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What's the story?
Laurel Van Ness defeated Rosemary at last night's Impact Wrestling TV tapings, to become the brand new Knockouts Champion. The match is scheduled to air on November 30.
In case you didn't know...
Gail Kim may be the name most synonymous name with the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship, but all good things must come to an end. The Toronto-native wrestled her last Impact match at Bound for Glory 2017 but managed to end in style with her seventh title victory in the company.
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Kim's win and subsequent retirement left the championship in limbo, although that could be said of the entire organisation. Impact is nothing if not persistent, however, and the ship must keep moving forward. A small tournament was announced, with the winner becoming the new Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion.
The heart of the matter
The winner of that tournament is none other than "Hot Mess" herself, Laurel Van Ness. The Lance Storm-trained Colombian defeated former Knockouts Champion Rosemary in the final, picking up her first championship in the company in the process.
Van Ness defeated Traci Spinelli and the returning Madison Rayne to advance to the final, but most must have assumed that she was going to be a little more than fodder for Rosemary's return to the top of the Knockouts division.
The sceptics were proven wrong, however, and Laurel Van Ness is your new Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion.
What's next?
Once again, Impact Wrestling comes out of Bound for Glory with transition and evolution in mind. The promotion is now officially based in Canada. They will now focus on 2018 and a concerted effort at rebranding after a difficult 2017.
Laurel Van Ness is a fresh face as champion, and there are plenty of interesting challengers waiting in the wings.
Author's take
A hearty big congratulation to Laurel Van Ness on her first championship victory in Impact. Van Ness has had an interesting year in the company, from being jilted at the altar to Braxton Sutter to coming within a whisker of marrying Grado, all the way through to the Knockouts Championship.
Nobody wants to see a wrestling promotion suffer, so here's hoping that Impact can right the ship and have a more successful and productive 2018.
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