Knockout is a term used by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) to refer to its female talent. The term is applied universally to wrestlers , backstage interviewers, and managers/valets .
169-716: The term Knockouts is relatively new and was not used when Total Nonstop Action debuted in 2002. The name originated from a DVD release in 2006 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. Female performers have been a part of TNA since the first national show, 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
338-546: A Halloween costume contest, in which James was dressed like Stratus and helped Stratus retain the Women's Championship in a Fulfill Your Fantasy battle royal at Taboo Tuesday by eliminating herself and Victoria at the same time. James even began utilizing Stratus' signature finishing moves as her own during matches. James later became the number one contender for the WWE Women's Championship on December 12, by defeating Victoria in
507-458: A Texas Deathmatch . At Sacrifice , James lost her Knockouts World Championship to Tasha Steelz , ending her fourth reign at 133 days. During a rematch, James was betrayed by best friend Chelsea Green, who turned heel. After teasing retirement on Twitter, James returned on the September 1, 2022, edition of Impact! , to announce that she would retire after she lost her next match unless she won
676-479: A cage . In early 2011, James began appearing for Covey Promotions. At All or Nothing 5 on April 30, James defeated Hannah Blossom to become the first Covey Pro Women's Champion. During her time with TNA , James made several appearances for independent wrestling promotions such as Pro Championship Wrestling, Legends of the Ring, Northeast Wrestling and National Wrestling Superstars. On November 11, 2011, James lost
845-402: A face after she and Lita wrestled in a series of matches in which Lita chose stipulations to hinder Mickie's wrestling ability. The feud between James and Lita ended at Survivor Series , where James defeated Lita, in the latter's retirement match, to win her second Women's Championship. James then began an angle with Melina on January 29, 2007, when Melina became the number one contender for
1014-487: A fireball and wrestling in another Clockwork Orange House of Fun match before leaving the company. After two years of sending tapes and making phone calls as well as wrestling a tryout dark match with Dawn Marie , James was signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), who sent her to train at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), their then- developmental territory , in August 2003. Still using
1183-457: A push and she won her first WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 22 , a title she has held a total of five times. James also won her first Divas Championship defeating Maryse Ouellet at Night of Champions in 2009, to become the second of five Divas to hold both the Women's and Divas titles. She was released from the company in April 2010, after which she returned to TNA, where she became
1352-461: 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 traditional four-way match . The match type has since been dropped. The New Year's Knockout Eve Tournament took place on
1521-448: A stable called The Gathering and was written into storylines with the group. She is the only woman to be involved in the promotion's Clockwork Orange House of Fun matches . James made her World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) main roster debut in 2005 and was placed in a storyline with Trish Stratus , in which James' gimmick was that of Stratus' biggest fan turned obsessed stalker, an angle which ran over eight months. She received
1690-544: A stable led by Raven in his feud against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett . On April 16, Laree became the first (and thus far, only) woman to compete in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match , after the Gathering challenged and defeated Jarrett. She continued to wrestle with the stable while they feuded with The Disciples of the New Church , taking part in an angle with Father James Mitchell burning her with
1859-420: A tag team match at WWE Evolution , WWE's first-ever all-women's pay–per–view. Just three days before the event on October 25, however, it was announced that Bliss was pulled out of the match due to a concussion, and that Fox would be her replacement. In the event's opening contest, James and Fox were unsuccessful against Stratus and Lita. On November 18 at Survivor Series , James was selected by Bliss to be
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#17328582735412028-528: A triple threat match that also involved Victoria. Since Mickie pinned Victoria and not Melina, an immediate rematch was scheduled, in which James dropped the title back to Melina, giving her the shortest Women's Championship reign in WWE history. James later received a rematch for the title at Backlash , but was unsuccessful. After Backlash, James would only make sporadic appearances on television, wrestling occasionally in tag-matches and rarely in singles competition. On
2197-402: A valet on the independent circuit , where she was known under the name Alexis Laree. She trained in several camps to improve her wrestling abilities before working for NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA: TNA, later Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, later Impact Wrestling, now Total Nonstop Action Wrestling again) in 2002, where she gained national attention. After only a few appearances, she joined
2366-466: A "throwback". On the January 17, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live , James made her return by helping Alexa Bliss retain her SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch in a Steel Cage match , revealing herself as the woman under the " La Luchadora " gimmick and establishing herself as a heel character, while also allying with Bliss. She competed in her first match in nearly seven years in
2535-540: A WWE main roster ring on January 29, 2017, at the Royal Rumble pay–per–view, teaming with Bliss and Natalya against Lynch, Naomi , and Nikki Bella in a losing effort. James went on to face Lynch at the Elimination Chamber pay–per–view in another losing effort. She would defeat Lynch in a rematch on the edition of February 14 of SmackDown , but would lose a Two-Out-of-Three Falls match two weeks later to end
2704-498: A Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 22 , which James won, to earn her first Women's Championship in what was looked at as one of the best female matches ever produced at WrestleMania. Her angle with Stratus continued into Backlash during a rematch, after Stratus legitimately dislocated her shoulder when James threw her out of the ring. The feud would come to an end on the June 26 episode of Raw , when Mickie defeated Stratus in
2873-468: A Women's Championship match. James dropped the WWE Women's Championship on August 14 to Lita , after Lita hit James with the title belt. After the Women's Championship was vacated due to the retirement of Trish Stratus , James entered a tournament to determine the new champion. She defeated Victoria and Melina en route to the finals at Cyber Sunday , where she lost to Lita. James transitioned into
3042-674: A battle royal, with the winner being crowned the "Queen of the Knockouts". It took place on March 17, 2013, from the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida and aired on PPV on September 6, 2013. No queen was crowned in 2017. The Queen of the Cage match was a professional wrestling match exclusive to TNA. The match was determined annually at the Lockdown pay-per-view event. In 2008, the match began as
3211-517: 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. 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
3380-475: 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
3549-436: 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 the following year. The formation of an official women's division began at Final Resolution in 2007 as TNA spent
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#17328582735413718-475: A field. At Bound for Glory, James defeated Purrazzo to win the Impact Knockouts Championship for the fourth time. At Turning Point , after successfully retained the title against Mercedes Martinez , James was attacked by Purrazzo, who announced that she would invoke her rematch clause at Hard To Kill . At the event, on January 8, 2022, James successfully retained the title against Purrazzo in
3887-484: A full-time mother, but James Storm talked her into having one more match. On the June 3 episode of Impact Wrestling , James declined an offer by Storm to join The Revolution , which resulted in him intentionally shoving her onto a train track in the storyline, which sparked controversy. This was done to write off James from television, as she had no more dates set with the company at the time. James made her return on
4056-483: A lot of time on her grandmother's horse farm, and developed a keen interest in equestrian sports . She played violin for five years. A fan of professional wrestling from an early age, James attended a professional wrestling school in the Washington, D.C. , area at the suggestion of a friend. She made her professional debut on the independent circuit on 28 August 1999, as a wrestler for KYDA Pro Wrestling under
4225-517: A match on August 7 at Hardcore Justice , where James lost the Knockouts Championship to Winter, following multiple interferences from Love and a red mist from Winter. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , James defeated Madison Rayne to earn a rematch for the title. On the September 1 episode of Impact Wrestling , James defeated Winter to win her second TNA Knockouts Championship. On September 11 at No Surrender , James dropped
4394-411: A match to determine who would face Stratus at New Year's Revolution . Subsequently, the storyline between Mickie and Stratus developed into a lesbian angle, after James kissed Stratus under a sprig of mistletoe . In the championship match at the pay-per-view, James lost to Stratus. Despite the defeat, James continued to be enamored of Stratus, which made Stratus uncomfortable. On March 6, 2006,
4563-606: A new direction with their women's division". Sporadic appearances (2013) In November 2013, James served as guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida , for a week, training NXT 's female wrestlers. James also attended that week's NXT live event in Tampa, Florida . James made her return to the independent circuit in April 2010, as part of World Wrestling Council (WWC), teaming with Carlito to defeat
4732-470: A part of Team Raw along with Nia Jax, Tamina , Bayley and Sasha Banks to go against Team SmackDown's Naomi, Carmella , Sonya Deville, Asuka and Mandy Rose . Team Raw came out victorious after Jax was the sole survivor. The victory also upped James’ undefeated streak to 5–0 at Survivor Series. The next night on Raw , James was selected by “General Manager-Elect” Baron Corbin to answer an open-challenge by Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey , but lost
4901-434: A participant in the lingerie battle royal , which occurred the following week. She was not prominently featured until March 26, 2003, when she teamed with Amazing Red as part of his feud against the X Division Champion Kid Kash and Trinity . Laree competed in her first singles match with the promotion on April 2, 2003, in a losing effort against Trinity. Weeks later, she became the first member of The Gathering ,
5070-553: A pod before being eliminated by Bayley . On the February 26 episode of Raw , James proceeded to turn heel and realigned herself with Bliss. At WrestleMania 34 , James participated in the first-ever WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal for the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal Trophy , but was eliminated from the match by Ruby Riott . Later that night, she had planned to manage Bliss to her title defense against Nia Jax , but
5239-412: A rematch, where her team was victorious. James' final match in WWE aired on the April 23 episode of SmackDown where she teamed with former long-time rival Beth Phoenix against LayCool in a losing effort when she was pinned by Layla. James was released from WWE one day earlier on April 22, having pre-taped her SmackDown match. According to James, WWE explained the decision as due to desiring to "move in
TNA Knockouts - Misplaced Pages Continue
5408-540: A second run. At the start of the following year in 2009, Madison Rayne debuted in TNA on January 8 and became the third member of The Beautiful People alongside existing members Angelina Love and Velvet Sky which made the tag team a stable and the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship was introduced at No Surrender and Sarita and Taylor Wilde became the first TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions when they won
5577-427: A shot at the Knockouts Championship when she was defeated by Ms. Tessmacher in a four-way match that also included Tara and Velvet Sky, while also showing signs of a heel turn due to jealousy of Sky. On the June 21 episode of Impact Wrestling , James was chosen over Sky as the next challenger for the Knockouts Championship, but failed to recapture the title from Ms. Tessmacher. James' storyline with Sky ended abruptly
5746-473: A singles match against Natalya the following week, which saw James lose by countout thanks to interference from Lana. On the August 31 episode of Raw , James confronted the Raw Women's Champion Asuka , stating her intentions of going after the title. During this exchange, Lana and Natalya interrupted staking their claims, leading to a singles match between James and Lana in which James defeated her via pinfall. On
5915-439: A singles match with the stipulation that if Estrada won, Priscilla would become the new Miss TNA. 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). This led to the breakup of The Rainbow Express , and Bruce's homosexuality
6084-424: A six-year absence, inviting Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo to defend the title at NWA EmPowerrr , where she is executive producer, only for Purrazzo to give her disrespect, then James kicked Purrazzo in the face. Purrazzo would eventually accept James' invite, successfully defending the Knockouts Championship against Melina at NWA EmPowerrr. The next night, at NWA 73 , Purrazzo attacked James after
6253-431: A storyline with Tessa Blanchard . Both eventually faced off at Rebellion as Blanchard defeated Kim. Kim would officially retire. Four months later, Tessa Blanchard became the first woman to main event at Slammiversary XVII against Sami Callihan in an intergender match . Most of the year of 2019 revolved around Tessa Blanchard and her continued feud with Sami Callihan and his faction, Ohio Versus Everything . Towards
6422-404: A three-time TNA Knockouts Champion . James returned to WWE in 2013 as a guest trainer, then officially returned in 2016 before she was once again released in 2021. James would then make occasional appearances and would ultimately return to Impact Wrestling in 2021, winning her fourth and fifth Knockouts Championship, making James a total 11-time women's world champion between WWE and Impact. James
6591-554: A three-way GFW Women's Championship tournament qualifying match that also included Lei'D Tapa and the ultimate winner, Christina Von Eerie . On January 22, Christina Von Eerie defeated James and Kimber Lee to retain the GFW Women's Championship. On October 13, 2016, it was announced that James would return to WWE's developmental brand NXT at the NXT TakeOver: Toronto event on November 19, competing against Asuka for
6760-502: A tournament for the number one contendership to the Women's Knockout Championship. April Hunter who competed with the organization in its early years returned in this special competing in a tag team match. Six years later, TNA announced the second Knockouts-themed show for the first time which aired on April 17, 2015, titled 'TKO: Total Knockouts'. In the year of 2010, TNA premiered an all Knockout highlight pay-per-view special on October 1, titled TNA Knockouts: Mad Sexy Volume 1, featuring
6929-423: A trash bag. Several other former talent such as Jillian Hall , Maria Kanellis and Gail Kim voiced similar experiences when they were fired. The senior employee responsible for this was let go, and James received a public apology from Stephanie McMahon . James made her National Wrestling Alliance debut on the June 8, 2021, episode of NWA Powerrr , announcing that she will serve as an executive producer for
TNA Knockouts - Misplaced Pages Continue
7098-401: A triple-threat match. Mickie re-entered the feud against Phoenix in mid-2008, where she and Kofi Kingston teamed up against Phoenix and Santino Marella at SummerSlam in a Winner Takes All tag team match for both the Women's and Intercontinental Championships, in which Mickie and Kingston lost their titles to Phoenix and Marella. After James lost the championship, she had two rematches for
7267-421: A valet in a match that was taped during the first PPV, but aired during the second PPV. 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. Taylor Vaughn won the first Miss TNA crown. She defended the title against Francine, who soon afterward abandoned her pursuit of the title and engaged in
7436-489: A valet role and former WWE Tough Enough contestant Paulina as a bodyguard. 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
7605-550: A villainess wrestling Reby Sky several times in different dates and locations, winning in all bouts against Sky. On October 12, Mickie again appeared for the promotion, beating Quebec's Midianne in Bristol, Connecticut . On February 8, 2014, James returned to Maryland Championship Wrestling for the Anniversary 2014 event in Joppa, Maryland , to face Angelina Love, promoted as "Battle of
7774-544: A waitress at an Olive Garden restaurant, and posing nude for adult fetish magazines Leg Show and Naughty Neighbors in the early 2000s, before gaining fame and being subsequently signed by World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003. While working in Ring of Honor for a year, James also debuted as Alexis Laree in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the company's first ever weekly pay-per-view , introduced as
7943-628: A winning effort against Nikki Storm. On September 21, James made an appearance at the Wrestling Spectacular 2 all-female event in Edison, New Jersey , alongside many former WWE and TNA female wrestlers, such as Angelina Love , Katarina Waters , Rosita and Brooke Adams . James and Love fought in the main event, with Candice Michelle as the special guest referee, where Love pinned James after interference from Velvet Sky . James made appearances for Big Time Wrestling in August 2013, doing so as
8112-535: Is available to purchase online , if wanting to purchase. Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) is an American country singer and professional wrestler . She is currently signed to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as Creative Director, Head of Female Talent and Executive Producer. She is best known for her tenures in WWE , Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). James began her wrestling career in 1999 as
8281-470: The 2016 King of Trios tournament as part of Team Original Divas Revolution, alongside Jazz and Victoria. They defeated Team Shimmer ( Candice LeRae , Crazy Mary Dobson and Solo Darling) in their first round match. The following day, Team Original Divas Revolution was eliminated from the tournament by The Warriors Three (Oleg the Usurper, Princess KimberLee and ThunderFrog). James worked as head trainer for
8450-483: The Funking Conservatory , a workshop run by Dory Funk Jr. , and an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) dojo . She also started competing for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), where she trained at camps run by Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton . Beginning in 2002, she also made appearances for Ring of Honor . Due to the low salary of the independent shows, James supplemented her income by working as
8619-618: The Golf Channel . SoCal Val appeared in a television commercial for Morphoplex. 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 . Traci Brooks had a role in Zombie Beach Party . Alissa Flash has a role in the 2010 documentary False Finish . Former backstage interviewer Leticia Cline appeared in
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#17328582735418788-565: The Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 4. Two weeks later on Raw , James lost the title to Jillian Hall after an approximate three month title reign. After the show, James was traded to the SmackDown brand for the first time in her career, due to a Diva trade made by Raw guest host Nancy O'Dell . James made her debut with the brand on the October 23 episode of SmackDown , defeating Layla . On
8957-582: The Knockouts Knockdown event, where the winner will earn a future shot at the Impact Knockouts Championship . TNA Gut Check (formally known as Impact Gut Check) is a reality series that was established in 2004 where both male and female Indy Stars are contestants and compete for an Impact contract . The following list shows only the female Gut Check winners only and the years that they've won. Knockout clothing and merchandise
9126-537: 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. 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
9295-524: The NXT Women's Championship . On the October 26 episode of NXT , James cut a promo where she formally re–introduced herself and challenged Asuka for the championship. At the event, James was defeated and after the match Asuka refused to shake her hand as a sign of disrespect. On December 8, it was announced that James had signed a multi–year contract with WWE. According to James, she asked to return under her previous character, which she later would see as
9464-402: The Royal Rumble , James entered the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match at No. 26 and lasted over 8 minutes before being eliminated by long–time rival Trish Stratus . The following month, James competed in the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match at the namesake pay–per–view, where she entered at No. 5 and eliminated Sonya Deville after a diving Lou Thesz press off the top of
9633-575: The SmackDown brand . During a live event on June 1, it was reported that James had suffered a torn ACL. On July 16, James underwent successful knee surgery and would be out of action for seven to nine months. During her recovery from injury, James would become a commentator for Main Event . After 14 months of injury, James returned on the August 10, 2020, episode of Raw as a face, only to have her interview interrupted by Natalya and Lana . This set up
9802-401: The TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship from Kim and Rayne. Three days later at Genesis , James lost another championship match against Kim, after being disqualified for using the brass knuckles that were thrown into the ring by Rayne, who was locked in a cage suspended in the air during the match. On the January 19 episode of Impact Wrestling , James defeated Rayne in a steel cage match. On
9971-592: The Virginia based promotion Ground Xero Wrestling (GXW) Training Academy. She trained students at the Richmond location. James beat Renee Michelle for the GXW Women's Championship while with the promotion. On September 22, 2010, it was reported that James had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). James returned to the promotion on October 7's Before The Glory special episode of Impact! , when she
10140-569: The ring name Alexis Laree, a name created as the result of a combination of her stage name from when she was a dancer and her middle name. Laree went on to manage several male wrestlers, including managing Tommy Dreamer to win the KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship. In March, she wrestled in her first match, an intergender tag team match with Jake Damian against American Mike Brown and Candie. She trained to improve her wrestling abilities by attending training camps such as
10309-468: The 1CW Women's Championship after getting herself disqualified. On June 19, 2015, at Maryland Championship Wrestling's Ladies Night event, James defeated Amber Rodriguez (with Lisa Marie Varon as the special guest referee and Melina as the enforcer) to win the MCW Women's Championship, despite being attacked by the villainous Melina during the match. On November 13, Kimber Lee defeated James to win
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#173285827354110478-635: The 25-Diva battle royal at WrestleMania XXV , James began feuding with the WWE Divas Champion Maryse heading into Night of Champions on July 26. At the event, James defeated Maryse to win her first Divas Championship, becoming only the second Diva in history to have held both the Women's and Divas titles. Throughout the Summer, Mickie successfully defended the title against Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix on episodes of Raw , and against Alicia Fox at
10647-575: The Apaches in a tag team match, after which she challenged Mari to a match for her AAA Reina de Reinas Championship . On July 31 at Verano de Escándalo , James competed in an eight-way match for the Reina de Reinas Championship, becoming the last person eliminated by the new champion, Pimpinela Escarlata . On the June 23 episode of Impact Wrestling , James was defeated by Winter in a non-title Street Fight , following outside interference from Love. This led to
10816-580: The Bombshells". Although originally promoted as a singles match, interference by MCW's Renee Michelles' and Jessie Kayes' rivalry occurred during the match, resulting in the match being turned into a tag team match with Mickie and Michelle facing Angelina and Kayes, which James and Michelle won. On April 25, 2014, at the Berkeley Springs High School theater in West Virginia , James headlined
10985-621: The Covey Pro Women's Championship to the debuting Jessie Belle Smothers . James made her debut for Pro Wrestling Elite (PWE) in Ayr, Scotland on September 15, 2012, at History Is Born , where she wrestled Kay Lee Ray to a no contest. After the match, James teamed up with Ray in a winning effort against Carmel and Nikki Storm. The following night, James competed against Carmel in a winning effort. James returned to Pro Wrestling Elite at their two-year anniversary event Elite Bro on July 20, 2013, in
11154-590: The Covey Promotion 3rd Annual Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony, as she was inducted into the Covey Pro Hall Of Hame Class of 2014. The next day, during the All or Nothing 8! event which was aired on May 17 as the 154th episode of Covey Pro TV, James was interrupted during an interview by Amber Rodriguez, who mocked James on her legitimate pregnancy and gave her a pie as a tease, and in return, James shoved
11323-550: The December 31, 2009, edition of Impact! . The winner of the tournament would earn herself a shot at the TNA Women's Knockout Championship on the live three hour Monday night edition of Impact! on January 4, 2010. TNA announced a Knockouts tag team tournament for the new TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship on the August 20, 2009, episode of TNA Impact! . Round one matches started on the August 27, 2009, episode of TNA Impact! . On
11492-440: The December 9, 2010, edition of Impact! TNA vacated the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship , after one half of the previous champions, Hamada , had been released by the promotion, and set up a four–team tournament to determine new champions. The finals of the tournament would take place on the December 23 edition of Impact! . * Winter replaced Velvet Sky, who had been attacked backstage by Sarita. On November 23, 2017, it
11661-483: The Impact Knockouts World Championship belt. She lasted just under 12 minutes in the match, managing to eliminate her former rival Michelle McCool and was later eliminated by another former rival, Lita . On February 28, at No Surrender , James successfully defended the title against Masha Slamovich . James was scheduled to defend the title against Grace at Sacrifice on March 24, however, it
11830-417: The January 26 episode of Impact Wrestling , James and Velvet Sky were defeated by Tara in a three-way number one contender's match for the Knockouts Championship. On the April 5 episode of Impact Wrestling , James was defeated by Sky in a six-way number one contenders match, also involving Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, Tara , and Winter. On the June 7 episode of Impact Wrestling , James again failed to earn
11999-570: The July 1 episode of Impact Wrestling , confronting Storm and challenging him to an intergender tag team match. After the match, James got revenge on Storm and she delivered a jumping DDT on him. On the July 29 episode of Impact Wrestling , James and Magnus defeated Storm and his partner Serena , when James pinned Serena. On July 7, 2015, James signed with Global Force Wrestling (GFW). On July 24, at GFW's inaugural tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada , James lost
12168-433: The June 20, 2013, episode of Impact Wrestling , Knockouts Division Executive Brooke Hogan stripped ODB and Eric Young of the title because Young was a male talent. This ultimately resulted in the titles being no longer being listed among TNA's active championships. The women's division would see again the start of vast departures when SoCal Val , Madison Rayne , Tara , Mickie James , and Taeler Hendrix all departed from
12337-465: The Knockouts Championship due to interference from Tara. The following month at Against All Odds , James once again failed to win the Knockouts Championship, this time losing to Rayne in a Last Knockout Standing match , after another interference by Tara. On the March 17 episode of Impact! , Rayne agreed to give James another title match at Lockdown , with the added stipulation that should James fail to win
12506-466: The Knockouts Championship. On December 9 at Final Resolution , James was unsuccessful in winning the championship from Tara after a distraction from her boyfriend Jesse . James received another shot at the championship on the December 20 episode of Impact Wrestling , but was again defeated by Tara. On January 13, 2013, at the Genesis pay-per-view, James competed in a five-woman gauntlet match to determine
12675-520: The Knockouts World Championship once more, while also naming her final run The Last Rodeo. She went on to win every match after this announcement, defeating Gisele Shaw at Victory Road , Mia Yim at Bound for Glory , Taylor Wilde at Over Drive , and eventually Jordynne Grace at Hard To Kill to end The Last Rodeo, winning the Knockouts World Championship for the fifth time. On the January 7, 2022, episode of SmackDown , James
12844-464: The Knockouts with male TNA wrestlers. Shortly before leaving Impact Wrestling, 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
13013-522: The MCW Women's Championship after interference from Amber Rodriguez. The following night, James gained a measure of revenge by defeating Rodriguez in a Loser Leaves MCW match, causing Rodriguez to leave the company. On February 2, 2016, James made an appearance for Chikara in a losing effort against Grand Champion Princess Kimber Lee . On April 1, 2016, James returned to Queens of Combat and defeated LuFisto at Queens of Combat 10 . On September 2, 2016, James made her debut for Chikara , when she entered
13182-628: 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 , Cheerleader Melissa , 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
13351-484: The May 23 episode of Impact Wrestling , James defeated Sky after attacking her injured knee to become a three-time Knockouts Champion. The following week, James continued portraying a villainous persona by calling out Velvet Sky, acting sarcastic and pompous towards her, and also did not help Sky when she was attacked by Gail Kim. James cemented her heel turn on the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling , when she attacked Sky when
13520-495: 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
13689-559: The November 26 episode of Raw , James defeated Melina in a number one contender's match for Beth Phoenix 's Women's Championship, setting up a title match between the two at Armageddon , in which Phoenix retained the title. On the April 14, 2008, episode of Raw , held in London, England , James defeated Beth Phoenix to win her fourth Women's Championship. At Judgment Day , James successfully defended her title against Melina and Beth Phoenix in
13858-491: The October 30 episode of SmackDown , a controversial angle began that saw WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool and Layla, collectively known as LayCool , bully James. On the November 20 episode of SmackDown , after James defeated Layla, McCool gave James the nickname "Piggy James", that sent James to tears, resulting in a five-on-five Survivor Series match at the November pay-per-view Survivor Series , where James' team prevailed over McCool's team, with James and Melina as
14027-552: The PPV, as well as valet Karen Jarrett and new backstage interviewer Crystal Louthan . 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 during that time period, TNA's women's division emphasized on serious wrestling competition between their female talent, as well as their credibility on par with their male counterparts. Since
14196-451: The September 14 episode of Raw , James challenged Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship, but lost after a botched finish due to the referee believing that James could no longer compete. In the 2020 WWE Draft in October, James went undrafted. Her first post-draft appearance occurred on January 4, 2021, during the special " Legends Night " episode of Raw , appearing alongside several other WWE legends. That same month, James competed in
14365-649: The TNA Wrestling's Babe/Knockout of the Year contest is a contest where fans vote on Impact Wrestling's official website for who their favorite Impact Knockout for that year, the winners were announced during the Year End Awards on iMPACT! . The award was established in 2003 and ended in 2007. The award was reestablished in 2018. TNA held a series of matches featuring various Knockouts at TNA One Night Only: Knockout Knockdown . The winners of these matches would advance to
14534-482: The United States ceased at the end of 2006, although some of the exclusive matches could be seen on TNA Today . Starting on December 22, 2008, "Xplosion Xclusive" matches were also streamed on the promotion's website and YouTube channel. Xplosion was revamped at the June 14, 2010 tapings of its 300th episode, now featuring more original matches with Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay on commentary. In addition to
14703-411: The Women's Championship. Following a successful title defense on February 5, James teamed with Super Crazy in a mixed tag team match against Melina and Johnny Nitro . After Melina pinned James for the victory, she challenged her to a rematch for the title. James would subsequently lose the Women's Championship to Melina on February 19 and, in continuation of their storyline feud, failed to regain
14872-551: The best matches in the history of the Knockout division. as Volume 2 premiered February 1, 2011. Three years later, TNA recorded an all knockouts pay-per-view on March 7, which aired on September 6, titled TNA Knockouts Knockdown . It was part of special series of pay-per-views released by TNA called TNA One Night Only . Since the start of the first event, Trinity , Jacqueline , Alissa Flash , Sojournor Bolt , MaryKate , Thea Trinidad , and Shelly Martinez made special appearances for
15041-465: The championship three days later to Taryn Terrell in a three-way match that also involved Gail Kim; the match aired on tape delay on November 19. Towards the end of the year of 2015 in October, for the first time ever, the TNA Knockouts entered a tournament for the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship ; Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, Madison Rayne, and Brooke were revealed to being the representatives of
15210-577: The company entering the month of July to mid-Fall mutually; Rayne was originally granted a maternity leave in early March due to real life pregnancy, Hendrix's departure made Lei'D Tapa the only female talent signed from the short-lived Gut Check Challenge , and SoCal Val's departure left Christy Hemme as the longest tenured female talent within the company. The vast departures lead to Christy Hemme , Gail Kim , Velvet Sky , ODB , Brooke , Taryn Terrell , Lei'D Tapa , Hannah Blossom , Holly Blossom , Rebel , and Brittany remaining and continuing on with
15379-526: The company mutually or due to controversial circumstances. Madison Rayne made history by becoming the first person to hold both the Women's Knockout Championship and the Knockouts Tag Team Championship simultaneously at Lockdown . On August 8, Francine appeared in a pre-taped interview at the ECW reunion themed Hardcore Justice and Lacey Von Erich, Hamada, and Taylor Wilde departed from the company at
15548-443: The company's annual event. TRISTAR Productions released a TNA Knockouts trading card series on April 28, 2009. The set featured 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
15717-478: The company's rebranding to the TNA name on January 13, 2024, Xplosion relaunched as a web series on January 26, replacing BTI . TNA Xplosion was launched on November 27, 2002, as the promotion's first regular weekly syndicated show. In its original format, the show featured exclusive matches from the TNA Asylum , as well as exclusive interviews with members of the TNA roster. On November 18, 2004, Xplosion
15886-507: The company. Taryn Terrell would be granted a maternity leave in August due to real life pregnancy. Madison Rayne would return to the company in late November after departing from the company earlier in the March. Angelina Love would win the Knockouts Championship at the Sacrifice pay-per-view for a record-breaking sixth time A few days later, Lei'D Tapa departed from the company after her contract expired. Throughout August, vignettes hyping
16055-491: The company. Most of them had title reigns with the Knockouts Championship, such as Jade , Sienna and Allie . In 2017, at Slammiversary XV , Sienna defeated Rosemary in a unification match which saw the TNA Knockouts Championship and GFW Women's Championship get unified. During Sienna's reign the title was renamed to Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship . Shortly after, at Bound for Glory , Gail Kim won
16224-417: 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 . Velvet Sky was named "Woman of the Year" by Modelsmania magazine after featuring on the cover and in a pictorial in the August 2013 issue of the publication. Earlier that year Sky was reunited with former teammate Angelina Love when they featured together on
16393-615: The cover and in a pictorial in the January/February 2013 issue of Modelsmania magazine. In 2009, Taylor Wilde and The Beautiful People ( Angelina Love and Velvet Sky ) appeared in the American reality show MTV Made to compete in a match involving a teen trained by A.J. Styles . Some of the current and former Impact Knockouts have had short television and movie careers outside of Impact Wrestling. Former backstage interviewer Lauren Brooke hosts Top Ten and Destination Golf on
16562-429: The debut of Havok would air on Impact Wrestling . Havok made her debut by attacking Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell after their title match on the September 3 broadcast of Impact Wrestling . During the tapings of Impact Wrestling on September 16, Havok defeated Kim in the main event of Impact Wrestling to win the TNA Women's Knockout Championship for the first time; the match aired on tape delay on October 1. Havok lost
16731-536: 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
16900-473: The division as the greatest Knockouts Champion of all time". On the July 25 episode of Impact Wrestling , James successfully defended the championship against Gail Kim. At the September 6 airing of Knockout Knockdown , James defeated Serena Deeb to qualify for the gauntlet battle royal finals, in which James was lastly eliminated by Gail Kim. James lost the Knockouts Championship on the September 19 episode of Impact Wrestling to ODB . Four days later, it
17069-469: The division as the official referee although later on would be transitioned into an active role to receive a push to feud with Gail Kim. Sarita departed from TNA entering the year of 2013 after her contract would expire. Lei'D Tapa became the second female talent signed to a contract through the Gut Check Challenge . In the summer, the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship would be deactivated when on
17238-599: 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 also during the summer a feud between Christy Hemme and Roxxi Laveaux took place. 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 with lastly eliminating Roxxi Laveaux. Around this time, TNA signed several additional female wrestlers and personalities, including Angel Williams , Amazing Kong , ODB , Shelly Martinez , and Talia Madison who were then renamed after
17407-500: The end of the year of 2019 on the company's premiere on AXS Television, Blanchard became the number one contender for the Impact World Championship after winning a mini tournament. In this year also, Taya Valkyrie became the longest reigning Knockouts Champion surpassing Taryn Terrell . On January 12, 2020, at Hard To Kill , Tessa Blanchard became the first woman to win the Impact World Championship. Blanchard also became
17576-498: The end of the year. Despite departures during this time period, the division continued to grow. Despite initially departing the company in individual time periods, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Awesome Kong, Alissa Flash, Traci Brooks, Roxxi, ODB, Jacqueline, SoCal Val, Mickie James, Thea Trinidad, Karen Jarrett, Christy Hemme, Taryn Terrell, Brooke, Katarina, and Madison Rayne would return to the company in later years either full-time or short lived runs and through special appearances. In
17745-530: The episode. In June 2012, Velvet Sky had the lead role in Montgomery Gentry 's music video for their song " So Called Life ". In July 2012, Mickie James featured in Bucky Covington 's music video for his song " Drinking Side of Country ". In June 2013, Mickie James starred in a Dr Pepper advert, which was part of the company's new advertising program. It featured "one of a kind" individuals talking about
17914-464: The event. Massaro got revenge one week later on Raw . James and Stratus teamed together at the March 18, 2006 Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII to defeat Candice Michelle and Victoria. After the match, James agreed to honor Stratus' wishes and attempted to kiss her. After Stratus pushed her away, James attacked Stratus and vowed to destroy her. The feud between James and Stratus culminated in
18083-405: The fans saw), who was fed up with the Knockouts, and needed someone who "spoke their language" to control them. In January 2009, Brooks stopped appearing in TNA and Cornette resumed control over the Knockout division. Brooks returned on the March 12, 2009, edition of Impact! as a referee. She was released on March 4, 2010. Since the year of 2009, there has been five female talents who were appointed
18252-439: The feud took place when Laycool beatdown James, force-fed her a pig shaped cake and dumped a bowl of punch on her head, leaving her sobbing and defeated in the ring. The storyline feud continued into the Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010, where James finally defeated McCool in 20 seconds to become a five-time Women's Champion, the second most reigns with the old WWE Women's Championship after Trish Stratus, who has had 7 reigns. Over
18421-597: The fifth season of the reality series Beauty and the Geek in 2008, as well as the Howard Stern reality series Bowling Beauties . Angelina Love had a role in the 2008 indie film titled Good Intentions starring country music star LeAnn Rimes and Luke Perry . In 2012, Tara appeared in the American reality show MTV Made coaching an aspiring teen trying to be a professional wrestler while Brooke Tessmacher and Velvet Sky also former Knockout Angelina Love appeared in
18590-581: The final match of an eight–team tournament. The women's division would see a start of vast departures in fall of 2009 beginning when Angelina Love left the company on September 3 due to visa work issue, Love was replaced by Lacey Von Erich in the Beautiful People stable and then immediately returned to the company the following year on January 14. Later on, Awesome Kong , Alissa Flash, Roxxi, Traci Brooks, Roxxi, ODB, and Tara (although would return two months later on July 11 at Victory Road ) all departed from
18759-592: The final taking place at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view in January 2021. At Hard To Kill, Fire 'N Flava ( Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz ) defeated Havok and Nevaeh in the tournament final to win the revived titles. This was a mixed tag team tournament which was the focus of Homecoming event on July 30, 2021, to crown the Homecoming King and Queen. On the September 23 episode of Impact! , producer Gail Kim announced an eight-woman, one night tournament for
18928-580: The first Knockout to become the Impact Digital Media Champion a intergender title that is a mostly male dominant title in Sunrise Manor, NV at Bound for Glory of 2021 by defeating Chelsea Green , Crazzy Steve , Fallah Bahh , John Skyler, and Madison Rayne in a tournament final intergender six-way match to become the inaugural champion. On October 21, 2023 at Bound for Glory of 2023 Jordynne Grace once more made history by becoming
19097-567: The first all-female event, NWA EmPowerrr . On June 23, James announced on an Instagram video that she will be returning to the ring and delivers an open challenge to anyone to wrestle her at the NWA 73rd Anniversary Show . The challenge was answered by Kylie Rae , which James has defeated. James last appearance on NWA was on the May 3, 2022, of Powerrr , where she defeated Kenzie Paige . At Slammiversary on July 17, 2021, James made her third return to TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling , after
19266-464: The first round, only to lose to Blaster Lashley in the next round. She began a feud with Beth Phoenix on July 20 after Phoenix interrupted Laree during an interview, setting up a match on July 29, which Laree lost. Their angle continued into September, with Shelly Martinez being added to the storyline to side with Phoenix against Laree. On October 12, she appeared in OVW under her real name, and finished
19435-621: The first time. With the win, James became the first woman in history to have held the WWE Women's Championship , the WWE Divas Championship , and the TNA Knockouts Championship. On the May 5 episode of Impact! , James made her first successful title defense against Ms. Tessmacher . On May 15 at Sacrifice , James successfully defended her title against Madison Rayne and helped Tara get a release from her alliance with Rayne. The following month at Slammiversary IX , James successfully defended her title against Angelina Love , however after
19604-481: The first woman in professional wrestling to win a major male world championship, making history. On August 24 at the second night of Emergence special, Deonna Purrazzo defended the Knockouts Championship against Jordynne Grace in the first Knockouts 30-minute Iron man match in Impact history, where Purrazzo was victorious with two falls over one. On October 23, 2021 Jordynne Grace also made history when she became
19773-574: The first women / knockout to win the first Impact! 20-person Intergender Call Your Shot Gauntlet by last eliminating Bully Ray . In August 2008, it was announced on TNAwrestling.com that Traci Brooks was officially in charge of the Knockouts Division as the Knockouts Division Commissioner , also known as the "Knockout Law". On screen credit was given to Jim Cornette (at the time, the highest position of on-screen authority
19942-405: The first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions , but the long-time allies lost their tag team match to Nia Jax and Tamina. James would later compete in the second-annual WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 for the trophy, eliminating Mandy Rose from the match before subsequently being eliminated by Sonya Deville. As part of the 2019 Superstar Shake-up , James was drafted back to
20111-401: The following couple of weeks, SmackDown consultant Vickie Guerrero was introduced into the rivalry, choosing to side with LayCool over James. On the February 26 episode of SmackDown , McCool used her rematch clause to face James for the Women's Championship, with Guerrero acting as special guest referee . After Guerrero slapped James, McCool pinned her to regain the title. On March, James
20280-415: The following month, when Sky was granted her release from TNA. On the August 2 episode of Impact Wrestling , James unsuccessfully competed in a four-way number one contenders match involving Gail Kim, Tara and the eventual winner Madison Rayne. After a three-month absence, James returned on the November 15 episode of Impact Wrestling , winning a Knockouts battle royal to become the number one contender to
20449-549: The format changes, Xplosion received a new logo, graphics package and theme music performed by Taproot . The show would also feature a segment called "Spin Cycle", where Borash had a Q&A session with various TNA stars in front of a live crowd. In 2013, Xplosion began including matches from the promotion's early years and matches prior to the upcoming PPV event. Beginning in December of that year, Rockstar Spud replaced long term color commentator Mike Tenay. In early 2017, as
20618-476: The inception of an official championship, matches and segments involving the Knockouts have contributed to drawing some of the better ratings of Impact shows. Since 2008, TNA continued to expand the women's division by featuring various prospective independent talents, veterans, and reality show winners such as Sharmell , Taylor Wilde , Daffney , Tara , Hamada , Sarita , Mickie James , and Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca while Lauren Brooke became
20787-446: The latter said that she was ready for a rematch. James and Sky had their rematch on the June 27 episode of Impact Wrestling , where James retained her championship. On the July 4 episode of Impact Wrestling , James justified her actions by claiming that getting to the top of the Knockouts division requires "clawing and scratching your way to the top"; James also claimed that "no woman would ever be as great as her" and she'll "stand atop
20956-435: The latter's match with Kylie Rae . On the September 23 episode of Impact! , it was announced that James would make her in-ring return to Impact, as she challenged Purrazzo for the Knockouts Championship at Bound for Glory . On the September 30 episode of Impact! , Purrazzo attacked James at her home and wild brawl ensued with Purrazzo coming out on top after dunking James head in a bucket of water and leaving her laid out in
21125-399: The match both Love and Winter attacked her. On June 18, James made her debut for TNA's Mexican partner Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) at Triplemanía XIX , where she teamed with Angelina Love , Sexy Star and Velvet Sky to defeat Cynthia Moreno , Faby Apache , Lolita and Mari Apache in an eight-woman tag team match. James returned to AAA on July 9, teaming with Sexy Star to defeat
21294-530: The match; James and Storm were presented with the trophy afterward. James made a surprise return to TNA as a fan favorite , after a year and a half absence from the company, on January 30, 2015, during the tapings of Impact Wrestling in Glasgow, Scotland . James would then have several confrontations with Bram over his actions towards her real life fiancé, Magnus . On the April 24 episode of Impact Wrestling , James retired from wrestling to focus on becoming
21463-429: The most matches by a female Superstar in the show's 25-year history with 164 total combined matches by this point. On January 27, 2019, at the Royal Rumble , James entered the second women's Royal Rumble match at number 5 and lasted over 11 minutes before being eliminated by Tamina. The following night on Raw , James once again aligned herself with Bliss in hopes of qualifying for the Elimination Chamber event to crown
21632-492: The new backstage interviewer at Lockdown and Daizee Haze who appeared in the first few years of the company returned in a one time match on May 1 losing to Cheerleader Melissa who was also pulling dual role under the Raisha Saeed gimmick at that time. The division would see the start of many various changes when in August, Gail Kim's contract with TNA expired and instead of renewing it, she decided to return to rival WWE for
21801-422: The new champion, Gail Kim . On December 11 at Final Resolution , Gail defeated James to retain the championship, following a distraction from Madison Rayne. In the main event of the December 29 episode of Impact Wrestling , James challenged Kim for the championship, but was defeated following interference from Rayne. On the January 5, 2012, episode of Impact Wrestling , James and Traci Brooks failed to capture
21970-466: The number one contender to the Knockout Championship, but was eliminated by Gail Kim. On the April 18 of Impact Wrestling , James defeated Ms. Tessmacher to become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. James began turning heel during her title match against defending champion Velvet Sky on the following week, when she targeted Sky's injured knee; James was defeated Sky. On
22139-415: The number one contender to the championship. At Final Resolution , James was defeated by Tara in a Falls Count Anywhere match , following interference from Madison Rayne after she sprayed a fire extinguisher and hit James with the Knockouts title belt. On the following episode of Impact! , James defeated Tara in a steel cage match . On January 9, 2011, at Genesis , James lost her match against Rayne for
22308-578: The organization converting to PG-rated television content) reached a new partnership agreement with Impact Wrestling. Brooks was originally scheduled to be featured in the November 2009 issue including becoming the first Impact Wrestling Knockout to appear in Playboy . However, Playboy decided not to publish Brooks' photo shoot in their magazine. The photo shoot was instead released online through their Cyber Club website on September 17, 2009. Beautiful People members Angelina Love and Velvet Sky were featured on
22477-525: The pie in Amber's face. Jessie Belle Smothers came to the rescue and battled Rodriguez as James was escorted out by security. Two months after giving birth to her child, James returned to in-ring competition at Queens Of Combat 3 on November 30, where she defeated Tessa Blanchard after turning heel during the match and resorting to villainous tactics. On May 16, James debuted for First State Championship Wrestling (1CW) unsuccessfully challenging Kacee Carlisle for
22646-519: The promotion officially changed its name to Impact Wrestling, the show gradually became known as simply Xplosion (and later, Impact Xplosion ). On October 10, 2017, Xplosion launched on Global Wrestling Network , making the program available in the U.S. for the first time since 2006. By 2019, the show was streaming on Wednesdays 7PM ET on Impact Wrestling's Twitch channel and Impact Plus . On March 3, 2021, PWinsider reported that production had halted on new Xplosion episodes. Later that month, it
22815-472: The ring name Alexis Laree, she began making television appearances for OVW on January 29, 2004, and competed in several tag team matches throughout the year. She also won a Halloween costume contest on October 30, and defeated Jillian Hall in a $ 1,000 match on November 12. On May 17, 2005, Laree was placed into a tournament for the OVW Television Championship . She defeated Mike Mondo in
22984-466: The role of Dr Pepper in their lives. The following list shows the Knockouts that are currently holding all active singles and tag team championships in TNA Wrestling. Singles Tag team The first Miss TNA was crowned on June 26, 2002, when Taylor Vaughn won a 9-woman lingerie battle royal. The title was abandoned in November 2002. The Impact Wrestling Knockout of the Year Award formally known as
23153-535: The role of authority figure in the women's division. The popularity of women in TNA has resulted cross-promotion with other brands featuring the TNA Knockouts. The popularity of women in Impact Wrestling has also resulted in the company devoting pay-per-view to television specials to the women's division. At the end of the year of 2009 on December 31, TNA promoted a special four-hour, all Knockout episode of Impact! , titled New Year's Knockout Eve , which featured
23322-498: The roster. After months of competition between the tag teams in the Knockouts division, on October 24 at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view, Madison Rayne announced that after nearly eight years of inactivity, Impact Wrestling is reviving the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. It was also announced that an eight-team tournament would take place over the next two months to determine the next champions. The brackets were announced in November, with
23491-563: The show features highlights from TNA's flagship television program Impact! , exclusive taped matches, and other content. It was mainly produced for international markets, though in later years, episodes would be distributed in the United States on Impact Plus (now TNA+ ). Xplosion was cancelled in 2021, and its final episode aired on March 6. It was replaced by Before the Impact ( BTI ), which premiered two weeks earlier. Archived episodes continued to broadcast in Africa and India. Following
23660-433: The sole survivors. On the December 4 episode of SmackDown , James became the number one contender for McCool's Women's Championship by defeating Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a triple threat match. The following week, James challenged McCool for the championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , but was unsuccessful after interference from Layla. On the January 22 edition of Smackdown, another controversial segment in
23829-406: The storyline had Stratus confronting James, telling her that they needed time apart from each other. Through the early part of 2006, Mickie would attack Ashley Massaro several times due to Massaro calling her "crazy". At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, James defeated Massaro with then-Women's Champion, Trish Stratus, as the special guest referee . James would also confess her love for Stratus at
23998-418: The storyline. In March, James turned face after hitting Bliss with a Mick Kick , ending their brief alliance and leading to a non-title match between the two on the edition of March 14 of SmackDown , in which James was victorious. At WrestleMania 33 , James took part in a six–pack challenge for Bliss’ SmackDown Women's Championship, which saw Naomi winning the title. Shortly after Wrestlemania, James
24167-538: The team of ODB and Christopher Daniels . James won the bout after pinning Daniels. On July 11, as part of their Anniversary weekend, she defeated ODB in a singles match. On the last day of that month, James returned to one of her early promotions, Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), to wrestle Mia Yim in a winning effort. The following month, she contested for the Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) Championship against Mercedes Martinez , but she
24336-421: The title back to Winter. On the September 22 episode of Impact Wrestling , James defeated Ms. Tessmacher to earn another shot at the championship at Bound for Glory , in a four-way match with defending champion Winter, Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky , which Sky would win. On the November 17 episode of Impact Wrestling , James defeated nine other Knockouts in a gauntlet match to earn a championship match with
24505-500: The title during the first women's Falls Count Anywhere match in WWE history. During the finish of the match, James fell from the top turnbuckle and landed on her neck, which resulted in a rushed finish . James, however, was not seriously injured in the incident. The scripted feud between James and Melina was rekindled during her photo op on Raw . At a house show in Paris on April 24, James won her third Women's Championship during
24674-458: The title for the record–setting seventh time and also became the first woman to retire while holding the title. Kim would transition to behind the scenes as a producer. After Kim's retirement, the Knockouts Championship would become vacant in late 2017 as a 6-woman tournament would be held in which Laurel Van Ness defeated Rosemary in the finals to win the championship for the first time. Two years later, Gail Kim would come out of retirement in
24843-404: The title match via submission. Meanwhile, James and Bobby Lashley were announced as one of the teams that would be competing in season 2 of Mixed Match Challenge . Despite pulling ahead with a 3–0 lead on the competition, the duo lost to Bayley and Finn Bálor in the playoffs and were eliminated from the tournament. Back on Raw, James made history on the edition of December 17 by competing in
25012-448: The title to Rayne, while James made her intentions for the Knockouts title clear, after a confrontation with the new champion. James wrestled her return match the following week, defeating Sarita , before being attacked by Rayne's ally, Tara. James wrestled her first TNA pay-per-view match at Turning Point , where she battled Tara to a double disqualification. On the November 18 episode of Impact! James defeated Angelina Love to become
25181-538: The title, but was unsuccessful in regaining it. At Survivor Series in November, James was part of the victorious Raw Diva team which defeated the SmackDown Divas in a five-on-five elimination match; she eliminated Michelle McCool , before being eliminated by Maryse . The following month at Armageddon , James teamed with Maria , Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly in a winning effort against Jillian Hall, Maryse, Victoria and Natalya . Following an appearance in
25350-550: The title, she would have to shave her hair off . On March 18, James legitimately separated her shoulder at a TNA house show in Jacksonville, Florida . James's injury was put into a storyline, where it was caused by Rayne and Tara running over her with Tara's motorcycle. On April 17, James defeated Madison Rayne in a steel cage match , which lasted less than a minute, to win the TNA Knockouts Championship for
25519-405: 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 twice with the group). They were engaged in
25688-478: The women's Royal Rumble match entering at No. 19, but was eliminated by Lacey Evans . In April, she appeared on stage during the opening of WrestleMania 37 alongside the rest of the active roster. On April 15, 2021, WWE announced that they had released Mickie James along with several other talent. Prior, she had participated in commentary on shows such as Main Event and NXT. Her release was met with some controversy, as she claimed her belongings were sent to her in
25857-471: The women's division in the group. Brooke announced her departure from the company on November 24. On December 29, just weeks before TNA's début on Pop TV , Maria Kanellis signed with the company. At Bound for Glory , Awesome Kong, Taryn Terrell , and Christy Hemme made a special appearance to induct Gail Kim in the TNA Hall of Fame . Throughout 2016, the division included various competitors who just joined
26026-415: The year on the losing end of matches against Martinez and Jillian Hall. Under her real name, she debuted in WWE on the October 10, 2005, episode of Raw as a face under the gimmick of WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus ' biggest fan. The angle had the two Divas competing together in tag team matches, with James' character becoming increasingly obsessed with Stratus. The storyline included
26195-401: The years of 2011-2013 in which on March 15, 2011, Daffney's contract with TNA expired and was not renewed. then 7 months later, Gail Kim returned to TNA, after spending the past three years with WWE during her second run. Taeler Hendrix was signed to a contract through the company's Gut Check Challenge , becoming the first ever woman to win the contest and in August 2012, Taryn Terrell joined
26364-407: Was a member of Team USA , along with James Storm , Christopher Daniels , Kazarian and Kenny King . James was defeated by Team Aces & Eights ' Ivelisse Vélez following interference from the other members of Aces & Eights. Team USA would go on to defeat Team Aces & Eights in a 5-on-5 elimination tag team match, in which James gained a measure of retribution by eliminating Vélez during
26533-492: Was announced after Gail Kim retired and vacated the Impact Knockouts Championship that it would be a 6-Women tournament to determine who would be the new Knockouts Champion where two triple threat matches will happen and one finals . Over the course of 2020, Impact Wrestling (which had been renamed from TNA in 2017) signed several female talents such as Nevaeh , Tasha Steelz , Deonna Purrazzo , and Kimber Lee , all of which were paired with already established names on
26702-456: Was announced as a participant in the women's Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble , while being acknowledged as Impact Knockouts World Champion . Later that night, Impact Wrestling also promoted her upcoming appearance. It was the first direct crossover of any kind between WWE and Impact Wrestling. During the Royal Rumble, she entered at No. 20 with her Impact theme ( Hardcore Country ) and with
26871-525: Was attacked and ejected by Jax before the match began. In May, James competed unsuccessfully in a Triple Threat match against Bliss and Bayley, as well as a Gauntlet match in attempts to qualify for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match . In August, James returned from a brief hiatus at the sides of Alexa Bliss and Alicia Fox . With Bliss, the tandem began a scripted feud with her former rivals and WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita , setting up
27040-588: Was born at Richmond Memorial Hospital in Richmond, Virginia , the daughter of Stuart James, a retired wastewater-treatment worker, landscaper, and VAIL League Division 3 Championship coach and Sandra Knuckles, a teacher and real-estate agent. Her parents divorced while she was young. She has a sister, a half-sister, a half-brother, and three stepbrothers. She grew up in Montpelier, Virginia , and graduated from Patrick Henry High School in 1997. While growing up, she spent
27209-539: Was diagnosed with a staph infection on her right knee, putting her out of action for three weeks. She returned on the March 22 episode of Raw , where alongside Kelly Kelly , she accompanied Eve Torres , Beth Phoenix, and Gail Kim in their losing effort against McCool, Maryse and Layla, who had Vickie Guerrero and Alicia Fox in their corner. This set up a 10-Diva tag team match at WrestleMania XXVI , in which James made an unsuccessful in-ring return after Vickie pinned Kelly. James made her last appearance on Raw during
27378-556: Was drafted to Raw as part of the 2017 Superstar Shake–Up . In October, after being named the No. 1 Contender by Raw General Manager Kurt Angle , James faced Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , but was unsuccessful in capturing the title. A few weeks later on the edition of October 30 of Raw , James once again challenged Bliss for the title in the main event but came up short. On January 28, 2018, at
27547-412: Was introduced as the special guest referee for the TNA Knockouts Championship match between Angelina Love , Velvet Sky , Madison Rayne and Tara at Bound for Glory . At the pay-per-view, James counted the pinfall which made Tara the new Knockouts Champion, prompting Rayne to shove James amidst an argument with Tara, and James replying with a punch. On the following episode of Impact! , Tara lost
27716-500: 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. 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
27885-525: Was reported in Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the show had been cancelled to focus on Before the Impact . On January 14, 2024, at the Impact! "Snake Eyes" TV taping event, the promotion would begin taping matches for the return of TNA Xplosion for the first time in 3 years. The show officially returned on January 26, 2024; with new episodes premiering on Fridays on TNA+ , and uploaded
28054-634: Was revamped as a recap of the previous week's Impact! episode in light of alterations in the taping schedule. The show would resume airing exclusive matches (billed as " Xplosion Xclusives") once more on October 7, 2005, in addition to recapping Impact! . These matches also aired on the TNA Global Impact! web show. " Xplosion Xclusives" matches normally featured wrestlers who rarely appeared during regular Impact! episodes. Occasionally, wrestlers may have made their debut or return on Xplosion and angles also took place. Airings of Xplosion in
28223-429: Was revealed that James had failed to come to terms on a contract renewal with TNA. James later stated in an interview that she technically wasn't under contract with TNA, but she did not confirm that she was gone. On November 15, 2013, James appeared in an interview on WWE .com, discussing her history with WWE and the possibility of making a return to the company. At the December 6 airing of World Cup of Wrestling , James
28392-431: Was revealed that James would not be able to defend the title due to real-life injury. On the April 13 episode of Impact! upon Rebellion , which was filmed on tape delay on March 13, James relinquished the title as she was not medically cleared to compete. TNA Xplosion TNA Xplosion is a professional wrestling television program that is produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Launched in 2002,
28561-690: Was unsuccessful. She also returned to Dory Funk 's promotion, recording a tag team match for !Bang! TV . James also accompanied Dory Funk Jr. during his match, and sung " The Star-Spangled Banner " during !Bang! TV's tribute to the troops. On September 18, James served as a special guest referee for a three-way match between ODB, Persephone and Kristin Flake for the SCWA Ladies' Title during Southern California Wrestling Association's (SCWA) ' CAGED event in Wentworth, North Carolina , where all matches took place in
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