The Queen Bee is Back! Madison Rayne Returns to TNA

[It's Damn Real!]

And boy, oh boy do they need her! That Knockouts division right now is in shambles with Taryn Terrell, who was a huge hopeful, being out long-term after getting pregnant herself months back, and Velvet Sky relegated to valet, and not actually wrestling right now. It's basically been a non-stop rotation of ODB, Gail Kim and Awful Kong (Lei'D Tapa). Brooke [Tessmacher] has been sort of there, but was also, primarily a valet and not an active wrestler.

Suffice it to say, a fresh face was a dire need. I'd argue it's still not enough, and you may need to hit a bit of a reboot on the whole division if you ever really expect them to rise back up the ranks again, but every marathon or race requires a first step. Getting the Queen Bee back again, I'd say, is a great one.

 

[klunderbunker]

It can indeed help, assuming she's used along with the rest of the division. There are two long standing problems for the Knockouts.

First of all is the obvious: the lack of fresh talent/depth. We've seen the same matches so many times that there's just nothing left to see as a result. The division has been about six people for over a year now and the matches have all been done. Bringing Madison back will help as she hasn't been around in a long time but we still need more names.

The other problem is the division having two spots only most of the time. We need more than just champion vs. challenger of the month to keep things fresh. How many times have you seen the Knockouts Champion just fighting whoever won some #1 contenders match with no other story to it at all? If Madison is just another person doing the same thing, she isn't going to solve any long term problems at all.

 

[three count bout]

Agreed. I've been waiting on Madison to come back and was very pleased to have her return last night. The Knockouts really need an injection to get back on the right track. I found it funny that Gail has been booked exactly the same as Madisons 2011 run (Madison had Tara as a heavy and Gail has Tapa, weekly open challenges). It will be interesting to see what she does as a babyface because she seems to be a natural heel and has had great success in that role. I'm betting she and Gail will eventually switch alignments as Gail has done everything in her current heel role, she'll probably blame Tapa for a series of losses, Tapa will knock her out resulting in another Gail Kim david vs Goliath matchup.

All in all I'm excited for Madisons return and I hope she can jumpstart the Knockouts divison. KB said some interesting things above me, If they do keep Madison away from the title she will have a built in feud with Velvet that isn't reliant on the belt. This could be an intense personal feud between two KO's with a lot of history that could be a second KO feud if they opt to continue with Gail vs ODB or eventually Gail vs Tapa.

 

[rbv13]

It is great to have her back in action. Might be that I was so familiar with her on the way up but when she got to TNA she became and remained one of my favorite Knockouts of all time.

With all the budget cuts taking place I wouldn’t hold my breath for the resurrection of the K.O. Division. On the other hand it might be a financially sound idea to use the ladies as filler material. It is wide known they get paid dirt on per appearance deals. It could be a good move to expand the division. I know it would not fly with purest believers but HOT Knockout a handful of times a night are going to keep novelty fans tuned in.

 

[Lowdown]

The KO's need a significant boost for sure. Thing is I'm not quite sure Madison will be enough to get things going. Like previously mentioned, she serves better as a heel than a face, and sooner than later a feud with Gail will wear off. And it's hard to bring in fresh talent if TNA is still losing money. Taryn coming back would help, and maybe Ivelisse. Makes me think they should've held onto Taeler Hendrix as well.

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

The KO's need a significant boost for sure. Thing is I'm not quite sure Madison will be enough to get things going. Like previously mentioned, she serves better as a heel than a face, and sooner than later a feud with Gail will wear off. And it's hard to bring in fresh talent if TNA is still losing money. Taryn coming back would help, and maybe Ivelisse. Makes me think they should've held onto Taeler Hendrix as well.

This. Agreed 100% with you. Glad that Madison is back but no one person will not rejuvenate the knockouts division. When you only have 2 hours of tv programming and only a few live pay per views, tough to get everyone in the program.

 

[Alex]

It's cool that Madison's back, but she's a band-aid on a gunshot wound.

The Knockouts not only need new faces to bolster their ranks, they also need programs that don't revolve around the Knockouts title. They seem to be thinking of doing it with ODB vs Lei'd Tapa, while Madison seems to be heading into a program with Gail Kim so that'll give a chunk of the Knockouts something to do.

 

[3drinks]

I was definitely pleasantly surprised to see Madison Rayne come back. Now all we need is to bring Angelina Love and Winter back, and then Alyssa Flash/Cheerleader Melissa and we'd have a fantastic Knockouts division.

 

[The Eighties]

She's a good addition but the division needs several fresh faces and some focus beyond the title. At the very least Madison and Kim should be able to attach some actual back story to their title feud, but that will require Gail to talk which is usually not a good idea.

 

[Cereal Killer]

While Madison is extremely talented and one of the Knockout's from their boom period, this doesn't do much for the division. We'll get some more matches and another feud from her but that's all. I don't like having to fast forward matches but that's what I've been doing with the Knockout matches for a few months now.

We've seen the same faces for about 2 years now and several of them are instantly cut off after they lose in a feud. When they randomly return I have no interest. What reason is there to?

To make any Knockout return to work, the division needs to work. 2009 showed us that TNA is capable of having some good storylines with the women and that they do in fact care. Earlier this year Gail and Taryn Terrell showed that the division is capable of throwing on good matches. There were several fans saying they enjoyed that match over AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle at Slammiversary. What the company needs to do is hire about 3 new Knockouts and show some interest in them. There have been far too many number one contenders vs the Champion matches/stories and it's extremely boring. They aren't live anymore and they aren't on the road which is exactly what I wanted. My only issue with the product is that they don't have enough TV time and enough people on the roster. Now that they're cutting back they should have enough money to make some use out of TNA Xplosion and hiring talent. That gives enough time and enough talent. While this helps the Knockouts division, this also helps the mid-card division too.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think it's great news that Madison Rayne is back in TNA, she will definately strengthen the KO Division, which has been dying a slow death in recent years after once being one of the highlights of TNA programming. I hope the company gives a bit more focus and attention the KO's, and strengthens the division a bit more.

You all know I would love to see Tara come back to TNA (God, I miss seeing her every week!) but bringing back the likes of Angelina Love and some other new KO's would be very beneficial. Whether TNA can afford to do this with their current financial issues is another question...they have already released Holly and Hannah Blossom who I thought had a lot of potential, so who knows if Madison will be joined by other new arrivals in the near future.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I think it's great news that Madison Rayne is back in TNA, she will definately strengthen the KO Division, which has been dying a slow death in recent years after once being one of the highlights of TNA programming. I hope the company gives a bit more focus and attention the KO's, and strengthens the division a bit more.

You all know I would love to see Tara come back to TNA (God, I miss seeing her every week!) but bringing back the likes of Angelina Love and some other new KO's would be very beneficial. Whether TNA can afford to do this with their current financial issues is another question...they have already released Holly and Hannah Blossom who I thought had a lot of potential, so who knows if Madison will be joined by other new arrivals in the near future.

From what I've read (granted, dirt sheets, so grain of salt), there seems to be an internal push from TNA creative on wanting to get new blood into the Knockouts division as well, so I think that's exactly what we're going to see going forward.

Tara, unfortunately, I don't see ever coming back. I think she'd go back to WWE or she'll just continue to do what she's doing now, which I believe is running a restaurant.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

From what I've read (granted, dirt sheets, so grain of salt), there seems to be an internal push from TNA creative on wanting to get new blood into the Knockouts division as well, so I think that's exactly what we're going to see going forward.

Tara, unfortunately, I don't see ever coming back. I think she'd go back to WWE or she'll just continue to do what she's doing now, which I believe is running a restaurant.

That's good news (although as you say, take with a pinch of salt). I definitely think there needs to be some new women added to the Knockouts division, there is enough talent out there without national exposure, so TNA could bring in a number of young women to strengthen the division.

Yeah, it's a wrestling-themed restaurant called "The Squared Circle" wherever she is from, Chicago maybe? I know they get ROH/Indie/ex-WWE wrestlers in there to watch Raw/Impact/PPVs etc with fans, which is pretty cool. I'd love to have somewhere like that in the UK to watch wrestling and eat pizza, especially with Tara herself sometimes joining the fans and bringing the food!!