One of the TNA’s biggest pay-per-views of the year is here in front of a company-record crowd in San Antonio with Aces & Eights threatening to take over the company. But despite falling in their Lethal Lockdown match, the group had something else in store, as Bully Ray turned on the Hogans to join the group and win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
Lockdown featured four title matches, but none bigger than the main event, a steel cage match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between Jeff Hardy and Bully Ray, which could be won by pinfall, submission or escaping the cage.
Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind very early in the match, then a splash from the top rope. He goes to climb, but Ray pulls him back to standing on the ropes and then delivers a big boot which drops Hardy and crotches him.
Ray now goes to work on Hardy and is working on his lower back in an effort to slow him down and make him pay if he does try for those high risk maneuvers. Hardy tries to fire back but Ray sends him flying with a big back drop. Ray goes for a Vader Bomb but Hardy moves. Hardy hits the Twist of Fate and as he goes to the top, Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff hit the ring and enter the cage. Hardy takes care of them and Ray tops it off with a double clothesline. He stacks them in the corner and Ray drops down and asks Hardy to hit Poetry in Motion, which he does. They dispatch of them through the cage door.
Now we go back and they are slugging it out and Hardy gets the best of it. He hits the leg drop to the gut and follows with a dropkick. Hardy tries to climb but Ray cuts him off again and chops him brutally. Hardy fires back but Ray drills him down. Hardy down and Ray comes off the top with a splash for two.
Hardy again tries to climb, but Ray again follows up. Hardy near the top and Ray gets under him and absolutely destroys Hardy with a Bubba Bomb off the top rope and to the canvas. How here comes Hulk Hogan and Brooke Hogan to ringside. Hulk is on crutches.
But now here comes all of Aces & Eights. They all start entering the cage and Hardy and Ray go back to back with chains. Devon, though, pulls a hammer out of his pocket and tosses it to Ray. Ray points at Hogan and then wallops Hardy right in the back with it. He and Devon embrace, Ray covers Hardy and referee Earl Hebner reluctantly counts three. We have a new World Heavyweight Champion!
The Hogans are in disbelief on the outside. Ray screams at them, telling Brooke she was nothing to him, calling Hulk names. Hulk says Ray is a dead man.
They get Ray a mic as Aces & Eights taunt the Hogans. Ray tells Devon to “let that stupid (expletive) cry.” He says he used Hulk and screwed Brooke as the fans litter the ring with garbage. Ray declares himself as the president of Aces & Eights and the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
The next TNA pay-per-view is Slammiversary on June 2.
Following a video package, Todd Keneley, Mike Tenay and Taz welcome us to tonight’s show, a eight-match affair from the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Texas.
Match #1 – TNA X Division Championship – (c) Kenny King (Las Vegas, Nev.) vs. Zema Ion (The Philippines) vs. Christian York (Culpeper, Va.)
As expected, fast and furious action. King tries to springboard off Ion onto York but ends up just putting himself onto the guard rail, back of the head first. It appears he’s OK, as Ion goes up to the top rope and hits a corkscrew moonsault onto the floor onto both men.
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Ion goes to work on York. He hits a suplex and then a nice springboard moonsault but York kicks out at two. King grabs Ion by the hair and punches him, but York grabs King, rakes his face on the rope, drops him over the rope and hits a guillotine leg drop for two. Ion back in the mix, he stomps York’s face to the canvas and then hits a drop kick on King, who is on the outside.
DDT connects for Ion onto York, but then King suplexes Ion on the ramp and then hits a slingshot leg drop. In the ring and we get a Tower of Doom spot with York on the good end of it. This allows him to get rolling. He hits King with a bulldog and then a clothesline for Ion. King gets a back suplex and York hits the Mood Swing on Ion but Ion kicks out at the last second.
All three men in the mix now and this one is wild. Ion goes to the turnbuckle but York cracks him with a big kick and hits him with a double stomp and then a barrel roll for King. York wants the Mood Swing again but King breaks it up with a big kick on Ion. King loads up York, but York turns it into a small package for two. King, though, is not deterred, and hits the Royal Flush and that does it.
Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA X Division Champion: Kenny King
Match Rating: 7/10
Match #2 – Joey Ryan (Los Angeles, Calif.) vs. Joseph Park (Chicago, Ill.)
Ryan uses some sleazy tactics to get an edge. Park uses some arm drags, surprising Ryan, but Ryan retakes the edge. Ryan goes to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. Park, though, gets going and gives Ryan a wedgie. He follows with a big avalanche that has Ryan reeling. Now Park hoists himself up to the second turnbuckle but misses a splash. Ryan to the second turnbuckle and flies for a sunset flip, but Park sits down and squishes Ryan and gets the win.
Winner via pinfall: Joseph Park
Match Rating: 7/10
Match #3 – TNA Knockouts Championship – (c) Velvet Sky (The Big Apple) vs. Gail Kim (Toronto, Ontario)
Kim in charge and she hits the corner cross body block. She follows by slamming Sky to the canvas. Now Kim and Taryn Terrell having some issues. Kim hits Eat Defeat and gets in Terrell’s face, including shoving and slapping her, after she thinks the count is slow. Kim asks Terrell to disqualify her, but instead, Terrell spears her and goes to town on Kim. Kim gets back up and starts to go after Terrell, but Sky grabs her and hits In Yo Face and that does it.
Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA Knockouts Champion: Velvet Sky
Match Rating: 4/10
Match #4 – Robbie E (Seaside Heights, NJ) vs. Rob Terry (Swansea, Wales)
This is all comedy. But Robbie is able to cheap shot Terry and chop block him. Robbie locks in a sleeper and Terry is reeling. Naturally, that doesn’t last long, though, as Terry hits a big slam and then plants Robbie to finish it.
Winner via pinfall: Rob Terry
Match Rating: 4/10
Match #5 – TNA World Tag Team Championship – (c) Austin Aries (Minneapolis, Minn.) & Bobby Roode (Toronto, Ontario) vs. Chavo Guerrero (El Paso, Texas) & Hernandez (Houston, Texas) vs. Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles, Calif.) & Kazarian (Anaheim, Calif.)
Bad Influence uses some double teams on Hernandez, but go to the well one too many times, as he suplexes them both and makes the tag to Guerrero, who hits portions of the Three Amigos on Daniels, Kazarian, Roode and Aries. But Guerrero’s momentum is stymied by Bad Influence.
Roode tags himself in and he and Aries go to work on Guerrero. Aries with a dropkick to the back of Guerrero’s head. Guerrero stuck in a bad corner here. Guerrero, though, is able to work out of it, but he and Roode clothesline each other. Roode tags Aries, who comes flying in and takes out Hernandez before Guerrero can make the tag. Now it breaks down between the champs and Bad Influence and they start brawling.
As Aries and Kazarian go after it, Guerrero goes up top and hits a double crossbody and then Hernandez slingshots his way in with a shoulder tackle. He sends Aries into orbit and throws him up in the air and to the canvas, then he dispatches of Roode and Daniels. Hernandez puts Aries and Kazarian up and hits a double backbreaker. Referee Earl Henber is slow to make the cover and Aries kicks out.
It’s all breaking down here. Roode and Kazarian in. Roode counters the Fade to Black and Aries hits Kazarian with the corner dropkick. Aries goes to the top but Daniels crotches him. As Roode and Daniels trade, they turn around into Air Mexico from Hernandez. Daniels to the second turnbuckle but Hernandez kills him with a sitout power bomb. Guerrero goes to the top but Kazarian cuts him off. Aries shoves him to the floor. Before he can take advantage on Guerrero, Hernandez comes in and takes Aries, but Aries takes him to the floor.
Guerrero wipes out Daniels and goes for the Frog Splash, but as he goes up, Roode tags Guerrero. Guerrero goes for the cover but isn’t legal. Aries comes in and throws Guerrero to the floor and Roode slips in and makes the cover for the win.
Winners via pinfall and STILL TNA World Tag Team Champions: Bobby Roode & Austin Aries
Match Rating: 9/10
Match #6 – Steel Cage Match – Wes Brisco (Tampa, Fla.) vs. Kurt Angle (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Angle is rolling until he misses a charge and goes shoulder-first into the turnbuckle with his head also hitting the cage. Brisco, though, can’t hold the advantage long, and Angle sends him into orbit with the belly-to-belly.
Brisco, though, hits a low blow and starts crawling toward the door, but Angle grabs his ankle and you know what’s happening now. But Brisco counters and sends Angle flying into the cage. Now Brisco starts to climb but Angle catches him and they start slugging it out on the top rope. Angle starts bashing Brisco’s head into the cage and then gets behind him and hits a German suplex from a standing position on the top rope to the canvas.
Angle is up but Brisco ducks a clothesline and Angle wipes out referee Brian Hebner. Angle locks in the ankle lock and Brisco taps, but the referee is out. Angle hits an Angle Slam, flips Brisco off and walks out the cage, but Hebner is still down. D-Lo Brown comes down the ramp and throws Angle into the cage and back in while pulling Brisco out. Hebner wakes up, sees Brisco outside and calls for the bell.
Winner via escape: Wes Brisco
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #7 – Lethal Lockdown – Mr. Anderson (Green Bay, Wis.), Knox (Atlanta, Ga.), Garett Bischoff (Clearwater Beach, Fla.), Devon (New York City) & Doc (Parts Unknown) vs. Magnus (England), Samoa Joe (Isle of Samoa), Eric Young (Nashville, Tenn.), James Storm (Leiper’s Fork, Tenn.) & Sting (Venice Beach, Calif.)
Anderson first in for the Aces & Eights while Magnus is in for Team TNA. Pretty even start for the first three minutes when Knox enters the match. They take advantage on Magnus, but nothing huge, before Samoa Joe enters for Team TNA. Joe on fire, naturally, and he and Magnus, given their prior tag team history, gain an edge. Next in for Aces & Eights is Garett Bischoff. He goes right to Magnus, then Joe.
The crowd immediately chants “You can’t wrestle” at Bischoff and Magnus and Joe are able to get some offense in. That edge doesn’t last long, though, as Aces & Eights take over. In comes Eric Young. He hits a drop kick on Bischoff as he enters and Team TNA takes over. The edge goes back to Aces & Eights as the Television Champion is next, that’s right, it’s Devon. He comes in and helps his squad regain the edge until James Storm comes in. He hits the Codebreaker on Knox and cranks him with the Last Call Superkick.
Doc is the last man in the ring for Aces & Eights. He gives the group a big advantage and they take a moment to celebrate their decimation of Team TNA. As the clock winds down, the crowd gets on its feet for Sting, who is coming with two garbage cans full of weapons.
Team TNA gets the weapons and its head shots for all Aces & Eights members. This is just a beatdown right now. Team TNA going to town on Aces & Eights with the weapons. Bischoff getting taken behind the woodshed. Aces & Eights, though, take advantage of a near miscommunication between Young and Sting and use some low blows to take control and take it to Team TNA.
Then we get quite possibly the biggest Tower of Doom spot ever, with six men involved. Sting hits Knox with the Scorpion Death Drop and tells Young to go to the top rope. Instead, Sting steps in the way and tells Young to go all the way to the top of the cage. The crowd growing with anticipation and Young rises and hits a giant elbow drop. Into the cover, 1, 2, 3!
Winners via pinfall: Team TNA
Match Rating: 7/10
Match #8 – Steel Cage Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship – (c) Jeff Hardy (Cameron, NC) vs. Bully Ray (New York City)
Winner via pinfall and NEW TNA World Heavyweight Champion: Bully Ray
Match Rating: 7/10
Event Rating: 7/10
Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@gmail.com. Please include your name and hometown. Click here to follow Matt on Twitter. Should be a good one!.