By Chad
TNA Knockouts Division Dwindles Down
By Chad
One of the main reasons a lot fans starting noticing TNA was because of their talented and unique women’s division, the Knockouts. We loved to tune in each week to see who Awesome Kong was going to mangle next, which high-flying stunt that Gail Kim would perform or as of lately, Tara’s feisty fits of rage. The Knockouts have proven that it’s not just the men scoring top rated segments on iMPACT! But now that Gail has headed up North, Kong has packed her bags for the Independent circuit and Tara is on her way out, where does that leave the badly, beaten-down Knockouts Division? Will TNA continue to push their Beautiful People clique, which in my opinion resembles more like the WWE brand than the TNA brand or will they replace what they lost?
After the departure of Kim and then Kong, TNA tried to revive it’s Knockout’s scene by signing Tara, formerly Victoria from the WWE. As the main focus of the Knockouts division, Tara tried to carry the burdening weight on her own. Although successful for a short time, it eventually got to her and she expressed her interest in a pay increase and when TNA didn’t deliver, she decided to say goodbye as well. It’s unfortunate because I thought Tara would take the Knockouts a little further than she did and I was truly looking forward to seeing a feud between her an Angelina Love. Then again I guess you win some and then… you just leave.
As far as the Beautiful People are concerned, I am just not that impressed. I look at them at try not to see something that is putting the Knockouts Division back and not forward. I think they all typically act and look like the Diva mold that we are all well accustomed to. And the talent level is not even comparable to the Divas, I know that’s harsh, but that’s the way it is. Velvet Sky has potential, true and Madison Rayne, well… I’ve seen worse, but Lacey Von Erich…(sigh)..Words cannot describe how terribly bad she is. I understand it’s all a learning curve, but I don’t understand why TNA wastes time and money on her when it could be put to good use with stars like Hamada and Sarita. I just think that by pushing the Beautiful People more and more, then they are just conforming to the mold that Vince created….(Ugh!)…DIVAS!
So where does TNA go from here, with their Knockouts Division struggling? Do they continue to push the Beautiful People and leave the talent backstage. Or do they start creating new stars to replace those that have since departed. I think once again TNA is showing it’s resilience and proof that they will be a brand that will be around for a long time, by constantly changing and developing new stars. Just recently TNA signed a new Knockout to their roster. She was a student of Team 3D’s Academy, her name is Mary Kate Dunigan or otherwise known on the independent circuit as Betsy Ruth. She is very Kong-esque physically, standing at 6’1 and weighing in at 250lbs. she definitely has that domineering quality about her. She is the great granddaughter of the greatest baseball player ever, Babe Ruth. She has been on the independent circuit scene, mostly in the ACW Underground and WXW. I don’t think it will be just sheer size that will help her dominate the ring, like Kong, she is very talented and agile. I really got to hand it to TNA for searching out talent to move forward, which in my eyes shows a very strong company.
All in all, I think that TNA is on the right path to recovering what was lost from the Knockouts Division. Actually they are on the only path that can be taken since they force the real talent to warm the bench. They are out hunting and scouring to find the best suited talent for the company and I say Bravo! Just keep it up and please, please…ok one more time….please, do something about your Divas, you know…the Beautiful People. Then again that is just my Chaotic Theory….
P.S. LONG LIVE AWESOME KONG!
