Thanks to Attila Pechtol for sending this in:
05/11 Vienna, Austria – Smackdown! house show
First I want to tell you that I’m a WWE fan since Warrior clashed Hogan at WMVI in 1990 but somehow this was my very first live event. Actually no wonder: I live in Hungary, so it ain’t so easy to get to one.
Daniel Bryan VS William Regal: Good starter. Slow match with submissions but everybody was happy that the show had begun. I suddenly realized that the Vienna crowd is a good one. They responded immediately to the taunts and moves. I was surprised to hear some “let’s go Regal!” chant. The match was entertaining and sometimes funny. Of course Daniel Bryan won (via submission).
Justin Gabriel & Trent Barreta VS Johnny Curtis & Jinder Mahal: This was a perfect follow-up. A bit more complex than the first one. Jinder Mahal got some heat and looked much powerful that on TV. Gabriel finished with the 450 splash and won. Well, I have never-ever saw Trent Barreta winning. I thought that it is not possible. That was a surprise!
Brodus Clay VS Yoshi Tatsu: A short match, maybe 2 or 3 minutes. It was a great idea to put Yoshi Tatsu into this one as he made the match fast-paced and more acrobatic although he never had a chance. I’m always surprised on Yoshi’s entrance music ‘cause it is stupid as hell but I have to admit that it is also fun to listen. No question, Clay won easily.
Hunico VS Tyson Kidd: Sin Cara was introduced. His music hit the air and he entered the ring in the usual manner. Everybody was cheering. Got a sign from the fans, first he posed with it but then he tore it to pieces. Surprise again. Sin Cara to turn heel in a house show? In Vienna??? No way. The mask came down and we realized that were deceived. It is Hunico. He told us that Sin Cara is not here ‘cause he hates Austria. That generated pretty much heat, of course. Somebody in the audience yelled something in Spanish what I didn’t understand but it was easy to see that Hunico did. What surprised me is how well the crowd responded to Hunico and vice versa. Interesting and fast match, Hunico pinned Tyson Kidd.
Sheamus VS Christian: That was really fantastic. Sheamus got a huge pop (second biggest of the night to Randy Orton) and Christian generated heat with a few words and mimics. At one point Christian wanted to gave up, headed to backstage but Sheamus made him to got back to the ring to fight. They even entered the audience a bit. Sheamus executed his finisher and won.
Small intermission. I went to buy an RKO T-shirt with a viper-skull on it. All T-shirts were 30 EUR, except CM Punk which was 35 EUR.
AJ & Alicia Fox VS Natalya & Tamina: Divas match as usual. No interesting action but it is always good to see them, especially Alicia (and all the others of course). In the good old days I was a Jimmy Snuka fan so Tamina brings back memories (she is a few weeks younger than me, actually). I guess the combined weight of AJ & Alicia is half of the weight of Natalya & Tamina but somehow AJ & Alicia won. The crowd didn’t really care, some of them were still out buying something.
Randy Orton & Ted DiBiase VS Cody Rhodes & Wade Barrett: That was the match of the night. Well build, fast-paced, surprising, perfectly executed, exciting. Randy got a pop that was bigger than all the previous pops combined. Before the match Cody told us that we are the ugliest fans in the world (first he asked whether we understand what he is saying but of course everybody did). To that he got a monster heat you can expect. No surprise he is one of the biggest heels nowadays. He uses the mic as he should. What surprised me was Dibiase. Not just he looked much stronger than on TV but he was entertaining and seemingly enjoined playing to the crowd. He looked like a happy guy and that spread energy. Of course Randy stole the show, the audience responded to every move. Randy executed the RKO on Barrett and won the match.
Mark Henry VS Big Show for the WHC title: It was hard to step into the ring after the previous match, but Henry generated such a heat that it couldn’t went wrong. Both men had his finisher and both men kicked out. Mark Henry attacked Show with a chair just to be disqualified. Big Show won, but Henry retained the title. I think Show should have had a longer celebration (he almost immediately left the ring and there was no real contact with the fans), but it was okay. To tell the truth a match was much more exciting than I expected from the two giants (although after Vengeance nothing is surprising from them). At the beginning I was a bit angry because at the entrance to the arena they took my signs I painted last night (i.e. Sheamus for president of Hungary), I wasn’t aware it is forbidden to have one. But the show was great, the wrestlers were committed and the crowd were way better than I expected. Definitely it worth the money and the time.
Attila Pechtol
Hungary
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
