The Heel Turn: Big changes in Impact

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There have been a couple of big title changes lately on Impact Wrestling.

Gail Kim, who recently made her return to TNA, was paired rather haphazardly with Madison Rayne. The unlikely partners immediately got a title shot for the Knockouts tag belts against current champs Tara and Brooke Tessmacher. Kim and Rayne managed to win, with the help of Karen Jarrett, who still remains in control of the Knockouts division despite Immortal not being the ruling power anymore. Sooner or later Impact GM Sting will have to remove Jarrett from her position and put someone else there who will show a more unbiased judgement towards the Knockouts. Traci Brooks would fit the bill perfectly, as she already has experience in that job.

It's great that TNA is pushing Kim, something that the WWE seemed to drop the ball on. The only problem with that is perhaps they are building her up too quickly. Kim is an extremely skilled wrestler, but to have her making such short work of Tara is very questionable, as Tara has always been one of the most physically dominant female wrestlers in the business. Kim is on fire, though, with her brand-new aggressive attitude. It would be interesting to see how her vicious streak matches up against Jackie or ODB.

The TNA heavyweight championship also changed hands last week, as Cowboy James Storm offered a title shot to his friend and tag partner Bobby Roode. The two competitors showed respect to each other throughout the match until referee Brian Hebner fell out of the ring with an injured knee. While Hebner was distracted, Roode did the unthinkable and smashed a beer bottle over Storm's head. This treacherous act allowed him to get the pin and become new heavyweight champ.

Roode's action guarantees the end of Beer Money as a tag team, and very likely will destroy the unity of Fortune. Whether this was a true heel turn or simply a desperate resort by Roode to win the belt, he has some explaining to do next week to both Storm and all the Impact fans. Losing Beer Money would be a major hit to the tag team division, but both guys have enough talent to be pushed hard as singles wrestlers at the main event level. It also could make for a highly interesting and brutal feud between two former friends turned bitter enemies, all over what Storm refers to as a "belt buckle."