Sunday, April 18, 2010

4/18/10 Lockdown

Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm (Cage): Very good use of the cage. No idea why Hebner was trying to get involved when Storm had the beer bottle in his hand (last time I checked, cage matches were no DQ), but anyway, a solid opening bout. **1/2

Homicide vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley (Cage; Must Escape Cage to Win): Good stuff from Sabin and Shelley, very nice spots from all those involved. Not a bad spotfest, really. **

Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young (Cage): Honestly, I have no clue on what to think about this one. The match basically was kept short because Syxx-Pac no-showed (again). So it's understandable that the match was short, but come on, it was a virtual squash. DUD

Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky vs. Tara & Angelina Love (Cage; Knockouts Title; Knockouts Tag Team Titles): The cage was still up for this match, but it was not really even used, so it doesn't matter. At least to me, it makes sense -- for the big picture -- why Love's title reign was so short: to set up Tara's heel turn. I think Tara will work better as a heel. She has the look for it, and let's face it, Tara as a face was horrible. As for the match, it was pretty basic, save for the Tara moonsault. It accomplished its purpose. *1/4

Kazarian vs. Shannon Moore vs. Homicide (Cage; X-Division Title): Great use of the cage and a nice variety of aerial maneuvers. Good mix of people kicking out of pins and having people break up pin attempts. Everyone had their time to shine in that match and the right person won, in my opinion. Finish was just awesome. I would honestly want Homicide and Hernandez to re-form LAX again. Hernandez's singles push has slowed and Homicide is going nowhere. ***1/2

Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Kevin Nash & Scott Hall (Street Fight; Falls Count Anywhere): I really liked that TNA made this a street fight with falls counting anywhere; the steel cage would have made for a very boring match, especially without Syxx-Pac bouncing all over the ring. The match did finish in the ring, but I liked that they fought in the crowd and used weapons. Crowd was definitely into it. **1/2

Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson (Cage; Must Escape Cage to Win): Wow. Match of the Night for sure -- and would likely be Match of the Year if not for Taker/HBK II. Excellent buildup for this match. Angle bled pretty good here. Angle's moonsault off the top of the cage was sick. The finish was absolutely fantastic and brought the entire storyline full circle. Angle may be taking time off after this match, but not before he delivered -- again. ****1/2

AJ Styles vs. D'Angelo Dinero (Cage; World Title): Crowd was amped up for this one. Dinero hit the Codebreaker-like move and many people probably thought it was over. I must admit, despite the loss, Dinero really looked good in the cage. Styles also went to the top of the cage, but missed. Still a sick spot indeed. Styles continues to cheat to win, and honestly, that can be construed as a good thing. ***1/4

Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, & Abyss vs. Sting, Desmond Wolfe, James Storm, & Robert Roode (Lethal Lockdown): So Abyss got run over by a car three days before Lockdown and now he shows up to the PPV with really no lingering injuries? OK... Hardy did his vintage sick spot in a gimmick match. But all I have to say is...what the hell was up with that finish? That absolutely killed a ton of the fan reaction and really wasn't needed. **3/4
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MVP: Kurt Angle delivers one more time before taking a leave of absence from TNA.

Overall Rating: TNA definitely delivered on its share of matches, namely Angle/Anderson. A very solid PPV -- even with the bizarre ending to the main event. ***1/2

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