Saturday’s “Hard To Kill” pay-per-view event marked the night that IMPACT Wrestling resurrected the TNA Wrestling name it was founded as back in 2002, starting a new chapter for the company entering 2024.

Kicking off that new era in a big way was TNA Knockout Gisele Shaw. The leader of The Shawntourage secured a match with new TNA Knockouts World champion Jordynne Grace by winning the second-ever women’s Ultimate X match.

Similar to a ladder match, an Ultimate X match sees an “X” hung above the ring and the winner is the first to unhook and take possession of it. Unlike a ladder match, two cables are strung 10-15ft above the ring in an “X,” and the “X” is suspended where the cables meet. Wrestlers must navigate the cables to reach the center and claim the title.

Shaw battled Xia Brookside, Tasha Steelz, Dani Luna, Jody Threat and Alisha Edwards in TNA’s signature match to secure her shot at gold, securing the “X” hanging high above the ring after fending off Steelz and Luna from her precarious position atop the cables above the ring.

The win places Shaw next to Steelz as the only women to win an Ultimate X match. In addition, Shaw joins “Speedball” Mike Bailey as the only out LGBTQ pro wrestlers to claim victory in Ultimate X.

“The Quintessential Diva” clearly has the TNA Knockouts World title in her sights after the win, but securing her first major moment under the rechristened TNA banner held significance given her feelings about what the return to that name represents.

“It’s amazing… TNA really gave the Knockouts opportunities at the time that weren’t given in other companies,” Shaw said during a Dec. 2023 appearance on the LGBT In The Ring podcast. “They really revolutionized the women’s division, women’s wrestling in general. There’s a lot of things that they did that were firsts.”

“One of my dreams is to be in that ring, to be working for that company,” she added. “It’s another check for me in my career.”

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