Lethal Lockdown: Team Son Bischoff defeated Team Bischoff via pinfall (Son Bischoff pinned Eric Bischoff) in 22:00:
It’s not going to go down as the best Lethal Lockdown ever, but had its moments and was a good way to open the show. There weren’t any huge spots, but there were a few nice ones especially by Lockdown impresario AJ Styles. The finish saw Son Bischoff pinning his dad, which played nicely into the storyline feud between the two Bischoffs but came off as a little too contrived. It was also irritatingly telegraphed: the moment that Eric started playing to the crowd instead of pinning his son when everyone else was down it was obvious that Bischoff senior would be getting his comeuppance. You know what they were trying to pull off. It’s frustrating knowing what TNA wants to do instead of seeing them do it correctly, though. ** 1/2
TNA Tag Championship: Samoa Joe and Magnus defeated MCMGs:
Wow. Big let-down. I was looking forward to this match more than anythingelse on the card, too. The match just never built up any steam. The Guns never looked like they had a real chance at winning, despite the fact that they were both fresh off of making their heroic return to Impact. The crowd also hurt this match. It seemed like they were sitting on their hands waiting for something to pop for. * 1/2
TV Title: Devon defeated Robbie E:
Devon is near the end of his career while Robbie E is an inexperienced wrestler who needs to be carried. This match was better off if was left on Impact. Robbie E and his bouncer got their heat back when they beat down Devon, which sadly means this feud will continue. The crowd didn’t like this either. 1/2*
TNA Knockouts Championship: Gail Kim defeated Velvet Sky:
A smart company would put on a match that the crowd would care about to attempt to get the crowd into this show. TNA is obviously not a smart company. This was boring, both women had terrible ring presence for some reason, and the match featured sequences and spots so bad that they made some 3-year-old watching this realize wrestling is fake. The crowd were as frustrated as I was by this point. Thus far, the entire show has been nothing but Impact quality matches. 1/2*
Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan’s promo:
Me saying so is becoming redundant, but this belonged on Impact as well. Amazingly, this segment actually brought the crowd alive, and this got more of a reaction than anything so far.
Matt Morgan vs. Crimson:
Horrible finish to a bad match. These two have no chemistry together and their style and size just don’t match up well. And so it was that this PPV made the transition from frustrating to laughable. Who would have thought that Lockdown would ever be a comedy show? 3/4*
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy:
A long-running but seldom-acknowledged theme in TNA is that of a broken Kurt Angle trying to save the latest PPV. It is a testament to Angle’s passion for the business and how much TNA’s undercard is underutilized/sub-par. Angle and Jeff worked a smart match and didn’t put their bodies on the line to any ridiculous degree. Jeff Hardy’s Swanton off the top wasn’t the best spot he’s ever done, but it was cool nevertheless. Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy are the only full-time wrestlers in TNA to receive big-time crowd reactions. This was the first PPV-worthy match on the show. *** 1/4
Knockouts Tag Title Match: Eric Young/ODB vs. LAX Wannabees
A filler, comedy match to allow the fans to “catch their breath” before the main event. N/A
TNA Title Match: Robert Roode defeated James Storm
The two men lived up to the hype by having a heat-filled, hard-hitting, highly dramatic match. This felt like a genuine big time match, and both Roode and Storm have cemented themselves as true main-eventers with star-making performances like this one, an old school brawl that had a blend of WWE style in there as well. At points, both men had chances to win the match but remained inside the cage to inflict damage to their opponent instead. Roode winning the match in Storm’s hometown was something I would’ve been against before the match, but since the match was good, I’m glad the belt is still on Roode because their feud is going to continue, which means more matches. As good as this main event was, however, I’m frustrated in a way because we all know TNA could put these kind of matches on all time, but choose not to. *** 1/2
Final Verdict: Thumbs Down
