Thanks to Matt Waters for sending in this live report:
I Attended the show last night and got pretty decent seats so was naturally blown away at how close I was to the action. Attendance seemed lower than the record setting event last January in Wembley at first but after a while it seemed to be virtually full so I'd guess they matched or beat that record.
JB warmed the crowd up as per usual and remarked on how he only broke out the suit and tie for Wembley. Haven't seen him on the other stops of the tour so don't know how much truth there is to that.
The Beautiful People beat Taylor Wilde & Sarita w/ Hamada as the guest referee
- If you think these girls are hot on TV you won't believe them in the flesh. Taylor's gotten so much better in the ring in the last year or so, I saw her team with ODB last January and she was a bit botchy. Nice little opener which saw Velvet spray perfume in Taylor's eyes behind Hamada's back and then get the pin.
- After the match the Beautiful People continued the beat-down until Hamada attacked them but they got the better of her until the Wilde & Sarita recovered and threw them out of the ring. Hamada and the other two then celebrated. Beautiful People actually got a lot of cheers but based on their appearance rather than their skill.
- Some fans chanted "We love Velvet" which prompted Madison to reply "she doesn't care." I guess that's what it's like hitting on Velvet in a bar.
Earl Hebner was introduced as the ref for the next match which got the standard You Screwed Bret chants.
Desmond Wolfe beat The Pope D'Angelo Dinero
- Pope got cheered as a face during his entrance but Wolfe got a huge pop during his and Pope was the heel for the whole match. Wolfe is a ridiculously good ring technician and I personally got a rush seeing the man that had such a rivalry with Bryan Danielson in ROH up close. Desmond won with the Tower of London after a really good match which saw Pope twice escape the London Dungeon.
- During his entrance Wolfe put his shades on Hebner and then do the old Bret Hart taunt which got a laugh but Hebner didn't react. Lots of England and Who Are Ya? chants throughout. Pope went to give his towel to a girl in the audience afterwards but then snatched it away and left.
Samoa Joe & Hernandez beat Eric Young & Rhino
- Rhino is huge for his height and Hernandez looks like he could bench press an adult man. Really fun match with Joe mocking E.Y. and playing to the fans. Both Joe & Hernandez did dives to the outside which got a huge reaction. I don't recall Rhino hitting a signature move as the heels stomped and punched their way through until Joe cleaned house and beat EY with the Muscle Buster. Lots of celebrating afterward.
Beer Money beat The British Invasion & Team 3D in a 3-Team Tag Match
- Brutus & Rob tagged up here as Doug was to defend the X-Title later on. It's weird seeing Rob Terry with a belt and as my buddy and I said several times throughout the match the man is an animal. Easily the largest guy I've seen in person. They actually got a bit of a cheer until Beer Money did the same backstage pass bit they've been doing throughout the tour. Brutus and Rob snatched the passes and tore them up but left one which they said they were going to give to England football captain John Terry (no relation of course) who had been in the news that day for a scandal so that got some heel heat. Team 3D then came out and the match started.
- This was basically 4 on 2 as Beer Money and Team 3D barely interacted. Brutus was still doing the Gladiator gimmick last time I saw him so he's definitely improved. Rob Terry isn't as bad in the ring as people make out, but the fact he was one of 6 instead of one of 2 probably helped. He actually busted out a jumping roundhouse kick like Booker T used to do at one point which got cheers. Beer Money eventually won with the D.W.I. on Magnus.
- After the match Terry attacked so 3D put him through a table. They then put Beer Money over as the future of tag teams and did the usual picking a kid from the crowd to come in the ring and give a piece of the table to. I swear it was the same boy as last January, definitely the same name. He had a sign that said Team 3D Number 1 fan and actually had Team 3D shaved into the back of his head. He got booed last year but got cheers this time.
We then went to intermission and they hyped Ultimate X as being up next.
Doug Williams retained the X-Divison Title in an Ultimate X match
(also including Amazing Red, Suicide, Chris Sabin & Daniels)
- Doug wasn't booed once to my recollection. In fact all five guys got cheers, even though Daniels looked like he didn't want them. Shame Shelley's injured but Sabin took part in a lot of big spots so that made up for it. He and Red took a scary spill from the ring but I don't think either was hurt. Suicide won my friend over because he's actually pretty good if you look past the initial sillyness of the gimmick. Doug did a suicide dive and hung in there with everyone so anyone questioning his status as an X-Division wrestler I think he'll prove you wrong. Chaos Theory is a sickeningly good move.
- Suicide and Daniels did almost all the cable work while Red & Sabin did the springboard and diving spots. Worked pretty well. At one point Daniels was climbing the cable and Suicide springboarded up and grabbed onto the same cable in front of him which made everyone laugh. He ended up hitting an ace crusher/cutter from the cables on Daniels. The two found themselves on top of the metal structure at the end and everyone was holding their breath as Suicide got him up for a suplex and turned him all the way around before sitting him back down. His life was in Suicide's hands there. Daniels went for Angels Wings but ended up taking a body slam on the metal. Ouch.
- Doug then climbed up and took the belt as Suicide reached down to try and stop him but ended up falling. Daniels stayed up top for a pretty long time and looked like he almost fell as he was climbing down. Phenomenal match and I applaud the hell out of them for doing it without a TV or PPV audience. Easily the match of the night and got the most cheers.
JB brought Dixie Carter to the ring and she thanked us all whilst a cameraman got some footage of her and the crowd. Some idiots near me were actually flipping her off for some reason. She then introduced AJ Styles and told him he'd defend the title tonight and told Hebner to leave after his actions last time. She brought Angle out and he got an insanely big pop.
AJ Styles beat Kurt Angle to retain the World Heavyweight Title.
- Kurt does not look well. I mean he performs to an amazing degree but he just looks so beaten down. He seems to be unable to raise his neck above a certain level and just has that look about him that shows he's taken some punishment in his time. AJ lives up to his nickname of Phenomenal and the two put on one of the best one on one house show matches you could ever hope to see. Angle's suplexes are immense.
- AJ used the Figure Four, did a flip dive to the outside, hit two Styles Clashes and an Angle Slam but couldn't beat Kurt. Angle made his comeback and hit multiple German suplexes, the Angle Slam, locked in the Ankle Lock and a running super belly to belly suplex.
- Finish came when AJ hit a springboard attack on Angle and his legs hit Slick Johnson. He hit Angle with the title belt and Hebner ran in but Angle kicked out. AJ went up top but Angle ran up and hit a super Angle Slam. Hebner made a really slow count which let AJ kick out. Angle punched Hebner and locked in the Ankle Lock but then got a low blow by Styles. In a finish that didn't seem safe for someone like Kurt but looked awesome, Styles hit a brainbuster on the belt and Slick recovered to count the three.
After the match Styles got in Angle's face and laughed but got hit with a Styles Clash onto the belt. Angle celebrated and AJ left. Kurt then called Dixie to the ring, thanked her and the fans, said he loved her, gave her a kiss on the cheek and called the TNA roster to the ring for some beers. Of course only the faces (minus Wolfe) came out, but it was still cool seeing them all there in street clothes enjoying themselves.
Overall a really great show. I've now been to 2 Raws and a Smackdown house show and three TNA events and every single time TNA was more enjoyable. I got better seats at a lower price and saw a better show, what more could you want?
Funny Moment of the Night for me goes to Suicide taking a beer and looking puzzled. He managed to drink about half of it by getting it to soak through the mouth section of his mask but it was pretty funny seeing a masked wrestler trying to drink a beer.
Biggest Pops
1. A Table. Yes, an inanimate object got the biggest pop.
2. Kurt Angle
3. Beer Money
4. Samoa Joe
5. Everyone in Ultimate X
Biggest Heat
1. The Pope
2. Earl Hebner
3. AJ Styles (only when using heel tactics, he got face pops the rest of the time)
4. Eric Young
5. Brutus & Rob after their entrances.
