Down For The Count Meaning

(idiomatic) Decisively beaten; defeated; rendered irrelevant for the long term.

Example: 1912, Harold MacGrath, The Place of Honeymoons, ch. 7:
  â€œBut what puts me down for the count is the action of the fellow. Never showed up; just made her miss two performances.”
1991 Nov. 4, Allan Kozinn, "Despite Odds, Many of Them, A Bedeviled Orchestra Persists," New York Times (retrieved 9 May 2013):
  But every time the music world thought it was down for the count, the orchestra has managed to rise again.
2002 March 11, "Veni, Vidi, Gucci," Time:
  So, while Europe is still groggy and the U.S. is just starting to show signs of a pulse (and Japan of course is still down for the count), little Korea will grow anywhere from 3.2% to 6% this year.