Lockdown pulled down by gimmick matches

TNA has one again ventured outside the Impact Zone to serve up another PPV offering, in this case, Lockdown, the all cage match PPV. Although TNA should be very proud of their venture to St. Louis, Lockdown was nothing short of a disappointment. Failed gimmick matches were the theme of what could eaisly be called the worst TNA PPV in recent history.

The main event of Lockdown was the Lethal Lockdown match, which pitted Team Cage vs. Team Angle. The added stipulation was that whoever scored the winning decision would get a title shot against Christian Cage at the Sacrifice PPV. Also of note, during the pre-show festivities, it was announced that Team Cage used some political pull and threatened not to appear unless the order of entry was reversed in their favor, claiming that Jeff Jarrett caused their downfall. Cornette obliged and the stage was set, Lethal Lockdown was ready to begin. Jeremy Borash stood center stage and introduced the special keeper of the key, Harley Race. Great bonus having Race on Lockdown considering his history in St. Louis.

Team Cage sent out representative number one, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, while Team Angle sent out their team captain, Kurt Angle. Some good back and forth action in this encounter. Angle and Styles are always a good match. After some reversals and mat based wrestling, “The Monster” Abyss entered the fray and the two-on-one assault began. “The War Machine” Rhino was the next one to enter, evening the odds a bit and knocking around both of Team Cage’s hired assasains.

Tomko came out next and used his quick feet to deliver a series of boots to the members of Team Angle. Angle fought back with some German suplexes, but was eventually overwhelmed. “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe entered number three for Team Angle and immediately went to town on Styles hitting a beautiful Muscle Buster. Scott Steiner came out as Team Cage’s next representative and hit an unbelieveable Frankensteiner on a bloody and battered Rhino.

Sting came out next and began wearing down Team Cage. Finally, Christian Cage entered and the odds fell back in Team Cage’s favor. Last, but not least, the returning, Jeff Jarrett emerged and the match was even and Lethal Lockdown began. Tons of weapons and chair shots rang out. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle made their way to the top of the cage, while Rhino gored Tomko through the door and to the floor. Steiner, Joe, Tomko and Rhino were fighting on the floor, when Kurt Angle threw Styles off the top of the cage onto them.

On the inside, James Mitchell passed some tacks into Abyss and was decked by Harley Race. Abyss went to use the tacks on Jarrett and Sting, but was thrown out of the way as Sting and Jarrett hit a double chokeslam on Cage into the tacks. Abyss then took them down and loaded a guitar with a second bag of thumbtacks. Abyss went to use the guitar, but was stopped by Sting. Jarrett picked up the guitar and looked like he was going to hit Sting, but told Sting to move out of the way, smashing the guitar over Abyss’ head and letting Sting make the clean pinfall for the win.

Afterwards, Jarrett shook hands with Sting, Joe and Rhino, but was declined by Angle who walked off as Jarrett pleaded with him. An interesting ending to a PPV that fell far short of spectacular.

Lockdown Pre-Show:

Match One – The VKM (BG and Kip James) w/ Lance Hoyt vs. Seratonin (Havoc and Kaz) w/ Martyr and Christy Hemme

Basic back and forth match that saw VKM get the win over Seratonin. Afterwards, Christy Hemme yelled at Raven and was about to be caned for it, when Kaz stepped in the way and opted to take the caning for her. This gimmick was good for a while, now it’s just getting stale.

Winners Via Pinfall – The VKM (BG and Kip James)

Match Rating – 5/10

Lockdown PPV:

They played the Lockdown Intro as Mike Tenay and Don West ran down the card. In the back, Leticia, who doesn’t belong in TNA in the first place, was shown interviewing “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal. This is hilarious, Lethal does a great impression of Randy Savage, finally TNA has found a place for him. He has the talent, it was just a matter of finding a character for him.

Match One – X Divsion Championship Xscape Match – Chris Sabin (C) vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Alex Shelley vs. Shark Boy

The only questionable entrant in this match would have to be Shark Boy. Not sure exactly why he was included here, but whatever. Shark Boy was the first eliminated, followed by Sonjay Dutt who was caught with a Cradle Shock. Jay Lethal hit the Lethal Combination on both Shelley and Sabin and followed that up with the “Macho Man” Elbow Drop on Shelley to eliminate him from the contest.

Xscape Rules – Chris Sabin (C) vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal

These two fought up the cage and were both on their way to climbing out, when Sabin kicked out Lethal’s leg, causing it to get stuck in the cage as he jumped down and claimed the X Division title.

Winner Via Escaping The Cage and STILL X Division Champion – Chris Sabin

Match Rating – 6/10

In the back, Jeremy Borash interviewed Team Cage. The team once again showed signs that they weren’t a united faction, as Scott Steiner and Tomko argued a bit and Christian Cage walked out. In the back, James Mitchell told AJ Styles that Abyss’ mother would go to prison if Styles got the title shot.

Match Two – Petey Williams vs. Robert Roode w/ Ms. Brooks and Eric Young

Nothing special here at all. Young had control of Williams’ hockey stick, Roode demanded that Young give it to him, but Young declined. Ms. Brooks tried to step in, but was shoved out of the way by Young who gave the stick over to Williams. Williams hit Roode in the stomach, but had the stick taken away by Earl Hebner. Roode fought back and hit the Payoff for the win. He left the cage and yelled at Brooks and Young, sending them to the back.

Winner Via Pinfall – Robert Roode

Match Rating – 5/10

In the back, Kurt Angle was with Leticia as he told Rhino about having to switch the order of entry. Rhino was mad, but told Angle that he would have to tell Samoa Joe. Angle looked nervous and walked off.

Match Three – Jackie Moore vs. Gail Kim

Before the match officially started these two brawled on the outside. In the ring the match was decent. Some good back and forth action that ended with Gail Kim hitting an impressive crossbody off the top of the cage. Again, nothing special here.

Winner Via Pinfall – Gail Kim

Match Rating – 4/10

Jeremy Borash interviewed Mr. Backlund who promised to call things right down the middle. Bizzare interview like usual from Backlund. Not sure what his deal is.

Match Four – SPECIAL REFEREE: Mr. Backlund – The Austin Starr vs. Senshi

Backlund did call things right down the middle for the most part. Senshi laid in some nice kicks and chops while Starr fought back and hit the swinging elbow drop. The end came when Starr began berating Backlund, forcing Backlund to lose his cool and push him into a rollup by Senshi for the win. Afterwards, Starr yelled that Backlund didn’t know what he got himself into.

Winner Via Pinfall – Senshi

Match Rating – 6/10

Jeremy Borash caught up with Samoa Joe and told Joe that Angle was looking for him. Joe didn’t care, saying that Angle didn’t care when they wanted to know the final partner on their team. Joe dared Jarrett to hit him because he would take him out if he did. Great promo by Joe.

Match Five – Blindfold Match – “Wildcat” Chris Harris vs. James Storm

This just fell apart. About midway through the match, the crowd turned on it. The end came when Harris put Rudy Charles in the Sharpshooter by mistake, once he let go, Storm took off his hood, flipped Harris off and hit a superkick for the win.

Winner Via Pinfall – James Storm

Match Rating – 4/10

In the back, Sting bumped into Kurt Angle and said that he agreed with Angle and he was going to give Jeff Jarrett the benefit of a doubt. Leticia continued to just follow Angle around, why doesn’t TNA just get rid of her already and have So Cal Val do the job?

Match Six – Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels

Lynn and Daniels are another good match. The two exchanged holds and fought to the top rope. Daniels went for the Angel Wings off the top, but it was blocked. Lynn went for the Cradle Piledriver, but it was blocked as well. Both combatants returned to the mat and exchanged reversals once again, leading to Daniels hitting the Last Rites for the win.

Winner Via Pinfall – Christopher Daniels

Match Rating – 6/10

In the back, Jeremy Borash interviewed Team 3D who were holding all of their replica belts. Team 3D promised to take the gold from LAX. They played a package hyping the Electrified Steel Cage match and then shot it over to Leticia who was with LAX. LAX once again promised to take the legacy of Team 3D and keep the championship gold with them.

Match Seven – NWA Tag Team Championship Electrified Steel Cage Match – LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) (C) vs. Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

The electrified cage was a big disappointment, as the only special effects were that the lights would flicker when someone hit the cage. Konnan came down to ringside with Machete, who knocked out Andrew Thomas. He got the key and went to open the door, but Hector Guerrero came over and knocked him down. He threatened to whack Konnan with a chair until Konnan retreated. Guerrero then opened the cage door and tossed in a table at the request of Brother Ray. LAX fought back and put a bloody and beaten Devon on the table, Hernandez ascended the cage and dove off, but Devon moved and Hernandez crashed through the table. Homicide then went on the attack, but was tossed into the electrified cage and was shocked off into a 3D. Also of note, this was the first changing of the NWA Tag Team Titles in St. Louis. Interesting fact.

Winners Via Pinfall and NEW NWA Tag Team Champions – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

Match Rating – 6/10

Jeremy Borash interviewed Kurt Angle who said that if Jeff Jarrett decides to screw Team Angle, it will be a very bad move to make.

Match Eight – Lethal Lockdown to Determine the Number One Contender to the NWA Heavyweight Championship – Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Rhino, Sting and Jeff Jarrett) vs. Team Cage (Christian Cage, Tomko, Scott Steiner, AJ Styles and Abyss) w/ James Mitchell

Winners Via Pinfall – Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Rhino, Sting and Jeff Jarrett)

New Number One Contender – Sting

Match Rating – 7/10

Overall Event Rating – 5.5/10

Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY and liked having the PPV outside the Impact Zone. It just showed that TNA has a following outside Orlando and that they need to continue to broaden their horizons.