Pro Wrestling Super-Show in Las Cruces!
Jan 27, 2012 17:25:03 GMT -5
Post by Batman on Jan 27, 2012 17:25:03 GMT -5
(this is something I wrote up on Monday regarding the Sunday night house show I attended. Don't feel like going back and fixing all "last night" references, so I'm just going to put that out from the start.)
The last time I went to a big-time pro wrestling show, Eddie was feuding with Angle. I think I skipped out on this hobby for the right amount of time-- by my lights pro-wrestling is just now re-scaling the heights that it had reached then.
Back then (between 2000 and 2004) I went to a few TV tapings when the show swung by Minneapolis where I lived at the time. But I had always eschewed the house shows. Big time Pro Wrestling with no pyro? No Titan-tron? Few promos? What's the point, right?
Wrong. I regret now not having tried the house shows before they swung near my current home of El Paso last night, because I had a blast! When they show house show footage on TV (like the house-show tag-title change from a couple weeks ago) it looks poorly lit and cut-rate, but in person it looks much, much better. There's a neon-encrusted entrance ramp and a big screen. (Unlike at a taping, they only use the screen for entrance music videos, but they have it, anyhow.)
I would have been happier with a couple more promos. Actually, make that different promos-- Punk instead of Swagger, say.
The show opened up with a battle royale, the winner of which would challenge for Rhodes's Intercontinental Championship. I was rooting for "R Truth" Ron Killings. He made it to near the end, but the Great White bore Seamus ended up taking it. Rhodes then came out to immediately take up the challenge. He made a mighty effort, but failed to make a Seamus match interesting. Seamus kept going past ten on that "chops in the ropes" spot he does, and got DQ'd.
Then Swagger came out to cut a mediocre promo and challenge anybody in the back. R Truth came out to accept the challenge! A thrill for me, as I've been a Killings mark going back to his K-Kwik days. This match was a ton of fun--at one point, Swagger starts doing push-ups on top of a prone Truth, prompting me to shout "YOU'RE TOUCHING HIS ASS, YOU KNOW"-- and ended with a surprise: Truth wins, and is announced as NEWWWW US champion. His celebration (and mine) are short-lived, as the Harvard lawyer dude, Otunga, comes out and claims that this was NOT a title match and Truth needs to give the belt back to Swagger. Sadly, he does not take my suggestion to give it back IN THE FACE!!
Then there was a women's match, AKA smoke break,
Wade Barrett came out and jawed a little about how he was going to get a tune-up for Orton by kicking the ass of one of his former proteges, DiBiase. DiBiase comes out, but then there's a last minute replacement, it's ORTON! Which is very exciting to everyone in the audience, except me. This turns into a pier six brawl for no discernible reason.
Then for the match I, for one, was waiting for: Brian Danielson aka Daniel Bryan versus the Big Show. The match reminded me of HBK versus Mankind at Mindgames-- excellent ring psychology and working Big Show's knee, unfortunately marred by a pointless run-in DQ ending. This is one of my favorite matches I've ever seen live and in person.
The penultimate match was Cena versus Kane. The atmosphere for Cena was electric, as always. Despite the fact that I've always been a fan, I admit that I joined in on the "Cena sucks" chants. I just wanted to be a part of the electricity, and my voice is just too deep to join in with the "Let's go Cena" kids. In person, thousands of children chanting in unison is... really CREEPY. Another screwy finish, with Kane pulling a DQ for hitting Cena with a chair. They each get their "heat" moment afterward, with Kane chokeslamming Cena, and then deciding to go back for more and getting Cena's FU/AA.
Finally, it's Punk time. The seamlessness of his entire mystique, from the iconography of his unmistakable wrist holding lightning in front of the Chicago flag, to the big-time and perfectly fitting Living Color theme song is stunning. The reaction he gets from the crowd is incredible. He and the Miz put on an excellent match (if a bit slow-starting). I have to admit though, Punk still needs somebody a bit more established than Miz (or Ziggler next week) to really feel like a main event. I hate to admit that, but it didn't real;y feel like a top match... yet. But the crowd loved him, and his moves of doom flow flawlessly together to lead up to the Go To Sleep.
In short, I can't wait for the show to swing to the edge of Texas again; whether it be a house show or a taping, I'll be there.
The last time I went to a big-time pro wrestling show, Eddie was feuding with Angle. I think I skipped out on this hobby for the right amount of time-- by my lights pro-wrestling is just now re-scaling the heights that it had reached then.
Back then (between 2000 and 2004) I went to a few TV tapings when the show swung by Minneapolis where I lived at the time. But I had always eschewed the house shows. Big time Pro Wrestling with no pyro? No Titan-tron? Few promos? What's the point, right?
Wrong. I regret now not having tried the house shows before they swung near my current home of El Paso last night, because I had a blast! When they show house show footage on TV (like the house-show tag-title change from a couple weeks ago) it looks poorly lit and cut-rate, but in person it looks much, much better. There's a neon-encrusted entrance ramp and a big screen. (Unlike at a taping, they only use the screen for entrance music videos, but they have it, anyhow.)
I would have been happier with a couple more promos. Actually, make that different promos-- Punk instead of Swagger, say.
The show opened up with a battle royale, the winner of which would challenge for Rhodes's Intercontinental Championship. I was rooting for "R Truth" Ron Killings. He made it to near the end, but the Great White bore Seamus ended up taking it. Rhodes then came out to immediately take up the challenge. He made a mighty effort, but failed to make a Seamus match interesting. Seamus kept going past ten on that "chops in the ropes" spot he does, and got DQ'd.
Then Swagger came out to cut a mediocre promo and challenge anybody in the back. R Truth came out to accept the challenge! A thrill for me, as I've been a Killings mark going back to his K-Kwik days. This match was a ton of fun--at one point, Swagger starts doing push-ups on top of a prone Truth, prompting me to shout "YOU'RE TOUCHING HIS ASS, YOU KNOW"-- and ended with a surprise: Truth wins, and is announced as NEWWWW US champion. His celebration (and mine) are short-lived, as the Harvard lawyer dude, Otunga, comes out and claims that this was NOT a title match and Truth needs to give the belt back to Swagger. Sadly, he does not take my suggestion to give it back IN THE FACE!!
Then there was a women's match, AKA smoke break,
Wade Barrett came out and jawed a little about how he was going to get a tune-up for Orton by kicking the ass of one of his former proteges, DiBiase. DiBiase comes out, but then there's a last minute replacement, it's ORTON! Which is very exciting to everyone in the audience, except me. This turns into a pier six brawl for no discernible reason.
Then for the match I, for one, was waiting for: Brian Danielson aka Daniel Bryan versus the Big Show. The match reminded me of HBK versus Mankind at Mindgames-- excellent ring psychology and working Big Show's knee, unfortunately marred by a pointless run-in DQ ending. This is one of my favorite matches I've ever seen live and in person.
The penultimate match was Cena versus Kane. The atmosphere for Cena was electric, as always. Despite the fact that I've always been a fan, I admit that I joined in on the "Cena sucks" chants. I just wanted to be a part of the electricity, and my voice is just too deep to join in with the "Let's go Cena" kids. In person, thousands of children chanting in unison is... really CREEPY. Another screwy finish, with Kane pulling a DQ for hitting Cena with a chair. They each get their "heat" moment afterward, with Kane chokeslamming Cena, and then deciding to go back for more and getting Cena's FU/AA.
Finally, it's Punk time. The seamlessness of his entire mystique, from the iconography of his unmistakable wrist holding lightning in front of the Chicago flag, to the big-time and perfectly fitting Living Color theme song is stunning. The reaction he gets from the crowd is incredible. He and the Miz put on an excellent match (if a bit slow-starting). I have to admit though, Punk still needs somebody a bit more established than Miz (or Ziggler next week) to really feel like a main event. I hate to admit that, but it didn't real;y feel like a top match... yet. But the crowd loved him, and his moves of doom flow flawlessly together to lead up to the Go To Sleep.
In short, I can't wait for the show to swing to the edge of Texas again; whether it be a house show or a taping, I'll be there.