Thursday 7 March 2013

TNA Genesis 2013 Review (Hey, Better Late Than Never Right?)

TNA Genesis took place on Sunday 13th January at the Impact Zone in Orlando. Will TNA 2013 get off to a good start? Let's take a look.

The first match is Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan challenging Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez for the Tag Team Championship. Chavo and Hernandez start working on Ryan before Ryan before Ryan slingshots Chavo into an elbow from Morgan to get the advantage. Ryan and Morgan wear down Hernandez but he manages to tag in Chavo after hitting Ryan with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The end comes when Ryan gets hit with a powerbomb and a frogsplash to get Chavo and Hernandez the win. The match was ok as it didn't have anything special for it to stand out. Despite that, I thought it was a decent way to start the show.
Winners: Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez
Predictions: 0 for 1

The next match is between Samoa Joe and Mr Anderson and this should be quite a good match. Joe is completely dominant to begin with the match going to the outside. Anderson sends Joe into the steel steps and focuses his attack on the knees. The match goes back and forth before Mike Knox from Aces and Eights pays a visit and distracts Joe long enough for Anderson to hit the Mic Check to get the win. As I expected, it was a good match with some fun spots.
Winner: Mr Anderson
Predictions: 1 for 2

The next match is between Christian York and Kenny King to determine the No 1 contender for the X-Division Championship. Highlights of the match include York doing a head scissors takedown to King on the outside; and York doing a double stomp on King's back from the top turnbuckle. The end comes when King attempts a cradle pin but York reverses it into a pin of its own to get the win. King doesn't take well and hits York with a reverse Attitude Adjustment. I was surprised that York won but I suppose that TNA want to give him a push.
Winner: Christian York
Predictions: 1 for 3

Christian York doesn't have any time to recover as he has to face Rob Van Dam for the X-Division Championship. RVD tries to convince York to postpone the match and York responds by slapping him. RVD then proceeds to beat the crap out of York and he keeps on applying submissions to wear down York. York knees RVD in the head to slow him down and during the match, York has a few opportunities to win the match. However, it was not enough as RVD hits the 5-star frog splash to get the win. It was a good match and it made York look strong in the company.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Predictions: N/A

The next match is between Devon and Joseph Parks (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) The match starts Devon mocking Parks about his lack of experience and outwrestling him. Parks eventually manages to take down Devon, infuriating him. The match goes back and forth and Parks almost gets the win with a splash from the middle rope. Devon slams Parks into an exposed turnbuckle and Parks goes into "Abyss Mode" and destroy Devon with a Black Hole Slam. Parks was about to hit a chokeslam when he snaps out of "Abyss Mode" and Devon takes advantage of the confusion to roll Parks up and get the win. I wasn't expecting much wrestling in this match but it was still fun to watch.
Winner: Devon
Predictions: 1 for 4

Next was a Knockouts gauntlet match involving Gail Kim, Miss Tessmacher, ODB, Mikie James and Velvet Sky to determine the No 1 contender to the Knockouts Championship. Kim and Tessmacher are the first two and, despite Tessmacher's best efforts, she is eliminated by an Eat Defeat by Kim. ODB is out next and is completely dominant to begin with. However, Kim eliminates ODB when she pulls her off the middle turnbuckle and grabs the tights while pinning her. Mickie James is out next. The match goes back and forth and Kim eliminates James when she reverses a roll up into another roll up.Velvet Sky is out next and Kim proceeds to fuck her up and sends Sky flying into the steel steps. Sky manages to get into the ring and the match goes back and forth for a bit. Kim attempts to use the ropes to gain leverage in a pin attempts but the referee notices it. Kim gets into an argument, which turns out to be a bad idea as Sky takes advantage and hits the In Your Face to get the final pin and the win. The match wasn't bad and I was impressed with Kim. However, I thought that Sky would have entered the match a bit earlier to make her look stronger.
Winner: Velvet Sky
Predictions: 2 for 5

The next match is between Christopher Daniels and James Storm to determine the No 1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Storm is dominant before Daniels, with some help from Kazarian, attacks Storm's left arm. Storm tries to fightback but Daniels pokes him in the eye and continues his attack. Later on, Daniels applies a variation of the crossface but Storm gets to the ropes. Storm manages to start a comeback after a side Russian legsweep and was unlucky not to get the win after an Eye of the Storm. Storm goes for the Last Call but manages to hit the Angel's Wings for a 2 count. The end comes when Kazarian tries to interfere and gets hit with a Last Call by Storm. Daniels then slams down Storm and pins him using the ropes for leverage to get the win. I enjoyed the match and Daniels deserves the win as he has been one of the best things to see on Impact over the last few weeks.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Predictions: 3 for 6

After we see the newly engaged Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan, we get Sting versus D.O.C. D.O.C. tries to attack Sting during his entrance but Sting stops that and they fight into the crowd. Some members of Aces and Eights then attack Sting, giving D.O.C. the chance to dominate the match. Sting eventually makes a comeback and gets the win after a Stinger splash and a Scorpion Death Drop. Afterwards, Aces and Eights arrive to attack Sting but change their mind and flee when Bully Ray runs in to make the save. The match wasn't too bad but I feel that they are both capable of something better.
Winner: Sting
Predictions: 3 for 7

The main event is an elimination triple threat match between Austin Aries, Bobby Roode and Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Aries and Roode decide to team up against Hardy. Hardy manages to fight back and attempts a Twist of Fate on Roode. However, Roode gets out of it and hits a AA Spinebuster to get the advantage. Hardy manages to take down Roode but Aries comes in and continues his assault on Hardy. Roode recovers and helps Aries out. Aries attempts a suicide dive on Hardy with Roode holding him. However, Hardy moves out of the way and Aries crashes into Roode. Later on, Hardy almost eliminates Roode with a splash and Roode and Aries continue to work together. Aries thinks he's eliminated Hardy with a Brainbuster but he kicks out at 2.

Roode convinces Aries to do a 450 splash on Hardy. However, he betrays Aries by moving Hardy out of the way, making Aries hit the mat and Roode hits him with the Pay Off to get a 2 count. Aries and Roode fight each other and when Aries does a backslide pin on Roode, Hardy runs in and pins down Roode's legs to eliminate him. A couple of minutes later, Hardy hits the Twist of Fate followed by a Swanton Bomb to get the win. I enjoyed the match and it was a good way to end the show.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Predictions: 4 for 8

I thought that Genesis was a good event when I eventually watched it. The problem is, with TNA now only doing 4 PPVs a year, you expect them to really put a big effort into them. That doesn't really seem to be the case. However, Rome wasn't built in a day and I can see TNA improve the standard of their PPVs in the future.