Yes, Knockout fans, it’s time for another Xplosion Write-Up! This time, we’ve got a rematch from an Impact last month, as Brittany is again taking on Angelina Love for the Knockouts Title. Will we see an unprecedented title change on Xplosion? (Spoiler: no). Let’s watch:
They start with a tie-up, Angelina tossing Brittany over her shoulder. She’s laughing, making it clear that she’s not expecting much from this match. The Knockouts tie up again, and this time Angelina takes her down with an arm drag. A third tie-up, and a bodyslam delivered to Brittany. I’m sensing a pattern here…
With the fourth tie-up, Brittany finally gets some offense in, throwing Angelina across the ring. She goes on a tear of offense, which Velvet Sky seeks to stop in its tracks. She climbs into the ring, but Brittany sends her right out, using her momentum to toss her straight out of the ring. Angelina joins her teammate when she tries to charge at Brittany, getting pushed through the ropes instead. With both Beautiful People on the outside, we head to a commercial break.
When we return to the action, Angelina has returned to the ring, and Brittany is ready to go. They tie up, and Angelina latches on a side headlock. Brittany shoves her off into the ropes, but Angelina sends her to the mat with a shoulder block on the return. Angelina poses for the crowd before attempting to run the ropes, and that pause gives Brittany an opening. She grabs Angelina’s boot and trips her, turning it into a momentum that allows her to plant the Knockouts Champion with arm drags and a bodyslam. Again, Velvet tries to save the day, and again, she takes a direct flight to the outside.
This time, it’s Angelina who takes advantage of the situation, attacking Brittany from behind while she’s keeping an eye on Velvet. Angelina props Brittany up against the second rope, choking her with a knee. Referee Stiffler, despite being the world’s biggest undercover Beautiful People stan, gets her to break the illegal hold.
Brittany starts to fight back, whipping Angelina to the ropes. When she tries to hit Angelina with a back body drop, though, she gets a knee to the chest. Angelina nails her with an elbow drop before going for the pin, earning a two-count.
Angelina locks in a submission on Brittany, wrenching back her right shoulder with her legs. She drags them closer to Velvet, and once she’s within reach allows her teammate to grab her hands, increasing the pressure on Brittany’s shoulder. Velvet stops when Stiffler “sees” them, but does it again when his view is “blocked”. He again sees their shenanigans, and breaks it up. Angelina tries to regain his trust with some seductive shoulder touching before returning to the match, charging at Brittany and missing. She hits the turnbuckle, and regains her composure, trying to land a blow on Brittany. It’s blocked, and Brittany lands some forearms before hitting a sequence of clotheslines capped off with a dropkick.
Brittany hits the handspring elbow and Velvet senses that Angelina’s title reign might be in trouble, because she hops up on the ring apron for some timely distraction. Velvet tries to hit Brittany with a forearm, but it’s blocked, and Velvet ends up getting hit in the face herself. She’s sent to the floor outside.
Brittany’s distracted, though, and Angelina is able to get to her feet and hit a perfectly timed Botox Injection. Angelina pins Brittany and gets the win, retaining the title.
Thoughts: Once again, Xplosion improves on a similar match from Impact. This show is truly becoming TNA’s answer to Superstars and Main event. While the matches may not always be edge-of-your-seat exciting, it’s nice to see the Knockouts work with some extra breathing room.
Brittany looked really strong here, almost fending off both Beautiful People single-handedly. For a rookie, that’s impressive. I’m not sure why the Knockouts Title was even on the line here, though. How did Brittany earn a rematch? Needless to say, there was no chance she was walking away with the win, and it took away some of the mystery, as a non-title match may have given Brittany an opportunity to sneak out a shocking win, like she did in her debut match.
Regardless, Angelina got a win in typical fashion, using Velvet as a distraction. It’s the same old, same old in that regard, but I guess TNA thinks once the Beautiful People start getting clean wins, their gimmick takes a back seat. I don’t agree with that – there are a number of ways for Angelina to get a clean win while being heelish. But, in my opinion, the six-time Knockouts Champion needing to cheat so much to beat a rookie doesn’t look good, no matter how dirty she is.
