Hello and welcome to my review of part 1 of TNA’s Genesis special, where I’ll give my thoughts on the matches from the first week of the tapings.
In the lead up to Genesis, Dixie Carter said that Genesis would be the start of a new era – out with the, old in with the new – and she promised that there was new talent on the way. If the Wolves – Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards – are the kind of new talent coming to TNA, then there are exciting times ahead, but more on that later!
Here’s a list of the matches we saw on part 1 of Genesis 2014:
12-Person Tag-Team Match: Team TNA (Samoa Joe, James Storm, Gunner, ODB, Joseph Park and Eric Young) vs Team Dixie (The Bro-Mans, Zema Ion, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian and Lei’d Tapa)
No Disqualification Match: Bully Ray vs Mr Anderson
Knockouts Championship Match: Gail Kim (c) vs Madison Rayne
Ethan Carter III vs Sting
In-Ring Segment with Dixie Carter, Magnus, Rockstar Spud and Sting
Highlights: Rockstar Spud is growing in his role as Chief of Staff, and he’s drawing a lot of heat. Dixie Carter came down to a sea of boos and introduced “her” people – the people who stepped up to help her will be rewarded for their efforts.
Dixie then brings out “her” champion, Magnus. Again, there was a lot of heat from the crowd, but Magnus wasn’t fazed by it. Instead, he presented Dixie with the other World Heavyweight Championship belt. Magnus explained that he only needed one belt and Dixie deserves the other because of all she’s done for TNA.
Sting comes through the crowd to argue with Dixie. He says although she has “her” people, he’s got some people in the back who weren’t happy with what happened last week, and they’re ready to fight back. Team TNA appear on the ramp and run down to the ring, resulting in a brawl which sets up the first match of the night.
Thoughts: I thought the opening segment was good and it played out really well. Rockstar Spud and Dixie are doing well in their roles and the heat they’re getting shows that they’re doing a good job. If you’re sitting watching their segments and hating the characters, it means they’re doing what they’re supposed to. I’m interested to see where Team Dixie goes from here, and wonder how long it’ll be until the TNA roster step up and shut them down.
12-Person Tag-Team Match: Team TNA (Samoa Joe, James Storm, Gunner, ODB, Joseph Park and Eric Young) vs Team Dixie (The Bro-Mans, Zema Ion, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian and Lei’D Tapa)
Highlights: There was so much going on in this match, which made it hard to keep up with all the action. It’s always good to see Samoa Joe dive to the outside. He did it here, taking out the Bro-Mans. Lei’d Tapa’s tackle on ODB showed what a force she can be. Samoa Joe locked in a choke hold on Daniels for the win.
Winners: Team TNA
Thoughts: I enjoyed this chaotic match, which hadn’t been announced before the tapings. I don’t know if you could really have called it a tag match because it was all over the place. It was a great way to kick off Genesis and hopefully, it’s set the tone for the rest of the tapings.
No Disqualification Match: Bully Ray vs Mr Anderson
Build History: This feud has been building ever since Anderson stepped up to challenge the-then World Champion, Bully Ray. Anderson subsequently lost the match and was kicked out of Aces & 8s. Anderson got his revenge though, beating Bully in a rematch, which resulted in the Aces & 8s having to disband, leaving Bully on his own. Over the past few weeks, Bully has turned into a darker character and has been sending Anderson a series of messages.
Highlights: The match started before the bell had even rung, as Anderson jumped Bully on the ramp. Anderson set up a table and after low-blowing Bully, he hoisted him onto his shoulders and hit a rolling fireman’s carry through the table. They used the spare barrier and Bully kicked it so hard that Anderson went flying through the barrier. Anderson then hit a Mic Check on Bully, using the barrier. After Bully ran his mouth about Anderson’s family, he got another Mic Check. Anderson grabbed some lighter fluid and covered a table with it, but Bully hit him with a Piledriver to get the win.
Winner (via pinfall): Bully Ray
Thoughts: This feud has got better and better as it’s gone on, but with that being said, I hope it’s resolved at LockDown. It’s been really intense lately and I hope they’re not just teasing a flaming table. Hopefully we get to see it!
In-Ring Segment with Kurt Angle and Dixie Carter
Highlights: After being driven away by Al Snow last week thanks to an apparent “family emergency”, Angle is back and on the warpath. He eventually finds Al Snow backstage and demands answers, which he doesn’t get.
Angle heads out to the ring and calls out Dixie. He asks her why she did it. Dixie claims that she’s protecting him again and moves his match against Bobby Roode back to next week. After she tells security to escort Angle from the ring, Bobby Roode comes out and attacks him. He lays Angle out with the Roode Bomb, making it easier for security to get rid of Angle.
Thoughts: This segment built to next week’s match really well. Angle was pissed off at what happened last week, so this week should annoy him even more. I don’t think I’d want to step inside a steel cage with a pissed off Cyborg/wrestling machine!
Knockouts Championship Match: Gail Kim (c) vs Madison Rayne
History: Gail Kim set an Open Challenge to any female wrestler outside TNA to wrestler her. If they won, they’d get a shot at the Knockouts Championship. After several women challenged Kim and failed, Madison Rayne stepped up to beat her, setting up this match.
Highlights: Gail Kim and Lei’d Tapa attacked Madison Rayne backstage, but after some good back and forth action, Tapa tried to get involved again so the referee sent her backstage, leaving Gail alone. She went for Eat Defeat, but Madison rolled her up to get the win and become the new Knockouts Champion!
Winner (via pinfall, and NEW Knockouts Champion): Madison Rayne
Thoughts: I was disappointed to see Gail lose the title so quickly after setting her Open Challenge. I thought TNA could’ve used this to bring new Knockouts in and expand the division. It’s good to see Madison back though and her winning the title from Gail (potentially) sets up a few different feuds. I’d like to see Gail vs Tapa because we know Gail will probably blame Tapa for this loss.
Backstage Segment with Dixie Carter, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards
Highlights: We see Dixie in her office with “the Wolves”. She offers them a tryout match next week. They laugh in her face and tell Dixie that they signed their contracts this morning, hinting that there’s a new investor in TNA. They hand Dixie their contracts, leaving her to think about who the new investor is.
Thoughts: It’s good to see TNA finally signing some more decent talent. The Wolves will be a great addition to the roster because they’re both capable of challenging for the tag-belts as well as for the World Championship.
Who is the mystery investor? Could it be Jeff Jarrett and Toby Keith? After all, double-J is still a minority shareholder and has said via Twitter that he’ll announce his new project when the time’s right. Before his departure, Jarrett and Keith had been looking at investing in TNA or starting up a company of their own. Alternatively, the mystery investor could be someone else who has associations with TNA. Could it be Sting? Maybe he’s had enough and has decided to step up to change things on his own?
Ethan Carter III vs Sting
Build History: Sting has been the main opposition to the Team Dixie group. He was the only one left to fight AJ Styles’ corner last week in the Title Unification match. Dixie ensure the odds were stacked against Sting and AJ, which resulted in Sting challenging EC3 to this match. This is the first real challenge that EC3’s faced since debuting in TNA. Dixie continued to stack the odds against Sting by adding a Special Guest Referee to the match – Rockstar Spud!
Highlights: Obviously, Spud showed which side he was on and refused to count any pin attempt from Sting on EC3. Sting even had EC3 beat thanks to a Scorpion Death Drop, but there was no count. Magnus came down and took his jacket off to reveal a referee’s shirt. It was enough of a distraction for EC3 to roll Sting up and thanks to a fast count from Magnus, EC3 got the win.
Winner (via pinfall): Ethan Carter III
Sting was frustrated after the match and issued a challenge to Magnus for the World Heavyweight Championship. Magnus accepted, on the condition that Sting put his career on the line. Of course, Sting accepted. Magnus mocked him and said he was looking forward to ripping Sting’s contract up in his face.
Thoughts: It was a decent match, but with Team Dixie showing their strength, is there any stopping them? I’m looking forward to Magnus vs Sting next week, but has Sting rolled the dice too many times? Will he lose his place in TNA?.
Overall Thoughts on Genesis – Part 1
It was a decent show, but not one that grabbed your attention or had you on the edge of your seat. However, it’s definitely made me want to tune in next week to see what happens.
I’m looking forward to the Steel Cage match, which will tear the house down. Angle and Roode are probably 2 of the best talents that TNA have on their roster. The X-Division Championship match should be good too. I can’t wait to see if Velvet Sky finally sees sense and sends Sabin packing. Will we see the Wolves and if so, will they send Dixie another cryptic message?
What did you think about the first part of the Genesis tapings? Please leave a comment below or find me on Twitter. I’m @emmagiles98.
Disclaimer: All images used are courtesy of www.impactwrestling.com
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