January 9th, 2011
Opening Match: TNA X Division Title: Jay Lethal © vs. Kazarian
Lethal connects with a baseball slide before the bell. He snaps off a hurricanrana and lands a dive to the floor. Lethal runs up the apron and moonsaults onto Kazarian. In the ring, Lethal catapults Kazarian into the turnbuckles and connects with a leg lariat. He hits a back suplex but walks into a spinebuster variation. Kazarian hits a gutwrench suplex and takes control. Lethal comes back with a handspring elbow. He tries for a springboard maneuver, but Kazarian slingshots him back into the ring and hits an ace crusher. They battle up top and Lethal hits a sunset bomb. He follows with the Lethal Combination for a nearfall. Kazarian hits a slingshot DDT but Lethal fires back with a flurry of strikes. He goes up top but Kazarian catches him with an enzuigiri. The referee gets bumped and Kazarian crotches Lethal on the top rope. Kazarian hits his reverse tombstone to become the new X Division Champion at 11:44. Solid opening contest that suffered from its circumstances. It was pretty obvious that Kazarian was taking the title and as a result, there wasn’t much suspense or excitement down the stretch. Additionally, Kazarian didn’t seem overly determined to win this match, despite his job possibly being on the line. Aside from those criticisms, they still managed to deliver some quality wrestling. **¾
AJ Styles and Ric Flair are in Eric Bischoff’s office. Flair reveals that Styles cannot wrestle tonight. Bischoff undermines Styles’ injury and goes on a tangent. Styles explains his injury and Bischoff basically calls him worthless. Flair tries to calm everyone down.
Match #2: TNA Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne © vs. Mickie James
Mickie connects with a dropkick and applies an arm submission. After all, she injured Tara’s arm. Rayne attempts to regroup on the floor. Mickie gives chase and Rayne outsmarts her to take control. The crowd chants “you can’t wrestle” at Rayne. Mickie takes her down with a snapmare and connects with another dropkick. Mickie snaps off a hurricanrana and goes up top. Rayne throws her down to the canvas and regains control. Mickie fights back with a wheelbarrow slam and a series of strikes. She hits a flapjack and spanks Rayne in the corner. Rayne pokes her in the eye but falls victim to a neckbreaker. Mickie comes off the top rope with a thesz press and looks to hit a DDT. Tara’s music starts to play and she comes down to ringside. Mickie goes out to confront her while Rayne plays dead in the ring. Back in, Rayne hits Mickie with a loaded glove to retain her title at 10:28. I appreciate the fact that they gave the Knockouts ten minutes on pay per view. However, Rayne’s uninspired offense combined with the screwy finish made for a merely average match. Nevertheless, putting Mickie in longer matches on pay per view is probably the best bet for the Knockouts division. **
Christy Hemme interviews Fortune backstage. Kazarian celebrates his title win as Beer Money prepare for their match. Eric Bischoff announces that Abyss will replace AJ Styles later tonight. He promises that Immortal will win all of the gold tonight.
Match #3: TNA World Tag Team Titles: Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley © vs. James Storm and Robert Roode
Shelley and Roode start with some chain wrestling. Shelley connects with a spin kick and the MCMG follow with their signature double teams. Sabin dropkicks Storm off the apron and the MCMG land stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, Shelley misses a flying double stomp and Roode catches him with a northern lariat. Storm adds a neckbreaker and Beer Money isolate Shelley. He hits sliced bread on Storm but Roode barely prevents the tag. Shelley catches Storm with an enzuigiri and flatlines Roode into the middle turnbuckle. Sabin punts Storm from the apron and Shelley finally makes the tag. Sabin snaps off a headscissors on Roode and connects with a hesitation dropkick. He suplexes Storm onto Roode and comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana on Roode. Shelley hits an impressive assisted-DDT on Roode and follows with a flying double stomp. Storm hits a backcracker on Shelley but walks into an enzuigiri. From the floor, Storm spits beer into Sabin’s eyes and Roode hits a spinebuster for a nearfall. Shelley lands a plancha to the floor onto Storm. The MCMG connect with stereo enzuigiris on Roode and hit their splash-neckbreaker combination but Storm pulls the referee out of the ring during the pin attempt. Shelley takes out Storm with a dive. Roode hits a northern lights suplex on Sabin. Storm superkicks Shelley out of the ring. Beer Money hit DWI on Sabin for a nearfall. Sabin escapes a second attempt but accidentally yakuza kicks Shelley. Roode rolls up Sabin to make Beer Money the new TNA World Tag Team Champions at 17:57. It’s almost impossible for these two teams to have a bad match together. They kept things interesting early on and the action flowed nicely into an exciting finishing stretch. While the result wasn’t really in doubt, they were still able to generate some believable nearfalls and keep the crowed invested. With all of that said, these two teams have wrestled each other a lot recently and this wasn’t their best match. I slightly preferred their match at Victory Road last year as well as their final match in the best of five series. However, those previous encounters shouldn’t detract from this contest, which featured both teams working hard to deliver once again. ***½
Match #4: Bully Ray vs. Brother Devon
They start brawling on the entrance ramp. Devon chokes Ray with wires and hits him with a water bottle. The action eventually enters the ring where Ray suddenly tries to make amends. Devon blocks a low blow and unleashes a flurry of offense. Ray attempts to leave through the crowd but Devon stops him. They exchange punches and Devon hits Ray with a fan’s shoe. In the ring, Ray connects with a double axe handle and takes over. Devon blocks a charge. He comes off the middle rope but Ray catches him with an ace crusher. Devon hits a spinebuster but Ray crotches him on the top rope. Ray hits a superplex and grabs a chain. Devon finds success with a back body drop, knocking the chain out of Ray’s hand. Devon picks up the chain and hits Ray with it, drawing a disqualification at 11:04. This brawl topped the low expectations that I had and ended up being somewhat enjoyable. They didn’t set the world on fire but they put over their hatred for each other and worked hard. The finish implies a rematch and I could see these two putting together something worthwhile with some kind of stipulation involved. **¼
Devon continues to attack with the chain after the match. The crowd chants “let them fight” as referees hold Devon back. Ray tries for a cheap shot and they trade punches. Ray sneaks in a low blow and leaves Devon laying in the ring.
Match #5: TNA Television Title: Douglas Williams © vs. Abyss
Williams’ left hand is wrapped from AJ Styles’ attack on Impact. Abyss tries to stomp the hand but Williams avoids his boot. Williams misses a charge and Abyss slams his injured hand into the ringpost. He also slams Williams’ hand into the ring steps and takes control back in the ring. Williams comes off the middle rope with an uppercut and connects with a knee strike. He impressively hits a back suplex, considering his hand is injured. Williams comes off the top rope with a knee strike but runs into a chokeslam. Abyss grabs Janice from under the ring. While the referee is distracted, AJ Styles enters the ring and hits Williams with his title. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam to become the new Television Champion at 9:46. They worked a sensible match but that doesn’t mean it was exciting. I have mixed feelings toward the finish, as Abyss shouldn’t need help to defeat an injured Williams. This was obviously last-minute booking to work around Styles’ injury, but this wasn’t the ideal way to end Williams’ reign. *½
Rob Van Dam and Eric Bischoff are arguing backstage. RVD says that he wants to wrestle “Hardy” tonight and nobody else. Bischoff tells him to be careful what he wishes for. RVD makes his way to the ring. Jeremy Borash introduces his opponent…MATT HARDY…
Match #6: Rob Van Dam vs. Matt Hardy
Hardy offers a handshake, saying “I’m not my brother.” He sneaks in a cheap shot but RVD responds with a spin kick. RVD connects with a springboard thrust kick and knocks Hardy off the apron. Hardy avoids a plancha but RVD catches him with a moonsault off the apron. In the ring, RVD lands a flying crossbody. Hardy sends him into the turnbuckles and spikes him with a bulldog. He takes control until RVD catches him coming off the middle rope with a kick. Hardy hits the Side Effect and maintains the advantage. RVD comes back with a series of strikes and hits Rolling Thunder. He lands the Five Star Frog Splash for a nearfall. The referee only counts two because Hardy’s hand was under the bottom rope. Hardy hits the Twist of Fate. RVD’s foot is under the bottom rope, but the referee counts anyway, giving Hardy the win at 11:51. Incredibly ineffective debut. Hardy looked sluggish and out of shape. His offense was uninspired and outside of his signature moves, he was struggling to get through the match. The finish also left me dumbfounded, as it benefited nobody. I don’t think 2011 will be the year of the Hardy brothers. *
Match #7: MMA Exhibition: Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle
There will be three two-minute rounds. The first round starts with Jarrett keeping his distance. Angle lays down on the mat but Jarrett refuses to wrestle. Angle finally applies a rear naked choke when the round comes to an end. Angle tries various submissions in round two but Jarrett constantly uses the ropes to escape. Jarrett finds himself in a cross armbreaker and an ankle lock but gets saved by the bell. The third round begins…NOW! I’m just trying to be enthusiastic. Wait a minute, Jarrett gets disqualified for punching Angle with 1:30 left in the round. Jarrett continues the attack and Angle is busted open. Jarrett announces his retirement from MMA and says that Karen Angle will be appearing at the retirement party. I’m not going to bother with a rating. This was a complete waste of time and a terrible payoff to Jarrett’s MMA “exhibitions.” Basically a poorly executed Impact segment…except on pay per view.
Match #8: Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson
The winner will become the #1 contender for the TNA World Title. Morgan asserts his power advantage early on. He dominates for the first five minutes, with Anderson getting barely any offense in. Morgan misses the Carbon Footprint and Anderson sends him into the guardrail. Morgan recovers by ramming Anderson into the ringpost. In the ring, Morgan connects with repeated elbow strikes. Anderson clips his knee and goes to work on the left leg. Morgan fights back with a chokeslam but Anderson responds with the Mic Check. They trade punches and Morgan connects with the Carbon Footprint. Anderson ducks a boot and hits another Mic Check. They bump heads and Anderson pulls off a small package for the victory at 15:23. They kept an extremely deliberate pace and slowly lost the crowd as the match progressed. There’s really not much to say except that this was a disappointing outing that was advertised as the main event. Besides, this match was simply used to setup what was to come. **¼
Eric Bischoff comes out after the match and congratulates Anderson on his victory. He’s not going to play any mind games and gives Anderson his title match right now…
Match #9: TNA World Title: Jeff Hardy © vs. Mr. Anderson
Hardy isn’t even dressed to wrestle. He hits the Twist of Fate for a two count. Another Twist of Fate gets a nearfall. Anderson throws him to the floor, where Matt Morgan takes Hardy out with a discus clothesline. Back in, Anderson hits a neckbreaker but Hardy answers with Whisper in the Wind. The action goes to the floor where Hardy grabs a steel chair. Mick Foley appears and takes the chair away. Ric Flair comes out to confront Foley and security separates them. In the ring, Hardy lands the swantan for a nearfall. Anderson hits a finlay roll out of nowhere but gets taken down by a clothesline. Matt Hardy comes to the ring but Rob Van Dam stops him. They brawl to the back. Bischoff enters the ring but Anderson lays him out with the Mic Check. Anderson escapes the Twist of Fate and hits the Mic Check on Hardy to become the new TNA World Champion at 9:06. I’m not sure what the situation is with Hardy, but I agree with taking the title off of him here. They successfully incorporated several elements of the feud and made the title change seem somewhat believable in the process. This match was more about the run-ins, so I don’t think a rating would apply.
Overall: Genesis 2011 is one of those pay per views that showcases what is wrong with TNA. There’s only one match that cracks three stars and the second half of the show was a chore to watch. AJ Styles getting injured was obviously a setback, but TNA wasn’t even close to earning a recommendation with this show. There’s also the atrocious debut of Matt Hardy and the terrible Jarrett/Angle exhibition. I wouldn’t waste your time seeking out any of these matches, especially because the MCMG and Beer Money have done better. The year might have changed, but the pay per view quality has definitely stayed the same.
Results coming out of the Impact tapings would seem to indicate a MCMG split is coming. TNA is ridiculous; even the few good things they do have they insist in fucking up.