TNA Wrestling: How Tara's Victory Affects the Knockouts Division

At the Feb. 12 Against All Odds pay-per-view event, TNA Knockouts champion Gail Kim will defend her title against new No. 1 contender Tara. For the first time since 2004, Tara and Gail Kim will do battle with major women's gold on the line.

Widely considered two of the best female in-ring workers of the last decade, their match at TNA's annual February extravaganza is significant for more than just being a title bout. It is a fresh match for the company's top female championship, preventing overexposure of the other women on the roster.

For the past 12 months, the TNA Knockouts have grown as performers and cemented their status as the top female wrestlers on national television. Madison Rayne, Mickie James, Velvet Sky and Winter carried the division through 2011 and left it in good hands when Gail Kim returned to TNA and reestablished herself as the queen of the division she helped rise to prominence.

As 2012 approached, Mickie continued to rack up championship matches against Gail, while Madison and Velvet remained vital pieces of a storyline involving the champion and Knockouts VP, Karen Jarrett. It became apparent that if a fresh matchup was not devised, the entire division would risk becoming stale.

Tara's unexpected victory over Velvet Sky and Mickie James to earn the Knockouts championship match will result in that fresh contest.

One of the most decorated and respected performers of her time, Tara has spent most of her time as of late in a tag team with Brooke Tessmacher, helping her younger and more inexperienced partner along. As a result, Brooke has become one of the more surprising stories of the last few months in TNA, developing into a solid and entertaining female wrestler.

Tara challenging for the gold will allow Mickie James and Velvet Sky to fade into the background for at least a few weeks and give the fans a matchup they have not seen in nearly a decade.

At a time where TNA Wrestling appears to be gaining momentum and fan excitement surrounds the product, providing different and exciting matches with talented performers is of the utmost importance. The company has done that with what could be one of the best Knockouts matches in recent history.