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TAKING A DEEP LOOK INTO TNA'S LOCKDOWN: THE POSITIVES, THE NEGATIVES, THE RUSSO CHANTS AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

TNA's Lockdown PPV this past Sunday was more of the same from a company that often feels like it's competing against itself. There were positives to the show, some negatives, some ideas that didn't get over and the return of the infamous "Fire Russo" chant. So, let's break the show down, match by match, with my own long series of thoughts and reactions after watching the show for a second time:

LOCKDOWN'S POSITIVES

First, the look of the PPV was great. TNA needs to get out of Orlando for PPVs, immediately. I can see running TV there forever, but the difference between a PPV in the Impact Zone (which is a great place to see a live show) and being on the road is like experiencing the difference between being inside the Hammerstein Ballroom and Madison Square Garden in New York City. One is small and fun with a unique, intimate atmosphere, but the Garden is the mecca and looks so much more impressive. TNA needs to look like a top flight company in order to attract fans and advertisers and sponsors, but beyond that, they need to run in markets where they can make money on ticket sales, fan interaction events, merchandise and other revenue streams. With all due respect to The Impact Zone (and I've met a ton of really great people during my visits to that venue), they can't offer that to TNA, so it's time for TNA to grow up and move out, at least when it comes to regular PPVs there.

All of the video features, especially the opening, were well done. Dave Sahadi and his team sometimes get a little out there with the symbolism but I thought the opening prison sequence was great.

The X-Division Xscape match was the best X-Division bout in recent memory, partially because they actually had time to wrestle and put on a fun match, but also because TNA is sitting on the best kept secret in professional wrestling, the tag team work of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley. I was amazed watching their work and realized that the words "Midnight Express" kept creeping into my head as I watched them hit perfectly synchronized moves and double team maneuvers. TNA has money waiting for that team to be pushed as a top heel duo and I hope they realize that.

Jay Lethal was really, really over as "Black Machismo". I remain unsold on the gimmick because I don't want to see Lethal's career follow that of Terry Taylor's. Taylor was a great worker and a good hand, but once WWE turned him into the Red Rooster, he never recovered on a national level. Lethal should be allowed to find his own persona in my mind, but you can't discount the crowd reactions as he received the biggest response of his entire career in St. Louis. Lethal does do a great job replicating the moves and intensity of Randy Savage in his prime, and thankfully added some of his own signature moves to the equation so it wasn't a simple Savage knockoff. I just hope TNA has ideas about where this can go down the line because you can only do so much with one dimension of a character. Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy did fine work in this match as well. Shark Boy is great for an opening match character. I'd love to see them do some silly stuff between Eric Young and Shark Boy down the line. I'd crack up if Sharky was Young's "friend". Anyway, TNA started off the PPV with the right choice.

While there was nothing truly memorable about the Petey Williams vs. Robert Roode match from a in-ring standpoint when compared to the rest of the show, Roode is finally finding his presence inside the ring in my opinion. He looked solid and like a heel (as opposed to someone playing a heel, which is like the difference between Edge and Randy Orton) and I enjoyed this undercard bout for what it was. Williams' work was good as well. Roode did a great job saving a spot where Williams slipping on the ropes and I liked that there was a clean finish too. The undercard matches should always have clean finishes. Leave the shenanigans for the top guys so you don't burn out the crowd. I also really enjoy Eric Young's character, but that said, the storyline is pretty silly. I personally enjoy a more serious approach to the business, but some silliness is OK. An entire storyline around silliness only hurts the performers. Still, these guys made the most of it here.

Gail Kim vs. Jackie Moore was a fun little grudge match. They had a decent pull apart outside during the pre-game show and their pre-match antics outside the ring brawling, involving the announcers and SoCal Val were fun too. I thought the work inside the ring was fine for what it was. The big spot off the cage was a nice idea but both were extremely lucky that Kim's trajectory wasn't any more off because that could have led to a major injury for both. TNA did a good job with showing the slow motion replay. Good effort here.

The Senshi vs. Austin Starr match was full of awesome back and forth exchanges and offense. Bob Backlund did seem a little out of place at times because of the contrast between his character and their performances, but part of me wonders if he was placed into the situation to add some color for fear of fans turning on straight wrestling. Still, a great match. At this point in the show, TNA was really clicking as everything was entertaining on different levels, but nothing was bad or boring. I also liked the silly Bob Backlund/Jeremy Borash interaction backstage.

Lethal Lockdown was an awesome main event. Everyone involved worked hard. AJ Styles was a bumping machine, to the point I am scared that's going to be his new MO on PPV after the last few months. It sounds insane to say this, since his work was always top notch, but he's my pick for most improved over the last several months. He's found his calling as a heel pr***. Tomko is showing tons of improvement and that bump out of the cage door to the floor was crazy. Rhino looked good as always. Angle and Styles on top of the cage was fun, although part of me was scared we were going to see some German suplexes up there. Abyss is one of the best big men to come along in this business in years, with only Umaga standing tall as competition in that regard. Abyss tore it up in the cage and deserves a raise. He's that awesome. Cage and Sting had some fun exchanges. Samoa Joe, again, was the man with tons of great offense, selling and the kickass tope out of the cage. Plus, you had Scott Steiner pulling out a Frankensteiner, which the crowd loved. Sting and Cage both took thumbtack bumps, which while a little over the top, I give them credit for being so giving of their bodies for the product. I don't want to see tacks every PPV but in a big match like this, it's suitable. Everyone came into this with their working boots on and it was a lot of fun, even before the plunder got involved. The layout for the match was well done, although I don't think Jeff Jarrett (I'll have more on Jeff below) got the reaction TNA likely hoped for. It made sense for Angle to be mad he didn't get the win and the title shot, but then again, who told him to go to the roof? Still, a great main event that sent the crowd home happy.

Oh yeah, Christy Hemme looked awesome too. While I can't say I enjoy her current storyline, as long as she's on my TV, I'm thrilled.

LOCKDOWN'S NEGATIVES

The Lockdown concept, in my opinion, should be scaled back and utilized for just a few top matches. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels, for example, didn't need to be in a cage. I know it does well for the company but sometimes, less is more.

TNA hires Jim Cornette, who promises to be the authority figure that the company needs. So, why in the world is he being blackmailed into giving the heels what they want? Why is Jim Cornette, one of the most dastardly evil heel managers of all time, being emasculated when he should be threatening them with suspensions, titles being stripped, etc. Secondly, why is TNA using one of the greatest talkers of all time (that being Cornette, in case you aren't paying attention) and using him in useless, meaningless backstage promos? For every fan that is up in arms about Ric Flair not being given the chance to do great promos for WWE, they should be equally upset that Cornette has been completely misused. It's a waste of his talents and an asset that isn't being used, especially when they erode his legitimacy in a role that they could have simply kept using Larry Zbyszko for - hapless management member.

The Electrified Cage was doomed from the start, and not just because of poor execution. The promos involved during the show by Konnan and Brother Ray were both excellent. TNA promoted the bout as one of the most dangerous things you'd ever see. TNA promised to raise the level of violence in the cllimax of a feud between the greatest ECW tandem ever and the fastest rising badass team of the last several years. Thus, expectations were high and you could feel that in the fan reactions during the ring introductions. However, what did TNA deliver? Flickering lights, a humming noise, and wrestlers shaking while touching the cage at some points, while being able to scale the cage at others. In an era where fans expected violence and brutality (and likely explosions) based on what was teased to them, this wasn't what those fans hoped for. They received some good brawling and lots of blood, but unfortunately, the promised stipulations not being delivered hindered all the good brawling, while the blue-ish tint of the ring lights whitewashed out the gore and blood. If TNA ever tries this concept again, they need an entirely new way of presenting it.

Then, we get to something that really annoyed me while watching the show live. Team 3D spends all these months trying to achieve their goal of becoming the "most decorated tag team of all time", getting revenge on LAX, and winning the NWA Tag titles, which has been their goal since day one of being part of TNA. So what does TNA do to commemorate this moment? They go backstage to Kurt Angle. Come on! If that moment isn't treated as a big deal, it's not a big deal. If it's not a big deal, why did TNA expect fans to invest months and months into waiting for the payoff?

If the Electrified Cage had one thing going for it, it was that the competitors weren't blindfolded. One had to feel terrible watching Chris Harris vs. James Storm. They break up their tag team, with the story that Harris has been blinded. They finally, after months, get into the ring and instead of some knockout, drag out, brutal first battle, we get wrestlers stumbling around, pretending to be blind while their hoods are falling off every third spot. What should have been an entertaining first chapter instead made fans want to see the book closed on the feud altogether. When competitors mean less walking out of a promoted bout than they meant walking in, it's a failure in every sense of the word. This was just painful to watch for the wrestlers' sake, much less any other reason. TNA should delete this match from the DVD release and pretend it never took place.

I praised the Lethal Lockdown above. As well booked and as much fun as the Lethal Lockdown was, it was also a distraction from the problem at hand. Wasn't the entire purpose of this match Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage? It's nice that TNA is finally getting back to Sting vs. Cage (a feud that fizzled out without storyline resolution), but what about Samoa Joe's rematch? What about Angle? Why is no one main issue ever really focused on for any long period of time within TNA, much less resolved, but when a focus is finally put on someone, it's Jeff Jarret...again? For the record, I am probably the least negative about Jarrett's work out of most that follow and cover the company. He deserves to be part or the company, it's his baby, and he deserves to be a player (and his in-ring work is vastly underrated by those who are tired of his push). That said, the ENTIRE show was built around Jeff Jarrett. Every promo for the main event revolved around him, not revenge on the heels, not title shots, not the danger of the cage, but JEFF JARRETT? To me, Jarrett's best role in 2007 would be to play the mid-card babyface who builds heels on the way to the main event by feuding with them, sort of Jake Roberts' role in the WWF or Tommy Dreamer's in ECW. You want to be a top dog? You have to go through Jeff. Jarrett should not be booked as the guy who is the focus of an entire PPV, gets the grand entrance, makes a cameo, then hands Sting a title shot, not in what is meant to be a big blowoff match between two feuding factions when he hasn't been a factor in the storyline involved. Not in my opinion and I hope it's not a sign of things to come because it will quickly burn the audience out on Jarrett's return.

One other problem that stood out during the show was the production needs to be tighter. As good as the look of the show and the video features were, the camera work missing major spots took away from the show. Most importantly, there was no excuse for TNA to miss that AJ Styles bump. It's hardly the first time things of that nature have happened. That has to improve, immediately. WWE is a well oiled machine when it comes to production and if TNA wants to be seen as competition, they need their own machine in order. Bottom line.

LOCKDOWN: IN THE MIDDLE

Kevin Nash received a paycheck for shaking Jay Lethal's hand? Seriously? Someone get me his agent. Good for Nash, but is that the best way to utilize him? I certainly don't want to see him wrestle, but commentary? Backstage promo with Lethal consoling him for his loss? Something! Make the guy earn that check!

Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels as a match was just kind of there. It never really clicked into second gear and the crowd seemed let down when they teased doing a big move off the ropes but then didn't do it. If the match was designed to give Daniels' new heel persona some ring time to establish it, they accomplished that goal, but for someone who knows what these guys can do, my expectations weren't met because the match was OK, but not the spectacular bout one might hope for.

VKM vs. Serotonin was just there. Too short to mean anything. Another short tease of Kaz turning babyface, which is too much, too soon since we've never heard Raven explain why they are under his power to begin with. The lack of a delivered mystery team was pretty lame too.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

The main event was great, the undercard was OK to good, and the bad were the gimmick matches. I've written a few times during this that less means more. TNA is often rushing through storylines and feuds trying to maximize everything in hopes of building the company while holding the current trends steady. Slowing down and making the gimmick matches happen every so often, instead of every show, would be a big plus to the company. The fast forward feeling is somewhat the company calling card at this point, though, but at some point, that's going to need to give because things are being overdone and overlooked and presented at MACH5 and at times, that's what's keeping the company from nailing a grand slam on shows like this where they had the potential to do so.

Which leads me to....

FINALLY, FIRE RUSSO

In the last 48 hours, there have been some in TNA upset about the "Fire Russo" chants in St. Louis. I don't believe those upset are seeing the big picture though. In my opinion. the chants were not being aimed at Vince Russo personally, but instead are the creation of a new word in the wrestling vocabulary book. Anyone within TNA who dilutes the chants into a personal issue against Russo is clouding the meaning behind the chants, which were fans rejecting what they don't like about aspects of the TNA product. They could have just as easily chanted, "This is stupid", which would have looked even worse for the company, and gotten across the same message.

So why are fans taking Russo's name and using it? Quite simply, whether anyone likes to admit it or not within TNA, that name is now synonymous with the term some online refer to as "Wrestlecrap". Fair or not to Russo personally in 2007, when you put the WCW title on yourself, have pinata on a pole matches, create the term "David Arquette World champion", book miscarriages, and other goofy antics in an attempt to create edgy "Crash TV", no true diehard wrestling fan is going to forgive and forget, not when they see those same aspects in a company they are trying to support.

It's those same diehard fans that are watching and that are coming to TNA's shows. Whether Russo has found his spirituality or not is not the issue. Whether he's a "new man" or not is not the issue. The issue is that there are things in TNA that aren't clicking creatively to fans that actually care and follow the TNA product. Much like a sports team that blows a big moment, fans are booing and rejecting what they are being presented at times because they don't like it. Thus, Russo's name has now evolved to something past just the name of a writer for the company. It's now rally cry against things fans don't like about TNA. Fair or not to Russo, that is the reality.

That said, Russo is only part of the TNA creative picture. If anything, Jeff Jarrett should be the one who receives the majority of praise or blame for the TNA product; it's his department to head creative. TNA fans see Russo as an easy way to voice their frustrations about the product. I don't think they want TNA to fire Russo (well, to be fair, some of them probably do) as much as they want TNA to give them the product that TNA themselves claim to be, an alternative wrestling product that focuses on wrestling.

Those fans want good, hard hitting, athletic, smart, sometimes violent wrestling and TNA can no longer claim that viewpoint and those chants are exclusive to jaded, smart fans in Orlando who get into TNA events for free and are trying to ruin the show. TNA need to realize that the audience that is following their product are smart, sometimes jaded fans who want to see the product they desire and see it SUCCEED. It's up to TNA to acknowledge that and promote it to them, while finding ways to expand their company's audience in the process.

In the old Mid-South territory, Bill Watts once got upset because then-booker Ernie Ladd kept coming up with reasons not to push the Junkyard Dog. Ladd would point out all of JYD's weaknesses and why he shouldn't be pushed. Watts wouldn't care. JYD was the man and that was the bottom line. It was Ladd's job to book him at his strongest and make money, not undercut that. Ladd did, and the territory exploded. Like Ladd then and TNA now, it needs to be about what's best for the company.

It's TNA's job to find out what the audience wants and produce that product. If these fans are watching (and caring) about TNA, they obviously don't want to see another WWE product. There are already three WWE brands out there for the choosing. If they wanted that product, they wouldn't bother with TNA. It's not TNA's job to tell those fans they are wrong, because if they do, at some point, those fans, who already want to spend money on TNA, will eventually give up and stop caring.

Those fans care about the product. They want a good product. That's what they hope for when they watch TNA and that's what they complain about when they don't get it.

Firing Vince Russo is not the magic answer to the situation and deep down, the fans chanting for it know that too. They aren't calling for Russo to be thrown off the Destination X scaffold headfirst. They are saying they want the TNA product to be good.

If TNA isn't willing to try and do that or instead decides they are going to tell the fans that they know 100% what the audience wants when there is evidence otherwise, TNA may as well keep rowing their boat in circles because they will get nowhere fast.

If a movie studio makes millions making romantic comedies, and pennies producing big budget horror films, they will listen to their audience and kill the horror movies to focus on what their audience wants to see. TNA needs to have the foresight to see that for their own company and try and evolve their product for the better.

It's time for TNA to stop undercutting themselves as a product. They need to look at Lockdown and see what their strengths and weaknesses are. Acknowledge mistakes and missed opportunities. Make the product stronger by doing so. Those fans who bury parts of the show they hate now will thank you later, by continuing to spend their money.

There are some in the company content (for now) with a 1.0 on SpikeTV and PPV buys that are (allegedly) up and merchandise sales that (definitely) are up and use that as reasoning as to why they shouldn't mess with the current formula. I say it's never good to be reactive when you can be proactive. Not every idea is going to get over, but by not concerning themselves with ways to improve (and by concerning themselves with who is getting blamed), nothing ever will.

TNA needs to stop being so concerned about the "Fire Russo" chant, and instead pay attention to the message behind it. Use that criticism to improve their own product in-house. Hope that by doing so, the current formula improves and that improvement will bring more revenue with it.

If I was TNA, I'd be more concerned about the potential for the day where those Russo chants (and other chants voicing their opinion on the product) disappear, because that means those fans no longer care, and are no longer there to win back over when something doesn't go the way TNA planned. When you lose the diehard fans, who live and die for their pro wrestling, you are not heading in the right direction, short or long-term. You are heading towards the end. TNA needs to make sure that day never comes and can do so by heeding some of the criticism, not deflecting it.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com. He personally thinks TNA should be running the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, but that's besides the point.

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