1/9/11 Genesis

Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal (X-Division Title): A very nice opener to the show. The two clearly have good chemistry working together. End felt a bit flat, however. **3/4

Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James (Knockouts Title): I had very little interest in this one. The pace was slow, Rayne played the underhanded or scared heel during the match, and of course, the (predictable) dirty finish. I do agree that Mickie should still chase the title a while longer. *1/4

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (Tag Team Titles): Yes...yes, I approve. Brought back great memories of their Best-of-Five series last year. Undoubtedly two of the best tag teams today. ****

Bully Ray vs. Brother Devon: This was basically a fight, and I have no idea if the ref was supposed to be so lenient at first on allowing the chain to be used. I find these types of matches tough to rate. All I know is that the feud will continue on. The crowd seems to like it anyway. **

Abyss vs. Douglas Williams (TV Title): So AJ Styles gets pulled (I read that it is a legit injury) and Abyss is put in the match instead. Shame, too, because you knew AJ vs. Williams would be good. Another dirty finish. What else is new? *3/4

Matt Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam: Well, well, well. Matt Hardy finally shows up in TNA after months of just making web videos and annoying many a great wrestling fan. Matt looked quite rusty out there, but that was expected. How many dirty or controversial finishes do we need here? Really now? *1/2

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett (MMA Exhibition): Best line of the night..."Angle's gonna kill you!" There's really no way for me to rate this one. Poor job by production truck, as we basically got a good five seconds or so of Angle unwrapping the razor to blade himself. And going along with the theme of the night, can someone say dirty finish? Jarrett's got strong heat for his gimmick right now, I'll give him that. N/A

Mr. Anderson vs. Matt Morgan: The match was OK to me. We had a couple kickouts of finishing moves, as a note. The finish itself was quite lame. **

Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy (World Title): A surprise World Title match to finish the PPV. Never a good idea, in my book. Another one of those moments where you figured it would just be another squash by the heel champ, but it turned out to be anything but. Basically a match with a bunch of parties involved to try and keep the match one-on-one. Is 2011 the Year of the Asshole? *1/2

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MVPs: Beer Money vs. Guns steal the show again. Clear MVPs tonight.

Overall Rating: The show had some promise on paper, but in my view, only one match truly delivered (Beer Money/MCMG). Lethal and Kazarian was good stuff, and the Devon/Bully Ray feud got off to a decent start. The impromptu World Title match sent the fans home happy. Other than that, I saw way too many dirty/controversial finishes for my liking, so it made the faces look pretty stupid. **