Let me tell you what TNA is quietly doing right, and then I’m going to tell you the one thing that could sink the whole thing before it ever gets off the ground.
The Knockouts TV Title tournament is smart television. I don’t care who tells you tournament brackets are lazy booking — they are not lazy booking when you need to introduce a roster to a casual audience and you need to do it fast. Heather By Elegance beating Mara Sadé, the semifinals getting set, a division that looks and feels like it has depth — that is a functional wrestling show doing its job. TNA’s women’s division has more going on right now than half the main roster scenes in this industry. Give them that.
But here’s where I get off the train.
Xia Brookside is your Knockouts World Champion. She is twenty-six years old, she has a last name that means something to every serious fan in this room, and she is growing into the title in real time. That’s gold, if you treat it like gold. And what does TNA give her for her second title defense? Wendy Choo. A perfectly fine worker, a name with some recognition from her NXT run — and someone who has not been on television in a meaningful way in over a year.
I have nothing against Wendy Choo. She can work. But there is a difference between bringing in an outside name to legitimize your champion and bringing in an outside name because you needed a body for the match. One of those builds Xia Brookside. The other one just fills time.
The fact that Brookside wins doesn’t solve the problem. A champion’s stock rises or falls based on who she beats, not just whether she beats them. You want me to believe Xia is a serious champion? Make me believe the person standing across the ring from her could actually take the belt. I didn’t believe that here, and I don’t think TNA believed it either.
The tournament is the story on this show right now, and that’s fine for a Tuesday night. But TNA cannot let the TV title scene completely swallow the World title picture. They are building a house from the second floor down.
Xia Brookside can be the real deal. She has the look, the pedigree, the attitude. But somebody in Nashville needs to sit down and map out a program worthy of her before the moment quietly passes.
This business does not give you those moments twice.
