TNA's Knockouts were inspiring the WWE Divas in the late aughts.
IMPACT Wrestling released its Knockouts Round Table discussion today, which features Gail Kim, ODB, Christy Hemme, Brooke Tessmacher, Taryn Terrell, and Velvet Sky talking about the trials, tribulations, genesis and evolution of the division.
The women began by sharing their first experiences with the company and detailed the growth of the Knockouts Division. Gail Kim was a driving force behind many of the women being brought to TNA, constantly pestering management to let them be more than just managers and backstage personalities. Kim would eventually win the first Knockouts Championship at Bound For Glory 2007.
Taryn Terrell, who worked for WWE from 2007-2010, wrestling under the name of Tiffany, had this to say about the impact TNA's women had on those in WWE:
"You know what's funny about that, I was at WWE when a lot of that was going on, and there was such waves with the girls at WWE watching what was happening with you guys. They were paying attention and saying like, oh, you know, like, they're doing this and they're doing that. So everybody was trying, in my opinion, they were being inspired by you guys."
Brooke Tessmacher commented that she feels like no one will ever give them the credit they deserve for advancing women's wrestling beyond what it had been. Furthermore, believing they were 8-10 years ahead of WWE and their "evolution." Gail Kim believes that people are catching on to that fact.
Terrell joined TNA in 2012, becoming the official referee of the women's division before transitioning into a wrestling role via a storyline with Gail Kim.
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