TNA Genesis 2013: All Champions Retain, Daniels Becomes No. 1 Contender and More

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan and Joey Ryan: Tag Team Championship

Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez would retain their titles here after Hernandez hit a nasty looking powerbomb on Joey Ryan and Guerrero hit the Frog Splash. That powerbomb just looked bad as Ryan landed right on his head.

The match was decent overall. It was the typical tag team match that saw the champions control the beginning, the heels control the middle and the hot tag for Guerrero and Hernandez ending things.

Matt Morgan and Ryan worked pretty well as a team, but I think this may be the last time we see them as a team. Throughout the match, Morgan was yelling at Ryan, and he wasn’t too happy with him for taking the fall. Seems like Morgan doesn’t like Ryan’s showboating, so I think Morgan will be kicking his head off this coming Thursday.

The tag team division in TNA is in a sad state right now. Guerrero and Hernandez don’t make bad champions; it’s just that they don’t have any teams to fight except for Bad Influence, who are busy with James Storm.

Morgan and Ryan look to be breaking up while Robbie E and Rob Terry look to be doing the same. TNA needs to do something with the division and fast!

Backstage, Jeremy Borash was with Mr. Anderson. He revealed that he’d be fighting Samoa Joe later on and claimed he’s just having a good time with the Aces & Eights. He declared that what happened to Kurt Angle on Thursday will happen to Joe.

I thought that Anderson was good here. He was very monotone and showed zero emotion, which really adds to the mystery of his status with the Aces & Eights. Is he being cold because he’s a member, or is he acting that way to just keep people guessing?

Samoa Joe vs. Mr. Anderson

Mr. Anderson picked up the win here with the Mic Check after Samoa Joe got distracted by Mike Knox. Actually, is his name Mike Knox? I haven’t heard him referred to by that name since his reveal and when he showed up here, he was just called “Look who’s here.”

Anyway, this was a hard-hitting match between the two, but it was very slow as well. Joe showed a lot of intensity during parts of the match while Anderson did his thing, but the action just didn’t flow together very well.

This marked Anderson’s first match in months for TNA and he looked good in the ring. The Samoan Submission Machine was also solid in there as well, but they didn’t mesh together and it made for kind of a boring match.

Backstage, Borash was with Kenny King. He was a freight train that only Superman could stop. He then said it was time to get out with the old and in with the new in terms of Rob Van Dam.

King gave a strong promo here. He was solid on the mic and really impressed me. Adding in his in-ring skills, King is one of the best talents in the X-Division. TNA should get the title on him quick!

Christian York vs. Kenny King: X-Division Tournament Finals

Christian York would become No. 1 contender for the X-Division Championship after reversing one of Kenny King’s moves into a roll-up. I thought this was a good match. Both York and King were impressive as they gave fans a lot of quick, back-and-forth action.

These two wrestlers seemed to really click in the ring with one another and meshed very well. They both looked great in the ring and it made for a very enjoyable match.

I would have much preferred a Kenny King win here, though. I am a fan of York, but I feel that King is just progressing great as a character right now in TNA.

Post-match, King attacked York and laid him out. I think this is a good sign as it means that King is not leaving the title picture. He’s not ready to just walk away, and he made York pay for taking the victory away from him.

Rob Van Dam vs. Christian York: TNA X-Division Championship

Rob Van Dam retained the X-Division Championship after hitting the Five-Star Frog Splash. This was a decent match at best. While York put up a good fight, and there were a lot of great near-falls, the match was just overall nothing special.

King’s attack on York limited him storyline-wise and I think it really took away from the match. Van Dam and York had a solid match a few weeks ago, so it was disappointing to see this one get reduced to a quick contest. TNA should have really put this match later on in the night.

Backstage, Borash was with Joseph Park. Park was nervous, but ready to gain some retribution on the Aces & Eights. Park gave solid promo here. He has really transitioned well from Abyss to Joseph Park throughout last year, and he’s probably one of the best characters TNA has right now. I have to wonder, though, when Abyss is actually going to come back!

Joseph Park vs. Devon

Devon got the victory here with the dreaded Roll-up of Doom. The match was overall decent as Park got in some wrestling moves until Devon started to beat him up. Park then started to bleed, though very little, and Park beat up Devon as Abyss until he snapped out of it.

Abyss deserves a lot of credit during his Joseph Park storyline. He transitioned from a monster brawler to looking like a guy wrestling his first match. That’s some skill right there to replace your entire arsenal of moves for ones of a rookie still training.

He’s really thriving as the character, but I really want the Monster back!

Backstage, Borash was with Austin Aries. Aries declared that he and Roode would eliminate Hardy so that they could find out who the best was between them. He was the best wrestler in the universe, though, which meant that he was going to win. Aries gave a good promo here. He was cocky and full of himself, and that’s what makes Aries’ heel character so great.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher vs. ODB vs. Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky: No. 1 Contenders Gauntlet Match

First up was Gail Kim taking on Miss Tessmacher. Gail would defeat her with Eat Defeat after some nice action. Gail and Tessmacher delivered some good back-and-forth action here as they started the Gauntlet match on a high note.

ODB was up next and she dominated Gail for the few minutes she was in the ring. Gail would defeat her with the Rollup of Doom, though. I was disappointed that ODB’s time in the ring was so short. ODB is a solid wrestler and has a great character; it’s a shame that she can’t get out of the non-existent Knockouts tag team division.

Mickie James was out next and the action returned. Both Gail and Mickie work very well together and it showed here. This portion of the match, along with Tessmacher’s, were the best parts of the match in terms of action. Gail would advance once again here, though Mickie’s feet touched the ropes multiple times during the pin.

Gail’s final opponent was Velvet Sky, and after maybe a minute, Velvet hit the In Yo Face for the victory. Gail’s foot was under the bottom rope, though, so I’m sure Velvet’s title match either won’t happen, or it’ll be a triple threat match featuring Gail as well.

The match overall was a decent one. The action between Gail/Tessmacher and Gail/Mickie was good, but the rest of it wasn’t that great.

I was very happy to see Velvet win the match, though. After her reign was abruptly ended in 2011 due to the return of Gail Kim, TNA has really owed her big time. She deserves this title match and the title itself. Will TNA actually give her the title? Time will tell, I suppose.

Backstage, Borash was with Bad Influence. Daniels mocked James Storm, and then declared that after he finished his appletini, he would shake his “glorious ass” and defeat Storm to become the No. 1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Christopher Daniels is pure gold on the mic. He is without a doubt one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the business. With Kazarian, together as Bad Influence, they are an unstoppable force of entertainment!

Christopher Daniels vs. James Storm: No. 1 Contenders Match

After using the ropes for leverage, Christopher Daniels pinned James Storm to become the No. 1 contender for the TNA World heavyweight Championship. This was a good match between two of TNA’s most talented wrestlers. With a lot of great back-and-forth action, Daniels and Storm delivered a solid match for the fans.

Watching this match was giving me flashbacks of the America’s Most Wanted/Triple X feuds from back in TNA’s early days. The feuds between those teams are some of the best TNA ever had, and I was reliving it here with this match! TNA has really struck gold with this feud!

I love the fact that Daniels is the No. 1 contender for the World Heavyweight title. He has been with TNA since day one and I can only remember him getting one shot at the World title, which was a match against long-time friend/rival AJ Styles.

Daniels is probably the best wrestler in TNA to never hold the top belt. The last year alone is proof to me that he deserves a run with the title. Even if that reign is only a month long, Christopher Daniels deserves to be the TNA World Heavyweight champion.

Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan then came out to remind everyone that their wedding is on Impact Wrestling this Thursday. As this segment was happening, I was thinking of ways this time could have been used better. I came up with giving it to the Knockouts match, to any of the titles matches or another interview.

Anything would have been better than time given to this storyline. This wedding better have some kind of huge swerve.

Sting vs. DOC

Sting would pick up the victory after giving DOC two Scorpion Death Drops. This match wasn’t really anything special and was decent at best. It saw Sting beat up on DOC before the bell, DOC beat up Sting for a little bit, and then Sting had a flurry of offense for the win.

Two members of the Aces & Eights attacked Sting as well, and it was obvious to me that it was Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff. I think they’ll be the next members to be unmasked.

I was expecting better from Sting’s return to PPV, or at least a match dominated by Sting since he was looking to avenge what DOC did to him in November.

Post-match, the Aces & Eights surrounded the ring but immediately ran away when Bully Ray came out. So an entire group of men ran away when one guy ran after them? That just doesn’t make sense, or does it? This happened on Impact Wrestling last week as well, so it’s got me wondering.

Why would a group of seven or eight men run away from one guy? They’d do that because that one guy ordered them to do it! At this point, I really want to see Bully Ray as a member of the Aces & Eights. It’s so much better than the ridiculous storyline he’s in right now.

Backstage, Borash was with Bobby Roode. He declared that he and Aries would work together to get rid of Hardy, but at the end of the day, he would win the title. Roode gave a strong promo here. He’s been great on the mic since going solo, so this was no surprise to me.

Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries: TNA World Heavyweight Championship

After both Austin Aries and Jeff Hardy eliminated Bobby Roode, Hardy pinned Aries to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. This was a very good match right here. It saw a lot of great action from all three wrestlers as they delivered quite the entertaining match.

The teamwork of Aries and Roode was phenomenal. They worked together for most of the match trying to eliminate Hardy, and while they were looking great as a unit, Hardy was looking strong. He kicked out of many big moves, including Aries’ Brainbuster finisher.

Eventually, Roode turned on Aries and they began to fight. The action between them was great as well and it added to the overall enjoyment of the contest.

My only issue with the match is how quickly it finished once it got down to Hardy and Aries. Hardy’s Twist of Fate between the ropes was very cool, but it didn’t make up for how quickly Hardy was able to eliminate Aries despite getting beat down almost the entire match.

Despite the quick ending, the overall match was great!

Overall, I felt that TNA dropped the ball with this PPV. Out of the nine matches, only three of them were actually good. That’s a really bad percentage right there.

To me, Genesis seemed like a throwaway event. It’s like it didn’t really matter past the main event. This event was decent at best, and I am very disappointed in TNA Wrestling as a result. I expect much more from them.

With Lockdown taking place in March, TNA has two months to build up to the event. If they manage to drop the ball with Lockdown, then 2013 isn’t going to be a very good year for TNA.

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