By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

TNA Genesis PPV ongoing PPV review
November 13, 2005
From Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida
Report by James Caldwell, Torch columnist

Free Countdown Show

- Jeremy Borash and Shane Douglas ran down the line up before going to video packages of feuds.

- They went to the over-used limo shot in the backstage area to hype the debut of the "major acquisition."

(1) Shark Boy beat Nigel McGuinness with a small package roll up. Unimpressive debut for McGuinness and not a reflection of what he's capable of in the ring.

- Bobby Roode cut a promo backstage in the Team Canada locker room as Coach Scott D'Amore paced in the background on the phone. Petey Williams asked A.J. Styles how his neck feels after taking the Canadian Destroyer last night on Impact. Petey continued to put over his finisher before Scott D'Amore said he won't be ringside in Team Canada's corner because he's attending to important business. Eric Young began to flip out so Roode slapped him across the face.

- Jeremy Borash ran down the lineup once again while standing next to So Cal Val. We went to a video package hyping the six-man tag main event of Jarrett and AMW vs. Rhino and Team 3D to the sound of generic pop rock music.

(2) Diamonds in the Rough (Elix Skipper & David Young & Simon Diamond) beat Lance Hoyt & The Naturals. The Naturals, who were complete in Hard Foundation pink and black tights, hit double team splashes on each opponent outside of the ring. Your usual six-man tag match with too much going on and no selling by anyone. Prime Time and David Young combined for a double team pancake on Chase Stevens for the win.

- Don West stood in the crowd and ran down the crowd as random Universal Studios tourists tried to play along. Reminds me of WCW Worldwide.

- Raven slapped himself as he walked in a dark hallway.

Live PPV Review

- The show began with "In memory of Eddie Guerrero 1967-2005" in black and white text.

- Our usual overdone TNA PPV opening video consisted of speeches from Presidents Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, George Bush Sr., and Bill Clinton. We even saw video from Winston Churchill. The video said it's time for a rebirth and a move away from dictatorship.

- Raven walked to the ring to meet Larry Zbyszko and security. Zbyszko offered Raven a waiver release or wrestling match. Raven shot the double bird then attacked Zbyszko when Zbyszko mentioned that Raven was succumbing to "the girl" in his life. Zbyszko shook Raven off then introduced Justin Cred...er...P.J. Polaco.

(1) RAVEN VS. P.J. POLACO

The match started off slow with Polaco trying to take Raven down with an awkward body takedown. The match spilled to the outside where Raven's stooge, Cassidy Riley, stood in front of a Singapore cane shot. Polaco went for another cane shot, but Raven ducked and slammed Polaco into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Polaco and Raven exchanged weak wrestling as Larry Zbyszko looked on. Polaco looked out of shape. Raven wasn't much better. Raven scored with an Evenflow DDT for the pin. Raven screamed at Zbyszko from the ring as Zbyszko looked on frustrated.

WINNER: Raven via pinfall at 5:45. Weak wrestling that did nothing to get the PPV off to a strong start.

- We saw a video package highlighting the feud between 3 Live Kru and Team Canada before going to a backstage promo with 3 Live Kru. B.G. offered a sinking ship analogy before B.G. questioned Konnan's loyalty to the Kru.

(2) 3 LIVE KRU (B.G. JAMES & KONNAN & RON KILLINGS) VS. TEAM CANADA (ERIC YOUNG & A-1 RALPHZ & BOBBY ROODE).

Kip James came to the ring first as special referee wearing the Shawn Michaels "way too tight and way too short" referee shorts. Konnan did his usual pre-match speech to very little reaction before throwing a tribute to Eddie Guerrero. The fans chanted, "Eddie," showing the first sign of life for the show tonight. Team Canada attacked Kru before the bell before the action spilled to the outside. Eric Young put an amateur wrestling headpiece on his head before climbing the corner to retrieve a hockey stick. Young tried to use it, but Kip stopped him short and broke the stick over his knee like a baseball hitter after striking out. Apparently there are rules for who can climb the corner and retrieve the stick gimmicks. Killings tagged in and retrieved a stick before Roode attacked him from behind. Konnan put his shoe on a hockey stick and slapped A-1 and Young. Roode regained momentum for his team by attacking B.G. as he ascended a pole. Team Canada exchanged in-and-out tags working on B.G. with an array of anticlimactic power moves. Roode tried to use a stick at 7:30, but Killings stole the stick from behind allowing B.G. to hit a boot to the face. Killings took a hot tag and ran over his opponents before making a cover on Young, which resulted in a very slow count from Kip, whose cadence has been slower than Earl Hebner's. The action broke down with wrestlers hitting high impact spots left and right. Konnan locked in the Tequila Sunrise on Young, but Roode broke it up. We went into a poorly choreographed stick fight before Killings split the uprights on Young with a top rope leg drop as Konnan and B.G. held Young's legs open. Killings made the cover for the win. Afterwards, Kip smacked fists with Konnan acknowledging a possible friendship.

WINNERS: 3 Live Kru via pinfall at 10:23. Without much of a rules explanation, Kip James trying to play referee while looking lost, and TNA relying on a lame gimmick match, the match had no chance to succeed.

- Backstage, Shane Douglas was with James Mitchell and Abyss. Douglas asked about the new acquisition. Mitchell said he doesn't care who the new person is because Abyss will take care of him. Mitchell pulled out a replica of Sabu's head that was a egg covered in cloth. Abyss scrambled Sabu's brain in his hands before grunting.

- Mike Tenay screamed as the person from behind the special locker room walked out from behind the door. We saw only his feet and the bottom of his pants. After a "five...four...three..." countdown that tried to be like Chris Jericho's Y2J intro, text of "Christian Cage" appeared on the video screen. Christian came to the ring backwards with his hooded jacket. Christian walked to the ring as the fans applauded.

- Christian took the mic and said the one question he's been asked all week is whether he's showing up in TNA. We saw video of Jeff Jarrett, AMW, and Gail Kim watching the monitors backstage. Christian emphasized that he came to TNA because, "I was offered a very hefty sum to stay exactly where I was. But, the reason why I came to TNA is because of the same reason each and every one of you is here tonight...and that's because I love wrestling." (I hope he didn't watch the first two matches.) Christian said he's the all-around greatest performer in wrestling today. Christian said he's tired of egos and politics; he wants to see guys busting their asses in the ring. Christian said he watched Impact last night and it reminded him of when he broke into the business when WCW was old and lacking direction and WWE was hot and cutting edge. Christian said the roles are reversed with TNA being hot and cutting edge. Christian addressed Jeff Jarrett after saying he wants to be the biggest piece of the TNA puzzle. Christian offered a fashion tip then said he wants the NWA Title. (Well, every new acquisition has to go through Jeff Jarrett, so it's only natural.) Scott D'Amore and Bobby Roode interrupted. D'Amore said there's no one happier to have Christian in TNA than himself. D'Amore reminded Christian of their memories in Canada with "Adam" Copeland, Chris Jericho, and Stu Hart. D'Amore rambled on about Canadian memories as the crowd became restless with D'Amore's spotlight theft. D'Amore suggested that Christian align himself with the right people politically. Christian began to answer D'Amore, but Roode interrupted and got in Christian's face because he didn't feel like Christian understood D'Amore's offer. D'Amore offered Christian a Team Canada t-shirt then said he knows Christian will make the right choice. Christian said, "It looks like it's the right size, but it's going to take me some time to see if it's the right fight."

- Shane Douglas screamed at the top of his lungs about Christian's appearance while being positioned with Monty Brown to conduct an interview. Brown told Douglas to be quiet then said it's not funny that Christian may be taking his title opportunity. Brown said he won't be denied his title opportunity because he's worked too long and too hard.

(3) JEFF HARDY VS. MONTY BROWN

Brown and Hardy exchanged right hands before Hardy appeared to perform an interpretive dance after missing with a clothesline. Hardy avoided the Pounce at 1:45 before sending Brown to the outside. Hardy missed with a baseball slide then Brown sent Hardy crashing into the guardrail. Hardy reversed a second whip into the guardrail then climbed into the stands, climbed up to the second level of seats above the pit, and then walked the platform before leaping over a fan with a trash bag over his head, who failed to move because his peripheral vision was probably compromised by the bag while trying to get himself over, and crashed onto Brown with a leg whip. The action spilled to the other side of the ringside area before ending up near the announce table. Brown told Tenay and West to get out of the way and Tenay asked, "What does he mean get out of the way?" Brown teased a whip into the table, but whipped Hardy back into the ring before calling Tenay and West stupid for believing him. Back in the ring, Brown and Hardy exchanged right hands and knocked each over down with dual clotheslines. Hardy took a whip to the ropes and translated it into a corkscrew moonsault from the top rope. Brown slipped out of a Twist of Phate, but couldn't slip out of a reverse neckbreaker. Hardy scored a nearfall on the pin then went for a top rope Swanton Bomb at 8:15, but Brown moved out of the way. Brown caught Hardy out of nowhere with the Pounce for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Monty Brown via pinfall at 8:43. Better match than the previous two, but there wasn't enough time for the match to develop a nice pace and cadence to be a solid PPV quality match.

- Shane Douglas was backstage with Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong, and Christopher Daniels. Shelley asked Daniels where Samoa Joe is. Daniels said Joe has his mind in the right place and he'll be there for the team in the match. Daniels called himself the leader of Team Ministry then said, "Let my will be done in the ring tonight." No promo from the babyfaces?

(4) SAMOA JOE & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & ALEX SHELLEY & RODERICK STRONG VS. AUSTIN ARIES & SONJAY DUTT & MATT BENTLEY (w/Traci) & CHRIS SABIN -- ELIMINATION X MATCH

Samoa Joe came to the ring first, and by himself, before each subsequent partner was introduced. Joe stood away from his partners before the opening bell as Shelley tried to encourage Joe to get his head in the game. Dutt tried to hit a spinning, twisting, tilt-o-whirl move of sorts, but fell off Strong's shoulders and dropped to the mat. Shelley entered and worked on Dutt with submission holds before tagging in Joe. Joe went for a facewash on Dutt, but Dutt blocked the move. Joe went for the facewash a second time and nearly took Dut's head off. Joe stared down Dutt's fallen body as a fan near the camera asked, "Sonjay, are you all right?" Dutt surprised Joe with a top rope moonsault then tagged in Aries. Joe shook off three forearm blows before dropping Aries with an atomic drop and missile drop kick. Joe crashed down onto Aries with his backside as the crowd exploded. Aries and Daniels took tags into the match before Sabin tagged in for Aries. Sabin snapped off a few huricanranas before Joe threw a knee into Sabin's back allowing Daniels to knock over Sabin with a front clothesline. Aries took a hot tag from Sabin and ran over Daniels and Strong. Aries landed a drop kick on Daniels after Strong moved out of the way. Everyone entered the ring intermittently with Sabin hitting a huricanrana on Joe before Strong dropped Sabin with a sick backbreaker. The babyfaces cleared the heels out of the ring before setting up for the obligatory multiple person high spot from the inside to the outside. Strong and Aries re-entered the ring and went after each other while everyone else recovered outside of the ring. Aries positioned Strong for his 450 Splash and connected at 12:02 to eliminate Strong from the match. Joe reentered the ring stared down Aries. Daniels came in from behind and rolled up Aries with a quick roll up hooking the tights to eliminate Aries at 12:23.

With the match now three-on-three, Daniels worked on Bentley before each team began exchanging tags. Dutt knocked Joe off the ring apron then hit a standing shooting star press on Shelley for a nearfall. Dutt grappled Shelley and went for the water sprinkler walking the top rope move on Shelley. Dutt walked into a drop kick from Shelley then Shelley locked in a Crossface submission on Dutt as Joe and Daniels cleared the babyfaces from the ring apron. Dutt tapped out at 15:13 with no one to save him. Bentley entered the ring and dropped Shelley with a superkick at 15:53 to eliminate Shelley bringing the match to a two-on-two situation. Daniels and Joe exchanged tags while working on Bentley. Joe took Bentley to the corner and went for the Muscle Buster, but Bentley fought off and dropped a top rope elbow on Joe. Bentley made a cover, but Daniels broke up the pin attempt. Daniels tagged himself in and dropped Bentley with a lift-up slam before hitting the Best Moonsault Ever on Bentley for a nearfall. All four men found themselves in the corner with Joe dropping Bentley, Sabin, and Daniels with a powerbomb while in the Tower of Doom. Joe washed Bentley's face in the corner before walking right into a superkick after Bentley no-sold Joe's previous offense. Daniels caught Bentley in the electric chair then slid Bentley onto Joe for the Muscle Buster. Joe locked in the Kokina Clutch on Bentley and Bentley tapped out at 20:40 leaving Sabin by himself against Joe and Daniels. Joe and Daniels attacked Sabin before Sabin came back with a double drop kick on both opponents. Joe went for the Muscle Buster on Sabin, but Sabin fought out and hit a kick to the gut. Sabin delivered a springboard dropkick to the back then went for Cradle Shock on Joe, but Daniels kicked Sabin to break up the move. Sabin went for Cradle Shock on Daniels, but Joe broke up the move. Joe went for Muscle Buster on Sabin, but Bentley tripped Joe from outside of the ring, breaking up the hold. Daniels caught Sabin and hit Angel's Wings and scored the pin for his team.

Afterwards, Daniels celebrated his victory, but Joe complained that the match was supposed to be his to win. Daniels said, "We won!" Joe and Daniels knocked knuckles then Daniels turned around to celebrate. Daniels turned around and walked right into a superkick from Joe. Joe snapped and took Daniels to the outside where he scored a sick chair shot to the head before placing Daniels on the seat of a chair for an Ole kick against the guardrail. Daniels came up bleeding then Joe smashed Daniels over the head with another chair shot. Joe delivered a Muscle Buster in the center of the ring before placing a chair in the middle of the ring and hitting another Muscle Buster on the chair. Daniels was out cold in the middle of the ring as security, officials, and paramedics checked on Daniels. Paramedics tried to get a stretcher into the ring, but were unsuccessful. Daniels was rolled out of the ring as A.J. Styles came to the entrance ramp and watched Daniels. Joe merely stood over Daniels's body and stared down his fallen prey. Daniels was taken to an ambulance backstage.

WINNERS: Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels at 23:15. Decent wrestling match, but too much was going on, as usual. The post-match angle really established Joe's character and gave him some definition as an assassin. The X Division actually has a storyline to work with now.


(5) ABYSS (w/James Mitchell) VS. SABU

Sabu appeared in the ring after the lights came back on holding a towel over his arm. Sabu didn't have barbed wire under the towel this time, but had a chair to hit Abyss over the head with. Sabu and Abyss exchanged blows in and out of the ring before Abyss delivered a clothesline that nearly knocked Sabu's nose off because the move was off. Abyss sent Sabu to the corner then danced his way into the corner for a big slash. Abyss landed hard right hands to the face then stumbled around the ring. Sabu came up bleeding as Abyss scored a scoop slam then climbed up top. Sabu caught Abyss on the top turnbuckle and hit a huricanrana. Sabu set up a chair in the middle of the ring and went for a springboard move, but Abyss hopped up and cracked the chair over Sabu's head. Sabu reversed a whip to the corner and sent Abyss headfirst into a steel chair. Sabu went for a springboard backflip splash, but botched the move and dropped knee-first across Abyss's face. Sabu set up a table outside of the ring and landed a somersault splash sending Abyss headfirst through the table. Abyss went under the ring and pulled out a bag of thumbtacks before spraying the tacks across the ring. Sabu picked up a barbed wire chair and tried to use it, but James Mitchell pulled the chair away. Sabu went for clotheslines on Abyss, but couldn't knock Abyss down. Abyss scored with a chokeslam into the thumbtacks, replicating the same spot we saw two months ago. Abyss made a cover, but Sabu kicked out. Abyss went for a top rope splash, but Sabu moved and Abyss ate tacks. Sabu landed a flying pinkey to the face and Abyss dropped backwards onto the tacks. Sabu scored a nearfall then locked in a Camel Clutch. Abyss reached out for the bottom rope and grabbed the rope to break out the hold. Sabu tried to hit Abyss with the barbed wire chair again, but Abyss blocked and went for a powerbomb. Sabu slipped out then bounced off the ropes and walked into a Black Hole Slam onto the barbed wire chair for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Abyss via pinfall at 10:48. Usual trainwreck hardcore match between two wrestlers who have wrestled the exact same match several PPV's in a row. Nothing new when the gimmicks are worn out and the same shortcuts don't work after long enough.

- Shane Douglas was backstage with X Division champion A.J. Styles. Styles said Daniels is on his way to the hospital. Styles said he doesn't like Daniels, but he respects him. Styles said Joe broke the unwritten code of the X Division and he'll have to be dealt with. Styles said the Canadian Destroyer is one of the coolest moves in wrestling, but Styles said Petey isn't phenomenal like him.

(6) A.J. STYLES VS. PETEY WILLIAMS (w/A-1 Ralphz) -- X DIVISION TITLE MATCH

Styles and Petey exchanged opening match feel-out holds to build up tension in the match. Styles went for a Styles Clash early on, but Petey slipped out by grabbing the ropes. Styles knocked Petey to the outside near the guardrail then went for an over-the-top rope somersault plancha, but overshot Petey and crashed hard into the guardrail. Styles's tailbone broke his fall or else he may have broken an ankle crashing onto the floor on the other side of the guardrail. Petey set up Styles for a German Suplex from the apron to the guardrail, but Styles held onto the ropes and blocked the hold. Eventually, Petey fought off Styles with forearm blows to the back then dangerously threw Styles off the apron back-first into the guardrail with a release German Suplex. Back in the ring, Styles hit a soccer kick on Petey at 11:25. Styles connected with a gut buster across his knee then hit a rolling German Suplex before hitting a sit down face jam instead of a second German Suplex, resulting in a nearfall. Styles snapped off a huricanrana before going for the back flip reverse DDT. However, Petey blocked, so Styles adjusted and hit a Northern Lights suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Styles took Petey to the corner and went for a suplex, but Petey shoved him off the top. Petey went for a huricanrana, but Styles rolled through and scored a nearfall. Styles went for Styles Clash, but Petey slipped out and hit a DDT. Petey made a cover for a nearfall at 14:45. Petey set up for the Destroyer, but Styles slipped out. Petey hit a Russian Legsweep instead then locked in the Sharpshooter. Styles crawled to the ropes and tried to reach out, but Petey grabbed Styles's right arm to block the reach. Styles used his left arm instead to break the hold. Petey bounced off the ropes and walked into a flying forearm from Styles off the top rope. Styles knocked Petey to he apron then set up Petey for a possible suplex on the top turnbuckle. Petey blocked then Styles back body dropped Petey to the mat. Samoa Joe walked to the entrance way and distracted Styles, allowing Petey to block a possible Spiral Tap. Petey climbed back up, but Styles recovered and placed Petey in position for the Styles Clash. While staring at Joe, Styles hit his finisher then pinned Petey for the win. Joe and Styles stared each other down.

WINNER: A.J. Styles via pinfall at 18:20 to retain the X Division Title. Solid match and match of the night so far, although not a typical standout X Division PPV match. Good storyline setup for Styles and Joe.

- After going to Don West and Mike Tenay to discuss the main event, we returned to a shot of the arena to see many people leaving.

- Shane Douglas was backstage with Rhino and Team 3D. If Triple H looked like the Michelin Man at the Raw Homecoming show, then Devon looked like the Michelin Man's older brother. Ray ran down the storyline where AMW had a funeral for Team 3D. Rhino cut his usual generic grunt promo before Ray acknowledged Eddie Guerrero, while in character.

(7) JEFF JARRETT (w/Gail Kim) & AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (CHRIS HARRIS & JAMES STORM) VS. RHINO & TEAM 3D (BROTHER RAY & BROTHER DEVON)

Jarrett, Harris, and Storm moved to different areas of the Impact zone to make sure the shortcuts could start early rather than having to begin in the ring with that wrestling stuff. The babyfaces chased the heels throughout the Impact zone with Rhino fighting Jarrett through the stands while Team 3D battled AMW. Rhino press slammed Jarrett onto a few chairs near a few monitors before Jarrett reversed a whip and sent Rhino crashing through a row of chairs. Devon choked Harris across the guardrail while Ray clocked Storm with a right hand. Jarrett and Rhino climbed the stairs to the top of the Impact zone and brawled there. Rhino scared a few kids then slammed Jarrett onto the top of the Spanish announce table, which was positioned above the seats down below. Jarrett got scared and slipped off the table then Rhino fell off the table and fell down several rows of stairs like a Slinky. Jarrett sent Rhino headfirst into a chair on the guardrail then Rhino suplexed Jarrett onto two chairs while the padding underneath his tights was coming out. It looked like he was wearing a diaper. Storm threw a random bottle at Ray, but Ray moved out of the way. Devon picked up the ring bell and grazed Storm's head with the bell. Ray pulled out a cheese grater and made cheese out of Storm's forehead. In the process, Ray and Storm entered the ring for the first time at the 6:57 mark. Ray hitched up his britches as the fans chanted for a table. Ray and Devon went under the ring and picked up a table. They went for a suplex on Storm, but Harris moved the table out of the way just in time. Harris picked up the grater and made cheese out of Ray's crotch with a low blow. Meanwhile, on the outside, Rhino picked up a trashcan and barely grazed Jarrett's head with the can. Some more spots outside of the ring meant nothing after Harris took a powerbomb on the floor and came to rather quickly. Rhino delivered a piledriver on Jarrett on the top of the entrance stage. Rhino placed a table against the entrance tunnel then stalked Jarrett for a Gore, but Storm caught Rhino just in time with a superkick. Back in the ring, Jarrett landed a mule kick on Ray in plain sight of the referee. However, the referee didn't call for a DQ. There go the non-existent rules. Rhino came back into the ring and gored Jarrett before making a cover, but Harris pulled the referee out of the ring. AMW hit more power moves resulting in neafalls, leaving us with only two more moves in the power move playbook that can be killed by no-selling. Team 3D knocked Harris out of the ring then hit the 3D on Storm for the pin and the win. Tenay told Rhino and Team 3D to take a bow for their victory.

Afterwards, Jarrett reentered the ring and cracked a guitar over Rhino's head. Devon attacked Jarrett with a punch to the face before Devon brought a brand new table into the ring. Gail Kim held onto Devon's leg. Ray went for a powerbomb on Kim, but Team Canada hit the ring and attacked Team 3D. AMW and Canada held Devon on the table then Jarrett went up top for a top rope move, but Christian's music came on. Christian ran to the ring and revealed that he was wearing a Team Canada t-shirt. D'Amore hugged Christian then Christian changed his mind and dropped D'Amore with the Unprettier. Team 3D magically popped back up to their feet and cornered Jarrett. Christian threw Jarrett off the top rope then Team 3D and Christian hit a 3D through a table. Christian took off his Canada shirt and revealed a TNA shirt to close the show.

WINNERS: Rhino & Team 3D via pinfall 15:48. Usual shortcut main event match involving Jarrett or anyone with an ECW background. Christian's swerve was rather predictable, especially since he walked to the ring with a short sleeve and long sleeve t-shirt on. However, it was good to see TNA take advantage of Christian in a babyface role, even if it means Christian vs. Jarrett in the future rather than the more marketable Christian vs. Styles feud.

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