Thursday night’s Impact show was an overall success for the Knockouts (*surprise, surprise*). For the most part, each lady involved had a formidable appearance. The Knockouts Salinas, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, ODB, Gail Kim, Karen Angle, Taylor Wilde, Roxxi, Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed were all featured in some way, shape, or form.
Thoughts & Reactions:
Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong (Title Match):
The first Knockouts match was the $25,000 and TNA Knockouts title match between Taylor Wilde and Awesome Kong. Taylor got some good offense but was pretty boring overall. I just mean, that her only real way to get Kong down was to keep dropkicking her. She needs some better strategy in my opinion. During the contest, Roxxi came down to cheer on “the newbie”. Near the end of the contest, Kong hit a flawless “Implant Buster”, which Taylor somehow kicked out of. The end of the match came when Taylor made a surprise roll-up pin on Kong for the win, the $25,000, and the TNA Knockouts Championship. Will Taylor be able to retain the title on tonights PPV “Victory Road”? We’ll just have to wait and see. My bet says she will.
The Beautiful People & Kurt Angle vs. ODB, Gail Kim & AJ Styles:
Another good match overall. Angelina Love got some great offense against ODB in the beginning, but it was (sadly) cut short. Velvet Sky didn’t do much. (Pause while the men wrestle for 5 minutes. Karen Angle makes her way down to the ring.) AJ Styles then tags in both Gail and ODB, and the 4 knockouts just brawl. Angelina gets flattened on the ground, while Gail scoops up Velvet and slams her on top of Angelina. Velvet tried to go after Gail, but Gail reverses, and get the pin with her very weak neckbreaker. The match had its high points and low points. Overall, it was a good match. I just would prefer it if the Knockouts had more ring time.
Honorable Mention:
Jacqueline & Salinas have brief appearances:
Jacqueline was seen right away as Homicide (of LAX) and Robert Roode had their parking lot brawl. She started out taunting Homicide throughout the match, and eventually started whipping him with a belt when they got back into the Impact Zone.
Salinas also had an appearance for about 0.05 seconds when Homicide was in need. He was handcuffed, and Salinas came to the rescue with keys to unbind his wrists.
Individual Assessments: (Those who wrestled only)
Taylor: Obviously the “star” of tonight’s Impact. The fact that she beat Awesome Kong is outstanding! I do have to admit though, she was pretty boring in the ring, overall.
Awesome Kong: Same old, same old. Played the powerhouse for the entire match, until she was weakened with a few dropkicks. An upsetting night as well, since she lost her title
Angelina Love: Wasn’t featured as much as she should have been. She had some good offense against ODB at the start, but flatliner shortly after/
Velvet Sky: Didn’t do much of anything. Not much to say.
Gail Kim: Had a good showing. The only thing that bothers me is that her matches are pretty repetitious.
ODB: See: “Gail Kim” above. Nuff’ Said.
Fashion Focus
The Good: Angelina Love and Velvet Sky – The matching powder pink outfits looked great in my opinion. I’ve never seen these ladies looked as groomed as they did tonight. Karen Angle also looked great in her yellow dress.
The Bad: ODB, Roxxi, Awesome Kong, Raisha Saeed, Jacqueline
The In-Between: Taylor Wilde, Gail Kim, Salinas (I Think)
Knockout of the Week:
Obviously, Taylor Wilde takes home this cake. She did tree seemingly impossible things tonight: 1.) She won $25,000 2.)She beat Awesome Kong 3.) She won the TNA Knockouts Championship. Well done Taylor!
