TNA iMPACT!
Orlando, Florida (Impact Zone)
March 31, 2011
Commentators: Mike Tenay & Taz
Report by: Josh Boutwell of Wrestleview.com
This weeks Impact opens up with highlights focused on the TNA World Title drama.
In the arena Mr. Anderson’s music hits and he literally drags Earl Hebner down to the ring as Tenay says that they found that Sting wasn’t the one who rang the bell last week in the #1 Contenders Match. Anderson says he and Hebner are going to have a little discussion and he tells Hebner to tell everyone why he was the one who rang the bell and DQ’d him last week giving the #1 Contendership to RVD. Hebner points at his shirt and says it stands for authority and respect and he better respect Hebner. Anderson starts shoving him and Hebner tells him to never put his hands on him again and if he does he will be suspended for 90 days. He says he DQ’d Anderson and if he doesn’t like it then “tough sh*t.” Hebner says Anderson put his hands on Sting, the Special Enforcer of the match, and that’s why he was DQ’d and he doesn’t care if Sting provoked Anderson. Anderson says Hebner is provoking him right now and he better reverse the decision right now or Anderson will do something to Hebner that he will enjoy, but Hebner will regret. Hebner says the decision stands and then calls him an asshole! Hebner starts to leave the ring but Anderson stops him and knees Hebner in the balls. Anderson then grabs Hebner and starts to hit the Mic Check until Brian Hebner runs down and Anderson drops Earl. Anderson calls Brian “daddy’s little boy” and Anderson asks Brian if he wants to screw Anderson over like his dad did and he says everyone knows Earl’s been in the business of screwing people over for a long time. Anderson dares Earl to hit him and Earl reaches back to do it but Sting’s music hits and the World Champion makes his way down to the ring.
Sting tells Earl & Brian to leave the ring and suggests Anderson pick on him instead of the referees. Anderson says they’re not in “Stinger country”, they’re in “asshole country.” Anderson says if you step up to him then you have to step up to all of his assholes. Sting says he’s there to disrespect Anderson only and punches him! Sting and Anderson brawl in the ring until security runs out and pulls them apart. RVD’s music hits now!
RVD walks out to the ring and says “ladies please, you’re both pretty” and if Anderson really believes he can beat RVD and Anderson believes that the DQ prevented him from beating him, then he doesn’t want the win like that. RVD tells Earl to make the match at Lockdown a 3-Way with Anderson too! Earl says he doesn’t have the power to do that. Hulk Hogan’s music hits now!
Hogan and Bischoff walk onto the stage and he says that’s the RVD he brought to TNA always giving the people want they want. Hogan says to consider it done! Bischoff says he has a phenomenal idea and since they have the network breathing down their back about ratings then how about tonight RVD, Sting, & Anderson against Matt Hardy, Bully Ray, & Abyss inside a Steel Cage! Lockdown preview!
In the ring Sting jumps on Anderson and the brawl starts again! Security finally separates them again and we go to a break.
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In the back Anderson has “no comment” about the ruling Hogan made. He tells the camera to get out of his face and walks away.
We cut to RVD and he says he has his hands full tonight and it’s a good thing he knows how keep things in balance. RVD says he can take care of all of his enemies tonight.
We cut to Sting again and he says Anderson disrespected him and he owes him an apology. The camera guy sarcastically says “you’re going to get an apology from Anderson?” and Sting says he’s exactly right.
Ink, Inc. are in the back and he says he disrespected Scott Steiner last week because he wears that stupid headdress to the ring. He says Steiner isn’t cool or hip or what the young generation wants to see. Moore says he’s cool, hip, and the new generation. He says he disrespected Scott Steiner because he has no respect for Steiner.
We cut to Steiner & Crimson now and Steiner says his definition of disrespect is a lot different than taking his headdress, throwing it at him, and running like a little bitch. Steiner says he’ll take Moore’s girlfriend home and “kiss knock her” (what the hell is that?) all night and he’ll walk up to him in a bar and bitch slap him and dare him to do something back. Steiner says if he wants a wrestling match with him, it won’t be a wrestling match it’ll be a beatdown and he’ll really disrespect that “little son of a bitch.” Classic Steiner.
Earlier Today the camera guy asks Bully Ray to comment about putting AJ in the hospital but Ray says he talks when he wants to talk. Ray says he proved himself to Hogan & Bischoff by putting AJ in the hospital and he says he’ll do what he wants to when he wants because he can. Ray says AJ damn sure can’t knock the chip off his shoulder and he says Hogan & Bischoff love the chip on his shoulder. Ray says everybody better bring the best at him at all times or he’ll beat your ass.
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In the back Jeff Jarrett is trying to get out of the Steel Cage Match with Angle. Jarrett says Angle is insane and all of this is Angle’s fault. Hogan says “that Rob Terry thing” they talked about “earlier” can fix it and Jarrett loves it.
In the arena Eric Young and Orlando Jordan are at the announce table. Young announces that at Lockdown there will be a Fatal 4-Way Tag Match with OJ & Young vs. Steiner & Crimson vs. Ink, Inc. vs. a mystery team. Young puts over that it could be anybody saying it could even be Taz & Sabu reforming (that was pretty funny).
Shannon Moore w/Jesse Neal vs. “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner w/Crimson
As Moore & Steiner get ready to lockup Moore grabs the referee and pulls him in front of himself. Moore then gets on the middle rope and mocks Steiner by showing his muscles. Moore bails out of the ring as Steiner gets pissed. Crimson grabs Moore rolls him back into the ring where Steiner starts putting the boots to Moore in the corner and then lights him up with chops. Steiner whips Moore into the ropes and hits him with a Backdrop. Steiner tosses Moore back into the corner and lights Moore up with more chops. Steiner whips Moore into the ropes again and nails him with a Back Elbow. Steiner then whips Moore into the corner but Moore floats up and over Steiner, only to eat a Belly-to-Belly Suplex for a nearfall! Steiner goes for a Back Suplex but Moore lands on his feet and starts kicking Steiner in the legs. Moore stomps on Steiner’s legs as Steiner falls to the mat. Moore then chokes Steiner and starts mocking Steiner with pushups. Moore attempts to whip Steiner into the corner but Steiner reverses it and charges at Moore. Moore nails Steiner with a back elbow and then follows up with a dropkick. Moore grabs Steiner’s headdress and puts it on his head and starts mocking Steiner again by showing his muscles. Moore climbs up top and goes for a Moonsault but Steiner moves out of the way! Steiner grabs Moore and connects with an Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex followed by a Steinerline. Steiner whips Moore into the ropes and connects with another Steinerline followed by the Steiner Elbow. Steiner then mocks Moore with pushups and then he picks Moore up and lifts him up onto the top rope. Steiner climbs up top with him and connects with the Frankensteiner! 1…2…3!
Winner: Steiner via pinfall (Frankensteiner)
After the match Orlando Jordan (what in the hell is this dude wearing?) and Eric Young go to congratulate Steiner but he and Crimson just walk past them. All of a sudden two guys jump Jordan & Young! It’s Doug Williams & Magnus! The British Invasion! Magnus throws Jordan into the guardrail and the Brits continue to stomp them down. The Brits are wearing Lockdown t-shirts and Tenay wonders if this is the 4th team for the 4-Way at Lockdown!
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In the back Mr. Anderson is talking to a Lockdown poster (with him on it) and he tells Mr. Anderson on the poster that Sting wants an apology. Anderson says “tell Sting to go f*ck himself!”
We cut to Jeff Jarrett and Karen. While Karen is worrying about the possibility of Hogan’s plan not working while Jarrett is staring at a Lockdown poster and wondering why they put Anderson on it. Jarrett: “his time is what?” (the tagline on the poster is “it’s his time”). Karen mocks Jarrett saying “leave it to he professionals” by saying “yeah leave it to the guy that agreed to a Cage Match with Kurt Angle.” Jeff tells her not to worry about it and he has a Plan B.
We see a video package of Jeremy Buck and Max Buck about their breakup with comments by both guys mainly talking about the dissension at Victory Road. Very nice video package. Max says if Jeremy doesn’t “lay down” he’ll give him a wrestling lesson.
Jeremy Buck vs. Max Buck
Max climbs into the ring and they start arguing with each other. Max tells him to lay down right now so he can pin him but Jeremy refuses. They lockup and Jeremy shoves Max. They lockup again and this time Max shoves Jeremy. They lockup a third time and Max locks Jeremy in a wristlock but Jeremy rolls through it and then lock sin one of his own. Jeremy twists on the arm but Max reverses it and then Jeremy cartwheels out of it and then goes for a spinning heel kick, but Max ducks and trips Jeremy. Jeremy trips Max right back but can’t even get a one count. Max then hits a gorgeous Wheelbarrow Rollup, but Jeremy rolls through it! 1…2…NO Max kicks out! Awesome sequence. The two argue and then Max grabs Jeremy in a side headlock. Jeremy shoves Max into the ropes and then connects with an armdrag followed by a second one. Max gets to his feet and goes for a right hand but Jeremy blocks it and then holds onto Max’s hand and springs to the top rope. Jeremy then walks the ropes and hits a Springboard Corkscrew Armdrag! Max rolls out of the ring and Jeremy rolls out with him and mocks Max by holding the ropes open for Max to get back in the ring. They both climb back in and Jeremy offers a handshake. Max accepts it but pulls Jeremy into a side headlock. Jeremy shoves Max into the ropes but eats a shoulder block. Max then hits the ropes again and catches Jeremy in midair on his shoulders as Jeremy went for a leapfrog. Max sets up for something but Jeremy rolls down Max’s back and rolls him up! Max rolls through and goes for a big kick, but Jeremy ducks it and rolls Max up again! 1…2…NO Max kicks out! Max gets to his feet and shoves Jeremy. He then tries to kick Jeremy but he catches Max’s foot and then spins him around and grabs a Waistlock. Max gets to the ropes and Jeremy rolls backwards. Max turns around and goes for a clothesline but Jeremy ducks it connects with a Springboard Armdrag! Jeremy follows up with a Running Back Elbow and then a dropkick. Jeremy talks trash to Max and then connects with a gorgeous Hurricanrana! 1…2…NO Max kicks out! Max gets to his feet and goes for a clothesline but Jeremy ducks and locks in another Waistlock. Max runs towards the ropes and uses the momentum to fling his brother off his back and through the ropes to the floor. Max taunts Jeremy and holds the ropes open for him now but he kicks Jeremy in the head as he started to climb in. Max then picks Jeremy up and Powerbombs him into the corner! Max climbs up top and hits a Corkscrew Moonsault into a Stunner on Jeremy! 1…2…3!
Winner: Max via pinfall (Corkscrew Moonsault Stunner)
In the back Kaz and Beer Money arrive to the arena. Kaz looks at his phone and says “the plane just arrived, he’s on his way.” Storm tells Kaz to text “him” and tell him to bring some more beer.
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In the Winter talks to Angelina and says they just had a small bump in the road and she tells Angelina to “drink your drink” and then she says Velvet brought this upon herself because she costed them their titles because of jealousy. Winter says Angelina is trying to control Angelina but she couldn’t let that happen and she’s just trying to protect Angelina. Angelina looked spaced out the whole time.
TNA then runs a creepy video package highlighting the situation with Beautiful People & Winter.
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Velvet Sky vs. Winter
Velvet attacks Winter at the bell and slams her into the corner and nails her with repeated shoulder blocks. Velvet then slams her into the opposite corner repeatedly and follows up with a Snapmare Takeover. Velvet kicks Winter in the back and then follows up with a Sliding Dropkick for a nearfall. Velvet grabs Winter by the hair and slams her into the mat and then she whips Winter into the corner again. Velvet charges and leaps at Winter but Winter moves out of the way. Velvet catches herself on the middle turnbuckle but Winter grabs her by the hair and slams her to the mat. Winter then grabs Velvet and slams her to the mat by the hair again and then she follows up with a Scoop Slam. Winter chokes Velvet with her boot and then she puts the boots to her. Winter picks Velvet up and flings across the ring by her hair. She then picks Velvet up again and connects with a Backbreaker for a nearfall. Winter picks Velvet up onto her shoulders for something but Velvet rolls her up. Winter rolls through it and goes for a clothesline, but Velvet ducks and connects with a clothesline of her own. Velvet his a second clothesline and then she attempts to whip Winter into the ropes but Winter reverses it. Winter then goes for a backdrop but Velvet stops and kicks Winter. Velvet then hits a Running Bulldog! Velvet looks to the stage where Angelina Love, in a trance, slowly walks down the ramp. This distraction gives Winter enough time to recover and attack Velvet from behind. Winter chokes Velvet on the middle rope and then she hits a Spinning Side Slam into a Backbreaker. Winter then locks in a kind of modified Camel Clutch for the submission win.
Winner: Winter via submission
Winter continues to choke Velvet out after the match and Angelina just watches.
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Tenay and Taz wonder how Sting, Anderson, and RVD can work together tonight in the Cage Match when Anderson’s music hits and he walks back out to the ring. Anderson calls Sting out and Sting’s music hits as the champ doesn’t make him wait long. Anderson asks Sting if he wants him to apologize and Sting nods. Anderson says he’s normally an asshole but he’s going to do something he doesn’t usually do. He acts like he’s going to apologize but then just punches Sting in the face instead! Sting tackles Anderson and the two are brawling again! Sting and Anderson spill out to the floor and continue to brawl around ringside. They even start brawling into the crowd now! They brawl up into the bleachers and then back down into the floor seats. Sting tosses Anderson into a wall and then tries to throw him into again but Anderson reverses it slamming Sting into the wall. The fight spills back over the guardrail to ringside. They slam each other into the ring steps and then Immortal runs down and attacks Sting & Anderson! Ray slams Sting’s leg into the ring apron repeatedly. Ray beats Sting with a microphone in the ring while Abyss & Hardy beat Anderson down at ringside. Finally RVD’s music hits and he runs down to the ring and jumps Ray. RVD hits a Spinning Back Kick on Ray and then he looks down at Anderson and just watches Hardy and Abyss beat him down. RVD then turns his back on Anderson and walks out! Hardy and Abyss continue to beat Anderson down. They toss him into the ring and Sting clotheslines him. Hardy & Abyss go to climb in the ring but Sting chases them off before they can get in. Immortal regroups and talks trash to Sting before leaving ringside.
In the back Karen is on the phone probably to police screaming that “he” (Angle) is after her and Jarrett is slamming on lockers acting like someone is trying to get in the ring. They laugh about it after she hangs up and she says she did good.
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On TNA’s website they have confirmed several new matches for Lockdown including an X-Division Xscape Match featuring Generation Me, the return of the Machine Guns (first time we’ll have seen them since Shelley’s injury), Robbie E, Amazing Red, Brian Kendrick, Suicide (Kiyoshi), and Jay Lethal. Also, Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan and the Brits as the 4th team in the Tag 4-Way have been confirmed.
In the back Ric Flair says Immortal is so dominant that they shouldn’t even have the Cage Match tonight. Flair mocks RVD and he says in his eyes he’s nobody. Hardy says none of them can coexist together and Ray says he’s going to take RVD out tonight. Abyss says what we just saw was Immortal shaking their weight and tonight they’ll finish what they just started. Flair says RVD, Sting, & Anderson won’t even make it to Lockdown.
We cut to Velvet talking about Winter. Velvet says she will cleanse TNA of Winter and she says that she thinks Angelina is drugged. She says she’ll take the hold off of Angelina and get her BFF back. She says that she’s had enough of Winter’s bullshit.
Angle comes out to the ring and he’s dressed in street clothes for this match. Angle says he’s tired of Jarrett’s bullshit and he tells him to get out to the ring because he’s not waiting for Lockdown. Jarrett’s music hits and he comes out onto the stage with Terry with him.
“Olympic Hero” Kurt Angle vs. “The Freak” Rob Terry w/Jeff Jarrett
Terry gets in the ring as Angle goes after Jarrett and he jumps Angle. Terry beats on Angle in the corner and nails him with repeated shoulder blocks. Terry then whips Angle into the opposite corner and charges at him but Angle hits him with a back elbow. Angle climbs to the middle rope and dives off with a Diving Cross Body, but Terry catches him in midair and nails him with a Front Slam. Terry picks Angle up for a Powerslam but Angle fights it and slides down Terry and grabs the leg and locks in the Ankle Lock! Jarrett screams at him not to tap but then Angle drops down and scissors the leg. Terry taps and Jeff bails.
Winner: Angle via submission (Ankle Lock)
Rob Terry is officially the biggest jobber in TNA. Angle catches Jarrett and pulls his shoe off. Angle throws the shoe at him and chases Jarrett up the ramp. Angle rips Jarrett’s shirt off of him and chokes him with it! Angle kicks Jarrett and then goes for the Angle Slam but Jarrett blocks it and runs to the back. Angle chases him back there but as he goes through a door Karen Jarrett with cops are waiting. They arrest Kurt (pretty ironic ain’t it?) and drag him away.
In the back Kaz and Beer Money talk about the situation with RVD, Anderson, & Sting. Storm says it’s not their problem but Kaz says they have to have Sting’s back. Roode says “all four of us have to” and then suggests they talk to “him” about it.
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Hogan and Bischoff talk about the drama they’ve set off with the World Title picture. The Steel Cage is set up around the ring and it’s time for the Main Event.
Main Event
Steel Cage Match
Immortal (Abyss, Bully Ray, & Matt Hardy) w/Ric Flair vs. Sting, Rob Van Dam, & Mr. Anderson
As Anderson was doing his entrance Sting attacked him from behind and then Suplexed him on the stage! At ringside Flair lowblows RVD and tosses him into the ring. Sting chases Flair away and climbs into the cage to officially kick the match off. Sting and RVD are trying to fight off all 3. Sting hits a Stinger Splash on Ray and then one for Hardy and he sandwiches Abyss between the ropes and the cage with another Stinger Splash! Sting beats on Hardy in the corner but Hardy lifts Sting up in the air and hits an Atomic Drop, but Sting shrugs it off and nails Hardy with a clothesline. We can see Anderson watching things and not getting into the ring as Bully Ray attacks Sting from behind. Immortal beats on Sting & RVD as Anderson sets a chair up at ringside and sits down in it. Tenay: “that’s living up to your name (asshole) alright.”
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Back from commercials the heels are still beating on the face team. Abyss & Hardy whip Sting into a clothesline from Abyss. Anderson continues to watch Sting & RVD get beat down at ringside. Hardy hits a Hangman’s Neckbreaker on RVD and then Bully puts a knee into RVD’s groin followed by a Legdrop from Hardy. Anderson laughs at this but then Hulk Hogan’s music hits and the Hulkster makes his way down to ringside in his back brace. Anderson mocks Hogan by holding his back and acting like it’s hard to walk. Hogan tells Anderson to get his ass in the cage but Anderson refuses. Hogan calls him an asshole and tells him to get in the cage. Anderson stands up and acts like he’s going to hit Hogan but Hogan says “hey, stop, I got a brace on and glasses” and then puts his sunglasses on. Hogan then pokes Anderson in the eyes and tosses him into the side of the cage. Hogan rolls Anderson into the cage and locks the door. Immortal take turns beating on Anderson and then Sting nails Anderson with repeated clotheslines! Sting tosses Anderson into the cage wall and then Immortal attacks Sting again. Abyss chokes Sting and then Ray chokes Anderson. Flair pulls RVD’s hair through the cage and then he threatens the camera man. Ray rakes Sting in the eyes and then Immortal takes turns hitting Sting. Hardy Leg Drops the back of Sting’s head and then he covers him. 1…2…NO Sting kicks out! Hardy hits a Snapmare Takeover on Sting and locks in a modified Cravat on the mat. Sting fights to his feet and almost gets to tag in RVD but Hardy cuts him off drags him back to the heel corner as this thing finally has broken down into an actual match. Abyss tags in and beats on Sting with repeated rights as Bully Ray screams instructions to Abyss. Ray tags in and he and Abyss beat Sting down to the mat and then he and Abyss try to sandwich Sting with Double Clotheslines but he backs out of the way and they clothesline each other! Sting punches Hardy and then hits a Double Clothesline on Abyss & Ray! Sting rolls over and tags RVD in! RVD hits a spinning heel kick on Hardy, a Superkick on Abyss, and then a Stepover Heel Kick on Ray! RVD clotheslines Hardy and then dropkicks Ray! Abyss attacks RVD from behind and tries to whip him into the cage but RVD blocks it so Abyss whips him into the corner. Abyss charges but RVD gets his boot up and then dives off the top with a Flying Back Kick! RVD climbs up top for the 5-Star but Anderson shoves him off the top! Ray then connects with the Bully Bomb! 1…2…3!
Winners: Ray, Abyss, & Hardy via pinfall (Bully Bomb)
Anderson climbs out of the cage after shoving RVD off the top and leaves Sting & RVD in the cage alone to get beat down a bit more. Fortune’s music hits!
Beer Money & Kaz run down to the ring to help out! They get the advantage early and Flair actually locks the cage door, but Ray picks up a chain and hits Fortune members with it. Hardy hits the Side Effect on Storm as Ray continues to hit people with the chain. Ray chokes Roode with the chain as we see he’s busted open. Kaz is busted open as well. Hardy tells Kaz this is just a little taste of what’s going to happen to him at Lockdown. Hardy hits the Side Effect on Kaz now. Abyss Chokeslams Kaz as Hardy hits the Side Effect on Roode. Ray wraps the chain around Kaz’s head now and squeezes. All of a sudden we see someone scaling the cage! IT’S CHRISTOPHER DANILES! He’s wearing an AJ Styles t-shirt as he climbs to the top of the cage! THE FALLEN ANGEL IS BACK! Daniels dives off the top with a HUGE Plancha onto all the members of Immortal! The fans have gone absolutely nuts! Flair is going apeshit on the outside throwing chairs at the cage as the fans chant “Fallen Angel” at Daniels.
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Back from commercials replays of the Main Event are shown including Daniels return.
In the back Flair is going nuts still asking who that “piss ant” was and Abyss tells him it’s AJ’s best friend. Flair says Immortal beat the hell out of Sting, RVD, & Anderson and they’re going to break Daniels in half when they get ahold of him. Flair says they want even make it to Lockdown. Ray says AJ’s bestfriend had to show up because he’s in the hospital. Hardy says what they did tonight was only a small preview of what they’ll get. Ray says, “Daniels, returning to TNA was a good idea. Returning against Immortal…bad idea.”
We cut to Daniels who says Immortal put his best friend in the hospital and they’ll pay for that. Kaz’s face looks disgusting with all the blood on it. Kaz says he’s willing to sacrifice himself for Fortune and says AJ is irreplaceable but Daniels has always got their back. Kaz says they’re just getting warmed up for Lockdown. Storm says they’re backs are against the wall and they’re dangerous now. He says they’ll finish Immortal’s careers off because they are the best. Daniels shows the blood on his hands and says that is what TNA was built on. He says if Immortal thinks they’re going to see blood and turn tell and run then they’re out of their minds.
We cut to Sting now who says they’ll find out who the true veteran is and then we cut to Anderson and he says he gets screwed over royally every week but RVD comes out of nowhere and starts beating the hell out of Anderson! RVD leaves Anderson laying and says “thanks for tonight” and then walks away. Anderson says he’s going to beat RVD’s ass he lays on the floor. Anderson screams at the camera guys to leave.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After several weeks of shows that just haven’t been very good, we finally get a really strong show tonight that I truly enjoyed. We got a lot more in-ring action this week but still a lot of angles and storylines furthered. First, I have to say I absolutely LOVE the way that Hogan and Bischoff are pitting Anderson, Sting, & RVD against each other always trying to plant something in the others heads (like them trying to convince Anderson to join Immortal a few weeks ago and RVD last week) so that they’re always fighting each other rather than fighting Immortal.
The opening segment was okay but nothing special. The biggest thing was they gave us a explanation to the finish last week and we get the official announcement of the 3-way for the PPV. I’m not too fond of Triple Threats in a Cage (or 4-Ways for that matter) but this was the obvious way to go with all 3 having history with each other over the last several months.
We still had too many back to back to back to back promos, that just felt too rushed. It’s too hard to digest everything when so much is thrown at us.
Steiner-Moore was okay but I’m really glad for the British Invasion reunion. If Wolfe ever gets cleared to return I would assume he would align himself with them.
Max Buck-Jeremy Buck was really fun and given more time those guys could have tore it down. I don’t think we’ll see a full blown split between the two. X-Division Xscape should be fun and I believe this will be the biggest Xscape Match TNA has done (in terms of numbers).
I like Winter’s creepy gimmick but the thing with Angelina drugged/in a trance I’m not fond of. It feels too 80’s, kind of Papa Shango like. The Velvet-Winter match was okay as well but really was just there to further the angle with Angelina.
The brawl Sting and Anderson had later was pretty fun and I really liked that RVD came out and saved Sting but then left Anderson to get his ass beat.
Angle-Terry was just there to have Angle beat the hell out of somebody and then continue the thing with Jarrett. Eventually when Angle gets his hands on Jarrett in the cage the crowd SHOULD go nuts.
We got a decent in length Main Event that was really mainly a beating that served it’s purpose to further several different storylines. Anderson was awesome just watching RVD & Sting get beat down and then costing RVD the match and leaving immediately afterward. The Christopher Daniels return was awesome and the spot he came back with was nice. Daniels should have never been released to begin with but I’m not going to bitch too much. My biggest problem is not having AJ in the Lethal Lockdown Match. I just don’t get it. I know they’re selling the angle with Ray taking him out but why do one of your biggest shows of the year without AJ? I expect him to make an appearance anyway but I think this is the first Lockdown in the history of TNA that won’t see AJ Styles in a match.
Anyway fun show for the most part and definitely a step up from the last few weeks of mediocrity (and below).
–Promo/Segment of the Night: Christopher Daniels return
–Match of the Night: Main Event (**1/2)
–Overall Grade: B –
Lockdown Lineup:
– TNA World Title 3-Way Steel Cage Match: Sting (c) vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Mr. Anderson
– Lethal Lockdown Steel Cage Match: Ric Flair, Abyss, Bully Ray, & Matt Hardy vs. Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Robert Roode, & James Storm
– Steel Cage Match: Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett
– Steel Cage Match: The Pope vs. Samoa Joe
– Steel Cage Match: Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan
– 4-Way Tag Team Cage Match: Ink, Inc. vs. Orlando Jordan & Eric Young vs. British Invasion vs. Scott Steiner & Crimson
– TNA Knockouts Title vs. Hair Steel Cage Match: Madison Rayne (c) vs. Mickie James
– X-Division Xscape Steel Cage Match: Robbie E. vs. Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Amazing Red vs. Jeremy Buck vs. Max Buck vs. Suicide