It’s the night of Slammiversary and all through the world, wrestling fans are waiting, shaking in anticipation. It’s the biggest night for TNA, their anniversary. The granddaddy of them all for the little Orlando company that has kept on chugging for the past eight years. When most ragtime, no name, mediocre companies would have folded, TNA has truly stood the test of time. That speaks volume about their resiliency and their efforts to make their company better…
My God. I sound like a TNA supporter.
Let me start over. Tonight was TNA’s version of Summerslam (since it’s not Wrestlemania apparently), Slammiversary. How the company has managed to survive this long is beyond me, but nonetheless, it’s made it this long and they decided to oblige us Knockout fans with an absolutely scorching hot contest for the Knockouts Championship featuring Madison Rayne, the champ, against the babyface challenger, Roxxi. I would love to sit here and act all excited for the match, but I’m really not. TNA did absolutely nothing to build up this match and this past Thursday on Impact the title match wasn’t even mentioned. The lack of hype for this Knockouts title match has left a lot of fans frigid, including yours truly, and put an immense amount of unfair pressure on Madison and Roxxi to perform. Whether or not they can live up to those expectations remained to be seen. Personally, I didn’t have high hopes. Did you?
As it turns out, I was absolutely right to not have high hopes. What happened tonight was an absolute travesty. It was a miscarriage of justice. It was the biggest crime committed since OJ Simpson walked away a free man thanks to Kim Kardashian’s father (… and some other old guys). Roxxi, as far as we know, is now gone from TNA and it’s total bullshit if you want my honest opinion. I’ve never in my life been more disgusted with a single television program in my entire life. I find it completely laughable that Eric Bischoff went on record this week saying the Knockouts division was a staple of the company. It’s not an absolute farce and I’m ready to give up on it. There’s really nothing else I can say. For those of you who spared yourselves from watching, I commend you. Lets just get on with it.
Roxxi is out first and thank God she is in a new outfit tonight. It’s not that pretty and it’s certainly not that flashy, but it’s not a gross brown color. It’s a nice red ensemble etched with a bit of gold. As Roxxi comes to the ring, the feed cuts to a highlight of Roxxi beating Madison a few weeks ago in a non-title match, which is basically how she earned this chance tonight. After that, Madison walks out solo and she’s dressed in this little pink skirt and a black top. It’s interesting to me that she’s alone, and I respect that. It makes me wonder if the Beautiful People will end up getting involved towards the end. The champ gets into the ring and does her usual thing, while Roxxi stands back and watches, focused on her match and highly unimpressed by Madison’s sexy antics. Madison is looking so confident, totally ready for this match and she hands the title over to the referee who sports a nifty bow-tie. Cool.
Mike Tenay wonders aloud if Roxxi can take the final step tonight and secure her first TNA championship and shockingly, Madison has summoned a ring servant to hand her a microphone. Nice twist. She tells everyone to chill out for a second and that gets her some fantastic heat. Madison claims that she has something important to say and she really wants everyone to listen. Of course, no one wants to listen to her, but that doesn’t really deter the champ from speaking her mind. She turns her focus directly on Roxxi and asks the challenger to explain why the Beautiful People, as a faction, have basically dominated the Knockouts division for the past two years while Roxxi’s TNA tenure has been shaky, to say the least. She reminds everyone that Roxxi has been in and out of TNA several times and while this goes on, the crowd is just eating Madison alive. Madison is annoyed at the disrespect but she starts to bitch that this time Roxxi was basically handed a Knockouts title shot and to be fair, she’s got a point.
The crowd doesn’t agree and they continue to go nuts on Madison. She responds in perfect heel fashion and screams at everyone to shut up. No one listens to her and finally Madison tunes them out and moves on. She complains that tonight she is putting everything on the line and that it’s unfair Roxxi isn’t putting anything up. Madison says she has everything to lose and nothing to gain, whereas Roxxi has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Roxxi looks perplexed by this but things become clear when Madison challenges Roxxi to put her career on the line. Madison taunts the shit out of Roxxi and demands that she give her an answer right now. She even bucks up and gets in Roxxi’s face. Roxxi finally caves but before she can get all the words out, Madison slams her in the head with the microphone and goes for the quick pin. Roxxi kicks out but she’s bleeding profusely thanks to that vicious shot.
Roxxi starts bossing Madison around and takes her down with a double elbow. She goes for a pin but it’s unsuccessful. Roxxi is really covered with blood and it’s so gross. I’m like cringing but Roxxi continues to fight on and climbs on the top rope. Madison does take her down and Roxxi’s face slams into the mat. Blood flies everywhere and Madison once again takes control. She goes for a cover, but only receives a two count because Roxxi isn’t about to give up that easily. Always the popular one, Roxxi has the crowd solidly behind her. They’re chanting her name but Madison continues to overshadow Roxxi. Roxxi is finally able to get some offense in and she slams Madison’s head into the mat. She follows it up by attempting to whip Madison across the ring, into the ropes, but Madison reverses it and they start to exchange arm holds. Roxxi ends up hitting a sweet looking enziguri and she begins to bounce Madison around like a beach ball. She ends up getting the champ down and hits a pretty good impact maneuver. She goes for a pinfall, but Madison fights out of it which sucks for Roxxi. I thought she had the victory! Both women begin to exchange holds again but this is very brief. Roxxi uses her size advantage and scoops Madison up. She nails her with the Voodoo Drop but the momentum sends Madison flying out of the ring. Roxxi isn’t able to capitalize and Madison is allowed to regain her composure on the outside of the ring. Roxxi finally goes to get her and tosses Madison back into the ring. She goes to follow her in, but Madison is coherent enough to kick Roxxi in the face. Roxxi is woozy now and stumbles around, and Madison hits her finisher.
1… 2… 3! Roxxi gets pinned and now her career is apparently over.
Are you freaking kidding me?!
Madison celebrates in the ring as the fans seem shocked by what has transpired. I’m shocked as well. The Roxxi chants begin and Roxxi is led up the ramp. Madison is screaming at Roxxi to get the hell out of the building because she made a deal. This is absolutely horrific. The scene fades out with an image of Madison Rayne checking her hair and make-up in the belt and Roxxi walking dejectedly up the ramp.
Wow. Where do I even begin? Normally this is where I go through the good, the bad, and the ugly, but ohmygod. What’s good about this?!
After taking a moment to collect my bearings I reckon I can say Madison’s promo was good. This is by far the best she’s ever been on the microphone and the amount of heat she was getting was absolutely insane. I feel as if Madison really believed in the words she was saying. It was an amazing acting job by her and you can tell that she’s getting more and more comfortable in her role as the company’s top heel. She exuded confidence and her voice was firm and clear. Tonight, Madison was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and what she had to do to get it. She played on Roxxi’s sweetness and basically manipulated her into putting her career on the line. Once Madison got what she wanted, she busted Roxxi right in the head with the microphone. The shot was absolutely sick. I still have no clue why this happened or what TNA was thinking by doing this, but I guess Madison fans can take away the fact she’s gotten an even bigger rub. She’s now the TNA Career Killer.
(This whole gimmick is going to end up being the TNA Ratings Killer if they keep it up. That’s just my personal opinion.)
The match itself was good after I got over the initial shock of that grotesque microphone shot Roxxi took. I’ve never really seen a woman bleed quite that much. Why would Roxxi bleed for this company when they basically used her and tossed her out? I realize that Angelina is their top face but why did Roxxi have to be such a victim tonight? As brief and dramatic as the match was, it had some nice moments. Both women showcased some great skills and transitional holds, and they have chemistry together. I honestly thought tonight was going to be a stepping stone for more to come between these two. I guess with Angelina getting cleared to return, and Rosie being on the roster that there wasn’t room for Roxxi and that’s just awful. It’s just a shame that their little match is going to be overshadowed by this controversy but rightfully so. We know TNA is biased towards the Beautiful People and Angelina Love, but they just reached an entirely new low tonight. Roxxi is a woman who has done everything she can for TNA and then some. She came in as a Voodoo Queen. She had her head literally scalped for this company. She’s come back to them time and time again to help out in a pinch, and they continue to treat her like shit. It’s unfortunate and it’s certainly unfair, and I can’t believe this has happened to her in such a shady fashion.
More often than not, us fans get wrapped up in the characters the wrestlers play on television. We hate them. We love them. But sometimes we forget that they’re people. Roxxi is a human being who is trying to make a living doing something she has a passion for. I honestly feel so sorry for her at the moment. This is the type of thing that can make a person question their career choices and rethink their way of living. Roxxi is a really talented individual, with a lot to give wrestling. TNA had no business jerking her around the way they did tonight. I think TNA showed their true colors tonight and this could very well be the final nail in the coffin of the Knockouts division. Those of you who sit there every week and beg for Sarita, Hamada, ODB, and Taylor Wilde to get pushes, just stop. Their push will probably end up in having their career ended by Madison Rayne and none of us want to see that.
The backlash of this is going to be intense and I encourage all of you to feel the way you want to feel. Just keep in mind that none of this is Madison’s fault. Don’t blame her, crucify her, or bash her. She’s just playing a character; like Roxxi. Madison doesn’t write the script, and she certainly doesn’t go around telling management who to hire and fire. (As far as we know, but come on.) I don’t think it’s fair to Madison that she gets some of the blame for this and believe me, there will be people who start to blame her. She’s just a young woman enjoying the push of a lifetime and if I were her, I would absolutely eat it up too. Is it believable that she’s a ‘career killer?’ Absolutely not, but what can we do?
A part of me feels bad that this review is so negative. What else am I supposed to do, though? This has turned into nothing more than a rant and I hate that. I’ve said it so many times in the past that TNA used to be the home of the most amazing womens wrestling on television. But now? Now it’s just depressing to watch. I wish Roxxi all the best, I really do. How can you not sympathize with her? Everyone has to do what they can to make a living, even if it means going back to the company that has screwed you over before.
I don’t know where TNA can go from here with their Knockouts. If I had to guess, then I would assume Angelina is going to come back and immediately challenge for the belt. If not Angelina, then Rosie. TNA seems pretty pleased with both of those women at the moment. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to either potential feud. We’ve seen Angelina and TBP before, and I’m not sold on Rosie at all. That said, I certainly don’t want to see anyone else challenge for the championship because they’ll likely end up in the unemployment line by the time their four week push is up.
Oh TNA. What have you done?
Match Rating: 2**/5*****
Oh, as far as the WCW goes, Chelsea did exactly what I predicted she would do and that was turn on Desmond Wolfe and help Abyss win the Monster’s Ball match. It wasn’t a full turn, but it was enough to signal the end of Desmond and Chelsea, and yes, that makes me sad too.
