Ratings:
Max Buck vs. Jeremy Buck vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Robbie E. vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal vs. Amazing Red vs. Suicide (XScape Cage): A pretty fun match here. I was on the phone for much of this match (so I turned off the sound), but I still watched it. I liked how they weaved the Bucks feud a little during the match. Basically, this was there to also use eight guys. **3/4
Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal vs. Scott Steiner & Crimson vs. Douglas Williams & Magnus vs. Orlando Jordan & Eric Young (Cage): Steiner must be loved in Cincinnati because of his earlier promo...fans were chanting to get him in the match. To me, a typical four-team tag match, not much more than that. *1/2
Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne (Cage; Hair vs. Title; Knockouts Title): This was basically a squash because of Mickie's shoulder, but this was disappointing because of its brevity. All this hype, and we're given a match that doesn't even last 30 seconds. I guess it was time for Mickie to get the title, but this could have been on Impact instead of a PPV. I refuse to rate this (and that's being polite, because I would be tempted to give this negative stars for TNA management even thinking of putting a short match -- especially a title match -- on a PPV). N/A
Samoa Joe vs. D'Angelo Dinero (Cage): I have basically forgotten what this feud was about and who's playing the face/heel role. I guess I'll just say Joe is the face because he's getting major pops (shows how much I cared about this one). Pretty good match here; good intensity in this one. **3/4
Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez (Cage): Another match that really didn't impress me. Some OK back-and-forth action. Cage use was there, but still was pretty damn basic for me. Mexican-America tried to interfere, and Morgan hits a Carbon Footprint as Hernandez tries to come off the top. Solid finish at least. The largest pop had to be Velvet Sky coming out post-match. *1/2
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle (Cage; Ultra Male Rules (2 out of 3 Falls: Submission, Pin, Escape Cage)): Finally, a match that I looked forward to. TNA hyped this match pretty well, and at least there is smart booking here to just have the match on PPV instead of free TV. And wow, did they deliver. You knew that this match would go the full three falls. I loved the spot where Angle contemplated leaving the cage on the third fall. He could have won right there, but, with Jeff looking on from all fours, chose to lock himself in with Jeff to continue the punishment. That storytelling earns bonus points from me. I totally jumped up when Angle's head pretty much got planted on the power bomb. I marked even more when Angle got up and caught Jarrett with the Angle Slam from the top rope. I thought the last 10 minutes was perfectly booked. It took numerous dirty tactics from Jeff and Karen to finally put Kurt away. I really do want one more match between the two, but because Jeff has taken two straight in this feud, I'm not sure how it will be booked. ****1/4
Outstanding wrestling spots, lots of time for storytelling, awesome fan reaction. See, it's not that the performers in other matches are horrible. If the proper feud is made and there's time to tell a great story, a phenomenal rating can result.
Sting vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Mr. Anderson (Cage; World Title): Pretty action-packed from the start; really liked the Double Scorpion Death Lock spot (seen Natalya use it on two divas before, though). Double Mic Check was nice, although I thought both guys kicking out hurt the finisher's impact. Another disappointing match here. Sure, all the finishers were hit, but the real story centered on Hogan's involvement (bringing the pipe into play). At this rate, I'm just gonna say Sting joins Hogan's side in another "ruse" because no one else is budging. *1/2
James Storm, Robert Roode, Kazarian, & Daniels vs. Matt Hardy, Bully Ray, Abyss, & Ric Flair (Lethal Lockdown): They really transitioned fast from the World Title match to Lethal Lockdown, likely because TNA wanted as much time for this as possible. While I'm not a fan of Flair continuing to wrestle at his age, he still gets major crowd reaction and is great at what he does. Flair bled very badly in this one, a crimson red face. But did we have to see Flair's ass again? Leave it to Daniels to do the crazy spots...I loved it. AJ came out to a nice pop there to help Fortune (or is it Fourtune?). So basically, was Flair in there just to job so the other Immortal members didn't have to look as weak? Perhaps. ***3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
This show was largely a disappointment. There was a clear Match of the Night (Jarrett/Angle) and a clear runner-up (Lethal Lockdown). Everything else -- even the two other passable matches that got around **3/4 -- could have occurred on Impact on any given day, sans the cage. This is also the second PPV in a row with a very disappointing World Title match. Not good, my friends, not good.
Lockdown is supposed to be TNA's second-biggest PPV of the year. If that's the case, I would really be that much more concerned about the product. The company's been bleeding money for a long time, and the quality of shows has decreased considerably. I sure as hell hope change is coming, because TNA badly needs it. Not the worst PPV, but it needed to be better than this. **1/4
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