TNA Knockouts Division

Knockout is a term used by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) to refer to its female talent.[1] The term is applied universally to wrestlers, backstage interviewers, and managers/valets. They are analogous to the Divas of rival World Wrestling Entertainment.

History
The term Knockouts is relatively new, and was not used when Total Nonstop Action Wrestling debuted in 2002. The name comes from a 2006 DVD released by the company, Knockouts: The Ladies of TNA Wrestling, Vol.1, which focused on its then-current female stars. The name "Knockouts" as a catchall name for the women stuck after that. Women performers have been a part of TNA since the first national show,[2] which featured Alexis Laree, Elektra, Erin Bray, Francine, Miss Joni, Sasha, Shannon, Taylor Vaughn and Teresa Tyler, as well as other female talent, including backstage interviewer Goldy Locks and valets Aleesha and Fluff Dupp. Bobcat also debuted as a valet in a match that was taped during the first PPV, but aired during the second PPV.

Miss TNA (2002)
A Lingerie Battle Royal to crown the first 'Miss TNA' was taped during the very first NWA:TNA weekly PPV on June 19, 2002, and was aired during the second PPV on June 26, 2002.[3] Taylor Vaughn won the first Miss TNA crown.[4] She defended the title against Francine, who soon afterward abandoned her pursuit of the title and engaged in a brief feud with Jasmin St. Claire. Vaughn lost the title when she was defeated by male character Bruce a few weeks later. Although male, he claimed that he should be entitled to wrestle for the Miss TNA crown because he was gay.[5] Bruce held the crown for three months and during his time as Miss TNA he attacked many female wrestlers and fans, enraging the male stars of TNA including Jorge Estrada. The two then had a singles match with the stipulation that if Estrada won, Priscilla would become the new Miss TNA.[6] Although Estrada won the match, the crown didn't change hands because he won by disqualification. In the next weeks, Bruce's tag team partner, Lenny, tried to get Bruce injured (since the runner-up would then take over the crown should the champion be injured).[7] This led to the break up of The Rainbow Express, and Bruce's homosexuality was questioned by backstage interviewer Goldy Locks, who claimed she had seen him in the shower with April Pennington. The storyline soon came to a close due to poor crowd reception, with Pennington and Goldylocks walking off together holding hands, as Lenny and Bruce fought over Pennington.[8] The storyline ended with Bruce declaring himself straight and handing his crown over to Pennington. The Miss TNA crown wasn't mentioned on-screen afterward. Throughout 2002, TNA also featured Belladonna in a valet role and former WWE Tough Enough contestant Paulina as a bodyguard.

Post-Miss TNA (2003-2006)
Women's wrestling continued to be a feature of the weekly PPVs before an official women's division was established in 2007. In 2003, cage dancers (many of whom were independent female wrestlers who were then unknown at the time, including Lollipop) were used near the top of the entrance ramp, but this concept was abandoned shortly after its conception. One of TNA's early controversial moments ensued on the March 12, 2003 pay-per-view when Lollipop had her top ripped off during a catfight with S.E.X. member Holly Wood and exposed her breasts throughout the fight. TNA also featured ring girl Athena in many feuds and altercations.

From 2003-2004, TNA regularly used several female wrestlers on their PPVs and television programs, including Trinity, Desire, Alexis Laree, Traci Brooks, Nurse Veronica (who also competed as Simply Luscious), and Cheerleader Valentina (who also competed as JV Love); however, they were often primarily depicted as valets who occasionally wrestled. Of all the women utilized at this time, Trinity was the most active in the ring, as she feuded with Desire, Alexis Laree, and Traci Brooks, as well as competed in the X Division. During this time, TNA also briefly featured an all-female faction named "Bitchslap" that consisted of Nurse Veronica, Traci Brooks, Cheerleader Valentina, and Trinity (who only appeared once with the group). They were engaged in a feud with TNA dancers Lollipop and April Pennington.

Independent female wrestlers were frequently featured on TNA Xplosion and occasionally on TNA pay-per-views, including Angel Williams (who would later return as Angelina Love), April Hunter, Brandi Wine, Daizee Haze, Lucy (who previously competed as Shannon and would later return as Daffney), Malia Hosaka, Mercedes Martinez, MsChif, and ODB (who also wrestled as Poison).

TNA briefly recognized the NWA World Women's Championship in 2003. On March 12, 2003, Leilani Kai defeated Madison to win the NWA World Women's Championship in a dark match on a TNA pay-per-view.[9] On April 19, 2003, Kai defended the title against Desire at a house show, but she was later stripped of the title by NWA President Bill Behrens due to missing several subsequent NWA shows. According to Kai, she skipped the shows because she felt the NWA governing board was not treating the Women's Championship with the respect it deserved, such as not televising title matches on the TNA pay-per-views and TNA Xplosion.

Fewer women's matches were featured toward the end of 2004 and throughout 2005; however, TNA did feature pay-per-view matches pitting Trinity against former WWE Diva Jacqueline and Traci Brooks. TNA also featured Minsa in an on-air non-wrestling role.

Following the debut of the TNA iMPACT! television program in 2005, TNA featured former WWE Divas such as Gail Kim, Jackie Gayda, and Christy Hemme, as well as independent female wrestler Sirelda in prominent on-air roles and feuds. Although most of the prior female talent had left TNA by this time, Traci Brooks remained in an on-air role and TNA added a new ring girl, SoCal Val (replacing Athena) and backstage interviewer, Leticia Cline (replacing Goldy Locks). Gail Kim competed in a few matches that were televised and/or taped throughout 2006 against Sirelda and Traci Brooks, while independent wrestler Amber O'Neal competed at TNA house shows in matches against Kim and Jacqueline. In the fall of 2006, Sherri Martel appeared on TNA iMPACT! in her final televised appearance before her death.

TNA Women's Knockout Division (2007-present)
The formation of an official women's division began at Final Resolution in 2007 as TNA spent the early part of the year building up the feud between Gail Kim and Jacqueline, who made her on-air return at the pay-per-view. Throughout the summer of 2007, TNA also featured a feud between Christy Hemme and Roxxi Laveaux.

The first TNA Women's Knockout Champion was crowned on October 14, 2007 at Bound for Glory in a 10-Knockout gauntlet match which Gail Kim won. Around this time, TNA signed several additional female wrestlers, including Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, ODB, Salinas, and Velvet Sky, as well as valet Karen Angle and new backstage interviewer Crystal Louthan. Alexa Jade also made appearances as a jobber against Kim and Kong.

In a stark departure to TNA's past programming where their female talent were often promoted as eye candy with little to no emphasis on athleticism or wrestling ability, in the same fashion as their WWE Diva counterparts, TNA's women's division emphasizes on serious wrestling competition between their female talent, as well as their credibility as real athletes who are on par with their male counterparts. Since the inception of an official championship, matches and segments involving the Knockouts have contributed to drawing some of the better ratings of Impact shows.

Throughout 2008, TNA continued to expand the Knockout roster by featuring Moose, Payton Banks, Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, and Sharmell. Lauren Brooke became the new backstage interviewer beginning at Lockdown. In the spring of 2008, then-TNA Women's Knockout Champion Awesome Kong held a $25,000 Fan Challenge where she put her title and $25,000 on the line against any fan in the building. The challenge was eventually won by Taylor Wilde, and featured try-out matches for Daffney and Josie Robinson (later renamed Sojournor Bolt), both of whom later became full-time wrestlers in the Knockout division. Other participants in the challenge included Serena Deeb, Melissa Wolfram, Leva Bates, and Danielle. Amber O'Neal, Becky Bayless, and TNA ring girl Kimberly also volunteered to wrestle Kong, but were not selected as challengers. In the fall of 2008, Mercedes Steele appeared as a jobber against Kong, while Portia Perez and Mercedes Martinez both received try-out matches with TNA.

In early 2009, Madison Rayne debuted in TNA and joined The Beautiful People alongside existing members Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. Tara, Sarita, Alissa Flash, Hamada and Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca debuted throughout the spring and summer. In September 2009, Angelina Love left TNA due to visa papers issue.[12] On September 20, 2009, Sarita and Taylor Wilde became the first TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions when they won the final match of an eight-team tournament at No Surrender. In September Lacey Von Erich was signed to a contract and replaced Love as a member of The Beautiful People.[13] Kristal Lashley debuted at Bound for Glory in October while Roxxi returned to TNA (after being released earlier in the year) in December.

In January 2010, TNA released Alissa Flash and Awesome Kong asked for her release after her backstage altercation with Bubba the Love Sponge.

Promotion
The popularity of women in TNA has resulted cross-promotion with other brands featuring the TNA Knockouts. ShopTNA.com has released t-shirts for The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky), Tara, Christy Hemme, Karen Angle, ODB, and Awesome Kong.

TNA Knockout Photoshoots/DVDs
Knockouts: The Ladies of TNA Wrestling*2006, TNA released their first Knockout photoshoot entitled Knockouts: The Ladies of TNA Wrestling which featured Christy Hemme, Gail Kim, Jackie Gayda, SoCal Val, and Traci Brooks; a collage of the Knockouts that was featured was on the cover of the magazine plus a DVD of the first photoshoot came out also.
 * 2008, TNA released their second Knockout DVD on October 7, 2008 entitled TNA Knockouts: Knocked Out which features Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, Gail Kim, Jacqueline, Karen Angle, Lauren, ODB, Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, Roxxi, Salinas, Sharmell, SoCal Val, Traci Brooks, Taylor Wilde, and Velvet Sky. Karen Angle was chosen for the cover, with an alternate cover featuring Christy Hemme.[14].

TNA Knockouts Trading Cards
TRISTAR Productions released a TNA Knockouts trading card series on April 28, 2009. The set features Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, Dixie Carter, The Governor, Jacqueline, Jenna Morasca, Lauren, Madison Rayne, ODB, Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, Roxxi, Sharmell, SoCal Val, Sojournor Bolt, Traci Brooks, Taylor Wilde, and Velvet Sky. Also included are cards pairing the Knockouts with male TNA wrestlers.[15]

Playboy
Shortly before leaving TNA, backstage interviewer Leticia Cline appeared on the cover of the November/December 2007 issue of Playboy's Sexy Girls Next Door, which included her nude photo shoot.

In an interview with The Sun, Traci Brooks confirmed that Playboy magazine (which previously had a partnership agreement with WWE prior to the organization converting to PG-rated television content) reached a new partnership agreement with TNA. Brooks was originally scheduled to be featured in the November 2009 issue. She would become the first TNA Knockout to appear in Playboy, although Knockouts Christy Hemme and Jenna Morasca posed for the magazine prior to joining TNA.[16] However, on September 2, 2009 it was reported that Playboy decided not to publish Brooks' photo shoot on their magazine.[17] The photo shoot was instead released online through their Cyber Club website on September 17, 2009.[18] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19]

Other
In 2009, Taylor Wilde and The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) appeared in the U.S. reality show MTV Made to compete in a match involving a teen trained by A.J. Styles. Love and Sky were featured on the cover and in a pictorial in the December 2009 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine, which also included photos of Lauren Brooke and SoCal Val.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[20]

Some of the current and former TNA Knockouts have had short television and movie careers outside of TNA. Former backstage interviewer Lauren Brooke hosts Top Ten and Destination Golf on the Golf Channel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21] SoCal Val appeared in a television commercial for Morphoplex.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-prime_21-0">[22] Christy Hemme had roles in Bloodstained Memoirs, Fallen Angels, and Bubba's Chili Parlor. Hemme has also pursued a singing career and released songs on MySpace and iTunes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24] Traci Brooks had a role in Zombie Beach Party.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25] Alissa Flash has a role in the 2010 documentary False Finish.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[26] Former backstage interviewer Leticia Cline appeared in the fifth season of the reality series Beauty and the Geek in 2008, as well as the Howard Stern reality series Bowling Beauties.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[27] Former TNA Women's Knockout champion Angelina Love had a role in the 2008 indie film titled Good Intentions starring country music star LeAnn Rimes and Luke Perry. Love and Traci Brooks also appeared in an episode of the reality series Kenny vs. Spenny.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[28]

TNA Women's Knockout Championship
Main article: TNA Women's Knockout Championship

The first TNA Women's World Champion was crowned at on October 14, 2007 at Bound for Glory when Gail Kim won a 10-woman gauntlet match. The current champion is Tara.

TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship
Main article: TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship

On the August 20, 2009, edition of Impact! it was announced that a tournament would begin to crown the first TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions. The first TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions were crowned at on September 20, 2009 at No Surrender when Sarita and Taylor Wilde won an eight-team tournament final.

Queen of the Cage
The Queen of the Cage match is a professional wrestling match exclusive to TNA. The Queen of the Cage is determined annually at the Lockdown pay-per-view event. In 2008, the match began as a reverse-battle royal involving eight wrestlers. The first two wrestlers that entered the cage then competed in a one-on-one match that was won via pin fall or submission. The winner became the number one contender for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship. In 2009, the match was a four-way.

Roster

 * Angelina Love
 * Awesome Kong
 * Daffney
 * Hamada
 * Lacey Von Erich
 * Madison Rayne
 * ODB
 * Roxxi
 * Sarita
 * Tara
 * Taylor Wilde
 * Traci Brooks
 * Velvet Sky

Other talent

 * Christy Hemme
 * Kristal Marshall
 * SoCalVal

Alumni

 * April Hunter
 * Alissa Flash
 * Daizee Haze
 * Francine
 * Jackie Gayda
 * Jacqueline
 * Lauren
 * MsChif
 * Nurse Veronica (Simply Luscious)
 * Sharmell
 * Trinity