Thanks to Ryan from Belfast for sending in the following report and video:
Just back from the WWE House show in Belfast Odyssey Arena. The show was ok, nothing special. During the house shows, WWE put screens up above the entrance where the crowd can send tweets to show on the screens before the show and during intermission. Tweeters were begging for Fandango chants but only a few small sections of the audience "Fandangoed"… which was disapointing. Being a younger audience that usually attend the Belfast shows, I wouldn't compare this to what the London crowd should be like at the Raw taping though. Biggest merch sellers by looking around would be Ziggler, Cena and CM Punk (although he got pulled from the show).Opening match was Tensai, Brodus Clay and the Funkadyctals vs Rhodes Scholars and The Bellas. Alot of Sandow chants aswell as chants for Brodus / Tensai. Typical opening bout. Tensai and Brodus pinned Sandow for the win.
Zack Ryder defeated Heath Slater. Nothing special to report. I did notice that Ryder's Broski Boot visibly missed Slater but Slater still sold it anyway. Ryder is still over with the younger audience here.
William Regal vs Michael McGillicutty next. Regal was extremley over with the older audience here. He grabbed the mic at the beginning of the bout and said "Two years ago I came here and you booed me, do you fel sorry for this old hand now?" Standard match, Regal got the win. After the bout Regal thanked Finlay who was sitting in the audience for helping him break into the business. Both Finlay and Regal got a huge standing ovation, which was the highlight of the show. Regal thanked the audience for the support and talked about how he had wrestled in Belfast years ago. Was a great speech and Regal made it feel special.
Big E and Dolph Ziggler vs Team Hell No for the Tag Titles. Dolph Ziggler got a massive pop, as did Daniel Bryan. Team Hell No gets the victory after a Kane chokeslam to Ziggler and a Diving Headbutt from Daniel Bryan. Kane snatched the tag belts from Bryan, and Bryan announced he was leaving in a huff because Kane wouldn't give him his title. The two eventually hugged. Getting a little stale as we pretty much saw this exact same aftermatch promo last year in Belfast. Still, the crowd loved it. Ziggler got huge chants throughout the match and played up to the chants well. Shame he had to job.
Intermission next. WWE 13 commercial played which got a CM Punk chant.
Antonio Cesaro lost to R-Truth. Truth came out rapping his "Whats Up" theme.. I thought he had stopped that stuff. Anyway, decent match made good by Cesaro's heat seeking. Taunted the crowd by running the ropes three times only to go into a headlock, which I thought was pretty funny. Some Cesaro chants going on but not enough to drown out the kids shouting "Whats Up".
Vicki Guerrero came out to announce that her new pet project Tamina Snuka will defeat Kaitlyn for the Divas title tonight in Belfast. That didn't happen. Snuka had most of the offence during the whole match, Kaitlyn wins in the end. Nothing special. "We want Chyna" and "JBL" chants during this match. I have no idea why the crowd would want Chyna. JBL is understandable though.
Main event is Ryback vs John Cena for the WWE Title in a tables match (so the whole audience knows the outcome before the bell rings). Lots of Boos for Cena, usual kids cheering him. Cena sucks chants were just as loud as the "lets go Cena" chants. Ryback acknowledged the Goldberg chants and shouted to the crowd "No, its Ryyy-back, Ryyy-back". Ryback looked blown up within the first 5 minutes of the match but still had an entertaining enough bout. I should note that the kids in Cena gear had to be told numerous times by security to go back to their seats as they were constantly in the aisles and being pretty annoying… to the point where I saw a kid in a Cena shirt crying and being carried away by his dad (I'm not kidding). Cena reversed the Shellshock to deliver an AA through the table to send the younger audience home happy. Again, nothing special but its never really expected at these kind of shows.
I'd give the show a 6/10.
Biggest Pops:
Dolph Ziggler
Daniel Bryan
John Cena
William Regal
Most Heat:
Antonio Cesaro
Damien Sandow
