TNA Genesis airs tonight, and it is the first PPV of the Hogan Era. It has been set up entirely by the last two weeks of television, so...not a lot of build. TNA has announced the final card which, of course, is subject to change. I'll break it down match by match, and give you my thoughts.
D'ANGELO DINERO vs DESMOND WOLFE
Backstory: Desmond Wolfe faced The Pope on the January 4th Impact and got pinned in a fluke roll-up. This week, he beat Samoa Joe, and taunted Dinero who was providing commentary. That's...pretty much it. Their match on Impact was pretty good. Wolfe is a great technical wrestler and Dinero is very athletic. Their match lost something when Dinero kept forgetting to sell his arm, which was the point of Wolfe's offense. One other x-factor to note is that Dinero had a run-in with Orlando Jordan on the January 4th Impact, and Jordan was mentioned again this week, so I would expect him to play a role in the finish of this bout.
Winner: Desmond Wolfe due to Orlando Jordan shenanigans.
SEAN MORELY vs DANIELS
Backstory: Morely, of course, is the former Val Venis. He debuted in TNA on January 4th doing a straight riff on the Venis gimmick, but this week he had morphed into an "Artiste". He claimed to be the leading internet distributor of fine cinema, which is kind of insulting in this day and age, and he wanted to launch the TNA Film Division. Daniels came out, acting like a fan boy, before laying him out with his patented offense that looks ridiculous on a guy that much larger than him. The TNA crowd popped for that, but Daniels - like a good soldier - heeled out...we're supposed to take the wrestling purist as the heel and the film maker as a face. All that said, this could be a good bout if they are given any time to work with. Expect Daniels to eat the fall, though.
Winner: Sean Morely.
ABYSS vs BOBBY LASHLEY
- Lashley is trying to get out of his TNA contract so he can focus on MMA. Hogan, apparently, is refusing...despite telling EVERYBODY that they have to "earn" their spots. To further muddy the waters, Hogan is giving interviews talking about how he's going to force Lashley to put TNA first. On Impact this week, Lashley destroyed Lethal Consequences and threatened to keep destroying the TNA roster until he gets his release. In response, Hogan and Bischoff have pitted Lashley against Abyss. Personally, I think it's a bait and switch: Lashley attacks Abyss before the match, demolishing him, and his wife cuts another heat generating promo.
Winner: No match, but Lashley is the only one left standing.
BEER MONEY, INC. vs SCOTT HALL & KEVIN NASH
- Beer Money got laid out on the January 4th Impact, apparently by Hall, Nash and Waltman doing their best nWo impression. This week, they demanded a match with Hall and Nash, and Bischoff has granted it. There was a brawl on Impact this week that turned into a 3 on 2 thanks to Waltman before Bischoff ended the fight. Hall and Nash, of course, were The Outsiders - a major tag team with no real accomplishment other than killing the WCW tag team division. Beer Money, Inc. consists of, arguably, the two best tag team wrestlers in TNA's history. That said, there is no way The Band is losing this fast. Beer Money's putting them over, with the justification that they have to "build a story".
Winners: Hall and Nash.
TNA X Division Championship
Amazing Red (c) vs To Be Determined
- Red has been the invisible X Division champion for a few months. His one appearance the last two weeks was the cluster of a Steel Asylum match that garnered Bullsh*t chants. No speculation on who his opponent is, but look to Red dropping the belt. My money's on Sean Waltman, personally.
Winner: Not Amazing Red.
TNA Knockouts Championship - Best Two out of Three Falls
ODB(c) vs Tara
- These two have had an issue for several weeks, with ODB pinning Tara with a handful of tights on the January 4th Impact to end a second short Knockouts title reign. The bad news is, that match was pretty bad. The worse news is, this match is best two out of three falls. Let's hope they work out the kinks this go around.
Winner: Too close to call, as I'm not sure Hogan and Bischoff consider the Knockouts division to be a priority.
TNA Tag Team Championship
THE BRITISH INVASION(c) vs MATT MORGAN & HERNANDEZ
- The British Invasion have been invisible on TV the last two weeks. Morgan and Hernandez squashed Raven and Dr. Stevie in order to win the title opportunity. On Impact this week, they were attacked by Rob Terry, the manager/bodyguard of The British Invasion. I would say there's a terribly good chance that Morgan and Hernandez are winning some gold.
Winners: Morgan/Hernandez and its not even close.
TNA World Heavyweight Title Match/Angle's Last Shot At Styles In 2010
AJ STYLES(c) vs KURT ANGLE
- AJ pinned Angle in a fatal four way to win the title, and Angle had AJ locked in the Ankle Lock at the time limit on an Impact rematch. It took months for Angle to get his title match, but it happened on the January 4th Impact, when AJ pinned Angle clean, even after being attacked by Tomko during the match. Hogan declared Styles and Angle the two best wrestlers in the world, and they made a rematch for Genesis. On Impact this week, Tomko attacked AJ again, and got a title shot, but failed to win. Ric Flair has been watching Styles for the last two weeks as well, and Styles was acting a little, well, heelish last week. "Last Shot" stips usually mean a title change, but - especially if AJ does turn heel at Genesis - then AJ winning really makes sense, as it gives Kurt a reason for serious frustration. I think AJ does retain, as his push is what Hogan and Bischoff are using to justify bringing in the Hogan Australian tour.
Winner: AJ Styles with shenanigans.
The Debut of TNA's Newest Talent Acquisition
- Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Sean Waltman, Ric Flair, Orlando Jordan, Jeff Hardy, Shannon Moore and The Nasty Boys all debuted on January 4th. Hogan is pushing a huge acquisition for Genesis. Speculation seems to be Ken "Kennedy" Anderson or Rob Van Dam, arguably the two largest free agents in wrestling right now. A looong shot would be the arrival of Shane McMahon, who left the WWE on January 1st...however, he seems far more interested in MMA than wrestling at this point.
Conspicuous by Their Absence
- Sting has been watching "The Band" from the rafters the last two weeks, and they ran an angle where he was ticked about Hogan coming in...which is weird, because the last time Hogan and Sting were in WCW together, they were on the same side.
- The Nasty Boys spent two weeks trashing Team 3D's locker room, and attacked them this week. No match has been announced, but I bet we at least get a backstage fight.
- TNA Global Champion Eric Young hasn't been seen for more than just seconds the last few weeks and isn't on the card.
- Samoa Joe choked out Abyss on January 4th and jobbed clean to Desmond Wolfe, but isn't on the PPV despite having a title shot, if The Hogan Regime doesn't ignore Feast or Fired.
- The Beautiful People exploded on Impact this week, with Angelina Love returning and attacking them...but they aren't scheduled for the PPV.
- The TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Kong and HAmada are also not on the card.
- Rhino was supposed to wrestle Abyss January 4th and was laid out. However, he hasn't come back seeking revenge and isn't on the card.
- Jeff Jarrett cut a very face-ish promo on Impact January 4th and Hogan tried to out-face him and utterly failed...so Jarrett did a full heel turn this week. Despite being told he would have to "earn his spot", he's not scheduled for the show.
- Mick Foley is MIA, but that's his gimmick right now.
That pretty much covers all the bases for this PPV. To be honest, I haven't seen anything compelling enough to make me want to order it these last two weeks, but your mileage may vary.
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