It’s that time again! Time for Pulse’s finest to gather ’round and discuss the upcoming PPV…Genesis! TNA doesn’t exactly draw the quantity of the writers, but they are some of the wisest, nonetheless! Excluding myself, who was challenged to take wild stabs at these picks, since the last episode of TNA I watched was when they aired on Mondays and I’m much more of a WWE and indy girl. Needless to say, challenge accepted.
Bobby Roode (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
M.C. Brown: Hardy winning might be too storybook and Roode’s selfish reign shouldn’t end this quickly when he has been so good in his role. I expect a controversial finish, hopefully not a stupid one, tho. No Main Event of a PPV should end on a DQ, so it’s hard for me to predict a Hardy victory because of one. So by hook or by crook…
Winner: Bobby Roode
JAMES ALSOP: Roode will win this. It’s an absolute travesty that Hardy has been allowed back into the main event so soon after ruining his last, embarrassing the company, and serving jail time. What kind of example does this set other wrestlers? That’s not why he’ll lose, though. He’ll lose this battle because you can’t have a trademark Jeff Hardy “underdog-triumph-against-the-odds-overcome-adversity-seeking-redemption” story without a nice long chase. This is just the start.
Winner: Roode, via screwjob finish.
Kelly Floyd: Well, it’s Jeff Hardy. Are they still treating him like an old sofa and scrounging around the cushions to find some quarters?
Winner: Jeff Hardy
CB: I can’t believe I am saying this, but Jeff Hardy is about to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship less than a year after the whole Victory Road debacle. That’s right, Hardy will win to cut Roode’s title reign short because just when you think TNA is on the right track, they do stuff like this. The CREATURES OF THE NIGHT — you know, all five of them — will celebrate tonight.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Kurt Angle vs. James Storm
M.C. Brown: Kurt’s revenge match that he absolutely needs to win here.
Winner: Kurt Angle
JAMES ALSOP: Storm needs this win more than Angle, but it’ll be a great match either way. I love what these two men bring out in each other. Angle hasn’t looked this dangerous since his feud with Joe – and Storm now looks like a true top dog in TNA. Storm wins so that he can dethrone Bobby Roode asap.
Winner: The Cowboy.
Kelly Floyd: You know, Kurt Angle appeared for Shape Up US at the EXW booth (now, FSW – AZ), so now I’m just plain rooting for him.
Winner: Kurt Angle
CB: Angle has mentally checked out of TNA, and Storm still actually cares. So let’s hope that the Tennessee Cowboy wins, even though Angle is likely due.
Winner: James Storm
D’Angelo Dinero vs. Devon
M.C. Brown: Disappointed in the lack of build on Impact from this past week which kind of kills momentum, but of course maybe they pushed this on X-Plosion. Pope gets help from Devon’s boys to win or it’s a beat down after a surprise Devon roll up. Or my gut is telling me maybe that Team Double Trouble interfere early to cause a DQ since there hasn’t been too much build up since the turn and a DQ on a lower card match may not be great, but the world isn’t expected of this match either.
Winner: Devon by DQ
JAMES ALSOP: I want Dinero to win this, and I want him to win decisively. And please please please let this dull, drawn-out story be over with. I don’t want to see Devon’s kids again, I don’t want to see Devon in singles matches again, and I don’t want to see Dinero being wasted like this. Only one of these men has any long-term value to TNA, and it isn’t Devon, sadly.
However, Devon’s the good guy here, so….
Winner: Devon.
Kelly Floyd: Devon is a beast. And even when I watched TNA, Dinero never did much. Boom boom, squash squash.
Winner: Devon
CB: The storyline that just keeps on going, and going, and going, and going, and going … AND GOING … sees Pope face off against Devon tonight. Pope will proves he’s Devon’s daddy, you know, like he’s been Devon’s kids’ daddy lately, too. But question, what’s so PIMPIN’ about that?
Winner: Pope
Gail Kim (c) vs. Mickie James
Knockouts Championship
M.C. Brown: If they can give the effort that was given on their Main Event TV match, plus turn it up a notch, then this should be an early Female match of the year candidate. I can only hope as I’m rooting for two of my favorites here big time.
Winner(and new champion): Mickie James
JAMES ALSOP: Mickie needs some believable competition, and Gail needs to be re-established as a threat. TNA should make the most of having Google’s Most-Searched Diva as a champ, though (and I’m sure that particular stat has nothing to do with Mickie’s previous career as a fetish model), which is why Mickie will win, but Gail will dominate.
Winner: Have the “HARDCORE country” jokes already been done?
Kelly Floyd: Well, James and M.C. both picked Mickie, so I’m inclined to pick Gail. Just ’cause. Plus, she’s hotter. Oh wait, that’s how we pick Diva’s champs, not Knockouts…
Winner: Gail Kim
CB: This could easily be the match of the night. I think Mickie and Gail will get ample time when facing each other, and they seem to have good in-ring chemistry. I would love to see NO INTERFERENCE as a rule for this match, but in TNA-Land that just doesn’t happen. Mickie will survive 25 different run-ins, however, and win nonetheless.
Winner: Mickie James
Abyss vs. Bully Ray Monster’s Ball match
If Abyss loses, he rejoins Immortal
M.C. Brown: They already did the bully Abyss angle in Immortal, which is barely even a faction at this point. It’ll be brutal, but I pick…
Winner: Abyss
JAMES ALSOP: How do Monster’s Ball matches work these days? Do they still lock the contestants up “in isolation” all day beforehand? However they do things, these matches work best with three or more participants, so I predict a dull, dull ten minutes punctuated by the sound of aluminium dustbins hitting flesh and at least one painfully predictable table breaking beneath Abyss.
Abyss looks more and more like a giant loser these days, and it’s a shame. Remember how dangerous he used to appear? Now it’s a stretch to see him coming close to a win.
Except, if he loses, he rejoins Immortal. What’s the logic there, by the way? “Hey, Abyss! You’re a giant loser! You can’t even beat B-B-B-Bully Ray! Want to join our supergroup?”
So… I predict that Abyss gets put through I table (fire optional) but pulls off the win.
Winner: The Monster
Kelly Floyd: I always liked Abyss. He’s a powerhouse from what I remember. But I do drink a lot.
Winner: Abyss
CB: Like most bullies, Bully Ray doesn’t like to get punched in the mouth, and when he does he tends to not be able to rebound. However, Ray is definitely the smarter of the two combatants, and I like his chances in a hardcore match regardless of Abyss being extremely comfortable with the Monster’s Ball format.
Winner: Bully Ray
Austin Aries (c) vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen vs. Zema Ion
Four-Corners match for the TNA X Division Championship
M.C. Brown: I can’t bet against Austin Aries, tho he does need some more new blood in the form of babyfaces in the division. Perhaps that’s why they should have had Anthony Nese in the match to further build up a feud between those two.
Winner: Austin Aries
JAMES ALSOP: Aries still has a lot of mileage in him as champ. Kash et al do not. But hey, as long as Kash gets paid, he’s happy, right?
Winner: Aries.
Kelly Floyd: I’ve never really heard of any of these guys. Is it breaking the rules to just go with my fellow writers are saying? Oh, I make my own rules. Right, got it!
Winner: Austin Aries
CB: Zema Ion looks a lot like Carlito, doesn’t he? Other than that tidbit, all I have to say here is that I think Aries will be the easy winner. Unless, of course, they let Sorensen take the ball and run with it <--- get it? :) Winner: Austin Aries
Crimson and Matt Morgan (c) vs. Samoa Joe and Magnus
TNA World Tag Team Championship
M.C. Brown: Would love to see Crimson cheat to win to keep his streak and Morgan disagree to start some tension there. I do expect Joe and Magnus to do better than most probably expect for a makeshift tag team and their teaming shouldn’t stop after the loss.
Winner: Red, white and Blueprint
JAMES ALSOP: Say what you like, but I think that Crimson and Morgan as a tag team are fine together. Neither one is ready for a singles push, but TNA need to keep them warm somehow. This way, they’re both kept in prominent positions, and they both get to work with more experienced guys. My old mate Nick Aldis, however, is in the same position, and lord knows that if TNA don’t do something with Joe soon the IWC will suffer a collective aneurism…
Winner: I’m gonna give this one to Crimson and Matt. They need it more than Joe and Magus. Both of the latter need to move on somehow, though. Perhaps, in order to facilitate character advancement, THIS could be the long-awaited event where Joe finally flips and destroys everyone in the ring before becoming a singles star again! Magnus can go on to team with Eric Young, while Joe moves onto Roode, Hardy, Storm and chums!
A guy can dream, right?
Kelly Floyd: I literally flipped a coin.
Winner: Matt Morgan and Crimson
CB: Magnus and Joe are an interesting little makeshift tandem, and I have a feeling they’ll win the belts thanks to some tension between Morgan and Crimson that leads to their inevitable split and revisiting of their singles rivalry so TNA can start re-marketing Crimson’s undefeated singles streak.
Winner: Magnus and Joe, which will be the beginning of a big push for Samoa Joe in TNA, right Blair?
Rob Van Dam vs. Gunner
M.C. Brown: I expected it last Thursday, but this is where I think Garett Bischoff returns for revenge to cost Gunner the match.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
JAMES ALSOP: RVD will be back with WWE in time for a Wrestlemania payday. Perhaps even (but probably not) a spot in the Royal Rumble?
Winner: Gunner.
Kelly Floyd: I’ve run out of jokes. So, for this number, I’ll just tap dance until it’s over.
Winner: RVD
CB: RVD has mailed it in worse than the U.S. Postal Service’s fight against bankruptcy. Besides, URGH, ROAR, UP AND COMER GUNNER is all the rage in the Impact Wrestling world.
Winner: Gunner
Closing Statements
M.C. Brown: Hardy seems to be a focal point of these Genesis PPV’s but I don’t think his Road to Recovery is going to end with a Championship this quickly, regardless if it’s rewarding a man who still gets some of the biggest cheers in TNA. Keep Hardy in the chase especially since he still has a lot to prove. And hopefully they don’t overbook the match. I know Roode isn’t going to win clean, but that still doesn’t mean a million shenanigans should occur. With Bully Ray having Roode’s back, perhaps that’ll mean a Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy singles feud after Genesis. The other matches all have some serious potential that has me excited to see what goes down. Hopefully 2012 continues to raise the bar for TNA in terms of Impact and PPV quality matches. The show has been improving and that really should inspire the wrestlers to really up their game for these PPV’s to start getting the wrestling world talking and make them must see.
JAMES ALSOP: This will be a fun PPV, even with one or two duffers on the card. The crowd will be hot for Storm, Angle, Hardy and Roode, and moderately enjoy everything else. In the grand scheme of things, though, this ppv is the definition of “placeholder.” The most noteworthy thing about it is Jeff Hardy’s inexplicable return to the main event. Here’s hoping that TNA don’t come to regret this in six months’ time.
Kelly Floyd: In all seriousness, this PPV does sound interesting. I wish they would show it at the local bar I go to that shows WWE’s. But, as you can all see, I’m so behind on TNA’s angles and feuds that I would just be lost. Hope you all enjoyed my picks. And I promise, I really do know a thing or two about wrestling. These picks are not examples of what goes through my head when I write. Honest!
CB: Genesis actually doesn’t seem so bad for a wrestling show, it’s just I wouldn’t go out of my way to pay to see it. However, to be fair, WWE only got me to buy three PPVs last year: the Royal Rumble (OK), WrestleMania (UNEVEN if not AWFUL), and Money In The Bank (EXCELLENT). I think that Jeff Hardy will win tonight, and that will be very interesting because if Hardy really isn’t recovered and he falls off the wagon again, he could take TNA all the way down with him. Gail Kim and Mickie James have revitalized the Knockouts a little bit for me, too. Not that they are anywhere near the level that Gail and Kong were a few years back, but it’s light years better than Karen Angle running the show doing a horrible Vickie Guerrero impression while Madison Rayne shrieks and Winter and Angelina Love make out while hopped up on vials of each other’s blood. Overall, Genesis will be a decent show, but with the Rumble also slated for the end of this month, it’s simply bad timing to get people to open their wallets to tune in.
