I know we don’t post enough about the TNA Knockouts, so I thought I’d fill the gap and post about them. On the January 15th, 2009 edition of TNA iMPACT! Taylor Wilde took another shot at the divas, in a promo-segment. I know this is somewhat old news, but for those who didn’t see it, … Read more
Through the month of December, you voted for your favourite Divas and moments of 2008 and now the results are in! The results will be posted throughout the day, so keep checking back!
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
And the nominees are:
– Awesome Kong
– The Beautiful People
– Christy Hemme
– Jacqueline
– ODB
– Raisha Saeed
– Rhaka Khan
– Roxxi
– Sharmell
– SoCal Val
– Taylor Wilde
– Traci Brooks
Continue for the result:
Through the month of December, you voted for your favourite Divas and moments of 2008 and now the results are in! The results will be posted throughout the day, so keep checking back!
BEST NEWCOMER
And the nominees are:
– The Bella Twins
– Katie Lea
– Maryse
– Natalya
– Taylor Wilde
Continue for the result:
Through the month of December, you voted for your favourite Divas and moments of 2008 and now the results are in! The results will be posted throughout the day, so keep checking back!
STORYLINE OF THE YEAR
And the nominees are:
– The Bella Twins ‘switcheroo’ angle (SmackDown)
– Beth Phoenix and Santino form ‘Glamarella’ (Raw)
– Beth Phoenix and Melina’s friendship implodes and Melina turns face (Raw)
– Maria and Michelle McCool’s friendship implodes (SmackDown)
– Taylor Wilde emerges in TNA
Continue for the result:
Diva Dirt has now unveiled it’s complete Perfect 10 of 2008. Check out the individual profiles below: 10. The Beautiful People 9. Taylor Wilde 8. Kelly Kelly 7. Melina 6. Gail Kim 5. Mickie James 4. Maryse 3. Awesome Kong 2. Beth Phoenix 1. Michelle McCool
Welcome to the Perfect 10 of 2008, the countdown that highlights Diva Dirt‘s ten top Divas and Knockouts of ’08! Which Divas/Knockouts have made the biggest impact? From champions to talented wrestlers to big personalities, the Perfect 10 has them all! 9. TAYLOR WILDE What a year it was for rookie, Taylor Wilde in 2008. … Read more
Welcome to Hit or Miss?! We’ll be examining the week’s news bits and deeming them hits or misses. For instance, did a Diva develop some backstage heat? That’s a miss. What about a Knockout match receiving the highest ratings of the show? That’s a hit. I’ll rate each story by stars (out of 5) – more stars for a hit, less for a miss. Got it? Let’s dive in..
Story #1: Ashley’s gone, but not in every sense..
The upcoming video game release, “RAW vs. SmackDown 2009”, 
has announced many of its roster, the most surprising of which being Ashley Massaro, whom we all know was released from the WWE some time ago.. Hm.. I wonder how the *current* Divas who are MIA on this game feel about this? (Click for more info.)
Rating:
Hit or Miss?: 1 star makes it a MISS. I’m aware that they plan these video games out verrrryyy far in advance, but it is pretty ironic that when roster space is pretty limited on these games, one of the precious spots will be taken by a Diva who is not only no longer with the company, but also left a bitter taste in many a fan’s mouth. I always think it’s kind of cool to see a Diva all digitized an whatnot, but Ashley looks absolutely atrocious in the game. Seriously – look at the photo above – those makers did her no favors.
Story #2: TNA “Knocked Out” gets.. knocked out.
TNA recently released its “Knocked Out” DVD, 
solely dedicated to its Knockouts. It featured interviews with each Knockouts, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at photoshoots and stories of their respective paths to TNA. Diva Dirt reviewed the DVD, and it didn’t exactly pass with flying colors.. The main complaint was that TNA seemed to be more concerned with elevating their Knockouts above the Divas – it came across as arrogant and cocky. That, paired with empty and less-than-inspired chapters on each Knockout made us wonder if the DVD was even necessary. (See the original post.)
Rating: 
Hit or Miss?: 1 & 1/2 a star makes it a MISS. I appreciate that TNA is looking to push the Knockout brand by releasing this DVD, but I think they should have rounded up some better content. Constant comparisons to “other women wrestlers” does nothing to help theme in fact, it hinders their growth as a separate entity. If I wanted to watch boring character profiles and exhausting self-congratulations, I’d watch the Emmys, thanks..
The unstoppable former TNA Knockouts Champion, Awesome Kong has been revealed as the Diva/Knockout to top the first ever PWI Female 50. As we reported last week, Pro Wrestling Insider, a prestigious wrestling magazine chose to launch the ‘Female 50’ as a companion to the popular ‘PWI 500’ which is dedicated to male wrestlers.
Following Kong is the current WWE Women’s Champion, Beth Phoenix. First ever Divas Champion, Michelle McCool debuts at #9 and current Knockout Champion, Taylor Wilde is in at #13.
Check out the full list below courtesy of PWPIx.net:
It should be noted that PWI has opted to exclude Mexican and Japanese women’s wrestlers from the rankings – sans Sarah Stock. Regarding this. PWI wrote: “That isn’t intended to be a slight against international competitors. More so than with the male counterparts, women’s wrestling varies tremendously between the North American style, the Japanese joshi puroresu styles and the Mexican lucha libre style. With few notable exceptions (such as Sumie Sakai and Gail Kim), a wrestler who excels in one style may fare much more poorly in a different style. Besides, we wanted to shine the spotlight primarily on the U.S. and Canadians competitors first. If reader response to this special section is strong, perhaps we will consider ranking more women, including international competitors, in the future.”
On how they ranked the wrestlers, PWI wrote: “To determine this list and compile the rankings, we examined a variety of criteria. While placing special emphasis on a wrestler’s accomplishments over the past calender year, we also took note of each women’s career accomplishments as well. For example, a veteran like Malia Hosaka may not have wrestled as many matches or as many high-profile bouts as Cherry over the past 12 months, but based on her accomplishments throughout her 20-plus year career, we felt she deserved inclusion.”
PWI also went over possible controversy in regards to ranking the likes of Maria and Velvet Sky ahead of more “scientifically skilled technicians” such as Lexie Fyfe and Cindy Rogers. Prominence and marketability factored into the rankings as it’s not only based on technical ability and accomplishments. PWI wrote: “We evaluated each woman on championships held, quality of opposition faced, overall athletic ability, prominence, and marketability. To some critics, those last two criteria may be controversial. After all, some may argue that wrestlers like Maria Kanellis and Velvet Sky have no business being ranked ahead of more scientifically skilled technicians like Cindy Rogers and Lexie Fyfe. We would argue that marketability and prominence are an important aspect of pro wrestling, and that the success of these Divas and Knockouts have had on such a major stage has to be taken into consideration.”
PWI Female 50
1. Awesome Kong
2. Beth Phoenix
3. Gail Kim
4. Mickie James
5. MsChif
6. Sarah Del Ray
7. Roxxi Laveaux
8. Melina
9. Michelle McCool
10. Candice Michelle
Rest after the cut:
Tonight, TNA’s Knockouts take to pay per view. Awesome Kong and ODB wrestle in a battle of the behemoths, in a Falls Count Anywhere match! Plus the TNA Knockout Championship is on the line between Taylor Wilde and Angelina Love of the Beautiful People. Who do we think will win? Read below! TNA Knockout Championship: … Read more
You know, you’re not officially a Knockout until you’ve posed in a bikini top for the website! TNA Knockout Champ, Taylor Wilde gets her official induction into the Knockout camp with this colourful albeit car crash of a mesh. Methinks a certain champ hasn’t got much of a fashion sense. Anyhoo check out the pictures … Read more
I have always thought TNA Knockout Champion, Taylor Wilde had a striking resemblance to teen queen, Lauren Conrad from the infectious MTV series, The Hills. Turns out, just like that very show, Taylor is not without her own melodramas – Taylor has an issue uttering the letters “WWE.” Uh-huh, you read right. Taylor apparently felt … Read more
Perhaps I’m alone in this, but I can’t help but notice a similarity between our new TNA Knockout Champion, Taylor Wilde and our new Divas Champion, Michelle McCool. These similarities are all aesthetic: Taylor’s in-ring attire really does remind me of something Michelle would wear and they both share the same “fake extensions” texture to … Read more
Tonight on pay per view, the TNA Knockout Championship will be on the line in a rematch from Thursday night’s Impact. Awesome Kong will get a chance to regain the gold from new champion, Taylor Wilde. Meanwhile, Gail Kim will face off against the Beautiful People’s Angelina Love. Check out our tip sheet below: TNA … Read more
Thursday night’s Impact show was an overall success for the Knockouts (*surprise, surprise*). For the most part, each lady involved had a formidable appearance. The Knockouts Salinas, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, ODB, Gail Kim, Karen Angle, Taylor Wilde, Roxxi, Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed were all featured in some way, shape, or form.
Thoughts & Reactions:
Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong (Title Match):
The first Knockouts match was the $25,000 and TNA Knockouts title match between Taylor Wilde and Awesome Kong. Taylor got some good offense but was pretty boring overall. I just mean, that her only real way to get Kong down was to keep dropkicking her. She needs some better strategy in my opinion. During the contest, Roxxi came down to cheer on “the newbie”. Near the end of the contest, Kong hit a flawless “Implant Buster”, which Taylor somehow kicked out of. The end of the match came when Taylor made a surprise roll-up pin on Kong for the win, the $25,000, and the TNA Knockouts Championship. Will Taylor be able to retain the title on tonights PPV “Victory Road”? We’ll just have to wait and see. My bet says she will.
Well despite this being taped three weeks ago, the footage has finally aired and I guess we officially have a new TNA Knockout Champion – Taylor. The rookie Knockout beat Awesome Kong in the $25,000 challenge to win both the money and the belt! Taylor’s three day *coughTHREEWEEKcough* title reign could come to an end … Read more
Today Kicks off Diva Dirt’s first “Impact Redux”, brought to you by yours truly, Doug. Most of the TNA Knockouts were shown throughout the show, including: Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Roxxi, Moose, Taylor, Raisha Saeed, Awesome Kong, Karen Angle and Salinas, who all made for an interesting event.
Thoughts & Reactions
Roxxi vs. Moose:
The first set of Knockouts shown, I believe were Roxxi and Moose in a “Bimbo Brawl”. Moose entered first with her shopping cart of weapons, while Roxxi entered second with a chair. The match was utterly brutal, with Roxxi getting hit upside the head with two pans, and a “Yield” sign. Moose also took a beating, getting thrown into her shopping cart, and than getting a nasty baseball slide by Roxxi. The match ended when Moose set up the “Yield” sign on the mat, and planted Roxxi with a double underhook DDT on top of it. Roxxi was shown with a large cut on her forehead, and was bleeding pretty badly.
Overall, the match was pretty well done. Both ladies had great chemistry with one another, making the overall atmosphere pretty bitter. Roxxi and Moose each got their fair share of blows, and each showed an incredible amount of skill throughout.
Well, with last week’s news that Jazz possibly passed up a TNA deal, this info will surely restore hope in TNA Knockout fans. Indy darling Shantelle Taylor has reportedly signed with the company, according to PWInsider.com: TNA has signed former WWE developmental talent Shantelle Taylor. The company quietly signed her after her initial dark match … Read more