TNA Lockdown Coverage: Scattered Puzzle Pieces

It’s crazy how six years ago, TNA was as hot as can be: passable storylines, great use of talented X-Division wrestlers and a unique six-sided ring to separate from the competition.

It’s scary how closely the current TNA product resembles WCW upon the infamous “Russo Years.” “Impact” feels like a rehashed “Thunder” episode. It doesn’t help when the show even looks like “Thunder.”

Right now, TNA is a giant jigsaw puzzle. All of the pieces are there, but they’re widely scattered apart.

One thing that saves this company is Austin Aries’ push. He carried the X-Division on his back and after a recent face turn, he’s ready to kick it with the big guys. This only means good things for Double A’s future.
The other bright spot is the Bobby Roode/James Storm feud. There’s plenty of history between the two and TNA has greatly reminded viewers of that. It’s been great to see Storm chase strongly for the title. He wasn’t ready to hold the title last time around, but now it’s hard to make a case against it.

In front of Storm’s hometown crowd of Nashville, Tennessee at the Municipal Auditorium and in a steel cage, the two were set to do battle at “Lockdown” on PPV.

In fact, every match contested took place in a cage.

Matches:

Lethal Lockdown- Eric Bischoff/Gunner/Bully Ray/Christopher Daniels/Kazarian vs. Garett Bischoff/A.J. Styles/Rob Van Dam/Mr. Anderson/Austin Aries: The heel teamed worked over the Greener-than-Hulk Garett, as Eric held his son while Gunner and Bully Ray delivered some cringe-worthy chops. There were nice spots, but the in-ring weapons never were truly utilized as much as they should’ve been. Eric delivered welts to Garett’s back with a kendo stick. Garett battled through and eventually slammed a guitar over Eric’s head, pinned him and sent him home from TNA for good.

TNA Tag Titles- Samoa Joe/Magnus vs. The Motor City Machine Guns: Both teams looked good. Plenty of submissions and double-team moves, but it was Joe and Magnus that came out victorious with a Snap Mare/Elbow Drop combo to get the clean pin in 11 minutes.

TNA TV Title- Devon vs. Robbie E (w/Robbie T): Devon hit the Spine Buster for the win and Robbie T attacked Devon afterwards. Not great.

TNA Knockouts Title- Gail Kim (w/Madison Rayne) vs. Velvet Sky: Decent match with a scary spot when Sky powerbombed Kim from the second rope. Madison screamed at Sky from outside. Sky argued back and Kim tried to escape. Sky caught her and rolled her up. Kim fought out of it and rolled through and held on to Sky’s tights to win.

Crimson vs. Matt Morgan: Morgan had an opportunity to escape, but instead stayed to punish Crimson further. Big mistake. Crimson fought back and attacked Morgan’s knee. The two battled on the top rope and Morgan got caught on the ropes and hung, a-la Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania X. Crimson took advantage and escaped the cage and blew kisses at Morgan through the cage.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy: Not much of a storyline headed into this match, as Hardy accused Angle of being jealous of him, while Angle contested that Hardy looked like a woman. Angle said in a recent interview that he and Hardy could top Undertaker/Triple H at Wrestlemania. While that didn’t happen, the two put on a great performance that finally brought the crowd to life. Both men performed their own and each other’s finishers on each other and shared some excellent near-falls. Hardy hit the Swanton from the top of the cage (his third of the match) to finally put Angle down. TNA needs more of this.

TNA Knockouts Tag Titles- Eric Young/ODB vs. Rosita/Sarita: In a comedy bout, the zany team of ODB and Eric Young helped keep the fans excited after the previous match with their great chemistry. ODB hit her finisher on Rosita to score the pin.

TNA Title- Bobby Roode vs. James Storm: After an intense Roode promo and a lengthy brawl before the opening bell, the match was underway. Roode acted cowardly throughout and even used the Referee as a shield and smashed a beer bottle over Storm’s head again. Roode covered Storm afterward and Storm kicked out at the last second. Storm hit the Last Call Superkick on Roode and knocked him out through the door and out of the cage to win. The crowd groaned and Storm looked dejected.

Final Thoughts: TNA might’ve lost a great chance with Storm losing in front of his hometown crowd, but the way it was done, TNA could easily play the “fluke win” card as Storm’s credibility would’ve been hurt more if he lost cleanly. This feud can go another month and Storm should finally get the title. Hardy and Angle put on a show-stealer, but the rest just wasn’t up to par. The crowd was mostly dead, the camerawork was frustrating and Mike Tenay/Tazz just aren’t a great announce team. TNA needs to shake things up and fast. The clock is ticking. It feels like WCW, but there’s time to make sure it won’t end up like WCW.