Hall’s TNA Lockdown 2005 Review

Lockdown 2005
Date: April 24, 2005
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 775
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

You know what’s cool? Having a match in a cage. You know what might be overdoing it a bit? Having ALL the matches in a cage. That’s the gimmick of this show, as the cage is there all night long, with everything from singles matches to tag matches to Lethal Lockdown taking place inside the same structure. That being said, this show has my favorite TNA match of all time included so I wanted to take another look. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the cage and how violent things can get inside. We also get a child singing Ring Around The Rosie, which feels like something out of Undertaker’s return in 2000 but not quite as memorable.

Commentary hypes up the card, which will NOT feature Kevin Nash, who is suffering from a staph infection, which we get to see. Thanks for that.

Apolo/Sonny Siaki vs. Chris Candido/Lance Hoyt

Apolo is a wrestler from Puerto Rico who I always felt could have been a bigger deal. Hoyt would later become known as Lance Archer. Candido and Siaki start things off, because we have tags in a cage match. A shoulder puts Candido down and a leg lariat does it again…and Candido has broken his leg. Siaki actually covers him before Hoyt comes in to chop it out with Apolo.

A double elbow drops Hoyt as Candido is taken out for medical treatment. Hoyt comes back with a big boot for two on Siaki and a moonsault connects for the same. Siaki is slammed down again but Hoyt takes WAY too long going up, earning himself a flipping German superplex. Apolo comes in with a TKO as it’s confirmed that Candido has a broken leg. Siaki’s top rope splash is good for the pin at 6:58.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what to think of a match like this as Candido was injured just a few seconds in and everything changed. The result is basically Hoyt losing a handicap match, which isn’t much to see. Granted that’s hardly the wrestlers’ fault, as there isn’t much you can do in this situation. Not a very good match, but also not was planned.

Unfortunately that injury would lead to the end of Candido’s life, as he would undergo surgery to repair the leg but ultimately pass away from a blood clot as a result.

Post match the Naturals come in and beat Hoyt down for his loss.

Dusty Rhodes, with his assistants Traci and Trinity, pick the first entrants for Lethal Lockdown: Jeff Jarrett and Sean Waltman.

We recap Dustin Rhodes vs. Bobby Roode, which is basically Texas vs. Canada. Since it’s TNA, this is a Prince Of Darkness match, meaning a 2/3 falls match which becomes a blindfold match in the third fall.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Bobby Roode

Roode has A-1 and Coach D’Amore with him. Rhodes starts fast and hammers away but gets rolled up out of the corner for….three at 1:04. The referee wasn’t clear on it being a pin and commentary said it was two as we keep going (This was so confusing that I went on for about ten minutes into the match and commentary mentioned a cover was for the second fall. I had to go back and figure out where the first fall was as it was that unclear.)

Back up and Rhodes sends him into various corners, followed by Shattered Dreams. A top rope superplex drops Roode again and Rhodes catapults him into the cage while landing in a backbreaker for two. The snap powerbomb looks to set up the bulldog but Rhodes has to settle for a low blow instead. Another bulldog attempt is cut off and Roode starts firing off the shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

A belly to back suplex gets two and we hit the chinlock as D’Amore is absolutely losing it at ringside. Back up and a running clothesline drops Rhodes again, setting up a middle rope knee for two more. We’re off to the reverse chinlock, with Rhodes getting up for an electric chair drop.

Roode is sent into the cage (knocking a cameraman down in the process) but escapes the Curtain Call, setting up the Northern Lariat (running clothesline to the back of the head) for two, as Rhodes gets a foot on the rope. Well in theory at least as the camera doesn’t actually show us the foot on the rope but panning to the right eight inches is too much to ask.

They both go up top and a super bulldog brings Roode back down to tie it up at 11:02. Now we bring in the hoods and they circle around without making any contact. Roode eventually hits the referee so D’Amore throws in a chair. Since Roode can’t see it, D’Amore goes inside as Roode gets the chair, which he uses on D’Amore. Roode realizes what he did as Rhodes gets the chair, cracks Roode in the head, and gets the final pin at 15:20.

Rating: C-. What in the world was that? Unless I completely missed it (and I watched it twice), the recap before the match did not mention anything involving blindfolds. That’s in addition to the first eleven or so minutes being a pretty regular match before the blindfolds were brought in. This felt like a way to add a third gimmick to a match, because why have one (or even none) when you can have three?

Christopher Daniels is ready to beat Elix Skipper to retain the X-Division Title. He talks about fighting to keep his team with Skipper together when Skipper comes in to say the time is right. To do what? Learn a new knitting pattern?

We get a video on the X-Division Xscape match. This consists of the video saying it’s an X-Division Xscape match.

Michael Shane vs. Shocker vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Chris Sabin

For an X-Division Title shot at Hard Justice and Trinity is here with Shane. So this is an elimination match, with the first two eliminations coming via pin or submission and then the first to escape wins. Dutt and Sabin start things off with Dutt kicking him away, setting up an exchange of flips and rolls. They trade stereo dropkicks and it’s off to Shocker vs. Shane.

Shocker grabs a wheelbarrow bulldog into a running bulldog before Dutt is back in for a double hiptoss. Dutt gets powerbombed into a moonsault onto Shane but he’s able to tie Dutt into the Tree Of Woe. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s back to Sabin, who is quickly knocked down. Everything breaks down and Shocker, Dutt and Sabin keep breaking up covers because…I have no idea really. Dutt hits a phoenix splash but Shane breaks it up, leaving commentary rather confused again. Shane sends Dutt into the cage but gets superkicked by Shocker, who pins Dutt for the elimination at 10:58.

Shocker tilt-a-whirls Sabin and goes up, where Shane superplexes him down as well. Sabin and Shane go up top but here is Trinity to climb. Traci runs in to cut her off and gets kicked down, leaving Trinity to hit a huge moonsault, leaving everyone down. Since the cage is just a recommendation, Traci gets in and goes after Trinity, with Shane throwing Traci HARD into the door and out of the cage.

Sabin hits a quick Cradle Shock to get rid of Shane at 14:12. So it’s Shocker vs. Sabin and you have to escape to win. They climb up and fight on top of the cage and try to climb out at the same time. Both of them ram each other into the cage for a double crash, with Shocker hitting the floor first for the win at 15:31.

Rating: B-. The action was better here and at least I could understand the rules this time. Having the first two eliminations be regular falls was fine and the time allowed the wrestlers to get in some offense. You could have done without the women being involved as it was another story being tied in, but at least this made sense rather than being whatever the Prince Of Darkness mess was supposed to be.

And now, let’s look at how Chris Candido broke his leg!

We recap Raven vs. Jeff Hardy. Raven wanted Hardy to join him but got turned down, so Raven put him through a table. Therefore, it’s a table match in a cage.

Raven vs. Jeff Hardy

Tables match in a cage because…sure. There are a bunch of tables in the ring and Hardy swings a cage to start but misses a charge into the cage. Raven’s drop toehold sends Hardy into the chair but Raven misses a running…something through a table. That doesn’t count as your opponent has to drive you through a table to win (as announced during the entrances so fair).

Raven, who is busted open, comes back with a suplex and hey let’s look at some baseball players at ringside. If that’s not enough, let’s talk about them as Hardy makes his comeback and puts Raven on a table. The Swanton off the cage only hits table and my goodness that’s a heck of a crash. Hardy is back up to knock Raven off the top and drives him into the cage for a bonus.

Raven drives a piece of table into Hardy’s head but gets sent face first into the open chair. For some reason Hardy goes up, with Raven kicking the door open to crotch him down. Hardy kicks him down and dives into a raised boot so Raven sets up four tables (two on two). They climb the cage but Raven gets knocked onto the tables, with Hardy diving off the top to put him through for the win at 11:52.

Rating: C+. This was good enough, with the focus being on all of the carnage. At the same time, it’s kind of hard to get into the idea of a tables match inside of a cage. The action wasn’t bad and Raven knows how to do this match, but Hardy going to the top of the cage to dive off that many times in about twelve minutes was a bit much to take.

We recap Team Canada vs. America’s Most Wanted for the latter’s Tag Team Titles. They’ve been feuding for awhile so now it’s time for a strap match. Inside a cage, as you’re getting the idea tonight.

Here are some highlights from the previous match as they clear out the ring.

Tag Team Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Team Canada

AMW is defending in a strap match. The bell rings rather quickly and Young gets caught on top, with Williams having to make a save. A-1 (not in the match) slams the door on Harris’ head to leave him outside and hits Storm in the head with the title, leaving the Canadians with an advantage as the door is locked. Young pounds away on the bleeding Storm as A-1 beats on Harris on the floor.

We’re over five minutes in and the strap hasn’t been a factor yet. Williams messes with the American flag and Storm knocks both Canadians down as Harris fights back on the floor. Storm powerbombs Young and sends Williams into the cage before grabbing the strap (which is the whipping kind rather than the linking kind) to hammer on Young. Williams breaks that up with a cage walking tornado DDT for two as A-1 chokes Harris on the floor.

A catapult sends A-1 into the cage and Harris is FINALLY in with a double clothesline off the top. Williams gets suplexed into the cage wall for two and a Hart Attack gets two on Young. Harris is knocked down so Williams grabs a Sharpshooter, with Young adding a middle rope elbow for two.

Harris spears Williams for two more but the Death Sentence is broken up. A hockey stick shot gets two on Harris so it’s time for some powder, which is knocked back into Williams’ face. The blinded Williams gives Young a Canadian Destroyer (marking the second time that a blinded member of Team Canada has taken out one of their teammates in about an hour) and the Death Sentence finishes Williams to retain the titles at 15:12.

Rating: C+. I’m split on this one, as the wrestling was good and they beat each other up. The problem is the straps thing, which was barely a factor on the entire match. If you can erase a stipulation from a match and pretty much change nothing, the stipulation doesn’t make a difference. That’s the case with the straps here, which only have so much impact because, again, CAGE.

We recap Christopher Daniels defending the X-Division Title against Elix Skipper. They were partners until 2004 when AMW beat them in a pretty legendary cage match. Daniels won the title last month when he turned on Skipper, who wants a shot at the title.

X-Division Title: Christopher Daniels vs. Elix Skipper

Daniels is defending and an early lockup doesn’t go anywhere. The grappling goes to Daniels so Skipper runs the cage to flip over him. Daniels jumps back over him but the Angel’s Wings is broken up. Skipper drop toeholds him down and they trade headlocks before Skipper keeps being ready for Daniels’ leapfrogs.

A running shoulder drops Daniels and he’s getting frustrated early. Skipper’s gutwrench suplex gets two so Daniels drives him back first into the cage. Skipper comes up favoring his arm and you don’t have to tell Daniels twice to go after an injury like that. Daniels stomps away and wraps the arm around the ropes but Skipper is able to come back with a dropkick. Another knockdown has Skipper in trouble again and Daniels northern lights suplexes him into a smart cross armbreaker.

That’s broken up so Daniels grabs a hammerlock belly to back suplex for two before going back to the armbar. Skipper fights up and makes the comeback with a ram into the cage and a kick to the face, followed by a top rope legdrop for a slightly delayed two. Daniels is right back on the arm though and the Best Moonsault Ever gets two.

With nothing else working, Daniels goes up top but Skipper takes him down…and goes up the cage as well (uh oh). Daniels is smart enough to get down so Skipper hits a heck of a dive onto Daniels for two but the arm gives out again. The Angel’s Wings are blocked so Skipper tries an Air Raid Crash, which is reversed back into the Angel’s Wings to retain the title at 15:29.

Rating: B. This worked well here, with both guys working hard and playing up the idea of Skipper being an athletic marvel but he was slowed down by his arm injury. I got into this match more than I was expecting as it’s great to see Daniels working with someone other than AJ Styles or Samoa Joe. Heck of a match here, partially because they didn’t have another gimmick dragging it down.

Dusty Rhodes draws the third entrant in Lethal Lockdown and gets…the Outlaw (Billy Gunn).

We recap Lethal Lockdown, which was about Jeff Jarrett and friends vs. Kevin Nash and friends. Nash isn’t wrestling tonight though, so it’s mystery partner time.

Team Jarrett vs. Team Nash

Jeff Jarrett, The Outlaw, Monty Brown
Sean Waltman, Diamond Dallas Page, ???

Waltman and Jarrett start things off on the floor and we get a 2:00 clock despite the first period being 5:00. They brawl into the crowd with Waltman getting the better of things until Jarrett (still wearing the World Title) gets in a trashcan shot. They fight back to ringside where Waltman gets in a spinwheel kick on the steps but his chair shot only hits post. The fight finally goes into the cage three minutes into the match with Waltman sending him into the cage. The Bronco Buster misses though and they’re both down until the Outlaw is in to put Jarrett up 2-1.

Waltman fights them both off and manages a pop up dropkick to Jarrett but some weapon shots knock him right back down. Outlaw sends him into a trashcan in the corner as Page is in to even things up. Some kendo stick shots slow the villains down but Waltman can’t help, meaning Page is double teamed down. Brown is in with a baseball bat to complete Team Jarrett but goes with a cookie sheet shot to Waltman instead.

A fall away slam sends Waltman into the cage and it’s…BG James in as the final man, with Jarrett going to the floor to meet him. James cuts Jarrett off with ease and we get a James vs. Outlaw staredown, which is quickly broken up. Brown hits the Pounce for two, with Page hitting the Diamond Cutter on Outlaw for the same. A double Pounce hits James and Page, with an Alpha Bomb dropping Waltman for two as Page makes the save. Waltman grabs a victory roll to pin Brown out of nowhere at 15:42.

Rating: C+. On one hand, the match was FAR better than some of these things because they had three man teams rather than bogging the whole thing down with ten or so people. That being said, the lack of Nash in there hurt it a lot, as it would have boosted the drama and interest up a lot. As it is, it’s much more just two teams doing spots in short spurts until someone else comes in. This would have been better as Jarrett vs. Nash (geez that’s a scary thought), but they didn’t go too far here and that helped a lot.

Post match Team Nash (minus Nash) clears the ring.

We recap Abyss vs. AJ Styles. Abyss went after Styles and the match was set, with Abyss getting all violent and choking Styles with a chain. This is violence vs. athleticism and Styles is all ticked off.

Abyss vs. AJ Styles

For the World Title shot at Jeff Jarrett next month at Hard Justice. Styles is in the cage first but hits a running flip dive through the door to take Abyss down before the bell (that’s still one of the coolest openings to a match that you’ll ever see). Abyss sends him into the barricade but Styles slides underneath it (because he can do that) and dives off said barricade with a hurricanrana to take Abyss down again. They brawl around the floor, with Abyss whipping him into the barricade.

That’s fine with Styles, who jumps up onto a platform and then dives over a bunch of fans with a Phenomenal Forearm to send Abyss into the cage. That’s one of the most superhero looking spots you’ll ever see and DANG Styles looked awesome. Styles misses another charging dive though and crashes into the crowd so Abyss beats him up through the arena. Abyss sends him crashing into the barricade at the back of the arena and then kicks Styles down the steps.

They fight around ringside as the bell hasn’t actually rung yet. Styles starts to go inside but Abyss slams the cage on him, then rams the door into Styles’ face (with Styles falling down like he was shot). It works so well that Abyss does it again to bust Styles open. Styles is finally sent inside, along with a selection of weapons. The chair is wedged into the corner as there’s still no opening bell.

Abyss wraps a chain around Styles’ neck and boots him down, with the chain coming off. The chain is wrapped around the turnbuckle and a charging Styles is dropped face first onto the steel. Abyss sends him hard into the cage and then does it again for an actual cover. Some neck cranking has Styles in more trouble and Abyss unhooks the chain. A gorilla press is countered into a DDT onto the chain and Styles hits a jumping enziguri.

The moonsault out of the corner bounces off of a standing Abyss, who charges into the chair in the corner. Somehow Styles is able to German suplex him and a victory roll gets two. Styles charges into a Black Hole Slam for two and it’s time for the thumbtacks. Another Black Hole Slam is broken up and something like a Styles Clash (without the arms being trapped) send Abyss into the tacks for a rather near fall.

Styles goes up to the top of the cage so Abyss throws the referee at the cage to knock him down (points for creativity). Abyss goes up with the chain and hangs Styles over the top, only for Abyss to just throw the chain down. Styles bites the finger to escape and sunset bombs him off the top onto the tacks for the pin at 11:34 (starting the clock when they got inside).

Rating: A. This was a mixture of a few great things and I still love this match. The big thing here is that it felt like two guys fighting an absolute battle. Abyss wanted to hurt Styles in any way he could and Styles was fighting to survive. That’s how it felt in the end, with Styles going to the violence to win in the end. As good as the stuff inside the ring was, the fight outside was absolutely incredible with Styles looking like the biggest star in the world. This was outstanding stuff and is still my favorite TNA match ever (Abyss said the same thing when I mentioned the match to him at WrestleCon a few years ago).

 

Results
Apolo/Sonny Siaki b. Lance Hoyt/Chris Candido – Top rope splash to Hoyt
Dustin Rhodes b. Bobby Roode 2-1
Shocker b. Chris Sabin, Michael Shane and Sonjay Dutt – Shocker escaped
Jeff Hardy b. Raven – Backsplash off the cage through a table
America’s Most Wanted b. Team Canada – Death Sentence to Williams
Christopher Daniels b. Elix Skipper – Angel’s Wings
Team Nash b. Team Jarrett – Victory roll to Brown
AJ Styles b. Abyss – Sunset bomb onto tacks

 

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8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

That main event brings the show up a lot, but there is a lot going on here that didn’t work. The biggest issue should be obvious: having every match inside of a cage really hurt things a lot, especially when you added in other gimmicks on top of, again, THE CAGE. The idea of having an all cage match card sounds good but then you realize that it doesn’t work that well. There are good matches on here, but the bad stuff hurts it a lot, as having double stipulations just felt dumb in a lot of ways. Abyss vs. Styles is incredible though and Daniels vs. Skipper is rather good too. Check it out, but with a fast forward ready.