Impact Wrestling: Top Five Knockouts Champions of All Time
5. Tara
After leaving WWE in early 2009, the former Victoria debuted for TNA in May of the same year. Revealing her name to be Tara, short for Tarantula if you forgot that fun fact, made a fast impact in Impact Wrestling. Less than two full months after debuting, Tara defeated Angelina Love to win the Knockout’s Championship for the first time.
During her tenure in Impact Wrestling, she became a five-time Knockout’s Champion. She also is a one-time Knockout’s Tag Team Champion alongside Brooke Tessmacher, known collectively as TnT. Over the four years that she spent with the company, Tara brought out the best in herself and her opponents.
Alongside her pet tarantula, Poison, Tara started outshining in Impact Wrestling and left her mark by the time she left in July of 2013. While things became rocky near the end of Tara’s run, she had already accomplished all there was to do. The real-life Lisa Marie Varon once stated she’d never return to the company. However, I’d hope a potential Hall of Fame nod could persuade her.
4. Taya Valkyrie
For over an entire year, Taya Valkyrie reigned dominant as the Knockouts Champion. Her run with the championship gave her the record for the longest reign at 377 days, breaking Terrell’s previous record of 279 days by nearly one hundred days. She reigned supreme in Impact Wrestling for the entire year in 2019 before losing the title to Jordynne Grace this past January.
During her historic reign as Knockout’s champion, Taya defeated some of the absolute bests the company had to offer. She would first defeat Tessa Blanchard to win the title, who she would also face for the Impact World Championship marking the first-ever women’s singles match for the world championship.
She would go on to defend her championship against the likes of Grace, Jessica Havok, Su Yung, and even ODB. Taya did some of her best work during her reign as champion alongside her husband, John Hennigan/Johnny Impact, and John E Bravo, who was just shot at his own wedding! A wedding that Taya was the maid of honor at, could she be involved?