Written by: Bob Colling
Total Non-Stop Action presents Genesis
Date: 1/11/2009
From: Charlotte, North Carolina
A video highlighting the dominance of the Main Event Mafia is aired. The video also promoted several matches on the card. It actually was a nicely done video, in my opinion.
Opening Contest: Eric Young/LAX defeated Jimmy Rave/Sonjay Dutt/Kiyoshi in a elimination match: Homicide and Dutt started off the contest. Quick exchange by the two that saw Homicide hip toss Dutt and Dutt comes back with a head scissors. Young and Rave tag into the bout and trade wrist locks. Young connects with a forearm shot before tagging out to Hernandez who slingshots in to nail Kiyoshi with a shoulder block. Hernandez shows his strength by tossing Kiyoshi across the ring with a exploder suplex. LAX hit Kiyoshi with the Drive By that gives Homicide a near fall. Homicide is stopped by a snake eyes by Kiyoshi and a spinning heel kick. Homicide delivers a back breaker to Dutt, who just tagged in. Dutt botches a hurricanrana and is met with a clothesline from Homicide. Homicide drives Dutt down to the mat with a double under hook power bomb and heads to the top but misses a splash. Homicide is dropkicked by both Rave and Dutt on the apron to give Kiyoshi the advantage back in the ring. Rave enters to stomp on Homicide several times before slowing the match down with a choke hold. Homicide stops being dominated by hitting a t-bone suplex on Kiyoshi and makes the hot tag to Young who cleans house. Young gets a near fall on Rave following a belly to belly suplex. Rave slams Young on the apron and Homicide takes Rave and Kiyoshi out with a suicide dive. Dutt gets in on the flips by hitting a swanton splash. Hernandez dives over the top to take everyone out! Young nearly eliminates Rave back in the ring. Young tries for the Death Valley Driver on Rave and connects but Dutt breaks it up after splashing Hernandez. All the men begin to hit their finishing moves or high impact moves, nice sequence. Young is still unable to pin Rave following a forearm drop off the middle rope. Dutt collides with Rave after being dropkicked by Young. Dutt leg drops Young across the middle rope and uses the middle rope for leverage to eliminate Young.
First Elimination: Sonjay Dutt pins Eric Young
Homicide plants Dutt with an ace crusher but Dutt gets out of the Gringo Killer. Rave gets into the match and manages to pin Homicide while using the tights for leverage.
Second Elimination: Jimmy Rave pins Homicide
This leaves Hernandez all by himself and is worked on by Dutt and Kioyshi until he quickly clotheslines both men. Hernandez uses his shirt to toss Rave across the ring. Hernandez connects with the Cracker Jack on Dutt and the Border Toss on Kiyoshi for a three count.
Third Elimination: Hernandez pins Kiyoshi
Dutt tries for a cross body but is caught and power bombed by Hernandez which gets a three count.
Fourth Elimination: Hernandez pins Sonjay Dutt
Rave gets shoved off the top rope and Hernandez connects with a top rope big splash to win the bout. **3/4
Backstage, Jim Cornette is talking to Scott Steiner and says that no one has heard from Rhino and believes the Mafia has something to do with it. Steiner doesn’t care about Rhino. Cornette wants to know what Steiner knows. Steiner calls Rhino a drunk and thinks Rhino is out pissing on himself somewhere.
A video promoting the X-Division Championship tournament is aired.
Second Contest: Alex Shelley defeated Chris Sabin to win the vacant TNA Division Championship: Standoff to begin after they feel each other out. Slow start as both men work on their opponents arm and reverse the moves. They really start off with some mat wrestling as well, to show they can actually wrestle and not full of high spots like some wrestlers. We see another standoff between them after they both come off the ropes and fail at getting any kind of advantage. Sabin gets the advantage with a few jabs and dropkicks Shelley right on the forehead. After a quick flurry of offense they slow things down again. Shelley knocks Sabin off the apron but misses a splash but lands on his feet. Sabin quickly hits Shelley with a suicide dive and Shelley hits his head on the announcers table! Shelley drapes Sabin across the middle rope and hits a somersault leg drop! They begin to exchange chops until Shelly knocks Sabin off his feet. Shelley connects with a springboard moonsault but only gets a two count. Shelley works on Sabin with an abdominal stretch. Sabin avoids a slice bread attempt but Shelley gets out of a Cradle Shock attempt by slamming Sabin gut first down to the mat. Sabin is able to hit a quick yakuza kick of sorts and both men are down on the mat! They go back to exchanging several chops until Sabin atomic drops Shelley and kicks Shelley in the knee. Sabin with a quick knee in the corner followed by a clothesline and ends up planting Shelley with a nice springboard tornado DDT for a two count! Shelley avoids another springboard attempt and puts Sabin in the Crossface! Shelley attempts a double under hook suplex but Sabin reaches the ropes. Shelley drops Sabin face first into the corner and attempts a springboard but Sabin avoids it and hits a elevated swinging neck breaker! Sabin gets a two count following a tiger suplex. Shelley stops Sabin with a clothesline and drives Sabin down to the mat with a backpack driver of sorts for a two count! Sabin stops Shelley on the top rope and looks for a hurricanrana but Shelley hangs onto the top rope. Shelley connects with a power bomb and attempts a top rope frog splash but Sabin gets his knees up! Sabin goes to the top rope but misses a missile dropkick. Shelley delivers a frog splash to Sabin’s back and connects with another frog splash to Sabin’s chest but only manages a near fall! Sabin knocks Shelley silly with a big clothesline and hits the Cradle Shock but Shelley kicks out at two! Sabin crotches Shelley on the top rope and looks for a middle rope Cradle Shock but Shelley gets out of it and hits the slice bread #2 but Sabin kicks out at two! Sabin nails Shelley with a super kick but Shelley tries for the slice bread but is tossed away. Shelley acts like he has hurt his ankle but rolls Sabin up and gets the three count! ***1/4
Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Jim Cornette asking about Rhino. Cornette has no idea where Rhino is. Cornette talks about Kevin Nash having a staph infection and will not be able to compete in the main event. Mick Foley enters the room and Cornette tells Foley what he just said to Borash. Foley wants Cornette to tell the Mafia that there will be a six man tag match tonight!
A video promoting the feud between Shane Sewell and Sheik Abdul Bashir is aired.
Third Contest: Shane Sewell defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir: Sewell controls Bashir early on by tossing Bashir around the ringside and even bites Bashir. Bashir eventually rolls to the floor to avoid Sewell’s offense. Bashir drops Sewell groin first across the guard railing and delivers a neck breaker back in the ring for a two count. Bashir nearly wins the bout following a spine buster out of the corner. Bashir begins to work on Sewell’s back for several moments. Sewell battles back with a leaping forearm shot. Sewell connects with a back drop and clothesline followed by a springboard elbow drop to Bashir’s groin in the corner for a two count. Sewell gets another two count following a top rope cross body. Sewell delivers a knee breaker and locks in the figure four lock. Bashir manages to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Bashir drops Sewell throat first across the top rope and hammers away on Sewell to get the advantage. Bashir misses a clothesline towards the referee and is slapped. Bashir chases Hebner until he is clotheslined by Sewell! Sewell sunset flips Bashir and wins the bout. *
After the match, all the TNA officials come down to the ring to celebrate the win with Sewell.
Backstage, Jim Cornette is talking to Sharmell and Booker T. Sharmell says that they know nothing about the situation. Booker puts his hands on Cornette until Shane Sewell comes over and gets in Booker’s face. Sewell is held back by referees as Booker walks away with his wife.
A video promoting the tag team title match is aired.
Fourth Contest: Beer Money Inc. defeated TNA World Tag Team Champions Lethal Consequences and Abyss/Matt Morgan to win the titles: Storm and Creed kick off the title match. Creed comes off the ropes to shoulder block Storm, who crawls to his corner quickly. Storm comes off the ropes with a shoulder block of his own but Creed fights back with a clothesline and a spinning heel kick. Storm runs into a big boot and Creed connects with a clothesline for a two count. Lethal tags in but Storm back away from the corner to prevent a double team attack. Roode tags into the bout as well. Roode begins to chop Lethal but Lethal fights back with a few jabs and a backdrop. Roode dumps Lethal to the apron but Lethal shoulder blocks Roode and leaps off the top to deliver a double axe handle for a two count. Creed tags back into the contest and clotheslines Roode. Lethal delivers a running dropkick and Creed springboards off the top rope to bulldog Roode for a two count. Jacqueline comes in but runs into Roode. Storm is sent into both Roode and Jacqueline. Abyss gets the tag and sends both Lethal and Creed into the corner. Abyss charges the corner as well to deliver a splash. We end up seeing a sexual position but Roode actually plays around with it and spanks Jacqueline to a big pop! Abyss clotheslines Roode to the floor. Lethal and Creed take Beer Money out with dives to the floor. Morgan goes to the top rope and leaps off with a cross body onto his opponents. Abyss runs into a back elbow in the corner from Roode but manages to hit Roode with a big boot. Beer Money plants Abyss with a running bulldog and Storm begins to work on Abyss in the corner with several right hands. Beer Money continues to work on Abyss with a double suplex which gets Roode a two count after playing to the crowd. Storm misses a splash in the corner and Abyss clotheslines Roode. Creed tags himself in and hits a springboard cross body on Beer Money. Creed cleans house until Storm pokes Creed in the eyes. Creed counters a back drop attempt to plant both Roode and Storm with a DDT for a two count! Roode drives Creed down to the mat with a swinging side slam for a two count as Lethal broke up the count. Roode tags into the bout as Storm was working on Creed and Beer Money drops elbows on Creed for a two count. Roode slows the match down with a sleeper hold on Creed for a few moments. Roode stops Creed as he comes off the ropes with a spine buster for a near fall. Storm misses a splash in the corner and Creed looks to tag in Lethal but Roode stops him briefly but Lethal gets the tag. Lethal cleans house with several clotheslines. Lethal with very quick offense to nearly pin Roode! Lethal kicks Storm in the head and plants Roode with the Lethal Combination! Lethal goes up top but Morgan tags himself in and covers Roode for a near fall. Abyss isn’t affected by jabs from Lethal and press slams Lethal followed by a choke slam into a back breaker. Creed missile dropkicks Abyss! Morgan nails Creed with the Carbon Footprint! Roode hits Morgan with a jaw breaker and Storm connects with a double knee breaker to the back. Morgan is able to fight off Beer Money but Roode comes off the middle rope with a flipping neck breaker for a two count. Abyss catches the tag titles that Storm tossed into the ring but Abyss misses Roode and hits Morgan on accident! Roode covers Morgan but Lethal elbow drops Roode and has the cover but the referee is arguing with Jacqueline. Storm super kicks Lethal to the floor and the referee slides back in to count Roode on top of Morgan which gets the three count. **1/2
After the match, Morgan pushes Abyss away and flips out over being hit with the title. Morgan just walks away.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Kurt Angle as he is walking around. Angle barges into Cornette’s office and tells Cornette that he should come to him if he has any questions. He says that after he beats Jarrett he will take control of TNA. Angle tells Cornette that the Mafia went to Rhino’s hotel room and ended up beating the crap out of Rhino for not accepting their offer. Cornette is not happy about this news.
Fifth Contest: ODB/Taylor Wilde/Roxxi defeated Rhaka Khan/Raisha Saeed/Sojournor Bolt: The women who gets the pin fall will get a TNA Knockout Championship match in the near future. Long story short, ODB pins Saeed with a small package to earn a future title shot.
After the match, TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong walks down to the ring. We eventually see a brawl between all the Knockouts. The heels clean house as Kong choke slams ODB.
Backstage, Jim Cornette is talking to TNA World Champion Sting. Cornette says that Sting is all about honor and respect. Sting asks who said he condoned what happened. Sting talks about not being in Charlotte for fifteen years and will retain the title whether Rhino gets there or not.
A video package promoting the Kurt Angle/Jeff Jarrett feud is aired.
Sixth Contest: Kurt Angle defeated Jeff Jarrett in a no disqualification match: They quickly trade right hands with Jarrett getting the advantage and sends Angle into the corner. Angle puts a sleeper on Jarrett until Jarrett low blows Angle and connects with an electric chair slam. Jarrett clotheslines Angle over the top to the floor. On the floor, Jarrett sends Angle into the guard railing a few times. Jarrett rams Angle chest first into the railing and tosses a fans beer into Angle’s face! Angle knocks Jarrett off the apron and Jarrett hits the guard railing! Angle rams Jarrett head first into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Angle gets a near fall following a snap suplex. Angle gets another two count following a back breaker. Jarrett gets out of a sleeper hold but runs into a overhead belly to belly suplex. Angle covers but Jarrett kicks out at two. Angle keeps control of the match with a sleeper hold and attempts the Angle Slam but Jarrett arm drags Angle! Jarrett manages to backdrop a charging Angle over the top to the floor! Jarrett leaps off the top to dive onto Angle on the floor! Angle tosses Jarrett over the announcers table. Angle nails Jarrett with an incredibly stiff ring bell shot. Jarrett has been busted wide open! Angle rams Jarrett head first into the announcers table and Jarrett is pouring out blood right now. Jarrett fights back with a DDT on the ramp way. Jarrett rams a bloody Angle into the steel structure at the top of the ramp way. Angle grabs Jarrett and connects with an Angle Slam off the side of the entrance way through a table! Both men crawl back to the ringside area with Angle getting there first. They both get back to their feet in the ring and begin to trade right hands. Angle runs into a few clotheslines and Jarrett plants Angle with the pedigree but only gets a two count. Jarrett attempts the Stroke but Angle counters with the ankle lock! Angle drags Jarrett away from the ropes but Jarrett rolls through to send Angle to the floor. Angle grabs a steel chair but misses a shot and gets the chair dropkicked back into his face! Jarrett connects with the Stroke but Angle kicks out! Jarrett crotches Angle on the top rope but Angle shoves Jarrett off the top and Angle hits a missile dropkick. Angle connects with the Angle Slam but Jarrett manages to kick out at two! Angle puts the ankle lock on Jarrett again but Jarrett kicks Angle away. Angle misses a spear and hits the ring post shoulder first! Jarrett grabs his guitar but Angle low blows Jarrett! Angle grabs the guitar and grabs a chair as well. Angle decides to use the chair instead and viciously whacks Jarrett over the head but only gets a near fall! Angle yells at the referee as Jarrett gets up and misses a kick. Angle puts the ankle lock on Jarrett again! Jarrett struggles to reach the ropes but rolls through again and nearly pins Angle with a roll up! Angle recovers looking for the Angle Slam but Jarrett counters with a DDT! Jarrett grabs a chair because his guitar is already messed up. Jarrett whacks Angle over the head with the chair. Jarrett crawls over and covers Angle but Angle reverses the pin and manages to crucifix Jarrett for the win! ***1/2
After the match, Angle stomps away on Jarrett’s injured ankle while holding a chair. Angle puts the chair on Jarrett’s ankle and stomps down onto the chair several times!
Backstage, Jim Cornette is talking to Rhino, who has arrived to the building bloody. Rhino is tapping up his head while Cornette tries to tell him that they can think of something else since Rhino is in no shape to perform. Rhino tells Cornette that if he thinks he can stop him, try right now. Cornette backs off as Rhino leaves the locker room.
Jeff Jarrett has been put on a stretcher due to the beating from Angle. Mike Tenay and Don West talk about the feud and we see a replay of what happened to Jarrett’s ankle.
A video package promoting the Rhino/Sting title match is aired.
Seventh Contest: TNA World Champion Sting defeated Rhino to retain the title: Rhino quickly goes to work on Sting with right hands and stomps in a corner. Rhino continues to work on Sting by sending him into the guard railing chest first. Rhino misses a gore and hits the railing shoulder first. Sting tosses Rhino into the guard railing and rams him head first into the railing as well. Sting slams Rhino head first onto the TNA World Championship that was on the announcers table. Sting manages to shove Rhino off the top rope back to the floor. Sting controls Rhino with a bear hug for several moments. Rhino breaks free and comes off the ropes with a clothesline. Rhino shoulder blocks Sting in the corner and gets a two count after a belly to belly suplex. Rhino counters a suplex attempt by hitting the Gore! However, Sting rolls to the floor. Rhino rolls Sting back in and heads to the top rope but misses a diving head butt attempt. Sting puts the Scorpio Death Lock on Rhino but Rhino reaches the bottom rope. Sting pulls Rhino back to the center of the ring but Rhino reaches the ropes a second time. Rhino kicks Sting away on another death lock attempt. Rhino connects with a belly to belly suplex but misses the Gore and hits the corner. Sting plants Rhino with the Scorpion Death Drop to retain the title. ½*
Backstage, Jeremy Borash is with Mick Foley, AJ Styles and Brother Devon. Styles doesn’t want Borash to give up on them but he likes being the underdogs. Styles says he is doing this for Samoa Joe. Brother Devon chimes in and says he feels where Styles is coming from. Devon says that Brother Ray is his brother and says he will keep the promise he made to Ray. Foley wonders which Foley will show up, the crazy one of the silly one. Foley wants the Mafia to ask themselves if they feel lucky.
A video promoting the main event is shown.
Before the main event, Booker T gets on the microphone and informs the crowd that Kevin Nash will not be competing tonight. Booker introduces the replacement partner… Kip James. James decides to go over the championships he has won and rips on the Panthers for some cheap heat.
Main Event: Mick Foley/AJ Styles/Brother Devon defeated Cute Kip/Booker T/Scott Steiner in a hardcore match: All six men trade right hands in the ring until they all decide to go to the floor. Styles works on Steiner, Devon battles with Booker and Foley works on James for a brief time. James and Styles legally start off the. Styles nails James with a dropkick to open up the contest. Booker and Devon tag into the match. Devon attacks Booker with right hands in a corner. Devon drops Booker with a right hand before tagging in Foley. Foley nails Booker with a running knee lift but only manages to get a near fall on the cover attempt. Styles tags back in but Booker stops Styles with a right hand. James returns to the match and knees Styles in the midsection. Styles knocks the Mafia off the apron and rolls James up for a near fall. James nails Styles with a big boot as Steiner tags into the contest. Steiner clotheslines Styles and drops an elbow for a two count. Booker returns to the ring and begins to chop Styles several times. Booker misses a leaping side kick and Styles connects with the Pele kick! James tags in to prevent Styles from tagging out. James misses the Fameasser and Styles nails James with another Pele kick! Foley tags in but is cut off by Steiner with a clothesline after delivering a few right hands. Steiner rams Devon into the guard railing as this match turns into a brawl. The referee calls for the bell as he has counted everyone out of the match. However, Jim Cornette comes out and demands the match be restarted. Booker tells Cornette that he doesn’t have the authority to do that. Foley chimes in and says that he has the authority to restart the match, which will be under hardcore rules. Steiner sends Styles into the ring post head first. Steiner whacks Devon over the head with a trash can. Foley has a trash can filled with weapons and hits James over the head with a cooking sheet. Foley slams Booker chest first into the railing while Styles whacks Steiner over the head with a trash can. Booker backdrops Foley over the announcers table! Foley crotches Booker on the guard railing and tells Devon to get a table. Devon sets a table up on the floor and Foley stands on the announcers table while James is on the table. Booker low blows Foley but Styles springboards off the top rope to splash onto James through the table! Devon fights Steiner on the middle rope before tossing Steiner down to the mat. Devon leaps off hitting a diving head butt. Booker enters and hits Devon with a scissors kick! Foley shoves Mr. Socko into Booker’s mouth until Steiner hits Steiner with a trash can. Steiner and Booker double team Foley but Foley fights back using the chair to fight them off and ends up planting Steiner with a DDT onto a chair for the win. *
After the match, Foley, Styles and Devon celebrate their win as the show comes to an end.
My Take: The opening six man tag match was actually a fun little bout. I liked that Hernandez dominated the heels since he is line for a World Championship match. He looked pretty good in the match, as did everyone else in the match. Good, solid opener to kick off the show.
I enjoyed the Sabin/Shelley match but I didn’t like the finish to it. They had several good high spots and all that but to have it end on a simple rollup was kind of disappointing. Aside from that, it was a good title match and a match that the crowd actually responded to, which didn’t happen all that much for this show.
Sewell/Bashir was pretty uninteresting.
The triple threat tag team title match was good when Beer Money/Lethal Consequences were in the ring. Those two teams seemed to have some good chemistry and provided some good minutes of wrestling. I was actually surprised I enjoyed the bout as much as I did.
Angle/Jarrett was a very good brawl, I thought. The bell shot that Angle delivered to Jarrett seemed to be a stiff shot that busted Jarrett wide open. This was the only other match, next to Sabin/Shelley, that got a crowd reaction.
Sting/Rhino was a incredibly boring title match.
The hardcore brawl was rather simple with one high spot from Styles. I thought it was a poor decision to focus the match on Foley and treat him like the savior. For a company that needs to focus on young guys, Styles should be given that role, in my opinion.
Overall, Genesis consists of only two good matches (X-Division title and Angle/Jarrett) while parts of the tag team title match had some redeeming qualities to it. The crowd was dead for most of the show which hurts the viewing of the DVD for me. A riled up crowd always makes a show better. I have to give this pay per view a thumbs down, but I suggest looking up the two matches I mentioned previously.
Thanks for reading.