This webpage is still currently a work in progress. Please be patient as not all content is available nor accessible at this time. Thank you!

Knockouts Knockdown (2021) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Knockouts Knockdown (2021) was a professional wrestling event produced by Impact Wrestling. It was taped on September 17, 2021 at Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and aired on October 9, 2021 on Impact Plus. It was the sixth event in the Knockouts Knockdown chronology, the first event to be held since 2017, and the first to be held since the discontinuation of Impact's One Night Only series in 2019.

10 matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Decay (Havok and Rosemary) defeated The Influence (Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood) to retain the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship. In other prominent matches, Mercedes Martinez won the Knockouts Knockdown tournament by defeating Tasha Steelz in the final, and Savannah Evans defeated Alisha Edwards, Jordynne Grace, and Kimber Lee in a Monster's Ball match in tribute to Shannon "Daffney" Spruill.

Melissa Santos joins both Mickie James and Veda Scott as the announce team for this event.

Veda Scott and Mickie James are calling the action for this event.

Background

Knockouts Knockdown was an annual professional wrestling event originally held by Impact Wrestling, then known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2013 to 2017. It was traditionally an all-women's event showcasing the company's women's division, dubbed the Knockouts. Knockouts Knockdown was itself part of the One Night Only series of pre-recorded specials introduced in 2013, after the promotion discontinued most of its monthly pay-per-view events.

Storylines

The event featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were produced on Impact's weekly television program, Impact!.

On September 13, it was announced that the event would feature a Monster's Ball match in honor of Shannon Spruill, better known in professional wrestling as Daffney, who was one of the first women to compete in a Monster's Ball against Taylor Wilde. On the October 7 episode of Impact!, Alisha Edwards, Jordynne Grace, Kimber Lee, and Savannah Evans were announced as participants.

On the September 23 episode of Impact, producer Gail Kim announced an eight-woman, one night tournament for Knockouts Knockdown, where the winner would earn a future shot at the Impact Knockouts Championship. The tournament consisted of staple Impact Knockouts against talent from around the world. The following competitors would participate in the tournament:^[9]

Other on-screen personnel

Commentators

Mickie James

Veda Scott

Ring announcer

Melissa Santos

Interviewer

Gia Miller

On the August 12 episode of Impact!, Madison Rayne came out of retirement and attacked Taylor Wilde to help Tenille Dashwood win the match.^[19] Since then, Rayne, Dashwood, and Kaleb with a K, now known as The Influence, would begin to set their sights on Decay's (Havok and Rosemary) Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship, titles Dashwood had her eyes on for some time. They attempted to gain a title match at Knockouts Knockdown through Gail Kim on the September 23 episode of Impact!, but were instead booked for a number one contender's match next week against Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering, who joined Wilde in her feud with The Influence.^[8] Rayne and Dashwood would win, and were set to challenge Decay at Knockouts Knockdown.

On the September 23 episode of Impact!, it was announced that Deonna Purrazzo would defend the Impact Knockouts Championship at Bound for Glory against Mickie James. The following week on Impact!, Purrazzo would invade James' ranch and attack her, but James would continue to fight back. On the October 7 episode of Impact!, Impact EVP Scott D'Amore enacted a no-contact clause between the two, meaning they could not touch each other until Bound for Glory. That night, Gail Kim organized a "Pick Your Poison" series between James and Purrazzo, with the latter facing James' handpicked opponent, Masha Slamovich, at Knockouts Knockdown.

Match Results:

Lexie Fyfe in the middle of the ring, surrounded by the Knockouts (past and present), other IMPACT roster members and fans, along with friends of Daffney.

This event started off with a ten bell salute in honor of the dearly departed Daffney, which was opened by Lexie Fyfe with a moment of silence, representing Daffney's family.

It makes me sad, thinking back to that last Instagram video that Daffney livestreamed, stating that she was all alone and wasn't aware of all of this love in the world out there for her. Here we are with so many wrestlers - male and female alike - paying tribute to not just to her contributions in wrestling but her as a genuinely good human being.

It's established right off the bat that both Veda Scott (who called the action for AEW's The Deadly Draw last year) and NWA's own and former multi-time Knockouts Champion, Mickie James, will be doing commentary for this show, along with Melissa Santos returning for one night to do the ring announcing.

It's still puzzling to me why any company hasn't hired Veda Scott full-time in any capacity, whether it's doing commentary or as a mouthpiece or valet. I've been saying it for years now that she's multi-talented in everything she does.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinals

Rachael Ellering defeated Lady Frost by pinfall

Great showing by both women with Ellering surprising the hell out of me going over here in the first round. Lady Frost was definitely over with this crowd and then some. I thought she was a shoe-in to win this opener, but I will admit that I was a tad salty that she didn't. She sold the hell out of that Black Hole Slam from Ellering too. I haven't seen anyone take that move that well since Kurt Angle and AJ Styles were taking it from Abyss regularly back in the day.

I have to agree with Sean Ross Sapp's tweet during the show where he said that Frost should have been signed like yesterday. I believe she's still under a contract with the NWA, but I could be wrong. She definitely would be a great pick-up for that Knockouts division - or any women's division for that matter.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinals

Chelsea Green defeated Renee Michelle by pinfall

This was definitely one of Renee Michelle's better showings, even though I was admittedly distracted by her bust tape coming loose in the early portions of this match. Potential wardrobe malfunction(s) aside, I thought this was a decent match. I think it's nothing short of a miracle that Chelsea Green can do everything that she does with that cast still on her arm.

An interesting note was that Mickie James called Renee Michelle a "Diva" on commentary, citing that she embraced that identity entirely. I couldn't agree more. She would have fit in perfectly during that era of WWE Divas. She's another pick-up that I'm surprised that has landed in either WWE or AEW full-time by now. She's still a little rough around the edges in terms of in-ring ability, but who isn't nowadays when it comes to a lot of the women on the independent scene? She will continue to grow as an in-ring talent by working with solid workers like Green.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinals

Mercedes Martinez defeated Brandi Lauren by pinfall

This was short and sweet and directly to the point - exactly what it needed to be. I honestly haven't been keeping up to IMPACT over the past month since Brandi Lauren (formerly Ava Storie) returned to the company and joined Su Yung's Undead Brides aside Kimber Lee, but she made for the right person to establish Mercedes Martinez as the woman to beat in this tournament with a quick squash here.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Quarterfinals

Tasha Steelz defeated Jamie Senegal by pinfall

I thought this match dragged on a little too long for my taste. It felt like they could have gotten the same result, even if they shaved at least 5-8 minutes from this. This has been only the second time that I have seen Jamie Senegal work a match though but I don't think she's a bad worker at all. I just need to see more of her before I can garner a proper opinion of her ring work.

Singles Match

Deonna Purrazzo (with Matthew Rehwoldt) defeated Masha Slamovich by submission

Out of all of Purrazzo's singles matches lately, I felt that this was one of the weakest. Nothing against Slamovich, who I thought had a much better showing at NWA's all female show (EmPowerrr) a month or two ago, but it felt like once Deonna got control and slowed things down to her level, Slamovich was never able to get back into the driver's seat, despite a few very convincing near-falls. It got to the point where I was just sitting back and waiting for the Venus Di Milo to put her away and put Slamovich out of her misery.

Pretty dope that Gail Kim offered her an IMPACT contract after this match in segment that didn't air as part of the iPPV.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Semifinals

Mercedes Martinez defeated Rachael Ellering by submission

This was arguably one of the best matches on the entire card. Rachael Ellering really surprised me with her performance in this match. I take back and apologize for any condescending and unfavorable remarks I made about her performance during AEW's Deadly Draw tournament last year, especially after hearing what she was going through emotionally in her personal life during the pandemic on the Wilde On podcast.

This pairing made for a great match from bell to bell with Martinez barely sneaking away with the win in a hard fought battle here.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Semifinals

Tasha Steelz defeated Chelsea Green by pinfall

This was another great showing, not just for Tasha Steelz but for Chelsea Green too. I will admit that I was pretty lukewarm to Chelsea Green's lengthy reign as Knockouts Champion in the past and her matches as a whole, but she's been on a tear as of late since getting released from WWE/NXT. I don't see how she does everything that she does with her broken wrist still wrapped up, but then again, this isn't her first rodeo wrestling with a handicap, unlike AEW's Britt Baker. Tasha Steelz can't be sold short here either. She has really been coming into her own; not just from the Fire N Flava tag team, but just in general as a talent for this company. She's definitely one of the current crop of Knockouts that continues to surprise me more and more as time goes on.

Out of all of the matches in this tournament, I thought this was the one that had me the most invested in the result. I thought that Green was going over to set herself up as the winner of another women's tournament in 2021, especially when she hit the Unprettier. I fell for that near-fall completely and was convinced that she would get the win with the same move off of the top rope. Tasha derailed those plans and hits a Frog Splash to pick up the win to advance to the finals. Definitely another great showing for Steelz.

Shannon "Daffney" Spruill Memorial Monster's Ball Match

Savannah Evans defeated Alisha Edwards, Jordynne Grace, and Kimber Lee by pinfall

Without a shadow of a doubt, the MVP of this match was Kimber Lee. Kimber Lee is no stranger to these types of matches after making a name for herself as one of the few women competing for CZW full-time a few years ago. She took majority of the punishment inflicted here in terms of the hardcore spots, including and not limited to being on the receiving end of a Muscle Buster onto the thumbtacks at the hands of Jordynne Grace and a few kendo stick shots to the head and body from Alisha Edwards' own "Kendra" (her kendo stick wrapped in barbed wire).

Even though I find myself starting to get less and less interested in these hardcore matches as of late, especially when every promotion seems to book them excessively, I turned my brain off and just sat back and enjoyed this in honor of Daffney's memory since she was in the first Monster's Ball Match that involved the Knockouts. It was fun to see the current crop of Knockouts rise to the occasion here.

I will admit that I haven't seen a lot of Savannah Evans, but she definitely was impressive here. She didn't do a lot in this match but what she did do was impactful (no pun intended) and meaningful. That was the exact opposite of what was going on with that triple threat match between Thunder Rosa, Jade Cargill, and Nyla Rose the week prior. Evans would pick up the win shortly after hitting her finish on an already battered and bruised Alisha, who fell right on top of a large weight that Grace had brought into the ring.

Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Final

The winner will receive a future Impact Knockouts Championship match.

Mercedes Martinez defeated Tasha Steelz by pinfall

Seeing two Latinas squaring off in the finals for this tournament was best for business and even more so for representation. IMPACT has always been great about pushing talent of all races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. The finals of this tournament was no different.

This was one of the best singles matches that I have seen from Tasha Steelz. Veda Scott and Mickie James said it on commentary that Tasha is hungry for that Knockouts Championship and I can easily see her fulfilling that goal in the near future. I don't want to see her and Savannah Evans get content in gunning for the Knockouts Tag titles again like she held before with Keira Hogan before Fire N Flava split up. She could easily get the title under her own merits as proven here.

Tasha put up a great fight with a lot of convincing near-falls, but ultimately, it was Mercedes Martinez who came out on top, earning herself a future Knockouts Championship title shot. It should be noted that Mickie James is set to face Deonna Purrazzo at Bound For Glory later this month for the title and Mercedes will definitely be facing the winner of that match. I'm pulling for Deonna to beat both of them, but that's just me.

I will admit that I selfishly wanted Melina to beat her at Empowerrr a few months ago, but that's besides the point.

Awesome Kong is announced to join the 2021 IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame at Bound For Glory

This moment was more about acknowledging Daffney and her contributions rather than Kong's own. That's what Kong asked from the crowd in attendance as she said that she would rather this moment be for paying respect to her dearly departed friend and save the acknowledgements to herself later this month at Bound For Glory. I can totally respect that wholeheartedly. That being said though, I have to agree with Gail Kim's comment during the video package that IMPACT put together to present this honor to Kong though - "There have been a lot of imitators over the years, but no one has ever held a candle to what Awesome Kong does in that ring, from the believability to her sheer presence." That was the jest of what Gail Kim said and she was absolutely right. IMPACT, along with several other promotions attempted and have failed horribly to recapture the magic that was Awesome Kong and Gail Kim's rivalry that put the Knockouts division on the map. If it wasn't for Kong, then Gail Kim wouldn't be recognized for her talents in the least for hanging with her. You're only as good as who are in the ring with, especially with someone who can make everything you do look even better while you're capable enough to do the same for them. Very few wrestlers have that ability as great workers and even fewer have chemistry to do that with any opponent that they are paired with. Couple that with being a bigger, monster heel - another rarity in wrestling at the time among female wrestlers (at least stateside) and you had a unique creature all on her own. Kong was definitely ahead of her time in terms of the evolution of powerhouse/monster heels in wrestling at the time.

Tag Team Match for the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship

Decay (Havok and Rosemary) (c) (with Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve) defeated The Influence (Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood) (with Kaleb with a K) by pinfall

This started as a comedy match with Rayne cowering in fear to both Rosemary and Havok, but eventually got on track with Rayne's earlier antics were proven to be a farce to get Decay to lower their guard, leaving them suspetible to The Influence's foul play and heel antics. Kaleb found himself backed into a corner by Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve, but that was only a distraction to the task at hand in the ring. I got a good laugh at Rayne and Tenille attempting to double chokeslam Havok, only for her to laugh that off and serve them one of her own.

This was an okay match, but it felt more suited for a weekly episode of IMPACT than the main event for this IMPACT Plus special/tribute to Daffney. Then again, I have to give Rosemary props where it's due for rocking a similar look to Daffney's iconic/signature look. If not for Daffney, there wouldn't be many characters like her in wrestling today and I know that Rosemary is painfully aware of that fact, so seeing her do this homage was touching.

The IInspiration are coming to IMPACT Wrestling

The IInspiration are an Australian professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jessica McKay and Cassie Lee. They were shown in a brief vignette to end this event to tease that they have signed with Impact Wrestling and will be debuting later this month at Bound For Glory. They are best known for their time in WWE as The Iconic Duo and later The IIconics, under the individual names of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, respectively.

Rest in peace, Daff.

(From left to right) Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, and Christy Hemme.

Taylor Wilde couldn't attend the event in person, but she took the moment to speak on her behalf. The Season 3 premiere of her podcast, Wilde On, is dedicated to celebrating the life of Daffney with stories and testimonies from her friends in the wrestling business and fans around the world. Go out of your way to check that out if you got the time. I've linked it below for those who may be interested in taking a listen.

Afterthoughts:

Out of the two all-female events put on by major promotions this year, I have to give it up to NWA's Empowerrr being the better of these two all-female events. At the same time, I can't knock this event in the least since it was more a tribute show that honored the memory of Shannon "Daffney" Spruill above all else. If anything, I hope this show is the beginning of more interplay between the Knockouts of IMPACT Wrestling and NWA's own women's divisions. Since the "forbidden door" to AEW isn't allowing anyone to walk through save for the Good Brothers back and forth, Kenny Omega (formerly), and currently Christian Cage, then it's nice to see NWA and IMPACT play nice again after seemingly to settle their ill will from the past. This is only going to make women's wrestling in both of these promotions more exciting to watch. IMPACT has always kept me interested with their Knockouts division, from the good and bad periods throughout this company's fabled past. I was overjoyed to see so much love and passion for not only women's wrestling but for honoring the memory of Shannon "Daffney" Spruill.

If you got some time to kill and looking for some good women's wrestling matches to watch, you can't go wrong watching this show. It clocks in at a little shy of 3 hours, but all fans of women's wrestling should be able to find something to enjoy here.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse