TNA World Tag Team Championship:
Austin Aries & Bobby Roode (c) vs. Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) vs. Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez
Austin Aries & Bobby Roode defend their newly won TNA World Tag Team titles against former champions Christopher Daniels & Kazarian and Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez in a plain three way tag team match.
The Road to Lockdown
The challenging teams feuded in the autumn of 2012 with Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez winning the TNA titles at Bound For Glory from Christopher Daniels & Kazarian in a three way match also featuring Kurt Angle & AJ Styles. The Latino babyfaces also successfully retained the belts the following month at Turning Point against Bad Influence.
Aries & Roode, two of TNA's top singles heels, first teamed together on the Jan. 10th episode of Impact losing to Jeff Hardy & James Storm via disqualification, just three days before their Triple Threat match against Hardy for his TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Genesis.
Their rivalry naturally transformed into an argumentative tag team when Chavo & Hernandez stopped them from gatecrashing Bully Ray's wedding with Brooke Hogan.
On Jan. 24th, despite getting into a shoving match with his new partner when Austin Aries ran down and saved him from a suicide dive, Bobby Roode still defeated Hernandez, leading to an argument over who deserved credit for the victory.
The following week, Austin Aries pinned Chavo Guerrero in another singles match after Roode took care of Hernandez to earn their duo a tag team title shot on the Feb. 7th Impact where they won the belts when Aries pinned Chavo again with his 450 splash.
When Aries and Roode were booked in a singles match where they were given an opportunity to impress Hulk Hogan to earn a TNA World Heavyweight title match at Lockdown, Chavo & Hernandez distracted them both while they were both outside the ring leading to them both being counted out. Not that it would have mattered anyway.
On Feb. 21st, Christopher Daniels & Kazarian were finally thrown into the mix when they teamed with Austin Aries & Robert Roode and lost to Chavo Guerrero, Hernandez, Joseph Park & James Storm, thanks to the tag team champions walking out on the match and leaving Bad Influence to be quadruple teamed.
Ten days before Lockdown, Aries pinned Hernandez when he KO'd him with a steel chain behind the referee's back.
On the go home show, Chavo Guerrero, Hernandez & Velvet Sky defeated Christopher Daniels, Kazarian & Gail Kim when Gail pinned Sky, so that finish was more about building the Knockouts title match than the Tag Team title bout.
As you can see, Cagesiders, the build for this three way match hasn't been very focused at all. At least it gets Bad Influence on the card, rather than doing a straight rematch between Austin Aries & Bobby Roode and Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez.
What's at stake?
With a victory, not only will the winning team earn the prestigious TNA World Tag Team Championship, but also bragging rights for being the best tag team in the company and arguably the whole damn business.
Austin Aries & Robert Roode seem destined to become one of the greatest teams in TNA history, with their total package of charisma, presence, poise and supreme working ability, but their opponents could prevent that from happening by cutting their title reign short and cementing their own legacy in the history books.
Whatever the outcome, expect more battles between these three teams in the near future. Follow our live Lockdown coverage tomorrow Cagesiders to discover who'll go into those rematches as the TNA tag team champions of the world.