This week for That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It I'll be telling you who I think the winners will be at Lockdown.

Before I discuss the card, I want to say a few things about the event itself. While an all cage match PPV is an interesting concept, it's not the most logical decision because it cheapens the effect of a cage match. In the past the cage was seen as a last resort to settle a feud or because a feud was so intense it needed to be in a cage but TNA has basically thrown that theory out of the window. It also seems like every match in a cage takes away from the importance of the cage because a cage match is generally seen as a main event type match but TNA has decided that even mid card matches are worthy of being in a cage, which makes the cage seem less important. That being said, I have no doubt that the TNA roster will put forth a good effort to make sure that the fans in attendance and the fans watching on PPV get their money's worth.

I'll start discussing the match that I could really careless about and I would suspect that most TNA fans could careless about the BG v.s. Kip James match. All things considered the entire BG/Kip storyline, which stretches back a few years now is a flop but it's not necessarily because of a lack of talent. There's a for key points to why this tag team didn't really have any steam during their TNA run. The most important reason probably being that TNA never really gave the team any type of major push or a run with the tag titles, which could have solidified them as a team in TNA. Besides being regulated to just the mid card, the team wasn't involved in any long term storylines with other teams, which is another way they could have established themselves as a team in TNA. An example of this is Team 3D's relatively uneventful run in TNA until they feuded with The Motor City Machine Guns and are now involved in a featured match at Lockdown. The "gimmick" changes for BG and Kip didn't really help things either. I think the James Gang tag team could have worked but it wasn't really given a chance to be established. The VKM storyline declaring "war" on Vince McMahon did nothing for BG and Kip and it also made them seem like has beens trying to reclaim the fame they had a decade ago. I don't really see where TNA can go with either the BG or Kip characters after the feud concludes because Kip's entire run in TNA has been focused around teaming or feuding with BG. Although BG had established himself in TNA before Kip arrived in the company, he hasn't done anything besides team or feud with Kip the past few years so despite being in TNA for years BG is on the same level as Kip in terms of storyline possibilities after the feud. There's no indication that BG or Kip are leaving TNA anytime soon and with that being said I think TNA should keep the duo a team because both have said in interviews in the past that they are tag team wrestlers and they would probably be most effective being a tag team in TNA. As far as the match at Lockdown, there's not too much of a push for the feud but I'll pick BG James to win the match.

There's a six man match for the X Division title and since there's not a direct feud for the match I'm going to discuss the wrestlers that are in the match. Jay Lethal has had a solid run as the X Division champion and he deserves alot of credit for what he's done with his gimmick. He's taken a parody gimmick and in a way made it his own, not just a cheap rip off gimmick. Curry Man, who is Christopher Daniels' gimmick in Japan has gotten over in TNA and has provided some entertaining T.V. The decision for Daniels to portray Curry Man in TNA was a wise decision because Daniels did as much as he could with the "Fallen Angel" character in TNA and there wasn't much TNA could do with the character stand point in terms of building storylines. The Curry Man character can give Daniels a fresh run in TNA and it will be interesting to see if he gets a run with the X Division title. Sonjay Dutt, who I think should have already had a run as the X Division champion is also in the match and he's probably the most under ratted wrestler in the X Division considering he's had great matches in TNA for years but hasn't really gotten any type of push during his run in TNA. Johnny Devine is another one in this match that deserves some credit for two specific things. He still has a job after being part of the flop that was the Serration stable and he's developed a good heel character being in a stable with Team 3D. This is another reason I think the Team 3D/Motor City Machine Guns feud because it benefited every wrestler that was involved in the feud. Shark Boy, who has recently channeled the energy of wrestling legend, Stone Cold Steve Austin has rejuvenated his career with a parody gimmick. Similar to his tag partner Curry Man, Shark Boy has used his new gimmick to get over with the crowd and it was needed, considering that before Shark Boy started his Stone Cold gimmick he was just an X Division jobber. I think it's a great decision for Shark Boy to use the gimmick because I seen a backstage promo that involved Kevin Nash, Jay Lethal, and Sonjay Dutt where Shark Boy impersonated Stone Cold and it was an entertaining segment so you have to wonder why TNA didn't have Shark Boy use his Stone Cold persona sooner. It seems like the key to the gimmick being successful long term is to keep things fresh, which TNA has done with the Shark Boy/Curry Man backstage promos. Consequences Creed made an appearance in TNA a few months ago as Ron Killings tag partner during the Pacman Jones storyline but that really isn't something that could help a career so this past week on Impact TNA called Creed's qualifier match against Jimmy Rave his "debut" in TNA. The match was decent but Creed has to prove that he is on the same level as the rest of the X Division. It's tough to pick a winner for the match because there's some many challengers and a few of them are getting a push so it's possible that they could be a new champion but I will pick Jay Lethal to retain the title.

There's a mixed tag match of Booker T/Sharmell v.s. Robert Roode/Peyton Banks and I don't expect too much from this match. I've never been too much of a fan of Booker T, mainly because he's somewhat hit or miss when it comes to consistly having good matches, which could explain why his main event run in the WWE was less then memorable. Booker T also seems to be past his prime, which could have contributed to his decision to go to TNA to get a final run in pro wrestling before he retires. As for Roode, I think he has potential but really hasn't had a feud to establish himself as one of TNA's young stars. He's made some progress in terms of developing a heel character but it seems like he still needs to work on his in ring work if he's going to be a major star in TNA. I'll pick Roode to win the match because it could help give him a push, which would be a wise decision considering it would be a veteran, Booker T helping the younger talent and that will help TNA as a company.

TNA used all their creative ideas to book a women's cage match where the object of the match is to actually get in the cage from the outside then have a match, which doesn't make sense to me but then again it's TNA booking so not much makes sense. Since the actual match won't be determined until the PPV I will take a minute to discuss the competitors that will start the match outside of the cage. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky make a good heel combination and having heels in the Knockout division adds depth to the division in terms of building storylines. Salinas, who was formerly Aerial in the WWE is now the manager of LAX and she's done a good job in her role as the team's manager. I think the WWE made a mistake releasing her because she portrayed the Aerial character well. Raka Khan is currently the manager for Scott Steiner but could add to the knockout division so it will be interesting to see if she wrestles. Not Much to say about Traci Brooks or Roxxi Laveaux considering that they haven't done much in TNA recently and they really aren't being pushed in any type of feud. Christy Hemme plays her role as a manager of the Rock and Rave infection but the gimmick is so cartoonish that Hemme is somewhat annoying when on the mic, which might be the point but either way it's a terrible gimmick. Jacqueline is a pro wrestling veteran and she's really helped James Storm establish himself outside of the tag team division.

There's a six team match where members of the teams have to be handcuffed to the cage but there's only going to be one winner so I have no idea why the format of the match would be set up with teams in the match. This seems to be another case of TNA's "innovative" ideas just seeming really dumb from a logic standpoint so since the rules of the match are so ridiculous I'm not going to take the time to discuss the match but I will say I think LAX will win the match.

There's a women's tag match of Awesome Kong and Raisha Sheed v.s. Gail Kim and ODB. Gail Kim is obviously great in the ring and is really the pioneer of the Knockout division. Gail always has entertaining matches and her bouts with Kong have stole the show on more then one occasion in the past few months. I'm not really a fan of ODB but she has solid in ring skills so she will probably contribute to the match at Lockdown. Kong has been a break out star in the past few months and deserves alot of credit for how skilled she is in the ring. Kong has held titles and developed her skills in Japan, which shows in her matches in TNA. Kong brings a truly unique and original presence to the ring so I would expect her to remain the Knockout champion for atleast the next few months. I'll pick Awesome Kong and Rasiha Sheed to win the match because it will continue to push Kong as the Knockout champion.

The Lethal Lockdown match is Team Cage v.s. Team Tomko and I don't expect this match to be a classic with the only reason being that with ten wrestlers in a cage, the ring can get alittle crowded, which could limit the spots in a match. With so many wrestlers in the match I'm not going to discuss it with alot of detail but I will mention a few things about some of the wrestlers in the match. I'd expect Styles to have some type of crazy spot during the match and he deserves alot of credit for the risks he takes in his matches. Tomko also deserves alot of credit for what he's done with his career since he left the WWE and he went from a jobber in the WWE to a tag champion in TNA. I don't expect Tomko to be a main event star in TNA but he's certainly done more there then he could have done in the WWE so even though he probably won't be a main event star, Tomko has done well as a tag champion. I don't really see the point of TNA bringing Sting back for this particular PPV and Sting's frequent returns to T.V. after a few months of not appearing are getting repetitive considering he "returns" every few months. The reason I question the logic is because I don't really see the practical purpose it serves to help TNA. Sting hasn't had a major effect on TNA's ratings or PPV buys so what's the point of having him wrestle in a featured match on PPV? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Kevin Nash should be wrestling so let's hope his role in the match at Lockdown is limited but as I've also said in the past, Nash has made major contributions to TNA using his mic skills. That being said, I hope TNA continues to use Nash in the right way because it benefits Nash to have another run in wrestling and it helps TNA to have an entertaining veteran on the roster. Nash's promos with the X Division and the "Dr. Nash" segments with Kurt Angle were some of the most entertaining promos that have been since in the history of Impact. I'll pick Team Tomko to win the match because I expect Matt Morgan turning heel and costing Team Cage the match.

The main event is Samoa Joe v.s. Kurt Angle for the TNA World title and if Samoa Joe loses he must retire from pro wrestling. Well, that stipulation right there makes it obvious that Samoa Joe is going to win the title and I think he should have had a title run months ago. Kurt Angle recently said in an interview that the match at Lockdown will be an MMA style match and I couldn't disagree more with this decision if that's in fact the type of match it will be at Lockdown. While MMA and pro wrestling have a similar audience, they are two different types of spots. I follow MMA and I watch UFC but when I watch a pro wrestling PPV I expect to see wrestling. There's two major problems I see with TNA having an MMA style match. It will make the rest of the card look fake because why would wrestlers like Sabin, Shelly, and Lethal do a bunch of flips during a match when a simple take down that could be seen in the Angle/Joe match be enough to win a match? The other problem being is that if TNA trys to portray the Angle/Joe match as a "shoot" fight it will look ridiculously fake and make TNA look terrible in the process. Joe and Angle can't try to knock each other out because obviously there's a planned finish to the match so any strikes will be similar to the fake looking strikes seen during the "Kurt Angle sparring session" a few weeks ago on Impact.

Overall I think Lockdown will be an okay PPV.

Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

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