TNA Genesis 2010 Review

Match 1: X-Division Championship - Amazing Red (c) vs. Brian Kendrick
Brian Kendrick makes his TNA debut here after Hulk Hogan announces that the company has switched to a traditional ring. I always enjoyed watching Amazing Red, definitely one of the more underrated performers out there. Decent opening match here that allowed the commentators to introduce the audience to Kendrick and saw Red pull out some sweet moves. He hit his Code Red finisher to pick up the win and retain the title. Would have preferred to have this match go on longer but I guess they wanted to save the air time for more Hogan junk.
Winner: Amazing Red
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: Daniels vs. Sean Morley
Just a month prior to this, Daniels was challenging AJ Styles for the biggest prize in the company in the main event of a PPV. Now, he faces Val Venis. What. The. Actual. Fuck. The crowd is very vocal in expressing their displeasure with the booking. And for damn good reason. Daniels is supposed to be the heel here but the crowd just can't stand Sean Morley. Even better, the crowd can't stand Brooke Hogan sitting ringside. The match itself was better than I had expected. Give it to Morley, a veteran of the game and really knows how to incorporate psychology into a match. But the dude is way past his prime and has no real business in beating one of the company's biggest names. Morley hit his Money Shot and scored the win that resulted in a slew of boos from the crowd.
Winner: Sean Morley
Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Knockouts Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls - ODB (c) vs. Tara
I really wish the camera and the commentators would stop focusing on Brooke Hogan. I'm definitely a fan of both of these ladies, great wrestlers (although ODB can be pretty one-dimensional at times) and glad they got a nice spot on the card. Decent match here that saw Tara score two consecutive pins that saw her roll up ODB first before hitting a Widow's Peak to capture the gold. Despite the focus constantly being shifted to Hogan at ringside, the match itself was still watchable. Good to see Tara get the big win here. She then celebrates with Poison after the match. Okay.
Winner: Tara
Rating: **

Match 4: World Tag Team Championships - The British Invasion (c) vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez
Personally liked the pairing of Matt Morgan & Hernandez, gave them a nice spot on the roster immense all the crazy bookings that came along with Hulk Hogan's arrival. The British Invasion were a really good tag team and got some good heat from the crowd. Despite the size difference, The British Invasion were smart enough to use any advantage necessary to cut off any tags and double team whoever was legal in the ring. It made for some fun action since you knew that this wouldn't last long. Morgan was able to land his Carbon Footprint finisher to score the win and the belts for himself & Hernandez. Hate to see British Invasion drop the belts, but definitely went to show how the new booking changes loved the big guys in Morgan & Hernandez. I guess if they were to drop the belts, it's better against these guys than some old WCW guys. By the way, why are TNA referees the dumbest things on this planet?
Winners: Matt Morgan & Hernandez
Rating: **3/4

Match 5: D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe
Loved watching these two back in 2009-2010, they both redesigned themselves and became focal points of the program. Desmond Wolfe comes out with some hot chick who undresses him to reveal his new attire during D'Angelo Dinero's entrance. That was kind of weird. Wolfe brought out the goods here, an array of submission moves that we've never really seen before and they all looked sicker than the last. Dinero managed to squeeze in some offense but it felt like Wolfe was dominating for the better part of the contest. Sweet ending when Wolfe derailed Dinero's DDE with a huge Lariat. I wanted to give this match a higher score but it felt like it was way too one-sided for my liking. Despite that, a great match with some cool submissions from Wolfe and great pacing throughout.
Winner: Desmond Wolfe
Rating: ***1/2

Match 6: Beer Money, Inc. vs. The Band
Who seriously wants to see this? Better yet, who would seriously pay for this? It's pretty scary when old WCW are part of one of the company's marquee PPV shows. It's Kevin Nash & Syxx-Pac against Beer Money, Inc. By the way, Scott Hall isn't in this match because he lost a game of rock-paper-scissors in the back earlier. I can't make this stuff up. They're having this match so they can impress the Hulkster to get contracts or some bullshit. The worst part of this match was that Pac actually put up a fight against Beer Money! Hall later comes out and beats up a fan. This distracts The Band and allows Beer Money to win the match. I hate to be the guy that completely bashes a match but absolutely none of this made sense.
Winners: Beer Money, Inc.
Rating: 1/4*

Match 7: Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson
After Abyss hilariously ambushed Bobby Lashley earlier, he has a new opponent in the debuting Mr. Anderson, another WWE castoff. The crowd is quick to respond to Anderson with some "overrated" chants. Match was as basic as you could get with Abyss teasing us by not pulling the trigger when it comes to using the steel chair. Hogan told Abyss earlier to put his hardcore past away but it came to his detriment when Anderson pulled out some brass knuckles from his tights and drilled Abyss to pick up the win. Funny, I don't even think he pulled anything out of his tights. Anderson then gets on the mic and does his patented ring announcing gimmick with a little Family Guy reference. Pretty dull match but a good way to establish the new look on life Abyss has and a good win for Anderson.
Winner:
Rating: *3/4

Match 8: TNA World Heavyweight Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Kurt Angle
This is Kurt Angle's last chance at the gold against AJ Styles in 2010 if he loses. What's funny is that they had this match on the January 4th edition on Impact. This is the epic rematch but I can't help but feel like this is pretty much a carbon copy of that much. Don't get it twisted, the match was great, they pretty much brought out all the stops for this one. But like I said, it was almost like watching their January 4th match all over again. The major difference I felt between the two was that this one dragged a little more. That's possible because there were no commercial breaks here but the crowd was definitely drained from the whole night. The exchanges of moves between the two was fun to watch but it kind of felt like they were just taking turns on each other. That's not to say it wasn't cool to see, it just made things feel predictable. Ric Flair came out to check out the action before swiping Earl Hebner out of the ring when Styles began to tap to an Ankle Lock. As Angle chased Flair into the ring, Styles blindsided Angle before striking Angle with the belt that Flair tossed in. Styles covered Angle for the win. There you have it, the AJ Styles heel turn of 2010. Such a weird execution and such a weird pairing for him with Flair of all people. Still, the match was a great main event for the new brand that TNA is trying to launch. But damn, you can't help but marvel at their booking sometimes.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ****

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A pretty lackluster outing from TNA here. If this PPV was an indicator for anything, it's that this company was doomed for failure from the start in 2010. They for sure bit off more than they could chew in January of 2010. This show was filled of old WCW stars and WWE rejects. The matches were pretty bad and the booking was even worse. The saving grace was the main event... which we saw on free television just a couple weeks prior to this. It's so funny to look back at all this and woner what the damn hell were they thinking.
Rating: 4/10