IMPACT Knockouts Knockdown Review - October 9, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rachael Ellering def. Lady Frost in a Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Lady Frost has competed in a handful of matches for AEW on Dark, has been a regular in the NWA lately, and has had a match or two in IMPACT this year. She's making the rounds and still apparently hasn't been locked down to a deal yet, which shocks me. She's certainly talented and that was evident in this match. This served as a quality opener and I liked how they were given as much time as they were.

Chelsea Green def. Renee Michelle in a Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I was going to say that it was obvious that Green was winning because Michelle isn't currently contracted to IMPACT, but then again, neither is Green to my knowledge. However, Green is the bigger (and better) name of the two and was the correct choice to advance. This honestly lasted longer than I was expecting given Michellle isn't a regular in IMPACT (or very good), but they had a serviceable match that got Green to the next round.

Mercedes Martinez def. Brandi Lauren in a Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinal Match

This was the quickest match on the entire show and it had every reason to be. Martinez is a dominant badass and Lauren's in-ring ability leaves a lot to be desired, so she was the perfect person to be squashed by Martinez in the first round. She's still serving as an enhancement talent even with the new undead character. This solidified Martinez as a threat right off the bat and was kept short and sweet.

Tasha Steelz def. Jamie Senegal in a Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Senegal referred to Daffney as her mother in her pre-match vignette, but a quick Google search told me she looked up to her and wasn't her actual daughter. Even still, I'm sure it meant a lot to her to pay tribute to her on this show by partaking in this tournament. I don't know much about her beyond that, but he had a decent enough outing and scored plenty of offense before eating defeat. Despite Senegal's connection to Daffney, Steelz is the better competitor of the two and needed to win this one.

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Masha Slamovich

This was a Pick Your Poison match with Mickie James choosing Purrazzo's opponent. Slamovich was an excellent choice if I do say so myself. I've seen her work in recent months in AEW and at NWA EmPowerrr, so I was stoked she had this opportunity to face one of the very best women in the business today. Sure enough, they had a terrific match. Purrazzo elevates everyone she shares the ring with and Slamovich has plenty of potential, so I hope she gets signed soon.

Mercedes Martinez def. Rachaell Ellering Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Semifinal Match

What an awesome match this was. This may have been the best bout Ellering has had since coming to IMPACT, while Martinez was able to show what WWE missed out on by releasing her.​ They really took each other to the limit and the nearfalls were suspenseful down the stretch because it easily could have gone either way. Ellering needs some more seasoning, but she's well on her way to being great and she gained a ton in defeat here.

Tasha Steelz def. Chelsea Green in a Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Semifinal Match

Green is the bigger name of the two of them, so she was my pick to win, but Steelz advancing instead was a pleasant surprise. Green fought with fire as the face, but it ultimately wasn't enough. Her injured wrist was used as an out for her losing. Will that thing ever heal? In all seriousness, this was another quality semifinal match, though not on the same level as Martinez vs. Ellering. Steelz winning without interference in her matches was also appreciated.

Awesome Kong Was Named the Latest Inductee Into the Impact Hall of Fame

It was just back in August that Kong resurfaced in wrestling for the first time in a while when she appeared at EmPowerrr and announced her retirement from the ring. Thus, it was only fitting that she was inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame because of her contributions to the company over the years. She knows how to speak from the heart and thus this was a meaningful moment. I loved how she even took time to pay homage to Daffney. That was classy.

Savannah Evans def. Alisha, Jordynne Grace and Kimber Lee in a Four-Way Monster's Ball Match

It was really cool to hear from Taylor Wilde beforehand in a pre-taped segment about wrestling Daffney over a decade ago in the first-ever women's Monster's Ball match. It's a shame she couldn't participate in this one, and the combatants were pretty random, but it was an entertaining hardcore brawl, nonetheless. They took full advantage of the stipulation, kept the crowd engaged, and Evans winning made the most sense with IMPACT getting behind her as a dominant force in the women's division.

Mercedes Martinez def. Tasha Steelz to Win the Knockouts Knockdown Tournament

These two interacted at the end of their six-woman tag team match this past week on IMPACT! Wrestling and now we know why. Steelz has been firmly established as a tag team wrestler over the last year and a half, but she came to play in this tourney and did not disappoint. She and Martinez had a hell of a match and Martinez winning was a genuine surprise seeing as how she isn't officially signed by IMPACT, or at least as far as we know. Her against either Purrazzo or Mickie James following Bound for Glory should be stellar.

Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions Decay (Rosemary and Havok) def. The Influence (Tenille Dashwood and Madison Rayne)

I was curious why this was positioned as the main event when Martinez vs. Steelz and the Monster's Ball four-way were better, but I guess we found out afterward. Don't get me wrong, though; this was a well-worked main event with all four women getting their time to shine. Dashwood and Rayne were a nice foil for Decay, who have developed strong chemistry together. We found out as the event went off the air that The IInspiration (f.k.a. WWE's The IIconics) are coming to IMPACT and are arriving at Bound for Glory. I've always said they'd be the perfect addition to their Knockouts tag team division.

Overall Show

This reminded me a lot of the critically-acclaimed EmPowerrr pay-per-view the NWA ran recently and it was so refreshing coming off the slew of short women's matches we've gotten lately in WWE. An argument can absolutely be made for IMPACT having the best women's division in the United States right now. This show did their Knockouts division justice and was a treat from start to finish. We got quality wrestling, some newsworthy moments and some tremendous tributes to Daffney. Kudos to IMPACT for putting this together.

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