TNA Lockdown 2011 - DVD Review

It’s strange occurrence time again, another DVD review of a pay per view I’ve already reviewed as we look at another recent TNA release with Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam challenging Sting for the World title at Lockdown 2011.

Disc 1 features the show itself, beginning with the X Division Xscape match, featuring Max Buck, Jeremy Buck, Suicide, Robbie E, Chris Sabin, Amazing Red, Brian Kendrick and Jay Lethal, with the winner getting a shot at the X Division title. It’s interesting to note that just over four months after this match happened half of the combatants are no longer with the company.

This was one of those encounters with tons of stipulations, with the wrestlers competing under pin and submission elimination rules until all but two were gone, with the final two then competing under normal cage match rules.

It was the usual X Division fare on display here, impressive, fast paced action throughout, with eliminations coming thick and fast after Suicide’s departure. They didn’t really use the cage as a weapon until they got down to the final four though.

The final two were Max Buck and Brian Kendrick, who had spent the first part of the match sitting in the corner doing his Zen yoga thing. Buck took the win here, pushing the referee into the cage while Kendrick was near the top, causing him to crash to the floor. Buck then climbed the cage himself to claim the win.

The multi-man action continued with a four corners tag team match featuring Crimson & Scott Steiner, Ink Inc, Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore, The British Invasion, Magnus and Doug Williams, and the ever annoying team of Eric Young and Orlando Jordan.

Now in the past some of you have accused me of being obsessed with burying Nick Aldis, the man behind the Magnus gimmick. Word has it that I’m always going on about him, so because of that….

The first title match of the evening saw Mickie James challenging Madison Rayne for the Knockouts title, with Mickie’s hair also on the line.

James came into this match with her shoulder taped up, and Rayne eventually came into the ring after an entrance that seemed to go on and on for ages.

Rayne’s entrance actually lasted longer than the match. James threw her into the cage three times then took her down with her DDT. Three seconds later and she had the title winning pin. Move along, nothing much to see here.

The first men’s singles match saw D’Angelo Dinero taking on Samoa Joe.

I quite enjoyed this one, which is something I don’t recall doing when I saw it first time around. Joe and Dinero put together some good sequences, especially when Joe used the cage as a weapon, and Mike Tenay’s line when Joe exposed the Pope’s backside is probably the best thing he’s done in the past few years.

Joe emerged victorious here, taking Dinero down with the muscle buster before finishing his man off with a rear naked choke for the submission win.

The big grudge match between Hernandez, accompanied by his Mexican America buddies, and Matt Morgan followed.

This was basically two big guys beating the hell out of each other. It was okay, but given that they were feuding for a second time I couldn’t help but get the feeling that we’d seen this all before.

Anarquia, Rosita and Sarita didn’t do enough to take Hernandez to victory, with Morgan getting the pin after taking Super Mex out with his carbon footprint as he came down off the ropes for the pin.

Afterwards Rosita and Sarita got into the ring, complaining about how they were always getting screwed over. This brought Velvet Skye down to the ring to clean house.

The grudge match action continued as Jeff Jarrett, accompanied by his wife Karen, went up against Kurt Angle contested under “ultra male” rules, which is basically a best of three falls match, the first fall decided by submission, the second by pin, and the third by cage escape.

Before the match began the referee made the important decision of sending Karen backstage, much to the chagrin of her husband.

The first fall was very entertaining with both men exchanging submission holds from figure fours to rear naked chokes to cross arm breakers until Angle finally managed to take the first fall when Jarrett tapped out to the ankle lock.

There was some confusion over the second fall. After they brought out the high impact moves, putting together some great sequences in the process, Jarrett countered an Angle slam with a roll up and a handful of tights. The referee made his count, but no one knew what was happening until Jeremy Borash made the announcement.

The third fall was where the more brutal stuff came in. Angle took Jarrett down with five German suplexes, but just when he looked like he was going to leave the cage to claim the win he had second thoughts, and in a repeat of his previous feud with Mr. Anderson he went back into the cage and closed the door.

Moments later we got the sick moment. Angle went to take Jarrett down with a hurricanrana from the top rope, but Jarrett countered with a power bomb, with Angle taking a sick bump, landing on his head.

Thankfully he recovered and continued the match, when Gunnar came down to the ring and hit the cage with a chair to stop Angle from climbing over the Olympic hero decided to take Jarrett out with a moonsault from the top of the cage. The only problem was that Jarrett managed to move out of the way as he came down. Seconds later Scott Steiner appeared to chase Gunnar away, throwing a chair at him as he ran up the ramp.

Mrs. Jarrett then returned to the scene of the crime, and just as Angle was about to claim the win she sprayed mace into her ex-husband’s eyes to stop him from leaving the cage. Blinded, Angle then accidentally took the referee out.

But as Jarrett went to crawl out of the cage Angle took a hold and applied an ankle lock, only for Karen to give him his trusty guitar so he could clobber Angle with it. Jarrett then went to escape again, and again Angle grabbed hold of his ankle, only for Karen to slam the door in his face.

Seconds later it was all over as a bloody Jarrett finally made his way out of the ring to claim the win. Another match that was more entertaining than I remembered.

Then it was on to three way action as Rob Van dam and Mr. Anderson challenged Sting for the World title.

What was surprising about this one was that it was the second shortest match of the show. It featured some inventive three way moves, but the fact that they were given so little time damaged it a little.

The most inventive of the aforementioned moves saw Sting taking a leg each from RVD and Anderson and apply the scorpion death lock onto both men.

Moments later Hulk Hogan came down to the ring, metal pipe in hand. He tried to give it to RVD in the hope that he’d use it to win and then join Immortal. RVD took the pipe, but threw it back at Hogan, turning down his offer.

That didn’t stop Anderson from using it though, taking out RVD before telling Hogan that he was doing it for himself.

It was over soon afterwards, with Sting taking Anderson down with the scorpion death drop for the title retaining pin. He then invited Hogan into the cage, an offer the Hulkster declined.

The final match was the Lethal Lockdown encounter, as the Immortal team of Ric Flair, Bully Ray, Abyss and Matt Hardy faced Fortune, Frankie Kazarian, James Storm, Bobby Roode and Christopher Daniels.

The match began with Kazarian against Abyss, with Immortal taking the one man advantage throughout.

The action inside the cage was okay, well, apart from Flair, who did his usual routine, staggering around like an old man before falling face first before throwing his usual array of chops and openly blading himself after Storm smashed him in the head with his beer bottle. We also got the usual view of his saggy old backside, which was thankfully blurred out for the DVD release.

This time around it was the turn of Daniels and Hardy to fight on the cage, with Hardy blocking the angel’s wings attempt before he took Daniels out with a twist of hate. Moments later Daniels provided the highlight off the match, diving off the top of the cage and taking out Abyss and Hardy on the floor.

Needless to say that we had the obligatory run in as A.J. Styles returned from injury and attacked Bully Ray before Roode applied the arm bar to Flair for the submission win.

Disc 2 is where you’ll find all the extras, including post match interviews, footage from the Lockdown Fan InterAction and the obligatory music video.

In conclusion - when I first reviewed this show four months ago I gave it the thumbs down. I wasn’t exactly impressed that the two main title matches were very short, and I felt that some of the matches dragged on and on.

Second time around though and things seemed a little different. While I’m still not impressed that the two main title matches were only given about 15 minutes between them the other matches were quite entertaining. Okay, there’s no five star classics here, but overall the majority of the action was sound, and it’s for that reason that I’m now going to give Lockdown the thumbs up. It’s not the big thumbs up, but it’s enough to tell you that this DVD release is entertaining, but it’s not awe inspiring.

With thanks to the powers that be for supplying a copy of this release. TNA Lockdown 2011 is available to buy online at shoptna.com.