TNA Lockdown 2012: What Worked, What Didn't and Where We Go from Here?

Lockdown is one of the biggest PPV's TNA has under their belt and it consistently delivers some of the best cage match action in this or any other company.

This year we see Robert "Bobby" Roode vs. James Storm as the headline act and Team Garrett vs. Team Eric in the battle of the Bischoffs (and one of them will finally leave!).

This review is meant to be very simple and not excessive. It's very easy when critiquing something for someone to go over the top and write far too much about just one match. I've tried to keep each comment to just one short paragraph.

If you disagree with me or have things you believe I missed, then don't hesitate to comment.

What Worked

Robert "Bobby" Roode vs. "Cowboy" James Storm: People can say what they want about the finish (and they will), but this was a great, highly emotional match and nothing anyone can say will ever make me think this wasn't a fantastic match.

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy: This was a potential show stealer and even with his injury, Kurt put in a great performance. Hardy won, but the match showcased the resilience of Kurt Angle beautifully. The match also held the spot of the night when Hardy jumped off the cage (If Angle was fully healthy, he would have done it as well).

Samoa Joe/Magnus and Gail Kim retaining: In two solid matches on the Lockdown mid card, we saw the Tag Team and Knockout champions retained and it was the right move by TNA. Velvet Sky is not a great wrestler and she isn't even in the top five Knockouts on the roster. The Guns only just came back and handing them the titles right away just wouldn't work.

Lethal Lockdown: I don't like the Lethal Lockdown match starting off the PPV; it just seems wrong to put such a big-name specialty match at the start of the card but the match delivered anyway. Garrett Bischoff was kept out of the action as much as possible and having Bischoff get smashed with a guitar in Nashville was just a perfect way to end the match.

What Didn't Work

ODB & Eric Young vs. Sarita & Rosita: It wasn't that good of a match and it didn't deserve to be this high up the card. I get that fans love ODB and Eric, but this shouldn't have been after Hardy vs. Angle.

Lack of X-Division match: TNA couldn't fit in a four-man Xscape match for the number one contendership? You could have dumped the Ric Flair crap and just had a six-minute match. So much for TNA's revived X-Division.

Matt Morgan vs. Crimson: It was just a filler match used to lengthen a feud that no one really cares about. This better end at Sacrifice.

Ric Flair segment: It's always nice to see Ric on the mic, but the fact that this is going to lead to a Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan match is what lands it here.

The Crowd: For good portions of the PPV, the crowd was dead—don't even get me started on the loud-mouth chanting "Space Mountain" while Flair was talking. To their credit, they did pick up during the big matches, but the atmosphere halfway through the show is exactly why TNA management doesn't want to go on the road to often.

Devon vs. Robbie E: It was a short, pointless match with absolutely no buildup that had no business being on PPV. Shouldn't the TV title have matches on TV not PPV? Isn't that the point of the belt?

Where Do We Go from Here?

TNA will drag the Matt Morgan/Crimson feud out until just before Crimson is due to break Samoa Joe's record. Crimson has been unbeaten for 18 months now just three short of Joe's 21-month mark.

I don't know where James Storm vs. Robert Roode can go from here. Storm got his rematch in a Steel Cage in his hometown and despite the less-than-dominant win by Roode he did win fair and square. Maybe it's time for Bully Ray or AJ Styles to get another shot?

Velvet Sky's saga of average wrestling for the championship is not over and it won't be until she wins at Slammiversary.

It's nice to see Devon with some gold around his waist. Expect TNA to have him either fight or mock Bully Ray about being "the first to get a singles title" sometime soon.

Samoa Joe/Magnus vs. Motor City Machine Guns is going to be a multi-month saga that TNA will draw out as long as possible. Expect Joe and Magnus to be established as brute strength heels sooner rather than later.

The ODB/Eric Young vs. Sarita/Rosita angle needs to end now, but it won't until the Impact Zone fans get sick of it (and that won't be for some time). Expect Hernandez or Anarquia to beat down Eric and then get cheap-shotted by ODB.

The X-Division is almost dead without Aries, but don't expect any changes until Aries drops the title and moves into the main event for good.

Expect Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair to dominate a lot of the screen time leading up to Slammiversary. Why can't Immortal just die already?