“Your Two Cents” is our interactive feature where we gauge the opinions of our Twitter and Facebook followers on different discussions in women’s wrestling.
This week, we’re asking this: Winter is just the latest Knockout to leave TNA, so we want to know: what can TNA do to improve its Knockouts division despite its losses? We’ve read your responses on our social media pages and picked some of the best submissions to highlight here on the website. As always, you can join the debate by leaving your comments!
Our Two Cents
Batting for Team DD this week, it’s Katelyn giving us her personal opinion on this week’s topic:
Katelyn: It’s sad to see how far the Knockouts division has fallen… created as an exciting alternative to the WWE’s poor use of their women wrestlers, it’s now probably just as bad. Unless they have intentions of signing or creating more female tag teams, then they have no real reason to have Knockouts tag team titles and should really do away with them. And instead of focusing on the same Knockouts all the time, maybe they could give those that don’t often appear on TV a chance in the spotlight? They signed them for a reason. It’s time to switch it up, push the envelope and re-visit their roots: homegrown/indy talent, fun gimmicks, entertaining match stipulations and chances for the girls to really show off their skills.
The loss of two of their most popular stars – Angelina Love and Velvet Sky – is a great one, but a good opportunity for the remaining Knockouts to break out; to grab the ball and really run with it.
Your Two Cents
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Ant John | It needs to go back to its roots. The roots being a company that had one or two established women from elsewhere, homegrown talent and indie darlings. Women that could put on good to great matches be it 3 minutes or 13. It was a varied mix of everything back in 2008/09 and for me it ticked all the right boxes. A blend of sex appeal, technical wizardry and gimmicks that worked. And for me in 2012 its got plenty of the first, but not much of the other 2. Relying on former WWE Divas to get people’s interest needs to stop, maybe strike up a partnership with Shimmer/Shine/WSU or something. Those that impress get P.P.A’s. Slowly rebuild the division into the diverse jewel in TNA’s crown that once was. |
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Charlie Flickinger | As much as people disliked him I think the easiest way to “fix” the Knockouts division is to re-hire Russo. Under Russo we got some really epic matches. The makeover battle Royale/Ladder match. The Queen of the Cage. The Monsters Ball matches. That’s all the KO Division. They have a handful of ladies that can not only work, but can work exceptionally well. They just need to be used consistently and given not only matches, but backstage segments and promo videos again.
Now what’s going to fix the Divas Division though? |
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Eric Anderson | In a dream world, I would love to see TNA get a separate Knockouts show, even if it is only for cable. Financially it is not realistic. More Knockouts matches, even if they are internet exclusive matches on Youtube would be a start. |
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Eric Holt | TNA needs to hire girls that they’re ACTUALLY gonna use. TNA always has the tendency to hire a good amount of women wrestlers, yet they always end up using about 1-4 of them ALL the time. I’m not saying that all of the Knockouts need to be a part of the show every week, but it’d be nice to see girls that aren’t in a storyline or getting a push be put in matches to build up the Knockouts that are in storylines. They also need to stop bringing in new girls, giving them a storyline/push, then putting them on the backburner for months because it’s making fans easily forget who they are and it’s also surprising people like me and every other women’s wrestling fan that they still work for TNA. |
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Eric Lecuyer | I think that TNA should have two “divisions”. The first being the singles competitors going for the Knockouts Championship and the second being the tag team competitors going for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. Rather than using only 2 Knockouts at a time, they could have up to 6 Knockouts being consistantly being used. |
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Josue Guzman | As a TNA fan, I want to see the company grow strong enough to one day be in the sane league as WWE. Two factors that TNA has over WWE, in my opinion, are their X-Division and the Knockouts Division. However, as of lately we’ve seen changes TNA has made that has heavily hurt the high-rating Knockouts Division.
The best idea I can come up with to help rebuild the Knockouts division is to have TNA stop trying to imitate WWE’s image and focus on growing their division like they did when the Knockouts Division was first established. Bring back the six sided rings, have Dixie Carter working backstage and off camera, No VP/Excutive for the Knockouts, grow home talent before bringing in former WWE talent, have women main eventing and compete in matches with stipulations (e.g False Count, Hardcore, Steel Cage) and most importantly bring in women with all different PERSONALITIES! Remember the dominant Awesome Kong, the narcissistic Angelina Love and Velvet Sky, the mysterious Raisha Saeed, the drunken ODB and the Scream Queen Daffney? TNA had a little bit of everything and if they can bring it back again I can see the Knockouts recuperate as a Division. |
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@MeaganG1990 | I feel TNA needs to get more girls in their company. Five Years ago, the Knockouts Division came into play and you have seen the likes of ODB, Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, Jackie Moore, Traci Brooks, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love, Gail Kim, Roxxi and Salinas to start out the division. Over the course of the next year, you have seen Taylor Wilde come and bloom to the top of the mountain. Alissa Flash, Rhaka Khan and then you have seen them add more girls like Madison Rayne, Daffney, Lacey Von Erich, Tara, Mickie James, Winter and Brooke Tessmacher coming in and recently Impact added Taryn Terrell, Brooke Hogan and Taeler Hendrix to the Division. I FEEL that IF TNA does something like have a Knockouts feud for the title and then a side feud for the Tag Titles as well then maybe TNA wouldn’t have the girls lost. You have Tara and Tessmacher in a feud for the Knockouts Championship. What can they do with ODB and Eric Young? The FANS want to see Madison and Gail Kim to go after the titles. Hell they want to see Sarita and Rosita go after the titles as well because they have a problem with ODB and Eric Young and THEN you can use Mickie and Taeler Hendrix with turning Mickie heel as she needs it. That’s one option. Another Option is they can do a Knockout PPV like they do with the X Division and show their talents and bring in FRESH faces, not old WWE faces. Fresh! This is what I think TNA really needs to do with their Knockouts division! |
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Megan Travis | It all feels like the same old same old with them. Tessmacher, Gail and Madison are the ones that get consistant screen time so utilitzing ones like Tara, Mickie and ODB more would help freshen things up. |
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Michael Kelly | Personally, I’d hire talents from the indies. The Canadian Ninjas (Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews) could be used to put the tag team division on the map (they are awesome imo) also using indie talents instead of former Divas would save the company financially. Also using talents like Mercedes Martinez, Cheerleader Melissa & even Jessie McKay (to name a few) would not only bring back the standard of wrestling they once had but diversity too, you’d have your “pure” wrestlers, your good gimmicks & sex appeal. |
And now we turn it over to you…
What are your two cents on the debate? How can TNA turn its Knockouts Division around? Tell us in the comments…
