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411’s Roundtable Preview: TNA Lockdown 2013

March 9, 2013 | Posted by Larry Csonka

WELCOME:
Welcome back to the latest edition of the 411 Roundtable preview. Since the last time TNA hit PPV, Aces and 8s continue to be an issue for the TNA roster, Bully Ray married Brooke Hogan; Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Velvet Sky and Kenny King have won TNA gold, Jeff Hardy wasn’t allowed into the UK and the promotion announced that they would be leaving the Impact Zone for good. And that brings us to the Lockdown PPV the (this year almost) all steel cage match PPV; lets meet the staff that participated and breakdown the Lockdown PPV…

THE STAFF
* From the Raw Instant Analysis column, he’s Mr. Ben Watters!
* From the TNA Impact report, he’s Mr. Jonathan Sullivan!
* From the Heel Report, he’s Mr. James Wright!
* Former author of Shining a Spotlight, but sticking around to review DVDs in Movies/TV, he’s Mr. Michael Weyer!
* And finally, it’s just me, Larry Csonka.

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THE BREAKDOWN

  • NOTE: TNA added Joey Ryan vs. Joseph Park late, which is why we did not do predictions for the match.

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    Robbie E vs. Rob Terry


    Ben Watters: Ah, the long awaited but somehow incredibly rushed break up and feud of the Robbies. I’m expecting Rob Terry to pick up the win here and probably get some sort of singles face push. Which is absolutely fine by me – he’s done next to nothing for a long time now and I’m actually quite intrigued to see what he can do with another push.

    Winner: Rob Terry

    Jonathan Sullivan: The Robbies have had their moments over the past two years, but all moderately enjoyable things have to come to an end. This match looks all but designed to put Rob Terry over and jumpstart his singles career, and having seen his OVW work, he’s definitely more ready for it now than he was in 2010-2011. I expect this to be a comedy squash, with Terry getting the emphatic win over his former best friend and Robbie E making Terry look like a million bucks. It’ll be interesting to see where both men end up after this feud concludes in San Antonio.

    Winner: Rob Terry

    James Wright: TNA; you dopey c*nts. After announcing that they would be drastically pulling back on the number of PPVs you would think that it would mean that when they actually do have a PPV, every match on the card would be a storied rivalry with a score to settle. Now sure this Robbie E-Robbie T thing has sort of been building for weeks, but it has been a joke rivalry at best. Does anyone really care about these two facing off or Robbie T getting some payback on last week’s portrait smash (which did zero damage to the guy). If this was a normal throw-away PPV then I would say fine, but as it is there just shouldn’t be space on this card for this match.

    Winner: Robbie T

    Michael Weyer: Ugh, we have to care about this? Never a fan of Robbie E at all and Rob Terry has promise but really hard to get into this at all. Give the win to Terry and hopefully he gets as far away from the talent suck that is E as soon as possible.

    Winner: Rob Terry

    Larry Csonka: I have no desire to see this match, and I feel that it is not only a waste of PPV time; but I also feel that the 14th attempt to get big Rob Terry over is a waste of time. Move on people, nothing to see here.

    Winner: Rob Terry

    OVERALL: Rob Terry {5} – Robbie E {0}


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    X-Division Title Match: Kenny King © vs. Christian York vs. Zema Ion


    Ben Watters: Holy fuck, this is a match? I mean, it looks good on paper, but this has absolutely zero build to it. I actually expected to see another RVD vs Kenny King match on this PPV so I’m glad this has popped up. I can’t see anyone but Kenny King winning it though, considering Ion and York have been absent for a while now. Actually that’s true for the X Division in general – pretty much absent.

    Winner: Kenny King

    Jonathan Sullivan: I have absolutely no recollection of this match having ever been signed or promoted; hell I don’t even remember King mentioning these two by name during his promo on Thursday. But it’s an X-Division match so I’ll take it, and I enjoy watching King and Ion wrestle. As for York…maybe Lockdown will fall on one of his good weeks and he’ll hold up his end of the match. Either way expect King to walk out as champion; his reign just started after months of pursuit and he deserves to spearhead the division for a little while.

    Winner: Kenny King

    James Wright: This again is a pretty thrown together match, with basically the only three men left in the X Division. At least this contest might actually have some good action in it though, but once again the lack of build really hurts it and it looks pretty arbitrary. People are all up in arms about the Wrestlemania under-card being rushed but the Lockdown under-card is pretty disappointing considering that they have had weeks to build this one, hell why not have made it so King challenged RVD last week, lost again and then kicked off until they set up the Career vs. Title match that was just thrown away on Impact for the PPV?

    Winner: Kenny King

    Michael Weyer: With the WAY too overlong RVD reign over, time for the X Division to get back on top again and this looks like a good way to do it. All three men are great athletes who clash well and wouldn’t mind Ion getting it again as his first reign was cut too short to indulge RVD. But they just gave it to King, way too early to move it yet and we should be in for a fun match to remind us how great the X Division can be when given the right chance.

    Winner and STILL X Division Champion: Kenny King

    Larry Csonka: I have discussed the issues with the TNA X-Division time and time again in my columns, and the sad part is that they have done nothing to fix it. Putting the title on King way too late, and then doing NO build other than, “I’ll fight anyone to defend the title at Lockdown” on Impact and then announcing this match on line is not a proper build. Also, this shit is stale as hell with the same guys always involved. I guess the good news is that RVD isn’t in here. If they take the title off King after two weeks and no real sense of accomplishment for him, burn the fucker down.

    Winner: Kenny King

    OVERALL: Kenny King {5} – Christian York {0} – Zema Ion {0}


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    Knockouts Title Match: Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky ©


    Ben Watters: I can see TNA giving Velvet quite the title reign at this point. After dropping the ball with her last time, they might want to make good and really establish her as a true top talent in the Knockouts Division. Then again, Gail Kim could just win the belt – just because TNA seem perpetually high on her. I’m going with Velvet retaining though.

    Winner: Velvet Sky

    Jonathan Sullivan: Between the absolutely wretched verbal exchange the two had on Thursday’s show and the lack of chemistry showed in their previous encounters, you can probably guess how excited I am for this match to go down. Unless TNA wants to make the Gail Kim/Taryn Terell feud over the Knockouts Title I don’t see a new champion being crowned at the show (plus many who aren’t me seem to really like Sky, so it’d be good for business to keep her as champion). I predict Sky wins and Kim finally attacks Terrell afterwards to get that feud going.

    Winner: Velvet Sky

    Michael Weyer: Well, Sky just got the belt and unlikely they’ll move it to Gail again so fast. She deserves a good push again and the Knockouts need to get a bit livelier too. These two should gel well in the ring and give us a fair match, not too long but still good to give the division a bit more lifeblood.

    Winner and STILL Knockouts Champion: Velvet Sky

    James Wright: This match is so unimportant that I forgot about it first time around. The KOs division is thin and pretty much every rivalry has been done to death. Why didn’t they pick Ivelisse Veliz (who looked legitimately pissed with the decision by the way) for Gutcheck? And then why did they actually let Tapa in? No one, even in the Impact Zone, wanted to see her, I f*cking hate that whole ‘well at least she got a reaction’ sh*t, it is b*ll*cks!

    Winner: Velvet (Why not?)

    Larry Csonka: Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky has a chance to be a solid, and maybe even a good match. I feel that TNA made the mistake of changing the title before the PPV; because it feels like the division has no buzz and that they simply threw this match together to get a match on the card. Kim is obviously the best worker in the division, and unless something goes really wrong, the match should be at the very least passable. Sky just won the title, so she retains here.

    Winner:

    OVERALL: Velvet Sky {5} – Gail Kim {0}


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    Steel Cage Match: Wes Brisco vs. Kurt Angle


    Ben Watters: This match sticks out from the card a bit – I find it very interesting though. Aces & 8s desperately need some big wins and it’s pretty plausible that, with all the interference in the world, Brisco could get a cheap cage escape win here and perhaps steal one from Angle. Although Angle has made the Aces and 8s look like fools on more than one occasion and I see no reason why TNA won’t do it again. For that reason, I’m picking Angle. Although I will say if Angle wins here then A&8s have got to win in the Lethal Lockdown match.

    Winner: Kurt Angle

    Jonathan Sullivan: Angle Vs. Brisco is a fresh match so I respect TNA going that route and even planning it months in advance to boot. However the feud itself hasn’t really interested me and it just feels like Angle would rather be doing anything else in the world right now rather than feuding with a person who is ostensibly a rookie. I’ve also never seen much of Brisco’s in-ring work so I don’t have a good gauge on whether he can overcome Angle’s apathy and turn it into something worth watching. With Lockdown looking like the PPV where The Aces and 8’s finally rise to the top I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brisco come out the winner…but it won’t be clean and if there are escape rules it won’t be by pinfall or submission.

    Winner: Wes Brisco

    James Wright: A cage match and Kurt Angle, I have all the faith in the world. That is not sarcasm, Kurt Angle in a cage match is always gold and even though the guy he is going up against is a relative rookie I don’t necessarily think that will be a bad thing. Hopefully Brisco will come with a rough style and want to push things to Ziggler levels of selling in the first big match of his career. Usually a steel cage match is no insurance of no interference, but with the rest of Aces & 8s already involved in Lethal Lockdown it is pretty likely that the young Brisco will have to go it alone, and as such I really don’t see him winning, although hopefully Angle will make him look damn good for a rookie before the match is over.

    Winner: Kurt Angle

    Michael Weyer: Usually, you can count on Angle to up his game majorly in a cage match. But he’s going to have to do some major work to carry Brisco here as the feud really hasn’t been that interesting to watch. But it should be a hard-fought battle, expect Angle to bleed and bust out some nice moves en route to victory as it his kind of match and he’ll do his best to show he’s still got it.

    Winner: Kurt Angle

    Larry Csonka: This match worries me on many levels if I am being completely honest with you. First of all you have Wes Briscoe, with no big match experience with no PPV experience being put into a spot I am not sure he is ready for. Next you have the fact tat this is the Lockdown PPV, and Kurt Angle likes to go out there and prove that he is God by doing some stupid shit that he shouldn’t walk away from. Add on top of that all the fact that I really think that Angle feels he can make Wes a star because he really does like the kid, and this could get scary. I am not sure what to expect, maybe Kurt still has some magic left, maybe Wes is a lot better than he has shown. I say Angle wins, because he always seems too, but this is going to be a big experiment.

    Winner: Kurt Angle

    OVERALL: Kurt Angle {4} – Wes Briscoe {1}


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    Tag Team Title Match: Daniels & Kazarian vs. Bobby Roode & Austin Aries © vs. Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero


    Ben Watters: This is pretty much the entire tag division right here, so they might as well throw ’em all into a match together. Looks like another damn good match on paper as well, with no clear winner. Even though Roode and Aries have been pretty fun champions so far, I’m not sure how long they’ll be sticking around in the tag division to be viable long-term champions. Then again, I find it hard to believe that TNA would throw the belts back onto Kaz and Daniels or Hernandez and Chavo so quickly after new champions have been crowned. It could happen, but I can still see a bit of life still left in the Roode/Aries team so I’ve got to pick them to retain.

    Winner: Roode & Aries (Great Money)

    Jonathan Sullivan: TNA’s tag team division is a joke and the fact that this match features the only three teams in the company proves it. A heartbreaking state of affairs, especially since two of the teams are two of the more entertaining acts in the company (also Chavo & Hernandez exist). TNA attempted to add some drama with the disappearance of Roode, leaving Aries to fend for himself, but outside of that there isn’t much a story going on here. Aries & Roode retaining wouldn’t be surprising but here’s hoping Bad Influence gets the belts back; they’re more a team than the current titleholders and Aries and Roode are better singles wrestlers anyway.

    Winner: Bad Influence

    James Wright: TNA, you clever bastards. Somehow you have turned a completely desolate tag team division into a compelling match situation. Now of course I would prefer a straight Bad Influence vs. Greatest It Factors match, but I’m thinking that Chavo & Hernandez eat the pin here and this will lead to a long-running feud between the two heel teams, with one turning face in the process, but hopefully not too early on. Sure the whole odd-couple tag team thing has been the emphasis of the WWE for the past six months, but there is something to be said for taking your two top heels and giving them something to do while they are burnt out in the world title picture. I do not see them losing the tag titles any time soon.

    Winner: Greatest It Factors

    Michael Weyer: Pairing up Roode and Aries has been one of the most brilliant ideas TNA has had in a while, these two are absolute gold together in promos and as a team. Personally, I wouldn’t mind Hernandez and Chavo not being in this battle as Bad Influence vs Greatest It Factor would be awesome on their own. Either way, expect a great match, one of the best tag title bouts TNA has put on in a while, constant double-teams and some light comedy mixed in with these egos. The champs will retain but should be a fine highlight and probably match of the show.

    Winners and STIL TNA Tag Team Champions: Greatest It Factor

    Larry Csonka: While I am not a huge fan of Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero as a team, I do feel that this match has the chance to be one of the best of the night. Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero will do their part, but Daniels & Kazarian and Bobby Roode & Austin Aries are such money in the ring that this thing could get really good really fast. Part f me thinks that it is too soon to change the titles here, since they did a title change recently, but part of me also feels that they may hot potato the titles a bit. I am actually really looking forward to this match.

    Winner: Daniels & Kazarian

    OVERALL: Aries and Roode {4} – Daniels and Kaz {1} – Chavo and Hernandez {0}


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    Lethal Lockdown: Aces & Eights (Devon, Mr. Anderson, D.O.C, Garett & Knox) vs. Team TNA (Sting, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm & Eric Young)


    Ben Watters: I’m expecting this to be a lot of fun – there’s definitely an interesting mismatch of talent in there so I’m pretty hyped for this one. Aces and 8s should win for the sake of the angle and, even though this is the A&8s we’re talking about, I fully expect them to do so. The only thing I can’t predict is the finish, but I’m expecting it to be a damn screwy one. I could see any one of Team TNA possibly swerve turning (except Sting) or some mad outside interference from D’Lo. I have no idea. Looking forward to it though.

    Winner: Aces and 8s

    Jonathan Sullivan: Although Lethal Lockdown would be a logical way to conclude the long-winded Aces and 8’s storyline I doubt that’ll be the case making this just another battle in the war. But still Lethal Lockdown is my second favorite TNA gimmick match so I’m excited for it nonetheless. Sting and his band of merry men have dominated The Aces and 8’s feud and if TNA wants to keep this going, The Aces and 8’s need to get big wins. This could be one of them. I hope The Aces and 8’s get the nod here, in order to make the group look strong going into what I assume will be the ultimate reveal in the main event.

    Winner: The Aces and 8’s

    James Wright: Now this match is a little of both, it is one part interesting and could be really entertaining, and on the other it is completely thrown together and arbitrary. Each man on the TNA side of things has a personal score to settle with the Aces & 8s, so in some ways you could claim that this match has been in the making for some time. On the other hand, TNA spent so little time actually building this match that it looks like they threw it together and it just conveniently works because Aces & 8s attacked a whole host of the Impact roster so picking anyone from among that number would have worked. Again to be fair the eventual tag match against the Shield in the WWE at Wrestlemania is exactly the same thing, but the Shield have a legitimate buzz about them and I personally want to see them in the ring again and believe they could win. Aces & 8s on the other hand have gotten progressively worse as they have been unmasked as no member of the group have really been pushed in any way. This could either go one of two ways; either the biker group will lose and that will be the final nail in the coffin of the group much like the Nexus, or else they will win and Bully Ray will be revealed as the leader and TNA will attempt to have the group dominate the company for the next few months. While maybe TNA should call an end to this whole thing I still have faith that a Bully Ray-led Aces & 8s could be good, so I am going to go for that option.

    Winner: Aces & 8s

    Michael Weyer: This is a key moment for the entire Aces & Eights saga. If they win, they’re proven as a real force to contend with but if they lose, it makes the entire angle look weaker. It’s a major showdown that TNA has built up and the Lethal Lockdown stip adds to it. My worry is that one of the TNA guys (Young perhaps?) suddenly switches sides to A&E to give them the win and indicate once again that TNA doesn’t have much faith in the group on their own. Hopefully, it’s a good battle but still worried about the long-term of the entire angle and this is a key point to how it’ll unfold.

    Winner: Aces & Eights

    Larry Csonka: While I will freely admit that I have not been a fan of the overall Aces and 8s angle, I will say that I do think that the match does have potential to be a good one. Joe, Storm, Magnus and Young will do the heavy lifting here with Young likely taking an insane top of the cage bump, and the Aces and 8s doing the brawling. The crowd will likely pop for Sting well when he comes I last for the faces, and the crowd will likely be into the match. If they are continuing the Aces & 8s angle, they have to win here; they simply have too. I do not think that TNA is giving up on the angle yet, whether that is a good choice or not is up for debate.

    Winner: Aces & 8s

    OVERALL: Aces and 8s {5} – Team TNA {0}


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    Steel Cage World Title Match: Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy ©


    Ben Watters: I really haven’t been feeling this feud at all so far. I fully believe these guys will deliver at least a solid main event – it’ll probably be very good – but the feud itself hasn’t set the world on fire. Bully Ray’s face turn has been too bogged down in Brooke Hogan and Hulk Hogan’s family drama and, at times, his character can a borderline unbearable superface. And Hardy missed the entire UK tour, so the whole build-up has been pretty rushed. I still don’t believe that TNA will give Bully Ray the World Title either – at least not right now – so I think it’s pretty probable we’ll see Hardy retaining the title here. Unless Bully Ray’s whole marriage and love story is indeed leading to a heel turn and title win. It could happen, but I don’t see it happening here at any rate.

    Winner: Jeff Hardy

    Jonathan Sullivan: When it comes to Lockdown, this is the match that can defined as a “must-watch”. Not because of the quality, though I’m sure it’ll be great, but because of what it could mean for the future of TNA going forward. Simply put the outcome of this match will either make or break The Aces and 8’s. If Bully Ray wins the title and outs himself as the leader of the biker gang, it’ll give the group a shot in the arm, a shot it so desperately needs in the wake of constant losses, meaningless attacks, and lackluster reveals. Bully Ray becoming TNA World Champion and revealing that he used everyone, from Sting to the Hogan Family to the fans, would ultimately make all of these stories worth it. But if Ray loses or is not revealed as the Aces and 8’s leader (or even a member), then we might actually witness the end of this storyline once and for all. Everything is riding on this and although I wouldn’t mind seeing The Aces and 8’s saga finally conclude, the idea of Bully Ray as a heel World Champion is just as intriguing. Here’s hoping the latter happens. I want nothing more than to dial back into this storyline; all I’m asking for is a reason.

    Winner: Bully Ray

    James Wright: This is the big one, the one TNA have been building to. Now the problem here is that if Bully Ray actually is revealed as the leader of Aces & 8s then you could argue that they should have really pulled the trigger at last year’s Bound For Glory, had him be the first revealed member and win the title, which would have put the group in a much better stead than the reveal of Devon for the coming year. If Bully is not the leader than this match becomes legitimately an ex-drug addict who is only holding the title as an incentive against the kayfabe son-in-law of Hulk Hogan, only awarded the match due to this arbitrary association, which kind of sucks. Do the right (if a little bit late) thing TNA, make Bully Ray the kayfabe HHH of Impact Wrestling.

    Winner: Bully Ray

    Michael Weyer: I like Bully Ray, I really do. But I loathe the entire Brooke romance with a passion and his push with Hogan along with it. But do feel past time for Jeff to drop the belt and Bully is as good as anyone after the good build for it. The key, of course, is whether he comes out as the leader of A&E afterward which can be just the thing to strengthen the angle. But if he doesn’t, or Hardy wins, it’ll feel a major letdown which is something TNA sadly does often. But I’ll join the chorus of a Bully win and fascinating to see how in just a few years, he’s developed into such a main event star.

    Winner and NEW TNA World Champion: Bully Ray

    Larry Csonka: I am really looking forward to this match. Jeff Hardy has actually delivered really well since winning the title, and while I understand people not being happy with him winning the title, the matches have been good. It has been no secret that I have been a big fan of Bully Ray’s singles run, the guy has been on a roll, delivering in and out of the ring for the company. With both guys performing at such a high level, I think that the match could be really good; but I do worry about the over booking that could happen. I have a feeling that they will be shooting a big angle here o put the title on Bully Ray, which while great, could take away from the match. Hopefully I am wrong and they deliver, and the booking doesn’t overshadow the match.

    Winner: Bully Ray

    OVERALL: Bully Ray {4} – Jeff Hardy {1}


    OVERALL THOUGHTS

    Ben Watters: A card of two halves really. Most of the non-cage matches wouldn’t really look too out of place on an Impact taping (perhaps with the exception of the Tag Title match), whereas the cage matches themselves are the main attractions and probably worth the watch in themselves. BUY

    Jonathan Sullivan: As unenthusiastic as I am about the show on paper, there’s no doubt that Lockdown is possibly the most important PPV TNA has put on in quite some time. It has the potential to change the entire landscape of the promotion, to either breathe new life into a dying storyline or to finally conclude an almost year-long saga and emerge anew. On that alone I’m intrigued about watching; I just hope the action and non-Aces and 8’s storylines make the rest of the show worth sitting through. BUY

    James Wright: There is some potential for greatness at this event, and honestly there bloody well should be. Lockdown has always been one of TNA’s biggest events but this year with the sharp decline in PPVs, the company really needs to represent to make this show prove that when the TNA PPVs do roll around, they are worth the buy. They were certainly smart to host the PPV in the one month where the WWE isn’t hosting a PPV so many fans don’t have to choose, but will it be enough? To me it is probably worth the Buy just to see how they do, but I’m still skeptical about TNA actually delivering here. Buy (Skeptically)

    Michael Weyer: Usually this is one of the top shows for TNA every year but this feels a bit off. The undercard isn’t too exciting although the tag title match should be fantastic and the X guys are likely to pull out some stops. The key to it all is the A&E saga as this show will make or break it once and for all. For that, I’ll say go ahead and buy it as one way or another, this shapes up TNA for the remainder of the year and thus quite important to focus on. BUY

    Larry Csonka: I am buying the show because I will be writing about it for the site. With that being said, I feel that TNA has done a poor job with their first extended PPV build in the new format. Lazy writing, making most of the matches in the last two weeks, ROBBIE E vs. ROBBIE T are actually on this show; seriously. Under an ordinary circumstance, I would not buy this show. BUY (for work purposes)

    ARE YOU BUYING THE SHOW?

    Remember to join 411 Sunday night at 7:45PM ET for our LIVE TNA Lockdown coverage!

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