Starting this week we’re looking to give TNA’s webshow the WWE Superstars treatment, i.e. giving Xplosion a proper write up. Let us know what you think in the comments: is this something you’d like to see on a regular basis, like our Superstars Redux?
Jumping right in.. This week on Xplosion, we’ve got Madison Rayne taking on Mickie James. Earlier this year these two had a pretty lengthy feud, so let’s see how this match compares to those title feud bouts:
Once in the ring Madison takes her sweet time removing her glove, driving Mickie a bit crazy, as she won’t start the match until she’s done. When the glove is finally off, Madison uses it to slap Mickie in the face, I-challenge-you-to-a-duel style. The duel commences.
Mickie takes two swings at Madison but she dodges them, and the two battle for control before Mickie takes control in the most crude sense: she mounts Madison and spanks her butt. Madison gets away and returns the favor with a kick to the stomach and an arm wrench. Mickie attempts to free herself from the hold with a cartwheel, but a choice handful of hair allows Madison to slam her down to the mat while keeping a hold of the arm. Mickie kips up twice, but Madison slams her back down both times. On the third try she manages to gain control, slamming Madison to the mat a few times before latching on a side headlock.
Madison shoves her off into the ropes, but is knocked right back down when Mickie returns. Madison flattens to the mat to duck another attack from Mickie, who cartwheels over her in return and hits a dropkick when both get to their feet. She goes for the pin, but Madison kicks out at the 2-count.
She brings Madison over to the corner and kicks her a few times before Irish-whipping her to the opposite corner. Madison reverses it, but her eventual attack is rebuffed, and Mickie goes for a headscissors. Madison catches her legs and launches them over the ropes. Once Mickie is on the apron Madison grabs some hair, hitting a hotshot that sends her down to the outside. Mickie is laid out when Xplosion takes a commercial break.
When Xplosion returns Madison is on the outside, helping Mickie to her feet, so to speak. She slams Mickie’s face onto the apron, and Mickie returns the sentiment with an elbow to the stomach before slamming her face-first as well. Madison regains control before tossing Mickie back into the ring. She practically tackles Mickie in the effort to get her in the pinning position, and Mickie kicks out relatively easily. Mickie crawls towards the ropes, and Madison gets her to her feet and holds her against them, choking her with the top rope. When the ref forces her to relent, she drives Mickie into the corner a few times instead. She charges and slams her body into Mickie’s, using the momentum to drive Mickie into a spinning facebuster.
Madison takes a moment to greet her fans before pinning Mickie, and the waste of time costs her, as Mickie again kicks out. She goes back to the tried and true strategy of grabbing Mickie by her hair, this time pulling her to her feet and slamming her to the mat on the back of her head. She then seats herself on Mickie’s shoulders, turning her stomach-first to the mat and slamming her head with a not-at-all-suggestive bucking maneuver. Once Mickie recovers from this, the two trade blows until Madison gains enough control to whip Mickie to the corner. Mickie catches her with a kick when she goes in for the attack and hits her in the shoulder with another. Both charge at each other like bulls, each taking the other out.
They struggle to their knees and trade blows in the center of the ring. Eventually Mickie tires of the tit-for-tat and decides to just slam Madison’s face on the mat a few times. Madison fights her off and runs right into a neckbreaker. Mickie goes for the pin, and Madison kicks out at 2. Both seem to be running low on fuel at this point, but a headscissors from Mickie seems to perk the pace up a bit. She goes on a tear of offense, kipping up at the end of it and saluting the crowd. She climbs the turnbuckle for an attack, but once she’s in mid-air her target moves out of the way, and she stumbles to the mat. Madison sneaks up from behind and pulls her into a roll-up pin, but the ref spies her pulling on Mickie tights (in this case, jean shorts), and stops the pin. Madison argues with the ref, and Mickie takes advantage of her distraction to attempt a roll-up of her own. Madison kicks out.
Madison stops any possible attack by Mickie with a well-placed kick to the head. She pulls Mickie to her feet, but before she realizes it Mickie’s taking back control and has pulled her into her jumping DDT, laying out Madison for the 3-count and the win.
Thoughts: Much like WWE Superstars, Xplosion gives a great chance for the Knockouts to have lengthier matches, and even though they may not fully attach themselves to storylines, it’s always great to see the women just go for it, fighting for nothing but the glory of a victory. Madison and Mickie are no strangers, and this match showed that, as both had moments where they anticipated an attack from the other. They were an even match for one another and seemed to trade control pretty rapidly, bringing a sense of unpredictability to the match, right down to Mickie hitting her finisher in a sudden rush of offense. This match wasn’t their best outing, but pretty much served its purpose, showcasing their individual styles, selling each as strong competitors who can trade blow for blow and giving Mickie a win fresh(ish) off her title drop. It may not have been a title rematch and Madison may not have been Winter, but it’s another notch in Mickie’s win column.
