John
11-10-2009, 06:30 PM
The arena was virtually full with only a few tiered seats to spare. Tony Chimmel was the MC for the evening.
The opener saw Cryme Tyme defeat the Hart Dynasty. Cryme Tyme received a nice pop and the Hart Dynasty received fair heat. Throughout the bout, Shad played the proverbial damsel in distress with the Dynasty working his leg. JTG scored the fall via the Shout Out to Tyson Kidd to end what was a really short version of their regular encounters. The match ended just as it seemed to be gaining momentum.
Zack Ryder entered the ring next. Sadly, only a few people actually knew who he was. He tried to get the crowd involved but the attempts failed. His opponent was England’s own William Regal. Upon Regal entering, some of the kids were slightly confused as to what reaction they should give him. He ended up receiving a face reaction. During this match I went to buy myself some merchandise and so I missed the entire match. My friends tell me that it was an average match with Ryder going down to the Knee Trembler. I managed to return to the arena whilst Regal was saying that WWE loves coming to the UK and that the UK fans are truly the best in the world.
Next up, a Divas Battle Royale with the winner facing Michelle McCool later on for the Women’s Championship. The participants were Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendez, Layla, Mickie James, Katie Lea and Natalya. In the beginning, no one was particularly bothered but towards the end people were getting into the match. Rosa was the first out, second was Layla and third was Mickie. Natalya and Katie Lea did some double team moves on Beth but couldn’t throw her out. A really cool spot was when Katie Lea ascended the ropes, Beth sent Natalya into the buckle and then picked them both up in a Fireman’s Carry, very similar to WrestleMania 25 when Cena picked both Edge and Big Show up simultaneously. Beth walked across the ring, still with both ladies on her neck and threw Katie Lea out. Natalya hung on but was swiftly eliminated thanks to a Baseball Slide. Beth received face reactions. Ezekiel Jackson Vs Goldust was next. This match lost the crowd somewhat.
Ezekiel Jackson is HUGE! Goldust wore a new sleeveless costume. Goldust got in all his usual moves and ‘Zeke got in all his high profile clotheslines. The finish came with Goldust falling to the Uranagi.
Drew McIntyre took on Finlay next. People were familiar with Drew and so he received fair heat. He took the mic and preached about Scotland being left out of the tour and how Scotland is a great country. Finlay entered to a nice pop. McIntyre toyed with the crowd no end. Finlay got all his usual stuff in such as the Kamikaze Krash, the ring apron beatdown and the Cannon Ball. Every now and then the crowd died down severely and then rose up. McIntyre won with a roll up with his feat on the ropes, ending a long, yet fun bout.
The crowd came unglued at the mention of an Intercontinental Championship match. Ziggler came out to a good slightly mixed reaction. Morrison got an amazing reaction. This match may have been the best match they’ve had. Ziggler is every bit as good as JR says he is. There were plenty of near falls to keep people interested. Ziggler hit everything but the Zig Zag. Morrison hit the Starship Pain to retain and end a very good, very exciting, lengthy match.
The ECW Title match was next pitting Christian against Yoshi Tatsu. Again people weren’t familiar with Yoshi and his jumping, exciting persona came across as cheap with the crowd. Christian received a fantastic reaction. He got on the mic and conducted a ‘Peep poll’. These two had a very good match, similar to their ECW Title match two weeks ago minus the hot crowd. People were interested however they weren’t familiar with Yoshi. It’s a shame really because had the crowd been vocal then it would have pushed the match up a notch. Christian won with the Killswitch to retain. Afterwards, Christian raised Yoshi’s hand.
Next up saw Beth Phoenix who received a convincing face reaction lose to Michelle McCool for the Women’s Championship in a very long encounter. The crowd were virtually dead for this one. Beth worked incredibly hard to sell the damage done to her and get the crowd involved. Despite the crowd seemingly not giving a damn, she was persistent right up to the end. Michelle however didn’t make many attempts to get the crowd involved. Michelle worked over Beth’s leg and pinned her via a roll up.
Match number 9 was a triple threat match featuring Batista, Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio. All 3 men received big face reactions upon entry to the arena. Batista began to play the crowd to ultimately receive mixed reactions. This was an incredibly fun, typical triple threat match. Interaction between Rey and Batista was just enough to make us want to watch Survivor Series. Matt was heavily featured in the match which was nice. Speaking of Matt and nice, this may have been the best match I’ve seen him do since his ECW run. Batista pinned Rey after hitting him in the head with the ring bell. Afterwards Batista received the 619 followed by Matt and Rey raising each others hand.
The final match was the advertised Casket Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk entered first and played and toyed with the crowd. He argued with the guys in the front row and ripped a little kid’s sign up. The Casket was brought out next. The Undertaker made his way to the arena to a monstrous ovation. This match was off the charts, they fought in the ring, outside the ring, Punk even went into the crowd. The Casket was the focus of the match with Punk trying to avoid it’s ominous presence and Undertaker being put inside it every now and then, only to escape. The crowd never silenced and they ate everything up. Spots included a leg-drop onto the Casket from ‘Taker (denting it), a top rope arm-drag from ‘Taker, Punk using a chair on the Deadman and the execution of both men’s finishers. The end came when Undertaker gave Punk the Tombstone and rolled him into the Casket. This match was a rollercoaster ride that no one wanted to ever end. Punk showed why he took over from Edge as the top heel on SmackDown and Undertaker proved why (in my mind) he is the greatest ever.
At some point during the event Savannah asked a family who the reigning IC Champion is and if they got the answer correct they would receive front row seats. They got the answer right. Interesting to note that only Scott Armstrong and Charles Robinson were the only referees working tonight. Robinson refereed the main event.
The next time WWE are in Nottingham, SD/ECW will be here which is strange as usually RAW do Nottingham in April and SD/ECW do November. The date will be Monday 12th April 2010
The opener saw Cryme Tyme defeat the Hart Dynasty. Cryme Tyme received a nice pop and the Hart Dynasty received fair heat. Throughout the bout, Shad played the proverbial damsel in distress with the Dynasty working his leg. JTG scored the fall via the Shout Out to Tyson Kidd to end what was a really short version of their regular encounters. The match ended just as it seemed to be gaining momentum.
Zack Ryder entered the ring next. Sadly, only a few people actually knew who he was. He tried to get the crowd involved but the attempts failed. His opponent was England’s own William Regal. Upon Regal entering, some of the kids were slightly confused as to what reaction they should give him. He ended up receiving a face reaction. During this match I went to buy myself some merchandise and so I missed the entire match. My friends tell me that it was an average match with Ryder going down to the Knee Trembler. I managed to return to the arena whilst Regal was saying that WWE loves coming to the UK and that the UK fans are truly the best in the world.
Next up, a Divas Battle Royale with the winner facing Michelle McCool later on for the Women’s Championship. The participants were Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendez, Layla, Mickie James, Katie Lea and Natalya. In the beginning, no one was particularly bothered but towards the end people were getting into the match. Rosa was the first out, second was Layla and third was Mickie. Natalya and Katie Lea did some double team moves on Beth but couldn’t throw her out. A really cool spot was when Katie Lea ascended the ropes, Beth sent Natalya into the buckle and then picked them both up in a Fireman’s Carry, very similar to WrestleMania 25 when Cena picked both Edge and Big Show up simultaneously. Beth walked across the ring, still with both ladies on her neck and threw Katie Lea out. Natalya hung on but was swiftly eliminated thanks to a Baseball Slide. Beth received face reactions. Ezekiel Jackson Vs Goldust was next. This match lost the crowd somewhat.
Ezekiel Jackson is HUGE! Goldust wore a new sleeveless costume. Goldust got in all his usual moves and ‘Zeke got in all his high profile clotheslines. The finish came with Goldust falling to the Uranagi.
Drew McIntyre took on Finlay next. People were familiar with Drew and so he received fair heat. He took the mic and preached about Scotland being left out of the tour and how Scotland is a great country. Finlay entered to a nice pop. McIntyre toyed with the crowd no end. Finlay got all his usual stuff in such as the Kamikaze Krash, the ring apron beatdown and the Cannon Ball. Every now and then the crowd died down severely and then rose up. McIntyre won with a roll up with his feat on the ropes, ending a long, yet fun bout.
The crowd came unglued at the mention of an Intercontinental Championship match. Ziggler came out to a good slightly mixed reaction. Morrison got an amazing reaction. This match may have been the best match they’ve had. Ziggler is every bit as good as JR says he is. There were plenty of near falls to keep people interested. Ziggler hit everything but the Zig Zag. Morrison hit the Starship Pain to retain and end a very good, very exciting, lengthy match.
The ECW Title match was next pitting Christian against Yoshi Tatsu. Again people weren’t familiar with Yoshi and his jumping, exciting persona came across as cheap with the crowd. Christian received a fantastic reaction. He got on the mic and conducted a ‘Peep poll’. These two had a very good match, similar to their ECW Title match two weeks ago minus the hot crowd. People were interested however they weren’t familiar with Yoshi. It’s a shame really because had the crowd been vocal then it would have pushed the match up a notch. Christian won with the Killswitch to retain. Afterwards, Christian raised Yoshi’s hand.
Next up saw Beth Phoenix who received a convincing face reaction lose to Michelle McCool for the Women’s Championship in a very long encounter. The crowd were virtually dead for this one. Beth worked incredibly hard to sell the damage done to her and get the crowd involved. Despite the crowd seemingly not giving a damn, she was persistent right up to the end. Michelle however didn’t make many attempts to get the crowd involved. Michelle worked over Beth’s leg and pinned her via a roll up.
Match number 9 was a triple threat match featuring Batista, Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio. All 3 men received big face reactions upon entry to the arena. Batista began to play the crowd to ultimately receive mixed reactions. This was an incredibly fun, typical triple threat match. Interaction between Rey and Batista was just enough to make us want to watch Survivor Series. Matt was heavily featured in the match which was nice. Speaking of Matt and nice, this may have been the best match I’ve seen him do since his ECW run. Batista pinned Rey after hitting him in the head with the ring bell. Afterwards Batista received the 619 followed by Matt and Rey raising each others hand.
The final match was the advertised Casket Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk entered first and played and toyed with the crowd. He argued with the guys in the front row and ripped a little kid’s sign up. The Casket was brought out next. The Undertaker made his way to the arena to a monstrous ovation. This match was off the charts, they fought in the ring, outside the ring, Punk even went into the crowd. The Casket was the focus of the match with Punk trying to avoid it’s ominous presence and Undertaker being put inside it every now and then, only to escape. The crowd never silenced and they ate everything up. Spots included a leg-drop onto the Casket from ‘Taker (denting it), a top rope arm-drag from ‘Taker, Punk using a chair on the Deadman and the execution of both men’s finishers. The end came when Undertaker gave Punk the Tombstone and rolled him into the Casket. This match was a rollercoaster ride that no one wanted to ever end. Punk showed why he took over from Edge as the top heel on SmackDown and Undertaker proved why (in my mind) he is the greatest ever.
At some point during the event Savannah asked a family who the reigning IC Champion is and if they got the answer correct they would receive front row seats. They got the answer right. Interesting to note that only Scott Armstrong and Charles Robinson were the only referees working tonight. Robinson refereed the main event.
The next time WWE are in Nottingham, SD/ECW will be here which is strange as usually RAW do Nottingham in April and SD/ECW do November. The date will be Monday 12th April 2010