TNA has tried a number of different match concepts. Some of them worked. Some did not. For example, that King of the Mountain reverse Royal Rumble match they have is stupid. The one concept they did that works really well is the Lockdown PPV where all the matches are held inside of a steel cage aka the "Six Sides Of Steel" match. The reason Lockdown is usually one of TNA's better PPVs (or major shows) is because you can't get an all cage match show anywhere else. It's very unique to see women in cage matches, tag matches in the cage and other various stipulations used in that type of setting. The negative to it is that some of the undercard matches look tame because they want to save big stuff for later, but for the most part they are well booked. Their "Lethal Lockdown" match is essentially the same thing as War Games except it takes place in one ring instead of two and they use weapons in it. While it's not the most innovative match type you're ever going to see, it gets the job done in terms of promoting brutality as well as delivering it. When TNA was at its best, these kinds of matches always drew the biggest reactions from the fans because of how intense they were. When the company was hurting it usually meant a dull crowd even when the match was barbaric. The crowd reactions for matches like this can tell you when TNA was hot and when they were not.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
