TNA One Night Only - Knockouts Knockdown Review

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Gail Kim def. Alissa Flash

I wasn't familiar with Flash's work prior to seeing her compete, so the video package that aired before her match was helpful. I had her of her in the past, but never have I seen her work. She looked drastically different from the last time she was in TNA and worked a good match with Kim. Kim is capable of carrying anyone in the ring, but Flash was able to hold her own as well. Seeing how Kim was one of the pioneers of the Knockouts division, it would have been ludicris had she not advanced to main event, so her win here was only logical.


Lei'd Tapa def. Ivelisse

As much as a fan as I am of Ivelisse, there is no denying that she is still green in the. She wasn't as green as Tapa, though, who botched several moves in this contest. Their initial encounter was great, but I don't know what happened on this show. They didn't seem to mesh as well this time around, which affected the flow of the bout as a whole. I now understand why Tapa has yet to resurface on TNA television and hope she improves on her in-ring work before she is called up to the main roster.

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Tara def. Mia Yim

The commentators making a mockery of Yim's name prior to the bout didn't make her come across as a serious competitor, and the fact her name sounds similar to Gail Kim's didn't help matter, either. I have had the distinct pleasure of watching (and meeting) Yim compete on the independent scene in the past, and I thought she had a pleasantly surprising showing against Tara here. It was pretty predictable that Tara would be emerging victorious here, so I was fine with the finish. While I never enjoyed Tara's act with Jesse, I did like her on her own and it is a shame she is no longer with TNA.


Velvet Sky def. Jillian Hall

TNA, if you're going to pick up ex-WWE wrestlers to use for your pay-per-views, at least pick up ones that were actually talented. I was never a fan of Jillian in WWE and couldn't have cared less that returned on this show. While Sky may be may favorite Knockout, it is common knowledge that she is still horrendous in the ring, so pairing these two up was a bad idea. There were several botches and the finish was anticlimactic. I have never been so happy for Sky's music to play to signify the end of a match.


Mickie James def. Serena

These are two of the best women wrestlers in the business today, so I was definitely disappointed by this matchup. It seemed like they were holding back a bit and the contest certainly didn't live up to its potential. It was odd to see Serena take the heel route against James down the stretch since James is currently a heel, but I realize that this was taped before James turned on television. The crowd was dead for this bout and understandably so. They played too much off the respect angle and not much else of a story was told. However, it's nice to see Serena at least competing in a mainstream organization for the first time in three years since being released by WWE.


Brooke Tessmacher def. Santana

While she may be a pretty face, Santana isn't the best in-ring worker, but she worked an exceptional match against Tessmacher. Tessmacher is still improving in the ring, but her strong suit is most definitely connecting with the crowds. It's a shame she has since thrown that away by turning heel, but I must admit that her pairing with Bully Ray is a guilty pleasure of mine. As for Santana, she was fine in this bout, but she didn't stand out to the point where I could see her securing a spot on the main roster.


ODB def. Trinity

Wait, Naomi competed in TNA? Oh, wrong Trinity. Anyway, the match wasn't memorable in the slightest, as ODB's entertaining antics were the only thing about the bout that was worth watching. I'm not all familiar with Trinity, but she held her own against ODB. I have always been a fan of ODB and it provides for some dumb fun when the matches she competes in aren't the greatest.


Jackie Moore def. Taryn Terrell

Moore wasn't the best wrestler in the Knockouts division to begin with, but her in-ring skills are certainly not what they once were. It's not like she used to be fantastic in the ring or anything like that, but age has looked to have taken its toll on her as a performer. She can still wrestle matches when there are no disqualifications (see her brawl with ODB from a few months ago), but in standard one-on-one matches, she is nothing special. I'm a huge fan of Terrell and was disappointed not to see her advance to the main event. Although she is still quite green in the ring, Terrell has a lot of upside and it's a shame that she had to put over a veteran that had no business being in the main event match.


Hannah Blossom def. Taeler Hendrix and Sojo Bolt in a Triple Threat

I actually remember Bolt from her run with the company a few years back and was surprised that TNA didn't do more with her when she broke away from Awesome Kong. Taz referring to Hannah as Bella Blossom was only a taste of how terribly obnoxious the commentary was on this show. Hendrix has improved immensely in the ring since her TNA debut last year and it's a true shame that she was released this past summer. I was surprised to see Blossom pick up the win when has had the least amount of television time out of all three of the competitors.


Gail Kim Won a Gauntlet Battle Royal to Become the Queen of TNA

What is with TNA's obsession with gauntlet battle royals? I feel like I have seen one too many over the last few months. Anyway, the match itself was mediocre at best and was basically what I expected it to be. The numerous botches took away from the contest as a whole and the eliminations toward the end had no meaning. Kim faking an injury to roll up James could be seen coming from a mile away and was a weak way to end the match. If nothing else, Madison Rayne "passing the tiara" to Kim was a cool moment that played off their past history with each other.


Overall Show

I simply don't understand the point of this pay-per-view if almost every match was won by an already established talent. Why not use this tournament to build a new Knockout such as Taryn Terrell or one of the other fresh faces? It's not like many people purchase these events to begin with, but it certainly would have helped in making it more enjoyable. The sad thing is that a majority of the ladies who competed on this show are either unemployed, recently released or are inactive, so it was basically a showcase of the company's former women wrestlers. If that was the case, why not make an attempt to feature Angelina Love, Awesome Kong and others instead of people who have never even competed in a TNA ring before (Jillian Hall)? Needless to say, this show is not worth watching in the slightest and you should not even bother dishing out the money to buy it unless you are a die-hard aficionado of women's wrestling.