This went unreported in some TNA iMPACT! spoiler reports, but Awesome Kong’s manager Raisha Saeed wrestled without her hood on in a dark match prior to last night’s taping in Orlando. Instead, Saeed assumed her longtime indy wrestling persona, Cheerleader Melissa. The gimmick is her coming out in a cheerleader outfit with pom-pons. To see a photo of Raisha Saeed making her entrance in the Impact Zone without her hood on from last night, go to http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/6511/melissaxe6.jpg. Thanks to JLMODELPHOTOGRAPHY for the picture. No word yet if the Raisha Saeed persona is being dropped, although she can portray two gimmicks at once. If you recall, Mike Bucci assumed his old ECW persona, Hollywood Nova, for the short-lived return of the Blue World Order in the summer of 2005 while he was still portraying Simon Dean.
A brand new TNA Knockout looks to be on the way. Cheerleader Melissa’s opponent at last night’s iMPACT! taping was none other than SHIMMER/Ring of Honor women’s wrestler Daizee Haze. Haze lost to Melissa in the dark match. According to PWInsider.com, there are plans for the two to wrestle at tonight’s iMPACT! taping. To see a picture of “The Haze” making her entrance in the Impact Zone last night, go to http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/6995/dazeemi2.jpg. Thanks to JLMODELPHOTOGRAPHY for the picture. Haze returns to the company after a four year hiatus. When she was starting out in wrestling and trying to make a name for herself, Haze worked a few matches on TNA’s syndicated show Xplosion. She last appeared in a TNA ring in early 2004.
As noted earlier, former WWE developmental women’s wrestler Shantelle Taylor is in Orlando for this week’s TNA iMPACT! tapings and expected to make her television debut. Courtesy of JLMODELPHOTOGRAPHY, you can see photos of Taylor’s TNA tryout match with Raisha Saaed at the 4/16 iMPACT! tapings at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl_model/sets/72157604580564901/.
