Coming off the heels of one hell of a brawl at TNA Turning Point, one would assume that the powers that be would continue to build the feud between Mickie James and Tara, leading up to another action-packed match. Right? Right? Think again, this is TNA we’re talking about. It should be TMNS – Totally Makes No Sense. Last night, we received no follow up, no segments, no interaction between the two. What we did get is a mixed tag match that follows up on the feud between Jay Lethal and Robbie E. Jay has recuited one half of the TNA Knockout Tag Champions, Taylor Wilde to be his partner against Robbie E and Cookie. Can the Jersey kids keep the party going or will it be canceled?
Prior to the match, we see Robbie E and Cookie walking towards the stage. Cookie is trying to talk to Robbie about said match, but he’s too busy admiring the X-Division Championship belt. As they near the camera, Cookie has a message for Taylor. “I may not be a wrestler, but I’m from Jersey – I know how to fight!” (Must be a Jersey thing…) She tells Robbie she’s going to make him proud of her tonight.
Back from commercial, out first is Jay Lethal and Taylor Wilde, her tag belt around her waist. (Wasn’t there some kind of rule that said you had to defend your belt before 30 days were up or you were stripped? Oh wait, that would require continuity…) Whoever does the women’s makeup in TNA ought to be fired. Taylor’s sporting a blue top and skirt instead of silver, which looks lovely on her, but the makeup is horrid. It’s unnecessary how they cake it on. Her hair looks cute though, flipped up on the edges.
Next out is Robbie E and Cookie, but looks like Cookie’s having second thoughts. She’s screaming at Robbie, who’s paying her no attention, too absorbed in the belt he’s carrying. She’s sporting an outfit that looks more suited to clubbing, not wrestling, huge boots with fishnets and those huge hoop earrings are a hazard in this environment. Robbie gets into the ring, celebrating with the belt, but Cookie remains on the outside, waving at Robbie, refusing to get in the ring. Only when the referee starts counting her out and Rob yells at her to get in the ring, does she scurry between the ropes, still pouting. Fade to commercial.
Coming back, the bell rings and Taylor and Jay race towards their opponents. Who promptly exit the ring. Lethal follows, but Cookie steps infront of her man, removing her earrings like she’s going to rumble with Jay. It never happens, as from out of nowhere, Taylor comes into the shot, running past Jay to get at Cookie, but the referee holds her back. While he’s busy trying to get Wilde to back up and go to her corner, Robbie gets a sneak attack on Jay, all the while being coached by Cookie. Finally the two guys are in the ring, and the two women are in their respective corners.
Not for very long, however. When whipped into his own corner, Cookie pulls Robbie E out of the ring to safety. Jay tries to follow but the referee detains him while the Jersey kids talk strategy. Taylor’s encouraging Jay to go after Robbie but he’s reluctant. Fed up with the whole thing, Cookie orders Rob back in the ring, telling him to “take care of this!” As soon as he’s up on the apron, Jay brings him back into the ring forcefully, continuing the assault until Robbie crawls to his corner and grabs onto Cookie’s waist for dear life. She dares Lethal to bring it on, but he tags in Taylor instead. The brunette clearly wants no part of this but the referee tells her she has to enter the ring. She does…
And runs from Taylor around the ring until she tags Robbie back in, telling him to “get in there!” Taylor is stunned at the cowardice of her opponent. Cookie sees it as being smart, crowing at Taylor. She backs away from Robbie, allowing Lethal to hit a huge crossbody from the top rope. After further offense, Jay goes for a pin that Cookie breaks up, then scoots out to the floor, allowing Robbie to get the upper hand. At one point, when Taylor gets into the ring, trying to go after Cookie, the ref is distracted, allowing both Jersey kids to put the boots to Jay.
Once Lethal gets the better of Robbie, however, it looks like he’s going to go up to the top rope. Cookie enters and jumps on his back. Upon slinging her off, Cookie pleads for him not to hit her, but when Jay wavers, she attempts to kick him. He catches her foot and tries to tag in Taylor, but she slips out of the boot, and high tails it out of the ring. Taylor runs after her, Robbie E uses the discarded boot to nail Lethal and get the 3 count. This one is, mercifully, over. Both Robbie and Cookie looked pleased as punch. Taylor and Lethal, not so much.
Musings: Oh where to begin…first off, in my Turning Point post, I was accused of not having enough enthusiasm for the Knockouts division, even though I really enjoyed the match Sunday night. I defended myself, saying I was hesitant to give much credit to TNA for one match on one night. I was right not to. This was the only Knockouts segment on Impact tonight. No follow up with the Mickie/Tara/Madison feud, no follow up with the budding Sarita/Velvet feud, and (most disappointing to me) no segments with Winter and Angelina.
This has always been one of TNA’s problems – lack of continuity. It feels like the writers and/or management has ADD. They cannot keep a steady storyline going, and due to the “instant satisfaction” mentality of society in general, half the time the fans want something new right now. They could’ve at the very least slipped a backstage promo in for any of the women I mentioned above. Didn’t happen. Is it any wonder I’m reluctant to keep my hopes up?
As for the match tonight….there wasn’t one. Here, they DID show continuity in the feud between Lethal and Robbie E, and I thought it was a nice touch that he recruited Taylor to handle Cookie’s interference. I understand playing up Cookie as reluctant to get in the ring. But I found her constant interference annoying, and then the slow-motion running around the ring from Taylor was irritating as well. I know Bayless isn’t a technical genius in the ring, but she can hold her own and Taylor could’ve worked well with her. It didn’t happen, however. At least it served to make Robbie and Cookie more hated by their antics. That’s the only positive I can see from tonight.
It was announced today that Lacey Von Erich has left TNA. She admitted she was no Von Erich in the ring, and we can’t really dispute that. However, I think her acting was spot on. She would’ve made a great valet/manager from the very beginning. Her character was highly entertaining and even adorable at times. But considering the dark path wrestling led her family down, this may turn out to be for the best. I wish her luck and happiness wherever she goes and whatever she does from here on!
