The Evolution of a Column

As I sit and I think about the three year anniversary of TNAsylum, I find myself feeling very proud of the fact that the website is not only still here, but that it is here bigger and better than ever. All the credit in the world should go to the people who started this website and to those who brought it through the early stages. Their hard work and dedication to making TNAsylum a truly unique site for TNA fans to congregate enabled the site to not only survive but to flourish. I first came across TNAsylum during the first few months of its existence and it couldn't have come at a better time for me personally.

Since TNA first debuted in 2002, there was always a fair share of detractors and people who seemed to hate TNA just because they thought it was the cool thing to do. Those detractors confidently stated that the promotion wouldn’t last weeks, let alone a year. But as the years went on and TNA proved them wrong, the amount of haters seemed to increase and increase to the point where it seemed like every website, magazine and dirt sheet that covered wrestling seemed to hate TNA just because it was the trendy thing to do. I never understood this mentality and I got sick of it pretty quickly.

That's why when I found TNAsylum, it was like a breath of fresh air for me. Here was a haven for TNA fans to come to without having to hear or read about all the other anti TNA rhetoric found in other places. TNAsylum quickly became my favorite site and I became a regular visitor. Then, in early 2012, I was given a tremendous opportunity to write a column for TNAsylum and I knew right off the bat what I wanted to write about. FK9 had already paved the way on TNAsylum for columns that focused on the ladies of TNA, but I thought that I could add something new to that realm so I came up with the idea for Knockout Shots.

I had always been a fan of women’s wrestling and when TNA launched the Knockouts division in 2007, I was hooked almost instantly. Simply put, there had never been a female product like this in any mainstream wrestling company. Just like TNAsylum, the TNA Knockouts division was a breath of fresh air for this longtime wrestling fan. The passion that I felt for the Knockouts division made it a no-brainer that I should write my column about it for the site.

I was overflowing with things that I wanted to talk about regarding the lovely ladies of TNA and I can honestly say that the division inspired me to come up with more new stuff to write about all the time. During this time, however, TNA was undergoing massive changes and along with it, so was the Knockouts division. Before long, the division that I loved and spent a lot of time thinking about, was changing from what it once was. At its worst moments, the Knockouts division seemed to move away totally from the things that it had been founded on. Sometimes it was worrying and other times it was just frustrating.

Along with creative changes and questionable booking decisions, came the departures of certain talents. Several women were released been simply because they didn't fit the mold and vision of the new people in TNA management. These were women that were specifically signed in the first place, BECAUSE they didn't fit the mold. One by one, they were let go. Awesome Kong, Roxxi, Hamada, Angelina Love... These were women that I felt could have made a difference but were not exactly given the shot. When you write a Knockouts column on a regular basis, no matter how passionate you are about the division, watching things like this can make you jaded.

The important thing for me to remember at times like this, however, was that things change in wrestling just as they do in life. In 1987, if you thought Hulk Hogan would ever work for anyone other than Vince McMahon, people would have thought you were crazy. If in 1997, you thought that WCW would one day be millions of dollars in debt and out of business, it would have seemed nuts. In 2007, if you thought that TNA was about to unleash the most revolutionary American women’s division ever, who would have believed that it was possible?

Things do change and yes, the Knockouts division has changed a lot since then. Right now, it's not exactly the way I would like the division to be but with that said, it's still damn good and I honestly think it's getting better. The women of TNA are still awesome, they still bust their asses and the fans still love them. As long as those things still happen, there will always be a Knockouts division that I'll proudly support.

Lately I've cut back on the number of Knockout Shots columns I write simply because there isn't as much change and crazy things happening in the division as there used to be. For the stability of the product, that's probably a good thing. I have also started a new column called Blade's Edge, where I take a broader look at everything else in TNA that isn’t female related.

Make no mistake though, Knockout Shots is still my signature column. It's what got me started here on TNAsylum and I care deeply about it. Rest assured that whatever changes face the Knockouts division, I will continue to cover it on Knockout Shots as long as the great people at this website will allow me to.

This weekend is a celebration – TNAsylum turns three years old! I'm proud of the people that made this happen, I'm proud that I have a website I can go to for all my TNA news and analysis, and I'm proud that I have been able to contribute to its history as well.

Happy Birthday, TNAsylum! Here's to many more.