Post by J12 on Dec 31, 2008 12:38:14 GMT -5
Hey guys, its been a long, long time since I've done this (in fact, its been since August of 2007 that I even went to a WWE live event), but last night my friend and I decided to make the trip down to Portland to catch the last house show of 2008. This was a total last minute decision, we decided to up and go around 4 in the afternoon, I called the ticket broker I used to work at and he found us some 3rd row seats at face value. Not bad for deciding at the last minute!
Anyway, the show was fairly disappointing, but fun nonetheless. Crowd was packed and hot all night, which is something you don't see very often for Maine crowds. It was nice to see so many people there for once. I would estimate the place was a little bit over half full, which would amount to about 4,500 people. Typically WWE shows draw 2,000 or under, so that was nice.
We came in a few minutes late and found our seats during the opening contest -
Goldust defeated Santino
Santino was lacking the Glamazon at ringside. I didn't catch much of the match because we were getting situated, but there was a good amount of heat for Santino. Goldust picked up the win pretty quickly, sucks to see Santino job - he never got any mic time either, which was disappointing.
Mark Henry defeated Ricky Ortiz
I had never seen Ricky Ortiz, or even heard of him for that matter, until the show, but people seemed to like him quite a bit. Henry played the dominant heel, though this match went way longer than it should have. Ortiz had several offense opportunities and near falls, but eventually was squashed by the World's Strongest Slam and Body Splash. Tony Atlas generated a lot of heat, seeing as he is originally from Maine. He didn't do a whole lot to play to the crowd, though.
Cryme Tyme defeated Cody Rhodes & Manu
Cryme Tyme gets a hell of a crowd reaction, I'll say that much. Cody and Manu generated a lot of heat and got the crowd really going for what ended up being a really solid match. Cody worked most of the match with JTG, and I have to say that both of their ring skills have improved a great deal. I was really impressed with JTG in particular, for a big guy, he's very athletic. Nice back and forth action, with Rhodes and Manu playing usual heels. Manu kept telling some guys next to me shut up, they were incredibly annoying and were telling Manu to give Cody some of his weight. Stupid. In any case, Shad got the pin on Manu after a hot tag, and Cryme Tyme celebrated with the crowd. No "money, money" or anything. Everyone was really quiet the entire night, which usually never happens at house shows.
Kane defeated Kofi Kingston
I was really glad they managed to bring Kofi up here. I've been a fan of the guy since I first saw him and i was looking forward to seeing him in action live. Unfortunately, pairing him with Kane wasn't the best way to show off his talent. The match was decent, though you could tell the two really had zero chemistry together, so it was very sloppily put together. Kofi used quick, short-burst offense to combat Kane's size, but Kane had the usual big guy comeback. Finish saw Kofi jumping off the top rop into a chokeslam, which he countered, bounced off the ropes, and got caught again. This time, Kane connected and pinned Kofi for the three-count.
Again, no post-match anything, just some cheers for Kingston.
Melina & Kelly Kelly defeated Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall
Lots and lots of heat for Beth, she plays to the crowd incredibly well as a heel. Very solid action for a diva's match I must admit, very back and forth with a lot of near falls and solid wrestling. Kelly Kelly has improved a great deal, you can tell she's really trying to be taken seriously as a wrestler and not just a pretty face. Kelly had a wardrobe issue most of the match, her pants kept falling well below where they should have been. She didn't seem to mind at all, and neither did the crowd. Melina looked impressive as always, and got the pin over Jillian with her new sunset flip like finisher.
Tony came to the ring and announced a brief intermission. No t-shirt gun, I miss those. How long have they been gone? The last time I was at a house show was December of '05.
One notable portion of the intermission was when I turned to my right and saw a man in a suit with tons of people crowded around him asking for autographs. It took me several minutes to figure out who it was - John Cena's father. Cena's family was up from West Newbury to see John, Portland is only about an hour and twenty minutes away. He was an incredibly kind guy, he was taking pictures with everyone and shaking hands and whatnot. He was with a woman who I assumed to be Cena's mother, or step-mother? She went backstage during intermission, probably to see John. I made my way over to his father after the crowd had died down and asked if he remembered someone that I knew was a mutual friend of Cena's. Turns out he did, so he asked me what my connection was to him and seemed genuinely interested. I shook his hand just as Tony headed back to the ring and told him his son was a hell of a performer, and you could tell how much he really appreciated that.
Jack Swagger defeated Tommy Dreamer
Swagger was the first guy to get on the mic the whole night. I had never heard of him either, but he was fairly impressive. Seemed to have a lot of charisma, but that couldn't help the match at all. Very slow paced, very little action. The crowd had all they could do to stay with it and root for Dreamer. By the time the finish actually came, people were more relieved than sad to see Dreamer lose.
William Regal defeats CM Punk to retain the Intercontinental Championship
All I can say is that we're in for a treat next Monday if they give these guys some time to go at it. Excellent match. Perfect blend of chain mat wrestling, to submission holds, to fast-paced, high-flying action. It honestly had something everyone could enjoy, and was easily the match of the night. I want to say it went nearly 20 minutes, I could be a bit high on that estimate, but it was definitely the longest match of the night. Regal also had a wardrobe malfunction - his testicles fell out of his trunks when he slammed Punk to the match. He honestly went at least a minutes without noticing, and eventually the referee told him. It was a horrible, horrible sight. Parents were covering their kids eyes all over the place. Finish came when Punk countered Regal into the GTS position, Layla jumped on the ropes to distract the referee. Punk caught her out of the corner of his eye and went over to get rid of her. Regal slid down Punk's back, Punk turn around and Regal caught him with a knee to the face for the win.
The crowd gave Punk a standing ovation after the match, well deserved, too. He went around and slapped some hands.
Tony came in the ring to announce the main event -
John Cena defeated Randy Orton to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
This match was originally billed as a triple threat with Batista, so I was hoping they'd replace him with someone. The crowd seemed to think Rey Mysterio would be involved, and were quite disappointed when he wasn't. Orton is an absolutely amazing heel. Cena worked the crowd in the beginning and Orton stared him down. About five minutes into the match, Cena threw Randy to the outside. Orton was regrouping on the guardrail nearest to me and a woman ran from the stands to the front and started grabbing Orton and groping his chest - it was an altogether awkward situation. Portland security had no clue what to do, and so the WWE guys started to get involved. Orton broke free, very roughly might I add, and entered the ring. He then proceeded to stare the woman down and make face slapping motions for a good minute, screaming "know your place - get back to the kitchen" The women was being escorted away and Cena left the ring and approached the guardrail. The women broke free of security and Cena just motioned to the guys and said "let her go", he hugged her and a bunch of the little kids that ran down as well, and then security escorted her out of the building. It was really cool for Cena to do that, knowing full-well that she was being ejected.
The match was like any typical Cena/Orton match, though i have to say I enjoyed it far more than when I saw it at Summerslam '07. Randy was in control the entire match, he beat Cena down quite badly. Cena rose up, as usual, hit the backdrop powerbomb and Five-Knuckle Shuffle, then got ready for an FU. Orton fought out of it, Cena sent him into the corner and ran toward Randy, Randy moved and nailed the RKO. I wish I could describe it better, but it looked incredibly cool and came from absolutely nowhere. There would have been no way to get a picture because no one had the slightest indication it was coming. Orton was out for a few seconds, giving Cena enough time to kick out of the eventual pin. Orton went for the RKO a second time, but Cena countered into the STFU. Orton made it to the ropes and the match continued. Orton set Cena up for a suplex, Cena lifted Randy and dropped him quickly with an FU for the win.
Cena didn't stick around very long. He went around the ring quickly and slapped hands and left, never even had a moment with his father, very strange.
All in all the show was about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I had a good time, but house shows are nothing like they used to be. I miss the days that wrestlers were free to trash talk as much as they want - thats what makes house shows so much fun, the crowd interaction, and sadly there was next to none of it. You could tell everyone was just going through the motions to get the show done and get home for the holidays.
I had a feeling when I saw they were finally bringing a Raw show back to Maine it had to be too good to be true, and I ended up being right, they left a good portion of the roster home.
Biggest Pops:
1. John Cena
2. CM Punk
3. Cryme Tyme
4. Melina/Kelly Kelly
5. Woman being ejected
Most Heat:
1. Randy Orton
2. William Regal
3. Cody Rhodes & Manu
4. Beth Phoenix
5. Santino
After the show, we stuck around outside for a bit since the show finished so early. All of the wrestlers were incredibly rushed, the only ones that stopped to say anything were Shad and Mark Henry. Henry was definitely the coolest guy of the night, and it gave me a new respect for him. Randy Orton had a limo, which I figured was for Cena and his family. He was all by himself with a HUGE stretch limo. It was quite funny.
Here are the rest of the images if you guys would like to check them out!
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v490/J12LivingLegend/WWE%20December%2030th/
Anyway, the show was fairly disappointing, but fun nonetheless. Crowd was packed and hot all night, which is something you don't see very often for Maine crowds. It was nice to see so many people there for once. I would estimate the place was a little bit over half full, which would amount to about 4,500 people. Typically WWE shows draw 2,000 or under, so that was nice.
We came in a few minutes late and found our seats during the opening contest -
Goldust defeated Santino
Santino was lacking the Glamazon at ringside. I didn't catch much of the match because we were getting situated, but there was a good amount of heat for Santino. Goldust picked up the win pretty quickly, sucks to see Santino job - he never got any mic time either, which was disappointing.
Mark Henry defeated Ricky Ortiz
I had never seen Ricky Ortiz, or even heard of him for that matter, until the show, but people seemed to like him quite a bit. Henry played the dominant heel, though this match went way longer than it should have. Ortiz had several offense opportunities and near falls, but eventually was squashed by the World's Strongest Slam and Body Splash. Tony Atlas generated a lot of heat, seeing as he is originally from Maine. He didn't do a whole lot to play to the crowd, though.
Cryme Tyme defeated Cody Rhodes & Manu
Cryme Tyme gets a hell of a crowd reaction, I'll say that much. Cody and Manu generated a lot of heat and got the crowd really going for what ended up being a really solid match. Cody worked most of the match with JTG, and I have to say that both of their ring skills have improved a great deal. I was really impressed with JTG in particular, for a big guy, he's very athletic. Nice back and forth action, with Rhodes and Manu playing usual heels. Manu kept telling some guys next to me shut up, they were incredibly annoying and were telling Manu to give Cody some of his weight. Stupid. In any case, Shad got the pin on Manu after a hot tag, and Cryme Tyme celebrated with the crowd. No "money, money" or anything. Everyone was really quiet the entire night, which usually never happens at house shows.
Kane defeated Kofi Kingston
I was really glad they managed to bring Kofi up here. I've been a fan of the guy since I first saw him and i was looking forward to seeing him in action live. Unfortunately, pairing him with Kane wasn't the best way to show off his talent. The match was decent, though you could tell the two really had zero chemistry together, so it was very sloppily put together. Kofi used quick, short-burst offense to combat Kane's size, but Kane had the usual big guy comeback. Finish saw Kofi jumping off the top rop into a chokeslam, which he countered, bounced off the ropes, and got caught again. This time, Kane connected and pinned Kofi for the three-count.
Again, no post-match anything, just some cheers for Kingston.
Melina & Kelly Kelly defeated Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall
Lots and lots of heat for Beth, she plays to the crowd incredibly well as a heel. Very solid action for a diva's match I must admit, very back and forth with a lot of near falls and solid wrestling. Kelly Kelly has improved a great deal, you can tell she's really trying to be taken seriously as a wrestler and not just a pretty face. Kelly had a wardrobe issue most of the match, her pants kept falling well below where they should have been. She didn't seem to mind at all, and neither did the crowd. Melina looked impressive as always, and got the pin over Jillian with her new sunset flip like finisher.
Tony came to the ring and announced a brief intermission. No t-shirt gun, I miss those. How long have they been gone? The last time I was at a house show was December of '05.
One notable portion of the intermission was when I turned to my right and saw a man in a suit with tons of people crowded around him asking for autographs. It took me several minutes to figure out who it was - John Cena's father. Cena's family was up from West Newbury to see John, Portland is only about an hour and twenty minutes away. He was an incredibly kind guy, he was taking pictures with everyone and shaking hands and whatnot. He was with a woman who I assumed to be Cena's mother, or step-mother? She went backstage during intermission, probably to see John. I made my way over to his father after the crowd had died down and asked if he remembered someone that I knew was a mutual friend of Cena's. Turns out he did, so he asked me what my connection was to him and seemed genuinely interested. I shook his hand just as Tony headed back to the ring and told him his son was a hell of a performer, and you could tell how much he really appreciated that.
Jack Swagger defeated Tommy Dreamer
Swagger was the first guy to get on the mic the whole night. I had never heard of him either, but he was fairly impressive. Seemed to have a lot of charisma, but that couldn't help the match at all. Very slow paced, very little action. The crowd had all they could do to stay with it and root for Dreamer. By the time the finish actually came, people were more relieved than sad to see Dreamer lose.
William Regal defeats CM Punk to retain the Intercontinental Championship
All I can say is that we're in for a treat next Monday if they give these guys some time to go at it. Excellent match. Perfect blend of chain mat wrestling, to submission holds, to fast-paced, high-flying action. It honestly had something everyone could enjoy, and was easily the match of the night. I want to say it went nearly 20 minutes, I could be a bit high on that estimate, but it was definitely the longest match of the night. Regal also had a wardrobe malfunction - his testicles fell out of his trunks when he slammed Punk to the match. He honestly went at least a minutes without noticing, and eventually the referee told him. It was a horrible, horrible sight. Parents were covering their kids eyes all over the place. Finish came when Punk countered Regal into the GTS position, Layla jumped on the ropes to distract the referee. Punk caught her out of the corner of his eye and went over to get rid of her. Regal slid down Punk's back, Punk turn around and Regal caught him with a knee to the face for the win.
The crowd gave Punk a standing ovation after the match, well deserved, too. He went around and slapped some hands.
Tony came in the ring to announce the main event -
John Cena defeated Randy Orton to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
This match was originally billed as a triple threat with Batista, so I was hoping they'd replace him with someone. The crowd seemed to think Rey Mysterio would be involved, and were quite disappointed when he wasn't. Orton is an absolutely amazing heel. Cena worked the crowd in the beginning and Orton stared him down. About five minutes into the match, Cena threw Randy to the outside. Orton was regrouping on the guardrail nearest to me and a woman ran from the stands to the front and started grabbing Orton and groping his chest - it was an altogether awkward situation. Portland security had no clue what to do, and so the WWE guys started to get involved. Orton broke free, very roughly might I add, and entered the ring. He then proceeded to stare the woman down and make face slapping motions for a good minute, screaming "know your place - get back to the kitchen" The women was being escorted away and Cena left the ring and approached the guardrail. The women broke free of security and Cena just motioned to the guys and said "let her go", he hugged her and a bunch of the little kids that ran down as well, and then security escorted her out of the building. It was really cool for Cena to do that, knowing full-well that she was being ejected.
The match was like any typical Cena/Orton match, though i have to say I enjoyed it far more than when I saw it at Summerslam '07. Randy was in control the entire match, he beat Cena down quite badly. Cena rose up, as usual, hit the backdrop powerbomb and Five-Knuckle Shuffle, then got ready for an FU. Orton fought out of it, Cena sent him into the corner and ran toward Randy, Randy moved and nailed the RKO. I wish I could describe it better, but it looked incredibly cool and came from absolutely nowhere. There would have been no way to get a picture because no one had the slightest indication it was coming. Orton was out for a few seconds, giving Cena enough time to kick out of the eventual pin. Orton went for the RKO a second time, but Cena countered into the STFU. Orton made it to the ropes and the match continued. Orton set Cena up for a suplex, Cena lifted Randy and dropped him quickly with an FU for the win.
Cena didn't stick around very long. He went around the ring quickly and slapped hands and left, never even had a moment with his father, very strange.
All in all the show was about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I had a good time, but house shows are nothing like they used to be. I miss the days that wrestlers were free to trash talk as much as they want - thats what makes house shows so much fun, the crowd interaction, and sadly there was next to none of it. You could tell everyone was just going through the motions to get the show done and get home for the holidays.
I had a feeling when I saw they were finally bringing a Raw show back to Maine it had to be too good to be true, and I ended up being right, they left a good portion of the roster home.
Biggest Pops:
1. John Cena
2. CM Punk
3. Cryme Tyme
4. Melina/Kelly Kelly
5. Woman being ejected
Most Heat:
1. Randy Orton
2. William Regal
3. Cody Rhodes & Manu
4. Beth Phoenix
5. Santino
After the show, we stuck around outside for a bit since the show finished so early. All of the wrestlers were incredibly rushed, the only ones that stopped to say anything were Shad and Mark Henry. Henry was definitely the coolest guy of the night, and it gave me a new respect for him. Randy Orton had a limo, which I figured was for Cena and his family. He was all by himself with a HUGE stretch limo. It was quite funny.
Here are the rest of the images if you guys would like to check them out!
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v490/J12LivingLegend/WWE%20December%2030th/
