Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of TNA Lockdown 2026

TNA Wrestling will hold Lockdown this Sunday, August 23, at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois, with every match on the card contested inside a steel cage.

The event marks the return of Lockdown for the first time since 2016 and its first pay-per-view appearance since 2014, making this the 13th edition of the series. It will also mark TNA’s first event at the venue, which was previously known as the UIC Pavilion.

TNA’s Countdown to Lockdown pre-show begins at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT, with the main card following at 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT. The event will stream worldwide on TNA+, with fans also able to purchase it as a standalone pay-per-view through TNAWrestling.com and traditional providers.

Two matches have been added to the pre-show, with Trey Miguel taking on Special Agent Zero, while Vincent and Dutch of The Righteous face Rich Swann and BDE.

Also announced for the show is TNA Hall of Famer AJ Styles’ son, Avery Styles, although it is currently unclear what role he will have on the show.

X-Division Champion Cedric Alexander will defend against Leon Slater in a Last Man Standing match inside the cage, with victory going to the wrestler who leaves their opponent unable to answer the referee’s ten-count. Slater’s record-breaking 298-day title reign is also on the line, with Alexander agreeing to the rematch on the condition that a victory would erase Slater’s reign from TNA’s record books. This would restore Amazing Red as the youngest X-Division Champion in company history and leave Austin Aries alone atop the longest-reigning list. You can read more about that stipulation here.

Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Allie will defend the titles alongside a mystery partner against The Elegance Brand’s Heather By Elegance and M By Elegance. Allie and Rosemary, collectively known as DemonXBunny, captured the championships from The Elegance Brand at Slammiversary on June 28, but Rosemary has been absent for several weeks. After Allie defended the titles alone against both women on the July 30 episode of Impact, TNA announced that a mystery partner will join her in Chicago rather than leave her to face the champions’ challengers alone.

Xia Brookside will defend the Knockouts World Championship against Elayna Black, who challenges in her hometown of Chicago. Black has spent her short time in TNA declaring herself the greatest Knockout of all time, something Brookside has taken personally enough to put the championship on the line and prove otherwise.

International Champion Jason Hotch will defend against Mustafa Ali in what has become the most personal rivalry on the card. On the July 23 episode of Impact, Ali was the reigning International Champion when he announced that he would allow the locker room to vote on his next challenger, granting the title shot to whoever they selected. The vote went to his own Order 4 stablemate, Jason Hotch, but Ali then used his position as leader of the faction to order Hotch to turn down the opportunity.

Hotch went through with it anyway and defeated Ali for the championship on July 30. The following week, Ali walked into Hotch’s locker room while Hotch was away at a photoshoot, sat beside his wife with their daughter present, told her that Hotch had bitten the hand that fed him, and put his hand on her leg while promising to take care of the family. Hotch confronted Ali over the incident and walked away from Order 4. He now puts the championship on the line against his former leader inside the cage.

Elijah and AJ Francis will meet in a match billed as The Final Encore. The rivalry began when Francis purchased the rights to Elijah’s music catalogue after being turned down for a collaboration, with Elijah defeating him at Slammiversary to win back his naming rights. Francis has refused to let the issue go in the weeks since, and the two will now settle their differences inside the cage with no way out.

Moose and Frankie Kazarian will meet one-on-one for the first time in an Escape the Cage match, where the only way to win is to climb over the top of the cage and get both feet to the floor. Moose challenged Kazarian over his self-appointed billing as the King of TNA, with Kazarian accepting the match with TNA Director of Authority Daria Rae on the August 6 episode of Impact.

The System’s Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, Bear Bronson, and Alisha Edwards will face Ricky Sosa, KC Navarro, Fabian Aichner, and Jada Stone in a Lethal Lockdown match. Competitors will enter at staggered intervals rather than all at once before a roof covered in weapons is lowered onto the cage once everyone is inside. The match can then be won by pinfall or submission. Brian Myers defeated Fabian Aichner in a singles match on the August 20 episode of Impact to earn The System the advantage in the entry order.

TNA World Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy will defend against Ryan Nemeth and TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth in what is expected to close the show. The Nemeths have declared themselves the best brother team in wrestling, a claim the reigning champions took issue with. Both sides have traded singles victories heading into Lockdown, with Matt Hardy defeating Ryan Nemeth, while Nic Nemeth defeated Jeff Hardy in a TNA World Championship match on Impact.

You can find more on the latest TNA news here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates from TNA Lockdown as soon as we hear more.