1/17 TNA Genesis PPV Live Coverage: Hulk Hogan's first TNA PPV appearance, two surprises wrestlers, A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA Title, Beer Money vs. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash

Dot Net Members will be listening to Jason Powell's audio recap of the show later tonight. You can gain access to and the perks of membership, which include an ad-free version of the site, exclusive audio shows, and the Member's Forum for just $5 a month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

Live from Orlando, Fla.
At Universal Studios

The show opened with a video package that featured various wrestlers delivering the same lines. The usual stuff from TNA. It concluded with Hulk Hogan hyping the main event...

Fireworks above the new four-sided ring and on the stage went off. Mike Tenay introduced the show...

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came out to the NWO music. A shot aired of Brooke Hogan cheering her father at ringside. The fans chanted "Hogan." Hulk said it was beautiful and he welcomed everyone to TNA Genesis. He welcomed viewers to the new Impact Zone. There were some boos from fans who liked the six-sided ring. There was actually a "We want six sides" chant.

Hogan said he had one thing to say about six sides. "You had it and it only takes you so far," Hogan said. There were some boos. "No more playpen ring, this is where professional wrestling was meant to be done," he added. He said they were changing it whether the fans like it or not.

Bischoff said there are more changes coming and fans better get used to it. Hogan asked, "Whatcha gonna do, Vince McMahon, now that TNA is coming for you?" Hogan and Bischoff left the ring. Hogan slapped hands with the fans at ringside...

Powell's POV: I'm surprised Hogan stood his ground and took the boos when he could worked around the six-sides chants. Honestly, I don't know why the fans care so much about the ring. I didn't mind the six-sided ring, but a ring is just a ring as far as I'm concerned.

At ringside, Taz told Tenay that he was proud to see the new four-sided ring. He said he's had his fill of sports entertainment and doesn't miss it. The announcers hyped the main event...

1. Amazing Red defeated Brian Kendrick to retain the X Division Title in 9:00. The announcers noted that Red was at the disadvantage because he didn't know who his opponent would be. Kendrick came out to cheers while wearing one of his "only Kendrick" jackets. Love it.

Kendrick worked over Red at ringside right in front of Brooke Hogan. Kendrick controlled the early action with kicks to the back of Red's leg. Red came back and hit a flip off the top rope onto Kendrick, who was standing on the floor. Cool spot. Later, Red hit the Code Red and got the clean pin on Kendrick...

Powell's POV: Quality match and I'd definitely like to see more from these two. The win made Red look strong. He beat a former WWE wrestler in a match where the storyline was that he was at a disadvantage by not knowing who his opponent was until match time.

Backstage, Hogan and Bischoff spoke with The Band. Bischoff said he appreciated them helping him out with Foley. He asked them not to forget that while Nash isn't under contract, Hall and Waltman have to prove themselves tonight. Hogan said he knows about "for life," but they need to get "for real." He said this is their shot and they might not get another one.

After Hogan walked away, Hall said Hulk does business like a shark. Hall said he has to earn his paycheck tonight. Hall and Waltman did rock/paper/scissors to see who would wrestle. Waltman won the best of three battle, so it looks like he's wrestling...

Sean Morley came to the ring for his match and wrapped his towel around Brooke Hogan. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and then headed to the ring. He said he was there to present his first TNA production. Daniels interrupted him and told Brooke, "Sit down, blondie." Daniels cut heel promo on Morley to set up their match...

2. Sean Morley beat Daniels in 9:00. Daniels targeted Morley's throat during the match and used a Koji clutch submission attempt at one point. The crowd didn't take the hold seriously because they were busy chanting and laughing. Late in the match, Daniels went for a huracanrana off the top rope, but Morley pushed him off and hit the Money Shot for the win. The camera crew picked up Brooke dancing to Morley's music afterward...

Powell's POV: Another quality match. I just have a hard time taking Morley's character seriously. The porn gimmick is totally played out. It's time for him to move on and come up with something new.

A video set up the ODB vs. Tara match...

3. Tara defeated ODB in a best of three falls match for the TNA Knockouts Championship in 9:50. Tara won the first fall with a rollup at 2:50. A shot aired of Buccaneers defensive tackle and longtime wrestling fan Chris Hovan sitting in the front row. Taz boasted about his Net York Jets winning.

ODB went on the offensive. She tossed Tara to ringside in front of Brooke, who stood up and tried to comfort Tara, but ODB scared her into sitting back down in her seat. Late in the match, Tara caught ODB going for a backdrop and turned it into the Widow's Peak to win the second straight fall...

Powell's POV: Way too much Brooke tonight. Likewise, way too many title changes with the Knockouts Title lately. Why do they keep trading the title? It's making the title changes seem uneventful.

Backstage, Christy Hemme interviewed The Pope about his match with Desmond Wolfe, who Pope referred to as "Wolfy"...

4. Matt Morgan and Hernandez defeated The British Invasion to win the TNA Tag Titles. A back and forth match with Hernandez doing the bulk of the selling for his team. The Invasion double superplexed him at one point. In the end, Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint on Magnus, who didn't make it look good by pulling back (so, of course, TNA production found a view that made it look even worse on the replay). Morgan pinned him to win the match and the titles for his team...

Powell's POV: Morgan was given the big match against Kurt Angle at Bound For Glory so he could become a tag champ? Hernandez left a great tag team in LAX so that he could become a tag champion with a singles wrestler? Strange.

Backstage, Bobby Lashley tried to storm past Abyss in Bischoff's office. However, Abyss attacked him and let him lying after slamming a computer monitor on his head. Bischoff scolded him for knocking out his opponent. "You just ruined our semi-main event," Bischoff said.

Hogan walked into the room and asked what was going on. Bischoff called Abyss a maniac. Hogan calmed down Bischoff and had him leave the room. Hogan told Abyss he was overwhelmed. He said Abyss would still have a match on the show. He said it would be even better. Hogan told Abyss not to make him crazy. "I'm crazy enough for both of us," Abyss said...

5. Desmond Wolfe pinned D'Angelo Dinero in 13:30. Wolfe came to the ring with a valet. The announcers referred to her as his "friend." Taz spoke about how good it felt to be able to call people wrestlers. The valet removed Demond's warmup pants to reveal his new ring gear.

Desmond targeted Pope's left knee throughout the match. Pope did a good job of selling the knee. Pope got in plenty of offense down the stretch, but Wolfe nailed him with a lariat clothesline and got the 1-2-3...

Powell's POV: Demond's new gear is Christian-like long pants. It's an upgrade over what he was wearing. I didn't recognize the value, but I think the right valet could enhance Wolfe's act. The match started slow, but they picked up the pace down the stretch. There was nothing particularly memorable about the match, but it was nice to see Wolfe avenge the Jan. 4 loss.

Backstage, Borash was interrupted by Bischoff, who asked what he was doing. Borash said he was doing his job. Bischoff told him that his job was to do whatever he told him to do. Bischoff said he was taking Borash off television for a while. He said he could drive the ring truck or something like that.

After Borash walked away, Ric Flair walked onto the set and exchanged a look with Bischoff, who backed out of the picture. Christy Hemme stepped in and interviewed Flair, who said he goes where the greatest talent in the world is...

Powell's POV: I'm guessing they're playing into the internet feud that Bischoff and Borash had going a while back. Flair's first TNA promo was forgettable. It was nice to hear him "Woooo" again. His "Woooo" count was restricted in TNA.

A video set up the Beer Money vs. The Band match...

6. Beer Money defeated Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman in 9:35. Waltman came out with Nash, but Hall didn't join them. Taz referred to Waltman as "Syxx-Pac." He also mistakenly referred to him as "X-Pac" at one point. Waltman and Nash used quick tags early while working over Storm.

Roode took a hot tag and worked over Waltman at 8:00. The Beer Money duo was in control when Hall walk to ringside. Nash took advantage of the distraction and used a double clothesline. Hall pulled "a fan" over the guardrail and beat him up. Waltman tried to stop him. Meanwhile, Storm hit the Last Call on Nash, which allowed Roode to get the pin.

After the match, Hall stood in the ring and mocked Beer Money's gestures while they were celebrating on the floor. Nash woke up and wasn't too pleased about losing the match...

Powell's POV: Viewers who ordered the show in part to see a legends team facing one of the best teams of today had to be disappointed that Hall wasn't included in the match. By the way, he cited an injury as his excuse for not wrestling. Of course, the match was probably better without him because Waltman is better in the ring than a broken down Hall.

Backstage, Hogan bitched to Bischoff about the match. He said he was busy tonight, but he was going to call out The Band on Thursday night's Impact. Bischoff said Hogan needed to do it. Bischoff also commended Hulk for the way he handled the Abyss situation...

7. Ken Anderson defeated Abyss. Abyss made his entrance. The lights went out and audio played with "Mister..." Ken Anderson appeared on the stage and a mic dropped down to him. Anderson said he read online that people missed him and he said he even missed himself. Anderson introduced himself on the stage. He paused when he got to the "Mister" part a couple times before saying, "Anderson."

Powell's POV: Nice reaction for Anderson. There were plenty of people mimicking his self introduction.

Anderson offered a handshake to Abyss, but slapped him across the face. Abyss returned the favor and knocked down Anderson. There was an audible "Kennedy" chant during the opening minute. There was an "overrated" chant a couple minutes later, which Anderson mocked by making an "O" sign with his arms while taking it to Abyss at ringside.

At 9:15, Abyss got Anderson up for a shock treatment backbreaker. Anderson tried to punch his way out of it, but Abyss hit the move and it looked really good. He only got a near fall. Abyss grabbed a chair from ringside. As he was playing to the crowd, Anderson reached inside his trunks and grabbed a pair of brass knuckles. Anderson nailed Abyss with the brass knuckles as the referee was taking the chair way. Anderson got the pin.

After the match, Anderson handled his own "winner of the match" introduction. He took a page out of Peter Griffin's playbook by grunting in pain several times before finally saying his name...

Powell's POV: Forgettable match. The crowd was hot for Kennedy at the start, but they didn't really react to the finish. A simply squash over an inferior opponent would have been better. I'm happy Anderson was a heel. He's much better in that role and the company has a shortage of top heels. By the way, Abyss has now put over Samoa Joe and Ken Anderson since Hogan and Bischoff arrived.

The announcers spoke at ringside and hyped the Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles match... A video aired on the main event...

8. A.J. Styles defeated Kurt Angle to retain the TNA Title in 28:50. The stipulation is that Angle will not get another shot at Styles in 2010 if he loses the match. The referee is Earl Hebner. No in-ring introductions because Borash is busy warming up the ring truck or something.

They worked a slow pace early with both men trading offense, as they are obviously going to be working a lengthy match given how much time there is left in the show. Angle took control at 8:00 when he took out Styles's legs on the ring apron and then clotheslined him at ringside.

At 14:30, Ric Flair walked to ringside as the fans serenaded him with "wooo's." Meanwhile, Styles hit a big dive over the top rope onto Angle at ringside. Back inside the ring, Styles hit a springboard move for a near fall at 16:20 as Flair continued to watch from ringside. Angle came right back with three German suplexes.

Both men continued to trade offense with some quality near falls mixed in. A.J. appeared to set up Angle for a Styles Clash off the ropes, but Angle fought out. Styles dove at him at 24:00, but Angle caught him and hit his own Styles Clash for a near fall. Cool spot. Angle went for the Angle Slam, but Styles countered with a DDT.

At 25:10, Styles hit an Angle Slam for a good near fall of his own. Tenay followed up the near fall with a Joey Lawrence-like "Whoa." Styles went up top, but Angle jumped up and caught him on the ropes. Angle hit the Angle Slam off the ropes as Brooke Hogan could be seen jumping up and down and cheering at ringside. Angle went for the cover and counted along with the ref, but Styles kicked out.

Angle took the strap of his singlet down at 26:30. He applied the Ankle Lock on Styles. A.J. tried to reach the ropes, but Angle pulled him to the middle of the ring. Styles tried to kick him off, but Angle avoided that. Styles raised his hand to tap. Suddenly, Flair reached inside the ring and pulled the referee to ringside.

Styles tapped out, but the referee was on the floor. Angle went after Flair, who ran around the ring and then climbed inside it. Angle followed Flair around and then inside the ring, but Styles nailed him with a clothesline. Flair instructed Styles to hit Angle with the TNA Title belt. Styles thought about it and then complied. Flair slid the referee back inside the ring. Styles got the win.

After the match, Flair entered the ring and raised A.J.'s hand. Flair yelled that Styles is the world champion. Styles and Flair traded wooo's. Flair strutted for the crowd. The announcers narrated highlights of the match. Back live, Styles said it's all about him.

The show concluded with a commercial for the Feb. 14 (yes, really, Valentine's Day) Against All Odds pay-per-view...

Powell's POV: An excellent match. I like the finish and I'll have a lot more to say about Styles as a heel, including how long the creative team has been planning his turn in tonight's Dot Net Audio recap of the TNA Genesis pay-per-view. You can access all Dot Net Audio on the ad-free version of the website for only $5 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.