Welcome back to ringside folks. This week I take a look at the Lockdown PPV, throw in my 2 pennies on the release of my favorite wrestler, and The Contest results. Let’s begin
4/15 iMPACT! Recap
Here ya go people. Click here fpr my Impact! coverage or click here for Hollyrics Impact! report. They both contain the same info.
Ok so Lockdown is this Sunday (April 24th) and although there is still 1 Impact! left before the show, most of the matches are set with enough build for me to disect them. So here it is, your Lockdown Preview:
Lance Hoyt vs Apolo
*Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Special Challenge Match
*The Build Up: Amazingly the build for this has been done very well. Let’s keep in mind that TNA only has 1 hour of TV time to build most likely the opening match. This all started when Apolo defeated Sonny Siaki. After the match Siaki and Apolo hugged, prompting Kid Kash, along with Hoyt, to come out and tell Siaki and Apolo “this isn’t ballet.” The following week Kid Kash took on Apolo. Hoyt of course was at ringside and distracted Apolo for much of the match. Hoyt caused a DQ in the match. After the bout, Hoyt and Apolo brawled until the show ended. Last week, Apolo teamed up with Sonny Siaki and Chris Sabin to take on Hoyt who teamed with Kid Kash and Michael Shane. These two men met in the ring a few times, advancing their feud
*The Build Down: Really, this feud was been built very well. Again, TNA has 1 hour of TV time to build what is likely to open the show. Of course, bulding this match so well, means other matches weren’t built so well. Only thing they could have done better was have Hoyt pin Apolo on Impact! this past week, but he did hit the powerbomb that set up Kash’s frog splash for the win, so thats nit picking
*The Match: Last week I said this would be a generic big man match. I re-tract that statement. After seeing Hoyt and Apolo this past week on Impact!, I really think this could be a good opener. Both men do things big men normally don’t do. If Hoyt moonsaults off the top of the cage, I’ll call this the greatest match ever (not really)
*The Rating: I’ll say this match should be in the *1/2 to ** range. That may be over-rating it, but I think these guys will surprise you and they will have a hot opener
*The Winner: With Kash gone (more on that later) I say TNA has to build Hoyt as a legit singles threat so Lance Hoyt will win this one
Shocker vs Sonjay Dutt vs Chris Sabin vs Michael Shane
*Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Xscape Match
*The Build Up: Right now the build has been below average. If this was just Sabin and Shane, the build would have been very good, but TNA threw in Dutt and Shocker, making the build below average. This started when Sabin and Shane were 2 of the 4 men in the X Division shoot out where the winner recieved a X Division Title Match. Shane was eliminated 2nd by Elix Skipper and Sabin was last eliminated also by Elix Skipper. The following week Sabin took on Shane and picked up the win. Shane attacked Sabin after the match. This past week, Sabin teamed with Apolo and Sonny Siaki to take on Michael Shane who was teaming with Apolo and Kid Kash. Both men brawled on the floor while Kash picked up the win. As for Shocker and Dutt, well there’s not much to say about them being in this match. Shocker seems to be a throw in because TNA just wants to have him on the PPV. Sonjay Dutt is replacing Kid Kash which is a shame because Kash was actually part of the build. Sonny Siaki would have made a better replacement.
*The Build Down: Well the first thing TNA did wrong while building this match was….releasing Kid Kash, but again, I’ll save my full blown rant on that for later. Since Dutt had to replace Kash, almost last minute, you can’t really say much about him since he just got thrown in. As for Shocker, last I saw of him, he was teaming with Jeff Hardy. If this was just Sabin vs Shane, again, the build would have been very good, but it’s not, making this build up really bad
*The Match: Should be a spot filled match. Sabin usually brings the goods and adding the cage will add to his arsenal. It’s nice to see Shane in a match and he should also benefit from the cage. I haven’t seen Dutt wrestle in awhile so I don’t know what he will bring to the table. Shocker is the man, ‘nough said. Now this is a “Xscape” Match. Mike Tenay explained the rules that “Every man will escape the cage and the person who doesn’t escape the cage, loses” Thanks, so I guess the ring announcer will say “Ladies and gentleman….Your LOSER of the match…..SONJAY DUTT!” Ya, makes sense. I’m sure Tenay just screwed up and meant the first person to escape wins. That or 3 men will escape, the one left is out. Those 3 re-enter the ring and only 2 men escape, the one left is out. Those 2 re-enter and whoever is the first to escape out of those two wins…sounds TNAish to me.
*The Rating: Should be a nice spot filled match around the *** to ***1/2 area
*The Winner: I’d love to see Shocker win but I just don’t see it. I’m picking Sabin in this one
Dustin Rhodes vs Bobby Roode
*Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Prince Of Darkness Match
*The Build Up: Build up? What build up? I honestly don’t remember these two doing much. I think they brawled after a match, but TNA has so many after match brawls, I don’t remember. All I remember about this match is Dusty saying “Dustin Rhodes against Bobay Roode in a Prince A Darkness Match” Sometime tell me they did something more with this match
*The Build Down: EVERYTHING. Why didn’t they have Dustin help Konnan against Roode this past week on Impact? They made Roode job to somebody who’s not on the show. Nevermind the fact that he jobbed, but he jobbed cleanly. I could rabble on about how this feud has sucked buuuuut….
*The Match: I would rather rabble on about how this match will suck. Did TNA not see Jake Roberts vs Rick Martel? Let’s take a quick look at Mr. Rant Scott Keith’s Rating: -***. NEGATIVE 3 STARS! And that’s with Rick Martel, a guy who was actually a good wrestler. Dustin Rhodes is in this match, he’s worse than Jake Roberts. Bobby Roode isn’t bad in the ring, but he can see when he’s good. He will be blindfolded. Why is the world would TNA bring back this match? I understand why they haven’t built up this match, because nobody gives a crap about it. This my friends, could be worse than Undertaker vs Yokozuna Casket Match. I think my Ozzy Osbourne, Special Guest Ref idea would have been better
*The Rating: I don’t give negative star ratings because wrestlers normally can’t help who they wrestle and under what conditions (well Triple H and Jeff Jarrett can, but I’m talking mid-card) but this will be an easy DUD
*The Winner: Ummm, does it really matter? I’ll say Dustin, because well…you should know why
Jeff Hardy vs Raven
*The Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Tables Match
*The Build Up: Decently built feud I guess. I don’t see how a feud starts because “Jeff Hardy wants to look out for his fans” but I’ve seen feuds start in worse ways. This all started when Hardy wanted to look out for his fans. A few weeks later, after Abyss won a won he was about to slam Cassidy Riley onto the thumb tacks. Jeff Hardy made the save, prompting Raven to come out and attack Hardy. This past week on Impact! Jeff Hardy gave an interview and afterwards, Raven hit him with a trash can. Again, not badly done, but not great
*The Build Down: I would have much rather seen Raven cut can interview than Hardy. Jeff on the mic is the color of his many colors, green. Raven is god on the mic. This week on Impact! Raven does team with Abyss to take on Hardy and AJ Styles so the build can only go up. Raven on the mic would have been better and also they should have somehow invovled a table so people know that it’s a table match but not bad
*The Match: This has all the makings of a train wreck. Nevermind the fact that Hardy can’t hit a spot in the first place but take into account that a table in the ring means even less room for Hardy to hit a spot. There better not be a ref in the ring or else this match could get really bad. I expect Hardy to miss all his usual spots and I expect Raven to hit his usual spots. The finish will most likely be Hardy climbing to the top of the cage, trying not to fall, take his shirt off, still trying not to fall, hitting a swanton bomb through the table. Hardy will most likely fall though
*The Rating: Raven should boost the rating up a bit but not match. I’ll say it will be a *, if that
*The Winner: Hardy will win because TNA continues to think Jeff is their savior
America’s Most Wanted vs Team Canada
*The Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Match For The Tag Team Titles
*The Build Up: Once again, no buld up. I again think they brawled sometime or another but that’s about it. Oh ya, AMW did commentary hyping the match. Also I don’t know what Team Canada members are in this match. I would assume it will be Al Ralphz and Petey Williams because they teamed on Impact!
*The Build Down: Once again, everything. Also once again, Team Canada jobbed cleanly to 3LK making them look like less of a threat. Once again, AMW could have interfered and cost Team Canada the match. Once again, I could rabble on how this feud has sucked buuuuuut…
*The Match: This match should actually be good. AMW always brings the goods as does Petey Williams. This will also give Ralphz a chance to shine. This most likely won’t rival AMW vs XXX but it should be good none the less. I don’t really have much to say on this match simply because it will be good but not great and the build up was bad
*The Rating: Should be an average match to just above average so I’ll go **1/2 to ***
*The Winners: You gotta go with America’s Most Wanted here. I just can’t see Team Canada jobbing cleanly to 3LK then beating AMW in a 6 Sides Of Steel Match, but you never know with TNA
Elix Skipper vs Christopher Daniels
*The Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Match For The X Division Title
*The Build Up: The build for this has almost been perfect. The Impact! after Daniels won the X Title, Skipper came out and challenged Daniels. The following week, Skipper won a X Division shoot out to get a shot at Daniels Title. Daniels did commentary during that match, making the build even better. The following week, Daniels called Skipper a loser but not in that many words. This past week, Skipper attacked Daniels during his match and Daniels attacked Skipper after the match. Yes, this feud has been built since the Impact! after Destination X, making this a very well built feud
*The Build Down: Only complaint I have is the video package they aired before the X Division Shoot Out. The X Division Shoot Out was between Petey Williams, Chris Sabin, Michael Shane, and Elix Skipper with the winner getting a X Title Shot. Well a video package aired before the match and it more or less said that Skipper would win.Other than that flaw, good build
*The Match: This should be the show stealer. Both of these men are great wrestlers and previous matches has just continued to prove that. The match should mix actual wrestling with some very nice spots. I don’t know if Skipper will go for his cage walk again because it’s such a risk but you never know. I still think Daniels hitting the Best Moonsault Ever off the top of the cage would be awesome. Expect this match to deliver
*The Rating: Again, this is the show stealer so I’m gonna rate it high. Expect a **** to a ****1/2 match from these two
AJ Styles vs Abyss
*The Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Match. Winner Gets A World Title Shot Next PPV
*The Build Up: This one started when Abyss was picking on Traci and Trinity as AJ was walking by. That led to a brawl between the two. The following week AJ saved Jeff Hardy from a 2 on 1 attack by Abyss and Raven. This past week AJ cut an interview on Abyss. Decent build but considering that this will close out the show, not great build. They went a week with nothing from these two and I think that hurt it.
*The Build Down: Well these two will square off in a tag team match this week on Impact! as AJ teams with Jeff Hardy while Abyss teams with Raven. Expect them to face off at some point in that match in order to continue the build. The week off kinda hurt this feud. If this was an under-card match I would say very good build, but this is the Main Event and this was not Main Event built
*The Match: I expect these two to deliver. Abyss is an above average big man and AJ Styles…well he’s AJ Styles. These two had some very good matches back when TNA were doing weekly PPVs. The cage should help the big spot moves from AJ. Maybe Abyss can hang by his feet from the top of the cage and AJ can Styles Clash him from there. How awesome would that be?
*The Rating: This should rate pretty high because AJ always delivers. I think this will be about ***1/2
*The Winner: AJ will most likely win, setting him to feud with Jarrett heading into March
The Outlaw, Monty Brown & Jeff Jarrett vs Diamond Dallas Page, Sean Waltman & Kevin Nash
*The Stipulation: 6 Sides Of Steel Lethal Lockdown Match
*The Build Up: Well because Jarrett is the champ and he’s the owners son, you would expect a good build up for this match. It started when Monty Brown turned on DDP at Destination X. From there Nash asked Dusty if He, DDP, and Waltman could face JJ, Brown and Outlaw in one of the cage matches (back when only 2 were scheduled) Of course Dusty said yes. From there it’s been mostly interview and brawls. Of course Monty and Outlaw teamed up to beat Waltman and DDP this past week of Impact!
*The Build Down: Nothing really wrong with this feud. This was the most well built but you would expect nothing less considering this was the planned Main Event
*The Match: Well Kevin Nash may not make it to the match due to his injury. If he isn’t in the match expect the replacement to be…RANDY SAVAGE! Just kidding, expect to it be…SCOTT HALL, again kidding. Expect it to be…BG JAMES, not kidding. BG will most likely be the replacement due to his on going antics with the Outlaw. Lethal Lockdown means that 2 men will start and another will enter at random until all men are in the ring and then a winner will be declared. It’s basicly like War Games. They of course did this so the match wouldn’t be one big cluster. I’m not expecting much out of these 6 because with the exception of Monty Brown, they have all over stayed their welcome
*The Rating: I figure this will be around * to *1/2
*The Winners: I can’t see Jarrett losing so I’ll pick his team to win this thing
There’s you Lockdown preview everyone. Now to the part I know you’ve all been dying to read, my rant on the Kid Kash release:
Let’s start with some history. If you don’t know, Kid Kash is probably my favorite wrestler on the scene right now. Ok history lesson over. About a year ago, Kash was released by TNA but that was all a work if memory serves me well (and considering I’m half asleep, it doesn’t) He returned and everything was gravy. Now as of yesterday, Kid Kash is actually gone from TNA. This was because Kash was unhappy that America’s Most Wanted and AJ Styles were being pushed ahead of him because they were “home grown talent.” Well I don’t blame Kash. He’s one of the best workers in TNA and he even managed to carry Dustin Rhodes to a decent match ar Final Resolution, that takes skills. He has put on many good matches with guys like AJ Styles among other X Division talent. Was this a smart move by TNA? Of course not. If the WWE is actually serious about a true Cruiserweight Division, Kid Kash fits right in. And lets not forget Kash’s ECW hsitory with Rob Van Dam. They could always boost the WWE’s tag team division. You see, Kid Kash can really compete in any division and he’s main event material but will sadly never make it to that level because he is a “vanilla midget.” WWE would be stupid not to sign Kid Kash and put him on Smackdown! right away. TNA was stupid to release Kash because once Matt Hardy came in, think of the matches those two could have. So in conclusion, TNA just released my favorite wrestler and proved themselves dumber than Dusty looks
Ok, now that that’s out of the way, we move onto last weeks The Contest. Last weeks questions were the following “Come up with the craziest but most believable gimmick macth TNA could put on. Meaning no “Chainsaw Match where the only way to win is to cut off your opponents arms and legs” and “Come up with a new name for The Contest” Let’s take a look at some good ideas/runners up for the 1st question:
*Craziest But Most Believable Match TNA Could Do: Funky Monkey Death Match. Both competitors are blindfolded to start in a Six Sides of Steel with the Ultimate X hanging overhead. They must manage to climb the cage to escape. From there, they have to run backstage where Dusty’s truck is filled with sand. They have to dig through and find one of the two containers of Spanish Fly. From there, they have to go through the locker rooms, feeling everyone up until they find either Trinity or Traci and slip them the Spanish Fly, then they must take them to Dusty. Next, they have to find their opponent again and put them through a table using both a ladder and a chair in addition for the spot. After that, they have to get back into the ring and do 130 pushups while reciting the alphabet backwards a total of five times. Finally, they’ll be allowed to climb the Ultimate X and get down a contract to sign that allows them to job to Jarrett at the following PPV.
-Peter Von Erik
*My idea for a gimmick match is the “Inside-and-Out” Match. The idea here is basically a re-working of an “Iron Man” match but with the drama of a “Three Stages of Hell”. The rules are simple: An opponent must be pinned or made to submit one time in the ring and one time out of the ring. The first competitor to gain BOTH the inside and the outside pinfall/submission is the winner. Once pinned in the ring another in-ring pin or submission does not count. The same thing outside, if the outside is the first pin, another outside pin/submission will not count. There are a handful of different booking scenarios this could present with two competitors: If Wrestler A gains the first win on the inside of the ring then of course, his opponent, Wrestler B, will do everything within his power to stay inside. If Opponent B then gains an inside win, they will both have to take their game outside if they want the match to end. Or Wrestler A gets his first win outside, gets Wrestler B inside the ring for another pin but Wrestler B shifts the momentum and gains a pin inside then we are stuck in an interesting predicament as both opponents will brawl all over the place in an attempt to both escape the pin and gain the pin as one needs an outside and one needs an inside in order to win. This is changed even more dramatically if you make it a triple threat. Wrestler A has gained a pin inside and takes Wrestler B to the outside. Wrestler C would do what he could to prevent A from winning but would also be in a position to take advantage of both A and B for the pin. The advantages to a match like this would be that it keeps both competitors looking strong (assuming you don’t book it where someone gets both pins right away) plus with “inside-and-out” aspect you allow technical guys to match up with risk-takers, as the experienced grappler might have an in-ring advantage and the go-for-broke brawler might have the out-of-ring advantage, allowing both wrestlers to hit their spots in a way that makes them both look killer.
-John Gholson
*”Dump Truck match” Toss your opponent into a dump truck and dump manure on top of him to win, of course this would be an idea Dusty would like
“Lock your opponent in a cage” Lock someone inside a cage to win the match.
“Get inside the 6 sides of steel” Instead of victory by escape, victory by accessing the inside of the cage
“15 ref counts” instead of getting a 3 count, you have to get fifteen coutnts from the ref in a match, example each two count you would get would count as 2, one count as 1, 3 count as 3, first man toi get 15 total in the match wins.
(If wwe did this we would see HHH get all 15 of his on a pedigree, after he sells and goes down like 12-0 or 13-0 on the score)
“Burn the flag Match” I dont think i need to explain, ok this would be illegal and immoral, but still
-Shawn
*1. I got two of them: first gimmick match-“Summit” match (sorry, only name I could think of), where it combines the 6-sides of steel, and scaffold match. you have the cage set up, but with a narrow walkway across the top (just wide enough for someone to stand/walk on), and have the belt/prize in the middle of the walkway (suspended above it, but reachable without using a ladder. object is to climb the cage, get onto the walkway, and grab the belt/prize. Also, inside the cage is littered with various weapons (along with weapons hung around the cage)
My second is “civil war” match, where you have two teams (one of wrestlers from the south, one of wrestlers from the north) and they fight in a match Wargames style
-Evil Pete
All of these were very good ideas and they were all believable yet crazy enough for TNA to do. But the one that I laughed the most at because it was just so stupid yet it seems like something TNA would do is…..
*Coming to TNA in just over 90 days:
Matt Hardy Version 2.0 Wrestler of the Year Gold Edition with Free Strategy Guide vs. Raven in a Cult-Off.
Each man assembles as many cult members as possible (MFers vs. The Flock). The match is a tag-team elimination with ladders and movie props allowed as weapons. The leaders are in tiny cages and are only released when all his cultists have been eliminated or when a cult member gets the keys suspended above the ring and opens the cage. A leader can only be eliminated by declaring the other leader is his master or failure to respond to a 10 count. Loser must give control of his cult to the winner for 30 days.
It’s still less complicated than King of the Mountain.
-Kyle McCown
As for the second question which was “Come up with a new name for The Contest” here are some runners up:
*Contest Challenge
*Ringside: endgame
*the one contest Jeff Jarret can’t use his politics to win
*The Contest: now guitar free
But the winning answer was the following…..
*The C-Cup (Contest Cup)
-Peter Von Erik
For some reason, that just seemed like a good original name.
Now this week I once again have 2 questions for you for this weeks C-Cup:
*Lockdown Predictions. It’s that simple, just send in your predictions before the event. In case of a tie, here are some tie breaker questions
1.Who will lose the fall in the Lethal Lockdown Match?
2.What will open the show?
3.Will anyone debut? If so who?
4. How many finishers will we see in the Lethal Lockdown
*K-I-D Challenge: Come up with a new gimmick for Lance Hoyt since he no longer has Kash to carry him. Most original gimmick wins
So that’s it for this week my friends. Send in you C-Cup answers ASAP and join me next time, At Ringside.
