-- 1/17 TNA Genesis PPV Reax

Mario Robles of New York, N.Y. (4.0): Best Match: Styles vs. Angle. Worst Match: Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson. Wow. What do you say about a show that was so rejected by the live audience? From booing the new ring, chanting "over-rated" to the big Anderson revelation, "boring" chants, and literally turning their backs on the product as a protest, the new TNA is off to a shaky start, at best. My opinion on the whole Morley-as-face/Daniels-as-heel debacle has all ready been voiced, but what I really want to do is point something out that hasn't really been analyzed much lately. Before signing with TNA, Hogan was an Internet pariah. Smart fans have known Hogan to be a selfish, egomaniacal, close-minded individual for years. With that in mind, why did anyone think giving this man "Vince McMahon Power" over TNA was a good idea? Yet for some reason it would appear a great chunk of the wrestling community fell under his spell - his big words, his promises, and his undeniable charisma. The problem is, beneath all that, he has no track record as a "brilliant wrestling mind." He's never proven that. Not once. Hogan's history has only ever proven to be amazing at selling one thing: the Hogan Brand. So putting him in charge of something that is supposed to be fresh, cutting-edge, and different never made a lick of sense to me. Final note: This whole "anti-sports entertainment" babble is particularly frustrating and baffling because Hogan, himself, vowed to make TNA the "#1 Sports Entertainment Company In The World" during his promo on Jan. 4. Yikes.

Matt Frazier of St. Louis, Mo. (5.0): Best Match: Desmond Wolfe vs. The Pope. Worst match: The Band vs. Beer Money. TNA has a public relations nightmare on their hands with a fan backlash against the new ring, fallout from Friday's Bubba the Love Sponge Show, and now news of Jeremy Borash being moved off live TV. Hogan was looking to make a splash, and no one can argue that he didn't. In regards to the PPV, fans were greeted with the long-rumored, traditional four-cornered wrestling ring. I think it's a mistake to move in this direction, as the six-sided ring is something that sets them apart from the competition. The pacing of the event was good, as there wasn't a lot of down time, and the matches flowed from one to another. There definitely were some stinkers, though. In one of them, I kept waiting for Kevin Nash to blow out his knee. Fortunately, the Wolfe-Pope and Styles-Angle matches helped keep this from being a total dud. Hogan's "game-changer" turned out to be more of a "channel-changer" when Mr. Ken Anderson showed up. Looks like we have the entire roster of Hogan's Australia tour in TNA. All we're missing is the Godfather and Rikishi. Who knew that they were using the Outback as a warm-up. Noticeably absent was Samoa Joe.

Richard Houghland, Torch reader: So, let's get this straight. The Hogan regime deems it worthwhile to bring in Spanky and Mr. Kennedy unannounced while simultaneously pushing such "relevant" talent as Waltman, Morley, and the worn out Hall? All that was bad enough without the omission of some of the best talent on the TNA roster for this PPV. Where were Shelley and Sabin, Awesome Kong and Hamada, and especially the under-rated Samoa Joe? Meanwhile, Scott Hall is a mess. He does not look physically or emotionally prepared to enter anything but a rehab clinic. The very thought of running a Scott Hall re-lapse angle is repugnant and tasteless. If the man is as bad off as he appears, the worst thing his so-called friends can do is subject him to the rigors of returning to the ring in a storyline involving his "sickness." It is not like TNA has not used this idea before with horrible results - case in point, Rhino and his alcoholism angle with James Storm. It was also in bad taste and did nothing to further their careers.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "TNA PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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