TNA is missing the boat with the Knockouts
The TNA Knockout division. Once upon a time the Knockouts, along with the X-Division Wrestlers were two things that set TNA apart from WWE. Right from the start the focus was on real Wrestling, not bikini contests, or pillow fights. And these women could certainly put on a pretty good show. They also had a rather good pool of talent to get the ball rolling. They featured such names as, Awesome Kong, ODB, The Beautiful People, Gail Kim, Christy Hemme, and pretty soon Taylor Wilde and Sarita.
Oh, but how things have changed. Gail Kim was the first to go. She went back to the WWE, where it looks like she is still being punished for going to TNA in the first place. Christy Hemme got injured, and decided doing interviews was a better option if she can’t give 100% in the ring. Awesome Kong left because of Bubba The Love Sponge. Angelina Love had to quit for a while due to a Visa issue, thus splitting up the original Beautiful People. And since her return, she has been injured off and on. Also the B.P. have replaced her with the useless Lacey Von Erich. Taylor Wilde and Sarita have only been used sparingly in the last couple of months, and usually they are getting jobbed out. And now the latest. ODB has quit TNA. Yep, one of the most popular Knockouts that TNA has ever had, has quit. Not much is being said just yet as to why, but ODB posted the following on her Twitter. “…thanks tna fans for all the support but tna and odb have parted ways.it was a decision I made. bamm bitches.”
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So, what went wrong? The Knockouts were great. The fans loved them, and they put on some very entertaining matches. The focus on being different than WWE’s Diva’s was what made them unique. Even Tara, (formerly Victoria in WWE) jumped ship because she was tired of not being used properly, and wanted to actually Wrestle again. Now she is gone as well. I hate to point fingers, but things started to go bad, after Hogan and Bischoff came to TNA. It appears that in their plans to push forward and start a failed Monday Night War, that there were going to be some casualties. The X-Division is still limping along, but that too is suffering from lack of attention. But the Knockouts are being pushed aside like an afterthought. At a glance I don’t think that there are more than 8 Knockouts left, which does not leave a very deep talent pool.
So what can be done? Well for starters they need to get serious about using The Knockouts again, and then start getting some new talent. The recent addition of Rosie Lottalove, appears to be an attempt at filling the void left by Awesome Kong. Convincing Micky James and Maria Kanellis to join would also boost the womens division, even if only one of them can really Wrestle. And I am quite sure that there are lots of other women out there who are very talented that are just waiting for their chance to break into one of the major promotions.
Hogan and Bischoff tried to go head to head with the WWE and failed. Now they need to take a step back and realize what made fans love TNA in the first place, and rebuild the things they nearly destroyed. Make the X-Division great again, and fix The Knockout Division.
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