It’s been a long, strange road for IMPACT Wrestling. Since 2002, it has held a rather unbalanced place on the American wrestling scene. The Jeff Jarrett founded company has changed names and affiliations more times than an NWO member during the Monday Night Wars, but there was once a time where some wrestling fans thought it might turn out to be a solid alternative to the WWE.
While it never became the powerhouse that many hoped it would, IMPACT still provided an opportunity for talent trying to build their status in the business. Guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe might not be where they are today without their time in IMPACT. That being said, IMPACT also made the same mistakes WCW did by picking up WWE’s old talent and giving them more TV time than their homegrown crew. Can you ever have too much Hulk Hogan?
Yes. Yes, you can. Just ask anyone who worked there.
Throughout the years, IMPACT in all of its incarnations has had one consistent factor that made it interesting; their women’s division, aka the Knockouts. The name ‘Knockouts’ is in contradiction to the prominence the female wrestlers have held in the company, seemingly putting looks ahead of skill. Keep in mind that name came along around the same time the WWE started calling their female talent ‘Divas’.
While the WWE turned their Women’s Division into a perpetual Bra and Panties match during that time, IMPACT at least had actual women’s matches. Awesome Kong, ODB and Gail Kim all had epic bouts in the ring, while Angelina Love and Velvet Sky played up to their feminine wiles, nevertheless, they’re still both great wrestlers.
Take a good long look at the current female roster IMPACT has and you will find some of the best in the business. WWE, NXT and AEW all have great talents, but IMPACT has one of the most interesting and competitive women’s divisions in wrestling.
The current Knockouts Champion, in addition to being the current AAA Reina de Reinas Champion is Taya Valkyrie. Taya made a name for herself on indies as well as in AAA and Lucha Underground before making her way to IMPACT. Feuds with Rosemary and Tessa Blanchard put her on the map before she won the Knockouts Championship in January 2019. Taya is the tip of a very talented iceberg.
Tessa Blanchard, Rosemary and Tenille Dashwood are some of the best wrestlers in the world. IMPACT signed Jordynne Grace, one of the top young female wrestlers on the indies and one of the few women on Earth who can throw a bus at you. They also have no problem letting the ladies go hardcore. Su Yung and Jessika Havok recently had a match that featured a staple gun shot down low. That’s not even taking into account how dark storylines get around there when Rosemary is involved. Kane and Mankind would be giving each other serious side-eye and looking for a way out.
IMPACT has never been afraid to let their Knockouts Division go all out, which is probably why they don’t hold back from having intergender matches.
Right now, Tessa Blanchard is engaged in an ongoing feud with Sami Callihan and his group of SAnitY wannabes. They’ve had some huge bouts that absolutely stole the show. Unfortunately, Tessa is being backed up by a group of ECW veterans. The ECW boys are always great to see in the ring, but it would have been better to see Tessa backed up by other Knockouts.
Why not bring in Jordynne Grace as backup? She can lay a beating on anyone. Hell, she has a shirt you can buy that has a disclaimer for being body slammed into one of her opponents.
In this era of big moves being made by WWE and AEW, IMPACT wasn’t going to be left behind. After changes in ownership, legal battles, and frequent jumps between broadcast partners, their parent company recently announced they had bought AXS TV and that it would be the new home for IMPACT A new TV deal won’t be enough to set them apart from their competition, though, given how big WWE and AEW are playing these days.
Putting a spotlight on the Knockouts Division is key for them, especially in light of the fact that WWE refuses to have intergender matches. This is something that a lot of fans want to see. The IMPACT Knockouts Division is incredibly talented and stands up against any other company. Add their willingness to have intergender matches into that mix and people will pay attention.
IMPACT isn’t going to win any inter-promotional wars anytime soon without some bigger overhauls to the product they’re offering. But with a women’s division led by some of the best in the business on a new network, it’s a show that’s definitely worth paying attention to.
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