Professor Wrestling: TNA - The Cagey Promotion
A Look At 'Lockdown'
POSTED: 9:53 pm EDT April 14, 2005
UPDATED: 8:36 am EDT April 15, 2005
Listen Up!Class is in session, and it's lecture time. This week, a look at "Lockdown," the next pay-per-view from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling -- the promotion with the six-sided ring.
In a wrestling first, TNA will have an all-cage match PPV. Not one, not two, but eight cage matches are on the April 24 card. It's never been done.The main event is a six-man battle featuring babyfaces Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Diamond Dallas Page against heels Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown and The Outlaw (Billy Gunn).But the match of the night might be the No. 1 contenders match between A.J. Styles and Abyss. The winner takes on the NWA champ (currently Jarrett, the co-owner of the promotion.) Styles, as I've stated before, is simply the best wrestler on the planet, and should shine again here.TNA management is also warning customers that the action could be rougher than normal, and is making sure everyone knows the show has a TV-14 rating. Which is exactly the message you want to send to an 14-year-old boy so he bugs Dad to order the dang thing. They're not dumb over at TNA."A steel cage match is a violent, brutal type of match," said TNA spokesman Brad Bernstein. "The six sides of steel match ends up being a little worse just because the cage doesn't have as much give. So it ends up being a more brutal event."In other words, look for lots of crazy bumps and probably more than one performer wearing the crimson mask. As for the format, Bernstein says it's just par for the course for TNA, an outfit which goes out of its way to be the anti-WWE."We're Total Nonstop Action, we don't just want to be the Boring Wrestling Federation," he said. "It's something different. TNA wrestling has definitely been on the forefront of innovation and cutting edge and not doing things that are normally done."As for the undercard, Bernstein says each match has its own twist to make sure the whole show doesn't look like one unending cage match. Raven versus Jeff Hardy in a tables match might be a highlight, so could the X-Division title bout between Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper.The bottom line?"This is going to be a pretty brutal night," said Bernstein. "TNA is always looking to bring something different to the table. That's what we do."(Professor Wrestling is a masked employee of Internet Broadcasting Systems. His column runs each Friday in this spot. Miss it and you just might get blindsided by a steel chair.)
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Previous Lectures:
- April 8, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The Big Winners
- April 3, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The 'WrestleMania 21' Recap
- March 25, 2005: Professor Wrestling: Hall Of Famers
- March 19, 2005: Professor Wrestling: In Search Of Your 'WrestleMania 21' Picks
- March 14, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The 'Destination X' Recap
- March 4, 2005: Professor Wrestling: Stick With JBL
- February 25, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The A.J. Styles Interview
- February 21, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The 'No Way Out' Recap
- February 14, 2005: Professor Wrestling: Recapping TNA's 'Against All Odds'
- February 4, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The 'WrestleMania' Contest
- January 31, 2005: Professor Wrestling: 'Royal Rumble' Results
- January 21, 2005: Professor Wrestling: Your Favorite Fueds
- January 17, 2005: Professor Wrestling: 'Final Resolution' Results
- January 14, 2005: Professor Wrestling: The Jeff Jarrett Interview
- January 10, 2005: Professor Wrestling: 'New Year's Revolution' Recap
- December 24, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Christmas Wishes
- December 17, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Talking With The Real Professor
- December 13, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Armageddon' Results
- November 26, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Giving Thanks
- November 19, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Masks 'R' Us
- November 15, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Survivor Series' Recap
- November 5, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Personal Grudges
- October 29, 2004: Professor Wrestling: The Classroom Talks Back
- October 22, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Real Sports Vs. Fake Sports
- October 20, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Taboo Tuesday' Results
- October 4, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'No Mercy' Results!
- September 17, 2004: Professor Wrestling: A Holla For Teddy
- September 13, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Unforgiven' Results
- August 20, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Put Mask Back On Kane
- August 16, 2004: Professor Wrestling: SummerSlam Results!
- July 23, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Your Views On Violence
- July 12, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Vengeance' Results
- June 28, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Great American Bash' Results
- June 14, 2004: Professor Wrestling: The 'Bad Blood' Recap
- June 4, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Real Names Edition
- May 28, 2004: Professor Wrestling: The Readers Pick The 'Worst'
- May 21, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Worst Of' Edition
- May 17, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Judgment Day' Results
- May 7, 2004: Professor Wrestling: The Animal Interview, Part 2
- April 30, 2004: Professor Wrestling: The Animal Interview
- April 23, 2004: Professor Wrestling: Show Me Something, Please
- April 20, 2004: Professor Wrestling: 'Backlash' Results
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