Celebrating 5 Years of the TNA Knockouts Championship…

Well with tonight being the final night, we’ll move one more step closer to finding out who is at the top spot, but first we must continue to countdown the top Knockouts Matches we’ve seen in the last few years in TNA. Tonight our knockouts champion Brooke Tessmacher (Profile) will for the first time ever, defend the knockouts championship in a singles match at bound for glory. But now I will give you five matches that will certainly entertain you as we continue the countdown. I have #11 to #7 for you all

#11: Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne– Genesis 2011

Now Come on, there have been fourteen matches and we have yet to see this young lady and she certainly deserve some credit. As champion, Madison Rayne has been one of the most consistent matches, looking back at all her matches, there was never really a bad match, they were all good, solid and you enjoyed it. Sure some were short, some were long but they were all pretty good. This one was certainly a stand out, Mickie James came in and wanted the championship, Madison Rayne was one of the most dominating Women’s Champions in TNA since Awesome Kong. So when we finally got to see these two wrestle one on one, it was certainly worth the wait. Mickie James battled Madison Rayne’s sidekick Tara for long enough before making her way to Madison Rayne.

Now those “You Can’t Wrestle” chants towards Madison Rayne were a bit cheap, sure she hasn’t produced matches Awesome Kong and Gail Kim dished out, but I seriously feel, since being crowned champion, Madison Rayne has delivered at every PPV, from wrestling Roxxi to Alissa Flash to all the knockouts she went through, all of those matches were really good, again sure not masterpieces, but no means bad. SO I’m hoping those chants were targeting her character more than her capability in the ring. Either way, this is our last stop before jumping into the top ten.

#10: Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim Kong – Impact Main Event

This would be the first ever Knockouts Championship Main event match in TNA history, this would be the fourth time Gail Kim and Awesome Kong would battle one on one, while this would be the third Title match between these two women, with Gail Kim winning the first two. This would also be the introduction of Raisha Saeed. You would think after wrestling three times, these two wouldn’t know what else to pull out from under their sleeves, boy were we wrong. This match felt as fresh and new and exciting as their last three encounters and this would also start the reign of Awesome Kong who would dominate the knockouts division.

Why this one over the other ones? It was our main event, this is when the entire division was at it’s height, this is when the feeling sank in that the Women’s Division was one of the most important assets of the company. The crowd made this match amazing, they were cheering for Awesome Kong, they were cheering for Gail Kim, they were excited for this match. The crowd made this experience amazing. We have yet to see another Main Event Knockouts Match of this caliber since, but it wasn’t as lengthy as their past two matches but was as amazing and as exciting. So that is why we kick off the top ten matches with these two women. Plus let’s face it, that triple powerbomb was awesome.

#9 – Gail Kim vs Tara – Against All Odds

This remains as one of TNA’s stand out matches this year, TNA hasn’t produced anything ground breaking in 2012, nothing has been bad, I will admit also the title change hot potato game was kept to a real minimal, but this was certainly one of the highlights of 2012. Gail Kim went through the knockouts Division like a woman on a mission; it was a nice set up having Mickie James, velvet Sky and Tara battling it out for a championship match. Tara won and honestly, we all know we’ve been waiting for this moment. Tara and Gail Kim didn’t get to work with each other much in the WWE and certainly not at their full potential, so getting to see what these two could do given the chance, was all we were waiting for. Yes, we had Madison Rayne at ringside, but she left after and her involvement was kept at a minimum. Hopefully I wasn’t too screwy with this choice and placing this a bit high on the list, but 2012 certainly should be celebrated I feel.

#8 Knockouts 5 Way match: Gail Kim vs Roxxi Laveaux vs Traci Brooks vs Jackie Moore vs Christy Hemme

Now this came right after TNA announcement of the Knockouts Championship being introduced. TNA had one thing to do, let us know “this is what we have and this is what is to come” and boy did they deliver. TNA was at an all time high with the women. Sure they had only five knockouts, weakling Christy Hemme amongst them, but they all had character, they all had a role in the company, they all served their own purpose outside of the division and when you add so much personality in one ring for a fight, this is what you get, MAGIC. Because that is what these girls created, magic. Yes, yes, even Christy Hemme served her little purpose. Funny, who would have thought we’d have an all time’s match with Christy Hemme in it? I’m a Christy Hemme Mark sorry. But anyways, we saw some quick action, some big spots and some high flying move. Jackie Moore looked tough, Traci Brooks took some big spots, Gail Kim shined and Roxxi Laveaux picked up the win and was going into Bound for Glory looking strong. This was truly one of TNA’s best Knockouts Matches. Notice, 40 seconds into the match we got some “boring” chants, and by the end of the match, everyone was on their feet, praising the performance and lastly, the introduction of the famous “FFG”. It just sucks I couldn’t get a better quality of this match.

#7 Trinity vs. Desire Stretcher Match (2004)

So I know we’ve had some technical masterpieces and most the matches were on the list after the introduction of the Knockouts Championship, but dating way back, when WWE’s Women’s Division was revamping with the Divas Search, TNA had two ladies (along with Alexis Laree and Tracy Brooks), who were doing things, we’d wish we saw more often from WWE. Desire was no pro in the ring, she wasn’t the most skillful wrestler in the ring, while Trinity had her great moments in TNA, but this was a masterpiece, it has this whole “Trish Stratus vs. Stephanie McMahon” feel about it, not a technical masterpiece but a classic non the less. Desire (Kim Nielson) came back after being out for a year with a broken back and this feud was just a taste of what Gail Kim and Jackie Moore continued. TNA went through phased when it came to Women’s feuds, and this one was the first one. A true classic right here and that’s why it’s the 7th match on the countdown.

So that rounds out another group of matches, there is a whole lot more to come.

Until next time …