The Rise & Fall Of TNA | Wrestling Timelines

18. January 6, 2008 | It’s A Knockout

Gail Kim Awesome Kong Final Resolution 2008
IMPACT Wrestling

In a surreal, unthinkable, but very welcome and overdue development, Vince Russo upgrades the classification of women from “objects” to “wrestlers”. 

For a while now, the women’s division, rebranded as ‘Knockouts’, has been generating momentum. At Final Resolution, the scene reaches its pinnacle. TNA is largely an infuriatingly uneven tonal mess in which pro wrestling struggles to breach through a quagmire of pseudo-sports entertainment nonsense, but the Awesome Kong Vs. Gail Kim dynamic is the classic stuff: a spirited, dynamic babyface fighting for her life against the terrifying immovable object. Almost every second of the No Disqualification match matters. Kim and Kong sense that they are making history. Kong sells the pain and fury of getting punched in the face even during the small moments when they’re setting up the next spot. This is a rough and nasty match, a stunning departure from the mainstream norm. Kong throws Kim around like she is nothing, and Kim has to earn the comeback by giving everything. So many failed aerial attempts, foiled victory rolls and chair shots drain the belief in the crowd before Kim just narrowly wins with a roll-up. 

WCW popularised cruiserweight wrestling, building a landscape on which it was eventually possible for Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, and AJ Styles to win World Heavyweight titles. TNA pioneers the idea in the U.S. mainstream that women are not sex objects: they can sell and fight and build drama better than the men, when given the opportunity. Nobody can deny them that, and they don’t receive enough credit for it. 

Astonishingly, or perhaps not really, Russo is ahead of WWE by eight years; the star of the division, Kim, will jump to WWE and work six-way pillow fights by 2010. 

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Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!