Happy New Year and welcome to CB’s World (formerly Counterfeit Pennies). It’s a new year, a new column, and a new look to both the TNA and WWE rosters after what was an eventful week of pro wrestling / sports entertainment.
There’s a lot to get to this week, so let’s start with last night’s TNA Genesis PPV and work our way through it all.
TNA Genesis Snapshot Results
Match #1: Kazarian beats Jay Lethal to capture the X Division Title
Match #2: Madison Rayne beats Mickie James to retain the Knockouts Title
Match #3: Beer Money beats MCMG to capture the TNA Tag Titles
Match #4: Bully Ray beats Brother Devon via DQ
Match #5: Abyss beats Douglas Williams to capture the Television Title
Match #6: Tyler Reks — I mean Matt Hardy — beats RVD
Match #7: MMA Exhibition: Kurt Angle beats Jeff Jarrett via DQ
Match #8: Ken Anderson beats Matt Morgan to become the #1 Contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Match #9: Ken Anderson beats Jeff Hardy to capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Click here for the full Pulse Wrestling TNA Genesis Recap.
TNA Genesis Thoughts
In the Pulse Wrestling TNA Genesis Roundtable, I noted that I had a feeling that Fortune/Immortal would capture most of the gold, and then later on in the show Jeff Hardy would then lose the title.
My original thought was that RVD was going to have to run the gauntlet of several opponents as a way of getting softened up, and then Jeff Hardy would then announce himself as the real mystery opponent and then put the title on the line thinking RVD was too beat up to put up a real fight.
Then, I thought Matt Hardy would come down and cost Jeff the title, giving the belt to RVD and opening up the possibility of a Matt vs. Jeff blood feud and elevating RVD back to the main event.
Well, I was half-right, and in retrospect I should have realized that Matt vs. Jeff just can’t happen right now considering TNA is going full throttle with Ray vs. Devon. Even TNA wouldn’t simultaneously run two blood feuds at the same time, so I missed there.
However, I was more than happy that the concept I outlined did come to fruition, with Ken Anderson taking advantage of Bischoff and Hardy’s hubris at the end of the Genesis PPV to capture his first major heavyweight title. I am very happy for Mr. Anderson and I am also ecstatic that TNA did the right thing by dropping the belt off of Hardy before his upcoming guilty plea is entered in court on January 20th.
Here’s some other passing thoughts on the TNA Genesis PPV:
–I know injuries happen, but I was very disappointed to see that AJ Styles vs. Douglas Williams didn’t happen. Also, since AJ couldn’t wrestle, I would have hoped for a more suitable replacement than Abyss, who really doesn’t need the rub or the gold (outside of Bischoff’s mandate). Maybe we could have gotten Douglas Williams vs. Amazing Red for a good 10 minutes, then have Abyss run in and destroy them both, leading to a Television Title match on television next week.
–I am very happy that Beer Money and Kazarian won their respective matches. As much as I love MCMG and Jay Lethal, it was necessary for the Fortune/Immortal factions to win some gold before Hardy dropped the belt later on in the show.
–I think it’s hilarious that when Matt Hardy debuted last night, “Tyler Reks” ended up being a worldwide trending topic on twitter, thanks to Hardy’s dreadlocks. I hope this leads to a midcard push for Reks (or at least a mention) on SmackDown!, just for fun.
–I thought Madison retaining over Mickie with the “loaded glove” was a surprise, but at the same time Madison deserves a ton of credit for becoming a very good heel character, both during her matches and in promos.
–Both the Ray-Devon and Jarrett-Angle matches were booked fine in my opinion, as both feuds are far from over.
–Also, I LOVE the fact that Karen Angle is likely coming back to our television screens this coming week for two reasons: 1. I always thought she was an underrated character and a heel magnet; and 2. Just like the Edge-Lita-Matt love triangle in WWE, this will be entertaining, interesting, and a case of art imitating life imitating art.
–Lastly, congratulations again to Mr. Anderson. I can only hope the real TNA Championship is restored to Ken by Eric Young or that he is quickly given a newly designed title belt that looks more credible than Hardy’s did.
WWE Shakeups: Raw and SmackDown! Highlights
Last week, WWE treated us to two very solid episodes of Raw and SmackDown! Here are some highlights:
The Miz beat John Morrison to retain the WWE Championship in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
CM Punk solidified his new role as the leader of Nexus by goading Wade Barrett into taking the final spot in a Triple Threat #1 Contenders’ Cage Match against Randy Orton and King Sheamus where if Barrett lost, he would be ousted from Nexus. Barrett accepted and then CM Punk ripped off Barrett’s Nexus armband mid-match instead of helping him climb over the cage, kicked him back into the ring, and Randy Orton later won the match.
Over on SmackDown!, there were four developments:
1. Edge beat Kane to retain the Big Gold Belt in a Last Man Standing Match
2. Alberto Del Rio got the last word by beating Rey Mysterio in a Two Out of Three Falls Match
3. Kofi Kingston beat Dolph Ziggler to capture the Intercontinental Championship
4. During a Fatal Fourway #1 Contenders’ Match, Wade Barrett arrived on SmackDown! without his Nexus armband and attacked the Big Show. The match was later won by Dolph Ziggler — who Vickie Guerrero inserted into the match after Dolph lost the IC Title — and Dolph is now the #1 Contender for Edge’s World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE Shakeups: Raw and SmackDown! Thoughts
I was happy with nearly everything WWE did this past week. First, John Morrison and The Miz elevated each other in a very solid match to start off the New Year, and that’s all you can ask for. I like the fact that Morrison and Miz have a pretty long history both as friends and as rivals, yet everything still seems fresh between them. It’s a hard trick to pull off, and they have done very well for themselves as they move up the card and challenge each other with more at stake than there ever was before.
Second, CM Punk is no longer a rising star, he simply is as legitimate of a star in this era as all of the greats that came before him in WWE. From his brilliant work in the middle of last year’s Royal Rumble and his creepy 2010 Slammy Award-Winning serenade to Rey Mysterio’s daughter all the way to his pitch-perfect presentation of his newfound role as the leader of Nexus, Punk has shown that he simply has everything it takes to become one of the best characters in WWE history. I am looking forward to seeing how all of this unfolds between Punk, Nexus and John Cena, and I expect this year’s Royal Rumble to be infused with even more memorable moments from the Straight Edge superstar.
As for Barrett’s departure to SmackDown! and the revisiting of Miz vs. Orton, the keys to both of these stories will be how these events are followed up in the coming weeks.
Heading over to SmackDown!, I was thrilled to see Kofi Kingston win the IC belt. He’s been chasing the title for awhile now, and it was time to give him another big win to keep Kofi’s credibility intact. I have a feeling we are headed towards Kofi vs. Swagger, and that’s just fine with me.
As for Dolph Ziggler, his elevation to the main event scene is a very welcome sight. I love the fact that Kane vs. Edge is finally overwith, and now we can transition into seeing Dolph and Vickie taking on Edge both in promos and their upcoming title match. It should make for entertaining television, and I hope that WWE capitalizes further on Vickie’s legitimate heat to continue to get Dolph over as a true main event heel.
Lastly, Alberto Del Rio scored another win over Rey Mysterio, which is supposedly the last chapter of their feud, for now. I am not sold on this only because Ricardo Rodriguez interfered to cost Rey the third and deciding fall via countount, and that’s usually not how feuds come to a close in WWE.
CB’s World: Final Passing Thought for 1.10.11
My final passing thought for this week’s edition of CB’s World is this:
A message to WWE: THANK YOU for signing Awesome Kong. Play your cards right, and you can truly revitalize and revolutionize your Divas division.
And PLEASE, if you have any sensibility at all, if you are truly on the PULSE of the WWE Universe like you say you are, then I can only hope that this signing of Awesome Kong will also lead to the resurgence of Gail Kim as a legitimate women’s wrestler.
I know you don’t like to look at TNA as anything more than a speck on Vince McMahon’s planet, but if you take a look back at the footage, you will see that once upon a time and not so long ago, Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong headlined TNA shows.
Here, let me help you with the research just in case you don’t get a chance to see for yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk1_163iV14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFNQPAteh6w&feature=related
That’s my final passing thought for today, 1.10.11.
See you next time — CB.
