January 17th 2010
Genesis
Orlando, Florida
Genesis opens with the traditional opening video package. This video package focuses heavily on Stone Cold coming into TNA, especially his mandate to the TNA locker room that in order for them to gain title shots, they must impress Stone Cold. The video doesn’t focus really at all on the matches on tonight’s card, deciding to wait until later to do that. Once the video is finished, the cameras cut right to the ring area. The pyro goes off and the show begins.
The camera pans over the Impact Zone which has been re-done for tonight's pay per view. The entrance set is different, the ring ropes are different, obviously much different than the normal sets of pay per views past.
Once the camera finishes showing the new Impact Zone set, it cuts to the announcer’s desk where Mike Tenay and Taz welcome everyone to Genesis, the first pay per view of the Stone Cold era. They give a quick rundown of every single match, focusing more on the two main matches, the world title match and the Hardy/Angle match. Once they finish the rundown, they introduce the first match of the night.
Match #1: Kevin Nash vs. Matt Morgan
Mike Tenay and Taz give the history of this feud, commenting on a video that is playing of the first time they collided on the January 7th edition of Impact and again when Kevin Nash assaulted Matt Morgan in the parking lot on last week’s Impact. Both Tenay and Taz wonder out loud if Matt Morgan will be completely 100% after taking that brutal steel chair to the back of the head. After the video finishes up, the music of Kevin Nash begins to play.
Kevin Nash begins to slowly make his way down to the ring. The crowd boos him quite a bit but it doesn’t bother Nash one bit. He makes his way into the ring and the music of Matt Morgan begins to play soon after. Matt comes to the ring with a noticeable bandage around his head from the assault by Kevin Nash with a steel chair last week on Impact. Matt has only one thing on his mind and that is revenge.
Matt Morgan does not wait for the bell to ring to begin attacking Kevin Nash. Once Matt steps into the ring, he runs right at Kevin, tackling him to the ring canvas. Matt just unloads on Kevin until the referee forces him to break it up. The referee holds off Matt just enough for Kevin to get to his feet. Once Kevin is back up, Matt once again begins to furiously unload with rights and lefts. He irish whips Nash to the opposite side of the ring and sandwiches him in the corner. He manages to do this two more times before a desperation knee to the midsection by Nash puts a stop to it. Nash, who is visibly shaken at this point, now begins his first offense of the match. He begins hitting Morgan in the head, attacking the bandaged area. This shakes up Morgan just enough to now make it an even fight. Nash forces Morgan into a corner and begins to wear him down with a series of knees and elbows to the head. Nash even gets in an irish whip, followed by a big boot which knocks Morgan down. Nash has a very precise game plan tonight, to target the bandaged area of Morgan’s head to potentially knock him out once more. With Morgan down on the ring apron, Kevin continues this strategy, working over the bandaged area with knees and fist strikes. This dazes Morgan even more but not quite enough to put him away. Eventually Morgan begins to fire back, fighting to his feet. With a burst of energy, Morgan begins to mount a furious offense. When he irish whips Kevin, Kevin squirms just enough so when Morgan throws him to the other side of the ring, Nash bumps into the referee and knocks him down. Instead of following up on Nash, Morgan goes to check on the referee which proves to be a grave mistake. With the referee out and Matt Morgan’s back turned, Nash pulls out a pair of brass knuckles from his pants. When Morgan turns back around to face Nash, Nash hits him with all his might right on the bandaged area. This knocks Morgan out completely. With Morgan out, Nash lays down on him and drags the referee over to count the 1, 2, 3!
Winner: Kevin Nash
Following the end of the match, the crowd starts to boo Nash very heavily as you would expect but this doesn’t bother him, he just strolls back to the locker room like it was nothing. Meanwhile back in the ring, referees and TNA security/medical staff are checking on Matt Morgan who is attempting to stand but he’s very wobbly. Eventually two TNA security members have to help carry Matt to the back.
Cutting to the announcer’s desk, both Mike Tenay and Taz comment on what just happened between Kevin Nash and Matt Morgan. They are both very worried that Matt may have a serious concussion and that there is just no excuse for the actions of Kevin Nash.
Shifting gears away from the Nash and Morgan match, Mike Tenay and Taz now begin to give the rundown of the next match, the Global Championship match between champion Eric Young and LAX’s Homicide. They go over the history of the Global Championship, it first being a title created by Booker T called the Legends Championship and then when Eric Young won it, it was renamed to the Global Championship. Now Eric Young will be defending it against the unpredictable Homicide who had to beat his own partner Hernandez to gain this opportunity tonight. Once they finish with all that, the cameras cut back to the ring where Jeremy Borash is beginning his introductions.
Match #2: Eric Young [C] vs. Homicide – TNA Global Championship Match
It is now time for the first championship match of Genesis, the Global Championship Match. First out to the ring is the challenger Homicide, accompanied by his LAX partner Hernandez who doesn’t look too happy to be out here but he comes anyway. Following LAX is obviously the champion, Eric Young. Once Eric gets into the ring, he hands the belt to the referee, the referee calls for the bell and the match can begin.
The beginning two minutes or so of this match is rather boring. Eric Young is taking everything very slowly, trying to avoid anything unpredictable that Homicide may have planned for him. Eventually though, the pace of the match begins to pick up very quickly. The quicker Eric Young makes his offense, the more quick Homicide makes his. After awhile, this match starts to resemble an X Division Championship match rather than a Global Championship match with all the flips and arm drags and such. You’d think this pace would favor Homicide more but the champion holds his own quite well. This seems to surprise Homicide and as a result, Homicide starts to get more and more desperate as the match goes on. He begins taking cheap shots, some that the referee sees and some that he doesn’t. Just when he gets Eric Young right where he wants him, he asks his partner Hernandez for help. Shockingly, Hernandez refuses and the two begin to argue again. This presents a perfect opportunity for Eric Young. While Homicide is still arguing with Hernandez, Eric Young sneaks behind him and rolls him up for the quick 1, 2, 3!
Winner and Still TNA Global Champion: Eric Young
Following the end of the match, instead of being angry at his opponent who just stole a victory from him, Homicide takes out his frustration on his tag team partner Hernandez. The two fight for a little bit before the larger Hernandez eventually calms everything down and they begin walking towards the back. Just as Eric Young is about to step out of the ring, suddenly the lights go out in the Impact Zone. Nobody is quite sure what is going on but then the lights come back on, everything becomes clear. When the lights come back on, they reveal Eric Young laid out at the hands of…DESMOND WOLFE! Desmond stands over Eric with the Global Championship in his hands as the cameras cut to the back.
Cutting to the back, specifically the backstage interview area, Don West is with “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy.
Don West: First of all Jeff, I’d just like to welcome you back to TNA and secondly I’d just like to get your thoughts on your match tonight against “The Olympic Gold Medalist” Kurt Angle.
Jeff Hardy: It’s great to be back Don. Umm, going up against someone like Kurt Angle won’t be easy. It certainly doesn’t help the situation that because of the stipulations added to our match Kurt will be doubly focused on getting the win but you know what, that doesn’t bother me. In my career, I’ve gone up against guys that have been better in the ring than me, I’ve gone up against guys that have been bigger than me, I’ve gone up against guys more athletic than me but every single time I’ve come out on top. I certainly didn’t get the reputation I did because I took the easy road, no. I got my reputation because I was not afraid of standing up to guys like Kurt Angle, spitting right in their eyes and beating them 1, 2, 3 and tonight I’m going to do it again.
Don then thanks Jeff for his time and sends it back to the ring area where the next match is about to begin.
Match #3: Tara [C] vs. Awesome Kong – TNA Knockouts Championship Match
It is now time for the third match of the night, this one for the TNA Knockouts Championship between the champion Tara and the challenger Awesome Kong. Kong, who won an 8-person Knockouts Gauntlet for the Gold style match to become the #1 contender, is the first out to the ring. The champion Tara is obviously next. Tara heads right for the ring and gets right into Awesome Kong’s face showing her that she’s not afraid unlike most of the Knockouts on the TNA roster. Tara then hands her belt to the referee, the referee calls for the bell and the match can begin.
While the two Knockouts are still face to face, Awesome Kong delivers the first blow, a powerful punch to Tara’s face which knocks the champion down. Everyone in the audience begins to fear that his match may be a quick squash victory on the part of Awesome Kong but Tara holds her own quite well. After quite a long domination by Awesome Kong, Tara slowly begins to build up momentum and offense on Kong enough to at least slow Kong down. With Kong slowed down just a little, this allows Tara to get some offense on against Kong. However her offense doesn’t seem to have much of a damaging effect on Kong, rather it just appears to make Kong angrier. Kong soon starts firing back at Tara, slowing Tara’s offense down to a halt. Kong starts taking over the match from this point. Despite being in what appears to be permanent control, Kong is unable to put Tara away. Kong tries twice to hit the Implant Buster on Tara but both times Tara squirms away. Kong tries a third time. This time Tara squirms out again but she counters with a kick to the head of Awesome Kong. This brings Kong down to one knee, enough for Tara to take back the momentum. Once Tara has Kong where she wants her, she tries to get Kong up for the Widow’s Peak finisher but with Kong being so big, she’s forced to modify it. After stumbling a little, Tara finally hits the modified move and covers Kong for the 1, 2, 3!
Winner and Still TNA Knockouts Champion: Tara
Following the match, Tara jumps up in excitement over having just beaten the toughest Knockout on the TNA roster. The referee hands her the belt, and she continues jumping some more. Just as she turns back around, she is hit with a nasty close line from Awesome Kong who is not happy at all over having just lost. The referee tries to get her to leave the ring but instead of listen, Kong takes the referee and tosses him over the top rope. Now left alone with Tara, Kong begins brutally attacking Tara. Eventually she tosses Tara outside the ring. Kong then grabs a steel chair from under the ring. TNA security try to get her to stop but she scares them away with the chair. She continues attacking Tara with the chair, hitting her in the back several times. Kong then whips Tara into the steel steps and ring posts several times until Tara is unable to move. With Tara now completely out, Kong pulls a table from out under the ring and begins setting it up. Once again TNA security tries to get her to stop but instead of getting her to stop, Kong ends up putting one of the security guards through the table! With the security now permanently away, Kong pulls out another table from under the ring and sets it up. This time she grabs hold of Tara and hits a huge power bomb, putting Tara right through the table. Feeling satisfied that her work is now done; Kong now heads to the back, leaving Tara motionless on the outside of the ring.
Cutting away from the carnage, the Genesis cameras cut to the locker room area specifically the locker room of Bobby and Kristal Lashley. Bobby is preparing for his match while Kristal is pacing nervously.
Kristal Lashley: Bobby you have to guarantee me that you’ll beat Pope tonight, please promise me.
Bobby Lashley: Baby don’t worry, I will. And I promise that he’ll never come anywhere near you again.
Kristal Lashley: Ok, now go kick his ass!
Bobby then gets up and walks out of the room. Kristal follows him shortly after as the cameras cut to the ring area.
Match #4: Bobby Lashley w/ Kristal Lashley vs. D’Angelo Dinero
Before the match can begin, a video is shown of what exactly happened between these three that lead to this match. Mike Tenay says that Pope is going to get exactly what’s coming to him and Taz says that Bobby is overreacting; Pope was just trying to be nice. Either way, now they face off in the ring. The Lashleys are the first out to the ring. Kristal, as you would expect, stays close to Bobby as they make their way down to the ring. Pope soon follows them. Making his way down to the ring, Pope surprisingly does not acknowledge Kristal at all, keeping his focus right on Bobby.
The two immediately lock up in the middle of the ring. However this was the closest Pope would get to offense in the beginning minute or two of this match. The beginning moments of this match were totally dominated by Bobby Lashley. Every time Pope thinks he’s getting somewhere, the strength of Bobby Lashley proves to be too much. The only rest Pope gets is when he rolls out of the ring just when Bobby is about to hit a spear. Lashley goes right after him but this time Pope is able to fight back with a strong kick to the midsection which doubles Bobby over. Bobby props himself up against the steel steps which Pope sees as another good opportunity, driving his knee into Bobby’s shoulder which then bounces off the steps. Bobby starts rolling around in pain. Kristal comes to check on her husband but stops dead in her tracks when she sees Pope. Again, Pope does not acknowledge her; instead he rolls back into the ring to avoid being counted out. Just as the referee gets to 8, Bobby rolls into the ring where Pope is ready for him. Pope continues pounding away on Bobby’s injured shoulder. Pope continues working on Bobby’s shoulder with arm bars, punches, and anything else he can think of. Eventually Bobby is able to power out and get back to his feet. Even though he is back to his feet, Pope continues working on Bobby’s shoulder which by this point is very weak. On the outside of the ring, Kristal tries to cheer on her husband. Hearing his wife appears to give Bobby an extra boost as he starts firing back at Pope. Pope still continues targeting Bobby’s shoulder but Bobby fights through the pain, attacking Pope with everything he’s got. Just when Bobby thinks he has Pope right where he wants him, he gets in position for the spear. Just as Bobby is about to hit it, Pope hits a drop kick right in Bobby’s injured shoulder. With Bobby again down, Pope locks in a strong arm bar and doesn’t let go. With his shoulder in a lot of pain and being nowhere near the ropes, Bobby has no choice but to submit.
Winner via Submission: D’Angelo Dinero
Following the end of the match, Kristal nervously gets into the ring to check on Bobby. Pope does nothing, he just stares her down. Eventually Pope just gives up and starts heading to the back, leaving the Lashleys alone in the ring.
The cameras then cut back to the announcer’s desk where Mike Tenay and Taz start hyping up the next match, the X Division title match between champion Amazing Red and challenger Daniels. They give the tale of the tape, highlighting the big experience difference between Amazing Red and Daniels. They both agree that Amazing Red is in for one hell of a fight but if anyone can handle it, it’s him. Once they are done with all that, they send it to the ring.
Match #5: Amazing Red [C] vs. Daniels – TNA X Division Championship Match
First out to the ring is the challenger Daniels. A huge fan favorite, Daniels comes to the ring to quite a good reaction from the crowd. Quickly following him to the ring is the champion Amazing Red, who gets a mixed reaction from the crowd. Red hands the belt to the referee and the match officially begins.
Right away the two lock up in the middle of the ring. Once they break away from that, they start going back and forth against the ropes, diving and dodging each other with only a few times colliding. They go back and forth like this for quite some time, neither one seems to get much of an advantage. Eventually both Red and Daniels seem to get angry at the fact that neither one can seem to get any momentum so they start picking up the pace and the power behind their moves. The match then spills to the outside of the ring. On the outside, the match starts to resemble a brawl rather than the quick, high-flying style of an X Division match. They continue fighting each other until the referee convinces them both to stop and return to the ring. Daniels then tosses Amazing Red back into the ring. Back inside the ring, the match turns back to the X Division style with both Red and Daniels exchanging arm drags, irish whips, and about every possible move in their arsenal. This is when the veteran Daniels begins to slowly take over. While Amazing Red has been hitting all these energy draining moves, Daniels has been lying in wait, waiting until Amazing Red slips up. To Amazing Red’s credit, he does not mess up for quite a while but to Daniels, all he needs is one little opening to take the match. After a very long time of waiting and getting beat up on top of it, Daniels eventually gets his opportunity when Red slips off the top rope. Daniels takes control of the match and does not let go. Showing great patience once again, Daniels waits until the perfect time to put away. Sensing it’s time, Daniels lays Amazing Red out and then goes for the BME. Daniels hits it and immediately pins Red for the 1, 2, 3!
Winner and New TNA X Division Champion: Daniels
The crowd goes wild as the referee hands Daniels the X Division title. Once he holds it in his hands, he hoists it high above his head while the crowd continues to cheer him on. While Daniels continues celebrating, the camera cuts to the back.
Backstage we see “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair with Beer Money walking the hallways, heading towards the ring area it looks like when they see the Motor City Machine Guns preparing for their upcoming match. The five men stare each other down for a few seconds before the Guns just shrug it off and begin heading towards the ring area. Ric Flair doesn’t seem too happy about that as he whispers something into Robert Roode’s ear as the camera cuts to the ring area.
Match #6: Brutus Magnus [C] & Doug Williams [C] vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin – TNA World Tag Team Championship Match
Cutting back to the ring area, it is now time for the sixth match of the night, the TNA World Tag Team Championship match between the champions Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams, a.k.a The British Invasion, against the challengers Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, a.k.a The Motor City Machine Guns. The challengers are the first to the ring, to a good reaction from the crowd. They are followed shortly after by the champions, who get a mixed reaction from the crowd. The champions hand the belts to the referee but before the referee can call for the bell, they are interrupted by the music of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Flair and Beer Money, who are all dressed in nice suits, make their way out of the entrance tunnel. However instead of coming to ringside, the three take seats in the front row, watching the match like fans. Once they sit down, the referee calls for the bell and the match can begin.
Alex Shelley starts the match in the ring for his team and Brutus Magnus starts the match in the ring for his team. The match starts off very evenly; one man does not get the advantage that is until the quickness of Shelley begins to take over. Shelley gets Magnus down on the ring apron and begins working on his arm. This continues for a few seconds before Magnus counters out and gets back to his feet. Being near his own corner, he tags in his partner Doug Williams. Williams takes over and begins returning the favor on Shelley, working on Shelley’s arm. This seems to have much more of an effect on Shelley then Shelley’s move did to Magnus. Williams continues applying the pressure until a punch to the face ends it. Shelley tries tagging in Chris Sabin but Doug Williams just drags him back. Williams goes right back to working his many submission holds on Shelley, obviously trying to take away his high flying offense. After a long time of slowly inching his way towards Sabin, Shelley is able to reach just enough to tag him in. Sabin gets in but Doug Williams keeps control, delivering several punches to Sabin which eventually topples Sabin over the top rope. Now on the outside, Doug Williams uses everything on the outside to his advantage from the ring posts to the guard rail. Getting tired of the outside, Williams tosses Sabin back into the ring and he continues his dominance. Williams switches gears just a little, going from a submission based attack to more of a brawling based one. This doesn’t work well however as Sabin somehow manages to hit a kick to the head of Williams which knocks Williams down. Sabin then tags back in Alex Shelley. Shelley still seems a little beaten up from before so his attack is not as quick as you would expect. This turns out to be good for Doug Williams. The slow offense by Shelley allows him to tag in his partner Brutus Magnus. Magnus enters the ring and begins unloading on Shelley, exploiting a perceived weakness. This weakness however turns out to be a trap. Just when Brutus goes for a move, Shelley counters and tags back in Chris Sabin. The two begin double teaming Magnus. They wear him down just enough to where they think they can put him away but just as they try to, Doug Williams breaks it up. The Guns then turn their attention to Williams. They hit the double team finisher on Williams and toss him out of the ring so he won’t interfere again. Turning back around they are surprised by Brutus Magnus who nails both Sabin and Shelley with stiff strikes, knocking both of them down. Magnus then picks up Shelley and tosses him out of the ring towards Doug Williams who has just recovered from being tossed out himself. Williams slams Shelley hard into the guard rail and re-enters the ring to join Magnus. At this time, Magnus has Chris Sabin up on his shoulders waiting for the perfect time to hit the Tormentum. Asking for permission from his partner and getting it, he hits the move and pins him 1, 2, 3!
Winners and Still TNA World Tag Team Champions: Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams
Following the end of the match, the referee hands the tag titles to Magnus and Williams who hold them up high over the heads in victory. Meanwhile, Ric Flair and Beer Money stand up and give the British Invasion a standing ovation which the champions just shrug off. The camera then cuts back to the announcer’s desk.
Back at the announcer’s desk, Mike Tenay and Taz both begin hyping up the next match, the match with arguably the biggest stipulations attached to it, that being the match between Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy. If Kurt beats Hardy, he becomes #1 contender to the TNA World Title but if Hardy wins, Hardy becomes #1 contender and Kurt cannot challenge for the TNA World Title for one year. The cameras show a split screen of both men preparing for this match. Once it looks like the two are finished preparing, the camera cuts back to the ring area where Jeremy Borash is ready to give introductions.
Match #7: Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle - #1 Contender Match to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
First out to the ring is “The Olympic Gold Medalist” Kurt Angle. Kurt appears very, very focused on the task at hand and doesn’t even turn his head to look at the fans as he makes his way down to the ring. Following him is his opponent, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy who is quickly turning into a fan favorite judging by the growing reactions he gets every time he comes out to the ring. Just as Hardy climbs into the ring, Kurt attacks him and the match begins.
Kurt starts off by forcing Jeff into a corner of the ring. Kurt begins lowering his shoulder into Jeff Hardy’s midsection, knocking the wind out of him with every strike. Feeling some mercy for Jeff perhaps, Kurt lets him out of the corner. Kurt then takes Jeff down to the ground and locks in a submission hold. Kurt keeps the hold locked in for quite a while until Jeff is able to power out and reverse it into a neck lock of his own. Jeff starts to work on the historically injured neck of Kurt Angle. Angle manages to push Hardy off of him but Hardy just goes right back to the neck lock. While Hardy still has the neck lock applied, Angle forces him back into the same corner where he was at before. With the assistance of the referee and the ring ropes, Angle is able to get out of the hold and take the momentum of the match back. Angle keeps Hardy backed up in the corner for a while, working on Hardy’s midsection. Seemingly growing tired of it, Angle decides to take Hardy to the middle of the ring and hit some suplexes. Angle gets one before Hardy counters into a suplex of his own. Hardy then picks up Angle and tosses him into the same corner as before and starts to return the favor, working on Angle’s midsection this time. This doesn’t last long as Kurt is able to get out of it with a few shots of his own. The two now go back and forth for about a minute and a half or so until a vicious power bomb by Kurt Angle puts an end to that all. The power bomb seems to have rattled Hardy so much that he’s having trouble getting back up. The referee starts counting and he gets as far as eight before Hardy staggers back to his feet. Angle then returns to a submission attack. Angle has Hardy locked in pretty good. Just when it looks like Hardy may give up, the fans start to cheer him on which gives Hardy just enough energy to start fighting back. With the crowd on his side, Hardy powers back to his feet. However this is short lived. As soon as Hardy gets back to his feet, Angle knocks him back down. With Hardy back down, Angle once again goes submission. Surprisingly Hardy powers out once again. This time Hardy has more of a fire, unloading furiously on Angle. Hardy gains the momentum and does not give it back. After about another minute and a half or so of wearing down Kurt Angle, out of nowhere Jeff hits the Twist of Fate! Just as Jeff is about to then go for the Swanton Bomb, Angle gets to his feet and hits an Angle Slam out of nowhere! Angle then lowers the straps and locks in an Ankle Lock. With all the submissions that Hardy has been through in this match, one wouldn’t expect him to get out but somehow he does. Kurt can’t believe it and begins attacking Jeff but Jeff is ready with another Twist of Fate! This time Hardy is able to hit the Swanton Bomb and cover Angle for the victory!
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Following the end of the match, Hardy seems more astonished at his victory than Kurt seems at his defeat. Hardy celebrates with the crowd as Angle gets back to his feet. Hardy extends his hand to Angle but Angle just shakes his head and walks out of the ring leaving Hardy stranded as the camera cuts to the back.
The cameras now cut to the locker room area where Samoa Joe is preparing for his upcoming match when the champion A.J. Styles comes in.
A.J. Styles: Hey man, I just want to say that whatever happens in our match tonight I hope it doesn’t hurt our friendship. No matter what, you’re still one of my best friends.
Samoa Joe: A.J., you may be one of my best friends but that still doesn’t change the fact that I am going to whip your ass tonight and take that title from you. Just don’t start crying when I do.
Joe then pushes past A.J. as the camera cuts to a video promo.
This video promo highlights A.J. and Joe’s long history together from the beginning of TNA all the way to the present day. It also shows how Joe earned this title opportunity by quickly making Abyss tap, impressing Stone Cold in the process. The video doesn’t last long and when it’s finished, the cameras cut back to the ring area.
Match #8: A.J. Styles [C] vs. Samoa Joe – TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match
First out to the ring is the challenger “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe. The crowd gives Joe a good reaction. Shortly after Joe climbs into the ring, the champion’s music begins to play and A.J. Styles makes his way down to the ring. A.J. hands the belt to the referee, the referee holds it up high, hands it outside, and calls for the bell so the match can begin.
Joe comes right out of the gate firing on all cylinders, very quickly overwhelming Styles. It’s clear from the get go what Joe’s plan of action is, and that is to beat Styles down and win the match as quick as possible. Joe continues this offensive assault for quite some time but just cannot put Styles away like he would like. Styles manages to stay alive quite well, taking as much punishment as possible but not seeming to get much of the effects. This frustrates Joe since his plan of action is obviously not working. Switching to a new plan, Joe decides to take Styles down and work on him with various submission holds. This seems to work a little better but unfortunately for Joe, A.J. is able to get back to his feet and start mounting some offense of his own for the first time in this entire match. The quickness of Styles and the anger that’s been building up inside Joe overwhelms him. Styles keeps the momentum going for a while until he is stopped dead in his tracks by a powerful Samoa Joe close line. The close line by Joe seems to have knocked the wind out of Styles because he does not have the same fire he had earlier in the match. Joe then starts going back to his original game plan of overwhelming Styles with his powerful offense. This time it seems to work a little better but despite it having more effectiveness, Joe is still unable to put Styles away. Joe even gets three pin attempts in but every time Styles kicks out at two. Joe is desperately trying to keep his cool but it gets hard as the match continues on. Styles slowly but surely starts to build up his momentum again, forcing his way back to his feet. Once Styles is back up, it becomes a fair fight again. The two begin exchanging rights and lefts. They battle like this for a good thirty seconds or so before Joe once again starts to take the momentum of the match. At this point Styles has come back several times and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to again. Joe beats on Styles to the point where Joe feels it’s time to put him away. Joe gets Styles in position for the muscle buster but just as Joe is about to hit it, he slips just a little allowing Styles to counter with a Pele kick! With Joe down, Styles sees his chance. He gets Joe in position for the Styles Clash and hits it. He then rolls Joe over and pins him, getting the 1, 2, 3!
Winner and Still TNA World Heavyweight Champion: A.J. Styles
Following the end of the match, the referee hands Styles the belt. Styles takes time to acknowledge the crowd as Joe starts to realize what has just happened. Genesis cuts to black with a shot of Joe angrily pounding his fists on the mat while Styles continues celebrating his victory.
