7/24/10

Read my full review and see pictures

Even though last night’s Total Nonstop Action Wrestling event at the US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington wasn’t sold out, fans had a great time enjoying the action both in the ring and outside of it.  In what can best be summed up as a melodrama, the superstars of TNA made for a great Romantic performance last night when the babyfaces got the best of the heels under the bright lights to send fans home happy.

In order for any babyface, or face – wrestling’s protagonist – to become heroic in the wrestling world, they need a despicable heel.  The heel needs to antagonize the face so that fans will want to pay to come to shows and buy pay-per-view events in the hopes of seeing the face triumph.

Last night’s show featured a good host of heels.  First out was “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, who told the crowd of roughly 1,000 he didn’t want fans in the locker room after host and ring announcer Jeremy Borash said he was going to give out backstage passes.  Then there was the seductive Madison Rayne, who was too much of a priss to high-five any of the fans by the entrance way.  And there was the tag team Beer Money, featuring Robert Roode, a character who fell into money, and the beer-swilling, beard-sporting “Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm.  Of any of the heels, Beer Money probably did it best last night against their spikey-haired and tattooed opponents, Ink Inc., using tactics like distracting the referee to use illegal double-team maneuvers, low blows, as well as spitting on fans and their opponents.  One spot in the match saw Storm run over to Roode and they coddled each other as several fans jeered, “Brokeback Mountain!”

The final heel out last night was the long-haired six-foot-eight-inch, 350-pound masked monster Abyss, with a giant tribal tattoo on his left arm scarred by previous violent matches.  Abyss has recently gone from a fan favorite to a bad guy, returning to the roots that got him over – or, made him popular – in the first place.  Abyss retrieved thumbtacks from under the ring in order to slam his opponent, the resilient face-painted daredevil Jeff Hardy, into them, but wound up going back first into them himself when Hardy shoved him off and the fans went nuts.  Hardy hit a dive from the top rope onto Abyss in the bed of tacks for the win, sending the fans home happy.  Just like a Romantic melodrama, good triumphs over evil.

Without the heels, the faces would be pretty boring.  Even though the first two matches saw heels win, the faces stayed in the ring to sell the injuries their opponents had given them.  As they walked out, Borash would say something like, “Let’s hear it one more time for Taylor Wilde!”  The fans cheered, forgetting the star they rooted for had just lost.

This live event was not on television, so the typical spectacle viewers see was not present.  There was no fancy entrance ramp and there were no pyrotechnic displays.  However, TNA did bring a small but believable entrance way with a few lights on it that flashed when the talent entered.  The ring’s lights dimmed for wrestlers as a spotlight shone on them.  Every star had their own music, which elicited a response from many fans before the talent came even from behind the curtain.

Wrestling’s roots lie in the carnival, which TNA seemed to roll back to as they brought out several wrestlers when there was no in-ring action to sign autographs and take pictures with the fans at a table on the floor while TNA’s “Duke of Deals and Sultan of Steals” Don West pumped the merchandise table.

Overall, this show would have fit in very well during the Romantic time.  Despite not getting victories on paper, the good seemed to win out over the bad after every one of the six matches.  Even though the pinfall outcome was the same, finishes varied with different characters and different circumstances.

This was honestly one of the better shows in the area over the past several years.

7/24/10

Last night, TNA performed for no more than 2,000 people, although the crowd stayed hot all night and made lots of noise. I’d have to say because of the fan interaction and the fun matches, this is my favorite of the three TNA shows I’ve now been to (including Bound for Glory 2008), and one of my top five since I started attending in 1998.

To get them going, Jeremy Borash said the fans needed to make noise to win backstage passes. A staff member ran out from the back and said that AJ Styles didn’t want anybody backstage. JB said he didn’t care, until AJ Styles finally came out and said he wasn’t going anywhere.

This led to the entrance of “The Freak” Rob Terry for the first match. Terry hit a few power moves on AJ Styles. AJ eventually outsmarted and overcame Terry by rolling him up and grabbing his tights. After the match, Terry grabbed the backstage passes and handed them out at ringside.

JB introduced Earl Hebner for the next match. Hebner mocked the Bret Hart ring entrance by stretching his hands out, taking off his official shirt and revealing a shirt that said, “Damn Right I Did!”

TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne defeated Taylor Wilde in a fun match that focused more on Rayne’s heel interactions. Very good stuff, I thought. She didn’t touch anybody, screamed bloody murder at times, and had that prissy attitude about her. At one point, Rayne ran into Earl Hebner, who grabbed her, swooped her down, and planted a big kiss on her to a huge pop.

Next, JB announced that Slick Johnson was born and raised in Bloomington. I hadn’t heard that one before.

Mr. Anderson defeated Desmond Wolfe with the mic check. Fans we were near kept heckling Wolfe and shouting, “Nigel!” Before the match, since the mic didn’t come down from above like Anderson expected, he made JB hand it down to him and proceeded to cut a promo about his Assholes.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Kevin Nash with the Stroke. Didn’t Kevin Nash make enough money that he doesn’t have to be wrestling on house shows? Jarrett seemed to have fun here. Nash went on the ropes and got a lot of cheers, but Jarrett did the same and got booed. He smiled as he came down and they locked up.

After intermission, Beer Money defeated Ink Inc after using almost every heel tactic in the book. I had a lot of fun watching these guys make illegal tags, seeing James Storm drink some beer after tagging out, Robert Roode spit on a fan, and lots of distraction. The finish came when Storm spit beer into Jesse Neal’s face as Roode hit a low blow on Shannon Moore, and Beer Money hit their powerbomb/neckbreaker on Moore.

Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss in a monster’s ball match, which saw the use of a garbage can, two lids, a wet floor sign, and thumbtacks. I was really surprised to see the tacks on a house show. Jeff was crotched on the turnbuckle when Abyss poured them out. As Abyss prepared for a slam, Hardy pulled off a sunset flip onto Abyss and into the tacks, setting up for the Swanton Bomb.

Before the event, Mr. Anderson was signing autographs on the floor as Don West promoted his insane deal to the house – a brand new RVD t-shirt with 4 DVDs for 20 bucks.

At intermission, Madison Rayne signed while Earl Hebner was getting rid of his “Damn Right I Did!” t-shirts for half-price, since, as DW put it, he’d blown all his money on fast cars and cheap women, alleging he had 36 illegitimate children.

After the monster’s ball match, Ink Inc signed autographs on the floor while fans could get their pictures in the ring with Jeff Hardy for $20. JB pulled a few tacks out of Hardy, and Hardy’s right hand was bleeding so he had to shake with his left.

The US Cellular Coliseum also passed out flyers on cars noting that WWE SmackDown will be taping there on Sept. 21, 2010. This will be WWE’s first television taping at the arena.

Quick results:

TNA Global Champion AJ Styles d. “The Freak” Rob Terry by rolling up Terry with his tights to retain.
TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne d. Taylor Wilde by pinfall to retain.
Mr. Anderson d. Desmond Wolfe by pinfall after the Mic Check.
Jeff Jarrett d. Kevin Nash by pinfall with the Stroke.
Beer Money d. Ink Inc by pinfall after a low-blow and a double-team.
Jeff Hardy d. Abyss by pinfall after the Swanton Bomb onto Abyss in the tacks.

Written 9/22/10 about the 9/21/10 tapings

Last night, WWE taped segments for last night’s NXT, next week’s NXT, and this week’s Friday Night SmackDown for their first TV tapings inside the US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Illinois.

In a dark match, Tyler Reks pinned a local jobber, whose name sounded like Jesus Espinosa.

Since NXT aired last night, I’ll just hit some highlights (or lack thereof)…

I’m really excited to see this week’s show after I figured out CM Punk was going to be on commentary.  I need to see that show.

The crowd was crapping all over the NXT Rookie Diva Talk the Talk Challenge that AJ won.

It’s true what they say – Vickie Guerrero gets so much heat squelching “Excuse me!” it’s hard to hear what she’s saying.

WWE Superstars spoilers for September 23

They changed the ropes and the apron for Superstars, and Primo pinned JTG right when JTG was on the cusp of winning.  The crowd wasn’t too into it until JTG made his comeback.

WWE Superstars spoilers for September 30

Kofi Kingston d. Jack Swagger by DQ when Jack wouldn’t go of the ankle lock.  He tried sinking this in a lot during the match.

WWE NXT spoilers for September 28

The NXT Rookie Divas came back out with Matt Striker , as did the NXT ring apron.  They didn’t announce they were taping more NXT, but it was evident they were. “But the ropes are still blue,” shouted a guy in the row below.

The Divas completed a challenge where they had to push a wheelbarrow around the ring.  To add weight to the wheelbarrow, Striker brought out Hornswoggle.  Kaitlyn got it across the quickest.  I haven’t seen this season of NXT, but it looks like they’re really pushing her to win the competition.

AJ won a Diss the Diva Challenge.  Personally, I was rooting for Naomi since she kept asking when she was going to get to wrestle.  At almost 9 p.m. during this taping, I was wondering when we’d get more wrestling too.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown spoilers for September 24

Kane defeated Chris Masters in what I thought was a long match for the World Heavyweight Champion against a guy pretty low on the totem pole.

After the match, he cut a promo on the Undertaker, calling him weak.  He turned to the crowd and tried to tell them how they were weak, and decided to single out and scare a kid.  My section was laughing.

Cody Rhodes cut a live Dashing Cody Rhodes grooming tip about accessorizing, unzipping his jacket to reveal the WWE Tag Team title belt.  He brought out Drew McIntyre, who cut a promo.

WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre d. The Hart Dynasty in a non-title match when McIntyre undid a turnbuckle to launch Tyson Kidd into, then hit him with the Future Shock DDT.  Kidd’s head went right into McIntyre’s stomach, so they’ll probably try to hide that through editing.

In the back, Alberto Del Rio laid out Christian, saying now was the time he was picking.

Also in the back, The Dudebusters were wearing moving suits since they legitimately thought they had to move SmackDown to SyFy next week.  They were trying to get Hornswoggle to talk, but Teddy Long came in and sorted everybody out.  He told the Dudebusters to leave, so they packed up the Bragging Rights trophy and left.  Long told Hornswoggle they’d continue his English lesson later.

Backstage, CM Punk was drawing red Xs on his tape when Luke Gallows came in.  Punk said he was done with him, but Gallows shoved him up against a wall, and said he’d defeat Punk, then go out and celebrate with a beer.

Chavo Guerrero d. Kaval with a frog splash in what I thought was the most fun match of the night.

Alberto Del Rio cut a promo talking about Rey Mysterio and showed his attack from last month.  Mysterio returns next week.  The injured Christian comes out for a brawl, but Del Rio gets the best of him.

In a short handicap match, the Big Show d. Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins.

Jack Swagger cut a promo in the back, showing some stuff with his name on it from high school or college.  Hornswoggle stole it.

CM Punk d. Luke Gallows with the GTS.

MVP d. Dolph Ziggler by countout.  Early on, during NXT, Kaitlyn challenged Vickie Guerrero to a match.  This story played out early in the match, as Kaitlyn shoved Vickie and left.  Dolph, concerned for Vickie, left the ring to tend to his girlfriend.  I thought the countout would be here, but Vickie left and Dolph got back in.  They wrestled a few more minutes, with Dolph looking to the backstage area throughout.  Finally, he grabbed his Intercontinental title and left.

Throughout the night, WWE had shown clips of the Undertaker in the back sitting on some steps looking sad and empty.  This time, his head was down and apparently a figure showed up off screen.  He told the figure to leave, until he looked up and was in shock.  Undertaker stood up and rolled his eyes into the back of his head.

Kane comes back out to announce he will wrestle Undertaker at WWE Hell in a Cell.  I don’t think he mentioned the title here, but he did bring up that he debuted at Hell in a Cell.

The Undertaker gong hit.  Druids brought out a casket.  The casket opened and inside was Paul Bearer with an urn!  Kane was in a state of shock as the gong hit again.  Undertaker appeared in the ring and brawled with Kane.  Undertaker posed with Paul Bearer to end the show.

At this point, Teddy Long brought Kane back out to fight the Undertaker for the World title.  I thought it was strange they hadn’t announced this match to the live crowd at any other point on the show until now.  They had a nice brawl.  The match ended when they both had each other in the chokehold and Undertaker was about to get the best of Kane.  Kane gave Taker a low-blow.  He left, and Undertaker posed in the ring once again.

He left doing his signature stare back into the ring and raising his arm.