Originally Posted by Instant CLASSlC
My early thoughts/predictions:
Xscape Match - Should be great as always with the guys involved. I think there's a chance of Austin "Consequences" Creed being added to it if I remember rightly his debut is the Impact beforehand. Otherwise Kaz could be the final competitor. I think Lethal will retain here unless Dutt turns full-blown heel and screws him somehow as I can't see Shark/Curry getting the belt yet and its too soon for another Devine reign.
Prediction: "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal
Mixed Tag Match - It'll be a great match as long as Banks and Sharmell stay out of the way mostly and let Booker/Roode have a good, intense match. If it is treated this way I can see this being the end of their feud, but if it goes very "mixed" they'll probably have a singles match at Sacrifice to round it off. I expect Booker will put Roode over in the end and then allegedly feud with Tomko so I expect the latter. Therefore...
Prediction: Booker T & Sharmell
BG James vs Kip James - This match has had a great build-up and I can actually see them putting on a decent match. This match could well be their last big stage singles match before they retire so I'd expect them to give it their all. Combining that with the fact that they know each other so well, I think this could be a sleeper match in the undercard.
Prediction: B.G. James
Womens Tag Match - We've seen Kong/Kim. We've seen Kong/ODB. The only unknown element is how well Melissa will take to TNA. To be honest I wish this match had been left off the card. Actually if I'm wishing, then I wish they had held off on Kong/Kim/ODB until now or have two of them go one-on-one in an intense SSoS match. They could have added Melissa to the Queen of the Cage match, which I'm more intrigued by. It's easy to call Saeed taking the fall, but I've called all face wins so far so...
Prediction: Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed
Queen of the Cage - Hopefully this will be better than the Reverse Battle Royal. It should also be for a title shot. I see the last two being Angelina Love and Roxxi Laveaux, with Roxxi coming out on top.
Prediction: "The Voodoo Queen" Roxxi Laveaux
Lethal Lockdown - This should be brilliant. All the elements for a great contest are there. Matt Morgan's long-anticipated debut should be good and I'm looking forward to seeing him square off with Tomko. Storm is a good addition and this should propel him into a good feud with Sting. I can see AJ taking another huge bump. I'd like a Cage vs Tomko match on the 4/10 Impact to gain the numbers' advantage, but they may save that match-up for Sacrifice. I think Joe will win, so I'm predicting a heel victory in the other main event. TNA seem serious about pushing Tomko and this could be his big payoff. So I think he'll get the pin, but I don't think they'll have him pin Christian.
Prediction: Team Tomko
Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe - The build-up for this match has been superb. I'm glad they're being kept apart until Lockdown. I'm glad Karen Angle is being kept out of the equation to avoid repeating Hard Justice. I'm glad both parties are making this out to be a huge deal. My only concern would be them taking the faux-MMA element too far and leaving behind the aspects that make wrestling great. I still want some good chain wrestling, high-impact spots and great flow, just with some added stiffness. I think one or both of them should juice. It should be booked with no-nonsense, no run-ins. I'm expecting a Coquina Clutch to finish off, and if they want an easy cause for rematch, they could have Kurt pass out rather than tap and then have an I Quit or Ironman rematch.
Prediction: Your winner and new TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Samoa Joe
Overall Thoughts: To echo and elaborate the sentiments of other posts I've read, this card has two fantastic main events and then a somewhat underwhelming undercard. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if both main events racked up high ****+ ratings, with the Xscape being ***1/2-**** too. But then again I could almost as easily see none of the remaining matches hitting ***.
Without meaning this in a sexist way, there's too many womens matches. A PPV shouldn't have more than one (though that one should be given a good amount of time). I think TNA Creative have been over-optimistically buoyed by the slight fluctuations in ratings in thinking they can throw womens matches together and increase buyrates. Booker/Roode didn't need to be mixed tag. I think the best thing they could have done was utilise the uniqueness of the cage in an intense one-on-one/triple threat for the title. Or they could have combined the two women's matches and have the "Queen of the Cage" get a title shot right after. Or include Kong in that match, where she'll actually be at a disadvantage for once. Especially considering the anticipated length of the main events, I can see these matches being short and somewhat unremarkable. Even if they add another match, we're seeing some of the following left out: MCMG, LAX, Kaz, Eric Young, Scott Steiner, Petey Williams, Rock & Rave, Elix Skipper, Black Reign & Rellik. Also, while I'm generally not one to go on about the demise of the X-division, last year we had the Xscape match, Senshi vs Austin Starr and Christopher Daniels vs Jerry Lynn all getting a decent amount of time. This year its just the Xscape match.
My main concern with this card is that I feel it's over-reliant on the main events and I'm not sure the casual fan will pay for the PPV when they can just download the matches they want.
On the plus side, the main events have been booked excellently so far and I really feel either could steal MOTN.
Well that was an epic post lol.
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