episode of Impact Wrestling, James challenged Kim for the championship, but was defeated following interference from Rayne. On the January 5, 2012, episode of Impact Wrestling, James and Traci Brooks failed to capture the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship from Kim and Rayne. Three days later at Genesis, James lost another championship match against Kim, after being disqualified for using the brass knuckles that were thrown into the ring by Rayne, who was locked in a cage suspended in the air during the match. On the January 19 episode of Impact Wrestling, James defeated Rayne in a steel cage match. On the January 26 episode of Impact Wrestling, James and Velvet Sky were defeated by Tara in a three-way number one contender's match for the Knockouts Championship. On the April 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, James was defeated by Sky in a six-way number one contenders match, also involving Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, Tara, and Winter. On the June 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, James again failed to earn a shot at the Knockouts Championship when she was defeated by Ms. Tessmacher in a four-way match that also included Tara and Velvet Sky, while also showing signs of a heel turn due to jealousy of Sky. On the June 21 episode of Impact Wrestling, James was chosen over Sky as the next challenger for the Knockouts Championship, but failed to recapture the title from Ms. Tessmacher. James' storyline with Sky ended abruptly the following month, when Sky was granted her release from TNA. On the August 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, James unsuccessfully competed in a four-way number one contenders match involving Gail Kim, Tara and the eventual winner Madison Rayne. After a three-month absence, James returned on the November 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, winning a Knockouts battle royal to become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. On December 9 at Final Resolution, James was unsuccessful in winning the championship from Tara after a distraction from her boyfriend Jesse. James received another shot at the championship on the December 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, but was again defeated by Tara. On January 13, 2013, at the Genesis pay-per-view, James competed in a five-woman gauntlet match to determine the number one contender to the Knockout Championship, but was eliminated by Gail Kim. On the April 18 of Impact Wrestling, James defeated Ms. Tessmacher to become the number one