TNA Genesis 2009 - Results & Review

Got a bit of free time so I can catch up on some fun things, although whether TNA falls under that bracket is highly debatable. Anyway let’s not waste any more time, catch up here if you need to.

Entrance Video
They opened with a video package highlighting the Frontline/Main Event Mafia feud. It played up the Frontline as underdogs while putting across how dominant the Mafia are. These videos are generally pretty well done, but usually fill you with false hope.

The Matches

LAX & Eric Young defeated Jimmy Rave, Sonjay Dutt & Kiyoshi in a 6-Man Tag Team Elimination Match (Order of elimination: Young by Dutt, Homicide by Rave, Kiyoshi by Hernandez, Dutt by Hernandez, Rave by Hernandez)
This is the match that was announced late, but then got changed from what was originally billed. If it wasn’t obvious beforehand who would win, the heels got a group entrance and the faces got their own ones. Sonjay Dutt has really been wasted by TNA. He won a rather lengthy feud with Jay Lethal and bagged the girl, yet Lethal goes on to capture a tag title. Sheer madness. But we’ve come to expect this sort of stuff from booking.

Cool spot where each man took it in turns to jump over the top rope to the floor onto each other. Hernandez was left with 3 vs. 1 but beat everyone up. He is a guy that could be a top main eventer in a few years if given a bit of work and time. The match was given time and was a surprisingly passable opener.

Alex Shelley defeated Chris Sabin to win the vacant X-Division title
Great match. They were countering each other and throwing out all sorts of crazy moves. Shelley hit a somersault leg drop off the top rope and later Sabin hit a springboard DDT. They kicked out of each other’s finishers. Shelley pretended to injure himself and then rolled up Sabin to pick up the win. Bit of a dodgy finish, sure, but it kept both men looking strong.

This match was probably the best X-Division showing in years, not since A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels were mixing it up has there been a showing of this quality. It gave some focus back to the division and gave TNA a great opportunity to make something of that area of the roster once again. But I doubt they will make use of that chance. Anyway, just check out the video.

Shane Sewell defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
Sewell wasn’t awful in the ring which was a nice bonus; his moves were basic enough but he didn’t screw them up. He used a figure-4 leg-lock which drew lots of “Wooooos” from the crowd given the show was in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ric Flair’s hometown. Bashir got into a shoving match with referee Earl Hebner and went to punch him but got a slap in the face instead. Sewell then won with a Sunset Flip in an altogether hugely forgettable match. Bashir needs to get away from fighting referees; it’s stupid and makes him look really weak when he is on the losing end.

Beer Money, Inc defeated Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed (c) and Matt Morgan & Abyss to win the TNA Tag Titles
Alright match with the highlight probably being Morgan jumping off outside on everyone. Jacqueline kept getting involved on behalf of Beer Money and ended up in a spitroast position (I’d urge some caution if you were to Google it) before eventually getting thrown out. Finish came with Storm throwing the tag belt into Roode to use but Abyss caught it and accidentally decked his partner Morgan, which lead to a stare-down between the two after. Beer Money eventually covered to win back the gold, but it’ll be interesting to see how long they are kept together as both guys have the chops to be main event stars.

The booking was terrible; how you can expect the crowd NOT to cheer for the heels after they overcome four babyfaces and also Lethal & Creed’s pathetic 3-day reign doesn’t exactly give them a vote of confidence. I’m actually amazed though that it took TNA a lengthy 4 matches to overbook a finish; I think that’s a new record for them.

ODB, Roxxi & Taylor Wilde defeated The Kongtourage (Raisha Saaed, Rhaka Khan & Sonjournor Bolt) in a 6-Woman Tag Team Match
The planned title match between Awesome Kong & Christy Hemme was called off as both had injuries. The stipulation was that whoever scored the pin would be the #1 contender for the title, which immediately gave away that the babyfaces were going to win. This was way over-booked and a straight singles match, say between Saaed & Roxxi would have been far, far better. Saaed had some groovy new ring attire, a black and red full-body suit. Not as nice as her cheerleader outfit but cool nonetheless.

Pity the match wasn’t as slick as it turned out to be sloppy and terrible. Bolt has not impressed me one bit and Khan still looks out of her depth. Saaed done the job yet again (sigh) as ODB rolled her up with an inside cradle. Awesome Kong came out and destroyer the babyfaces after. Pity this didn’t happen as the start of the match and we would have been saved from this rubbish.

Kurt Angle defeated Jeff Jarrett in a No-DQ match
Great match with both guys coming out all guns blazing. Jarrett threw beer on Angle, who later retaliated by busting Double J open with the ring bell. Ding! Ding! Don West on commentary sounded like he was going to explode. They brawled up to the stage and then off it as Jarrett received an Angle Slam from the stage down through a table. They then traded finishers and chair shots before Angle won with a roll-up.

Afterwards he proceeded to damage Jarrett’s ankle with repeated stomps and chairs shots and I was shouting out for Christopher Daniels to come out and beat the crap out of him, but it didn’t happen. Regardless, TNA need to be hitting these heights every month if they are to be taken seriously.

Sting defeated Rhino to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title
We go from that, to this?!?! Now, they had a story running through the show, which was quite annoying as it often took focus off matches that were taking place, whereby Rhino had got beat up by the Main Event Mafia and had only just shown up very late in the show. Now this was because Sting had only said a few days before the show that he was carrying an injury, so it was wrote that he had to have an easier match. Now this was only revealed days after the event so on paper it did not make Sting look a credible champion at all, as he had to defend against a weakened opponent.

Also the crowd ended up cheering for the bad guy Sting (who inexcusably broke his character), and booed Rhino. Honestly they should just go ahead and turn Sting face, it makes sense. Sting won with the Scorpion Death Drop in a thankfully short match. The one was a failure from start to finish.

TNA Frontline (A.J.Styles, Mick Foley & Brother Devon) defeated the Main Event Mafia (Booker T, Scott Steiner & Cute Kip (sub for Kevin Nash)) in a Hardcore match
The other story they had running through the show was that Kevin Nash had been hospitalised with a staph infection. This though, was legitimate but left the writers in a bit of a pickle. They could have gone with the story that the Mafia took Devon out of the match in a response to what they believed was a hit on Nash. But no, they went with getting a replacement in Cute Kip. Cute. Kip. A guy whose most famous gimmick in years was turning gay and wearing pink chaps. Cute Kip. What a mind-numbingly awful decision that was, and it was obvious as the crowd totally crapped on it. Such an unbelievable choice for TNA to make.

Halfway through the match, everyone was fighting on the outside and the referee counted everyone out, therefore making it a no contest. The stupidity just keeps on coming. But General Manager Jim Cornette came out and restarted the match; however Booker T reminded him he didn’t have that power, which made Cornette look like a complete chump. Mick Foley stated that as the majority shareholder he DOES have the power, so he restarted it under hardcore rules. All of this nonsense was totally unnecessary. The only real thing of note was Styles hitting a springboard splash from the ring to the outside sending Kip through a table. Foley then later got the win after a DDT on a chair to Scott Steiner. This was a complete mess.


King Of The Ring or Jobber?
A jobber is someone who goes out and loses on a regular basis, just to explain that term. This show was mainly rubbish and so fell into the latter category which is amazing considering they had two matches over four stars in quality. But take those out and it was truly awful with one of the worst heavyweight title match and main event in ages. Fair enough, TNA had some problems with injuries (Nash, Sting, Kong & Hemme) that screwed up things, but it was no excuse for the amount of rubbish that was served, along with the customary over-booking & nonsensical creative decisions. If this an indication for the rest of the year, TNA are going nowhere in 2009.