On this week’s Xplosion, we’ve got a rematch from Impact, as Gail Kim takes on Velvet Sky. Though, this is technically a rematch, since it was clearly taped before their latest match. But hey, let’s not worry about continuity and just watch:
Before the match can get started, The Beautiful People taunt Gail, Angelina Love massaging Velvet’s shoulders and Velvet doing the same to the referee. Velvet ducks out of the first tie-up, taunting Gail some more before she makes a mistake, turning away from Gail to look at Angelina. Gail takes this opportunity to sneak in a roll-up, getting a two-count.
Gail takes Velvet from one corner to another, beating her down and hitting her with a flying clothesline. Before Gail can do it again, Velvet rolls out of the ring, seeking a time out as we head out to a commercial.
When we return, Gail’s in the midst of trying to get Velvet back in the ring, fighting off both of The Beautiful People. Angelina buys Velvet more time by climbing the steps and yelling at Gail. Velvet rolls into the ring behind Gail’s back, but she can’t sneak up on her, and finds herself on defense again.
Gail chases off Angelina and returns her focus to Velvet, who reverses an Irish whip into the corner. Gail slips through the ropes and avoids her attack. She tries to leap over the ropes for an attack of her own, but Angelina grabs her foot, sweeping it out from under her and dropping her face-first onto the ring apron.
Slowly but surely, Gail gets back into the ring and avoids a count-out. She’s met with a series of kicks from Velvet, followed by a neckbreaker. She pins Gail, but only gets a two-count.
Velvet gets vicious, pounding the back of Gail’s head onto the mat and then slamming her face into opposing turnbuckles. When Gail falls to the mat, Velvet stands on her hair, pulling her up by her hands. She stops for the referee’s count, but picks it up again. This time, Gail fights back, using her legs to roll Velvet forward into a pinning combination. Velvet kicks out at two.
Velvet slams Gail back to the mat and hits a bulldog, earning a two-count for it. She pulls Gail up and sets her up for the In Yo Face, but Gail slips out of it, pulling her into a neckbreaker.
The Knockouts slowly get to their feet, trading kicks. Gail quickly takes control with a clothesline and a dropkick, backing Velvet into a corner and whipping her into the opposite one. She hits Velvet with her corner attack, slipping through the ropes and scaling the turnbuckle. Velvet stops her momentum by hitting the ropes, dropping her onto the turnbuckle.
Velvet tries to continue this momentum, but Gail sends her right into Angelina, hitting the Eat Defeat on the return and getting the three count.
Thoughts: This was pretty much a longer version of their match on Impact, and I liked it better. Not just because of the length, but because they told a better story. Gail looked like a million bucks, fighting off both Beautiful People and being one hell of a resilient babyface. Wow, describing her as a babyface is still weird to me.
It’s clear that Gail’s being set up as Angelina’s first real test since returning to TNA. She has single-handidly gotten the better of Angelina and Velvet not once, but twice. That’s something Madison Rayne was unable to do both at Sacrifice and in that Evening Gown match. I’m not sure that means that Gail is going to be taking soon, but The Beautiful People are going to need to come up with a new game plan. Something tells me hairspray isn’t going to be enough to fend off Gail.
