Lockdown 2010 – Match of the Year

Lockdown 2010
Date: April 18, 2010
Location: Family Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay

So this is the annual let’s make the cage match like any other match show which is an idiotic concept if there ever has been one. Depending on how the two major matches go, this could be a great show or terrible. I’m not sure which yet but we’ll find out. The main events are Lethal Lockdown with Team Flair vs. Team Hogan despite neither being in the match and Pope vs. AJ which has been pushed down almost. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is based around fearing the cage. Simple but effective.

Doug Williams isn’t here due to the Iceland volcano so he’s been stripped. Sean Waltman might not be here either. Oh great.

Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm

Both guys are in Lethal Lockdown later so I guess this is a warm up match? Remember that everything is in a cage tonight. The arena looks full and great. Can’t beat that. Isn’t the point of a cage match to be, you know, in the cage? RVD beats Storm up on the floor because he can I guess. He’s busted open when we get into the cage. Cage looks great. Everything looks great actually. Definitely the best crowd and best looking show they’ve put on that I can remember.

It’s ALL Van Dam here so I’d put money on him losing somehow. I love the holes in the cage that can be used to see in. It helps with the camera work tremendously. Split legged moonsault connects but no cover. Ok then. Storm spits beer in Van Dam’s face and hits a DDT for two. Superkick is countered into the Frog Splash (it makes sense in context) for the pin. Nice opener.

Rating: B. Pretty solid stuff here and a good choice to open the show. Van Dam is very solid to say the least and this worked fine. I’m liking this show thus far. Remember who is saying that. Although, hopefully it doesn’t get really bad in the second half like Destination X did.

Hogan talks about how Team Hogan has been getting beaten down pretty badly lately. He says you don’t run people over with a car. That’s true. You use a Semi Truck Brother! Hogan says that if his team gets destroyed he might leave TNA. Hmm I wonder if that’s foreshadowing.

We get a bonus Xscape match where the winner is in the triple threat later.

Xscape match: Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley vs. Brian Kendrick

So the idea here is just to get out of the cage first. Ok then I guess that works. It’s a Lockdown staple so that’s fine. I guess the tag match these four were supposed to have isn’t happening which is the best I think. It turns into a total spot fest of course but did you really expect much else? That’s what the X Division is supposed to be though.

Also this is FAR more logical than the tag match would have been. Also this is more logical than a 6 man match which would have been a total mess. With a match thrown together and being meant to do nothing more than fill in a spot due to a last minute change, the crazy bunch of spots is fine. This is rather short with Homicide winning. Homicide wins after the Gringo Killer. Yeah that’s a great name to use.

Rating: B-. Not bad here and it did exactly what it was supposed to. Williams not being here saved us from a REALLY illogical tag match so I can’t really complain. Also, the MCMG continue to job. Who would have predicted that? Oh wait.

Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young

Young has to win here but he won’t because of the Band. Young is wearing some kind of green tights. Ok then. Apparently Hogan has told Hall that he has to get a partner tonight or he goes it 2-1. Ok then. I say that a lot. Nash is dominating for the most part here but Young is getting some stuff in.

That’s fine with me as they’re going with the traditional formula to get to the Young comeback. No problem there. And Nash just hits the powerbomb to completely kill Young’s credibility. This show is a success even if nothing else happens.

Rating: C. Too short to be good but not long enough to be bad. That sounds like in the middle to me. I’m not sure on how quick this was but I’d go with Hall and Nash reuniting here. And a quick Nash promo says that I’m right. I smell Pac being there anyway.

We recap the Women’s Title insanity to get us here.

Knockout’s Title/Tag Titles: Beautiful People vs. Tara/Angelina Love

Ok so it’s your standard two singles wrestlers vs. tag champions. You know the rules I’m sure. Yep Tara is gorgeous. Velvet and Angelina start us off. Taz is rather annoying on commentary to say the least. Some nice double teaming from the BP there. Make jokes amongst yourselves. Tara pulls an Angle and totally misses a moonsault. Good to see that the accuracy is there still.

Angel is better in the ring than she’s given credit for. Madison takes the Widow’s Peak but Velvet makes the save. Lacey gets in somehow and drills Tara in the head with a belt to give Madison Rayne the Knockout’s Title. So that’s two straight title changes with the champion not getting pinned. Ok then. I do love the BP being the focus of the division. That’s intelligent and not sarcastic actually.

Rating: C-. Not terrible actually. Love is underrated in the ring and Tara is always solid. The booking is right here and we don’t get the wacky tag partners which is never any good. I’m rather happy for the first near hour of this show. I must be coming down with something.

Tara destroys Angelina post match, I think turning heel.

Team Flair and mainly Flair talks about how this is Flair country. Flair gets in his first funny line since being in TNA by saying that JB annoys him. That’s hilarious. He’s out of his wheelchair now. I have no problem with him doing the talking for all of them actually. Also he just cuts a promo rather than screaming like a crazy man. AJ says exactly what he would be expected to say.

X Division Title: Homicide vs. Kazarian vs. Shannon Moore

If Moore wins, this show sucks. They should have just gone with a one on one number one contenders match but I can go with this I guess. No belt here since it’s in Europe I guess. I’d bet on that being used in an angle which would make sense at least. They double team Homicide to start. Apparently they don’t take kindly to qualifiers in these here parts.

Taz points out that he’s a former wrestler. That’s a good thing actually as a lot of people might not know that actually. If you started watching post 2002-03, you’ve likely never seen a Taz match. Homicide hits Eddie’s triple suplex. Scratch that as he doesn’t get through the trio.

Homicide hits a SICK double Diamond Cutter off the top but can’t get the pin. Nice spot there. Taz says he opened up a can. He and Tenay laugh like idiots. Ok then. We hit the near fall portion as everyone is making saves. It’s clichéd but it still works incredibly well.

Pretty solid stuff so far in here. After a near Gringo Killer, Kaz hooks more or less a reverse piledriver for the pin. He had Homicide on his back and dropped down. That was sweet.

Rating: B+. Solid stuff here and it worked very well. There was nothing epic about it but nothing bad here at all. The absence of Williams hurt but you can’t fault them for that. I liked it pretty well and so did the crowd. Yeah I’m bumping this up.

Pope says that AJ isn’t styling at all. Then he talks about a restaurant. Was that good or not? I’m not sure.

Team 3D vs. The Band

It’s Hall and Nash in case you missed it. And it’s not a cage match anymore but a St. Louis Street Fight where falls count anywhere in the building. Uh, sure why not. This actually is a major match given the teams in it so points for that. They start on the ramp and the Outsider’s Edge is blocked.

We’re in the crowd already. 3D said no one came to see a match but rather a fight. That makes sense at least. If the Waltman no-showing thing is legit, good riddance. The crowd is definitely making this show much better.

We’re back in the ring now with D-Von all by himself. What’s Up hits on Hall. 3D through the table ends this. This was almost a squash match. Well I didn’t expect that one at all.

Rating: C+. Pretty decent brawl here. I was really surprised at the ending though as Hall just took 3D and got pinned. It looks like they’re pushing 3D towards the tag titles again which is the epitome of a head scratcher but whatever. Decent enough match since I like 3D so there you are.

We recap Anderson vs. Angle which needs to be blown off for good tonight.

Kurt Angle vs. Ken Anderson

This is standard rules but Anderson has the key. Not sure I get the point to that aspect as it’s bound be thrown around sometime. Also, I’d prefer a regular cage match but this is fine I suppose. Anderson has the key around his neck. Ok he has a chain around his neck with the key around it but you get the idea. Anderson goes for the door like 30 seconds in and like an idiot, he forgets about Angle.

Anderson accidentally leaves the key in the lock so there goes the point of the ladder match entirely. Angle is bleeding BAD already. Tenay says it was bound to happen at some point. At some point? I think every match has had that so far. This is one of the feuds that I’ve really liked for the majority of it. Angle is WORKING in there man. He’s still one of the best in the world when he works at it.

There is blood everywhere. Ok not really but it sounds good. Angle hits his run up the ropes and hit a belly to belly. Love that. Anderson uses his wrist tape to choke Angle out which is rather brilliant. Solid match so far. Angle gets his Germans. He hits about 6 or 7 of them and Anderson is just about out of it.

Angle goes for the door but stops. Dang it Kurt don’t be stupid. Ankle Lock is on but you can’t win by tap out. And there’s the Mic Check. Yeah I’m stunned too. Anderson gets the lock open but Angle gets the Slam. And Angle locks the cage again. Ok then. And he throws the key away. Anderson freaks, even though there’s no roof on the cage.

Anderson tries to get out but Angle gets a German OFF THE TOP ROPE! SICK spot. Angle sets him for the moonsault but goes TO THE TOP OF THE CAGE! And he hits it. Yeah Angle still has it. Angle gets a key from….somewhere, but Anderson flips the double bird and is able to get a Mic Check.

We’re getting close to overkill here. Angle catches him with the ankle lock though and Anderson taps again. I smell a broken ankle. Anderson reverses but STILL can’t get out. Angel finds a chain or the Warrior Medal and chokes Anderson out with it in a reference to Anderson choking him out in the ladder match on Impact before walking out. GREAT match.

Rating: A+. Yeah I said it. Great match all around and the ending made sense given the way Anderson won the ladder match. This has been a great show and it needed a great match to get it over the hump. It just got that. Angle is still one of the best in the world and he can bring it.

Angle says he’s taking some time off but when he comes back he’s winning the TNA Title.

We recap Pope/AJ, meaning they’re putting Hogan/Flair over the title match. I shake my head at that but the cage match buys them a lot of points.

TNA World Title: D’Angelo Dinero vs. AJ Styles

Hebner throws Flair out to start. If he stays gone, then sweet. We get the big match intros which it should get. Tenay thinks that Flair being gone helps Pope. You can’t buy commentary like that people! We start off rather well. One good thing about Styles is he can work just about any style you ask him to.

Pope can move out there so this is a solid looking match. Also, this is a good thing as you have two smaller guys with limited muscles in the title picture. That’s a legit alternative to WWE. AJ hits the forearm and the 450 but goes to the top of the cage and misses. Solid match so far.

The double knee hits and gets two. AJ reaches through the cage and grabs a pen from the camera guy. Uh, ok. And he jabs Pope in the eye to set up the Styles Clash for the pin.

Rating: B. Just a total letdown there at the end. I do not get the point in jobbing Pope out. For the life of me I do not get that. He match was solid though but after the previous match, the crowd was a bit dead. Still very solid stuff though and I can work with it.

We cut to the back and Bischoff is JUST GETTING HERE. Was he fly fishing in Iceland or something?

It’s time for Lethal Lockdown! The rules are just like WarGames but you can win by pin also. No mention of the cage top this time.

Lethal Lockdown

Team Hogan: Abyss, Jeff Hardy, RVD, Jeff Jarrett
Team Flair: Sting, James Storm, Robert Roode, Desmond Wolfe

Apparently Abyss is tougher than Austin. Robert Roode starts for the heels. Remember, if Team Hogan loses then Hogan leaves. In the words of Jeff Hardy’s old music, don’t you see the writing on the wall? Apparently Abyss has a hairline fracture of his hip. Sure why not? These matches are always hard to comment on as they’re mainly huge messes for the most part.

The faces win the toss based on RVD winning earlier which is STUPID but whatever. Van Dam is in second. So the faces beat up Roode for awhile because that makes perfect sense right? Van Dam is busted open from the previous match he had tonight. Wolfe is in next. Great to see jobbers getting PPV time. Jarrett comes in to make it 3-2 as I continue to shake my head at the booking of the main event.

Storm ties it up. Again, there just isn’t much to talk about in between the periods really. Van Dam is nice and bloody. We’re down to Sting and Hardy for those keeping score. And there’s no Hardy. Check the stairwells. Yep Sting got to him. And here’s Sting. Ah ok they are doing the roof with weapons thing. That’s a nice touch.

Ok so now pins and submissions are legal. It’s a weapons mess at this point now as you would expect as we kill time before the finish. Jarrett gets knocked to the floor and Beer Money follows them. And it’s thumbtack time. Abyss takes a beer bottle to the head to stop that though. I’d love to see someone sue for assault of something. What a great heel move that would be. And now it’s time for Hardy.

Jarrett gets a guitar shot from the top followed by a 5 Star to Wolfe. Sting gets chokeslammed onto the tacks and Jeff goes up top. He’s able to beat up both of Beer Money after being hit by a baseball bat. Sure why not. And of course there’s a table on top of the cage. Why not?

Jeff climbs a ladder and splashes Storm on top of the cage to….a mild pop. And there’s Flair’s music. Ok then. Dang it here comes Hogan too. Flair is BITING ABYSS’ HAND TO GET THE RING OFF! That is hilarious! Bischoff comes out now and he throws knucks to Hogan who beats up Flair. And he takes his shirt off to fall onto the tacks. Sure why not. And Abyss gets the pin on Wolfe of course. Why have anyone but the jobber job I guess?

Rating: D. This didn’t do it for me. The ending was just bad. Hogan and Flair were the focus of the angle. I get that. The point is they never should have been. This was to get Hogan over even more and to have him go over Flair. Seriously, has Flair EVER gotten a win over Hogan? Not that I remember at least.

Also, Hardy and Abyss are just fine after attacks like that? Really? We’re just supposed to go along with that? Sure why not. Either way, this didn’t do it for me. Pope should have won the title to end the show but hey, Hogan gets to shine in the end and that’s the important thing right?

Overall Rating: B+. The ending just took a lot of the life out of it, but this was a VERY good show. Nothing on here is truly bad and there is a classic match on it which is a major thing for it. It gives you a thing you can point to and say see the show because of THIS.

The booking I question a lot for the last two matches though. Pope looks like just another guy at this point and AJ has…who left now? RVD I guess, but at a show like Sacrifice? Not sure on that one. Then again that match shouldn’t be happening here but whatever. Either way, good show and certainly worth checking out, especially the Anderson/Angle match.