Well, there you go, dear friends, readers, and fellow pro wrestling fans. Every TNA/Impact Lockdown watched and reviewed, complete with spoiler free cards, and individual and overall show ratings. We started in Orlando, Florida on pay-per-view in 2005 and finished in London, England on cable in 2016. Along the way there was some good, some bad, and plenty of ugly, both in individual matches and overall shows. The ugly, there’s a lot, and it can be downright dreadful. To finish this special 2020 themed pro wrestling blog project, I’d like to look back at the good, the stuff you need to watch. I’ve watched the dreck so you don’t have to, unless you’re just a huge TNA/Impact fan or a have a love of self-torture. Anyway, I’ve compiled the matches in order, like if I was putting together a DVD/Blu-ray collection, and even included a few special features to make it fun. I hope you enjoyed this blog project and the selections below that serve as “Lockdown’s Greatest Hits.”
Category: TNA/Impact Lockdown
Impact Wrestling Lockdown 2016 Review
So, it’s come to this. The final. The end. Free on Pop TV. No longer a pay-per-view event. The 2016 edition of Lockdown serves as a special episode of Impact on POP TV, which I’m not sure even exists anymore, airing February 23, 2016. Josh Mathews and “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero call the matches from London, England’s Wembley Arena. Lackluster. Sub-par. Not a “special feature moment” or “greatest hit” across the five matches. The knockouts were in the Lethal Lockdown. That’s the lone noteworthy thing. The hated “escape clause” is in effect. Jeremy Borash does ring announcing.
TNA Lockdown 2015 Review
Every Match Contested in the Six Sides of Steel! Yes, the six-sided ring returns. However, the 2015 edition of Lockdown isn’t a pay-per-view show. Airing on February 6, 2015, from the Manhattan Center in New York City, this serves as a special edition of Impact on Destination America. Josh Mathews and Taz call the action as Jeremy Borash handles ring announcing. The escape rule is in effect. However, the arena is very dark. A bottom shelf offering. The lone decent match is one we’ve seen before from a feud we’ve seen before at least once. Also, the lone match to have blood as Eric Young and Bobby Roode battle. Didn’t we get this in 2007?
TNA Lockdown 2014 Review
Every Match Inside the Steel Cage. The 2014 edition of Lockdown, and final under the TNA banner, and last as a Pay-Per-View from the BankUnited Center in Miami, Florida, on March 9, 2014, returns to the original format. Mike Tenay and Taz call the action throughout the eight matches as the gorgeous Christy Hemme and the non-gorgeous Jeremy Borash handle ring introductions. I must allow I’m shocked and somewhat impressed. A decent opener, a decent Lethal Lockdown to close, and a decent TNA Knockouts Championship between the two. How long has it been since there’s been a decent Lethal Lockdown? Oh, and we’ve got a “greatest hit.” We could’ve had two, but a horribly stupid finish ruined, destroyed the TNA World Heavyweight Championship bout. Still, overall a mid-shelf entry. I’ll take it.
TNA Lockdown 2013 Review
I know I’ve written this a lot over this Lockdown review project, but sometimes I hate myself for doing these. Watching and reviewing Lockdown 2013 from San Antonio, Texas’ Alamodome on March 10, 2013, is another one of those times. I’ve also written this a lot, but Lockdown 2013 is the worst Lockdown to date. It took forever to finish because I had no desire to keep torturing myself. Todd Keneley, and I have no clue who he is, joins Mike Tenay and Taz to call these eight matches. Christy Hemme does the ring announcing until the main event when Jeremy Borash leaves the backstage area to handle those duties. The “escape the cage” option is here, but for the first time in Lockdown history, every match isn’t inside a cage. TNA can’t handle tradition, or a good concept, regardless of how good the matches or overall shows were. It’s the Aces & Eights angle, a watered-down n.W.o rip-off “biker” concept. No “special feature moment” or “greatest hits” here. Only three of the eight matches in a cage. I hate this.
TNA Lockdown 2012 Review
It seems like every year since 2008, each Lockdown gets worse than the one before it. There hasn’t been a single “greatest hit” since Lockdown 2007. Lockdown 2012 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on April 15, 2012, is a bit different. Not one, but two “greatest hits,” but nothing else across the eight matches called by Mike Tenay and Taz. Jeremy Borash is backstage and Christy Hemme, while for some unknown reason never appears on camera, does ring announcing. The Lethal Lockdown is different with the first period going three minutes instead of five and opening the show. Another lethal letdown. The remaining seven matches all get the “Vince escape the cage” option. I hate that. It goes against everything a cage match is for, and a cheap out for a booker.
TNA Lockdown 2011 Review
Just when I thought it couldn’t any worse, yes, Dante, there is another of Hell. It’s My Time. Who’s time? I guess mine to waste watching another Lockdown. Lockdown 2011, from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 17, 2011, is god awful. These Lockdown’s keep getting worse, and this, as I’ve said over the past several in a row, is the worst Lockdown to date. Mike Tenay and Taz call it with Christy Hemme backstage and Jeremy Borash handling all the ring announcing. Sometimes I hate doing these review projects. This, unfortunately, is one of those times. The black chain link cage has big bars in the middle like separating sections. The best part of the show is the original X-scape rules return. For Lethal Lockdown, the teams come out together to start like the old WarGames. The highlight is a spot by “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, but I’ve seen it. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair is sad to see, he can only bleed buckets and show his ass. Another WWE-lite show from the “Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff Era.”
TNA Lockdown 2010 Review
Every Match Inside the Steel Cage. The tagline never said anything about those matches being good. Lockdown 2010 is back in Saint Charles, Missouri’s Family Arena on April 18, 2010. Thankfully, Don West is gone. Mike Tenay and Taz call the action with Christy Hemme and Jeremy Borash backstage. The “Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff Era” of turning TNA around and competing with WWE. We’ve got a slightly different version of the black chain link cage. No Doug Williams due to a volcano in Iceland, no Syxx-Pac due to Sean Waltman, and no six sides of steel due to the powers that be. A traditional “squared circle.” TNA had a history of getting labeled a watered-down WWE or WWE-lite. Well, that’s very apparent on this show with plenty of wash outs, never weres, cast aways, and over the hills. It’ll be tough to top Lockdown 2010 as the worst. It is so far to date. I’m starting to regret this project. I really don’t want to write anything more about this show. The X-scape match has a rule change for the worse. Hated it. Hogan, Bischoff, and Ric Flair had to come out at the end of a horrible Lethal Lockdown, the worst to date, and get involved in the finish. There’s no “special feature moment” or “greatest hit.” Perhaps there’s a moment or two, but I’ve already seen them, and done better. I will say the match between Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson was better than expected, but a stupid stipulation killed it for me.
TNA Lockdown 2009 Review
The city known for hardcore wrestling hosts TNA’s most brutal Pay-Per-View, Lockdown. The 2009 installment took place in the Liacouras Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 19, 2009. Mike Tenay and Don West call the action with Jeremy Borash and Lauren backstage. West annoyed me more than normal here as he tries too hard to play “heel commentator.” The black chain link cage returns, but has black foam padding on top of the cage. There were times early in the show I felt Lockdown 2009 could be the best Lockdown to date, once it finished, with a sub-par Lethal Lockdown and dismal, disappointing main event, I realized that wasn’t true. I’m willing to rate it better than Lockdown 2008, but not by much. Bobby Lashley debuts. Big deal. There’s a single match out of the eight on the card I might give “greatest hit” status, and I’m not sure I will considering the other matches I’ve selected for the honor. We have two “special feature moments,” one at the finish of the opener involving Suicide and a huge dive off the cage, and one in the Lethal Lockdown involving, of course, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles. The worst thing on this sub-par second shelf show is the main event. Mick Foley can’t go anymore at this point, he can only bleed from the start, and take crazy back bumps.
TNA Lockdown 2008 Review
In the Lockdown 2007 review, I wrote it was the weakest Lockdown to date. A year later, and we have another show to claim the crown to date. Lockdown 2008 came from the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 13, 2008. Mike Tenay and Don West call the action with Jeremy Borash and Lauren backstage. The best part of Lockdown 2008? The black chain link cage returns. Of the eight matches across nearly three hours, we don’t have a single “greatest hit” or “special feature moment.” Two, only two matches were enjoyable, and they were early in the show. I expected much more from the main event, but the hype, presentation, and actual match was a cheap UFC imitation. From Kurt Angle’s ring gear to how the match played out, we got less pro wrestling and more MMA. I don’t think Lockdown 2008’s bottom shelf fodder, but second shelf for sure. Well below average.
Drew Martin Writes 