WWEAdikt would like to thank Wrestling News World reader Terrance Meyers sent in the following report:-
Before the taping started, Jim Ross came down to his standard entrance music. He went down alone – I thought this was interesting because Matt Striker and Josh Matthews came in together to Striker’s old titantron and music. Todd Grisham followed afterwards – my section gave him some heat.
Punk picked up major heat for his promo. It’ll be interesting to see on Friday, but at the live event all of us good Canadians were waving our beer at him, and his statement that we’re alcoholics got a fairly strong pop. Don’t mess with us Canadians and our beer. Hardy’s entrance got a huge pop, and I can guarantee you that there was no piped pop either. He did look kind of pitiful as he walked down trying to sell the neck injury, but it wasn’t worth much (more later on that). Afterwards, we got a promo with Teddy taking a call from Vince ordering Hardy into a handicap match against the Hart Dynasty. Pop for Vince, some heat for the announcement, and mixed pop for mention of the Harts.
Dolph Ziggler d. Finlay – Ziggler got a mixed pop, probably mostly heat but I think it’s easy to see and up and coming star in him so it’s tougher to boo. Of course, they put the ever popular Finlay against him which left him with some decent heat throughout the match. Finlay started out in control – that changed when the pair were on the apron and Ziggler hit a spear on Finlay to push him into the ring post, then kicked his head into the post. I don’t think it was long after that when Mike Knox walked out, no entrance music or anything. He stood there looking quite bored on the stage side of the ring for what was actually quite a long match (probably a commercial in the middle). The finish came when Finlay kicked Knox for coming just a little too close, so Knox grabbed the shelleigh and blasted Finlay in the back of the knee for Ziggler to hit his finisher for the three count. Ziggler left quietly afterwards (I think he was a little surprised that he didn’t draw more heat, or maybe this was changed because Rey Mysterio didn’t bother to show, but either way the number one contender for the I.C. Championship walked away from the mid-card beatdown), as Knox got into the ring. He must have read the reviews of his latest work, because he hit that running cross-body on Finlay, pushed him to the outside, threw the steel steps away, and hit a backbreaker over the bottom metal step. He grabbed a mic and informed Finlay that if you damage a certain vertebrae in your back it causes “excruciating pain.” He then walked out to his music as Finlay lay on the steps. Point of interest from someone who hasn’t seen a live event since he was about 7 years old… Those steel steps make NO noise in the live crowd, nor do dropped mics. They kind of bang, but the static that you always hear must be added later.
Promos were not bad. Kane got a pop from the crowd, while Khali was mixed. Come on – we haven’t had a live show in like 5 years, so the vets of the ring are going to get pops and that’s just the way it is!! Maria/Melina sounded like a really bad episode of Sex in the City, but what your live correspondents didn’t mention was that Layla came in and informed Maria that Dolph Ziggler really is quite the catch but don’t expect him to stay with her for very long (as she does the feminine hair fluff motion). Melina informed Layla that she would eat it in the ring later that night for a nice pop. They mentioned Michelle’s return next week – possible tag match (Maria Melina v. Michelle Layla)?
CM Punk d. John Morrison – Punk out to fairly massive heat, Morrison out to a really great pop. This wasn’t so much of a spotfest as it was a great sample of their own styles. Morrison hit that new standing moonsault that he does as well as several springboard moves and huge hits. Punk did I’m sure what will be called by JR a “ground and pound” attack throughout the majority of it. I will say that as Morrison was in the submission position and the crowd would get solidly behind him, he kept missing his cues so the crowd’s clapping got to the maximum before he would actually start to break free – by the time he would get out of the hold, we were calmed back down and tired of clapping – something he needs to work on in the future. Punk responded well to the live crowd too, looking around and glaring much of the time. The finish here came when Morrison went for the Starship Pain, but just as he jumped to springboard off the corner Punk stood up and pushed him so that he canned himself on the top of the ring post. GTS by Punk and he gets the win. What was interesting afterwards is that as Morrison lay in the ring, Punk went to the stage side of the ring and just sat on the outside ring apron as they aired the highlights of the match. Many of the other superstars wandered around or grabbed some heat, but I suspect Punk was legitimately critiquing himself, which was really cool to see. The thing finished and they got the footage of him getting down from the ring and walking up the ramp. Neat match, lots of fun for the live audience, and I’m not sure that Morrison can put on a bad match at this point in his career. He just needs to figure out how to work with the crowd a little bit better before he takes the main event push.
Melina d. Layla – Sorry… BEER RUN time for this guy, though I did hear Melina get a good pop for her entrance move (which is truly impressive, to be sure). While I was outside, you could probably hear a pin drop in the arena – I’m sure that any noise that comes across on TV is just from the washroom/beer runners outside. I’m not a hater of Divas wrestling… but Layla has yet to impress me and Melina needs someone fairly strong to carry her. I do know Melina won with that slam she does where she does the splits across the girl’s chest for the slam to the mat.
Cryme Tyme Promo was not bad, but they looked royally hurt that they weren’t getting the pops. They came out and ran their mouths until you couldn’t hear them over the Y2J chants. They stopped and looked around quite shocked (Hey morons – the guy’s the best thing this country has contributed to your show since Brett Hart and Chris Benoit – think we’re going to cheer for two guys doing a pretty sad gangster gimmick? WRONG). They converted it into a “Oh, I think they mean Christina” comment, which simply turned them heel in our eyes. They finished their promo with a “Tag Team Titles” “YEAH YEAH” chant, which just barely caught on.
Big Show (w/Y2J) d. JTG (w/Shad) – You could tell that we were NOT winning ourselves over with WWE Creative last night – they did everything in their power to hide Jericho’s existence. They did not play the new merged theme (the one with both of their songs going in it), but only played Big Show’s theme. Jericho walked out in a suit, didn’t even carry his titles, and quietly walked around to the announce table. When Jericho left, Show quit getting the pop, but it was still not definite heat like everywhere else on the planet. I want to clarify – the match was between Show and JTG – Shad stayed on ringside opposite hard camera. Just in case you were surprised that Show beat Shad, this was not the case. JTG played a typical smaller tag partner damsel in distress much of the match, as Show manhandled him. At one point, Show threw JTG over the ropes by the announce table, and as Shad went to help him Jericho stood up. I’m not going to lie – at that moment it looked like Jericho may have gotten a bigger pop than Hardy. He sat back down as JR berated him for potentially getting involved, and Shad returned to his ringside spot. The finish came when JTG was outside the ring again, Jericho stood up and took out Shad, leaving JTG to take a MASSIVE Showstopper (It truly is something you have to see in real life to appreciate) followed by the Colossal Clutch (thank God he quit using that atrocious knockout punch). JTG was simply out – he didn’t tap, and the ref called for the bell. Show picked up a bit of heat until he was rejoined by Jericho, who again got a pop. After the match, Shad ran in and drove Show out of the ring, yelling at Jericho and Show as they backed up the ramp. Match prediction #2 next week: Show v. Shad.
The last promo with Khali and Kane got another mixed reaction from the crowd. I think it was mostly heat, but we were already a bit of a pro-heel crowd so it was difficult to tell. Apparently Singh is Khali’s brother now… I wonder if the Brothers of Destruction will unite against the Brothers Khali…
The Hart Dynasty d. Jeff Hardy – Jeff got another massive pop, but it wasn’t fantastic. What I will say is this: he completely forgot to sell the neck during his second entrance. He walked in almost normal (maybe he’ll look stiffer on TV), and did the surfing-on-the-second rope bit at all four corners. The mention of the neck injury was basically gone by the time he was sitting in the corner waiting for the Hart Dynasty. As for the Harts, I can’t say that they got the pop of the night, but they got a truly impressive pop.
Insert commentary here, cut out for space if needed
Ok… So we’re in Canada, we’re in Alberta, We’re in Edmonton. We have this new heel faction from Calgary, Alberta, Canada (the rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton may be one of the fiercest on the planet, truly – watch a hockey game sometime it’s second only to Toronto/Montreal). How do we possibly get them heat? We can’t just bury them behind the announce desk like Jericho, so let’s put them with the most popular superstar on the roster. Oh crap. That did NOT work. MAYBE we should have used a promo off the air to get some heat? The main event crowd noise is cooked – these guys picked up so much of a pop that you thought it was face Michaels vs. face HHH in the ring. Can I please write the promo? Something along the following: “You know, it’s great to be here in Edmonton (pop), here in Rexall Place (pop)… where the Calgary Flames so routinely destroy this pathetic hockey club (HEAT).” A few seconds later, turn on the live cameras and BANG – cheap heat but hey they used it on RAW. They truly didn’t slam Canada much here at all – we can deal with it, you want heat on your heels? Make them draw heat it’s not that hard… ANYWAYS
/end commentary and rant
This was indeed a fairly impressive match. The Harts are looking good together, but they’re too green to quite isolate injured areas, so their moves were simply their standard generic beatdown fare. Strong match that ended in a springboard Hart Attack by Tyson for the three count. Afterwards, Punk ran out, grabbed a chair and started to beat down Hardy again as the Harts looked on. Morrison booked it in and nailed Punk (clearly this feud is ready for post-Summerslam), sent him out of the ring until he took on the Harts. The Dynasty got the upper hand until Matt ran in. I honestly thought he was Chavo at first, because he wears a white headband, but it was definitely Matt who made the save. Proud to say that I started a “HARDYS” chant. The Harts and Punk fled and stood on the stage while Matt extended his hand to Jeff, helped him up, the two had that awkward staring moment that they’ve been having, and then Morrison shook Matt’s hand. The three celebrated, but then turned and stared down the Harts and CM Punk. Main event next week (not announced but so patently obvious that it hurts): Hart Dynasty and CM Punk vs. The Hardy Boyz and John Morrison (six man tag).
Dark Match: Jeff Hardy d. CM Punk in a Cage Match to Retain the World Heavyweight Championship – Dark match was cool, but it was over after a whisper in the wind and a swanton bomb, followed by Jeff celebrating in the ring. The cage was much too rickety to do anything (it wasn’t suspended above the ring but was put together quickly following the main event) so they kept the match short. Punk simply lay in the ring but now that the cameras weren’t rolling we gave him props for being a phenomenal heel.
Match of the Night: Easily Morrison v. Punk
Pops:
Y2J (someone tried a “Jericho” chant, but it failed early)
Hardy Boyz Reunited
The Hart Dynasty
Heat:
CM Punk (REALLY good heat)
Vince’s Phone Call
Dolph Ziggler
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