With an insane two weeks under their proverbial belt, Impact Wrestling has built up some epic buzz. Impact fans watching on Twitch and/or AXS T.V., have recently seen some impeccable moments that'll surely define 2020 for Impact Wrestling. Jazz making her official Impact Wrestling debut. Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo in an Iron Woman match. The reemergence of the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Titles. And most notably, a crossover working relationship with All Elite Wrestling.
2020 while being a pandemic stricken year has also provided some interestingly unique opportunities for Impact Wrestling. Impact has done a good job in navigating the new norm of protocols and safety precautions in regards to running their T.V. program during Covid 19. One of my favorite moves they made was the decision to bring back their Women's Tag Team Titles. As a huge fan of tag team wrestling, it's my opinion that this is a huge deal for the Women's Division at Impact Wrestling. Titles previously held by Brooke Tessmacher, Tara, Taylor Wilde, Sarita, and more.
The announcement about bringing back the Knockouts Tag Titles was met with lots of positivity and excitement from fans and wrestlers alike. With the size of Impact's growing Women's Division, the move is strategic and makes sense. Fast forward and now coming up is the first round of the Semi-Finals. Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan are set to take on Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary. Steelz and Hogan earned their advancement into the Semi-Finals by defeating long time independent tag team The Sea Stars Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz are no strangers to Taya and Rosemary, so I'm curious to see their strategy for the match.
Being featured for Final Resolution are The Sea Stars. The Sea Stars will continue their presence in Impact after their loss as they go up against The Killer Death Machines - Jessicka Havok and Nevaeh. Being outnumbered in both size and experience, the Sea Stars will need a strategy based around speed, quick tags, and keeping the Killer Death Machines off their feet.
The team of Jazz and Jordynne Grace won in the first round to advance the newly formed duo. They beat the team of Killer Kelly and Renee Michelle. Despite the loss, Renee Michelle looked good in my opinion. Killer Kelly went toe to toe with Jordynne Grace but also came up short. In my opinion, this was the only acceptable outcome considering it was Jazz's debut. Add on top of that the much anticipated badass debut of Jazz, Grace getting screwed over by Alisha Edwards and Emma, and the steam building up Grace this year, they needed to advance.
Grace was the woman to divest Taya Valkyrie of the Knockouts Title successfully ending her reign as the longest Knockouts Champion. Taya being the only Knockout to surpass the previous record held by Taryn Terrell. Grace since then ran through the entire division solidifying her spot on top as Champion only to lose it all to Deonna Purrazzo. After suffering the loss, Grace came right back fighting Purrazzo. The Iron Woman match. The historical push of being one of only three women to challenge for the X-Division Title. Adding Tag Team Champions with Jazz would be an immensely awesome was to close 2020 for Jordynne Grace…
Heading into the tournament with an air of cockiness was the current Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo. Purrazzo teamed up with Kimber Lee in a losing effort to Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary. To protect the champ Impact did great with their booking of this to have Kimber Lee take the pin. This way it adds frustration for the Virtuosa Deonna Purrazzo who's still battling with demons the likes of Su Yung. All while having Jordynne Grace gunning to take the title back.
Also losing in round one were Alisha Edwards and Emma accompanied by Kaleb. The two lost to long time tag team Killer Death Machines which advanced both Jessicka Havok and Nevaeh. With the plethora of female talent on the Independents, there's not a better time to crown brand new Knockouts Tag Team Champions to represent Impact Wrestling with challengers from all over. Especially now with the Impact/AEW crossover. Picture Ivelisse and Diamante Vs. Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan… Tasha Steelz in my opinion was a gem picked up by Impact. Another match up I'd be interested to see in the Finals Bracket would be Jazz and Jordynne Grace Vs. Killer Death Machines.
Either way, Impact Wrestling has utilized 2020 in a way that's proved successful for Impact in the past which is investing time in their Women's Division. A division that housed Gail Kim, Roxxi Laveaux, Awesome Kong, Sarita, Hamada, The Beautiful People, and more. New titles provides more opportunities and more coveted T.V. time which is a win win especially after Impact beat their viewership record following the AEW announcement. This Tuesday the tournament continues with the first match of the Semi-Finals as Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan square off with Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary. As a former Knockout myself, and someone who has tagged with several of these women, and squared off with the rest, I can say with certainty that they are indeed proving Impact Wrestling is hard to kill. Stay tuned. Impact Wrestling airs Tuesdays 8/7c on AXS T.V.!
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