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| (Image Source: WrestlingHeadlines.com/IMPACT Wrestling) |
On October 2007 at TNA Bound For Glory in Atlanta, Georgia, Gail Kim was crowned the first ever IMPACT Wrestling (TNA) Knockouts Champion after winning a ten-woman Gauntlet For The Gold. This historic moment marked the start of what would eventually become the catalyst of the women's professional wrestling revolution. Six years later, an annual all-female PPV event named Knockouts Knockdown was launched to celebrate the impact of the IMPACT Knockouts division to the wrestling world and put the spotlight on future generation of athletes who will carry on the torch of the division such as current IMPACT Knockouts Champion Deonna Purazzo, Chelsea Green and Allie among others.
On October 10, 2021 (Philippine time), IMPACT Wrestling is bringing back the all-female spectacular to celebrate the legacy and impact of the Knockouts division that remains to be a force in women's professional wrestling as well as those who have been and are currently part of the division since its official inception in 2007 and how their impact was made and left a mark in the wrestling world. Knockouts Knockdown 2021 was filmed last September inside the Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with a live audience and will be streamed worldwide on IMPACT Plus and on YouTube via the IMPACT Wrestling Insiders premium membership program. The return of Knockouts Knockdown after more than five years was officially announced and confirmed by no less than IMPACT's first Knockout Hall of Famer Gail Kim on IMPACT's social media channels.
Headlining the monumental all-Knockout event is a one-night tournament where current IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts and several top female independent stars are slated to compete for a chance to get a shot at the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Championship. Among the eight competitors in the said tournament is Mercedes Martinez who was once ranked number two in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's best 50 singles women's wrestlers and one of the top ten female women's wrestlers of 2019 by Sports Illustrated. Also set to take place is the Knockouts Monster's Ball in honor of the late Daffney who was the first Knockout to compete in the Monster's Ball when she battled Taylor Wilde at TNA Sacrifice 2009. “Doing something to honor Daffney’s memory is something that everyone involved with the event and others are thrilled to be able to do. She was a great wrestler and a better person. No one will forget Daffney; we want to honor her,” Gail said. The IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team Championship will also be on the line that night where Decay's Rosemary and Havok defend their titles against The Influence comprising of former five-time Knockouts Champion and two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood with Kaleb With A K in her corner.
This year's Knockouts Knockdown event will see the return of multiple IMPACT Knockouts over the years including two of the division's pioneers Christy Hemme and Awesome Kong who recently announced her retirement from professional wrestling at NWA's first all-female PPV event Empowerrr last August 28, 2021 at the Khorassan Ballroom inside the Chase Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. Calling all the action throughout the event are multi-time world women's wrestling champion and women's professional wrestling icon Mickie James-Aldis, fresh from her successful stint as executive producer of NWA Empowerrr and victorious debut the next night at NWA 73 and slated to compete at IMPACT's Bound For Glory 2021 on October 23rd at Sam's Town Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada for the IMPACT Knockouts Championship against current champion "The Virtuosa" Deonna Purazzo, for color commentary and independent professional wrestling veteran Veda Scott for play-by-play with former IMPACT Wrestling backstage interviewer and Lucia Underground ring announcer Melissa Santos serving as the event's ring announcer. “I am so excited for Knockouts Knockdown, when females from across the wrestling landscape will take over The IMPACT Zone, with female wrestlers, referees, announcers and more,” said the seven-time IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champion.
