By Dan Wilikenfeld, PWTorch Specialist

Okay, it's a new week, and a new start. Let's see if TNA can win me back. I'm optimistic.

[Opening Credits]

The Angles make their way out to the ring. Kurt claims that the Genesis main-event is a classic ploy to get the title off a "beloved champion." The crowd is hot, mixing in "Angle sucks!" and "We want Nash" chants. Angle says he'll figure out who Sting's mystery partner is, because he has two degrees, watches CSI, Law and Order, and 24. Sting says that his partner is a former WWE and WCW champion, and someone who doesn't much like Kurt. How awesome will it be if Jericho swerves everyone and comes to TNA? Kurt says that those clues don't make sense, since everyone who knows Kurt likes him. Nash comes out to take issue with that universal generalization, pointing out that Kurt should perhaps be less worried about Sting's partner and more worried about his own. He backs Angle out of the ring...and right into Sting. Sting tosses him back into the ring, and he and Nash tee off on Kurt till he escapes. Sting and Nash then look like they might go at it themselves, but security defuses the situation.

Kaz defeats James Storm (w/Jackie Moore)

The match starts off quick with a vaulting body press from Kaz, followed by an awesome flurry by Storm that includes an Eye of the Storm, an impressive high Enzuigiri, and a Back Stabber. The crowd starts getting psyched, chanting for Storm. I did not expect that. Kaz hits a roll up out of nowhere for the win. Wow, I expected that even less - I had actually already written "James Storm defeats Kaz" on the top line. They really should have made a bigger deal out of this, as with a bit more time this could have been almost as exciting an upset as Lethal vs. Angle.

After the match, Eric Young comes down to the ring with a six-pack. Storm seems amused, and after downing one beer invites Young to have the next. Much to his surprise, Young downs the beer in short order, suddenly we have drinking contest. Two beers later, and they decide to race on the last two. Storm wins by a hair, but seems impressed by Young's gumption. We have ourselves a face turn? Ignoring the waste that was the absence of build-up to Kaz's upset win, and taken on its own entertainment merits, this was a killer segment.

[Commercial Break]

Kurt is in a dark room, smoking a cigar with Jeremy Borash. Karen wants to know what he's doing, and he responds that this is how they do things in Guadalupe. She points out that he might mean Guantanamo Bay, which he clearly knows nothing about. Borash turns a bright interrogation light on her, and she walks out in disgust, swearing to find answers on her own.

They air an interview of Crystal interviewing Nash earlier in the day. He says that people claim that he and Kurt are still in cahoots, but that's all silly when there's a chance he could win the world title. Crystal questions whether he really can win, given that he hasn't been in the ring in over a year and doesn't even know who his opponents are. Nash says that he's been around a while, and knows how to work a main-event, and thinks he'll know by the end of the night who Sting's partner is.

3D comes out, and Brother Ray tries to start a "That was awesome" chant, only to get a "3D sucks" chant instead. He implies that they did Shelley and Savin's mothers earlier in the night, which given their presumptive ages I feel reflects worse on 3D then it does on the women. 3D then looks right at the camera and rips on those people hiding at home behind our keyboards because we can't cut it in pro wrestling, which I have to admit is a little awkward. It is interesting though that it is the most hated tag team in TNA who rip on internet writers, which suggests that perhaps the face stance in TNA is that we're actually valuable customers. If so, that could become interesting down the line, particularly as it contrasts so starkly with WWE's policy.

Thankfully, Shelly and Sabin come out to do what I can't. Shelley complains that all we've been hearing about is things Brother Ray hates, yet he's omitted such things he clearly despises as low carb-diets and exercise. Shelley points to the Sabin's hand, and says that it represents not only Michigan and Detroit, but the hand that's gonna slap that fat pig Brother Ray. Brother Ray calls for the tables, but when Devon goes to look he finds that there's nothing under the ring. Daniels and Havok come out with the tables, as Sonjay, XXX, Shark Boy and Petey Williams ambush 3D from behind. 3D barely weasel out, at which point Shelley and Sabin get on the mic and say that 3D won't be running at Genesis, when they'll be facing the Guns in the ring. I think this has the potential to be one of the defining TNA plotlines, but I'll have more on that a bit later.

[Commercial Break]

"Black Machismo" Jay Lethal is in Kurt's make-shift interrogation chamber, but seems to confuse Kurt's questions about Sting with Randy Savage's old encounters with the Warrior. In a legitimately funny moment, Kurt gets caught up in Lethal's reminiscences until Borash reminds him that this is crazy. Kurt then kicks him out of the office, and in another nice moment, Borash enthusiastically joins in kicking him out.

Crystal is in the back with Christy Hemme, Lance Hoyt, and Jimmy Rave, and she wants to know why there's conflict within the team. Christy says that Rave is getting in the way of her relationship with Hoyt. Hoyt seems to side with Rave before switching to say something sweet, but we can't really be sure what he said due to some sub-par sound editing.

(2) Awesome Kong defeats Christy Hemme (w/ Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave)

Kong still has her glossy picture of Gail Kim, and comes out to slight but audible fan appreciation. There's a nice spot where Christy tries to fling Kong by the hair, but ends up flinging herself. Kong hits the Torture Rack of extreme painfulness that she hit at Bound for Glory, nails the Sit Out Powerbomb, and we're done. This was just another squash for Awesome Kong, but it felt a little quicker and more brutal than last week's, which is how one wants one's squashes. Or it could just be that I'm not currently pissed about an absurd conclusion to a World Title match.

Crystal is in the back approaching Sting's locker room, where Eric Young is listening through the door. He claims to overhear the name of Sting's partner, which he whispers to Crystal before attempting to swear her to secrecy.

[Commercial Break]

Robert Roode is in Angle's chamber, and Kurt expresses admiraton for Roode's treatment of Samoa Joe and women. Roode questions where Karen is, and says that Kurt should send her back to the kitchen where she belongs. Kurt seems worried by her absence, and Roode ducks out.

Crystal is standing by with Dustin Rhodes, who seems genuinely mortified by the actions of Black Reign. Abyss, apparently not a firm believer in Multiple Personality Disorder, jumps into the shot and beats the holy hell out of Rhodes. He breaks open the box Reign had been carrying to ringside, and takes out a key, which he throws on the ground.

Chris Harris is in the back with Angle, complaining about how the Angles' drama is getting so much camera time when he's busting his ass wrestling. Given the likely perspectives of the TNA fan base, wouldn't this make Harris a face again? Or maybe they're actually doing something a little subtle, and just having him be a ticked off tweener. I could get behind that.

[Commercial Break]

VKM is in Angle's chamber, with Kip James under the hot-light. Angle begins by questioning Kip's crummy previous gimmicks and how they all revolve around lame sexual references. BG defuses the situation, but then puts Angle in the hotseat and asks him if this has anything to do with his father. Kurt starts crying about how his dad never told him he loved him, and VKM just slinks out of the room. I like whacky Angle.

Crystal is interviewing Christian Cage, who still has ladder in tow. He questions why, since Junior Fatu will apparently be missing the match tonight for undisclosed reasons, he doesn't just advance automatically. (There's a nice subtle point here, which is that Christian only got his spot in the tournament because there was a No Decision in Shelley vs. Sabin and Cornette didn't want anyone to get a bye.) Christian also questions where his Coalition is, and wanders off to look for them.

Nash is on the phone with someone, but due to a recurrence of sound issues I can't quite make out what he says.

Samoa Joe & Gail Kim defeat Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks

There's a woman at ringside with a sign proclaiming her status as Robert Roode's #1 fan, and Tenay points out that she's apparently been there for a few weeks. Roode tosses Brooks into the ring, but it's just a distraction so that he can attack Samoa Joe from behind. The crowd is riotously behind Joe, as well they should be. The women tag in, and some surprisingly decent wrestling ensues (surprising only because I forgot that Ms. Brooks can wrestle). When Brooks goes to make the tag, Roode begs off, but when Joe comes in he forces the issue by dragging Roode into the ring. He locks in the rear naked choke, but Ms. Brooks is still the legal (wo)man. Joe tags in Gail, who finishes Brooks off.

After the match, Roode calls Ms. Brooks worthless, and asks why he shouldn't fire her. He continues to berate her, until a save is made by…Gail Kim? Sweet. I like that they have a woman stand up for another woman. A man will still come to make the save from overt physicality, but there's no real reason a woman can't be the first to get in Roode's face, and all the reason in the world why the Women's Champion should be the one to do it. She tells Roode that everyone is sick of watching him pick on Ms. Brooks (true), calls him "Bob", and then slaps him in the face. Before he can retaliate, Joe runs back in to make the save. He and Roode fight into the crowd.

[Commercial Break]

Joe and Roode are still at it, and Joe is seriously bleeding. Somehow the mysterious "#1 Fan" got involved during the commercial. Security is trying to separate them, but to little avail.

Talia Madison and Angel Williams are in Angle's chamber, and Borash is asking the questions. He tells them that this isn't about them, it's about "the three of us". Somehow Kurt hears this wrong (due to sound issues I don't quite get the joke) and says that this isn't about Ahmanenajad, it's about Genesis. They claim that they know who Sting's partner is, since Eric Young's been telling everyone, but want to know what's in it for them to talk. JB gives them the key to his hotel room, and that appears to be sufficient incentive - they agree to tell him, but not Kurt. They claim they're going to whisper it to him, but then nail him with a knee to the groin and give him back his key as they leave. Kurt asks him who they said, and momentarily confuses JB's cries of pain as a claim that Sting's partner will be the Towers of Pain. That was kind of funny too.

Christian Cage comes down to the ring, and then it's announced that his opponent will be Chris Harris. Apparently there's a standing TNA by-law that any openings in title situations go to Chris Harris (see Slammiversary 2007). In this case it makes a bit of sense though, as Harris was the ninth man to enter the ring in the reverse battle royal at Bound for Glory.

Christian Cage defeats Chris Harris

Harris, to his credit, is bringing his A-game, hitting a Uranage, a full-nelson suplex, and an Electric Chair Toss onto the top rope, all with a little extra sauce.

[Commercial Break]

Christian misses a Frog Splash as we come back, and the action doesn't slow down from there. There's a lot of back and forth, with no one gaining a clear advantage for very long. The crowd gets behind Christian by the end of the match. There's a cool spot where Harris reverses an Unprettier into an Unprettier, which I don't remember ever seeing before. The finish comes off a sequence of reversals, in which Christian reverses a Catatonic into an Unprettier, which is reversed into a roll up, which is finally reversed with a roll-through and a grab of the ropes for added leverage.

Chris Harris tries to argue the decision, but is ambushed by Christian Cage with a ladder. After knocking him down, Cage nails a Frog Splash from the (almost) to of the ladder for emphasis.

Crystal is in the back with Kevin Nash, and wants to know what his phone call was about earlier. Nash says he never expected this to happen, and that he has to go talk to Kurt.

[Commercial Break]

Eric Young is trapped in Kurt's chamber, and getting beaten by what appears to be a phone book. Young says something about the Shockmaster, but then clams up.

Tenay announces that Gail Kim will defend her title against ODB, Angel Williams, and Roxxi Leveux. If you can find a logic behind that match, feel free to send it along.

Black Reign appears on the big screen and challenges Abyss to a House of Horrors Match.

We're up to the main event, and I'm a little disappointed that we only have 16 minutes left and we haven't even started the intros. Speaking of the intros, for some reason the champs come down first.

AJ Styles & Tomko defeat LAX

I put my computer down for this match, lest I ruin what I figured should be a great one. It was a good call. Hernandez and Styles start off the match, and Styles attempts various maneuvers only to literally bounce of Hernandez's chest. After a few such failed moves, AJ gets in his face and talks a lot of trash…and then tags in Tomko. Nice touch. Sadly Tomko's still no match for Hernandez, who just knocks him out of ring, catches AJ as he tries a move off the top rope, tags in Homicide, and then tosses AJ to the outside. Homicide hits his suicide somersault dive, and everyone but Hernandez is down.

[Commercial Break]

Homicide and Styles are wrestling in the ring, and I'd forgotten that when combating people roughly his size Homicide can be a very solid wrestler. The referee is for some reason distracted by Tomko and Hernandez on the outside, which proves surprisingly logical when the commentators remind us that Tomko is actually the legal man for his team. We have the obligatory but brief beat down on Homicide, who is eventually able to make the tag to the big man. He overpowers Tomko, then catches AJ in mid-air and fluidly nails him with a Sit-Out Powerbomb. If Hernandez is not a world champion within five years, someone's not doing their job. When he tries to finish him off with the Border Toss Tomko breaks it up, but then gets tossed out for his troubles. LAX hits some cool tandem offense on Styles, but when Tomko makes it back they toss Homicide and the take Hernandez down with a brutal clothesline from Tomko. AJ goes to the apron and…HOLY SH--! I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that was just a Springboard 450 Splash, which I would not have thought possible. It's enough for the three count, and, for the first time I can remember, LAX getting beat in such a way that I don't feel like the better wrestlers necessarily got screwed.

After the match, Tomko and Styles want to continue the beat down, but LAX gets help from their new mystery friend and are able to fend them off long enough for the Steiners to come down and start some trouble.

We cut to the back, where Kurt is interrogating Karen regarding possible cheating. Nash breaks in, and says that they have bigger problems right now, as Sting's partner is going to be Scott Hall, and he's going to be there next week. I'm not quite sure why that would be a problem for Nash, but I could see where Kurt would be less than thrilled.

Where We've Been:

I was going to use this spot to lament the downfall of Samoa Joe. In just over a year he's gone from being the single most important member of the TNA roster to feuding with someone who a few months ago was getting tarred and feathered by Eric Young. But then I took a good look at the brackets for the Fight for the Right tournament, and I started to wonder. This was so obviously contrived for Christian Cage to win, why didn't they give him more serious competition for his final match? Why couldn't they have put in Eric Young or James Storm, someone who's had a consistent TV presence over the last year and therefore might be in line for a main-event push? And the only answer I can come up with is that, whacky as the idea might be, maybe they're actually going to let Kaz have a shot. And then I look back at Samoa Joe-Robert Roode, and I start to wonder if there might not be a broader program of elevating stars. Fans are always saying that's what TNA needs to do, and it suddenly occurred to me that they might be in the process of doing it right under our very noses. I'm sceptical regarding whether a Roode-Joe program will help Roode as much as it will hurt Joe, but if it takes place in the broader context of an uprising of new talent it might just work. Of course it's more likely that they're just going to job out Kaz next week and further emasculate Joe at the Pay Per View for no good end, but we can hope for the best.

Where We're Going:

This is actually a bit of a theme column, as again I want to focus on creating new stars, this time in the context of the Team 3D-X Division feud. I have always been partial to stories wherein leaders take power for the sole reason that somebody has to (think Braveheart). As Shelley and Sabin stood tall in the ring after rallying the X Division to fend off Team 3D, I was filled with the sense that there were new leaders before us, both within the plot and within the real life quest to rebuild the X Division. If this feud plays out as it should, with an ultimate victory for the X Division, we might be seeing the new leaders of TNA generally develop right before our eyes - and they're made in Detroit.

This Week's Show: I'm always amazed by the difference a week can make. This show had some great in ring action, and enticed the viewer with the potential of interesting developments to come - the X Division finally coming together, new faces in the main event, and perhaps even a return of the NWO. It was just an awesome show with a stellar (if regrettably short) main event. A-

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