The Katz Files – Arnie Katz
The Kingfish’s Lockdown Preview & Predictions!
The Kingfish Arnie Katz has one of the clearest crystal balls in the wrestling business. Now he gets you ready for the TNA pay per view – and charts the likely winners and losers!.
Lockdown, TNA’s April pay per view has aroused strong, ambivalent reaction from the fans. We don’t know whether to cheer the anticipated high spots like the TNA World Championship match between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe or shudder at the thought of those heavy-duty gimmick matches.
Let’s look at the menu of matches for this all-cage show…
Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Salinas vs. Rhaka Khan vs. Tracy Brooks vs. Christy Hemme vs. Jacqueline vs. Roxxie LaVeaux vs. Payton Banks
Queen of the Cage Match
The Story: The Women’s Division spotlight has fallen on three wrestlers, Gail Kim, ODB and Awesome Kong. This is a match for the other women in the division. The winner will be proclaimed “Queen of the Cage,” though it probably won’t have much impact, since the writers will forget it in a couple of weeks.
My Prediction: The next World Title match for Awesome Kong will presumably come out of the tag team match against Kim and ODB, which makes this cluster schmazz hard to predict with any certainty. Assuming that the winner will face Kong somewhere lets out the women who are less skilled in the ring, like Tracy Brooks, Peyton Banks, Christy Hemme and Rhaka Khan. I would hope that TNA bookers know that Velvet Sky and Angelina Love can’t be used against Kong in any meaningful way until their status with fans is higher than it is now. LaVeaux will eliminate The Mean Girls, but they may take her with them. Even though her character is not well aligned for a title confrontation with Awesome Kong, Jackie Moore appears to be the most likely winner – and my prediction for this match.
Predicted Grade: C+ (This reminds uncomfortably of WWE)
Awesome Kong & Raisha Said vs. ODB & Gail Kim
Knockout Tag Team Match
The Story: The tri-cornered feud among Kong, Kim and ODB has made the Knockout Division a big hit with fans. This continues the hostilities, adding Raisha Said as an active participant instead of a ringside distraction. ODB has taken a special dislike to Kong’s shadowy sidekick and has vowed to remove the berka that hides her face.
My Prediction: The match is structures so that Raisha Said is Awesome Kong’s Achilles Heel. She also gives the fan favorites a chance to accomplish something (unmasking) while Awesome Kong capitalizes on the distraction to win the match. This may possibly precipitate a feud between ODB and Gail Kim, though that remains a very bad idea.
Predicted Grade: B
BG James vs. Kip James
The Story: There are no fiercer enemies than friends who have fallen out with each other. After more than a decade as tag team partners, this pair has become antagonists. Kip felt slighted when BG chose to team with his ad after winning the tag title suitcase.
My Prediction: TNA supported this match with a whole series of carefully prepared “behind the scenes” videos in the style of HBO’s boxing previews. It’s hard to believe that they did all that just to have one match, yet a showdown in a cage is traditionally the end of a feud. BG James appears to be the babyface in this program, so I forecast a win for Kip James. It won’t be a clean job, though, so that BG can have a return match and get his revenge.
predicted Grade: B-0
Booker T & Sharmell vs. Robert Roode & Payton Banks
Mixed Tag Team Match
The Story: Robert Roode’s punch to Sharmell’s jaw is right up there with the kidnapping of Helen of Troy as the trigger for sustained hostilities. Sharmell returned with explosive results at the last pay per view and will now get in the ring to exact more retribution.
My Prediction: The announcers mentioned Peyton Banks among the competitors in the Queen of the Cage match. Looking back, it may have been a mere slip of the tongue. She hasn’t shown so much ring skill that they would rush to use her twice, unless it’s just that they want to have a specific number of contestants.
In any case, this feud should only end when two things have happened: Sharmell gets revenge against Robert Roode and Booker T beats Roode in the ring. Anything less is just bad booking.
Therefore, Robert Roode will win the match to precipitate the one-on-one final showdown at the next pay per view. Sharmell will catfight with Peyton Banks and definitely will dish out some payback. Unfortunately, Booker T’s concern for her will distract him and allow Roode to score a quick pin.
Predicted Grade: B
Jay Lethal vs. Curry Man vs. Shark Boy vs. Johnny Devine vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Consequence Creed
X-Division X-Scape Match
The Story: Jay Lethal has the belt and a lot of other guys want it.
My Prediction: The last-minute introduction of Consequences Creed is the lynchpin of this match. They wouldn’t give him a smashing victory and shove him into this match if TNA didn’t have some plans and hopes for him. That doesn’t mean he’ll win, but he may damage a couple of guys during this match.
Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt are surely on a collision course, so this match will provide the spark. The best booking strategy would be to have them fight over the title as well as SoCal Val, but TNA may not feel the belt is needed in this feud. That’s why I predict it will come down to Curryman, Shark Boy and one of the heels and Shark Boy will try, and fail, to get the win in a way that enables Curryman to win the match and the title.
Predicted Grade: A-
Black Reign & RelliK vs. Scott Steiner & Petey Williams vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. The Rock ‘n’ Rave Infection (Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave with Christy Hemme) vs. LAx (Homicide & Hernandez) vs. Kaz & Eric Young
Cuffed in the Cage Match
The Story: Once upon a time, there were a whole bunch of tag teams with nothing to do on Sunday, April 13. Then someone said, “Hey, we have al these hand cuffs left over from the Roode-Booker angle.”
My Prediction: One prediction is that the folks at TNA will wish they’d tried out this format a time or two before putting it on the pay per view. It will be tightly booked and look phony as hell toward the end, when getting guys into handcuffs will become harder and harder to do in a realistic way.
One huge unknown: What about keys? Who has them, if any, and how they can be acquired, if possible, didn’t rate a mention in the announcement. Possibly, TNA hasn’t thought of having all cuffs use the same key and suspending the keys from the cage or putting a number on each set of cuffs and corresponding numbers on keys hung from the cage. Possibly they have, but not in time to mention that aspect of the match.
Kaz and Super Eric will win the match. Eric will break out of the hand cuffs just in time to prevent Black Reign from cuffing Kaz to win.
Predicted Grade: B (can you say, “Cluster Schmazz”?)
Team Cage (Christian Cage, Sting, Matt Morgan, Kevin Nash & Rhino) v Team Tomko (Tomko, A.J. Styles, Team 3D and James Storm)
Lethal Lockdown Match
The Story: Once Tomko worked as Christian Cage’s body guard. Later, he joined the Christian Coalition in TNA. Eventually, though, Tomko allowed himself to be pulled into the Angle Alliance. He and Cage said ad did things to each other that destroyed the friendship. Now each man has recruited four supporter and the small armies will face off inside the cage.
My Prediction: It has to come down to the captains. The Tomko-Cage feud is the reason for the match, They will probably have one more match, a singles contest, before the feud ends, so this one shouldn’t finish the story.
That indicates that Team Tomko should probably win. One possible scenario would be for Kevin Nash to turn on Matt Morgan and cause the big man to get pinned. Big Kev’s repeated comments about going where the money is sounds like the tip-off to a sell-out. That would launch Morgan into a program with Nash while Cage could continue his battle against Tomko.
Predicted Grade: B+
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Story: The storyline is simple, yet complex. Ever since Kurt Angle entered TNA, Samoa Joe has stalked him relentlessly. Their war has taken many forms and gone in many directions. Now they’ll fight for the title – and for Joe’s career – in the cage.
My Prediction: The stipulation as originally stated was a horrible mistake. It guaranteed that Samoa Joe would win this match, because he isn’t going to quit all wrestling (which he would have to do if he didn’t win the title.)
Did you notice that, on the 4/10 iMPACT, that it was said that Samoa Joe will have to stop wrestling if he loses. If you listen carefully to comments about this match made on Lockdown, you’ll know which version of the stip is in force. If it’s the original one, Joe has to win. If not, they could weasel out of the stip with a double count-out or a double DQ.
Nonetheless, I will mark out and forecast a victory for Samoa Joe. It’ll offset the loss of Team Cage in the co-main event and gives TNA a nice re-match.
Predicted Grade: A
Predicted Grade for Lockdown: B+
– Arnie Katz
Crossfire4@cox.net
(4/11/08)
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