By Phil Allely
With a hugely hyped UK tour/TV taping imminent TNA’s first PPV of the year Genesis was perfectly placed to hammer home just what the organisation has to offer fans and why they should snap up those few remaining Maximum Impact tour tickets.
Genesis did showcase TNA’s talented roster to a good degree and we saw glimpses of the reason why it has become such a UK ratings winner. However after months of well-received PPV’s, Genesis saw TNA’s writers once more resort to a number of cheap finishes.
The X Division kicked things off with a four corners elimination spot-fest for Austin Aries’ X Division Belt. Opponents Kid Kash, Jesse Sorenson and Zema Ion went all-out, but failed as Aries retained with an assist from Zema.
The Brother Devon/Pope feud trundled on next, both men tried valiantly in this sub -par effort. Devon picked up the win, reuniting with his estranged sons post match.
Immortal’s Gunner absorbed a fair amount of punishment in his brawl with Rob Van Dam, to a decent live crowd pop. Ric Flair’s interference saw Gunner DDT Van Dam on the concrete to snatch the win.
With new Knockouts Division VP Velvet Sky on hand and Madison Rayne locked in a cage Mickie James seemed destined to reclaim the Knockouts Title from Gail Kim. The sexy ladies gave their all in an enthusiastic and exciting scrap, the finish proved unpopular though as James nailed Kim with (Rayne supplied) brass knuckles in front of the ref for a DQ loss.
Abyss’ speciality match the Monster’s Ball proved to be a brutal and career-shortening affair. Opponent Bully Ray fared well against his sadistic foe in this series of weapons/gimmick based moves and blood-drawing set-pieces. Abyss overcoming kendo stick shots, drawing pins, barbed wire boards and more, to remain free from Immortal’s control.
New combo Samoa Joe and Magnus showed more signs of tag team chemistry during their challenge for the double belts. Champs Matt Morgan and Crimson retained, but found this big man outing to be a tough one.
Kurt Angle needed a win in his encounter with James Storm and succeeded in gaining it. The back and forth action was intense and saw both men showcase their wares well. Strom stood toe-to-toe with the Olympic athlete and only saw his hopes dashed when Angle struck a low blow and kick to the head to pick up the three count.
The main event between World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and comeback kid Jeff Hardy featured some slow moments, fortunately the in-ring performances of both combatants helped balance that out and created a very decent match-up. Hardy fared well against his conniving counterpart throughout this enthusiastic bout. The finish came abruptly with Roode nailing the ref to gain a DQ loss to retain his treasured belt. Hardy did get a measure of revenge with a post-match swanton to end things on a high.
Genesis was unfortunately just an ordinary PPV outing for TNA, there were too many cheap finishes and we have to hope this loss of pace is a temporary one for the company who are set to invade the UK in a few short weeks. The good news is Roode is faring well as company figurehead, Hardy is back on track and such TNA originals as Samoa Joe and James Storm are finally getting used the way they should be.
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