Impact Wrestling has a rich history when it comes to women’s wrestling. Indeed, years before WWE launched its Women’s Revolution and was still calling its female talent “Divas” across the board, Impact had its more serious Knockouts division. It’s where Gail Kim and Awesome Kong put on instant classics.
Related: The 10 Best Impact Wrestling Knockouts Matches, According To Cagematch.net
Moreover, talents like Mickie James did some of their best work in these ranks, Rosemary has long called Impact home, and Deonna Purrazzo more recently elevated the Knockouts Championship with a long run, featuring a number of noteworthy performances. For all the women who’ve played a role in Impact, there are number who had unexpected gimmicks in the company or on other platforms that have long been forgotten.
10 Gail Kim As Daniel Bryan’s Girlfriend
Gail Kim was one of the top babyfaces, regardless of gender, in Impact Wrestling history. She was a key early face of the Knockouts Division whose classics with Awesome Kong and others helped establish Impact as a top destination for women’s wrestling in the US for a time. Kim has been vocal about her disappointment with both of her WWE runs. It’s telling that in her latter tenure with the company, one of her most noteworthy roles didn’t even see the technically gifted high-flyer in the ring, but rather positioned as Daniel Bryan’s girlfriend, much to the dismay of the heel Bella Twins.
9 Rosemary As Courtney Rush
Rosemary has had a long career as one of the top players in Impact’s Knockouts division. She has held the singles and tag team titles and had memorable storylines as part of The Decay and with The Bunny, among plenty of others. Before she landed on her eye-catching gimmick, she wrestled for some time on smaller stages.
Related: Rosemary: Age, Height, Relationship Status & Other Things You Didn't Know About Her
That includes working with SHIMMER as Courtney Rush. Under that moniker, Rosemary actually held a victory over the women who’d become known as Paige in WWE, not to mention having tag team interactions with Ruby Soho, The Bunny, and others.
8 Deonna Purrazzo As A Rosebud
It has been an open secret that, in the earlier days of NXT, a lot of developmental talents made anonymous appearances as part of Adam Rose’s eccentric entourage, known as The Rosebuds. Some of the more famous examples include Becky Lynch, Braun Strowman, and Elias. Deonna Purrazzo is on the list as well. Early in her time in NXT, the woman who’d become one of the greatest Knockouts of all time, better known as The Virtuosa for her technical expertise, was just one more silly background character aboard the Exotic Express.
7 Awesome Kong As Aja Kong’s Tag Team Partner
Awesome Kong was a groundbreaking monster heel character for Impact Wrestling who worked a slew of terrific matches, and whom fans also remember for her snake-bit run in WWE as Kharma that ended all too quickly. Before either of these runs, Kong was a force in Japan. She was positioned first as a replacement for, then an opponent to, and ultimately a tag team partner of Aja Kong. Together, these two big women went on a tear, winning the AAAW Tag Team Championship in a run that laid a foundation for Awesome Kong’s successful career in the US.
6 Velvet Sky Danced with The Heart Throbs
Velvet Sky may never have arrived as a top tier in ring worker, but her charisma and sex appeal made her a quintessential part of The Beautiful People, a longstanding tag team and small faction at the core of Impact’s Knockouts division for quite some time. Sky had worked the indies before signing with Impact, and even had her encounters with WWE, doing extra work and making one off appearances. One of the more noteworthy occasions saw her appear alongside Naomi as fans in the front row chosen by The Heart Throbs tag team to dance with them after a victory on Heat.
5 Mickie James Murdered By James Storm
While the work Mickie James did for WWE may have done the most for her star power, her work with Impact Wrestling may well have represented the best wrestling of her career, including reigning four times as Knockouts Champion. One of the less auspicious chapters of her Impact career came in 2015. She was wrapped up in storylines with James Storm and his Revolution faction at the tail end of her contract. In an era when the company was experimenting with a more cinematic style of booking, including the Hardys’ Broken Universe and theatrics around The Decay, they went a little “off the rails” in writing of James. Storm wound up pushing her in front of a train to presumably murder her (though she would end up re-signing and returning to TV a couple months later).
4 Winter As The Beautiful Nightmare
Much of Winter’s WWE career was wrapped up in her partnership as a kayfabe sibling and possible romantic interest of Paul Burchill. The characters were arguably doomed from the start, despite their talent, due to questionable creative. One forgotten part of their story saw them feud with The Hurricane in ECW, in a grudge based on them trying to prove The Hurricane and backstage interviewer Gregory Helms were the same person. In a climactic match, Burchill and Winter put their careers on the line against The Hurricane’s mask and lost. In a bit of a farce, they returned to TV the following week under masks as The Ripper and The Beautiful Nightmare.
3 Angelina Love Feuding With An Authority Figure
Before becoming an anchor member of The Beautiful People for Impact Wrestling, Angelina Love wrestled for nearly three years in WWE’s developmental system. She enjoyed her greatest success there in Deep South Wrestling as Angel Williams, where she feuded with heel authority figure Krissy Vaine. Vaine sent a series of heels to take out Williams, to no avail. Their issue concluded with Vaine apologizing and the two spending a brief time sharing duties as co-general managers of the brand.
2 Taryn Terrell In The Blondetourage
Taryn Terrell spent her first three years in pro wrestling mostly in the WWE system, including the stint she may be best remembered for as the general manager of ECW.
Related: 10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About ECW
She had a later stint on SmackDown as a part of the active roster. This period included her striking up an alliance with Kelly Kelly billed as The Blondetourage. The duo spent most of their time together feuding with LayCool.
1 Laurel Van Ness As Reklusa In Lucha Underground
Laurel Van Ness had a successful gimmick run as The Hot Mess in Impact Wrestling, and spent a decent chunk of time in NXT as Chelsea Green. It was easy for fans to forger her brief run in Lucha Underground, though, under the name Reklusa. Allied with Marty The Moth Martinez and Mariposa, Reklusa was portrayed as a deadly heel, using her height to her advantage to hang with the smaller male luchadors who filled out much of the roster. The run was highlighted by a very good showing opposite Pentagon.
