WWE House Show Results from Birmingham, England 4-20-06
Submitted by Calvin Martin on Friday, April 21, 2006 at 2:08 PM EST







REPORT SENT IN BY CHRIS TALBOT


You may have read my report from a house show this past November (click the following link to (re)acquaint yourselves.

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005_/articles/1132424958.php

Well, last night (Thurs) I went to the RAW house show at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England, and thought I'd share with you what happened there.

The arena was pretty full- just a couple of empty seats here and there. Lots of 'Whoooos' before the event (there always are when it comes here).

Lilian came out first as announcer. Usual 'Great to be here', 'You're an awesome crowd' etc (cheap pops). She then sang our national anthem (ditto).

First up was a tag match- Goldust and Snitsky vs Murdoch and Cade. Quite funny at the start when Snitsky rubbed Murdochs waistcoat on his crotch, then threw it in his face. 2 things here- 1. When did Snitsky turn face, and 2. What is the point of any of these 4 being employed? They are AWFUL! Your basic tag match, faces dominate early, Goldust in trouble,hot tag to Snitsky. He appeared to be the most over out of the 4, which was quite bizarre. Snitsky and Goldust won after Snitsky kick to one or the other (I neither know or care which one). On their way to the back, Umaga attacked the winners.

TAFKA Jamal then came to the ring with this Estrada guy,who then gave a crap promo which I can't be bothered to go through as it's really not worth it. Suffice to say it got the 'WHAT' treatment from the crowd. Eugene then came out to a half decent pop, and copied Jamal by wrapping his coat around his waist...he then got squashed in about a minute with about 3 squashes in the corner, and that was that. Again, I have zero time for these 2. Jamal then threatened a top rope splash, but was talked out of it by Estrada. Only other thing to mention was a small 'Lets go Rosey' (!) chant that broke out in my section,but went no further.

The Classroom was next. Striker came out with the-poor-mans-Rock-wannabee Coach and cut a promo on how we Brits have ruined the American language, and then ran down our educational system and our teeth (he has got a couple of decent points there). Again, this got the 'WHAT' treatment and a lot of heat. They then called out Big Vis, slated him for being fat and then tried a sneak attack. This lasted for about 2 seconds before he squashed them and gave one (or both) of them his humping. So far, so £35 wasted.

Business 'picked up' in the next match with Carlito vs Masters in our first Backlash dry run of the night. Carlito was very over, and so was Masters to a smaller degree (especially when going for the Masterlock). Both men went for it a couple of times, and there was some good action in this. Finish came when 'Triple C' (you heard it here first!) countered a Masterlock attempt with his knees-to-the-back finisher. Afterwards, he got a mic and said 'I don't know about a Masterlock, but that was COOL' before spitting his apple at Masters and leaving. Expect the same result at Backlash.

Next was an IC title match (and another Backlash rehearsal) with Shelton vs RVD. Not a lot of reaction for Shelton considering the pop he got last time. Mr MITB was over big time and got a HUGE pop. Again,some good action and spots between the 2, which bodes well for Backlash, including a great spot where Shelton jumps onto the top rope while RVD is up there and kind of T Bones him off. Didn't like the finish,which came with Shelton using the ropes/tights to win. I expect this result to be reversed at Backlash. Good ovation for RVD afterwards.

Tag team titles were up next, as the Spirit Squad faced Big Show and Kane (strange,as the latter have split up on TV). I LOVE the Spirit Squad gimmick, even though it got HUGE heat-the whole airhorn, trampoline and chant routine make me howl! Good pops for TBS and Kane. Match itself was dominated by TBS and Kane until the end, when SS used their numbers and forced a DQ. They beat down the Big Show until he threw them all off,and then he and Kane chokeslammed 2 each before double chokeslamming Kenny (serves him right for calling the crowd 'Bloody wankers!').

We then got a dreaded intermission, but that was to be expected ( Copyright Chad Matthews, 200?), and were advised that the merchandise stands were open until after the show, selling overpriced merchandise and generally an opportunity to be ripped off(they didn't say the last bit).

Up next was the Divas Battle Royal for the Womens championship. I have time for three of the Divas (Mickie, Victoria and Trish) and none for the other three (Maria, Torrie, Candice). The last three listed were the first three eliminated, and the first three were the last three left (if you follow). Trish then eliminated Vic with a top rope hurricanrana, which was quite a neat spot. Unfortunately (for Trish) this left her on the apron and Mickie just pushed her off for the win. Just as I was getting my camera phone out for some nice footage of Mickie posing (to show to my brother, you understand), Trish attacked her and threw her out.

Semifinal was Edge v Flair. Edge got a decent pop when he came out, but then got heat all the way through. Flair got a HUGE pop (as always). On a sidenote, Flair bleaches his hair blonde, wears a sequinned robe, has bigger tits than some of the Divas,and whoooos in a high pitched voice...Is he turning into a woman? Anyway, I digress, the match was quite funny, with Flair grabbing a mic and saying 'If you'd been where he (Edge) has been (Lita) then you'd go Whooo too!'. He then went 'Whoooo,boo,Whoooo,boo,Whoooo,boo, while thrusting his hips. The early part of the match was spent with both men doing the Flair Whoooo, walk and flop in between decent action. Halfway through, Flair pulled down Edges tights, and Edge 'didn't notice' and went up top, and Flair threw him off. Edge then applied the figure-4, Flair style, which was then reversed. Finish came when Flair went for the F-4, and Lita interfered, so he applied it to her! As Edge went for the save, Flair grabbed him by the balls and rolled himup for the win! As Flair went to celebrate, Edge hit a big spear and left him laying. Big cheers for Flair as he left. Also a few 'Hoooooo! and 'Slut!' chants at Lita throughout.

The main event was, as in my last visit to a house show, HHH v Cena in a Street Fight for the WWE title. However, I was looking forward to seeing how the crowd would be split in the wake of Wrestlemania etc (Cena got heat at the show last November, so I expected the same again). The crowd were absolutely split for the entrances: Anyone under about 14,or female, was cheering for Cena, the rest ripped him; the opposite happened for HHHs entrance. There were pro-and-anti HHH and Cena chants all through the match. HHH started strong (to cheers) getting a shot on Cena with the mic and throwing him to the steps. Back came Cena with a head shot using the ring bell hammer and a whip to the steps. Back and forth action (and cheers and boos for both) continued (including the DX chop that got a big pop), with a fascinating exchange of punches that got the 'boo', 'cheer', 'boo', 'cheer' treatment as at WM. Cena then locked in the STFU, and we looked set for a repeat of the WM finish. HHH made the ropes (to cheers), and then Edge came out of nowhere and speared HHH (boos) and Cena (cheers). He then took a Pedigree and and FU before Cena ejected him. Ref then got knocked out and Cena tooka sledgehammer shot and a Pedigree, and HHH so nearly got a three count (yeah right!). We then ended up with HHH + sledgehammer, and Cena + steel chair. Cena got a gut shot and a head shot in, hit an FU, and got the three count! Again, the cheers/boos were split down the middle. Cena then stood in the ring looking round at the crowd, did his 'The Champ is HERE' spiel and went to the fans by the front on his way out. We then got the usual 'Thanks for coming, and buy your tickets for the November show!'.

Overall, a decent house show, although I could have not bothered with the first three segments/matches, as I missed NOTHING to give a damn about. From Masters-Carlito onwards though, it was solid. Disappointing that HBK wasn't there, as he is MEGA over in the UK. Still, he has said he's taking it easier, so not a big shock. The guy next to me asked me where HOGAN was, which I laughed at - until I realised he wasn't joking (He'd never been to a house show before and had no idea that Hogan doesn't do (and never has) overseas tours.

On a side note, everyone seems to be giving their opinion on how to deal with the whole Cena situation, so I might as well give mine while I have the forum to do so.... Do NOTHING. Leave it exactly as it is. The kids and the women have got a hero to cheer (and the WWE will continue to shift merchandise), and the grown ups who know better can rip to their hearts content. You cannot buy or manufacture this sort of fan reaction. Even when fans turned on the Rock it wasn't this much fun to hear the mini-war going on in the crowd. Same with HHH. No need to turn him face. He always gets some sort of pop (he has the best entrance ever in my opinion), and you will still get the section of fans who rip him for being Vinces son-in-law and getting preferential treatment and main event status (I agree with this to a degree, but he is now '0 and 5' (I beleive that's how it's put) in terms of win-loss when I have seen him live. I do think he deserves a main event spot and to be at the top level, but not to be rammed down our throats quite as much as he can be.

To close, here are my top three POPS and HEAT...

POPS

1) Flair
2) RVD
3) Carlito

HEAT

1) Striker
2) Spirit Squad
3) Cade and Murdoch

I chose not to include Cena or HHH as they could easily be in the top 3 for both.

I hope this was at least semi-enjoyable to read, any any questions or opinions are welcome talbz79@yahoo.co.uk

Cheers,
Talbz








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