TNA PPV Evaluation - Genesis 2013
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – JEFF HARDY VS. BOBBY ROODE VS. AUSTIN ARIES

With these three involved, the main event had a can’t-miss feel to it and seemed as close to a guarantee of a good match as anything on the card. And, it was very good. Hardy has looked truly rejuvenated as of late, and I really like the heel-heel dynamic of Aries and Roode. All three men worked very hard, and the Impact Zone was into it, which helped the presentation. This wasn’t enough to save the show, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

WORST MATCH – CHAVO GUERRERO/HERNANDEZ VS. JOEY RYAN/MATT MORGAN

Nothing in this match clicked at all. Ryan and Morgan can’t get along now? As of when? And does this mean we’re getting Matt Morgan singles push #1,238? And what on earth was Hernandez thinking with that powerbomb spot that looked like it nearly broke Ryan’s neck? The crowd didn’t care, Chavo Guerrero seems content to just do his uncle’s move set, and there wasn't a title change. This was a mess.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – THE LACK OF SURPRISES

This seems like a strange thing to be surprised by, but with only four pay-per-views on the schedule this year, I thought that TNA would pull out all the stops to make the show seem epic. Not the case.

BIGGEST LETDOWN – IMPACT SEGMENTS YOU PAY FOR

I love me some Bully Ray, and I’m actually looking forward to the wedding on Impact, but was his segment with Brooke Hogan really necessary on pay-per-view? This was a complete throwaway TV segment, marred by baffling logic: So, we’re all invited to the wedding on Spike TV? Were we not allowed to watch without this greenlight? Do I have to buy a gift?

BEST QUOTE – DANIELS

Is there a more entertaining act than Daniels and Kazarian in TNA right now? I don’t think so. Daniels saying he was going to drink his appletini, shake his ass, and beat up James Storm was hilarious.

BEST MOVE – JEFF HARDY

I’m all for keeping the champion as strong as possible, and having Hardy win clean with his Swanton was the right move. A dominant champion raises the level of the belt, and makes the division seem that much more important.

BEST MATCH FINISH – MAIN EVENT

It was too early to take the title off Jeff Hardy, who remains incredibly over with the fans. While I wanted something newsworthy from the show, keeping the champion strong was the right move here.

OTHER THOUGHTS

- Samoa Joe and Mr. Anderson had good match. While I’m finding it hard to invest much interest in the Aces & Eights storyline, this was at least enjoyable from an in-ring standpoint.

- The X Division matches were handled strangely in that they were back-to-back, and the title was inexplicably kept on RVD, but Kenny King looked solid in his match with Christian York. Again, not sure why there wasn't a title change here, but it was an entertaining if not memorable segment.

- Joseph Park is very entertaining, but I hope there’s an endgame in sight. Where’s Abyss? Did Joseph give up his search? Are we just supposed to know that they’re the same person without any pay-off? And why am I paying for a match where a guy intentionally wrestles poorly?

- The KO gauntlet match was okay, despite everyone seemingly knowing that Velvet Sky would win the #1 contendership. Fine for what it was, and I’m guessing that Sky gets her win at Lockdown.

- Daniels and Storm had a good match as well, made better by Daniels, who is perfectly in sync with his character. Kazarian having his manager’s license was a funny touch. Well done.

- Sting vs. D.O.C. Oh dear. Sting looked slow and gassed out there, and nobody seems to care at all about D.O.C. And of course, Aces & Eights lost again. Is this the worst ‘takeover’ in wrestling history?

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

With TNA shifting their pay-per-view schedule to their version of the "Big Four," I thought that Genesis would be a newsworthy show – if TNA is going to concentrate all of their efforts into a third of the amount of shows, they have to make them experiences where fans feel that they got their money’s worth, and those that skipped the show are regretting it. But that’s not what happened. Instead Genesis was basically an episode of Impact, albeit with a very good main event. That’s not enough. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, as perhaps this decision was a recent one and moving forward the PPVss will seem more special (it’ll help that they will take place outside of the Impact Zone), but for the first event of 2013, this show wasn’t memorable at all.

INITIAL 2013 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 – TNA GENESIS (2013-01-13)

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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