The Katz Files – Arnie Katz
Lockdown: Preview & Predictions
The Kingfish Arnie Katz gets you ready for TNA’s April pay per view event!.
TNA loves gimmick matches, so its annual Lockdown pay per view is a paean to the Queen of the Gimmick Matches, the Cage Match. At Lockdown, they’re all cage matches – and some have additional stipulations, too.
The all-cage-match format is ideal for contests that settle scores and play out rivalries. Sadly, it also offers many opportunities for bookers to bring it home with screwjob finishes and other unsatisfying endings. Which will be the case at this year’s Lockdown?
Let’s look at the card match by match…
Danny Bonaduce vs. Eric Young
Special Pre-Show match
The Story: He half-a$$ed his way through Celebrity Wrestling. so he’s a natural to work a TNA pay per view.
My Prediction: This is the very definition of the type of idea that will forever separate TNA from WWE – and not in a good way.
Having the former child star, and current adult lost boy, win will compound the mistake. Yet that’s what TNA will book for this one.
Predicted Grade N/A/. You give me a match and I’ll give you a grade for it.
LAX v No Limit vs. The Motor City Machine Guns
New Japan Tag Team Title Match
The Story: The IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship is the main issue in this three-cornered match. The Machine Guns took it from No Limits, which wants it back. LAX has forced on the title, too, perhaps thinking that it would help restore their somewhat tarnished standing among TNA’s top tag teams.
My Prediction: This should be one of those fast-paced, hard-to-recap contests with six men bouncing around the ring and doing all sorts of impressive maneuvers. TNA bookers believe that if everyone moves around and makes a lot of noise, no one will notice that the storyline is weak
LAX is strictly there to add a complication. This is a showdown between the Guns and the team from which they took the title, No Limits. The Japanese duo is likely to win back the IGWP straps, because they have virtually no value in the US, but that should happen in Japan, in front of a home crowd. The Machine Funs will win, but the finish will allow No Limits to claim that they could’ve come out on top except for the meddling of LAX.
Predicted Grade B+
Madison Rayne vs. ODB vs. Daffney vs. Sojo Bolt
Queen of the Cage Match
The Story: Women compete at Lockdown each year for the honor of becoming Queen of the Cage, an accolade that will never again be mentioned until the next Lockdown, if then.
My Prediction: ODB and Daffney don’t need to win this, so it’ll be either Sojourner Bolt or Madison Rayne. Both are recent victims of ineffective pushes, so either could really use some kind of victory. TNA probably has bigger plans for Rayne, so she’s my predicted winner.
Predicted Grade: C+
Jay Lethal vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Consequences Creed vs. Kiyoshi vs. Suicide
X-Division Championship
Xscape Match
The Story: Destination X heated up the division and Suicide has quite a group of challengers who want to take the title. In a match like this, the odds seem stacked against the champion, but Suicide is far from an ordinary competitor.
My Prediction: Sheik Abdul Bashir is a good bet to regain the X Division Championship, but not in this match. It would be very tempting for TNA to pass the title, because the stigma of losing is so low in this type of contest, but it would be better for Suicide to win here and then give up the strap somewhere down the road, possibly in a Triple Threat with Homicide or Lethal.
Predicted Grade: A-
Taylor Wilde vs. Angelina Love vs. Awesome Kong
TNA Knockouts Championship Match
The Story: The story is simple, straight-forward and compelling. Taylor Wilde wants to again scale the heights she experienced when she defeated Awesome Kong one-on-one. Love gas watched babyface after babyface try and fail to stop Kong and now she wants her chance to prove that she is not just beautiful, but a premier wrestler.
My Prediction: It’s extremely difficult for the bookers t fashion a credible one-on-one loss for Awesome Kong, so this match is “Taylor-made” for shifting the gold to another waist.
Except that it won’t be Taylor Wilde who gets that victory. Angelina Love hasn’t held the title and, as a heel, would be very useful in transferring the title to a face or a tweener, My prognostication is that Taylor will take out Kong and Love will find a way. After that, Taylor and Kong will work a program and Love will work a title program against ODB or Sojo Bolt.
Predicted Grade: C+
Team 3D vs. Beer Money, Inc
TNA World and IWGP World Tag Team Title match
Philly Street Fight
The Story: Ream 3D has always liked reciting its achievements, especially the large number of titles they have held during their long and illustrious tag team career. Beer Money has a lot of pride in its accomplishments, too, and has met Brother Ray and Brother Devon blow for blow. Now, with two titles on the line, these superstar teams clash inside the six-sided cafe!
My Prediction: This is a match that could possibly turn out as a DQ or some such thing, but I forecast a definite decision, though the loser will have something to say about fairness. This might be a chance to give Team 3D another title for the resume, but I think it is more likely that Beer Money will take the decision and the title. That would pave the way for the team to tour Japan and, while there, drop the IWGP World Tag Team Championship.
Predicted Grade: A-
Matt Morgan vs. Abyss
Chamber of Blood Match
The Story: Once they were friends, but now they are relentless, implacable foes! The blood-splattered feud continues with the latest chapter a grueling match inside the steel.
My Prediction: Matt Morgan should win this one, both to improve his current status and to continue the program with Abyss at least one more pay per view beyond Lockdown.
Predicted Grade: C+
Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Booker T, Scott Steiner & Kevin Nash) vs. Team Jarrett (Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe & Christopher Daniels)
Lethal Lockdown Match
The Story: Kurt Angle heads the Main Event Mafia, while Jeff Jarrett is the living embodiment of the TNA Frontline loyalists. The two factions have battled constantly. This time, it’s four-on-four action, a little war for TNA bragging rights.
My Prediction: Who wins something like this is less important than what feuds issue from it. In this case, TNA has teased something between Steiner and Jarrett that could possibly be a turn toward the Mafia for the TNA Founder. It’s not a very appealing idea, but it looks like that might be the plan.
In this match, Jarrett will tease that turn, but he won’t make it until next PPV if at all. Samoa Joe will be like a force of nature, but that could create some problems, possibly between the Submission Machine and Jarrett. This match represents very fluid situation with a lot of options, but the bottom line should be a Team Jarrett victory.
Mick “Cactus Jack” Foley vs. Sting
TNA World Title Match
The Story: Life is full o mysteries and unexplained phenomena. One of them is the reason Mick Foley has decided to challenge Sting. They had a match about two centuries ago, but Mick has always seemed pretty happy about how that one went. In any case, Foley is rarin’ to go and Sting is ready and waiting.
My Prediction: Mick Foley’s career ha always been about compelling matches rather than strings of victories. This will be another one in which he gives his best possible performance, but Sting will walk out with the win and the belt.
Predicted Grade: B
Predicted Grade for Lockdown: B
That’s it for today. I’ll be back on Monday with another installment of the Internet’s fastest-rising daily wrestling column. I’ll have the recap and analysis of Lockdown and you’ll be able to laugh at my predictions.
— Arnie Katz
[email protected]
(4/19/09)