By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Genesis
Dallas, Texas at the Curtis Culwell Center
Aired live January 17, 2026 on pay-per-view and TrillerTV.com
Pre-Show Notes
Arrival shots of Frankie Kazarian, Mike Santana, and Nic Nemeth were shown…
Gia Miller, Ash by Elegance, Dave LaGreca, and Tommy Dreamer checked in as the hosts of the pre-show. Gia talked about how the debut on AMC “had the world talking”. Gia then sent the show to the post show angle that wasn’t aired on TV where Nic Nemeth failed in his cash-in attempt of his not-money-in-the-bank Call Your Shot Trophy.
This led to Santino booking Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian in a Texas Deathmatch. His assistant undercut him by booking Nic Nemeth as the guest referee. The panel then gave their thoughts. Gia then sent the show to a Hardys vs. Righteous hype package. The panel gave their predictions. Gia then talked about how Dani Luna wasn’t able to make the show due to “visa issues”. A replay aired of the segment where Zaria was set up as Dani’s replacement in the Knockouts Title match…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on the pre-show. Hannifan plugged Genesis merch and their electrolyte drink sponsor. Tom hyped the pre-show match, Stacks vs. Eric Young vs. BDE vs. KJ Orso. Hannifan noted that KJ Orso is the former Fuego Del Sol…
Entrances for the International Championship match took place…
1. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Ariana Grace) vs. BDE vs. KJ Orso vs. Eric Young for the TNA International Championship. The bell rang once Stacks jumped Orso. Stacks and Orso brawled in the ring while Young and BDE brawled at ringside. Orso hit Stacks with a diving rana and crossbody in the corner. Orso hit Stacks with a inverted Angle Slam for a nearfall. Stacks reversed Orso into a lawn dart into the buckle. Orso used a huracanrana to dump Stacks and himself to ringside.
Eric Young was arguing with fans, which allowed BDE to blindside him and film it on Instagram. While BDE distracted himself, Stacks attacked BDE. Grace and Stacks used BDE’s phone to steal his stream. BDE hit Stacks with a Suicide Dive. Orso hit Young with a Flip Dive. Orso and BDE hit their opponents with Ten Punches in the Corner. The heels came back with clotheslines for a breather.
Young and Stacks worked on Orso and BDE with methodical offense. BDE rallied with right hands and hit Stacks with a Codebreaker (which he oversold). BDE hit Young with a running knee. Orso hit BDE with a cutter on rope. Orso hit Stacks with a Huracanrana and jump up double stomp. Orso hit BDE with the Orso Driver for a nearfall. Stacks hit Orso with a running uppercut and twisting neckbreaker.
BDE hit Stacks with a Cody Cutter. Young hit BDE with a wheelbarrow neckbreaker. Young hit Orso with a Pile Driver. Stacks tossed Young away and stole Young’s pin on Orso for the win.
Channing Lorenzo defeated KJ Orso, BDE, and Eric Young via pinfall in 6:23 to retain the TNA International Championship.
TNA President Carlos Silva put the title on Stack’s shoulder…
Santino Marella and Daria Rae were watching the match backstage, which Santino angry that his future Son in Law won. Daria talked to Santino that Stacks proved he belongs and they need to be fair as authority figures…
John’s Thoughts: Actually a decent enough match given how many people were in it and how little time it was. In fact, even though it was a dirty win, I thought it was a better dirty win for Stacks then his title defense on Tuesday. KJ Orso might be in because he was in town, but I wouldn’t mind if TNA ends up signing him. He looked really good here and I actually like him freshening things up by taking off the Fuego Del Sol mask.
Gia brought up Leon Slater’s “visa issues” and brought up Joe Hendry being his replacement in Slater’s match, which is now a exhibition match. Tommy Dreamer made it seem like Ash by Elegance has retired against her will and talked about how JDC is a person who wants to go out on his own note. Ash agreed that she would have loved to
Robert Stone was in heel mode and walking backstage with Tessa Blanchard, Victoria Crawford, and Mila Moore. They were passing by random indie wrestlers and trash talking them all. They started to bully an indie wrestler named “Vicki”. Indi Hartwell showed up to have Vicki’s back. Tessa bragged about being a former men’s world champion in TNA. Indi proposed her and Vicki vs. Tessa and Mila…
The Personal Concierge was in the middle of the ring bragging about how everyone is talking about The Elegance Brand after the AMC debut. The Concierge then introduced Mr. Elegance, M, and Heather by Elegance. The Concierge smelled the trio and said they smell incredible, unlike the pigs in barbecue sauce in Dallas. The Concierge said they aren’t competing tonight, but The Elegance Brand will watch the next match at ringside.
Entrances for the opening match took place. Mr. Elegance was doing weird hip movements during Indi and Vicki’s entrance…
John’s Thoughts: Upon second look, Mr. Elegance looks like an AI generated Jungle Boy. In all seriousness, it’s a bit cringe, but I think if he can go over the top with the goofiness, he can be a fun guilty pleasure comedy character. He reminds me of a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure character combined with Jiji from Dan Da Dan.
2. Tessa Blanchard and Mila Moore (w/Victoria Crawford, Robert Stone) vs. Indi Hartwell and Vicious Vicki Venuto. Tessa and Vicki started. Tessas let Vicki get the first shot, but then slammed her to the mat. Vicki rolled up Tessa for a two count. Indi tagged in and hit Tessa with a draping face wash kick. Tessa tackled Vicki to her corner and cut the ring in half on Vicki with quick tags. Hannifan reminded viewers that Tessa defeated Sami Callihan to become TNA World Champion several years ago.
Hannifan ran through the advertised card for the upcoming Impact TV show. The heels were still cutting the ring in half for about 3 minutes. Vicki used a mule kick to send Tessa to ringside and tag in Indi for the hot tag. Tessa escaped a suplex, but Indi came back with boots. Indi hit Moore and Tessa with spinebusters for a nearfall.
Vicki tagged in. Robert Stone got on the apron and Crawford tripped Vicki. Indi accidentally stepped on M’s toe. Indi then attacked M after she got hit. Heather slammed Indi to the floor. Tessa hit Vicki with the Buzzsaw DDT for the win.
Tessa Blanchard and Mila Moore defeated Vicious Vicki and Indi Hartwell via pinfall in 7:55.
John’s Thoughts: A decent TV level match. Mostly formula with a long heat segment. I wonder how they’ll utilize Tessa. I haven’t heard anything negative coming from Tessa and hope she’s matured? We all mature if we are accountable. I didn’t hear any “she’s a racist” chants, so that’s a plus. It’ll be interesting because she’s arguably the best worker on their women’s roster. And aside from Robert Stone having a split personality in TNA and WWE, I do like that heel act, especially Victoria Crawford with her antics at ringside. I also think Mila Moore has looked good so far, with good size.
Gia Miller went into Southern Accent mode when talking about how much she hates Tessa. She then put back on her interviewing accent to start the AJ Francis vs. Rich Swann discussion. They then hyped the Ryan Nemeth vs. Mara Sade match. Dreamer also reiterated that Ash’s career was over and she’d make a good commentator. They then discussed the Mustafa Ali vs. Elijah match.
John’s Thoughts: I’m not the biggest fan of pre-shows in general, and this kinda felt like WWE’s format of preshow where they give kayfabe match predictions which are not really interesting. What did help this a bit was Tommy Dreamer being a good talker in general and adding good historical tidbits. I wonder if the most meaningful part of the pre-show being them stressing that Ash’s career is over? If she can still come back, I pray that whatever ails her will get better. If not, then I wouldn’t mind her being a talker or character because she’s done a amazing job reinventing herself and I would like to see that strive in some form if she wants to continue to roll.
Main Show Review
McKenzie Mitchell was in the ring and introduced singer Romeo Vaughn who sung the National Anthem. The intro teaser video aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. McKenzie Mitchell was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place. Rich Swann was back to his dancing entrance, but with a new theme. Hannifan noted that AJ Francis was in his Washington Redskins colors. Swann was wearing Dallas Cowboys colors and tassels for the home crowd…
1. Rich Swann vs. AJ Francis. Francis attacked Swann while he was dancing. Swann recovered and hit Francis with Ten Punches in the Corner. Swann used a clothesline to dump AJ to ringside. AJ caught Swann out of the air. Swann reversed a chokeslam and hit AJ with a Asai Phoenix Splash. Swann hit AJ with buzzsaw kicks. AJ swatted Rich out of the air with an overhead clubbing blow. Rich rallied with right hands.
AJ caught Swann out of the air and hit him with a release Death Valley Driver. AJ hit Rich with his signature Flop Dolla Tennessee Whiskey. Swann fought out of a chokeslam with elbows and kickboxing kicks. AJ dumped Swann to ringside, which Rich sold well. Swann beat the ten count at nine. Francis went right back to the methodical offense. Rich hit AJ with a Jawbreaker, but AJ came right back with a Big Boot for a nearfall.
Swann dodged a running Senton and hit AJ with a Buzzsaw kick and jumping horse kick. Swann hit AJ with a Lethal Injection and carthwell splash. Swann hit AJ with a 450 for a good nearfall. AJ used a single hand to launch Rich off the top rope. Swann tried to Power Bomb AJ off the top rope, but AJ stuffed that with a right hand. Swann bit AJ’s arm and followed up with a headbutt to drop him off the top rope.
Rich went for a dive, but AJ hit him with an impressive Twisting Slam. Swann blocked an Alabama Slam. Francis adjusted and hit Swann with a Styles Clash for good heat. Francis did the Styles pose. Swann reversed a 2nd Clash and hit AJ with an impressive Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall. Swann hit AJ with a Splash. Francis got a foot on the bottom rope for a good nearfall.
Francis hit Swann with a reverse chokeslam that spiked Swann. AJ hit Swann with a chokeslam for the clean win.
AJ Francis defeated Rich Swann via pinfall in 12:19.
John’s Thoughts: Wowzers! I loved that match! Very weird that they hid most of the build behind YouTube and didn’t do much on the AMC premiere, especially with Francis being one of the best heel talkers in the company. Tempered expectations made this match better though, and the crowd was won over too. Good to see Rich working his babyface style (though not the biggest fan of the dancing Lionel Richie gimmick that he’s done forever). AJ Francis has become one of my favorite wrestlers to watch given how much hard work he puts in. He’s willing to take risks, and succeeds (even though he gets a bad rap for the few that meme). What I would like to see from Francis is maybe him evolving the look a bit, get some character development, and maybe add a psychotic edge; and I can see him being a top heel world champion one day in TNA (and the guy comes off as a genuine nice teddy bear in real life, and maybe there’s a wholesome babyface run in there too).
Gia Miller interviewed TNA World Champion Mike Santana. Santana hyped up the Dallas crowd. Santana said Frankie gave him the fight of his life and deserves all the props. Santana talked about how he thrives in the trenches and under pressure and will bring it in the Texas Street Fight. Santana then thanked his family and friends for the congratulations, but the best one was his daughter saying “We back papi!”…
Order 4 made their. Elijah had a large elaborate entrance with a cool custom video playing on the LED ramp (reminded me a bit of Jinder Mahal’s cool entrance). He had a different ring announcer which sounded like a recording of his own voice…
John’s Thoughts: What is kinda ironic, while Elijah jokes that Joe Hendry took his job in WWE as the guitar guy; Elijah took Joe Hendry’s job in TNA in a similar babyface role. Both Joe and Elijah are hard to turn heel too due to how popular they are (Though I think Hendry might have potential as a heel given his first run in TNA with Grado as his buddy). Also fun to see Elijah throwback to his old “The Drifter” Elias Sampson name.
2. “The Drifter” Elijah vs. Mustafa Ali (w/Tasha Steelz, John Skyler, Jason Hotch, Agent Zero). Hotch and Skyler tried to jump Elijah before the match but he saw it coming and took care of them. Elijah hit Ali with a power bomb for a nearfall. While Ali ran away, Elijah took down Skyler and Hotch. This allowed Ali to hit Elijah with a Suicide Dive. Elijah dumped Ali to ringside with a flip whip. Ali came back with a rolling neckbreaker.
Elijah dumped Ali to the mat right back. Elijah and Ali traded Yay Boo right hands. Ali hit Elijah with a superkick but Elijah turned Ali inside out with a clothesline. Ali hit Elijah with a bell clap. Elijah hit Ali with a Tiger Knee for a nearfall. Ali hit Elijah with a nice deadlift Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Elijah dodged a 450 and hit Ali with a Highwayman’s Farewell (Tombstone Piledriver).
Ali did a bridge out of instinct to kick out. Elijah hit Ali with hard chops. Ali bit and Elijah’s arm while on the top rope. Steelz distracted the ref to allow the Great Hands to help Ali escape a super tombstone. Elijah recovered and hit Ali with a Sky High. Special Agent Zero dragged the referee out of the ring with Zero trying to no-sell. The referee ejected Zero, Skyler, and Hotch. Steelz tried to hit Elijah with a guitar.
Elijah tried to hit Steelz with a Tombstone. Ali hit Elijah with a Home Run Swing to the back with a guitar. Hannifan said the referee didn’t see it (though there was a lot of cracked wood suddenly in the ring). Ali picked up the pinfall.
Mustafa Ali defeated Elijah via pinfall in 9:35.
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough match to forward the feud, with some good wrestling. Ali is always a treat to watch and a pro. Haven’t been the biggest fan of this feud as they’ve reduced Mustafa Ali from being the most interesting character in the company, down to being stuck to Looney Toon skits with Elijah. I hope they move away from the campy skits and we get back to Mustafa Ali being a strong heel, back to where he was back at Slammiversary.
The hype package aired for the Johnny Dango Curtis vs. Eddie Edwards match…
The System made their entrance together with Eddie carrying a Dirty Dango shirt to the ring. Dango showed off his Bray Wyatt tattoo. Hannifan and Rehwoldt ran through Dangos many names and career highlights. JDC soaked in a standing ovation…
3. Eddie Edwards vs. Johnny Dango Curtis. Curtis tried to roll up Eddie while Eddie had his back turned, which got a laugh from Eddie. Eddie took down Curtis with a wrist lock and he popped back up. Hannifan noted that it was odd that Eddie and Curtis never fought each other despite them being on the indies together as a tag team. Curtis hit Eddie with a dropkick. Rehwoldt talked about meeting Dango in WWE Developmental, FCW.
Eddie took down Dango with a clothesline. Eddie worked on Dango with methodical chops. Curtis came back with a Power Slam for a nearfall. Curtis hit Eddie with chops. Eddie hit Dango with a Gamengiri and Frankensteiner. Eddie hit Dango with a Suicide Dive. Eddie joined the crowd in a “Let’s go Dango” chant. JDC recovered and hit Eddie with a Back Suplex on the apron. Eddie tackled JDC into the post, but accidently hurt himself by chopping the post when JDC dodged.
Eddie and JDC traded strikes. JDC hit Eddie with a Beauty Shot. JDC worked on Eddie with rapid chops. Eddie came back with a back elbow. JDC came back with a Yakuza Kick and flip dive at ringside. Dango hit Eddie with running uppercuts. Eddie came back with a clothesline. Dango trapped Eddie in the ropes and hit him with a slingshot leg drop for a nearfall. Dango hit Eddie with a Tornado DDT and Falcon Arrow for a nearfall.
Eddie reversed JDC into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Eddie put JDC in a sleeper. JDC smiled (which may or may not be a John Cena tribute). JDC escaped and then put Eddie in a Liontamer, which was a tribute to Chris Jericho. Eddie reversed into a two count. Dango hit Eddie with a Codebreaker for a fun sequence. Eddie and JDC brawled on the top rope. JDC hit Eddie with a Super Air Raid Crash for a good nearfall.
Eddie dodged a Last Dance leg drop and hit JDC with the Boston Knee Party. JDC kicked out of Eddie’s finisher. Eddie hit JDC with another Knee Party. Eddie kept saying “Stay Down”. Eddie hit JDC with a superkick and Emerald Flowsion. Eddie hit JDC with a Boston Knee Party for the win.
Eddie Edwards defeated JDC via pinfall in 17:16.
The System came back up to help JDC back up. Several roster members appeared on stage to give JDC a round of applause. JDC posed while also crying in the ring. JDC then high fived fans in the crowd while also giving hugs to the broadcast team. JDC posed and headed to the back with the locker room…
Time for the usual sponsored Injury Report. Elijah is “under evaluation” for reaggravating his injury during the match earlier. Steve Maclin is out due to getting attacked by the NXT Outlaws, but will be okay by Thursday. Matt and Jeff Hardy are not 100%, but clear…
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