Christy Hemme announced on Wednesday that she was retiring from active competition but is staying with TNA as an on-air talent. Shortly after that, it was announced that Lauren Brooke would be leaving TNA as she is getting married soon and would like to focus on other opportunities.
Christy suffered a neck injury in the early part of 2009 that kept her out of action for most of the year. She returned to the ring in August and her final match took place in October when she fought Traci Brooks in the Battle of the Playboy Models match. Since then, Christy has been used in a backstage role as an interviewer.
Lauren joined TNA in April 2008 to replace Crystal Louthan as the backstage interviewer. Lauren’s final appearance on Impact was this past Thursday night when she finally snapped and slapped Lacey Von Erich across the face after being berated for the final time. Lauren ran off after the slap and wasn’t seen on television afterwards.
When Lauren joined TNA I was initially hard on her as Crystal was great in her role. Since then, time has shown that Lauren was far superior at the job. Christy now seems to be taking over where Lauren left off and has been in a similar role in TNA when she first arrived in the company.
Given the level of talent in the Knockouts Division, Christy seems to have made a good choice. She has some skills in the ring, but most of the talent (sans Von Erich) is above her in terms of pure ability. A neck injury also isn’t something that should be taken lightly. Christy should fit well with her new role which I feel she is better suited for.
And, no, Lauren is not going to get married to Abyss.
