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Heralded as the first TNA PPV of the "Hulk Hogan Era," Genesis 2010 began with Hogan and Eric Bischoff cutting a promo in the company's brand new 4-sided ring. The Impact Zone crowd showered them with a "We Want Six Sides" chant that Hulk tried to silence by saying that "six sides only got them so far" and that real pro-wrestling happens in a ring like this one. As much as Hogan and Bischoff came into TNA promising to promote "pro-wrestling" as opposed to Vince McMahon's "sports-entertainment" (Hogan calls out Vince by name in the promo), nobody bought it because, almost immediately, the show featured a whole ton more ex-WWE wrestlers, as we'd see in our next two contests...
Amazing Red defended his TNA X-Division Championship against a mystery opponent in the opening match and that mystery opponent was...Brian Kendrick, fresh from a stint in the WWE. I'm about as big a Brian Kendrick fan as I can be considering he once thought being a Holocaust denier would be a good gimmick. Anyway, Red is working like he knows his job is on the line and him and Kendrick, who had worked together a little bit in the HUSTLE promotion in Japan, do some phenomenal stuff. Unfortunately, some miscommunications in the final minutes hurt what is an otherwise good contest. (2.5/5)
Backstage, Hogan and Bischoff talk to "The Band" - Hall, Nash, and Waltman. While I'm a fan of all three guys, this was the kind of segment that the TNA superfans could point to as being over-reliant on "Remember the nWo?" nostalgia rather than having anything to do with the work that Nash had done over the previous few years (much of it being at least decent and having very little to do with the nWo, such as his work in the X-Division and as part of the MEM).
In the ring, Sean Morley makes his way down the aisle doing his Val Venis gimmick, but looking considerably more doughy than he did in 10 years earlier. Morley has to be one of the worst hires that TNA did around this time, a complete waste of money. Before he can even do his pre-match promo, a "We Want Wrestling" chant starts up. His opponent tonight is Christopher Daniels, who cuts a pre-match promo establishing himself as the heel despite the crowd being fully behind him. Daniels looks considerably undersized against Morley, a guy who would have never been considered a "giant" in WWE but, at 6'3'' and over 250, looks that way in this setting. While Daniels is always technically proficient, he's at his best when he's working with a wrestler that can match his skills, speed, and execution, and, maybe most importantly, add some of the "color" that Daniels often lacked. Theoretically, Morley could bring that sizzle...but he's not an interesting enough worker to make this match worthwhile. Considering Daniels was in the main event of the previous PPV, having him get jobbed out here was even more baffling than trying to present him as a heel. Booking-wise, this was insulting. Match-wise, this was just boring. (1.5/5)
The Knockouts Champion, ODB, defended her title against the former champion, Tara, in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match next. I'll give some kudos to TNA for doing the unexpected and having Tara win the match in 2 falls. Of course, there is a reason why 2-out-of-3 Falls Matches exist and having Tara win two falls, in a row, made ODB look like a chump and the fact that she did it under 15 minutes didn't help either. I really like Tara's somersault legdrop. Throughout the match, ODB was checking herself, including her own pulse, tapping at her heart before she lost in an out-of-nowhere faction. I'm guessing the story is going to be that Tara's spider bit her? Or Tara poisoned her before the match or some such nonsense? Whatever the case, this was not very good. (1.5/5)
After a word from "The Pope," its time for the TNA World Tag Team Championship match - The British Invasion vs. Hernandez and Matt Morgan. This wasn't bad at all, or at least not nearly as bad as the reviewers on Cagematch make it out to be. This may have not been all-time great tag match or anything, but it made sense from beginning to end as the monster babyface team generally dominated the overwhelmed Brits who, because they had no interference on their behalf from World Elite or their big muscle guy Rob Terry, were finally defeated after about 10 minutes. Hernandez seemed like a guy on the brink of having a strong singles run and, in retrospect, seems like he could've accomplished more had he been coached and nurtured and not pigeon-holed as a tag guy for most of his career. (2.5/5)
Backstage, Abyss and Bobby Lashley get into it and then Bischoff and Hogan show up, upset that Abyss has beaten down the guy he was supposed to fight later on. Everyone is bad in this segment.
Desmond Wolfe vs. "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero is next. Dinero came into TNA with some momentum as he was seen as a guy who should've gone further in the WWE...but he ended being one of those guys who was sorta exposed as too green to really build around and clearly not ready to be as heavily featured as he was, even in TNA. Here, he's in the ring with a very good worker in Desmond Wolfe, but the chemistry isn't there. Wolfe spends much of the match absolutely torturing Dinero with innovative submissions, but it doesn't make for the most riveting action and Dinero's selling isn't anything super special, though I will give him credit for never brushing off the damage. This felt more like a good TV match than a great PPV one. (3/5)
Kevin Nash teamed with Sean Waltman (working as "Six-Pac") to take on Beer Money next. It was a wise move to have Waltman work this match instead of Scott Hall and I can't really understand anyone being too upset by the bait-and-switch there. This was another match that gets torn to shreds on Cagematch but really isn't all that terrible. The crowd is into it. Waltman could still bump and sell and hit his trademark stuff. Kevin Nash was never a brilliant in-ring worker and was probably close to 15 years past his prime, but he was still in tremendous shape and could move decently enough in a tag setting. The finish is bizarre as Hall wanders out from the back but ends up pulling a fan over the guard rail and beating him down, causing a distraction that costs "The Band" the match. I'm not sure what they were going for here and why they this was the best "screwy finish" they could come up with. (2/5)
Abyss took on a mystery opponent next - having beat up Bobby Lashley earlier on the show - and it turned out to be...Mr. Ken Anderson. Anderson's debut promo was great (if you're at all a fan of his shtick) and he got a warm response from the TNA crowd initially. However, as the match wore on, there were chants of "Overrated" that clearly showed at least some of the audience did not want to see yet another ex-WWE guy come in and be given a prominent push from the jump. The match isn't bad and certainly not as bad as the reviews over at Cagematch make it out to be, but it does reveal the weaknesses of Anderson's game in a way that one wouldn't necessarily want in their debut. Anderson's charisma was undeniable, but between the bells, he wasn't the most riveting performer and did not have an arsenal of flashy trademark moves that caught on as well as his catchphrase. What that means is, by minute 5-6 of this match (and several of his matches), the crowd loses interest. Abyss was okay and hits an awesome Shock Therapy backbreaker at one point, so there's that. Not terrible, but no better than average. (2.5/5)
Main event time - AJ Styles defending his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Kurt Angle. This was billed as a match to decide who the best wrestler on the planet was and, in 2010, I think an argument could be made that both of these guys were in the conversation at least in the US. This is a good match, but not a great one. Its wrestled face/face and they get plenty of time to tell a story, but it lacks emotion. This is a straight-up title match where both guys throw everything they can against each other, but its a bit move-to-move-to-move-to-move without any real purpose or direction. Even when Angle, towards the end, really starts to sell a damaged knee, Styles doesn't take advantage or weave that into the match. In terms of execution, its pretty much flawless, but I didn't find myself ever being truly invested. When Flair shows up, its a major hint that something screwy is going to happen and, ultimately, that is what happens as Flair screws Angle and helps AJ retain. (3/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.31-out-of-5, Genesis 2010 is a slight improvement from the previous month's Final Destination show, but not by much. The main event is the best bout of the show, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering its Styles and Angle. The Pope/Wolfe match is a disappointment, but the Tag Team Championship match is better than one might expect. Recommended to only those super curious about how the Hogan Era in TNA began, but most fans would be better off skipping this show.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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