Welcome to the second of my Lockdown Retro Reviews and today, I get to talk about my favourite of the PPV series: 2006.
I have fond memories of Lockdown 2006- it was the first wrestling DVD I ever got as a Christmas present because I would not stop talking about the main event. My mum managed to find a way to buy the DVD for me so I could watch the main event as many times as I wished, but luckily now I can watch on IMPACT Plus (thank you to our friends at IMPACT UK). The first Lockdown had its teething issues in 2005 with audio problems, but that has been resolved by the time the second annual Lockdown occurs. Let’s get into it and run down this magical show!
World X Cup Preview: Team Japan (Goto, Minoru and Black Tiger) vs. Team USA (Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and Alex Shelley)
Alex and Minoru to begin. Lock up and a wristlock by Shelley. Some reversals and they break. Arm drag by Alex but some stiff ass kicks by Minoru, but Alex fires back with some of his own. Rights by Alex, who avoids a dropkick, hits the ropes but Minoru nails the dropkick this time. Wristlock on Alex and a tag to Tiger. Cobra clutch variation on Alex, Alex backdrops out but Tiger gets an odd leg takedown, which looked great. Tenay plays up the Black Tiger legacy as Jay tags in. Goto is in now, some good ground reversals by both men and they have a stand off. Off the ropes, reversals and a takedown and basement dropkick by Jay. Tiger tags in, chop battle now and a tag to Dutt.
Team USA triple-teams him and they get a 2 man front lung blower followed by an Asai moonsault by Dutt. Alex back in and into an abdominal stretch. Tag to Dutt and Alex tosses Dutt onto Tiger for 2. Team USA working well together now, Dutt with a Muta-like elbow for 2. Drop toehold by Tiger to Dutt, tag to Goto and he stomps away at Dutt. Tag to Minoru now, snap suplex onto Dutt. Knee drop and a choke brings Alex in to break it up. Team Mexico is here to watch, Shocker, Puma and Magneto I think they said. Team Japan gets a triple dropkick to Dutt for 2 and Alex makes the save. Minoru teases allowing Dutt to tag and then stomps away at him. Goto tags in, hip toss and a single leg crab.
Alex breaks it up, and Tiger tags in. Irish whip and a boot by Dutt. Hurricanrana by Dutt! Tag to Jay! Clotheslines to Tiger. Boot and then a leg lariat for 2. Forearms by Jay now then eats an elbow and Tiger gets a dropkick. Goto back in now and a SICK belly to back suplex gets 2. Irish whip to Jay, forearm and Team USA with the triple team attack. Frog Splash by Alex on Goto gets 2 as Jay tries to help. Enziguri by Alex, German by Jay gets 2! It breaks down now and all 6-men are battling. Minoru has Jay, off the ropes and gets a kick. Sweet looking cross arm breaker but it is broken up. Tiger in with Jay, flapjack to Tiger.
Minoru misses a kick but then gets a dropkick. Got in with a spin kick now. Dutt gets a dropkick and Alex accidentally superkicks Dutt! Jay tries to fight off Tiger and Goto. Black Tiger in…Tiger suplex on Jay and that is all!
Alex Shelley looks downtrodden at the loss and the commentators drive this home. Can Team USA get it together in time for the World X Cup that starts on iMPACT? Who knows?
Backstage with JB who shows off the new TNA action figures that you could buy. He then moves to interview with Team 3D. Brother Ray says the war continues but it also ends. Team 3D finally reunited with little Brother Runt. It’s not about titles, it is about pride and respect for our colours and country. Ray would rather work for the miserable company in Stamford than listen to Canadian national anthem. Devon asks if that’s a joke and Ray says it’s a rib. JB then tries to round off, but Larry Zbyszko asks him what “the big announcement” is. JB doesn’t know and Zbyszko walks off.
Christopher Daniels vs Mystery Opponent
The mystery opponent is revealed to be Senshi (aka Low Ki, Daniels’ former tag partner in Triple X!). Daniels is SHOOK- he looks like he has seen a ghost! Senshi goes straight for the chops and hard offer since shots, but Daniels fights back. Senshi gets the advantage and goes for a boot, but then there is lots of back and forth between them. No one can really get the upper hand because Daniels and Senshi know each other so well and when one does get the upper hand, it doesn’t last long. Senshi hits a lot of kicks onto Daniels as the commentators declare that Senshi is Japanese for Warrior. Senshi locks in a tight submission onto Daniels and manages to take over the match with methodical offence. Senshi’s chops are MENTAL and Daniels asks for more. Chop fest time! Just as Daniels gets momentum, Senshi hits a double chop! Senshi double stomps Daniels for two. After a long time being beaten down, Daniels fights back and suplexes Senshi into the cage! Daniels goes for the win and gets a two.
Senshi back on the offensive and goes for a suplex but is blocked. Daniels charges to Senshi but he dodges. Senshi hits a killer dropkick onto Daniels and regains the advantage. Daniels hits the Death Valley Driver and then BME but only for a two! Daniels positions Senshi onto the top turnbuckle and tries to get the Superplex, but Senshi fights him off. Daniels throws Senshi into the cage on the top rope and then sets up for a Super Angel’s Wings.
Senshi is holding onto the cage and manages to throw Daniels off the cage. Senshi goes for a top rope double stomp, but Daniels moves in time. Looks like some damage to Senshi’s knee. Daniels goes for Angel’s Wings, but Senshi manages to push Daniels into the turnbuckle and then manoeuvres so his feet are on the ropes. Referee counts the win for Senshi!
JB is backstage with James Gang and Bullet Bob Armstrong to hype up Bob’s arm wrestling match against Konnan of LAX. The winning team lashes the losing team. BG James says that he is going to give Konnan the lashing his mama should have given him as a kid. Kip then says he’s always been told he is strapping and then we move to a promo package.
Arm Wrestling Match: Bullet Bob Armstrong vs Konnan
Konnan gets on the mic and runs down Orlando and America. He says his hand hurts for punking out 15-Orlando punk asses, but he will whoop his ass. LAX and James Gang go to the floor so we can start. Konnan trash talks, but Bob goes Over the top! Konnan battles but Bob is too strong! BOB WINS!
LAX is in the ring and so is the James Gang. BG says it is BIDNESS time, ass whippin time with those leather straps. Say hello to my leather friend, assume the position MENUDO! BG says if you take a walk, keep walking because you’ll get suspended. LAX tries to get out of it and Homicide is pissed. They whip them once, and they try to leave. BG says good news, only 9 left! Kip jumps the gun on #3, and they use the Lethal Weapon argument and then whip LAX repeatedly much to the delight of the bloodthirsty crowd.
Backstage with AMW, Jarrett and Steiner. Jarrett’s team wins the coin toss (I think Jarrett has the coin rigged because he won the 2005 coin toss too!) Larry Zbyszko is back asking about the announcement and Jarrett tells him to ask the Hebners. Steiner makes it clear he is the assassin and he is going to kick ass because he is ready to snap. I think he was going to snap JB’s neck!
X Division Xscape Match: Elix Skipper (w/Simon Diamond) vs Petey Williams (w/Scott D’Amore) vs Puma vs Chase Stevens vs Shark Boy vs Chris Sabin
Williams and Sharky to begin. Lock up and some reversals. Thankfully we will use tags here for my sanity. D’Amore and Diamond try to make a plan on the floor as Williams gets a DDT on Sharky. Boot by Williams, Sharky fights back and chops away at Williams. 10-punches in the corner and the Shark bite! DSD try… Williams counters and Williams tags Puma. Chops by Sharky. Dropkick to Puma and then a head scissors. Suplex is countered and neck breaker by Puma.
Puma up top, Sharky dropkicks him and crotches him. Sharky up top…hurricanrana on Puma! Missile dropkick by Sharky! Elix tags in now. Spin kick by Elix to Sharky. Off the ropes and Sharky gets a bulldog off the cage for 2. Big leg drop by Elix for 2. Up top goes Elix…Sharky up as well…Russian leg sweep off the top by Shark Boy! Sharkboy is the BEST. Tag to Williams now and a boot to Sharky…Canadian destroyer sticks him and Shark Boy is done. I am devastated by this – Shark Boy was done dirty here. I think that Petey was mad at how popular Shark Boy is.
Sabin in the match now and elbows to Petey. Williams rams Sabin to the cage repeatedly and then gets a DDT for 2. Necktie submission by Williams now. Escape and an Enziguri by Sabin. Stevens is tagged in and Pima misses a dive and gets rammed into the cage. Slam to Elix and Williams in…Alabama slam by Stevens! Elix gets the Sudden Death on Puma! Everyone is down! Stevens climbs up top…Puma follows but is pulled down. Puma climbs again…he and Stevens battle and Puma is down. Stevens stands up and hits a Shooting star press off the top of the cage! That was really impressive for someone who does not usually wrestle in the X Division! Almost no one caught him either, so that must’ve hurt. He covers Williams and gets 2. Covers Elix for 2. Kryptonite Krunch by Elix gets 3 on Stevens.
Puma, Elix and Williams triple-team Sabin now. Sabin with a dual dropkick and Williams steals a pin on Elix at 9:40! D’Amore and Diamond are pissed and Puma kicks Elix to the floor onto both of them.We are now down to the final 2- Petey Williams and Chris Sabin, so it is the first to escape the cage will win. Sabin climbs over the top after hitting a beautiful Levitation Dropkick, but Williams is over too. Scott D’Amore grabs Sabin and keeps him from jumping to the floor. Williams climbs out now and Williams falls onto D’Amore, which leads to Sabin getting the win!
JB backstage with Abyss and James Mitchell. If you stare into the abyss for a long time, the abyss will look back. Mitchell says that Abyss has awoken the monster within Christian and that will be his undoing. Mitchell questions Christian and his heart as the champion because he gets distracted by stupid things…because that’s how he rolls. Mitchell says the only thing rolling tonight will be Christian’s head. Abyss growls a lot before we go to the hype package for the next match…
TNA X Division Title: Samoa Joe (c) vs Sabu
We are reminded of how awesome Samoa Joe has been with this video package. If you are looking to see what the hype is around Samoa Joe, check out IMPACT Plus from Slammiversary 2005 onwards because Samoa Joe is a wrestling god. We then get a break down with the X-Factor before entrances.
Before Joe gets into the ring, we are told that Sabu broke his arm in a match in Mexico. That’s going to bode well clearly! Sabu tosses a chair at Joe, trips him and tries a camel clutch early. Joe tosses him off and kicks the hell out of him. Joe charges but eats a chair again! Cover for 2 by Sabu. Kicks by Sabu now, rights and Joe fires back. Sabu is down now, Joe grabs him and delivers some stiff uppercuts. Chops by Joe and then rams Sabu to the cage. Front choke by Joe, he breaks. Stiff kicks by Joe and Sabu is busted open and yells at the cameraman.
Snap mare, chop, kick and the knee drop combo by Joe. SABU is bleeding pretty good and fires back on Joe. Sets up the chair…triple jump into the corner onto Joe. Standing Arabian facebuster on Joe. Triple jump leg drop by Sabu. He has the spike! He tries to stab Joe…Joe fights but gets a cross arm breaker on the broken arm! Sabu fights but Joe beats on the arm. Kicks to Sabu by Joe now. He works the arm now and gets a sick arm wrench on it. Back to an arm submission, Sabu fights out and gets a dropkick. Sabu climbs the cage…Joe up as well…Ace Crusher off the top by Joe! 1…2…NO! Joe misses the knee drop and has the chair, leaps and Joe grabs it and tosses it into Sabu’s face. Muscle Buster and that’s all! Sabu is a crazy bastard.
This did not age well in my eyes – you can tell Joe felt awkward wrestling someone with an injury, which is why the match was so short. Maybe if Sabu hadn’t got injured, we would not have had this issue, but this felt clunky looking back on it.
JB is with Team Canada, who is singing. Eric is afraid that they are mad. Roode says not to worry, because they will prevail yet again. Coach says he is sick of hearing their same old song and dance. He says they never won the NWA Tag titles, like Team Canada has. Coach says at the end of the night, they will hear the anthem of Canada. Larry is there and wants to know what is up, but D’Amore says no. He says he tried to tell him, so now he can take the fall. I forgot how much I liked Eric Young’s gimmick in Team Canada!
Anthem/Flag Match: Team 3D (Ray, Devon and Runt) vs. Team Canada (A1, Roode and Young) w/Scott D’Amore
I won’t lie – I zoned out a little bit during this match because Team 3D was insufferable during this time. Everyone brawls as Eric and Runt defend the flags. Roode and Ray pair off and exchange rights as Devon and A1 battle. 3D takes control but Eric gets a top rope clothesline to both. Runt gets a dual dropkick to A1 and Roode. 3D tosses Eric off as Runt walks the ropes to try and get the flag. He gets pulled down and rammed to the cage. Roode climbs now and Ray stops him. They battle up top…chops now and head butts now. Top rope Bubba Bomb on Roode!
A1 climbs now, Devon follows and he rams A1 into the cage and gets a Top Rope Russian leg sweep! Runt and Eric battle up top and Eric gets rammed into the cage and plunges down to the mat. Double stomp off the top by Runt. Roode now chokes out Runt with his tape. Boot by Runt but then he eats a spinebuster by Roode. Side slam/leg drop combo by 3D onto Roode. 3D seems in control now, but Roode fights back and BUMPS the ref. Shit. Reverse 3D on Roode. Double flapjack on A1. WAZZUP Head Butt on Eric! Ray climbs…he has the flag! But there is no ref. A1 levels Ray and Devon. D’Amore tosses in a chair and Runt is denied the Acid drop and rammed into the cage. Powerbomb to Runt. Eric puts back the American flag.
D’Amore knocks out the cage keeper and opens the door. He slides in a table and closes the door. Team Canada sets up the table. Eric climbs up…they lay Runt on the table but misses an elbow drop through a table! Acid Drop TO A1! Roode rammed to the cage. 3D to Roode! Runt climbs…he has the flag and they finally win!
Everyone sings the National Anthem while Ray holds up a USA sign and the American flag is raised. I wonder how much of a riot would have been caused if Team Canada won…
BEFORE WE GET TO THE MAIN EVENTS, WE HAVE THE ANNOUNCEMENT!
And guess who comes out to deliver the announcement? None other than the debuting Christy Hemme! She dances down the ramp and passes an envelope to Tenay and West. They announce that Larry Zbyszko is on probation and the decision to fire Raven has been reversed! Raven comes down to the ring and chases Zybysko around until the latter traps himself in the cage and security comes to escort Raven away.
JB is backstage with Christian Cage, who puts his hood down and stares daggers into the camera. With that, the first of two main events is up!
NWA World Heavyweight Title: Christian Cage (c) vs Abyss w/James Mitchell
Abyss comes out first but as Christian’s music hits, Abyss goes up to the ramp to attack him…but Christian spears him and the fight is on! I won’t go into too much detail because this feels very similar to how AJ Styles vs Abyss from Lockdown 2005 started- there is a massive brawl outside the ring which goes to the top of the audience and then back down. Just as Cage gets momentum, he goes after Mitchell, which is ultimately his downfall as Abyss slams the door into Cage’s face! This isn’t as sickening as the hit to Styles’ face the year prior, but still- ouch! Now they’re both in the ring and the match starts.
Abyss rams Cage to the corner and then gets a big corner splash. Abyss picks Cage up, off the ropes and Cage battles back with rights. Cage off the ropes and Abyss press slams him into the cage! Abyss covers for 2. Cage fights back tries an Unprettier but is shoved off and a big flapjack by Abyss for 2. Rights by Cage again, off the ropes and Abyss sidesteps him and Cage hits the corner hard. Clubbing rights by Abyss now, and then pushes Cage’s face into the cage with his boot. Cage is in between the ropes and cage…Big splash by Abyss! Abyss is brutally beating Cage at this point, hitting a Shock Treatment before going mad with powerbombs. Abyss chokes out Cage now, and then chops by Abyss in the corner.
Cage is pissed and battles back. Forearm shots to Abyss sidesteps him and Abyss crashes into the cage. Irish whip, almost ref bump and then Abyss clotheslines the ref. Boot by Cage, he climbs up top. Abyss grabs him but Christian hits a great looking DDT! Cage covers but the ref is out. Mitchell tosses in the NWA belt. Abyss has it…misses and Cage gets the Unprettier! Ref is up 1…2…NO! Cage climbs the ropes…wait, all the way up top! Frog splash from the top of the cage! The crowd has gone nuts, but it’s only a two count! Cage grabs him, Unprettier try again…reversal and a Shock Treatment by Abyss! He has the bag of tacks now and pours them out! Cage nails Abyss with Mitchell’s cane!
He goes up top…all the way again! Abyss tosses the ref into the cage and Cage is hanging from the top on the other side! Abyss goes up as well and they battle…Sunset flip powerbomb to Abyss onto the tacks! Cage covers…but no ref! Another ref is out and makes the count…1…2…NO! It’s Slick Johnson BTW. Cage grabs the NWA title, calls Abyss to his feet…charges…Black Hole SLam! 1…2…NO! Mitchell seems to have ANOTHER bag of tacks! Abyss beats down Cage and pours out even more tacks! But Cage then manages to hit an Unprettier onto the tacks for the win! That was an event!
After the match, Christian starts to go up the ramp, but then goes back down to attack James Mitchell. This gives Abyss time to recuperate and attack Cage after the match. Abyss gets his chain, wraps it around Cage’s neck and dangles him outside the cage while Mitchell shouts at him! That looked painful because Cage did not get a good grip on the chain to give him some breathing space. The crowd is silent during this.
JB is backstage with Team Sting and they get ready for lockdown. Everyone gets their lines in, but it is AJ Styles who seems the humblest at being added to Sting’s team for Lethal Lockdown. With that, let’s get onto one of the best main events I have seen in my years as a wrestling fan!
Lethal Lockdown: Team Sting (Sting, AJ Styles, Ron Killings and Rhino) vs. Team Jarrett (JJ, Scott Steiner and America’s Most Wanted (Storm and Harris) w/Gail Kim and Jackie Gayda
In case you did not read my Lockdown 2005 Review, firstly, why not? Secondly, here is a recap on the rules of Lethal Lockdown: the first two from each team go at it for 5 minutes, and then new wrestlers come out every 2 minutes after that until everyone is in. Once everyone is in the Six Sides of steel, the weapon-decorated cage roof is lowered and then it’s a free for all until the winning fall is declared.
I will speed through this bit so we can get to the good stuff – Chris Harris of AMW comes out first with Gail Kim and Jackie by his side- he is the first member of Team Jarrett to come in. AJ Styles is the first member of Team Sting, so they go at it for five minutes. Chris Harris gets busted open early on in the match after a botched Catatonic, but as Styles hits a Styles Clash, five minutes are up and James Storm enters. AJ dropkicks the door, but he ends up nailing Gail Kim instead of Storm! Jackie is laughing about this ringside.
As expected, AMW double-teamed Styles until Rhino entered the match to even the odds. Jarrett comes in next, then Ron Killings, then Scott Steiner and then finally, Sting. Sting goes mental on all of Team Jarrett and piles them into a corner for a massive Stinger Splash! Sting calls for the cage roof to lower and there is pyro coming out of the roof! Wow!
Now we get to the most epic ending to a pay-per-view you will ever see because the roof lowers and all hell breaks loose. It’s so manic, James Storm finds a tiny gap to slip out of to go on top of the cage, but is soon followed by AJ Styles! Gail Kim then makes a miraculous recovery from her cage door knock and starts climbing the cage, but then Jackie gets up and pulls down Gail’s skirt!
The crowd goes nuts and then Gail chases Jackie up the ramp. During this, Storm has set up a table, but then AJ hits a Pele Kick onto Storm. He then SETS UP A LADDER ON TOP OF THE CAGE, CLIMBS IT AND SPLASHES ONTO STORM THROUGH A TABLE. I remember this when it first happened and my goodness it still gives me goosebumps every time. Did I mention that I adore AJ Styles during this period of his career?! SO SO GOOD!! Back to the ring, JJ gets the stroke to Killing onto a chair. GORE by Rhino onto JJ, Steiner lays him out. Steiner Recliner on Rhino, Sting gets the death drop on Steiner! Harris nails Sting with handcuffs and looks to get the win, but Sting manages to lock the Scorpion Death Lock for the win!
Styles climbs back into the ring to celebrate the win. While it may not be the most technically amazing match, those last five minutes and the final moments with Styles and Storm on top of the cage make this a must watch match.
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