(Exclusive) Rosemary: A Journey through the Valley of Shadows – PART 1
Photo Credit: IMPACT Wrestling
Outside Impact Wrestling. A long time "Jerichoholic", Mick Foley, Kurt Angle & Hardys fan, pop open a little bit of the Bubbly, read what's being written by me with an open perspective & enjoy.
- Impact Wrestling’s build to the big 20. Part 1 - February 25, 2022
- (Exclusive) Rosemary: A Journey through the Valley of Shadows – PART 1 - September 19, 2021
- Revival of the X-Division: Tale of the Tape - June 20, 2021
TNA Knockouts Champion. Red vs. Blue
Rosemary’s first singles rivalry stemmed after Gail Kim vacated the TNA Knockouts Championship in November 2016. Having just been brought into the TNA Hall of Fame at Bound For Glory, Gail Kim was hoping to pass the torch down onto Jade*, but during this farewell message she was interrupted by the Demon Assassin.
*The Knockouts title was officially vacated as Gail Kim was injured after her match at Bound For Glory against Maria Kanellis-Bennett.
Jade w/ Gail Kim by her side would face off against Rosemary in a 6 Sides of Steel match for the vacated TNA Knockouts Championship, the match was highly praised for the efforts of both competitors, Jade famously paying homage to Gail Kim with an incredible diving crossbody off the top of the cage, but she would lose to Rosemary & The Shadow would have the Knockouts Championship in it’s grasp.
In between matches against Jade, Rosemary would also turn her attention onto Sienna & Brandi Rhodes (who was still at Impact until March 2017 after Bound For Glory). Sienna would win a number one contendership match against ODB at Total Nonstop Deletion but fail to topple Rosemary before the end of the year. Brandi Rhodes would team with Moose & together they would add to Decay’s woes of misfortune.
The battle of Red vs. Blue would be the major storied rivalry of Rosemary’s title reign in a number of spectacular matches against the War Queen Jade. The 6 Sides of Steel that kicked off this rivalry set a clear message out that once again, TNA/Impact Wrestling wasn’t going to hold back on allowing the Knockouts the chance to shine through as always with some of the most intense rivalries, something missing through the “dry period” of The Lady Squad (Maria Kanellis-Bennett, Allie, Sienna & Laurel Van Ness) holding the Knockouts division hostage.
As Rosemary’s title run continued, even after the loss of Decay, it wouldn’t be long until another part of her past crept up on her, this time in the form of Allie* who was finally breaking out into in ring competition but was continuously outnumbered by Sienna & Laurel Van Ness.
As Allie became more under fire from competition, Rosemary would transition from the Heel role she dominated the Knockouts division as & turn Face to protect “The Bunny”… a new chapter in our story would begin.
*Long time fans of Rosemary or Allie may have been lucky to see their legendary rivalry across the independent scene as Courtney Rush & Cherry Bomb, Cherry Bomb being responsible for literally bringing out the Demon Assassin we had arrive when Rosemary debuted on Impact & a storyline between Rosemary & Allie was, in a lot of people’s minds going to be a throwback to the Demon Slayer vs the Demon Assassin. What we got instead was a continuation of their intertwining careers which made for a much more enjoyable experience & brought huge interest back into Rosemary & Allie’s early wrestling careers before coming to TNA/Impact Wrestling.
Demon Bunny, the She-Skunk & the Hot Mess
With Decay departed, Jade destroyed & Sienna now holding the GFW Women’s Championship, Rosemary’s popularity was still skyrocketing as the TNA Knockouts Champion.
Rosemary was now an unhinged & even more devastating competitor now that she was fending for herself. But as the storyline between of Laurel Van Ness & Braxton Sutter’s “wedding” moved on with Maria Kanellis-Bennett leaving & Allie now suffering the wrath of Sienna & Laurel Van Ness. Rosemary would align herself with Gail Kim & Allie to even the odds, eventually revealing to her long standing rival (on the independent scene) Allie that The Shadow had sent her forth to protect her.
Rosemary would have already transitioned from Heel to Face through her rivalry with Sienna, but when tasked with protecting Allie, offering guidance backstage in highly intriguing promos between the two, it was clear a return to the darkest side of The Shadow wasn’t coming soon. With Allie still scared of stepping out of her shell & into confrontation, despite finally wrestling more often & winning matches, Rosemary would stay true to her demands from The Hive, she watched over Allie & Allie would return the favour, even if against Rosemary’s wishes.
Rosemary’s title defences would be less frequent as the build between herself & Allie now mostly with attention against a very dominating Sienna. Rosemary would still have title defences to fulfil but none transitioning into rivalries that would outlast the current location of set tapings particularly when in Mexico or Canada.
The title reign of the Demon Assassin would end at Slammiversary after Sienna finally defeated Rosemary, even after interference from Allie & Laurel Van Ness. Attention would be taken from Rosemary’s quest to regain her title after Taya Valkyrie debuted on September 7th attacking Rosemary after losing to Sienna before taking out the former Knockouts Champion herself & clearly staking her claim as a potential candidate for Sienna’s Knockouts Championship.
But… Taya Valkyrie’s attack on Rosemary alongside devastating the lower ranked Knockouts (including Alisha Edwards, Kiera Hogan & Allie) would start an intense rivalry* throughout September & October leading up to a First Blood match at Bound For Glory on November 5th, but for unforeseen & personal circumstances, Taya Valkyrie was unable to attend this event & wouldn’t be seen for another 5 months, suspending the rivalry between Lucha Royalty & the Demon Assassin. However, with the Knockouts Championship now vacated after Bound For Glory after Gail Kim beat Sienna, Rosemary once again took the opportunity to balance protecting (a now more independent) Allie with earning that long sought after number one contendership spot.
Fortune seemed to smiling down in Rosemary’s favour once again. The fan’s favourite was ready to recapture championship gold once again but the match (you’d be foolish not to watch) between Rosemary & Laurel Van Ness for the redesigned GFW/IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Championship broke every expectation down… leaving something even more sinister on the horizon.
Not long after Laurel Van Ness won the Knockouts title, it then quickly fell into Allie’s grasp. Betrayed by her (real life husband) on screen fiancé Braxton Sutter after Laurel Van Ness won the Knockouts championship, he had now brought forward someone else to be by his side (after the feeling of abandonment since he & Allie rarely saw each other after he saved her from the Lady Squad & abandoned Laurel Van Ness at the alter). Braxton had brought in the Undead Bride herself! And it wasn’t long before she had left her impression on our Hive Queen’s Bunny!
But Rosemary was temporarily away, finishing the final stage of her (first) rivalry with Taya Valkyrie in the Demon’s Dance & while she was away Su Yung terrorised the Knockouts division with her focus on Allie & despite her attempts to break Allie, Su Yung failed to capture the Knockouts Championship at Redemption 2018, Allie would also successfully defend against Taya Valkyrie shortly afterwards before being attacked once again by Su Yung but fortunately for Allie, help would soon arrive.
The battle lines had been drawn & while the rivalry between Rosemary, Allie & Su Yung grew, the Impact zone grew darker & more unsettled. Rosemary’s intervention was short lived however (due to an injury sustained elsewhere) & Su Yung would get the upper hand over the Demon Assassin after she stopped Allie from joining her in the battle of the Undead Realm on May 3rd.
*As mentioned on page 1. We shall be delving into the full history between Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary as rivals & the beginning of an unlikely alliance in later chapters. The complexity of the storyline between Rosemary, Allie & Su Yung, remains our focus for now.
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