TNA Genesis 2009 - Preview & Predictions

Opening Promo

Total Nonstop Action (TNA; yeah, they really should have selected a better abbreviation) is the number 2 promotion within the wrestling industry. They have been going for over 5 years but honestly, they are not very good. They like to think that they are big and can compete with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) but in reality they can’t. In fact, if Ring Of Honor (ROH; more on them at a later date hopefully) secure a TV deal, then TNA are probably better off looking over their shoulders than into the distance.

The main problem with TNA is that creatively they have very few good ideas and when it comes to booking matches, it is usually a mess. They have a tendency to overbook things (too much interference, run-ins & weapons) and they have no perception of the constant of 'time' as feuds usually run on way too long and people are always pushed many months after they should have been.

The talent in TNA is questionable too, it is there no doubt about it but it is the way it is used. TNA sign a lot of ex-WWE wrestlers and usually give them the top spots automatically and rarely create and build-up their own stars. They use people based on their past glories while forgetting about the younger guys. Case in point, last year they offered contract extensions to Kevin Nash (a guy nearing his 50s who struggles with walking) and Brothers Ray & Devon of Team 3D (two overweight, ageing guys who have not put on a great match in years). On the flipside, they either let go/didn’t offer enough to keep wrestlers that were useful and very talented. People such as Christian Cage (a main eventer, expected to return to WWE soon), Gail Kim (their top babyface female who has already signed back with WWE) and also Rain (just a tremendous all-round wrestler who would have offered loads).

But enough about their shortcomings for the moment (no doubt others will crop up), let’s see if TNA can kick the PPV calendar off with a bang.

The Card

TNA World Heavyweight Championship
"The Icon" Sting (c) vs. "The War Machine" Rhino
This is part of the big ongoing feud in TNA which pits the Main Event Mafia (a group of veteran, former World title winners) against the Frontline (younger guys a little lower down the card). It was a good idea in theory but as so often happens, TNA managed to make a mess of it, but more on that in a moment or so. Sting represents the Mafia while Rhino has become the spokesperson as of late for the Frontline. I’m not entirely sure what Rhino has done to earn the title shot; he beat Sting over a month ago on the weekly TV show - Impact - but then lost his PPV match against Kurt Angle, so the two kind of cancel each other out. But logic and reason rarely apply in TNA so here we are.

Rhino has been a jobber more or less for the past two years so Sting is going to retain here to continue to make him look like a credible champion. Hopefully it will be a clean win in order to give a more significant victory. The match should be of middling quality at the least as these are two very seasoned wrestlers. But truth be told, as a main event it is not particularly appealing.
Prediction: Sting to retain

The Rematch
TNA Founder Jeff Jarrett vs. Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle
Two of the biggest egos in TNA clash once again. Just to give you an idea of how big Angle’s is, he is billed as the leader of the Main Event Mafia even though he does not currently have the top belt in the World Heavyweight title. The Mafia have been accused by the Frontline of holding them back and Jarrett has somewhat sided with them. Which is hugely ironic given that he did the exact same thing when TNA started as he pretty much held the Heavyweight title for the majority of the first 2-3 years.

If the match is like their first one a few months back it should be fine. Jarrett won that one so I suspect Angle gets the rub in this one, though it probably won’t be clean. Jarrett’s guitar will most likely be used.
Prediction: Kurt Angle

Mick Foley's In-Ring Return
‘The Hardcore Legend’ Mick Foley, ‘The Phenomenal’ A.J. Styles & Brother Devon vs. Legends Champion Booker T, ’Big Sexy’ Kevin Nash and "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner
This is another match in the ongoing Frontline versus Mafia feud which has Mick Foley joining up with the Frontline. Now, it is interesting to note that Brother Devon, along with his tag partner Brother Ray, is part of the Frontline. When those two joined that side of the war, that was the moment I lost interest in this feud. Collectively throughout their career, Devon & Ray have held the tag titles over 20-times, so it made sense for them to join Nash, Booker T and the rest in the Mafia. They probably will turn sometime down the line but it was just such a wrong path to take.

On paper, this match looks pretty poor. Nash & Steiner have not had a good match in a very long time and Devon is not much better. This is Foley’s first actual wrestling match for TNA and he is usually good for a couple of matches a year, and he will get in all his trademark moves like ‘The Sock’ but he will probably have a very limited activity overall in the contest. They would have been better off going with a straight Styles/Booker clash as they will probably be carrying both of their respective teams as they are very fine workers. And I’d assume Foley’s team win unless he turns heel on them, which is a bit unlikely.
Prediction: Mick Foley, A.J. Styles & Brother Devon

TNA World Tag Team Title Match
‘Black Machismo’Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed (c) vs. Beer Money (James Storm & Robert Roode) vs. ‘The Monster’ Abyss & ‘The Blueprint’ Matt Morgan
Sigh, the background to this match is unnecessarily complicated. At the start of this week’s Impact, Beer Money were champions. Later on the show, Morgan beat Robert Roode via referee stoppage due to an injury to Roode, which earned him and Abyss a title shot at the PPV. But then Lethal came out with his partner Creed and cashed in his tag title shot briefcase (a few PPVs ago, a couple of wrestlers won briefcases to earn them specific title shots any time they wanted. This is something WWE have been doing for a while, so it is not a new idea). So with Roode out, James Storm had to defend the titles by himself, in his everyday clothes of jeans and t-shirt, but ultimately lost after he was hit with the briefcase. So Lethal & Creed won the belts in an impromptu, handicap match via use of a weapon. And they are meant to be the babyface team. Meanwhile, we feel sympathy for the heels as they lost the titles on a screwjob. That is simply just poor booking and makes no sense whatsoever, and just gives you an example of the stuff TNA does.

So this match is Beer Money’s mandatory rematch and Abyss & Morgan are still in the match as well. Thought those two just seem to be in to further their own storyline in which one will probably turn heel. It is rumoured to be Morgan yet with a moniker like ‘The Monster’, Abyss would make more sense and he has been pretty crap as a face. But Creed & Lethal will retain, as it would be foolish to hot-shot the titles off them, in what should be a decent enough match.
Prediction: Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed to retain

Tournament Final To Crown A New X-Division Champion
Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
The X-Division used to be TNA’s main selling point years ago but when the better wrestlers (namely A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels) moved up the card, it got a bit short in depth and has just merely existed. Due to a series of nonsensical events, the title got vacated hence the tournament which is meant to bring some meaning back to the title. Which is all well and good...except WWE did the exact same thing with their mid-card belt only last month.

But I’m expecting this one to be Match Of The Night, it would be hugely disappointing if it isn’t. Sabin & Shelley is an odd pairing because they are part of a tag team (Motor City Machine Guns) who are long, long overdue a tag title run and it is hard to call a winner. Going on the ridiculous notion that this is the first step to TNA stupidly breaking up the tag team, Shelly will win as he is slightly better at playing the heel role therefore setting Sabin up to get the ultimate win in their feud. Or there might just be a dodgy finish that will hold the belt open to a better candidate next month. It should be noted that the wrestler Homicide won the briefcase to cash in a title shot for the X-title and he could well get involved. But he is also in an established tag team, so things would be back at square one.
Winner: Alex Shelley to win the vacant title

TNA Knockouts Women's Championship - Lumberjack Match
Awesome Kong (c) vs. To Be Determined
The Women’s division has been the one area where TNA have consistently outperformed WWE over the past year or so since its inception. But it is getting to a stage where it is starting to feel a little stale and they still have not settled on a top babyface ever since Gail Kim left in late summer. Now TNA might bring in some new talent soon to keep things fresh; they recently gave tryout matches to both Portia Perez and Ashley Lane from acclaimed promotion SHIMMER (which is well worth your time). The other solution is to make more of the talent they have and in particular Raisha Saeed, who has acted as Kong’s mouthpiece but others have aligned themselves with Kong so that role can now be taken up with anyone. You could get the scenario where Kong ends up beating up Saaed, turning her babyface in the process. Saeed could then lay out Kong the next week and then unmask and in reality she is actually the highly talented Cheerleader Melissa and the pay-off of a Kong/Melissa feud would be gold. But that’s for the (near) future, hopefully.

Now Christy Hemme, who is not a very good wrestler, was due to face Kong but she got injured and they have not announced a replacement yet but best guess would be either Roxxi or Taylor Wilde who would be good babyface foils to Kong’s heel. Or they could go the unexpected route and have someone new or any of the aforementioned women. Now I wouldn’t wish an injury on anyone, but with Hemme out the match will be infinitely better. Kong should be retaining cleanly enough to help get her over after a dodgy appearance last PPV (where Hemme won on a DQ). The lumberjack aspect is just to get as many of the Knockouts on TV as possible.
Prediction: Awesome Kong to retain

Grudge Match
‘Referee’ Shane Sewell vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir
Sewell was a referee who officiated a lot of matches whereby Bashir was on the losing side. Bashir blamed Sewell for the losses and gave him a few beatdowns with Sewell sometimes hitting back out of frustration. Why the TNA management did not see the obvious clash of interests just goes to show how dumb they really are. Anyway Sewell hit back once too much and got fired as a referee but then got immediately re-hired but as a wrestler.

Now I have no idea what Sewell will be like in the ring but Bashir is dependable enough and it will probably be a slow-enough match. Given that TNA will probably want to continue this feud longer, and so as not to make him look bad in his first match, Sewell will probably pick up the win.
Prediction: Shane Sewell

8 Man Tag Team Elimination Match
Eric Young/Shark Boy/LAX (Homicide & Hernandez) vs. Cute Kip/Kiyos/The Rock & Rave Infection (Lance Rock & Jimmy Rave)
This match was just added very late in the day and it isn’t exactly all that thrilling on paper. The fact that it is an elimination match does not really bode well for this contest or the rest of the card, as time will be taken away from the bigger matches. Of the combatants; Shark Boy, Rock & Rave are all jobbers, Kip is living on past glories and Kiyos is some Japanese guy who I haven’t seen much of. Eric Young is a fine wrestler and LAX are a very good tag team so the two teams look a little unbalanced. Regardless this match has no backstory or nothing riding on it so it will be quickly forgettable, but the babyface team should win with LAX the only ones not eliminated.
Prediction: Eric Young/Shark Boy/LAX

Last Man Standing or Counted-Out?
Well this PPV has sold so poorly that TNA have actually resorted to giving away free tickets. Which must be hugely disappointing internally giving it is Mick Foley’s in-ring début for them and also with the Angle/Jarrett rematch. But looking at the card and in particular the top-half, it does not look particularly enticing. Aside from Sabin/Shelley and possibly the Tag & Knockout title matches, nothing looks like it will be exceedingly exciting or fresh. There is also the absence of Samoa Joe on the card who is one of the top stars and one of the bigger members of the Frontline. He is selling an ‘injury’ but nonetheless he is a big loss from the card. There is also the outside chance that Christopher Daniels will return, which would be excellent. And the sooner he returns and is thrust to the top of the Frontline group, the better. All in all, it’ll probably be an average PPV, which is what we have come to expect from TNA.