#14: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong, TNA Final Resolution (1/6/2008).
This is a No Disqualification Match for Gail's TNA Women's Knockout Championship.
It is said that American Pro Wrestling didn't take women's wrestling as seriously as the rest of the world until 2014, when NXT really started to get hot. But TNA Wrestling was showing the fans what women's wrestling could be as early as the late 2000s. Spearheaded by Gail Kim, who may rank as one of the best success stories of someone who didn't make it in WWE, the Knockouts division got its first championship at the 2007 Bound for Glory event, where Gail became the inaugural champion.
From there, she found her first true rival in Awesome Kong, a great women's wrestler who had spent time in Japan during the final days of All Japan Women's. They had their first major singles match at Turning Point in December of 2007, and while it wasn't the best match you'll ever see, it received a lot of praise for its intensity and serious approach to a match involving gals.
The rematch was set for Final Resolution, and this time, No Disqualification was in play. The match starts hot, with Kong knocking Gail off the apron. Then, Kong goes over to commentary and scares the shit out of Mike Tenay and Don West. Admittedly, that was hilarious. What I like about this already is that it feels so different from what WWE was doing at the time. This actually feels like a legitimate wrestling match, no different than anything else on the card, instead of...well, a bathroom break.
The crowd helps this a lot, as they are invested in the story being told. Kong hits a spinning back fist that sends Gail to the outside. She lifts Gail up by the legs and swings her head first into the ringside barricade. Both end up in the crowd, and they are brawling wildly. Kong goes to splash Gail into a wall, and the champion avoids it, and Kong takes a serious hit. You know, this is almost a modern take on Aja Kong against Manami Toyota. Almost.
Gail hits a crossbody from the turnbuckle to the outside, but Kong catches her and slams her on the apron. Back in the ring, she gets a nearfall, and she doesn't care much for that. So, she powerbombs referee Slick Johnson! She grabs a chair and smacks him over the back with it. Gail rips it from her hands and doinks her over the head with it multiple times! You definitely weren't seeing shit like this in WWE!
Gail hits a top rope splash, and Kong kicks out. The crowd really ate that nearfall. Kong hits a huge chokeslam that gets a nearfall. She doesn't care for that, so she slaps the new referee, Rudy Charles. She goes to powerbomb him as well, but Gail takes advantage of the distraction to roll Kong up and get the win!
This was a fun and awesome brawl that I really feel was ahead of its time. Sure, compared to the greats of 1990s Joshi, this isn't shit. But for American wrestling - especially in 2008 - this was wonderful. Match structures like this are the norm for women's wrestling today, as they should be. But here, it felt like these two were breaking boundaries. And that's because they were. WWE felt like a place for women who excelled in only being beautiful. If you wanted to be beautiful AND a badass who could outwrestle the men, TNA was the place to be.