Lockdown (2008)

Infobox Wrestling event
name=Lockdown (2008)


theme="Nothing to Lose" (Operator)cite web|url=http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/579/84/|title=Lockdown Theme Performed By Operator|first=Bill|last=Banks|date=2008-02-25|accessdate=2008-06-27|publisher=TNAWrestling.com] cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2008/1204144929.shtml|title=Pre-sale code for TNA Lockdown PPV, theme song, busy month of March|first=Adam|last=Martin|date=2008-02-27|accessdate=2008-06-27|publisher=WrestleView.com]
promotion=Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
date=April 13, 2008
attendance=5,500cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/misc/tna/lockdown.html#2008|title=Pro Wrestling History's Lockdown Results|accessdate=2008-07-09|publisher=Pro Wrestling History.com]
venue=Tsongas Arena
city=Lowell, Massachusetts
nextevent=Sacrifice (2008)
lastevent=Destination X (2008)
event=Lockdown
nextevent2=TBD
lastevent2=Lockdown (2007)

Lockdown (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which took place on April 13, 2008 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was the fourth annual Lockdown event. Eight professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card. As per tradition of Lockdown events, every match was contested inside Six Sides of Steel.

The event featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The first was a Six Sides of Steel cage match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in which Samoa Joe defeated the reigning champion Kurt Angle. The other main event was a Lethal Lockdown match; in this match, Team Cage (Christian Cage, Kevin Nash, Rhino, Sting, and Matt Morgan) defeated Team Tomko (Tomko, A.J. Styles, Team 3D [Brother Ray and Brother Devon] , and James Storm). Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In an intergender tag team match, Booker T and Sharmell defeated Robert Roode and Payton Banks. The other bout was an Xscape match for the TNA X Division Championship. The champion, Jay Lethal defeated Consequences Creed, Johnny Devine, Shark Boy, Curry Man, and Sonjay Dutt in this match to retain the championship.

When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of number five on "Billboard's" DVD Sales Chart. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer website rated the entire event a 6.5 out of 10 stars, one star higher than the 2007 event.

Background

The event featured eight professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of events which built tension, culminating in a wrestling match or series of matches. As per tradition of Lockdown events, every match was contested inside a convert|16|ft|m high steel structure with six sides, also known as Six Sides of Steel.

The main event at Lockdown featured TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle defending the title against Samoa Joe (Joe Seanoa) in a Six Sides of Steel match. On the March 13 episode of "Impact!", TNA's primary television program, Management Director Jim Cornette, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer, announced that Angle would defend the title against Joe at Lockdown.cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_24845.shtml|title=CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 3/13: Ongoing coverage of Spike TV show|last=Caldwell|first=James|date=2008-03-13|accessdate=2008-07-08|publisher=PWTorch.com] During the show, Joe was scripted to make an announcement in which if he did not win at Lockdown, he would quit TNA. Joe later changed this statement to quitting professional wrestling on a later episode of "Impact!". Later in the program, Angle successfully defended his championship against Kaz (Frank Gerdelman); after the match, Angle announced that he would defeat Joe at Lockdown to prove that he was the best wrestler in the world.cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2008/1205464553.shtml|title=Impact Results - 3/13/08 (Cage & Nash vs. Styles & Tomko and more)|first=Adam|last=Martin|date=2008-03-13|accessdate=2008-07-07|publisher=WrestleView.com] Joe did not appear on "Impact!" for several weeks, as TNA reported that he was training for his match at Lockdown.cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_25042.shtml|title=KELLER'S TNA IMPACT LIVE REPORT 3/27:First-ever live edition with Sting's return, Kong match, Angle MMA demo, more|last=Keller|first=Wade|date=2008-03-27|accessdate=2008-07-08|publisher=PWTorch.com]

The other main rivalry heading into Lockdown was between Team Cage and Team Tomko in the annual Lethal Lockdown match. In this match, one wrestler from each team starts in the ring. After five minutes, one more wrestler enters, who is followed two minutes later by a member of the other team. Every two minutes, a new wrestler enters until all ten are in the ring, at which point a ceiling with weapons attached is lowered and pinfalls or submissions are allowed. Team Cage consisted of Christian Cage (William Reso), Kevin Nash, Rhino (Terry Gerin), Sting (Steve Borden), and Matt Morgan, while Team Tomko was made up of Tomko (Travis Tomko), A.J. Styles (Allen Jones), James Storm (James Black), and the Team 3D pairing of Brother Ray (Mark LoMonaco) and Brother Devon (Devon Hughes). On the March 13 episode of "Impact!", Cornette announced that the match would take place at Lockdown and that Cage and Tomko were the team captains for the match. Their scripted rivalry began when Tomko betrayed Cage, who was befriending him at the time, at the company's February pay-per-view, which is known as Against All Odds, in Cage's TNA World Heavyweight Championship match against Kurt Angle in which he helped Angle retain his title.cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2008/1202702467.shtml|title=Against All Odds PPV Results - 2/10 - Greenville, SC ('Angle vs. Cage')|last=Martin|first=Adam|date=2008-02-10|accessdate=2008-07-04|publisher=WrestleView.com] On the March 13 and 20 episodes of Impact!, Tomko chose Styles and Team 3D, respectively, as his team members, which completed the three spots remaining on his team.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/03/14/4999536.html|title=Impact: Lethal Lockdown begins to take shape|last=Sokol|first=Chris|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-09-07|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/03/21/5069456.html|title=Impact: The elevation of Tomko continues|last=Sokol|first=Chris|date=2008-03-21|accessdate=2008-09-07|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] During those respective episodes, Cage also announced two of his three team members, which were Rhino and Nash. Sting, who was returning to in-ring competition after he had not been seen on television in the company since November of 2007, was added to Team Cage on the March 27 episode of "Impact!".cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2008/1206080689.shtml|title=Impact Results - 3/20/08 (Sting returns to TNA next week, Lockdown)|first=Adam|last=Martin|date=2008-03-21|accessdate=2008-07-09|publisher=WrestleView.com] Later in the program, Sting, Cage, Rhino, and Nash defeated Styles, Tomko, and Team 3D; after the match Storm, in storyline, hit Sting in the back of the head with a beer bottle.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/03/28/5125741.html|title=Impact: The Return of Sting|last=Sokol|first=Chris|date=2008-03-28|accessdate=2008-09-07|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] On the April 3 episode of "Impact!", Cornette's storyline replacement for the night, Matt Morgan, allowed Team Tomko to add a fifth member to its team, which ended up being Storm, as a result of him attacking Sting the week before; Cage added Morgan later in the program to even the odds.cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_25200.shtml|title=KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 4/3:Matt Morgan, Sting vs. Rhino, Christian & Rhino vs. Styles & Tomko|last=Keller|first=Wade|date=2008-04-04|accessdate=2008-07-09|publisher=PWTorch.com]

One of the featured matches on the card was an intergender tag team match between the team of Booker T (Robert Huffman) and Sharmell (Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman), and the team of Robert Roode and Payton Banks (Bonnie Maxon). Their rivalry began after Booker T made his debut in the promotion at their November pay-per-view event in 2007.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/11/12/4667999.html|title=Booker T the surprise, but Angle still champ after Genesis|last=Sokol|first=Chris|date=2007-11-12|accessdate=2008-09-08|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] In the storyline, Roode was unhappy that wrestlers from other promotions were coming to TNA and preventing him from becoming a main event level wrestler. At Final Resolution, Roode accidentally punched Booker T's wife, Sharmell, and as a result was scripted as having a fractured jaw.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/01/06/4760746.html|title=Styles sides with Angle costing Cage at Final Resolution|last=Xamin|first=Mark|date=2008-01-07|accessdate=2008-07-13|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] Sharmell subsequently did not appear on "Impact!" for several weeks while the storyline had her healing from the scripted injury. Booker T and Roode then competed in two encounters, one at TNA's February PPV, and the other at TNA's March PPV, which was known as Destination X.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/03/10/5280291.html|title=Destination X spotty at best|last=Clevett|first=Jason|date=2008-03-10|accessdate=2008-09-08|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] After their match at Destination X, Sharmell returned and attacked Roode, Banks, Cornette, and security workers. On the March 20 episode of "Impact!", Cornette promoted an intergender tag team match for Lockdown, in which Booker T and Sharmell would face Roode and Banks.cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_24936.shtml|title=CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 3/20: Ongoing coverage of Spike TV show|first=James|last=Caldwell|date=2008-03-20|accessdate=2008-07-08|publisher=PWTorch.com]

Another main match on the card was the annual X Division Xscape match, in which TNA X Division Champion Jay Lethal (Jamar Shipman) defended the championship against Consequences Creed (Austin Watson), Johnny Devine (John Parsonage), Shark Boy (Dean Roll), Curry Man (Daniel Covell), and Sonjay Dutt (Retesh Bhalla) in this match. In an Xscape match, six competitors fight until four are eliminated by pinfall or submission; the two remaining wrestlers then try to escape from the cage, and the first to do so is declared the winner. Each of the challengers fought in qualification matches on "Impact!" to determine who would participate. The first qualification match saw Curry Man defeat Petey Williams on the March 13 episode of "Impact!". Dutt defeated Homicide (Nelson Erazo) on the March 20 episode of "Impact!". In the third match, Devine defeated Alex Shelley (Patrick Martin) on the March 27 episode of "Impact!". Shark Boy defeated Elix Skipper in the fourth qualification match that occurred on the April 3 episode of "Impact!".cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_25184.shtml|title=4/3 Impact Review by Wilkenfeld:A decent story underneath a whole lot of mediocrity|first=Daniel|last=Wilkenfeld|date=2008-04-03|accessdate=2008-07-09|publisher=PWTorch.com] On the April 10 episode of "Impact!", Creed defeated Jimmy Rave (James Guffey) to become the last to qualify.cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_25259.shtml|title=CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 4/10: Ongoing coverage of Spike TV show|first=James|last=Caldwell|date=2008-04-10|accessdate=2008-07-09|publisher=PWTorch.com]

In the Women's division, Gail Kim and O.D.B. (Jessica Kresa) were involved in an on-screen feud with Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens) and Raisha Saeed (Melissa Anderson). Kim, the former TNA Women's Knockout Champion, lost the championship to Kong on the January 10 episode of "Impact!".cite web|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_24178.shtml|title=CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 1/10: Ongoing coverage of Spike TV show|last=Caldwell|first=James|date=2008-01-10|accessdate=2008-09-26|publisher=PWTorch.com] During the match, Saeed helped Kong win the championship by distracting Kim, also Kim sustaining a storyline injury, which did not allow her to challenge Kong for the championship at the next up coming TNA pay-per-view Against All Odds. O.D.B challenged Kong for the title, however, she was unable to win the title in a match against Kong at Against All Odds after interference from Kong's manager Saeed. After Kim returned following Against All Odds, TNA announced that at Destination X, Kim, O.D.B., and Kong would be involved in a 3-Way Dance, a standard match involving three competitors, for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship. Kong prevailed at Destination X with help from Saeed. Saeed repeatedly interfered in Kim's and O.D.B.'s championship matches. This resulted in a tag team match advertised for Lockdown in which the team of Kim and O.D.B. would face Kong and Saeed. Another rivalry heading into Lockdown was the encounter between former Voodoo Kin Mafia partners B.G. James (Brian Gerard James) and Kip James (Monty Sopp). This rivalry slowly began to arise in early December, when B.G. won a TNA World Tag Team Title shot at TNA's December pay-per-view in 2007.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2007/12/03/4704399.html|title=Chaos rules at Turning Point|last=Sokol|first=Chris|date=2007-12-03|accessdate=2008-09-08|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] Kip, wanting B.G. to choose him to be his partner when he challenged the World Tag Team Champions, asked B.G. to announce who his partner would be when he challenged for the championship. Before Against All Odds, B.G. finally announced that his partner would be his farther Bob Armstrong (Joseph James). B.G. stated that throughout his career he has always wanted to hold a tag team championship with his dad. Kip was displeased with the decision but said he understood. At Against All Odds, B.G. teamed with Armstrong to fight the reigning World Tag Team Champions A.J. Styles and Tomko for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. B.G. and Armstrong, however, failed in their attempt. A rematch was held on the episode of "Impact!" after Against All Odds, in which Kip filled in for B.G., who was legitimately injured.cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/02/22/4868339.html|title=Impact: Angle-Booker ends in usual chaos|last=Sokol|first=Chris|date=2008-02-22|accessdate=2008-09-08|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer] During the match, Kip was scripted to attack B.G. and Armstrong, who were at ringside. It was later revealed that Kip was displeased at B.G. for not teaming with him during the title match. A match was later announced by TNA pitting B.G. against Kip at Lockdown.

Event

Cuffed in the Cage eliminations

2.

Lethal Lockdown entrances

3.

ee also

*TNA Lockdown
*List of TNA pay-per-view events
*Six Sides of Steel

References

External links

* [http://www.paultsongasarena.com/ The official website of the Tsongas Arena]
* [http://www.tnawrestling.com/ TNA Wrestling.com]