TNA Genesis Review - January 26, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

World Tag Team Champions The Broken Hardyz def. The DCC and Decay in a Three-Way Tag Team Match

So, The DCC didn't cash in their Race to the Case briefcase here, right? From what I understand, they will be doing that next week on Open Fight Night. I'm not sure, the concept is confusing. But at any rate, this was a fun three-way tag team match to kick off the show. The DCC just doesn't have a long shelf life in my opinion and I'm not a fan of TNA doing yet another heel faction, but this helped further their feud with Decay while keeping the twin titles on the uber-popular Hardyz.

Josh Mathews Interviewed Ethan Carter III

We saw a similar sit-down interview two weeks ago with Brooke and I would love for TNA to make this a weekly fixture on the program, a lot like SmackDown Live does with Talking Smack. Mathews is an awful announcer in my opinion, but he did pretty well here in the interviewer role, and this was a strong promo from EC3. When in serious mode, the guy is money, and it will be interesting to see where he goes following his latest loss to Lashley. Is a heel turn imminent?

Impact Grand Champion Drew Galloway def. Moose

Although I enjoyed their encounter from last week a bit more, this was another good match from these two as they continue to develop great chemistry together. The story here was that Galloway was desperate to do anything if it meant retaining his title, hence why he hit Moose with several low blows throughout the bout. As a result, Moose was protected in defeat, and I expect a few more matches from Moose and Galloway in the coming weeks.

Knockouts Champion Rosemary def. Jade in a Monster's Ball Match

Monster's Ball matches would have much more of an impact if we didn't see No Disqualification matches on TV every week, but nevertheless, they are a staple in TNA and tend to be hit or miss. This installment in particular was absolutely excellent and Rosemary and Jade deserved to make history by contesting the first ever women's Monster's Ball bout. Their Steel Cage match exceeded expectations and this match was even better as they went to the extreme and produced a handful of sweet spots. Even the missed moonsault from Jade was covered nicely by the different camera angles. Of course, I assume Rosemary attacking Gail Kim afterward means we'll finally get the continuation of that feud in the near future.

X-Division Champion DJ Z def. Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Marshe Rockett and Caleb Konley in a Five-Way Match

DJ Z has been a decent champion thus far, but I couldn't name one notable feud he's had. The program with Mandrews could have had potential before, you know, he left for WWE. Since then, it's been a barrage of random multi-man matches, and although they are well-wrestled, I don't know enough about the combatants to care about them. For example, Konley received a cool introduction video, but what did he do to deserve a title shot off the bat? Why was he in this match to begin with if he wasn't going to win? Lee and Everett might be challenging for the gold again soon, but they've lost so many times to Z and Eddie Edwards that it's difficult to take them seriously.

Lashley def. Eddie Edwards in a 30-Minute Iron man Match to Win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Edwards actually competed in TNA's last Iron Man match two years ago alongside Davey Richards (who I was pleasantly surprised didn't interfere in this match) against Bobby Roode and Austin Aries, and this was every bit as exceptional as that match was if not better. Lashley and Edwards have had a long, storied history dating back to last summer, and each of their matchups has had something special to offer. Edwards was spectacular in the underdog role here while Lashley thrived on offense. The finishing sequence was fantastic with Mathews pointing out that Lashley didn't pass out or tap out, he merely survived. Edwards' reign was entertaining, but Lashley is the better fit as champion. I'd rather not see a rematch because I don't know if they can top themselves after this.

Overall Show

This was far and away one of the strongest shows TNA has delivered in some time. Every title being on the line was obviously a hook, but Monster's Ball and the Iron Man matches were among the biggest highlights of the night and well-worth going out of your way to see. The other three matches were solid as well, and even next week's edition was hyped up effectively with Open Fight Night returning. I can't say enough good things about this show and the presentation of it on the whole, and I'm glad they delivered a pseudo-pay-per-view that lived up to the billing for once. They can't do this every week, but if they can hit it out of the park as they did here every so often, the on-air product will be in good shape.