TNA Lockdown

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Revision as of 04:12, 4 March 2012

Lockdown is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced every April by the American professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action (TNA), is considered one of the flagship PPVs in the company, alongside Slammiversary and Bound for Glory. The event was created in 2005 and is highlighted by the premise that all matches take place inside the Six Sides of Steel cage (or, starting in 2010, a regular, four-sided steel cage). In addition to the cage, the event usually features additional gimmicks added on to the steel cage stipulation. Trademark Lockdown specialty matches include the Lethal Lockdown, Xscape matches and exclusive to the TNA Knockouts the Queen of the Cage.

Originally Lockdown was to have only two cage matches to highlight the name, but soon after the premise was changed to the current all cage match format by TNA CEO Dixie Carter. With the exception of the 2005 and 2006 event, the annual TNA Flagship Show has been held outside of the Impact Zone. The Family Arena has hosted Lockdown twice in 2007 and in 2010. Other cities that have hosted the event were Boston and Philadelphia. The 2011 event was held in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Events

Featured matches

Over the years, Lockdown has become a featured PPV in TNA's monthly schedule, several gimmick matches have become recurring highlights of the show. These matches are intended to provide a different "flavor" to the show as opposed to a simple eight cage match card.

Lethal Lockdown

The first match ever announced for a Lockdown pay per view was the Lethal Lockdown, a variant of the WarGames match popularized in World Championship Wrestling. The match features a multi-man competition in which opponents from each team enter in alternating fashion. Victory can only be gained after everyone has entered the cage. The match has evolved over the years, developing from a three-on-three match (2005) to a four-on-four (2006,2009 and 2011) to a five-on-five (2007–2008 and 2010). Since 2006, the match also includes a roof to the cage, making it the only match with such a feature in TNA, until TNA introduced The Asylum.

Xscape Match

The second annually featured match on a Lockdown PPV was the Xscape match. Consisting of a multi-stage, multi-wrestler competition, the rules involve wrestlers eliminating each other by pinfall or submission. Once the competition is down to two wrestlers, the two remaining competitors attempt to escape the cage by climbing out over the top or through the door. The second stage of this match is based on the concept of the Blassie cage match.

Queen of the Cage

Introduced in 2008, the Queen of the Cage match has been held at 2 Lockdown PPV's, and it features the TNA Knockouts. The match when it first debuted began as similar to a reverse-battle royal involving eight wrestlers. The first two wrestlers that entered the cage then competed in a one-on-one match that was won via pin fall or submission. The winner became the number one contender for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship. In 2009, the match was a four-way.