TNA Impact's Knockout Division: Women's Wrestling Defined or Unrefined?

The WWE’s Divas Division is in a shambles. Short matches, workers with little to no talent being featured on the air, and veteran workers being given nothing. Every week it’s the same story, and it seems to have no end in sight.

On the other side of the coin is the TNA Knockouts Division. The women of TNA not only appear on TV every week, they are often heavily featured, with two or more matches, promos and even brawls backstage.

Filled with hard hitting action, and some intense storylines, the Knockouts Division is head and shoulders above anything WWE is doing with its female performers.

Yeah. So, why am I just not into it? The truth is, considering the aspects of the business that I personally enjoy, the Knockouts should be right down my alley.

First and foremost, I am a fan of the wrestling. Yes, the promos, the spots, all of the events leading up to the match, are great, and often very necessary. I can appreciate all of the work that goes into making a show click. I’ve been a part of so many myself, and all of the elements that have to be in place for the match itself to be presented in just the right way are important.

But, it’s the wrestling that I want. Just ring the bell and get to it. The TNA Knockouts seem to be all about that, and when they get in the ring, they mean business.

I dig that. I can respect that. And, it would not surprise me if some, or all of the Divas in WWE, tuned in to Impact Wrestling to see the Knockouts in action, silently wishing they would be given the same opportunity to shine.

So I’m good with the wrestling. There’s no issue for me on that front.

The problem I have is with the way the Knockouts are getting over.

It’s no secret that female wrestlers in this business have historically been given the short end of the stick when it comes to the way in which their characters are presented.

For the men, gimmicks are defined as the difference in personalities, the various different view points of the characters involved. These differences include all traits and subtle nuances of each guy, and it is these differences that help separate one wrestler, one character, from the other.

John Cena’s character is hard-working, loyal, and completely upright and honest. He sees the world in terms of black and white, right and wrong. John not only has the look to make this work, he comes off as very genuine in his approach.

CM Punk’s character, while also committed to his craft, has let his own personal agenda get in the way of his career. Instead of remaining in WWE and defending the championship, he has chosen to walk away from the company he feels is the epitome of everything that’s wrong with the business. Punk’s smile and straightforward talk makes the situation feel very real, and it’s totally working for him.

Randy Orton’s gimmick of being the dangerous, unpredictable viper is one born out of necessity. Randy’s former run as the legend killer worked when he was heel, but a baby face attacking long-time fan favorites of the business would not bode well in getting him over. His wild-eyed inner rage as the Viper taps into the primal instinct that we all have, a part of ourselves who just want to explode without fear of consequence.

Christian’s gimmick of being the sneaky self-confident heel who is convinced that no one appreciates him or respects his talent, is in many ways true to life. So, he plays the character perfectly, and is getting big time heat from the crowd.

All four of these personalities represent four radically different characters, and one cannot be easily confused with the other. There is nothing new at work here; men are given every opportunity to get over in their respective roles.

The women of TNA, it seems, are being given the usual, overused clichéd bag of tricks in order to succeed in the company. And they’re all using it.

-All female wrestlers sleep their way to top.

-Female wrestlers are phony, from their hair extensions, down to their fake breasts.

-Female wrestlers are either bitches or whores.

-Women shamelessly parade around half naked to get attention.

Really? In this day and age of women truly coming into their own in the workplace, why are these tired old tactics still being used to get female professional wrestlers over?

A lot of fans look at this situation, perhaps even some female fans, and point out that women have every right to be as tough, as nasty, as foul-mouthed, as any man who laces up the boots and gets in the ring. I cannot argue that point, and I also cannot deny that while WWE is PG, TNA does not have to play by the same rules. I get that.

But at the end of the day, at least for me, there are no differences in any female character in TNA. If you had never watched the program before, and only saw promos, it would be hard to distinguish babies from heels. When every wrestler is doing and saying the same thing, no one stands out.

Again, TNA is currently light years ahead of anything WWE is doing in terms of its female workers. There is no ignoring that, and I suppose I should just be happy that the women of Impact Wrestling are getting a shot, and at least are on TV in a substantial way.

But maybe that is the problem. The fact that we are willing to make that concession, means that in some weird way perhaps that we are condoning it. So instead of getting a women’s division that is respected and noticed because of who the girls are and what they bring to the table, we get trashy outfits, foul-mouthed promos and cheap insults. If this is all they can get, and all they are allowed to do, then I guess that will just have to be enough.

Right?