The Decline Of The KO Division

TNA recently released a number of workers. There were a few women among them, including Tara and Taeler Hendrix. You also have the fact that the KO tag titles are gone. Financial problems are obviously significant. You can't keep around a lot of workers when your company is not making enough money to pay them all, cover other costs, and still make a profit. Regardless, what is TNA doing with their KO division?

There is definitely a change going on in TNA's women's division. They have always sold this image of being respectable since the KO division really got started. They were better than the WWE diva division. Just like the diva division is about more than just that sexy, glamorous image associated with the eye-candy divas, the status quo about the KO division is about more than this theme of respectability. The division isn't simply about the company saying they are better. What makes, or made, them more respectable and better? I would say it is two things. First, they do not hold their women back in matches. There was a ladder match just a few weeks ago featuring the KOs. Second, they featured their women more and regularly by having multiple feuds and angles going.

That last point is where there is an obvious problem. They just released some of their women and there is no debuting to fill the spaces. The fact that you don't hold back your women is nice, but how interesting can your division be when you keep on featuring the same women? Currently, they are still trying to have multiple things going. Mickie James is the KO Champion, likely still feuding with Velvet Sky. Gail Kim looks to be feuding with ODB now. Not very creative right now. A lot of fans like that Mickie James is now a heel. Technically, TNA isn't really giving her a great storyline. It's up to her to make her heel character work. And Gail Kim's recent feuds also show a lack of creativity. She just lost a title match against Mickie James. She now looks to be entering a feud with the ref of the match, ODB. Go back a few months. Gail Kim lost a title match to Velvet Sky, then went on to feud with the ref of the match, Taryn. They obviously put on some respectable matches, but in terms of the quality of the actual feuds and angles, TNA is not delivering.

They should have kept the tag titles. Of course, that only works if they brought in more women to feature. But if they kept the tag titles, that would make for more feuds with more on the line. They are currently heading in a direction where everything is either a title feud for the KO Championship or a grudge match that will most likely lead into one of those women getting a title feud for the KO Championship. There are no intriguing storyline ideas, stables to feature multiple women, and development of women outside of this cycle. They had Tara involved as the valet as a tag team. If they had kept her, that would not have been a bad use for her. If there was ever a tag team or stable who got another KO member, you could have a 6-person feud and match. But keeping the tag titles would have been a great move. Getting rid of that was a sign that things really are heading in the wrong direction.

They need fresh workers, workers that can connect with the fans, and workers with unique looks and gimmicks. They can't keep pushing the same women in these cycles. At the same time, releasing a generic blond and hiring a generic blond that looks basically the same isn't really bringing anything unique. I think they should have done more with Taeler Hendrix. She is sexy and she has a unique look. TNA has redheads still employed, but they don't wrestle. Give the fans some variety in who they are seeing wrestle.

Respectability can only take you so far. Not holding your women back is fine, but if you are not featuring a wide variety of women and interesting angles on a regular basis, things will get boring. And that is the problem. They lack depth. They cannot afford Mickie James or Gail Kim getting injured. Who will be your other heels? If TNA does not plan to change things, the status quo of the KO division could really change. Their agenda is no longer about featuring their women prominently in terms of letting them go at it in the ring and having multiple fresh storylines and feuds going. It is about making do with what you have. That's not aiming for greatness. Pretty soon, the KO division might just become more hype than substance.

Mickie's Year Away From The Title

Tara retained the Knockouts Championship last night against Mickie James. Unless something happens on Impact, this will be the first full calendar year Mickie James has not held a title since her arrival on the big stage in 2005.

I know I talked a few weeks ago about Cena's year away from the title. Look at that span again. Cena goes over a year without the title. Although he has been injured for a very small portion of that time, he has not been held away from the title because of that. Yet, has it hurt him? In the time he has not been Champion, how many PPV main events has he still been in? A lot more than CM Punk, who has held the WWE Championship for the bulk of the time. Cena has still been involved in major storylines. That is why you can't be too quick to assume this guy is done as the face, or centerpiece, of the company and CM Punk is the new guy.

What has Mickie James been doing since her last run? Although she also had a very small amount of time taken away due to injury, that does not account for the bulk of the year. She has been jobbing. She has been used to put over Gail Kim, then to put over other women who put over Gail Kim, and so on. And what about storylines to keep her looking good. That is where the real disappointment is. Nothing. They almost turned her heel, but didn't follow through. Even if they do turn her heel now, there is no reason to have faith in TNA to handle this properly. They will probably turn her heel, give her the title, use her to put over Velvet Sky, then cycle her back out to nothing. That is what they have done with Gail Kim and Brooke Tessmacher. And they will eventually do it with Velvet Sky.

This system of running their women's division, as well as their overall product, is very stupid. I hear it all the time still that KO division is so great and such a major draw for TNA. What is it really amounting to these days? A 1.2 for the KO segment rating, if they are even that lucky? And when you look at the overall average of the show, it's still as mediocre as it has always been. No growth. Yes, they let their women wrestle, but who are the stars? Everybody! Okay, but who are the jobbers to those stars? Everybody! And which of these women really end up being the major draws? Nobody! Velvet Sky's leaving did not lead to any noticeable dip in the numbers and her return will not lead to any major increase. The company can get rid of every KO currently on the roster and haul in new ones, including some who got attention from the WWE and were never in TNA before, and their KO division would do just as fine with the new women as the old ones. I honestly believe that. It's this idea that the KO division features better women's wrestling and allows the women to work that really amounts to the success, as well as some beautiful women. The specific women are not making the difference. How could they? TNA is not consistent enough with them to build any of them into draws and rely on them as draws. And when they continue to run the same philosophy for their entire show, it is no surprise that they haven't really gone anywhere in the ratings for all these years.

I tried to have an open mind when TNA got Mickie James. I gave them a chance when they put her against Gail Kim. Gave them another chance when it looked like they might turn her heel to keep her fresh. Now that I am seeing how they like to handle their KO division, there is no reason to have hope that they will handle her properly. They don't handle anyone properly. How long will her title drought last? A legacy in pro wrestling goes beyond title reigns. TNA is not doing enough with Mickie James in that respect.

Mickie James Wins The TNA Knockouts Championship

Tonight, Mickie James made history by becoming the first woman to have held the WWE Women's Championship, WWE Diva's Championship, and TNA Knockout's Championship. Overall, this is her 7th female title from a major promotion. She also completely squashed Madison Rayne to do it, ending her 6-month reign.

Let's talk about the quickness of the match. Everyone who read the reports, followed Mickie on Twitter, watched Impact and bought kayfabe as reality, or just heard it through the grapevine, all pretty much knew Mickie James had suffered an injury a few weeks ago. As I have said before, rather than write Mickie off and work some other woman into the match (Tara being the obvious choice), they gave Mickie the time to heal as best as she could, worked in a storyline to explain the injury, and allowed Mickie to work. Honestly, she didn't disappoint. She didn't botch anything horribly like I have seen certain other wrestlers do when they either work through an injury or are just returning from one. Moreover, you frequently see short matches that end with a face squashing a heel. Do not forget that Mickie James defeated Michelle McCool for the title in a short match as well, and neither woman was injured there. And however long tonight's match was, it was still at least twice as long as Christian vs. William Regal at Summerslam a few years ago.

Going back to how I was saying TNA was finally raising the bar in this feud as of late, the quick finish is also passable in my eyes for that reason. For months, Madison and/or Tara have made life difficult for Mickie James. They kept pushing this routine of Tara saving Madison reign from losing the title right as Mickie was closing in on it. They did this twice. Third time? Madison decides to go at it without Tara. Mickie's hair is on the line. Mickie is recovering from a real injury. Combine all that with the months of torment that I just mentioned, which sounds quite familiar to the backstory to Mickie's squash victory over Michelle McCool last year, and you have a storyline reason to have the cocky Madison Rayne get beat as she did by Mickie James. It was a "feel good" moment.

TNA really owed Mickie James that victory, in my eyes anyway. This is her first TNA PPV victory. They easily could have given her the title in her 3rd or 4th month in the company, but they dragged it on. For the ninth or seventeenth time, I am once again going to say that they finally started really raising the stakes prior to Lockdown. Mickie James has worked hard to do her part since coming to the company, taken risks to perform (including working through the injury), has had to work with Madison Rayne, who is obviously not as solid in the ring as most of TNA's other women, and still was willing to fulfill her duties, both in and out of TNA (a lot of appearances while she was injured). How would it look if Mickie did ask to be written off in favor of her recovery? Just as I am sure there are some fans who don't even know Mickie James was really injured, I am sure some fans would feel Mickie weaseled out because she didn't want to lose her hair. Really? After all the build for the moment, it would be a letdown if Mickie was replaced at the last moment. As much of a letdown as Jeff Hardy vs. Sting from last month? No. Had the performance tonight have been as awkward as it was there, then I would see reason to still see a letdown. But Mickie James was given the shot by TNA to still perform. She came through.

What happens now? The obvious choice would be a triple-threat match. Mickie vs. Tara vs. Madison. You can have a very good feud there, with Tara turning face. Should TNA, in their infinite wisdom, decide to write Mickie James off and have her lose the title on Impact this week, with the idea that she will be out to recover properly for a while, that still will not undo what she has accomplished. I admire her desire to work through this injury, and not just wrestling tonight but also traveling all over just to be at events and interact with fans. That is commitment. As I said before, TNA owed her that shot to perform on her own tonight. They are lucky to have her. Congratulations to Mickie James.

Title, Hair, Injury

The last time I spoke about Mickie James in TNA, I criticized the fact that they were not building the feud very well between Mickie and Madison Rayne. It was a basic title feud. The finishes to the title matches were all the same. Mickie James is about to put Madison away, Tara comes down and causes a distraction, Madison uses some dirty heel tactic, and that's it. For two PPVs in a row, same story. In between, not that much development to really raise the stakes. The bar was set at a mediocre level that I did not believe would draw interest. Since then, I must admit, TNA has done a better job. Aside from being a steel cage match, which is a match type Mickie and Tara utilized a few months ago to get fans talking, Mickie's hair is also on the line. Madison Rayne is not a very solid worker in the ring, so it being a cage match may not have made for anything as respectable as Mickie and Tara did, even if Mickie was not injured. Nevertheless, the stakes are definitely raised. Title vs. Hair. You also have the added storyline element of Tara slowly turning on Madison. In a segment before Tara and Mickie went at it in a singles match on Impact a few weeks ago, Madison basically ordered Tara to do her bidding and take out Mickie. That lay the seeds down. This makes Tara's involvement in this more interesting than just a person who comes out at the end of the match to cost Mickie the win. I just hope that this aspect of the storyline does not overshadow the issues between Mickie and Madison. Then there is the part I like the best. I am definitely not happy that Mickie James was injured at a house show a few weeks ago, but I liked how TNA handled it. They didn't completely write her off. They didn't try to rush some last-minute substitution into the feud. They didn't pretend Mickie wasn't injured. They actually made an angle out of it. This isn't me crying about how the WWE treated Mickie James, but do you realize that they never gave her any true injury storyline in her entire time there? I'm not saying Mickie James never sold an injury in the ring or that they didn't make up an afterthought injury excuse to explain Mickie's absence when she had that infection in her leg. These aren't real storylines to me. In one case, it is really Mickie James who is carrying it, not the WWE. In the other case, it is treated as a trivial matter. In both cases, the WWE does not intend to do anything for Mickie's character. That is the thing about most real injury storylines. They do something for the character of the wrestler and usually draw interest. Whether it is a comedy angle, like Cody Rhodes and his mask, or something treated more seriously and epically, like the feud between Shawn Michaels and Batista that spawned into a feud between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho a few years ago. That latter example definitely became an epic. Very elaborate storyline. I do not think Mickie's injury storyline here will turn into that, but it still allows her to show character. Can she overcome an injury to win the title and save her hair? I also like that they did the motorcycle bit, instead of trying to sell it off as Madison injuring Mickie at a house show or in some other way. It makes Mickie's character look stronger if she is able to bounce back from being hit with a motorcycle. If the hair was not enough, the injury angle definitely raises the stakes and can raise interest. TNA may suck for a lot of reasons, but I think they really went in the right direction for this feud. They took the negative of Mickie's injury and turned it into a positive. Only thing left, they have to book the right woman to win.

TNA's Poor Booking Of Mickie James

Is there a clause in the TNA contract of Mickie James that says she can never win at PPVs?

From the time Mickie came to TNA last year, they have beeen having her push the idea that she was out to make history my winning the Knockouts Championship. They give the title to heel Madison Rayne, who has Tara as a sidekick, and sets them up as a strong obstacle for Mickie James to overcome to reach her goal. Fine? Boring. But I'll get back to that.

They have Mickie fail at two PPVs to defeat Tara, then have her get the win in a cage match on Impact. They have Mickie fail at two PPVs to win the title from Madison Rayne. This too is fine. Look back at Lita's first path to the Women's Championship against Stephanie McMahon. She failed on the first two attempts to beat Stephanie. Tori cost her the match the first time. Kurt Angle laid out Ltia the second time. In the third run, which saw Lita win the title in the main event of Raw, Angle, Triple H, and The Rock himself were all involved in the match. Not only did the WWE raise the bar in terms of the roadblocks Stephanie was using against Lita, the rubs Lita got during this feud was just one of the advantages the WWE gave Lita to help connect her with the fans within just her first year in the WWE. This helped to get Lita very over.

Back to the future and down to TNA, they are prolonging giving Mickie the title. If they were actually building the stakes higher, I would see no problem in this. I love how the issues between Jarrett and Angle and between Bully Ray and Devon are being built up. Angle got brutally attacked by Jarrett at last months PPV. This month, Jarrett got a win against Angle in a match with interesting stakes. With Team 3D, Ray turned on Devon last year. Last month, Devon could not get proper revenge at Genesis. At Against All Odds, Devon had to watch his own sons get destroyed. The heels are looking strong. When they get what is coming to them, that can be a moment the crowd can really be built to appreciate. Moreover, this is all personal stuff that can get people talking. With Mickie and Madison, you have Mickie losing the same exact way at both PPVs. She is close to winning, Tara causes a distraction, Madison uses a foreign object to win. Unlike the situation with Lita and Stephanie, Mickie James is not getting rubs from main-eventers. More obstacles are not being put in her way. It is the same thing again and again. Unlike Lita in 2000, Mickie James in 2011 is already very over. She has connected with the fans through something that goes beyond booking and rubs and hype from the company for which she works. That does not mean I am going to say she does not deserve some of this stuff. Prolonging the feud like this is not helping Mickie James.

That was an understatement right there. TNA is not even pushing Mickie James every week. If TNA's booking of Mickie James injures her overness, I must congratulate them. They would have accomplished what the WWE could not do. You know what is really ironic? The WWE was trying to damage it, while TNA is actually the promotion who wants Mickie James.

The issue is not even just Mickie James. TNA is flopping all over the place with their women. The clearest example is Velvet Sky. Who is she supposed to be developing a feud with? Winter or Sarita? They are just moving across back and forth. Which are the fans supposed to connect with? Which are the little girls on Youtube supposed to make feud movies for? Which are the perverts supposed to be expecting when they get ready to exercise their left hand over? If the two feuds were somehow linked in an interesting way, I would not complain. They are not. And it should be possible to push to different knockouts feuds in one impact in some way. Who does TNA really want their fans to connect with? Mickie James? TBP? Sarita? Madison? Tara? End of the day, there is not one woman they are pushing consistently well. This hurts many of the knockouts from connecting with the fans, whether TNA wants to push them or not, and doesn't make fans of certain over women happy.

What would I do? Either give Mickie James the title already, keep it on Madison and push both women in separate directions, or, if the feud must continue, bring in more elements to make the moment really worth something for Mickie James. Right now, TNA is not helping Mickie's overness. I do not believe the payoff will bring that much more value than giving Mickie the title already would have done. Most importantly, I think they ruined the ability of this possible title change to really be a worthy draw that people want to see. It is getting stale. "Serious Woman Who Wants To Accomplish Something" Mickie James is fine and well for her first title hunt, but this is not the Mickie James TNA should be pushing after this current feud. The Mickie James that can really draw the fans to her is the one who can show her charisma and face women better than Madison Rayne. You need to give her more interesting storylines. If that means Mickie James can never win a title, I would not cry too much. The true goal is overness. If a wrestler is really over, people will want to see them. There you have entertainment. There you have a draw. Until TNA goes down this path, they are not using Mickie James correctly. Worse than that, they are killing Mickie's true accomplishments in pro wrestling.