Chris Kelly sent this report in:
The TNA “Cross the Line” Promo is shown then the TNA Epics logo hits and we are shown clips of superstars that have made an appearance in TNA with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall ,The Road Warriors, Roddy Piper and Jeff Hardy.
We are welcomed to the show by TNA World champion and Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. Tonight’s show will be about The Knockouts in TNA
We go to our first match of the show
10 Woman Knockouts Gauntlet Match To Determine the First TNA Women’s World Champion Gail Kim vs Christy Hemme vs Ms. Brooks vs Jackie Moore vs Roxxi Laveaux vs ODB vs Talia vs Angel Williams vs Shelley Martinez vs Awesome Kong
Jackie Moore and Ms. Brooks start off, and Jackie beats the tar out of poor Ms. Brooks. Shelley Martinez (formerly Ariel in ECW) is in next and takes it to Jackie. West mentions that Shelley is in the Elvira look-alike contest. Awesome Kong enters accompanied by Darth Vader like theme music and SoCal Val hides behind the announce table.
Kong tosses the women around like rags dolls and quickly eliminates Brooks. Jackie eliminates Shelley, and Kong eliminates Jackie. ODB is out next and manages to last until Angel Williams enters, and they gang up on Kong. West mentions that ODB stands for One Dirty Bitch. Kong grabs Christy Hemme by her hair and flips her over the ropes and into the ring when it’s the red head’s turn to enter. She puts Hemme into a torture rack position and twists her around, then power bombs her.
Gail Kim enters with a missile drop kick off the top turnbuckle into Kong’s head. Tenay and West say that Hemme has been badly injured and is being taken away by the medics. West says he thinks her back is broken. Kim, ODB and Williams team together to eliminate Kong. As she falls, Kong’s top falls away and her breasts are exposed.
Talia Madison enters just after Kong leaves. ODB and Gail eliminate Williams. Roxxi Laveaux is the last to enter. Gail Kim makes short work of Talia, who luckily did not make any of the awful ring errors she’s known for on the indy circuit. Roxxi eliminates ODB, so it’s now down to Roxxi and Gail Kim. They trade forearms for a while. Gail gets her octopus submission on Roxxi, but Roxxi gets to the ropes for the break.
Power bomb into a bridging pin only gets Roxxi two. Fireman’s carry into a backdrop allows Gail Kim to pin Roxxi Laveaux to become the first TNA Women’s Champion.
Winner and first ever Womans/Knockout Champion Gail Kim!
Awesome Kong and Gail Kim from the January 2008
The introductions are being done boxing style. Kong runs at Gail who ducks. Gail goes on a chop fest and Kong finally connects with a spinning backfist, knocking Gail to the outside then slams her head on the ring steps. She throws Gail up the ramp then chokes her with her leg. She gets up and Gail jumps but gets caught. Kong throws Gail into the ramp then the bleachers and then goes for an Umaga style butt smach, but Gail moves and Kong flies under the stage. Commercial time as Gail favors her lower back.
We are back as Kong picks Gail up and sets her in the corner. Gail gets away and hits a tornado DDT for a two count. Gail jumps off the top and gets caught by a Kong chokeslam for a two count. Kong whips her into the corner and Gail moves. Kong catches her again, this time with a double underhook facebuster and Gail again kicks out for two. Kong sets up the Awesome Bomb, but Kim floats over and hits an elbow, dropkick, went for a huracanrana, but Kong catches her with a repeating Awesome Bomb. One, two, three and it’s over.
WINNER AND NEW TNA KNOCKOUTS CHAMPION: AWESOME KONG
*Note: My TV was mucking up for this section of the show so i was only able to recap what action I saw*
The first-ever “Queen Of The Cage” match from Lockdown 2008
Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Salinas vs. Rhaka Khan vs. Traci vs. Christy Hemme vs.Jacqueline vs. Roxxi Laveaux Queen of the Cage Match .
Eight TNA Knockouts will start the bout battling on the outside of the cage, trying to get inside the steel structure. The first two Knockouts that are successful will then have a one-on-one match.
The women brawl all around on the ring floor, except for Angelina Love, who immediately starts climbing the cage, and ends up the first one inside. Velvet Skye starts climbing too, but Roxxi follows and knocks her down, then gets into the cage herself, so it’s Roxxi vs. Angelina Love .
They start off with forearms and elbows, then Roxxi back bumps Love in the corner and follows up with a running big boot, but only gets two. The crowd is solidly behind Roxxi, chanting for her loudly. Love comes back with a jaw breaker, a knee, and a clothesline, then bashes Roxxi’s head repeatedly on the canvas. Angelina chokes Roxxi on the ropes until the ref forces a break. LaVeaux lifts Love to her shoulder, but Love escapes and hits Roxxi with the Lights Out. Roxxi kicks out at two, and the crowd chants for her more.
Love tries a rollup, but Roxxi uses her leg strength to send Angelina flying into the cage wall. Roxxi LaVeaux wins with the Voodoo Drop to become the first ever TNA Queen of the Cage.
Winner: Roxxi
Epics Thoughts
When I saw the preview for this show and it said it was all based on Knockouts, my gut feeling was, “Great,one hour of botched female wrestling” and I wasn’t really lookin forward to it. This all changed when I spoke to Wrestleview’s TNA Impact Recapper Josh Boutwell about the matches on the card as he called the Gail Kim vs Awesome Kong an “awesome match” so I headed into the show with high hopes.
The first match of the night was the Gauntlet which I enjoyed watching as many Diva/Knockouts competed in the match with some people making their debuts. My only complaint about the match would be the speed they ran though the match as due to the fast rate of action,some of the Knockouts didn’t really have chance to have a good outing and make an impacted in the match
The second match of the night(and my personal favorite) was the Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim. This match just seemed to have all the right ingredients for a simple “Big bad” heel vs small weaker” babyface and it came off perfectly in this match with the Heel overpowering the face for the win. This is were the WWE would have the face go over a stronger heel to make them look good (example John Cena/Big Show) but in this match TNA went with common sence with the Kong getting the win
As for the final match,I enjoyed it for what it was, a quick,fast match to put over Roxxi
The Knockout that stood out tonight what Gail Kim. I’ve seen her WWE matches as of late and they just don’t seem to be as well performed as her matches with TNA. Tonight, Kim looked pretty good in her matches with her best match being against Awesome Kong. She plays a weak babyface wrestling a powerful Heel well,so maybe Gail Kim vs Beth Phoenix would suite her well.
Thats all for TNA Epics this week, Love it?, Hate it?, disagree with everthing I said? send me an email with your thoughts/feedback to chriskismad@hotmail.com.