected to happen at the next pay per view, but no shame in giving it to us now I suppose. On top of that, we also had ODB compete in a wildcard battle royal, and the smitten kitten herself, Madison Rayne made her presence known in a backstage segment with Gail, AND at ringside during said battle royal to witness her crush that is still a mystery. So let’s get started!
Skip to 3:58
We head backstage to see Gail Kim and Madison Rayne walking around. Gail is NOT pleased once again with the things Hulk is making her do as Knockouts Champion, having to defend her title against two women that she’s already beaten. Gail screams at Madison asking if she’s listening to her; Madison claims she was, but she seems very giggly. Kim asks about a guy, but Madison shrugs it off and goes to fix her hair. She then wishes Kim luck in whatever it is she’s doing! Our smitten kitten exits the scene, but Gail’s not out of the clear just yet as both Brooke and Velvet approach her in a cheery mood. They both mention Gail’s cheating tactics when discussing “fairness”. Velvet claims that one of them is going to beat Gail for the title tonight, and that… that’s fair!
A graphic of the Knockouts Championship flashes on the screen as… YES! The weekly dose of Christy Hemme‘s pan up shot is complete! And it’s a double header as Velvet Sky is making her entrance to the rousing applause of us all and Taz as well. Velvet fires the crowd up and lets the pigeons loose after some scouting around. Oh heck, here we go. Out comes Brooke in her great new coat, but as always, my attention goes to that addicting rock theme. Next thing I know, Velvet is stretching on the ropes and Brooke is posing for the crowd, as my theme song heart is simply about to combust thanks to the STILL addicting theme of our Knockouts Champion. If you can’t tell by now, I’m a fan of good theme songs and these Knockouts certainly have some of the best. Miss Hogan best not change that!
The referee holds the belt up as I stuff a batch of gummy bears into my mouth while I still have time to eat before all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, Tessmacher and Sky exchange punches to Gail, as Gail tries to escape to no avail. A series of jawbreakers follows up, with Brooke hitting a forearm smash. The two try to high five, but brilliantly realize this is not a tag match. Brooke with a school girl for a near fall, as Sky counter-attacks with a small package for a close count, and this term does not set well with Taz upon viewing female matches. Sky gets a headlock on, but Brooke fights out. Velvet with a kick, but as she goes for a new move, Gail pulls her out of the ring and clotheslines Brooke to the ground.
Gail proceeds to choke Tessmacher on the second rope and knock Velvet back outside. Kim plants Brooke with a sidewalk slam, as she locks in a boot to the throat and then applies a Boston Crab. Velvet, in turn, decides to apply a dragon sleeper onto Gail! Nice! Gail shoves Velvet away, but Velvet breaks the hold and takes the fight to Gail. Sky goes for a splash, but Gail dodges out of the way and applies the Flying Dragon submission move on Brooke! Tessmacher tries to fight out, but Velvet amazingly rolls Gail up WITH the move intact! She only gets a two count, but as she goes to attack Gail, Brooke grabs the leg.
The buddies start to fight, with Velvet going for the In Yo Face! Brooke tries to counter it with the Tess-Shocker, but to no avail. Both ladies spin around right into a sick missile dropkick from Gail! We see a replay of the sick move, while all three attempt to get up. Gail goes for the Eat Defeat, but Brooke shoves her into the corner. Sky then hits the In Yo Face! She goes for the cover, but Gail sends Velvet out of the ring and steals the victory! Gail retains her title, much to the dismay of both Velvet and Brooke in a phenomenal match.
Also, check out ODB as she competes in the wildcard battle royal and Madison Rayne also makes an appearance on the stage scouting her “crush”.
Thoughts: Okay, I loved the pay per view match and I loved this one a lot as well. Gail, Brooke and Velvet shined with some fresh offense and creative spots that looked so good coming together just right. Brooke can really hold her own in the ring now and it’s amazing to see her come so far from the days of dancing with Extreme Expose. I still fear that Gail’s reign is going to be ended by someone debuting in the Open Fight Night concept since she’s running thin on people to face, but we’ll see what Miss Hogan has in store for our Knockouts Champion I suppose. All I want is personalities and speaking roles. The Knockouts have fantastic matches on a weekly basis that do not need any changing, but they don’t really get the chance to have characters like they used to. Every face is kind of like the “smile and wave” type, and well, Gail is pretty much the only heel we ever see on TV anymore so I can’t really comment on that side of things. Miss Hogan, if you read this, we want segments!
