TNA Genesis 2026 Results, Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

TNA Wrestling returned to pay-per-view Saturday night with Genesis, the first extravaganza of the AMC era of the company, headlined by Mike Santana defending the world championship against Frankie Kazarian in a Texas Death Match, officiated by the Call Your Shot trophy holder Nic Nemeth.

Did Santana retain in his first defense of the gold since winning it Thursday night on Impact's debut on AMC or did Kazarian, or Nemeth, escape the broadcast with the top prize in the company?

Find out in this recap of the January 17 event, including live grades and analysis for each of the night's matches.

Lineup

Matches announced in advance of Saturday's pay-per-view were:

• Texas Death Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Mike Santana (c) vs. Frankie Kazarian (Nic Nemeth as guest referee)
• The Final Dance: JDC vs. Eddie Edwards
• TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Lei Ying Lee (c) vs. Zaria
• TNA World Tag Team Championship Match: The Hardys (c) vs. The Righteous
• Joe Hendry vs. Moose vs. Cedric Alexander
• Rich Swann vs. AJ Francis
• Mara Sade vs. Ryan Nemeth
• Elijah vs. Mustafa Ali

TNA International Championship 4-Way Match

Mike Marques/WWE via Getty Images

Last Time in Action: KJ Orso had not competed in TNA; BDE, Cassie Lee, Desmond Xavier, Eric Young, and Mara Sade defeated Jake Something, Jessica McKay, Mance Warner, Rosemary, and Ryan Nemeth (Impact, December 25); Channing "Stacks" Tatum defeated Shiloh Hill (NXT, January 13)

After Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Arianna Grace betrayed him, TNA Director of Authority, Santino Marella, booked the TNA International champion in a 4-Way Match against Eric Young, BDE, and KJ Orso as part of the Countdown to Genesis.

All three challengers shined, with Young coming closest to winning the gold when he dropped Orso with a neckbreaker and piledriver. Lorenzo took advantage, though, and tossed the former world champion to the floor. He covered the prone Orso to score the win and retain his title.

Result

Lorenzo defeated Young, BDE, and Orso to retain his title

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

Lorenzo has the potential to be a great heel character for TNA, the insufferable, anti-company guy who has the beloved authority figure's daughter as his fiancee and laughs in the face of Santino, daring him to go against his oath to do what is best for the company by chasing his vendetta against the International champion.

BDE and Orso were especially impressive here and set the pace for the match. It was a fun, energetic start to the in-ring portion of the night's festivities, albeit too short.

Indi Hartwell and Vicious Vicki vs. Tessa Blanchard and Mila Moore

TNA Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Tessa Blanchard, Mila Moore, and Victoria Crawford defeated Indi Hartwell, Jada Stone, and Jody Threat (Impact, December 7); Vicious Vicki lost to Mara Sade (Impact, July 25)

Set up as a result of a backstage confrontation between the two parties, The Diamond Collective's Tess Blanchard and Mila Moore, with Victoria Crawford at ringside, squared off with Indi Hartwell and Vicious Vicki.

TNA Knockouts Tag Team champions Heather and M by Elegance sat ringside for the match.

After several minutes of the heels wearing down and isolating Vicki, Hartwell received the hot tag and unloaded on the competition. She downed Blanchard with a spinebuster and appeared to be en route to winning the match for her team.

She tagged Vicki back into the match but interference from Robert Stone and The Elegance Brand allowed Blanchard to recover and deliver a hammerlock DDT to the lesser-experienced competitor for the win.

Result

Blanchard and Moore defeated Hartwell and Vicki

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

There was not much to this one but both Moore and Vicki performed up to the moment and did not look out of place sharing the ring with a former NXT tag champion in Hartwell and TNA world champion in Blanchard.

The interference from The Elegance Brand, which took Hartwell out of the equation, should set up a new Knockouts tag title program that sees the Aussie team with Vicki to challenge for the gold.

Rich Swann vs. AJ Francis

TNA Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Rich Swann competed in a No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal (Impact, December 18); AJ Francis lost to Leon Slater (TNA Final Resolution, December 5)

The culmination of the split of First Class, former associates-turned-enemies did battle to kick off the show as Rich Swann battled AJ Francis.

The contest saw the competitors trade control throughout, including a lengthy heat stretch from Francis in which he used his power advantage to keep Swann grounded. The former X-Division champion proved his resiliency, countering a superplex attempt by biting the insufferable villain's arm.

Francis recovered and mocked AJ Styles, delivering a Styles Clash to the dismay of the fans. He tried for another but Swann countered into a destroyer pile-driver for a close near-fall.

Swann tried for a cutter, but Francis caught him mid-flight, delivered a reverse chokeslam, and added a traditional version, known as the Down Payment, for the victory.

Result

Francis defeated Swann

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Francis sported the colors of the Washington Commanders, looking to intensify his heat even more than it already was. Swann countered with the blue and silver of the Dallas Cowboys in what apparently was a low-key NFC East showdown.
• Swann and Francis had surprising chemistry, wrestled a long match, and kept the crowd invested throughout. The heel's confidence nearly got the best of him, but he ultimately halted the momentum of his opponent using the strength and size advantage that proved effective earlier to score the win. A good start to the show.

Elijah vs. Mustafa Ali

TNA Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Elijah and The Hardys defeated Order 4 (Impact, January 15)

Mustafa Ali, accompanied by Order 4's Jason Hotch, John Skyler, Tasha Steelz, and the mysterious Special Agent 0, squared off with Elijah in the latter's first singles match since returning from a torn triceps injury.

Ali targeted that injured body part repeatedly in Saturday's match while capitalizing on interference from his Order 4 teammates. Still, Elijah fired off a single lariat clothesline that turned his opponent inside out and earned him both a two-count and separation.

When Elijah delivered a spinning tombstone piledriver, Ali bridged out of the pin before collapsing back to the mat, a show of defiance by the brash heel. As action broke down and Order 4 interfered, the distraction allowed Steelz to introduce the babyface's guitar to the fray. Ali smashed Elijah in the back with it and scored the tainted win.

Result

Ali defeated Elijah

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• For the second match in a row, a competitor broke up a potential top rope move by biting his opponent's arm. Interesting that such an obscure spot would be included in back-to-back contests.
• There was an extraordinary amount of interference from the heels here, but it fit the gimmick and gave Ali a tainted win that can catapult the story forward if that is the direction TNA officials opt to take. Elijah looked like a world-beater at points fending the cheating off, though.

The Last Dance: JDC vs. Eddie Edwards

TNA Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Eddie Edwards, JDC, Moose, and Brian Myers lost to The Hardys, Cedric Alexander, and Leon Slater (Impact, January 8)

In his final match, JDC (also known as Fandango in WWE) squared off with his friend of 20 years, and teammate in The System, Eddie Edwards.

With nothing left to fight for, JDC started aggressively and controlled the majority of the match early, working over the two-time TNA world champion and even taking to the air at one point to maintain his upper hand.

Edwards seized control, applying a sleeper and demanding his opponent tap out. His opponent smirked, fought his way out of it, and applied the Walls of Jericho, an ode to the man who put JDC over at WrestleMania 29. He added a Codebreaker moments later as another tip of the hat.

The Down and Dirty leg drop missed and Edwards delivered with the Boston Knee Party, but JDC kicked out at two. A second followed, then a short superkick, followed by a third Boston Knee Party as Edwards pinned his friend and sent him into retirement.

Result

Edwards defeated JDC

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• JDC showed off an excellent Bray Wyatt tattoo in honor of his late friend. He also sported tights similar to those worn by the late, great Terry Funk, one of the best wrestlers of all time and someone notorious for retiring (and then not).
• The play on the Cena-Gunther finish, with Tom Hanifan stating on commentary that JDC was in his happy place in the wrestling ring, was a nice touch.
• This was a strong match and even more impressive performance from JDC, who emptied the arsenal and gave everything he had in his final outing. There were the odes to the men who left an impression on him and his career, a wink and nudge here and there, and a finish that saw him put over the guy who will be there beyond Saturday's pay-per-view. It was an appropriate end for a guy who, in many ways, grew up wrestling on TV and was undeniably entertaining when allowed to be.
• The TNA roster applauded JDC as he returned up the ramp after the match.

Mara Sade vs. Ryan Nemeth

TNA Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Mara Sade, Eric Young, Desmond Xavier, Cassie Lee, and BDE defeated Jake Something, Jessica McKay, Mance Warner, Rosemary, and Ryan Nemeth (Impact, December 25)

After months of superkicking him in the face, Mara Sade finally squared off with Ryan Nemeth in an inter-gender match Saturday night at Genesis.

Nemeth was at his insufferable best, using his strength advantage to overpower, then mock Sade early and often. When the babyface teased a superkick, the heel fled to the outside, where he immediately ate a cross-body block from Sade to the delight of the fans.

The heel taunted his opponents, dropping her back-first on the ring apron, then demanding she tell him she loved him. She responded by slapping him, firing off some hard rights, and delivering a tornado DDT for a near-fall.

Nemeth recovered, delivered a dropkick that took his opponent off the ropes, then rolled her up with a handful of jeans, and ropes, for the tainted win.

Result

Nemeth defeated Sade

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The story here was easy to follow, with Nemeth as the chauvinistic heel who took his opponent lightly, only to have to cheat to win. The execution was not always pretty, but both performers held up their end, with Sade looking like a potential star for this company moving forward.

TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Lei Ying Lee vs. Zaria

Last Time in Action: Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside lost to The Elegance Brand (Impact, January 1); Zaria lost to Fallon Henley (NXT, November 18)

With Dani Luna unable to appear due to Visa issues, NXT's Zaria stepped up to challenge Lei Ying Lee for the TNA Knockouts Championship Saturday night.

In what was a physical battle, Zaria used her power advantage to down the champion and trap her in a cloverleaf submission. Lee fought out, fired off a comeback, and appeared to have momentum on her side at one point. She fended off a comeback attempt from the Aussie and delivered a suplex that earned her a two-count.

Zaria recovered, delivered a spear, and added the F-6, only to knock the referee out. The Elegance Brand arrived at ringside and was promptly taken out by Sol Ruca and Xia Brookside while the battle continued inside the squared circle.

Later, after an exchange of blows, Lee delivered a heel kick and ended Zaria's night with the Warrior's Way for the win and successful title defense.

After the match, Elayna Black (formerly Cora Jade in NXT) appeared just two days after her debut with TNA and made it clear that she wants a shot at Lee's title.

Result

Lee defeated Zaria to retain the title

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

The bit of overbooking involving Ruca, Brookside, and the Elegance Brand was not needed and was the only negative to what was a really strong match-up between Lee and Zaria. The chemistry was better than expected, the action was fierce and physical, and the finishing sequence was great.

It is great to see Lee, who never had a legitimate shot of making it on WWE's main roster, thriving in TNA.

Can we get more of Zaria in singles action? She is a star in the making and should be battling for the top prizes in the NXT women's division more frequently.

TNA World Tag Team Championship Match: The Hardys vs. The Righteous

Last Time in Action: The Righteous have not competed in TNA; The Hardys and Elijah defeated Order 4 (Impact, January 15)

Seeking revenge after weeks of mind games, TNA world tag team champions Matt and Jeff Hardy defended against The Righteous' Vincent and Dutch.

Matt spent several minutes on the defensive, the subject of a focused beatdown by the challengers. A Twist of Fate counter out of a fireman's carry created separation and allowed him to tag in his brother. Jeff exploded into the ring, taking the fight to the heels, including a submission that saw him twist and contort Vincent's body.

The challengers regained the advantage but an ill-advised senton by Dutch, off the apron, saw him crash and burn, leaving Vincent to fight for the Righteous' championship ambitions.

With the Hardys mounting an advantage, Dutch grabbed a microphone and exclaimed, "this is exactly what we wanted. We want to hurt." The champions obliged, delivering a Twist of Fate and Swanton to Vincent to retain the titles.

Result

The Hardys defeated The Righteous to retain

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

This was a story-driven match more than anything. The in-ring action was perfectly acceptable, if not somewhat disappointing, but it was the mind games by The Righteous that took center stage, culminating with the finish in which Dutch claimed him and Vincent wanted to hurt. That the big man awarded the tag titles to the Hardys only supported the idea that the match was merely a chapter in the story.

While stories take time to tell, TNA will have to have some semblance of explanation for what is going on with The Righteous before it becomes so overly complicated that fans become annoyed rather than invested. We had a hint of that here, with the fans not-so-kindly asking Dutch to quiet up rather than express himself on the mic in the closing moments of the match.

Joe Hendry vs. Moose vs. Cedric Alexander

Last Time in Action: Joe Hendry defeated Dion Lennox in a No Disqualification Match (NXT, January 13); Moose, Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and JDC lost to The Hardys, Cedric Alexander, and Leon Slater (Impact, January 8)

With TNA X-Division champion Leon Slater joining WWE on their tour of Europe, Joe Hendry replaced him for a Triple Threat Match against Cedric Alexander and Moose. What started with a ton of energy came to a screeching halt, though, and Moose took a nasty back body drop on the ring steps, his back catching the edge of them.

While the ringside trainer checked on him, Hendry and Alexander continued the match. The former TNA world champion, though, gutted through the pain and rejoined his opponents in the match, showing toughness and winning over the audience.

Down the stretch, he delivered a big spear to Alexander in mid-flight but failed to pick up the win. When his opponent took him out of the picture with the Lumbar Check, Hendry capitalized, delivering the Standing Ovation to Alexander for the win.

Result

Hendry defeated Moose and Alexander

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

Using the back injury to put Moose in a position of vulnerability when he realistically should have blown through both opponents was a nice touch. It was refreshing seeing him fight from underneath rather than of dominance.

Hendry winning was the right call, even considering his role as a WWE contracted Superstar. He is the biggest star on the show not-named Hardy, was hugely over with the fans in Dallas, and was a make-good for Slater not appearing. Did Alexander need to eat the pin when Moose had a built-in excuse with the injury? Probably not, but losing to a former world champion will not hurt his credibility too bad.

Texas Death Match for the TNA World Championship: Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian

Last Time in Action: Mike Santana defeated Frankie Kazarian to win the TNA World Championship (Impact, January 15)

Just 48 hours after defeating Frankie Kazarian to win the TNA World Championship on AMC, Mike Santana defended the title against the former champion in a Texas Death Match. The rules of the match stated that a fall could occur anywhere in the building and that the loser of that fall would have a 10-count to get back to his feet.

To make it even more interesting, Call Your Shot trophy winner Nic Nemeth served as guest referee, able to cash in a guaranteed title opportunity whenever he wants, including in the middle of this main event.

Santana and Kazarian brawled around the arena and back to the ringside area, where the new champion earned the first fall, delivering a piledriver on two steel chairs. The challenger just barely got back to his feet before Nemeth counted to 10, his forehead lacerated.

Kazarian answered, delivering a cutter through a table for his own fall, but Santana recovered in time for the 10-count.

The action intensified from there, with a ladder and barbed wire baseball bat introduced to the fray. Santana grabbed the bat and dug it into his opponent's already busted-open head, then scaled the ladder and delivered a frog splash. Kazarian kicked out at two.

Defiant and disrespectful, Kazarian spit at Santana, who delivered Spin the Block with barbed wire. Another fall followed, then the 10-count, and the champion retained.

When it looked like the show might go off the air with Santana standing tall, Nemeth rocked him with Danger Zone and cashed in the Call Your Shot trophy for a championship opportunity. Or so he thought.

Santana leveled him with Spin the Block and finally stood tall to close out the show.

Result

Santana defeated Kazarian to retain the title

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

Nemeth did his best Shawn Michaels impression with the smallest bike shorts imaginable, ala the Heartbreak Kid in the Attitude Era.

The old Attitude Era, crowd brawling gave way to a match that never really lived up to the Texas Death Match stipulation, but was still a suitable conclusion to the Santana-Kazarian feud. The spots built in terms of danger, culminating with the barb wire-assisted finisher, and the crowd was into the match the whole way.

The Nemeth tease was great and put Santana in a sense of danger. After the babyface saw his first reign end way too soon after he won the gold, it certainly felt like a possibility TNA would go there again. Instead, it was merely a tease of a cash-in without delivering, setting Nemeth up for an even bigger moment at another time.

Overall Grade

Kevin Sabitus/WWE via Getty Images.

A vast improvement over the nonsense that was Thursday's AMC debut, this was a show that featured several rivalries ended, others extended, and a main event that concluded with the right guy going over. The creative team practiced patience instead of running with the Nic Nemeth cash-in and everything was right with the world.

There was nothing on the show that could be deemed inherently bad and more than one match exceeded expectations.

For a company facing scrutiny after an underwhelming start to their return to basic cable. this was a much-needed win.

Grade: B