TNA One Night Only - Knockouts Knockdown 2014 Review

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud Introduced the Knockouts

It's painfully apparent that TNA, the commentary team and the talent don't care about these One Night Only shows based on how they act, leading me to question why they bother holding them to begin with. ECIII and Spud were funny in their roles, but Mike Tenay and Taz cracking jokes (or at least attempting to) ruined it for this viewer. If nothing else, I liked how they introduced viewers to each of the aspiring Knockouts, something I don't believe they did with last year's event.


Gail Kim def. Veda Scott

Though I'm familiar with Scott through her Ring of Honor work, I had never actually seen her work before this match. Kim is capable of getting a good match out of anyone she works with and this was no exception. Scott had a nice showing and she'd be a good pickup by TNA at some point (when they can find the money to hire new talent, that is).

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Angelina Love def. Scarlett Bordeaux

I've heard of Scarlett through the independent scene before, but hadn't been exposed to her work before now. I don't know if she regularly uses this party gimmick or if it was just used for this show, but it came off very heelish and it left the audience with no one to cheer for since Love is a heel as well. It was a fairly sloppy match and Scarlett didn't do much that impressed me. Perhaps it was just an off night for her and she's better than this, but the lame gimmick did her no favors.


Reby Sky def. Velvet Sky

I was surprised there was no mention that Sky is Matt Hardy's real life wife, but it was understandable since this show was taped before Matt was back with the company. She's never been the strongest in-ring worker, but obviously being with Matt has helped her improve. It was also nice that they had Reby pull out the victory after two signed Knockouts won their matches.


Madison Rayne def. Havok

Of course, this show was taped before Havok was officially a part of the company, so it was weird to see her in the rookie role in her match against Rayne. Despite her intimidating presence, Havok isn't all that great of a wrestler, but Rayne still managed to carry her to a decent match. It didn't make Havok (the current Knockouts champion as of this writing) look too good to lose here after months of dominating the entire roster.


Taryn Terrell def. Karlee Perez

I was a big fan of Perez (fka Maxine) during her time in WWE and always felt she was underutilized. Her interaction with EC3 in the opening segment was comical given the history in NXT (back when it was still a crappy competition show). As for the match, it was one of the better bouts of the night up to this point. This was one of Terrell's first matches upon her return to the ring earlier this year, so she was still a bit rusty, but it wasn't too obvious. While Perez has yet to land a spot on the Knockouts roster, she is currently doing well for herself in the new Lucha Underground promotion.


Mia Yim def. Brittany

Yim is another standout independent wrestler who I've had the chance to see wrestle live in the past. She and Brittany worked a pretty good matchup with both talents shining. One of the biggest problems with these One Night Only shows being taped so far back is that most of the wrestlers' gimmicks are outdated, including Brittany's who is now crazy and aligned with Sam Shaw. Still, though, she is a talented hand in the ring and I was glad to see Yim advance.


Brooke Tessmacher def. Deonna

I had completely forgotten Brooke was still a part of the active roster since we haven't seen her on TV in so long. Deonna is adorable and all, but I was waiting for the moment where she would finally snap and beat the crap out of Brooke. Oddly enough, that moment never came. She showed some fire early on, but Brooke dominated her for the most of the match and won. It wasn't a terrible match, but it was very strangely booked.


Marti Belle def. ODB

It was nice to see an actual story attached to this match with Spud in the corner of Belle. The action was fine for what it was, but there was nothing about it that was out of the ordinary. The ODB character has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, so it made me slightly sad seeing her work this match since she's since been released. Again, I was glad Belle advanced to add another fresh face to the Gauntlet Battle Royal.


ODB def. Rockstar Spud

Obviously, they needed to kill time between the last match and the main event, so this was purely filler, and it showed. I enjoy both ODB and Spud but this was ridiculous and a waste of time. At the very least, it was a fun final farewell to the ODB character because, as previously mentioned, she has since parted ways with the company.


Madison Rayne Won a Gauntlet Battle Royal to Become the Queen of TNA

I've criticized TNA in the past for the countless number of Gauntlet Battle Royals they do, as it feels like I've seen one on every One Night Only installment in the last year. Most of the eliminations were rapid fire and forgettable, but at least there was some suspense when it came down to the final few that led to Rayne picking up the win. I really liked the allusion to last year with last year's winner Kim helping crown Rayne given their history together.


Overall Show

I've enjoyed a few of the last One Night Only shows, and while their wasn't anything about this one that made me cringe (unlike many of the others), it didn't meet the high standard of some of the previous ones. I was happy that they took a different approach to the event this year by giving each of the new Knockouts an identity instead of having all the main roster talents go over. There was a lot of solid wrestling and , but unless you're a huge fan of women's wrestling, there wasn't anything about it that made it must-see.