Originally, Lockdown was to have only two cage matches to highlight the name;[1] the 2013 event was the only one to follow this format. With the exception of the 2005 and 2006 events, Lockdown has been held outside the
Impact Zone in
Orlando, Florida. The first ten events were held on
Pay-per-view, while the last two events were broadcast as special episodes of Impact's
weekly television series. On January 24, 2020, Impact announced the return of
Lockdown as an
Impact Plusspecial, to be held on March 28, 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
History
The
inaugural Lockdown event took place on April 24, 2005, at the
TNA Impact! Zone in
Orlando, Florida.[3] The event started with
Apolo and
Sonny Siaki facing
Chris Candido and
Lance Hoyt in a
Six Sides of Steel Cage match.[3] During the match, Candido suffered a leg injury and was helped to the back as Apollo and Hoyt won the match.[3] Candido was later diagnosed with a dislocated ankle, broken tibia, and a broken fibula that required surgery.[4] On April 28, after the surgery, Candido was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed where he died a short time later due to a blood clot from the surgery.[5] On May 15, 2005, at the
inaugural Hard Justice event, TNA paid tribute to Candido with a ten-bell salute.[6]
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
Featured matches
Over the years, Lockdown has become a featured PPV in Impact Wrestling'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, 2010-2011 and 2014) to a five-on-five (2007-2008, 2012-2013). 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 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. Since then, the matches have not been added in the pay-per-view any more.