Black Widow
11-12-2008, 10:38 AM
TWICE a year, UK wrestling fans are treated to the superstars of WWE heading to our shores to tape their TV shows.
Over the last year or two, the results have been mixed.
In April last year, Earls Court saw Shawn Michaels and John Cena go for nearly an hour in a Wrestlemania rematch.
The match was a classic and will be talked about for years. But since then, WWE haven’t been able to make the shows taped in the UK that special, different feel.
Until now.
Raw was taped in Manchester’s MEN Arena on last night and fans in attendance were treated to an exciting live spectacle, filled with big names.
After a taping of ECW, Batista came out to kick off Raw – and he demanded to call in his rematch clause.
Fans popped for the prospect of a live world title match, but despite Stephanie McMahon appearing on screen to deny Big Dave that opportunity, she revealed a loaded card for our enjoyment.
As well as the Regal v Santino IC title match we knew was imminent, Steph added Rey Mysterio v Kane and Chris Jericho v Shawn Michaels in an attempt to settle some scores once and for all.
Batista was then interrupted by Randy Orton, who accepted a match with his former Evolution teammate.
The operatic tones of Santino Marella’s music hit the arena, and the Milanese Maestro emerged with his Glamourella partner, Beth Phoenix.
As ever, Santino was tremendous. Cheered heavily and greeted with a “Santino” chant on his entrance, he soon turned the crowd on him after debuting the Honk-a-Perfect-Mountie-Meter and stating that Italy was by far the best country in Europe. Classic stuff.
William Regal then emerged, along with Layla, to a hero’s welcome, with the cheers continuing seconds later as he defeated Marella in short order.
Michael Cole then interviewed the King of the Ring winner, who gave us some pro-England rhetoric. The crowd loved it.
After Mike “Snitsky with a beard” Knox destroyed D-Lo Brown in a squash, Beth and Santino appeared on the Titantron, doing a vignette setting up Beth v Mickie in a women’s title match.
I have been to many live shows, but this was the first time I have ever seen the live crowd applaud a segment on the big screen - such is Santino’s greatness.
Next, Rey and Kane had their usual match. That is to say one that had some great spots, but somehow never flowed and had some sloppy moments.
Kane slamming Rey into the guardrail about five yards from me was interesting, as was Mysterio moonsaulting off of the same barricade, but the Big Red Machine's illogical bumping and a botched finish by Rey took this down several notches.
It should be noted that this didn’t matter to a great deal of the crowd, which contained a far younger demographic than previous Raws I have attended. It was no coincidence that a lot of the youngsters in attendance sported Mysterio merchandise. They loved seeing Rey triumph over the big man.
A long in-ring promo followed this, with JBL showing what a terrific heel he is by breathing new life into the old Million Dollar Man gimmick of promising money to fans only to not deliver.
JBL’s little barbs about the US being great and the UK being a ‘stinking little island’ drew great heat. The interruption by Cryme Tyme was well-received, but in handing JBL some comeuppance they did make the segment drag a bit. The Brooklyn boys did, however, distribute some cash to the audience.
As it turned out, the promised Batista v Orton match didn’t materialise, with Cody Rhodes stepping in for Randy. The tension between Team Priceless and Orton is a fascinating strand of WWE TV right now, and Cody slapping Randy in a backstage promo prior to this match heightened it.
Cody was beaten quickly by Batista, so look for Orton and Big Dave to square off soon, perhaps at Survivor Series.
Beth and Mickie James hooked up next. Last time WWE were in the UK, Mickie won the strap from Beth, but not this time. With a little help from her beau, Phoenix kept her belt, with Santino leading the hilarious post-match celebrations. Genius.
To this point the show had been entertaining but featured very little wrestling. This was about to change as Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels engaged in a Last Man Standing match, fighting arena wide in a typically good effort by these two. The Walls of Jericho on a black taxi was a particular highlight.
JBL sneaking out to clock Shawn to help Jericho claim victory soured the match and the feud a little, but it was a logical end to protect Jericho and forwarded the JBL/HBK programme.
There were a few things that brought the evening down. From start to finish the taping was well over three hours, which was a lot for the younger members of the audience to sit through.
The crowd also did not take kindly to some of the images of Great Britain shown on the big screen being of famous London landmarks.
But generally the energy level of the taping was good, including a great main event and some golden moments from various midcarders, Santino in particular.
Well done WWE – thanks for making us feel special again.
The Sun
Over the last year or two, the results have been mixed.
In April last year, Earls Court saw Shawn Michaels and John Cena go for nearly an hour in a Wrestlemania rematch.
The match was a classic and will be talked about for years. But since then, WWE haven’t been able to make the shows taped in the UK that special, different feel.
Until now.
Raw was taped in Manchester’s MEN Arena on last night and fans in attendance were treated to an exciting live spectacle, filled with big names.
After a taping of ECW, Batista came out to kick off Raw – and he demanded to call in his rematch clause.
Fans popped for the prospect of a live world title match, but despite Stephanie McMahon appearing on screen to deny Big Dave that opportunity, she revealed a loaded card for our enjoyment.
As well as the Regal v Santino IC title match we knew was imminent, Steph added Rey Mysterio v Kane and Chris Jericho v Shawn Michaels in an attempt to settle some scores once and for all.
Batista was then interrupted by Randy Orton, who accepted a match with his former Evolution teammate.
The operatic tones of Santino Marella’s music hit the arena, and the Milanese Maestro emerged with his Glamourella partner, Beth Phoenix.
As ever, Santino was tremendous. Cheered heavily and greeted with a “Santino” chant on his entrance, he soon turned the crowd on him after debuting the Honk-a-Perfect-Mountie-Meter and stating that Italy was by far the best country in Europe. Classic stuff.
William Regal then emerged, along with Layla, to a hero’s welcome, with the cheers continuing seconds later as he defeated Marella in short order.
Michael Cole then interviewed the King of the Ring winner, who gave us some pro-England rhetoric. The crowd loved it.
After Mike “Snitsky with a beard” Knox destroyed D-Lo Brown in a squash, Beth and Santino appeared on the Titantron, doing a vignette setting up Beth v Mickie in a women’s title match.
I have been to many live shows, but this was the first time I have ever seen the live crowd applaud a segment on the big screen - such is Santino’s greatness.
Next, Rey and Kane had their usual match. That is to say one that had some great spots, but somehow never flowed and had some sloppy moments.
Kane slamming Rey into the guardrail about five yards from me was interesting, as was Mysterio moonsaulting off of the same barricade, but the Big Red Machine's illogical bumping and a botched finish by Rey took this down several notches.
It should be noted that this didn’t matter to a great deal of the crowd, which contained a far younger demographic than previous Raws I have attended. It was no coincidence that a lot of the youngsters in attendance sported Mysterio merchandise. They loved seeing Rey triumph over the big man.
A long in-ring promo followed this, with JBL showing what a terrific heel he is by breathing new life into the old Million Dollar Man gimmick of promising money to fans only to not deliver.
JBL’s little barbs about the US being great and the UK being a ‘stinking little island’ drew great heat. The interruption by Cryme Tyme was well-received, but in handing JBL some comeuppance they did make the segment drag a bit. The Brooklyn boys did, however, distribute some cash to the audience.
As it turned out, the promised Batista v Orton match didn’t materialise, with Cody Rhodes stepping in for Randy. The tension between Team Priceless and Orton is a fascinating strand of WWE TV right now, and Cody slapping Randy in a backstage promo prior to this match heightened it.
Cody was beaten quickly by Batista, so look for Orton and Big Dave to square off soon, perhaps at Survivor Series.
Beth and Mickie James hooked up next. Last time WWE were in the UK, Mickie won the strap from Beth, but not this time. With a little help from her beau, Phoenix kept her belt, with Santino leading the hilarious post-match celebrations. Genius.
To this point the show had been entertaining but featured very little wrestling. This was about to change as Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels engaged in a Last Man Standing match, fighting arena wide in a typically good effort by these two. The Walls of Jericho on a black taxi was a particular highlight.
JBL sneaking out to clock Shawn to help Jericho claim victory soured the match and the feud a little, but it was a logical end to protect Jericho and forwarded the JBL/HBK programme.
There were a few things that brought the evening down. From start to finish the taping was well over three hours, which was a lot for the younger members of the audience to sit through.
The crowd also did not take kindly to some of the images of Great Britain shown on the big screen being of famous London landmarks.
But generally the energy level of the taping was good, including a great main event and some golden moments from various midcarders, Santino in particular.
Well done WWE – thanks for making us feel special again.
The Sun