Happy Bound For Glory season Knockout fans! We’re just a few short days from what is considered to being TNA’s biggest event of the year. Can’t you just feel the excitement!? No really, can you? Because there seems to be this missing spark of excitement for me this year, in terms of how this year’s match came about. It also doesn’t help that our Knockouts Title match hype for this week is just a short video package of Gail Kim recollecting her history with Awesome Kong and the challenger makes NO camera appearance at all! More on that later.
On this week’s Bound For Glory “go home” show episode of Impact, we are treated to a grudge match between two of the most memorable teams to come out of TNA’s Knockouts division. On one side, we have the veteran team known as The Beautiful People and on their opposite side, we have the new generation stable that is The Dollhouse. Had there not been so many off screen turn of events, I really think this match would’ve been a great addition to the Bound For Glory card this year. Regardless, let’s take a look at how this battle between these two groups went about.
It’s a very busy week for TNA President Dixie Carter this week, as she makes her final preparations ahead of Sundays big event. She begins her night with a bit of an intervention inside the ring with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III. Dixie’s adoring nephew calls out his Aunt D and speaks against her decision to #StandUp with number one contender Drew Galloway over her own family member. Dixie fires back at Ethan with her own frustrations of Ethan’s noticeable absence during her stint against Jeff Jarrett and his GFW crew where as Drew has been a leader for TNA since his debut to the company. All this talk about Drew eventually brings out the challenger, who makes his final statements against the champion.
We move on to our first Knockouts sighting of the evening, joining Taryn Terrell and her dolls backstage in their haven Pillow Talk room. Taryn is in high spirits for this week’s Knockouts match as Jade, Marti Bell and Rebel have the numbers advantage against The Beautiful People; who are being represented by Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne given Angelina Love having to be sidelined amidst of her “shoulder injury”.
Taryn goes on to say after The Dollhouse finish off The Beautiful People once and for all, she’ll proudly stand over their fallen broken bodies. Hey, if it means we can actually see Taryn outside this Pillow Talk room, then I’m all for it! There’s been a real void to the Dollhouse ever since Taryn has stopped making her cameo appearances outside the backstage arena.
For their part, The Beautiful People schedule a short interview with the one and only Jeremy Borash. Madison Rayne speaks on her team’s behalf first, mocking the Dollhouse’s group name and wondering if they live in an actual toy dollhouse that come with plastic accessories. It’s a dumb name for a team after all, nothing fitting or cool like the name The Beautiful People have.
Angelina translates Madison’s rant by simply stating that the hate the Dollhouse. Yes, the three may have just recently had issues with one a other but they know how to put those differences aside for the greater good of the Knockouts division. Hooray for a mild explanation to this latest reformation of The Beautiful People! Angelina specifically calls out Jade, passing along a message that her sneak attack has made this war between the two very personal and that she has no fear against them.
Velvet concludes this interview by name dropping Taryn, claiming that she is all bark and no bite. All this can be seen by the very fact that Taryn has been nowhere near the ring since her hand was destroyed. The Beautiful People have a mission to rip the dollhouse one ugly limb at a time and Velvet makes the special request of asking Taryn to be present to see all this ugliness unfold.
Before we get to this big Handicap match, we are treated to a brief video package from former Knockouts Champion Brooke. In a sit down interview, Brooke recalls having the pleasure of winning two Knockout Championships from two of the longest reigning champions in history.
Despite her recent title lost, Brooke says she has the ambition to work harder to leave her mark because there is so much more that she has left to do! Could this be a sign of an actual rematch post Bound For Glory? Stay tuned…
It’s time for our Knockouts match! The Dollhouse make their way to the ring first, debuting a new entrance with the addition of Rebel. Sadly, all the teasing of a possible Taryn sighting prove to be for nothing as Taryn continues to be a no show.
The Beautiful People make their entrance next, debuting a new tron to match their new look, with Angelina pulling through the pain to be at ringside with her team members. Velvet and Madison skip out of entering the ring and go straight for the attack to the Dollhouse, attacking them on the outside then continuing their early offense inside of the ring.
Once the scramble makes it to the ring, Velvet and Marti start things off, Velvet going for a pin to Marti after quick clothesline. When Marti kicks out at two, Velvet makes a tag to Madison and the two each delivery a kick to Marti. Following the double team attack, Madison goes for another pin but Marti manages to kick out at two.
Marti fights off Madison to make a needed tag to Jade. Once Jade enters the ring, she corners Madison to a turnbuckle and chops at her chest. Jade follows up by whipping Madison to the ropes but only hits air when Madison ducks her forearm.
Madison takes down Jade with a running elbow drop and goes for the pin before Jade can escape to make a tag. Jade kicks out before the three count and Madison tags Velvet back into the match to deliver more offense.
After enduring a triple kick combo and a running neck breaker from Velvet, Jade manages to gain control of the match when she takes Velvet down with a dropkick. She keeps the momentum going with a suplex to Velvet and a running big boot to Madison who stands at the ring apron.
Jade attempts to hit Velvet with a roundhouse kick after whipping her to the ropes but, like with Madison, Velvet dodges Jade’s maneuver and counters with a clothesline that takes out both of them. Let the hot tag begin!
While Velvet tags in the only partner she has at her corner, Jade decides to tag in Marti. The odds turn to The Beautiful People’s favor when Madison takes down Marti with a crisp enziguri and shortly follows up with the Rayne Drop. Just a second before The Beautiful People can claim victory, Jade enters the ring and is able to break up Madison’s pin to Marti.
This pin breakup brings Velvet back to the ring as she fights off Jade and tosses her to the outside of the ring through the second ropes. Once on the outisde of the ring, Velvet intends to inflict damage to Jade by whipping her in the direction of the steel steps. Things don’t go according to Velve’s plan as Jade reverses Velve’s Irish whip and sends the Beautiful People member shoulder first to the steel steps.
The damage isn’t satisfying enough for Jade and she proceeds to hunt for a chair that hides under the ring. When Jade finds her weapon, she positions Velvet’s arm in perfect place to break yet another arm. Fortunately, no arms are broken as Velvet moves her arm just before the Jade’s chair can connect.
Back inside the ring, the legal Madison is hit with a cloud of white dust from Rebel. The blind attack allows for Marti to roll up Madison into a pin and steal the win for the Dollhouse! Eh, at least it wasn’t the heels weren’t using hairspray this time?
Our Knockouts Champion is next on this week’s program and she speaks about her rivalry with Awesome Kong. She says she respects the hell out of the toughest opponent she’s ever faced and wouldn’t trade anything she’s put her body through during their matches from their initial feud.
She goes on to say that their legacy will meet again on Sunday and that when fans look back at this year’s Bound For Glory, they’ll remember it as the match that Gail defeats Awesome Kong.
Finally, Dixie Carter wraps up her final bidding to the Bound For Glory card by booking maniac Eric Young in a match against close-to-retiring Kurt Angle and adds some “fairness” to the now triple threat main event match. Ethan Carter III will now how to defend his title against Drew Galloway and Matt Hardy with Jeff Hardy acting as special guest referee. Why these last minute adjustments may you ask? Well, that’s Hardy Country for you, darlin!
Thoughts: For what is suppose to be considered the last chance to hype things up for your biggest PPV of the year (that’s not even mentioning that there are only two year around), it just feels TNA really did a lazy job of getting things excited for the Knockouts title match.
Still, that’s somewhat expected given the match we’re getting this year and the lack of story behind it. The problem is that rather than an actual story, TNA went on to rely on the history route between Awesome Kong and Gail Kim; a route that doesn’t require much creativity because the match can write itself.
As a fan, this only enforces the theory that the creative team have just given up on trying new things with the Knockouts division during this second half of the year. The Knockouts division started off on a high note at the start of 2015 because of the new faces and angles that were being introduced and it’s just a shame that despite all the freshness we’ve seen, backward steps are still being taken thus resulting in this Gail Kim versus Awesome Kong match happening.
The video package Gail Kim hype was fine but I would’ve also liked to have heard from Awesome Kong as well, as she is pretty much going into this title match with little to no build aside from a few clips from years ago. I fully expect Gail to retain come Sunday, as she just won the title and I really don’t see them pulling a hot shot title swap but so long as this possible final encounter delivers, I’ll be happy.
As for the Dollhouse and Beautiful People match, I thought it was a short and decent match. The heels won with a dirty win that, ironically, acting baby face Beautiful People normally use.
Again, just pointing out that this match had the potential to be the kind of match that would have been ideal to add to this year’s Bound For Glory card as a second Knockouts match, had there been more creativity behind it along with all characters cleared to wrestle.
In trying to look at some of the positives for Sunday’s event, at least it’ll actually be live this year as opposed to last year’s Japan delayed airing and that it’s actually happening outside the Impact Zone. Progress, TNA, progress. Until next time Knockout fans!
