Xia Brookside remains the TNA Knockouts World Champion, but her latest successful title defense on the September 10 episode of TNA Impact came with a major asterisk. Brookside defeated Gabby Forza after using the Knockouts title belt during a confrontation on the entrance ramp involving Indi Hartwell and authority figure Daria Rae.
Forza entered the match seeking the biggest victory of her young TNA career and, for much of the contest, looked capable of pulling off the upset. The challenger showed power, resilience and urgency in her first-ever shot at the Knockouts World Championship. She repeatedly had Brookside in trouble, including after a late Vader Bomb that left the champion looking for a way out rather than a way to fight.
Brookside ultimately found that opening when Hartwell appeared. While Hartwell and Rae were occupied in an argument, the champion struck Forza with the belt and secured the pinfall to keep her championship reign intact.
A disputed path to the championship match
The Forza-Brookside title match arrived following a contentious development one week earlier. Hartwell had made Brookside submit in the center of the ring, a result that appeared to make a powerful case for Hartwell as the next challenger. Instead, Rae awarded the championship opportunity to Forza.
For more background on this topic, read Fabian Aichner Qualifies for X-Division Title Scramble at TNA Bound for Glory.
Rae’s explanation centered on Forza having “left a better impression” on her than Hartwell. The decision immediately placed Hartwell on the outside of the title picture despite her clear in-ring statement against the champion. It also gave Forza an enormous chance only months into her TNA tenure.
That unresolved issue proved central to the outcome on Thursday. Hartwell’s presence prevented Brookside from simply retreating when the match slipped away from her, but it also created the confusion the champion needed to turn the bout in her favor. As a result, Brookside survived Forza, while Hartwell was again left with a reason to question both Rae’s decisions and the direction of the Knockouts division.
For Brookside, the victory counts as another defense on her growing championship record. Yet it did little to settle the question raised by Hartwell’s prior submission win. If anything, the champion’s decision to use the title as a weapon added further fuel to the rivalry waiting in the background.
Gabby Forza brings the fight to Brookside
Forza did not approach her first Knockouts World Title match cautiously. From the opening moments, she brought a physical style that Brookside struggled to handle. The challenger drove Brookside face-first into the mat, then knocked the champion off balance with a shoulder tackle.
Forza attempted to continue that early surge by lifting Brookside for a potential slam. Brookside, however, showed the kind of opportunism that has helped her keep control of the championship since winning it. She escaped the challenger’s grasp with a poke to the eye and immediately went on offense.
Brookside targeted Forza with a sequence of stomps before hitting a sliding elbow in the corner. The champion followed that attack with more stomps and knees, working to take away the momentum Forza had generated at the bell. It was a familiar adjustment from Brookside: rather than match Forza’s power, she used quickness, positioning and rule-bending tactics to make the challenger fight from underneath.
Forza was not deterred. She stopped an Irish whip attempt and fought back with a pair of clotheslines, restoring the physical edge that had made her such a threat early in the match. After Brookside was spun around and slammed down, the champion attempted to leave the ring and avoid further punishment. Forza immediately pulled her back inside.
The challenger’s strongest sequence came when Brookside tried to change the match with a crossbody. Forza caught her in mid-air instead, preventing the champion from using her speed and turning the situation back into a showcase of power. Forza later delivered an Okla-Gnome-A Stamped and followed it with a devastating Vader Bomb.
That Vader Bomb sent Brookside rolling out of the ring and heading toward the backstage area with the title in hand. The champion appeared prepared to abandon the match rather than absorb another attack from Forza. Before she could reach the back, though, Hartwell emerged on the ramp. Rae followed shortly afterward, and the issue of the championship match decision became impossible to ignore.
Chaos at ringside decides the result
The confrontation between Hartwell and Rae diverted attention at the exact moment Brookside needed it most. With the challenger vulnerable to a sudden change in circumstances, Brookside used the championship belt to strike Forza. The belt shot gave the champion the opening to cover Forza and score the decisive pinfall.
It was a finish that demonstrated Brookside’s survival instincts while denying Forza a clean conclusion to a performance that had established her as a credible contender. Forza had the champion reeling and had forced her to seek escape. But a first world title match can turn on a single moment, and Forza was unable to overcome the combined effect of Brookside’s tactics and the distraction unfolding nearby.
Brookside’s decision also leaves the champion exposed to criticism. She did not simply withstand Forza’s best offense and win through conventional means. She used the title itself as a weapon after Hartwell and Rae’s dispute shifted the focus away from the action. The victory keeps the championship around Brookside’s waist, but it gives both Forza and Hartwell legitimate grounds to argue that the result did not provide a definitive answer.
Rae had previously said Forza had “left a better impression” than Hartwell, despite Hartwell making Brookside tap out in the middle of the ring.
Brookside continues a busy reign
Brookside won the TNA Knockouts World Championship by defeating Lei Ying Lee at Slammiversary. Since then, she has continued to fend off challengers, retaining the title against Wendy Choo, Elayna Black and Lee in a rematch. The successful defense over Forza adds another name to that list.
The circumstances around this latest victory, though, make it different from a routine defense. Brookside is still champion, and the record will show that she pinned Forza. At the same time, the champion’s escape was directly connected to the ongoing disagreement between Hartwell and Rae. That dispute had already influenced who received the title match, and it now influenced how the match ended.
Hartwell’s position is especially notable. She owns a recent submission victory over Brookside, something no amount of administrative reasoning can erase. Rae may have viewed Forza as the wrestler who made the stronger recent impression, but Hartwell’s appearance during the title match ensured that her own claim remains part of the conversation.
Forza, meanwhile, leaves her fourth TNA match without the championship but with more credibility than she had before the bell. TNA announced her signing last month after she impressed during the Knockouts Television Championship tournament. A world title opportunity this early in her run underlined that impression, and her performance against Brookside showed why she was placed in such a high-pressure situation.
What the result means for the Knockouts division
The immediate outcome is simple: Brookside is still the TNA Knockouts World Champion. The larger picture is considerably less settled. Hartwell has a direct sporting argument after making the champion submit, and she has now become intertwined with the finish of Brookside’s defense against Forza. Forza has an argument of her own after coming within striking distance of a breakthrough before being hit with the belt.
Rae’s role will also remain under scrutiny. Her choice to move ahead with Forza rather than Hartwell was the key decision behind the match. Once Rae arrived on the ramp and confronted Hartwell, the authority figure became part of the distraction that allowed Brookside to retain. Whether that was intentional was not established, but the impact on the championship result was unmistakable.
Brookside has repeatedly found ways to retain since capturing the title at Slammiversary. Her reign continues, but the champion now has challengers with very different reasons to pursue her. Hartwell wants recognition for her submission win. Forza will want another chance after the championship belt cost her at a crucial moment. And Brookside, having survived another difficult night, will have to prove that she can keep the title when there is nowhere left to run.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.