Introducing New Team Member: Cryssi

We are very pleased to welcome the newest member of our team, Cryssi who will be serving as the new TNA correspondent. Cryssi has been a longtime reader of the site and will be taking over the Impact column next week. Read her statement below:

It’s truly amazing to be here at Diva Dirt. I’ve been a fan and an avid reader of the site for more than a year now, and it never ceases to amaze me how popular it is. I’ve always been impressed with the hard work that goes into the site and I’m super excited to contribute my thoughts and opinions as well. I really hope I can do the Knockouts justice, and just Diva Dirt in general. This is absolutely the best site for women’s wrestling coverage and I wanted to be a part of it in any way that I could.

I love writing and I’ve loved wrestling since I was a little kid. My favorite Diva legend is the one and only Miss Elizabeth. She brought true beauty and grace to the sport and I firmly believe if not for her, all these opportunities in the business for women would not be available. My current favorite Divas are Melina, Maryse, Michelle McCool, and Kelly Kelly. My favorite Knockouts are Velvet Sky, Alissa Flash, and Angelina Love. Despite the fact I have my favorites, I respect every woman who steps through the ropes. Some of them may be models. Some of them may have been training for years and years. But every one of them have put forth the effort and time to learn this craft, take those bumps, and entertain each and every one of us fans. For that they should be applauded and that’s why I respect every single woman who makes it in the business.

We are very excited about bringing Cryssi on board and know that she will be a valuable member of the team as was her predecessor, Tiffany. It’s a tough spot to fill but we have confidence that Cryssi will evolve into the role greatly! Please give Cryssi a warm response and we hope you’ll show her same respect as you do us!

While Cryssi won’t be debuting her new Impact column until next week, she and I would like to share with you her take on last Sunday’s Genesis pay per view which you can read after the cut.

With the rapid rate of Knockout Championship title changes, one would think the belt is diseased. Management over there in Orlando seem to enjoy playing hot potato with the belt and the sad thing is none of us are even surprised. TNA is about as random as seeing Terrell Owens court-side for Andy Roddick’s tennis matches and if you’ve been watching the Australian Open like I have then you’ve been shaking your head at that spectacle as well. I can honestly say that I wasn’t at all shocked to see Tara capture her third Knockout’s Championship this past Sunday, but I was little irritated. TNA’s booking as of late has been beyond questionable and personally I think it’s awful to see any title change hands at every defense. It makes the champion seem like a joke and it takes away all the prestige from the belt that’s being whored out. The TNA Knockouts are expected to set the mainstream standard for women’s wrestling and for the most part, they always deliver, but my question is how are we fans supposed to emotionally invest ourselves in a champion when one never sticks around long enough to successfully defend the title?

If TNA management can’t invest their stock into one girl to make the face the division, then why should we?

Now that my rant is done, lets get to the actual match! We’re being blessed with a best two out of three falls match and for our own sanity, lets hope this finally ends this feud between Tara and ODB. Before the match even begins, Mike Tenay and Taz feel the need to point out that the Knockouts Championship is a hot potato and we’re given a history lesson on the Tara/ODB rivalry. I’m not going to bore y’all with that. Tara makes her way to the ring first with her precious pet, Poison, and her hair is doing absolutely nothing for me. I don’t like the style and it just doesn’t look good. OBD is out next and for some reason, she reminds me of the majority of the people I wait on at work. Before we begin, Tara and ODB decide to man up, bump implants, and butt heads. I couldn’t help but giggle when ODB pulled out a few of Tara’s extensions. You can take the girl out of Diva land, but you’ll never take all the actual diva out of the girl! Tara counters with a spear and we’re off and running. Tara controls the early part of the match with some of her usual moves. She’s always sharp in the ring and this match is really no exception. ODB sells the chest chops like she got stabbed in the middle of a bar fight but she’s able to kick out of a Tara pin attempt soon afterward. ODB gets in some powerful offense and seemed poised to go for a cover when Tara surprises her with a roll-up and gets the quick pin. She’s now leading one fall to none.

I was a little surprised at how fast the first fall came about. Tara controlled things for the most part and took one good bump from ODB. We all dislike the roll-up pin, but for a match like this it seems to be less annoying than usual. ODB almost immediately goes back on offense and we’re unfortunately treated to a shot of some weird football player that no one even knows or cares about. After a whip into the corner, ODB goes for a flashy little splash type of move, but Tara catches her with a elbow and soon locks in the Tarantula. Tara ends up getting sent to the outside and takes a fun bump thanks to the ring apron. A pointless cameo by Brooke Hogan in an impractical outfit for a wrestling match takes place and ODB ends up back in the ring. ODB goes for a couple of pin attempts, but Tara gets out of both of them and gets locked in a body scissors for her effort. It takes Tara forever to get out of the hold and she only gets free because the referee forces ODB to break it. The break lasts all of four nanoseconds before the body scissors is reapplied. Thankfully this one doesn’t last as long and we get a nice powerslam from ODB. Unfortunately she doesn’t get a fall because Tara kicks out.

Here is where I get confused. Tara takes all this punishment and whatnot, but suddenly out of nowhere she’s able to hit the Widow’s Peak? What’s up with that? Would it have been so horrible to give these two women five extra minutes and allow ODB to get at least one fall? ODB was booked very weak and her title reign (all two weeks of it) was made to look like a joke, or perhaps a fluke is more fitting. Tara is now a three-time TNA Knockouts Champion and as much as I respect the woman, I think it’s a bit much.

Management doesn’t seem to have faith in Tara as a champion, hence the reason all her reigns have ended prematurely. Giving Tara the title back at Genesis seemed half-hearted and like they were attempting to rectify the wrong. That’s fine and dandy, I suppose, but now we need consistency and solid booking. No more hot potato. They’ve given the belt back to Tara and with any luck, she’ll be able to hold it for a few months instead of just a few weeks. Overall, the match was pretty good, I was just left slightly disappointed by the straight fall booking. ODB is going to be left in limbo it seems, but that may not be a bad thing. This feud should now be over and Tara needs some fresh challengers. I agree with Melanie’s Genesis review that Alissa Flash should be next in line to challenge. Kong and Hamada are busy with the tag titles right now, and the Future Legend deserves the opportunity to show us exactly why she’s one of the very best in the world.