Impact
Wrestling
Date:
February 6, 2015
Location:
Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators:
Josh Matthews, Taz
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
As
is going to be the case all year it seems, pay per view is no longer
an option (save for One Night Only because who can forge that series)
so for the first time ever, Lockdown is being offered as a free TV
broadcast. The main event is Team Angle vs. the BDC with Angle's
team being down a man as Lashley turned down his offer to join.
Let's get to it.
The
opening video starts off by focusing on the cage itself before
shifting to Roode vs. Young and the Lethal Lockdown main event.
All
matches are inside a cage.
Tag
Team Titles: Hardys vs. James Storm/Abyss
Storm
and Abyss are defending and it's tornado rules. Matthews says he and
Taz are ringside and then they're shown in their studio in Nashville.
So Matthews is a liar. Good to know. The Hardys start fast with
Poetry in Motion to both guys but they have to stop to deal with the
interfering Manik. They just happen to have a pair of handcuffs to
tie him to the top rope but the distraction lets the champs take
over. Matt and Jeff are sent into the cage over and over with Matt
getting the worse of it as we take a break.
Back
with Storm hitting a top rope elbow for two on Matt as frustration is
starting to set in for the champions. The Hardys quickly fight back
for a double two count but Matt misses a moonsault to Storm. Matt
doesn't seem to mind as he hits a top rope Twist of Fate to drop
Storm. Khoya ignores the cage as well and pulls Matt through the
camera hole to the floor, which doesn't count as a win because it
wasn't over the top. Back inside, Jeff hits a Twist on Abyss but
Sanada Mists him to break up the Swanton. Storm's Last Call retains
the titles at 13:36.
Rating:
C. This was more of a spot fest
than a coherent match but that's what you have to expect for a
tornado style match. It's not that easy to get much of a story going
without the need for tags and all those other people interfering in
the match. Still though, it had enough big spots to open a show and
it's always good to see the Revolution get a win.
Post
match the Revolution puts Matt
through a table outside and sets up another in the ring. They unhook
Mania, though where they got
the key isn't really clear. Manik misses a top rope splash through
the table and Jeff fights
off most of the Revolution and climbs up, only to get crotched on the
cage door and knocked off onto the steps. This is Jeff's annual “I
can't go to England” injury angle.
MVP
has a special offer for Angle tonight. After a break, MVP, King and
Young are in the ring with MVP talking about how dangerous this cage
really is. They're ready to
face anyone who stands in their way tonight and Young promises to
make Roode bleed tonight. Bobby
is offered a chance to walk away but
MVP switches to Angle. He wants Kurt to come out here and talk to
him face to face for a proposal.
Cue
Angle, Gunner and Aries as MVP talks about how all three can walk out
of here (they just walked in here though) without getting beaten up
again. MVP has talked to Angle's doctor and that knee is being held
together by tape and gum. Has this doctor never heard of privacy
laws??? Angle and company
say they're not walking away and the brawl is on. Joe
and Low Ki come out to give the BDC an advantage and they crush
Gunner's arm in the cage door. The Clan runs away instead of taking
advantage of their numbers advantage.
Video
on Havok and Kong dominating the company. I still don't buy Havok as
anywhere near Kong's level after winning like five matches.
Gunner
is checked on in the back but he insists he's starting the match
tonight.
Havok
vs. Awesome Kong
They
start fighting on the ramp with Kong getting the better of it but
being sent into the steps. The bell rings before they're even in the
cage with Kong down on the floor. Kong fights out of the spinebuster
slam and sends Havok into the steps for her efforts. The fans think
this is better than the Divas, which really isn't covering a lot of
ground.
They
finally get inside (the girls, not the fans, in case you're really
thick in the head) and ram heads before Havok kicks her down. It
just seems to fire Kong up though and she no sells a chokeslam for
good measure. A chokeslam puts Havok down and sets up the Awesome
Splash for the pin at 5:48.
Rating:
C+. This was better than I was
expecting, even though the ending was exactly what I expected. There
was no reason to think Havok could go toe to toe with Kong,
especially given how short Havok's run in TNA has been. She debuted
what, four months ago, which includes the month they were off TV?
Kong looked dominant though and that's the right idea.
Video
on Roode vs. Young. They have to have someone bleed in this.
From
two weeks ago, Velvet told Angelina that she was fired and starts
crying. Love hugs her and smiles at the news.
Lashley
is told Angle is looking for him and the champ says he isn't hard to
find.
Eric
Young vs. Bobby Roode
Pin
or submission only. Roode runs him over to start but eats an elbow
to the jaw. The fans already want blood as Eric sends Roode back
first into the cage a few times. A belly to belly sets up a
chinlock on Roode before a powerslam gets two. Cue MVP with a chair
but Roode ducks a big swing. The piledriver is countered into a
catapult to send Young into the cage and you can see Eric blade. I
really shouldn't like seeing him in pain this much.
The
spinebuster gets two for Bobby and he puts Young on top. A super
Roode Bomb is countered with a cage shot and Young's top rope elbow
gets two. Young loads up another elbow onto the chair but Roode gets
up and blasts him in the back. The Roode Bomb onto a chair is good
for the pin at 7:55.
Rating:
D. Well that happened and I
still don't care. At the end of the day, Eric Young isn't
interesting, intimidating, tough, worthy of being in a major story or
anything positive that I can think of. This “12 years thrown away”
story made my head hurt as these two barely associated for years and
the whole “Roode owns Young and makes his life miserable” period
is conveniently forgotten. Just get Young back to the comedy jobber
guy he's been for years so I don't have to put up with this any
longer.
Lashley
turns Angle down again so Kurt throws him against the wall and tells
him to wake up.
The
announcers debate the upcoming Top 5.
Mandrews/Rockstar
Spud vs. Tyrus
Tyrus
easily shrugs off a double teaming to start and shoves both guys into
corners. A double Tongan Death Grip has them in trouble but they
come back with a double dropkick to the face and then more to the
chest. An enziguri is good for one but Spud escapes a powerbomb and
climbs all the way to the top of the cage. With a middle finger to
Carter, Spud hits a HUGE flip dive to take Tyrus down and Ethan is
stunned.
Carter
gets up and spits at Mandrews, tricking him into coming out of the
cage. Carter trips him up on the way out, sending Mandrews' head
into the steps to make this one on one. Spud is distracted from
covering and gets the cage door slammed on his head, setting up a
Tongan slam and Asiatic Spike to the neck for the pin on Spud at
5:44.
Rating:
C. That big flip and Carter's
facials make this match work better, even though Mandrews really
didn't need to be in the match. I'm digging this feud way more than
I was expecting to and I'm actually believing Spud could pull off the
upset and beat Carter, even though that wouldn't make a ton of sense.
Carter
goes to shave Spud's head but JB unplugs his clippers.
We
look at Hardy being hurt “moments ago” and say there's no update.
Roode
talks about the fifteen years he's known Eric and says he made Young
bleed, just like he promised. They were best friends but now it's
all gone and it's time to move on.
Earlier
tonight, Robbie E. challenged Brooke to a competition to determine
who lost the Amazing Race. They had a dizzy bat challenge before
climbing the cage and getting back out with the winner crossing a
finish line. Robbie almost won but spent too much time taking a
picture, allowing Brooke to hit him low and win. This was heavily
clipped instead of showing the full thing.
Team
Angle vs. Beat Down Clan
Kurt
Angle, Gunner, Austin Aries, ???
MVP,
Kenny King, Samoa Joe, Low Ki
Lethal
Lockdown, meaning two men start for two minutes and then a team
(determined by a coin toss) gets to send in its second man. After
two minutes the team that lost the coin toss gets to send in its
second man to tie things up for two minutes. The teams continue to
alternate until all participants are in when it's first pinfall or
submission wins. There are weapons provided inside the cage for the
duration of the match this year, as opposed to them not coming down
until the last man enters in previous editions.
King
and Gunner get things going with Kenny going after the injured arm.
Gunner whips him into the cage and blasts him in the back of the head
with a trashcan lid to keep King in trouble. He chokes King with a
nightstick but Low Ki comes in to make it 2-1. They're already going
quickly through this match.A big trashcan lid shot to Gunner's head
gives the BDC control and King holds him for kicks to the chest. The
beating continues until Austin Aries comes in for the tie. Austin
immediately starts speeding things up and blasts King in the ribs
with the nightstick.
Gunner
opts for a tennis racket (cue the Jim Cornette reference from Taz)
but it's Samoa Joe to give the BDC another advantage. More weapons
shots have Team Angle in trouble as this is getting very repetitive,
just like almost all Lethal Lockdown matches. Angle ties it up again
and takes a hockey stick to his ribs upon entry. Kurt doesn't seem
to mind and German suplexes Joe before rolling Kenny up out of
instinct. Team Angle gets beaten down with more weapons shots until
MVP completes the BDC.
Pins
and submissions are allowed now as all the announced wrestlers are
in. Back from a break with the BDC destroying everyone in sight with
quadruple teaming. Angle finally gets back up and blasts them with
the trashcan lid. The comeback is short lived though as the BDC
destroys them again....and here's Lashley. This would be more
exciting if TNA hadn't shown him appearing four times now in their
previews for next week.
He
extends his hand to MVP but doesn't let go, pulling the leader into a
clothesline. Lashley cleans house but gets taken down into the
corner and choked out by MVP. Angle counters Joe's Muscle Buster
into the ankle lock as Gunner Gun Racks King and Aries puts Ki in the
Last Chancery. Lashley spears MVP down for the pin at 20:23.
Rating:
C+. Bobby Lashley is exactly
what Roman Reigns should be. He's big, he's strong, he runs through
people, and he barely ever speaks because his actions do all his
talking for him. I've had a lot of fun watching Lashley break people
in half over the last few months and he's far more entertaining than
Reigns more often than not. Put Reigns on a roll like this and build
it as a clash of the titans against Lesnar and I'd want to see it.
Some guys just don't need to have a really detailed character and
both Lashley and Reigns fit that mold.
The
rest of the match was just there and followed the format of almost
every single Lethal Lockdown match in history, minus the big spot on
top. You knew it wasn't going to really crank up until the end of
the match which makes the first seventeen minutes or so pretty dull
stuff. I can only see a trashcan lid to the back of the head to
change momentum so many times.
Overall
Rating: C+. It's a decent
enough show but as usual, most of these matches don't need to be
inside a cage. This is very similar to the Elimination Chamber or
Hell in a Cell PPV: the calendar alone said these matches had to be
in cages and there really wasn't a reason for a lot of them to be
under these rules. Look at Kong vs. Havok and see that the cage
didn't change a thing. The Hardy bump could have been done off the
top rope for the same ending and Spud could have hit the same move
off the top rope. Only the main event required a cage and it didn't
really change much. Decent show but not necessary.
Results
James
Storm/Abyss b. Hardys – Last Call to Jeff
Awesome
Kong b. Havok – Awesome Splash
Bobby Roode b. Eric Young - Roode Bomb onto a chair
Tyrus
b. Mandrews/Rockstar Spud – Asiatic Spike to Spud
Team
Angle b. Beat Down Clan – Spear to MVP
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
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