TNA Lockdown ’05 DVD Review

TNA – Lockdown – Orlando, Florida – April 24, 2005

Review by Jacob Ziegler

Introduction

First off, just so everyone knows, I am selling some of my masters I no longer need, so if anyone is interested in some stuff, shoot me an e-mail. I may even make some personalized stuff if you’re really nice to me.

On the Preshow, Ron Killings & Konnan beat David Young & Lex Lovett and The Naturals in a three-way tag team match.

The opening video is narrated by some woman rather than the usual dude. Oh wait, there he is, speaking some kind of foreign language. This video is hard to follow; it’s just a lot of clips thrown together really fast. But the idea is good – that the steel cage is devastating.

Mike Tenay and Don West welcome us, as usual, and put over the “Lockdown” concept real hard. They also put over the diversity of the card, which is a hard point to argue. And it will all take place inside of a steel cage. They show footage from moments ago on the Preshow, which reveals that Kevin Nash has a staph infection and will not be allowed to compete tonight. Tenay says Dusty Rhodes needs to find a replacement.

MATCH #1: Sonny Siaki & Apolo vs. Chris Candido & Lance Hoyt

This would tragically turn out to be Chris Candido’s last match, as a broken leg suffered during this match would lead to a blood clot during surgery that would end his life. It’s even worse that Candido and Siaki were added to the match at the last minute; it was originally scheduled to be a singles match between Apolo and Hoyt. Siaki and Candido start off, and early on Candido falls awkwardly off a dropkick and breaks his leg. It only looks gross if you know it happened, it goes by so fast. Thus Hoyt comes in and Apolo comes in as well as Candido lays in the corner waiting for medical attention. It becomes a handicap match as Candido is helped to the back. Siaki hits a nasty splash off the top rope to get the victory at 6:53. That was an auspicious start to the show. The Naturals come out after the match and get on Hoyt’s case about losing the match. The crowd gets behind Hoyt as the Naturals continue to beat him 2-on-1. They give him the Natural Disaster. One can assume Candido would have been a part of this as well.
Rating: *¾

The Director of Authority

Dusty Rhodes, with both Traci and Trinity, is backstage to choose the two men that will start off the Lethal Lockdown match. He also announces that the Tag Team Title match will now also be a strap match. Traci picks the first name, which is Jeff Jarrett. Trinity picks the first man for Team Page, which will be Sean Waltman.

MATCH #2: Prince of Darkness Match – Dustin Rhodes vs. Bobby Roode

The rules for this match are ridiculously complicated. The build for this one is weak, but I am hoping for a solid Roode win here, since I dig his work. The full title of the match is a “Prince of Darkness Two out Of Three Falls Death Match.” The match will be best of three falls, and if it goes to a third fall both men will be blindfolded. That’s just silly. Roode scores an early pin on Rhodes a mere 50 seconds into the match. Rhodes then hits the Shattered Dreams, which is just a blatant kick to the thunder, and it’s okay with the commentators. Another low blow a few minutes later is also okay with them. It’s so irritating how both commentators favor the babyfaces. Rhodes eventually scores the pin with a bulldog to even the odds at 11:00. So now the hoods go on and it’s just overbooked nonsense now. A chair is introduced and Rhodes clobbers Roode with it to score the win at 15:15. That would have been fine had it just been a regular one-on-one match, but the gimmickry made it pretty goofy.
Rating: *½

Backstage

Shane Douglas is backstage with X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels, who puts himself over, and says that the X-Division Title is way cooler than Triple X. Skipper barges in and asks Daniels who he is talking to him in that “outdoor voice.” That made me spit Diet Coke. Shane Douglas is such a tool.

MATCH #3: X Division Xscape Match – Michael Shane vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Chris Sabin vs. Shocker

TNA has changed Michael Shane’s name to Matt Bentley on this DVD release, but since he was known as Michael Shane at the time that is how I will refer to him. This is another match with some goofy rules, as it’s pinfall or submission for the first two eliminations, but it’s escape only when they’re down to the last two guys. Dutt is replacing Kid Kash, who left TNA earlier in the week. Sabin and Dutt start off and show how athletic they are. Shane and Shocker then take their turn, and they’re about half a step slower than Sabin and Dutt. I believe the winner of this match gets an X-Division Title shot at next month’s pay-per-view. Sabin and Shane do a nice sequence that ends with both men down, and Sabin makes the big tag to Shocker. They do one of those contrived four-way submission holds. Dutt nails Shocker with the Hindu Press, but Shane breaks it up like an idiot. Shane hits Dutt with a super kick and Shocker follows up with a twisting elbow drop to get the pin and eliminate Sonjay Dutt at 10:56. Trinity starts climbing the cage, and this brings Traci Brooks down, but she gets kicked off the cage. Trinity hits a moonsault from the top of the cage, which the cameraman almost missed by being distracted by Traci’s breasts. Traci and Trinity then fight in the ring, allowing Sabin to pin Shane with the Cradle Shock at 14:03. Sabin and Shocker both climb to the outside and fall off the cage, with Shocker just barely falling before Sabin to get the win at 15:35. That was fun, but I’m really not into Shocker and would have loved to see Christopher Daniels versus Sabin on the next pay-per-view, Hard Justice.
Rating: ***½

In a kind of surreal moment, Mike and Don take time to show a replay of Candido’s injury from earlier tonight.

MATCH #4: Tables Match – “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy vs. Raven

We get a short video package to start off. Hardy attacks Raven with a chair right away. Raven comes back, then Hardy comes back, and it’s mostly back and forth for the first few minutes. Raven is the first one to bleed. Hardy sets Raven up on a table and he goes for the Swanton but Raven moves out of the way and Hardy goes crashing through the table. This girl in the crowd looks like she’s about to cry, which I think is hilarious. They show a close up of one really hot girl in the crowd looking concerned. Raven sets up a double stack with four tables, and they climb towards the top of the cage, Hardy knocks Raven onto the tables and hits a legdrop off the top of the cage to win the match at 14:01. That was fine for a tables match, but it’s still Hardy.
Rating: **½

MATCH #5: NWA World Tag Team Title Match – America’s Most Wanted vs. Team Canada

The Canadians are represented here by Petey Williams & Eric Young. They didn’t particularly do anything to earn this title shot, as far as I know. The crowd is pretty dead for this one to start off. A1 is at ringside and helps Team Canada take control. The Cowboy and the Wildcat are just being decimated by the Canadians. A1 just blatantly beats up Chris Harris outside the ring while Storm gets double teamed inside the ring. Referee Rudy Charles won’t count a pinfall when Petey’s feet are on the ropes, but he doesn’t mind A1 and his bacne interfering. Harris finally takes A1 out and gets into the cage and goes nuts on Williams and Young. Looking at my records, I notice that AMW haven’t defended their titles since Against All Odds in February. I think that when they don’t make a defense on a PPV they should have to defend it on Impact, to keep up with at least one defense a month. Petey brings out the powder and Storm kicks it into his eyes, confusing Petey to the point where he gives the Canadian Destroyer to his partner, allowing AMW to hit the Death Sentence on Petey for the win at 15:10. That picked up once Harris entered the match. There’s a really hot blond girl in the front row. Oh, and the match was pretty okay. AMW waves the American flag after the match.
Rating: ***

DISC TWO

MATCH #6: X Division Championship Match – “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. “Primetime” Elix Skipper

The video package (which closes out disc one) highlights the history between these two, primarily focusing on Daniels’s turn last month at Destination X. The voiceover guy says this is Daniels’s first title defense, but I know for a fact that he defended the title at least twice on PWG shows out in California, against Chris Hero and Alex Shelley. Tenay does admit that Daniels has defended the title in England and Ireland, because Daniels wanted to “add prestige” to the title. They do lots of reversals in the early going to show how well they know each other. Skipper takes control and starts hitting suplexes. Skipper injures his arm and Daniels smells blood. He works on the arm for a while as Skipper gets the occasional hope spot, but Daniels keeps overtaking him. Daniels goes to the top of the cage, presumably only to set up teasing the walk across the top of the cage. Daniels comes down though, and Skipper leaps from the top of the cage onto his back. That looked like it hurt, but it only gets two. They struggle a bit more and Daniels gets the Angels Wings for the victory at 15:23. The match was fine but I’ve never really been into Skipper and it never felt like he had a chance of winning the title.
Rating: ***¼

More with the DOA

Dusty Rhodes is backstage once again to announce who number three in the Lethal Lockdown match will be, right there the sound goes out, but I’m pretty sure he said The Outlaw. He then calls for Traci and Trinity to come back.

MATCH #7: Lethal Lockdown Match – Diamond Dallas Page, Sean Waltman & BG James vs. Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown & The Outlaw

The video package makes me realize that there’s only one guy in this match I’m even remotely interested in. They have to blank out the name The Outlaw, but I don’t, and since that’s what he was going by at this time, that is what I will call him. Mike and Don still aren’t sure who’s replacing Nash. If they can get a guy who can walk without injuring himself they should be alright. Waltman and Jarrett are the first two guys in the ring, for a five minute period. Jarrett won’t even take his precious title off to start the match. He and Waltman brawl throughout the arena. The five minutes expires and The Outlaw is next out. There will now be two-minute intervals between entrants. This is just a garbage brawl. DDP is next out, and he makes sure to pose before coming down and helping his partner. Schmuck. Not much happens for two minutes and then Monty Brown comes out with a baseball bat. The big mystery partner turns out to be BG JAMES! Oh, goody. He goes right after Jarrett and knocks over a cameraman. He hits everyone, including the referee, with a trash can lid, until he gets to The Outlaw and they have a stare down. Waltman gets killed with the Pounce, then BG James takes one too. That really could have been the finish, if it had something better leading up to it. DDP gets the Diamond Cutter on Jarrett, but Outlaw breaks it up and goes for the Fame-Ass-Er (presumably) but Waltman breaks that up. The finish actually comes when Waltman rolls up Monty out of nowhere to get three at 15:38. That’s a lousy finish, as the catastrophic mishandling of Monty Brown continues. The match was mostly garbage, but with the guys involved I guess it was the best thing to do.
Rating: **

MATCH #8: Number-One Contender’s Match – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. The Monster Abyss

Winner of this match gets a title shot at Hard Justice next month. AJ has already held the NWA World Title twice, and Abyss has yet to even get his shot. AJ starts the match hot, leaping through the cage onto Abyss and then hitting a huge Rana on the outside. AJ continues with the high flying, but Abyss is huge, so he just kind of takes the advantage as he sees fit. They continue brawling on the outside and Abyss uses the steel cage door as a toy, leveling AJ in the face with it. That was a sick bump. AJ is bloodied and Abyss grabs a bag of thumb tacks. Abyss just dominates AJ, as the blood gets worse and the crowd is staying hot. This was obviously the right choice for the main event slot. AJ actually kicks out of the Black Hole Slam. Abyss is frustrated, so he goes for the tacks. AJ avoids the tacks but gives Abyss the Styles Clash right onto a pile of tacks. Even THAT is not enough to keep Abyss down. AJ climbs to the top of the cage and Abyss tosses the referee against the cage, which causes AJ to nearly fall off the cage. Abyss grabs his chain and goes up after AJ. He wraps the chain around his neck as AJ struggles to fight back. AJ gets a sunset flip powerbomb and Abyss takes another bump onto the tacks. Mike Tenay ruins the finish by saying “count with us,” as if it were a foregone conclusion that AJ would be winning. He does, at 19:58. Tenay’s call at the end notwithstanding, that was a brutal match that was tons of fun and made both guys look great.
Rating: ****¼

BONUS

This is the usual, a collection of backstage clips –

– Interview With Daniels
– Daniels on the Preshow
– Jimmy Hart With the Fans
– Jimmy on the Pre-Game
– Mike and Don Entrance
– Construction of the Cage
– Siaki and Apolo Kick it Off
– Hardy Warms Up
– Into the Tables
– AMW Defends
– DDP Entrance
– After the Lockdown
– Feel the Cage
– AJ Overcomes

CHRIS CANDIDO TRIBUTE

“Shortly after Lockdown, the wrestling world lost a close friend in Chris Candido. This DVD is dedicated to the memory of Chris and all that he gave to our business. The following footage is a tribute to Chris and the joy he brought to each of us in TNA Wrestling…”

If you would like to donate to the Chris Candido Scholarship Fund, the address is:

The Chris Candido Scholarship Fund
Bank of New York
3rd Avenue & Washington Street
Spring Lake, New Jersey 07762

BONUS MATCH #1: Chris Candido & The Naturals vs. Petey Williams, Elix Skipper & Mikey Batts, TNA Impact, 3.4.05

Andy Douglas starts off with Skipper. Skipper controls the action but when Petey tags in the more cohesive unit takes control as Candido enters the ring and maintains control on the Team Canada member. Everything breaks down and Scott D’Amore tries to interfere, but the Naturals together take out Petey. Batts thinks he has control, but Candido hits a diving headbutt when he’s covering Stevens, and rolls Stevens on top for the win at 3:35. That was just to establish Candido and the Naturals as a new group, but it was fine for the time given.
Rating: *½

BONUS MATCH #2: NWA World Tag Team Title Match – America’s Most Wanted vs. The Naturals

One of the Tag Lines lists AMW as fighting champions, but this is only their third defense since January. This would be Candido’s last appearance on Impact, as he actually died the day after this was taped. He’s on crutches and looks to be in a great deal of pain. He asks the crowd to show an injured man some respect. He calls The Naturals his boys and says he wouldn’t miss this day for the world. The Naturals won their first Tag Team Title back in the summer of 2004 from none other than AMW. It’s a big brawl all over the Impact Zone from the beginning. Douglas and Stevens gain control with some good old fashioned tag team cheating. The match actually takes a commercial break and we come back to Andy Douglas taking one below the belt. The match breaks down and Storm gets plastered with a steel chair. Candido rolls into the ring and places Douglas on top for the win and new Tag Team Champions at 17:48 (including the commercial). Candido celebrates with the belts as The Naturals are two-time tag team champions. Tenay, being the objective announcer that he is, basically accuses Candido of cheating rather than asking him a question. That was a super hot TV main event and one of AMW’s best matches not involving Triple X.
Rating: ***¾

Xplosion Footage

The final feature is Candido and Jeremy Borash goofing around while hosting TNA’s syndicated show Xplosion. This is pretty funny stuff and a really nice feature to round out the disc.

The 411: This Pay-Per-View had disaster written all over it but I think match-wise it went pretty well. It does remind us of the Candido tragedy, but the tribute is tastefully done so it left me with a good feeling afterwards. The AJ Styles versus Abyss match is worth going out of your way to see, and there’s some other good stuff here as well. The added bonus of The Naturals winning the Tag Team Titles makes this easy to recommend.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]