WWE and Impact Wrestling (TNA) Hall of Famer “Double J” Jeff Jarrett spoke about how the whole concept for TNA LockDown came to be during the latest edition of his “My World With Jeff Jarrett” podcast.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
Jeff Jarrett on how the TNA Lockdown pay-per-view concept came together: “I’ve heard different versions from Dusty [Rhodes], my dad, and Dixie [Carter] back in the day and the story just kind of grew. But I can see it going done because my dad, I’ve heard this speech from him a thousand times. ‘Son, gimmicks don’t mean nothing if the story is not there. I don’t care what it is.’ So, I’m sure Dusty’s argument was, ‘These cage matches are drawing, we need something.’ Because originally, Lockdown was promoted as the anti-WrestleMania. You’re not gonna out-glitz and glamour, so let’s go, for a lack of a better term, blood and guts. That was kind of the mindset of the early Lockdowns. The statement was made, ‘Well, if you have two cage matches, hell, put the whole damn card in the cage.’ Everybody kind of looked at each other, and time was of the essence and reading between the lines, the Carters wanted to see movement. So, the two cage matches were the original thought from Dusty, and my dad’s counter was do the whole damn card. Bingo, we’re off to the races.”
On his reaction to the idea of doing an all cage matches: “I’ll sit here and say it right now, I said, ‘Absolutely. I think it’s awesome. Why not? Do something different, do something innovative. If we do cage matches do we really think that’s gonna move the needle? If you do one cage match, do you really think it’s gonna move the needle?’ Then I want really hard and said you have to make six, seven, or eight [cage matches]. I said you have to make it different. They can’t just be six or eight straight blood and guts. Come up with creativity within the cage match. Love it or hate it, I was all for it, but I was adamant that you have to have seven different – the creativity has to be different, or it’s gonna be just like seven X Division matches or whatever it may be.”