Renee Michelle Enters the Knockouts Knockdown Tournament

The highly anticipated return of Knockouts Knockdown grows closer and closer, and another day brings more news regarding the eight-woman tournament that will take place at the event. Gail Kim revealed that the tournament will feature four of Impact's regular Knockouts, as well four of the most talented women from various promotions, and earlier in the week, Mercedes Martinez and Lady Frost were announced as the first two entrants in the tournament. A third was just revealed very recently, and it was none other than Renee Michelle.

Born in Washington, DC, Renee Michelle has competed for eight years, and has done so for promotions such as Shine Wrestling and Queens of Combat. She is, perhaps, best known for her local work, as she was a regular for Maryland Championship Wrestling--and was even their first Women's Champion, later going on to hold the title four times. Renee is a nine-time champion overall in the independent circuit, but recent years would see her featured on much larger spotlights.

Renee participated in the first Mae Young Classic in 2017, but was defeated in Round 1 by eventual NXT regular (and future NXT Women's Tag Team Champion) Candice LeRae. Regarding her personal life, Renee is the real-life wife of current WWE star Drake Maverick (best known to Impact fans as Rockstar Spud), and it was in 2019 that their relationship took center stage on WWE TV. It was part of an angle where Drake became obsessed with capturing the 24/7 Championship from R-Truth, who actually won the title from Drake during his wedding to Renee. We would see segments where Drake's obsession was affecting his honeymoon with Renee, who became frustrated as a result.

At first, Renee's frustration was directed towards Drake's obsession with the title, but at the Raw Reunion, Renee turned heel in solidarity with Drake, as she blamed R-Truth and Carmella for her husband's antics and vowed that he would regain the title, which Drake briefly did with Renee's help. We would actually see Renee compete on Raw for the first (and only) time), as she and Drake faced Truth and Carmella for the title, only for the latter team to emerge victorious.

Since Renee's brief tenure in WWE, she has appeared a number of times on other main promotions such as All Elite Wrestling and even Impact; with the latter appearance seeing her accompany another of my faves in Killer Kelly. Renee and Kelly participated in the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament, but were defeated in Round 1 by Jordynne Grace and Jazz. What I've also noticed regarding Renee: she has often acted as a heel quite a lot lately. I loved Renee's work as a face, and at that time, I never thought of her working as a heel. The last few years have seen Renee embrace her villainous side, and that included a recent match where she served as the very first opponent for AEW interviewer/hostess Dasha Gonzalez. She also served as a villainous foe for Shaul Guerrero in the ring, and on social media, and from what I read, Renee is definitely basking in being an antagonist, and doing very well in the role. I expect Renee to be a villainess at Knockouts Knockdown, but regardless, I know she'll show out.

So Renee's addition leaves only one non-Knockout slot remaining for the tournament, as the other four women will be chosen from Impact's regular Knockouts roster. In addition to the tournament, the Knockouts Championship and the Knockouts Tag Team Championship will be defended, and a Monster's Ball match will also take place, as well as a dedication to Daffney. Knockouts Knockdown takes place on October 9.

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