TNA Genesis Recap (11/11): Can You Dig It Suckaaahh!The show opened with a the playing of the National Anthem to honor US Veterans for Veteran’s Day. Then they showed a great video with images of conception and birth cut in with scenes of the action leading up to the PPV. Announcers Mike Tenay and Don West are at ringside to welcome fans. SoCal Val is at ringside looking gorgeous in red. They cut to show a stretch limo arriving, apparently with Sting‘s Mystery Partner.
Shop of Horrors Match
Abyss
vs.
Black Reign
Black Reign brings out his pet rat Misty in a cage (I’m sorry, but I still can’t buy such a cute pet as scary – I’m more worried about Misty than anyone she is put on!), while Abyss brings his chain. The battle starts on the ramp before Abyss can even get into the ring. Abyss throws Black Reign into the ring, but are soon on the floor again, as Abyss throws Black Reign out over the top rope and then breaks a piece of sheetrock over his head. Abyss drags Reign through the crowd and throws him head first into the wall. The Monster drags Black Reign up to the ramp and dumps out trash cans full of weapons: chains, canes, crutches, traffic signs, golf clubs, and more.
Black Reign wallops Abyss with a piece of sheetrock, gets away, and tries to unlock a black box at the top of the ramp, but Abyss stops him. Black Reign throws Abyss back into the ring, where he even resorts to biting Abyss. Black Reign brings in a steel chair and sets it up between the ropes in a ring corner, but Abyss reverses it with a boot to the groin and smashes Reign into the chair. Abyss goes for the barbed wire baseball bat and smashed Black Reign with it.
Black Reign bails and tries to go back toward the box but gets choke slammed off the ramp to the arena floor by Abyss. Now Abyss brings a board with rat traps on it into the ring, but then he goes over and clamps Black Reign’s hands into a vise. James Mitchell runs down to release him. Abyss gets the rat and acts like he’s going to slam it into the traps, but when James Mitchell enters the ring, he stuffs Misty down his shirt instead, and Mitchell goes wild and leaves the ring.
The distraction allows Black Reign to return and grab Abyss. He hits Abyss with a Black Out onto the rat traps, then goes out for a kendo stick, which he uses to beat Abyss. Then he pulls out a set up brass knucks, but Abyss rushes him and hits the Black Hole slam for the pin.
After that brutal match, Abyss takes the kay and unlocks the black box, which says “Crimson Blood.” Johnny Stamboli, wearing a mask, face paint and a gladiator skirt, comes out of it, spraying a mist into Abyss’ face, and then he and Black Reign beat down Abyss. Then they lock Abyss into the box and dump it off the ramp onto the arena floor.
They cut to Jeremy Borash, who is trying to find out who is in the stretch limo. He tries to order the security guards to let him see, but they refuse and threaten to remove him forcibly, so he leaves.
Crystal interviews the Motor City Machine Guns
Team 3D, Devon and Brother Ray
vs.
The Motor City Machineguns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin
I give a lot of credit to Team 3D for allowing Sabin and Shelley to look very strong in this match. They played the cheating bullies to perfection and sold just right. If they hadn’t done this just right, they could have made the Guns look weak, or they could have made the whole match look unbelievable, but they worked it perfectly.
Sabin and Shelley run up and attack 3D as they are posing on the ramp, then keeping their surprise advantage, they bash the bigger men’s heads into the ring rails. Once they get into the ring, they double team Ray, then get out of the way as Devon charges, so he hits Ray instead. 3D starts to walk out, then thinks better of it and returns, with Ray taking a shot at Mike Tenay as they go.
Sabin and Shelley use their quickness, agility and superior conditioning to the best advantage in this match, refusing to give up against larger, stronger opponents. When Ray slams him down with a clothesline, Sabin bounces right back with a kip up. After some quick exchanges, Sabin hits Ray with a hurricanarana. 3D start a double team and try to keep Sabin isolated, but he uses his quickness to escape with a flying leap across the ring to tag in Shelley.
Then the Guns get too cocky, and Ray knocks them off the top turnbuckles onto the ropes while they are posing for the fans. Devon works over Shelley and isolates him. Then as Devon argues with the ref, Ray bashed Shelley into the steel ring steps. Devon goes for the pin of Alex, but he gets only two. Shelley escapes a headlock and hits Devon with an enzuiguiri, but Ray knocks Sabin off the ring apron and punches Shelley when he goes for the tag.
Devon hits Shelley with a suplex but still only gets two, so he tags in Ray, who punishes Alex with slaps and punches. When Shelley goes again for a tag, Devon runs across and knocks Sabin off the ring apron. Ray still can’t get the pin, so he tags in Devon as the fans chant, “Motor City!” Finally, Shelley hots Devon in the face with a super kick and tags in Sabin, who cleans house on 3D.
A springboard clothesline off the ropes gets 2 1/2 on Devon. Tornado DDT out of the corner on Devon still only gets two. Shelley holds Devon as Sabin hits him in the back with a missile drop kick off the top, but they still get only two. Shelley gets on all fours and Sabin bounces off Shelley’s back to kick Ray solid with a drop kick and knock him off the apron to the floor. Shelley hits Devon with a running forearm, and Sabin follows with a running back elbow. Then each Gun hits Devon with a kick to the head. Sabin hurricanaranas Devon off the top turnbuckle, and Shelley follows up with a frog splash off the top, but they still get only two.
After a blind tag, Ray knocks down both men with a clothesline from behind. Wassup on Shelley by Devon is followed by Devon getting a table, but Sabin drop kicks the table into Devon and knocks him down. Sabin tries for a sunset flip on Ray, but fails. He rolls away so Ray misses with the sit down splash. The Guns hit Ray high and low with drop kicks, but Kevin pulls out the ref before he can count three. Shelley crashes and burns on a slingshot over the ropes. Ray hits Sabin with the studded belt, and they hit him with the Doomsday clothesline, but Sabin kicks out at two. Devon goes for another table, and they set it up in a corner.
They launch Sabin at the table, but he runs up it instead, flips and comes back at them, then whips Devon through the table. He escapes Ray and kicks him as Shelley runs in and kicks Ray too. They follow up with the double enzuiguiri and Sabin pins Ray for the win as the crowd goes wild.
They cut to JB telling Angle he couldn’t find out who is in the limo. Then Nash and Karen argue with Kurt, telling him to take it easy, and it doesn’t matter who is in the limo. Angle insults Nash, saying he thinks Nash is in on it. A furious Nash tells Angle they have to stick together tonight, and then they can go at it later.
TNA Women’s World Title Match
Gail Kim (C)
vs
Roxxi Laveaux
vs
ODB
vs
Angel Williams
Roxxi Laveaux brings VKM, BG and Kip James, out to the ring with her. Angel Williams is next, and then ODB comes out drinking from a flask.
They cut to Crystal interviewing Gail Kim, who says that she has worked too hard to bring herself and women’s wrestling this far, and she’s not about to lose the belt after just one month.
They start off with all four women in the ring at once, and the other three gang up on Gail, but soon begin fighting with each other as well. Kip James gets involved right off the bat, putting Roxxi’s foot on the rope when Gail Kim goes for a quick pinfall. Referee Shane Sewell sends both men to the back, and Roxxi puts a “curse” on him, but it doesn’t seem to do much except distract him for a minute or so.
ODB goes for a quick rollup on Roxxi, but she escapes, and Gail hits both women with a drop kick. Angle Williams grabs Gail’s leg and pulls her to the outside, where Angel whips her into a steel ring post. Next Roxxi and ODB gang up on Angel. ODB starts spanking Angel, then goes after Roxxi and even the ref. Roxxi tries some voodoo mind games on ODB, but ODB responds with a scream, so Laveaux hits her with a boot to the chest. She follows up by bashing ODB’s head into a turnbuckle, then Irish whipping her across the ring into the opposite turnbuckle.
Roxxi tries for a splash on ODB in the corner, but gets a knee instead. Odb sits on the top turnbuckle and slams Roxxi’s head over and over into the turnbuckle between her legs. When she finally releases the Voodoo Queen, Angel Williams runs up and gives Roxxi a boot to the face. ODB comes off the top and lands on Angel, but Gail Kim runs in and kicks her off before the ref counts three.
Gail and ODB begin to slug it out with forearms to the face. ODB hits the canvas and Gail goes up top, but Roxxi tries to pull her off, so she kicks Roxxi to the floor, then hits her with a cross body block off the top. Angel Williams takes it to ODB, but she only gets two. ODB comes back and gets Williams in a corner and punishes her with chops. Then she tries for what might have been a suplex, but Angel ran up the ropes and reversed it into a DDT, getting a two.
ODB tries to suplex Angel off the top, but Roxxi comes up and turns it into a tower of doom. Roxxi is the first to stand, and Gail hits her with a missile drop kick off the top. Gail hits Roxxi with forearms, then a flying bulldog and a drop kick. Laveaux slingshots Gail into a corner, but Gail meets her with a back elbow, then comes off the top with a leg drop into a pin, but ODB breaks it up. ODB hits Gail with a side slam, but Angel breaks up the pin, so ODB throws her out to the floor.
Roxxi pops up and sprays something into ODB’s eyes to blind her. Gail Kim spears Roxxi and slams ODB to the mat to get the pin and retain her title.
Awesome Kong comes out after the match and stands on the ramp staring menacingly at Gail, gesturing that she wants the belt. Gail holds up her belt defiantly.
Karen Angle says she has everything under control, but she goes out to the black limo with JB to make Kurt happy. She asks security if she can look inside. They tell her she can, but when she looks inside, it‘s just Eric Young and James Storm drinking beer with some girls. Storm has a cheesy belt with beer bottles and bottle caps on it. He says they are here for the World Heavyweight Drinking Championship.
X Division Championship Match
“Black Machismo” Jay Lethal (C)
vs
“The Guru” Sonjay Dutt
SoCal Val’s low cut red dress matches Lethal’s red (and white) fringes perfectly, and she looks very much like Miss Elizabeth. She smiles admiringly at Lethal as she takes his jacket. They go all out X Division style with lots of quick exchanges and reversals. Lethal angers his friend Dutt with some showboating early in the match, resulting in Dutt’s picture perfect flip dive off the top rope and onto Lethal on the floor.
The fans start dueling chants for Sonjay and Lethal as Dutt hots Lethal with double knees to the chest. They slug it out for a bit, then Lethal catches Dutt with an arm drag and a drop kick. Lethal comes off the top, but Sonjay responds with a drop kick to his midsection and gets two. Dutt goes for a body scissors but Black Machismo won’t submit. He breaks out and starts throwing punches, but when he gets up and starts to cross the ring, Dutt takes him down with a drop toe hold. Dutt hits Lethal with a couple of flip splashes, but still only gets two.
Lethal comes back and hits the Guru with a nice series of clotheslines, then gets two on a moonsault out of the corner. Lethal hits Dutt with a beautiful suicide dive through the ropes, and they both land in front of the announce table. Lethal takes Sonjay right back to the ring but can’t get three. Another series of lightning quick exchanges follows in this impressive match.
Dutt takes down Lethal and goes for a moonsault but misses and lands on his feet because Jay moves, so he does another moonsault immediately, and this time connects, but he still can’t get three. The fans chant “This is awesome!” More near falls follow for both men. Dutt gets a camel clutch on Lethal, but he gets to the ropes. Dutt goes for a springboard off the ropes, but Lethal catches him and hits him with the Lethal Combination, then follows up with the leg drop off the top for the pin to retain his belt.
They show SoCal Val clapping and beaming at Black Machismo. Lethal and Dutt shake hands, and then calls Val into the ring, where Dutt showers the giggling Val with rose petals. Team 3D spoils the moment by running in and beating down Lethal and Dutt with the studded belt, then threatening Val.
The refs come out to save Val, so 3D goes back to beating down Dutt and Lethal. Brother Ray grabs the X Division belt and says that they are taking it hostage because Shelley and Sabin “cheated,” because there was no way that they could have beaten Team 3D without cheating.
Crystal asks Kevin Nash how she will coexist with Angle. He says they have to for tonight, and then they can go at each other later. She asks if Scott Hall is in the limo. Nash said he doesn’t know who it is, but he is sure it’s not Scott.
Then she hears shouting and goes into a room where James Storm, Jackie Moore and Eric Young are having a drinking contest. Storm says he’s the Drinking Champ, and no one can beat him. They drink some shots and beers, but it doesn’t phase Eric.
TNA World Tag Team Title Match
“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles and Tomko (C)
vs
The Steiner Brothers
AJ and Scott start off, and Scott gets him down on the mat and slaps AJ repeatedly as he scoots to the ropes. AJ gets back in and they lock up again. Scott locks onto AJ’s left arm and nearly jerks it out of the socket, then twists. AJ flips and kips up to escape, but Scott slaps him in the face as he rises, then hots him with chops and a vicious slam. AJ Irish whips Scott over to Tomko, who chops Scott in the back. AJ follows up with a drop kick to take the big man down. Scott rolls out of the ring to the floor, where AJ hits him with a slingshot cross body block off the top rope.
AJ throws Scott back into the ring and goes for a quick pin, but he can’t get three. Steiner hits AJ with a boot and then a belly to belly, but he can only get two, so he tags in Rick, and AJ hurries to tag in Tomko, then bails to the floor. They lock up and continue with a great mix of amateur wrestling and power moves. AJ and Tomko isolate Rick on their side of the ring and go to work on him, but Rick manages to tag in Scott, and all four end up brawling. Tomko smashes Rick into the railing outside and returns to the ring, where they now are able to double team Scott freely. Rick finally gets back to the ring apron in time for Scott to make a desperation tag. All four end up in the ring again, and the Steiners take out Tomko. They get the top rope bulldog on AJ, but Tomko makes it back just in time to break up the pin.
Scott and Tomko start fighting on the floor, and the ref follows them so he doesn’t see AJ hit Rick with a Pelé. Rick recovers and powerbombs AJ and pins him, but the ref is still outside of the ring. Rick goes over to call the ref, and AJ hits him with a mule kick and then a chair. Tomko finally slides the ref back into the ring to count three as AJ pins Rick, and he and Tomko retain the tag titles.
They show a white limo outside, and Tenay says that must be the one with Sting’s surprise partner.
Crystal interviews Robert Roode, who tells her to shut up and hold the microphone. Then Roode says he’s going to kill Samoa Joe, and tells Ms. Brooks to stay out of his way. She asks him who the woman in the crowd with the sign is (female wrestler Rain). Roode says he thought she was Ms. Brooks’ friend.
Samoa Joe
vs.
Robert Roode with Ms. Brooks
Ms. Brooks and the mystery fan exchange dirty looks at ringside. Joe and Roode race around the ring, and then get into the ring, where Joe grabs Roode by the hair. Joe gets an early advantage with head butts and forearms. Roode throws Joe out of the ring and crashes and burns when he slingshots over the top. Joe keeps on dominating outside the ring, but finally he goes for an ole kick and Roode grabs his foot, slamming it into the railing. He snap suplexes Joe on the floor, but Joe goes back to no-selling and slams Roode into the ring steps.
It would be much more believable for a muscular, fit man like Roode to be beating down the fat, out of shape Joe here, but Joe keeps on no-selling and dominating the match. Finally Joe lets Roode get in some offense, and actually sells a little, but not too much. This is a typical Sloppy Joe match: Roode bumps like crazy and works his rear end off to make this match as entertaining as he can, while Joe once again does about half of what his opponent does, selling mainly by falling down and lying on the mat or in the ropes. At one point, the fans even start a “Boring!” chant.
Ms. Brooks passes out mysteriously during the match while standing near the mystery fan. It will probably turn out that the fan did something to her. The trainers come out to try to revive her. Joe puts on a sloppy STF with his hands across Roode’s forehead. Roode gets to the ropes for the break. Roode tries really hard, but Joe is an awfully heavy load to carry. After more of the same old same old, same old, Joe gets the pin with a muscle buster. The trainers carry the still unconscious Ms. Brooks to the back.
They cut to the white limo outside the arena. Then they cut to Angle’s dressing room, where Kurt is angry because he still doesn’t know who Sting’s partner is, and Karen is telling him she has everything under control. He rushes out to the white limo, but Sting comes out and they start fighting and security rushes out to stop them.
Crystal interviews Christian Cage, who says that he’s going to take care of Kaz and win his title shot because the ladder match is his match. Then he tells AJ and Tomko to stay backstage and not come out.
Fight for the Right Tournament Final
Ladder Match
“The Instant Classic” Christian Cage
vs
Frankie “Kaz” Kazarian
The winner will be the man who climbs the ladder and takes down the Fight for the Right Heavyweight Title match contract.
This is a phenomenal battle, where both men go all out to make each other look good. One thing that tonight’s PPV has made clear is that most of the veterans in TNA are not prima donnas, and most of them are happy to put over the younger talent and help the company.
They start off sizing up each other and the ring situation. When they tie up, they jockey for advantage, then break and begin exchanging forearms shots, punches and chops. Kaz goes for a ladder too early and Cage gets the advantage. They go to the floor and Cage gets a ladder. Kaz springboards off the ring apron onto the ladder Christian is carrying to the ring. Christian is now bleeding above his left eye.
Christian slams Kazarian’s head into the ring steps, then props a ladder between the ring and the railing. Kaz avoids being whipped into the ladder and instead gets Christian up and lays him on the ladder. Cage gets Frankie with a kick below the belt, kicks him onto the ladder and then frog splashes onto him from the top turnbuckle.
As the fans chant, “This is awesome!” Cage puts up a ladder and starts to climb, but Kaz makes it in time to topple the ladder. Kaz slingshots Christian into a ladder, and they trade blows through the ladder, getting “Holy shit!” chants. Cage props a ladder on the ropes in a corner. He catapults Kaz into it. He goes up the ladder again, but Kaz crawls over and pulls on his leg to stop him.
Kaz grabs a ladder and swings it around to whack Christian and knocks him clear out of the ring. Kaz climbs the ladder, but Cage grabs the other one and hits him with it. Cage then climbs up the second ladder, and they are both at the top. Cage hits Kaz with an inverted DDT off the tops of the ladders.
Christian props up a ladder on the ropes and tries to slam Kaz on it, but Kaz reverses and monkey flips him onto the ladder. Kaz follows up with a springboard leg drop off the ropes onto Christian.
Kaz sets up the ladder, but he’s too far away to get the contract, so he goes for a leg drop into Cage, who is lying on the other ladder, but Christian rolls away and Kaz lands on the ladder. Cage slams Kaz with the ladder, then sets it up and climbs. Christian reaches the contract, but Kaz drop kicks the ladder over, so he pulls the contract down, but the clip board stays up, and the refs tell him that he has to get the clipboard down too.
AJ Styles and Tomko come out as Cage is climbing up again, but Cage stops to tell them to go away. That allows Kaz to climb up. Both men are at the top of the ladder, but it tips and falls onto the ring ropes, and Cage falls off onto AJ and Tomko. Kaz manages to hold on and rights the ladder without getting off it. Kaz gets a TNA Heavyweight Championship shot.
Crystal tells JB about the drinking contest that Eric Young and James Storm are having, so Borash goes in to see what they are doing. They drink more, and Storm tells Eric that the first man to walk out the door is the Drinking Champion. Storm stands up and falls down, so Eric puts on the Drinking Championship belt and walks out the door as Jackie Moore protests.
TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
Kurt Angle (C) and Kevin Nash
vs
Sting and a Mystery Partner
This is a tag team match, but whoever gets the first pin or submission on anyone else becomes the new TNA Champion. TNA has been giving hints that Sting’s Mystery Partner will be Booker T, who was recently released from WWE.
After an overly long introductory pause, Booker T enters with “Can you dig it, Suckaaah!” and smiles as he gets a very nice pop from the fans. Mike Tenay mentions that the very first wrestler he interviewed on tv was Booker T when he was in WCW in Harlem Heat with Sister Sherri (Martel) as their manager. The fans go from chanting “Booker T!” to “Spinneroonie!” Angle and Sting go at it with a very fast paced start to the match, but the fans chant “Tag in Booker!”
Angle bails when Sting gets the advantage, and tags in Nash, who backs Sting into a corner and hits him with a series on knee lifts. Sting fights his way out by going after Kevin’s knees, but Nash stops him with a big elbow to the back. Nash tags in Angle, and the fans go wild as Sting tags in Booker, but Angle bails. He finally gets back in, and Booker gets him in a hammerlock. Kurt escapes only to get hit with chops. Angle finally gains the advantage with help from Nash, and then he tags in Nash.
They do well with Nash, having him in the ring only for short periods of time, but it’s clear that he’s not in the best of shape. Still this is a fun, exciting match, and the fans are clearly enjoying it. Angle breaks up one of Kevin’s pins, and Nash then breaks up one of Kurt’s pins. Karen Angle eventually comes out and helps by distracting the ref at the right moments.
Booker hits Angle with the spine buster, does the Spinneroonie as the fans cheer, and follows up with the axe kick. He covers, but Nash breaks it up. Booker hits Nash with the spin kick and covers, but Angle breaks that up. Nash hits Booker with the jack knife power bomb, but Sting runs in and hits Big Kev with the Scorpion Death Drop. Karen Angle is arguing with the ref, so he doesn’t go over to count. While the ref is still distracted, AJ Styles and Tomko run out, and Tomko takes out Sting with a clothesline. At this point, Sharmell comes down to ringside and grabs Karen Angle by her hair. The ref goes out to the women, who are fighting on the ramp. AJ slides the belt in to Angle. Kurt whacks Nash with the belt and hits Sting with the Olympic Slam, and then goes to get the ref, who comes back in and counts the pin on Sting. Angle retains his belt. An angry Christian Cage stands at the top of the ramp and looks on as Karen Angle thanks AJ and Tomko, and they all celebrate in the ring.
This was an excellent action packed PPV that ran only about 2 minutes short of a full three hours, and it’s well worth buying the replay.
TNA’s next PPV is Turning Point on December 2!
— Karen Belcher