Rewinding the clock back to 2013, TNA aired Slammiversary XI, and the rivalry between Taryn Terrell and Gail Kim culminated into a Last Knockout Standing match. The feud between these two Knockouts started in early 2013 at Genesis when Terrell was the Knockouts’ referee. Terrell made a bad call in a Gauntlet match which led … Read more
Gail Kim is considered one of the greatest women wrestlers to ever lace up the boots in the Knockouts division. After two stints with WWE, she found a permanent home with IMPACT Wrestling in 2011 and has been there ever since. While with IMPACT she has won the Knockouts Championship a record-setting seven times as … Read more
This week’s Flashback Match Friday goes all the way back to 2009 when there was a Fatal 4-way bout on Raw to determine a number one contender for the Divas Championship. The match included Kelly Kelly vs. Gail Kim vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox. The current champion at the time was Mickie James and … Read more
Considered by many, Gail Kim and Awesome Kong have held up as the greatest rivalry when it comes to the IMPACT Knockouts. At NWA EmPowerrr, Gail Kim embraced with her former on-screen foe as Kong announced her retirement from pro-wrestling. What many didn’t know was that Kim only found out about Kong’s retirement [in the … Read more
It appears that IMPACT Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo won’t be the only person from IMPACT to attend the upcoming NWA Empowerrr event. Gail Kim will be there too. Mickie James is on the hunt to make sure that NWA Empowerrr tops all expectations as it is NWA’s first all-female pay-per-view event. IMPACT Hall of Famer … Read more
Mickie James entered the Impact Zone on this week’s IMPACT! She came to fix some tension between her and Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and to extend an invitation to NWA Empowerrr once again. At Slammiversary over the weekend, James returned to IMPACT programming and provided an invitation to Purrazzo for Empowerrr explaining she wants the … Read more
Possible Spoilers are listed in this article. Mickie James returned to IMPACT Wrestling last night at Slammiversary. After Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo retained her title against a mystery opponent, which ended up being Thunder Rosa, James came out to offer up an invitation. James has been working with the NWA promotion since being released from … Read more
With Bound for Glory taking place this Saturday, let’s look back at the very first Knockouts match ever at this event. This will be this week’s Free Match Friday.
The Bound for Glory event has been one of the biggest events for TNA/IMPACT Wrestling for the past 15-years. The first event took place in 2005, however, it wasn’t until 2007 when the Knockouts first had a match. This match would be to crown the first-ever Knockouts Champion.
In order to determine who would become the companies first champion for the women, 10 participants would battle it out in a Gauntlet for the Gold Match. The participants included the following, Ms. Brooks, Jackie Moore, Shelly Martinez, Awesome Kong, O.D.B. Angel Williams, Christy Hemme, Gail Kim, Talia Madison(Velvet Sky), and Roxxi Laveaux.
The match came down to a final four between O.D.B., Talia Madison, Gail Kim, and Roxxi Laveaux. Kim eliminated Madison in one corner while Laveaux eliminated O.D.B. in another corner mere seconds later. The bell would then ring for a final fight between Kim and Laveaux in a traditional one-on-one match.
Credit: TNA/IMPACT Wrestling
After a solid back and forth, Kim would become the first-ever Knockouts Champion pins her opponent for the count of three, cementing history with the company.
This year’s Bound for Glory will take place tomorrow on Oct. 24 at 8:00 P.M. EST. You can check Fite for all of your ordering options.
The matches for that event will be:
Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Kylie Rae – Knockouts Championship
Jordynne Grace vs. Rohit Raju (c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. TJP vs. Willie Mack – Six-way Intergender Scramble match for the Impact X-Division Championship
Alisha Edwards vs. Havok vs. Tenille Dashwood vs. Taya Valkyrie vs. Acey Romero vs. Cody Deaner vs. Brian Myers vs. Heath vs. Hernandez vs. Larry D vs. Rhino vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. TBD – Call Your Shot gauntlet match; where the winner could choose any championship match of their choice.
If Rhino or Heath win then Heath gets a contract. If they both lose then Rhino is fired. Hernandez will enter last as number 20 whereas Rhino enters at the number 1 spot.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for all of your results for this year’s event and for future Free Match Fridays. There will be a Discussion Post up for the event by bell time tomorrow.
KAYfABE is a project that has been spearheaded by Gail Kim, Lita, and Christy Hemme. These pioneers have come together to create a no filter show that is going to be focused not only on in-ring action but also a look behind the curtain. A refresh on the description of the show is as follows: … Read more
WWE’s first openly gay signee Jake Atlas recently sat down with DS Shin from Ring the Belle to divulge his top five women that have inspired him. Atlas recently made his debut on NXT in a losing effort to Dexter Lumis. Just like most gay men growing up, Atlas idolized the women of WWE through admiration and intrigue. He spoke to Shin about how it was the women of the company that inspired him to become the wrestler that he is today.
Generally from a young boy you would hear them say idols such as The Rock, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold influenced them to want to become a wrestler. For Atlas, and many gay youth, this was quite the contrary.
Let’s go through Atlas’ top five and see if these women were ever inspirations to you.
5. Maryse
Credit: WWE
Atlas starts off his list with the French Kiss herself, Maryse. Maryse was definitely a powerful heel during her mainstay with the company. He praised the fact that she came in green without wrestling experience and turned herself into not just a Diva but an in-ring presence. She also came into this without knowing English very well. Atlas explains how when he has been a heel character, Maryse’s portrayal is one he admired.
“I’ve always been a fan of heels. I’ve always been about the bad girls, the mean girls. It just looks so effortless for her. So sometimes whenever I have done a heel character I have done the hand gesture, like get out of my face, and it has always been a tribute to her.”
4. Gail Kim
Credit: TNA/IMPACT Wrestling
Atlas believes that Gail Kim is one of the best women’s wrestlers to exist. He mentions her move to TNA and is glad they were able to show why she is one of the best.
“I’m glad that TNA gave her the platform to acknowledge that she is one of the best. Her match with Tessa Blanchard was phenomenal. You know, I think I saw this on Twitter. Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard was what Trish and Charlotte was for WWE at SummerSlam. That’s just generational. Gail Kim was ahead of her time, she was so good, I enjoyed her work at WWE. It was really awesome to just see her win the Women’s Title in her debut, because she is just so good,”
3. Sasha Banks
Credit: WWE
Atlas attributes Sasha for his psychological aspect of wrestling. Her sayings and thought process behind the art of wrestling is what he admires from her. He has adapted this into his own career and his own way of thinking about loving what he does.
“Again, just the heel character in her is what really drew me to her, but more than anything, she is just so passionate about this…..The one line I always say when I am about to go through the curtain is ‘I was born to do this.’ And maybe other people have said this in the past, but I got it from Sasha.”
“Another quote that she says is ‘be so good that they can’t ignore you.’ And that can’t be anymore truer for her. Mentally she is just so good at wrestling and you see that through her matches. Through the psychology of what she does. The Sasha and Bayley match, one of the best matches I have ever seen.
2. Aj Lee
Credit: WWE
Aj Lee is one female wrestler that Atlas believes was relatable to him. Through her advocacy on mental health and from her passion she showed for wrestling. He talks about her book and how she was meant to do this. He also recalls her FCW days and how he enjoyed her matches with Naomi.
“I remember at Payback when she won the Divas Title and when the referee handed her the belt, you could just see her face as she is receiving the belt. This was her moment. This was her crowning moment. Her whole life’s work into finally winning the top championship of WWE. I just connected to her from her FCW days when she would have the matches with Naomi, they would kill it.”
1.Trish Stratus
Credit: WWE
Let’s be honest, Trish Stratus was an idol for many people. She predominately was an idol for all of the gay youth growing up, myself included. She was also that way for Atlas. He recalls the story of not being able to see her main event match on RAW against Lita when it took place because he was punished by his mother. He recalls a funny story of how he blamed his mother for Trish losing the title that night.
He had the following to say on why she means so much to him:
“I remember before I came out, I would always say she was my girlfriend and that I would marry her one day. I just wanted to be her. She is the best of all time I think of the women. When it comes to the overall package. She had it. She was a superstar. She was the standard of what you needed to be.”
“She just made me feel everything about pro wrestling. She made me feel it all. She made me cry, I cried at her retirement match. I cried in her return, I cried for the Trish and Charlotte match. This was my person, my go to wrestler. You made me feel this about wrestling.”
Voices like Atlas’ are good for the community. Him speaking on his top five women’s wrestlers who have inspired him to do what he does is inspiring of itself. The women that we have grown to idolize whether it is in WWE or any other organization means a lot to those who feel as though they don’t have a voice.
What did you think of his list? Do you share any of the same women? Who makes your top five? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Thank you to Ring the Belle for this exclusive content.
Over the weekend, three pioneers in women’s wrestling sent out cryptic tweets on a project called KAYfABE. At the time it left women’s wrestling fans in a whirlwind trying to guess what this could mean. The project has been a work in progress for two years already! It is spearheaded by Christy Hemme, Gail Kim, … Read more
Update: A countdown clock has been added to the mix to unveil what this all means. It is counting down live to 6:30 PM ET. It is on YouTube and can be seen on the tweet below. There is also a new tweet that shows the women holding up signs that say, “Don’t Rock The … Read more
Former seven-time Knockouts Champion and current producer for IMPACT Wrestling, Gail Kim sat down for an interview with Mr. Josh Barnett for PWInsider. The interview covered a bit of different topics; from rebranding Women’s Championships to changing the term “Knockouts” as well as having a woman as World Champion. Gail states: “No one can doubt … Read more
Following wrestling for as long I have, I’ve always wondered just how many matches do these women compete in during the course of their career? Well, thanks to our friends at profightdb, we have an answer. This will show the 10 women who have wrestled the most matches of all time. Who made the list? … Read more
Once upon a time, not long ago, the 2010s just started, NXT had its first all women’s season, Laycool dominated the WWE, TNA had their infamous Lockbox 8 woman elimination tag. We saw old faces return to wrestling; Trish, Lita, Chyna, Traci Brooks. We lost Chyna and Mae Young, had Snooki Mania, witnessed the first … Read more
Molly Holly was the champion heading into this match and was in her second reign. She won the title in July of that year from Gail Kim who won the title in her debut match. Kim held the title for 28-days. Trish Stratus was part of the match because Holly was no stranger to feuding with her as that is who she won her first title from.
This Triple Threat match was the perfect example of a good match jammed into a small amount of time.
Click the video above to see if Molly Holly was able to retain her title.
Check back in with Diva Dirt next Friday for another Free Match Friday.
To wrap up this week we are heading back six years to feature a Three-way match for the Knockouts Championship.
This match occurred at Bound for Glory. ODB was the champion heading into the bout where she held the title for only 38 days. This was her fourth and final title reign with the company.
The match ended with a referee being knocked outside the ring which allowed a menacing Knockout to appear and alter the ending to the match.
Find out which Knockout interfered in the match and who walked away with the Knockouts Championship by checking out the video above.
Welcome to another Free Match Friday! This week it has been decided to keep with the IMPACT theme from last week. This time it will go back several more years to TNA where a gauntlet match was featured to determine the number one contender to Gail Kim’s Knockouts Championship.
Kim won the championship for the second time in her career the night prior at Turning Point. This title win occurred in a fatal-four way (also featured Madison Rayne and Mickie James) and Velvet Sky was the champion heading into the match. With the help of Karen Jarrett and Rayne, Kim planned for the winner of this Gauntlet match to be Rayne. Was Rayne successful in becoming the number one contender?
Take a look at this match to see if Rayne could pull off the victory to Kim’s satisfaction.
Check back in with Diva Dirt every Friday for Free Match Friday! Which company/wrestlers would you like to see on a future Free Match Friday? Let us know in the comment section!
Are WWE’s women subject to colorism? Over the course of the last 8-9 months, race has reared itself into the consciousness of women’s wrestling fandom, it started with Gail Kim making her feelings on WWE’s alleged racist attitudes clear. After Asuka’s shoddy treatment, word was that her language barrier was a problem. Many fans juxtaposed … Read more
Gail Kim made an appearance on Wrestling Inc’s WINCLY podcast earlier today, where she discussed the main event of WrestleMania 35. She said Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey did a great job but may have hindered by the sheer length of the show. “I don’t know about the seven-hour show though. I shouldn’t … Read more
Before her return match this Sunday at Rebellion, Gail Kim sat down for an exclusive interview with Diva Dirt’s Simon Hannig. She discussed a wide range of topics including Tessa Blanchard, WWE, the John Oliver segment, Sasha Banks, and retirement. Kim has earned the right to be called one of the most decorated women’s wrestlers … Read more
Gail does not hold back! Legendary Gail Kim Visits Ring the Belle to discuss her WWE Women’s Championship win on her debut night, her favorite matches against Awesome Kong and Taryn Terrell, and the racism and stereotypes in Pro Wrestling industry.
We met Gail Kim at the Early to Rise: Women’s Wrestling Mini Convention in Berwyn Illinois. It was amazing meeting my Korean hero for the first time. Please excuse me for asking way too many WWE questions. Ring the Belle respect Gail’s legacy in women’s wrestling history as a whole, not just WWE women’s division. We would love to have Gail again to dig deeper into her career in TNA Impact.
Huge thanks to RISE for inviting us to the Early to Rise Convention, and Gail Kim for speaking with us for an extended period of time, and we hope to meet you again!
RISE Wrestling’s next event will literally be LEGENDARY, because that’s the name of the show. RISE – LEGENDARY will take place later this month and when it does, it will set a huge record in the history of women’s wrestling. In front of a sold out crowd in Chicago, Illinois, RISE – LEGENDARY will boast … Read more
Gail Kim is the latest to undergo surgery after falling ill with appendicitis last night, May 13. She revealed the situation on twitter and will be going under the knife to remove her appendix sometime this morning. Thought I had food poisoning tonight. Turned out it was appendicitis and caught it in the nick of … Read more
To help hype this week’s (May 3rd) Knockouts match between Rosemary and Su Yung, Impact Wrestling has compiled a list of their “5 Most Extreme Knockouts Matches” from the company’s history. Read the full list below: 5: Daffney vs Taylor Wilde: Monster’s Ball (Sacrifice 2009) ? 4: Tara vs Mickie James: Falls Count Anywhere (Final … Read more
