Report by: Owen Scourfield, rajah.com reader
Just got back from front row at the Smackdown/ECW house show in Cardiff. Thought I?d
do my bit to keep you posted on the latest results.
Teddy Long came to the ring to cut a promo and welcome everyone, but didn?t get much
response from the crowd. Seemed to get the hint, and announced the first match.
#1. US Title Match
Chris Benoit vs MVP
A good match to start the event, allowing both wrestlers getting their sets of moves
in. I?m not the biggest fan of MVP but seeing him live for the first time changed my
mind. Very athletic, and played off the crowd effectively to draw some good heat.
Benoit in top form once again, picking up the win via flying headbutt.
Winner=Benoit
#2. Jimmy Wang Yang & Nunzio vs William Regal & Dave Taylor
Crowd went a bit flat during this match. Regal & Taylor got a fair bit of heat
due to the traditional Wales vs England rivalry! Respectable match on the whole.
Winners=Regal & Taylor
#3. Cruiserweight Title Match
Gregory Helms vs Chavo Guerrero
Helms seemed a bit over with the crowd ? a few ?Hurricane? shouts flying around.
Chavo seemed to test the water with the crowd, starting the match as babyface but
ending as heel. Standard match, rollup win for Chavo.
Winner=Chavo
#4. Tag Team Titles Match
Deuce & Domino w/ Cherry vs Brian Kendrick & Paul London
Have no idea what the Smackdown writers see in this ?Grese? style gimmick. It?s
awful ? except for the pretty blonde on roller-skates. London and Kendrick are great
to watch in person. Good match, but a similar ending to the match from last weeks
Smackdown. London missing the jump to the outside, injured on floor, etc etc.
Winners=Deuce& Domino
#5. Finlay vs Kane
Quite possibly match of the night for me. Finlay spent a good 10-15 minutes ringside
having some good banter with the crowd. Lots of dissing the Welsh and the national
flag. It went down really well with the fans, and Kane was literally laughing in the
ring. A good match, resulting in Hornswoggle coming from under the ring for the
ending. Kane dropped to his knees to fight him but the ?Little Bastard? only managed
to put his green hat on to Kane?s head. After disposing of Hornswoggle, Kane
finished the match delivering a chokeslam to Finley wearing the hat, and obvious to
all is laughing his head off. Great match.
Winner=Kane
#6. Elijah Burke, Marcus Con Vor, & Matt Striker vs RVD, Sabu & Tommy Dreamer.
Match didn?t live up to it?s expectation. Both RVD and Dreamer did a lap of the ring
high-fiving the fans in the front row before the match started. Match itself was
over before it started, Sabu pinned after selling a shoulder injury.
Winners= New Breed
#7. Michelle McCool vs Jillian
Special Guest Referee ? Kristal
This match was pretty much a toilet stop for most, but I was surprised by the
improvement in these two Diva?s abilities. Considering McCool was out for a while
with illness she is looking pretty sharp. Jillian?s singing gimmick is hilarious
live. McCool picks up win with a backslide. Jillian is left in the ring protesting
to Kristal, and the Boogeyman emerges to scare them both off. Boogeyman chases the
ring announcer around the ring, and spits some worms into the crowd. On his way back
to the locker room, a fan dressed as the Undertaker asks to have a mouth full of
worms, and the Boogeyman gladly agrees!!
Winner= Michelle McCool
#8. WWE Heavyweight Championship Match
The Undertaker vs Batista vs Mr Kennedy vs Mark Henry!?!?
Huge pop for the ?Taker and Batista, while Kennedy cut a cracking promo on the Welsh
Rugby team, and then continued to label the Welsh as ?sheep-shaggers?. Mark Henry is
looking quite big. Big as in fat not muscular. This match turned out to be one on
one due to the amount of time Kennedy and Henry spent on the outside. Dissapointing
end ? Undertaker reversed Kennedy?s tombstone effort to nail the Money in the Bank
winner.
Winner= The Undertaker
This was the first Smackdown live show I?ve seen, and was a long way off last years
Raw show here. Would have been good to see JBL make a show, and it?s a shame Ashley
and Booker have just been laid out with injuries. Nonetheless, working with what
they had it was a solid show, in front of a sell-out 5,000 crowd.
By: Joel Ellmes, rajah.com reader
First I'd just like to say I was waiting since 8am to get to see Mick Foley in the
book signing. I bought his book, it's good so far. I got a cool picture with him.
Foley was nice at the signing, he was making conversation with everyone. I was one
of the first to get my book signed. He asked about the Kurt Angle t-shirt I was
wearing, and he said my name =O.....=D yayyy!!!
Lots of "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO's" In the arena before the show started (as always)
Teddy Long came out first and announced that Duece and Domino will be defending
their titles against Paul London and Brian Kendrick and that The Undertaker will
defend the World Heavyweight Championship in a fatal four way against Ken Kennedy,
Mark Henry and Batista.
The first match was Chris Benoit against MVP for the US title. The crowd was solidly
behind Benoit in this match. Lots of OOOOOOOOO's when Benoit did a chop. The whole
was ok. In the end Benoit hit 3 german suplexes, then he went to the top rope for
the headbutt, but MVP got up and went to the top of the turnbuckle to stop him,
Benoit threw him down, hit the headbutt and got the 3 count. Benoit wins and remains
US champion.
Second match was Jimmy Wang Yang teaming up with Little Guido (announced as Nunzio.
Has he changed his name back now?) to face William Regal and Dave Taylor. For some
reason I found Regal's music funny as they walked to the ring. Good athletisism
shown by Jimmy and Nunzio, there was a great dropkick performed by Jimmy in this
match. The match ended when Regal and Taylor double teamed Jimmy. Taylor got Jimmy
in a standing fireman's carry position as Regal hit a knee to the face and got the 3
count. Winners are William Regal and Dave Taylor. As the music faded, the fans
applauded Nunzio and Jimmy for their efforts, their music then hit as they went to
the back.
Third match was for the Cruiserweight title. Chavo was defending against Gregory
Helms. Quite a good match. Eddie chants went throughout the arena. The match ended
when Helms went for the shining wizard but it was ducked. Chavo did a school boy and
held the tights for the win. I recall Helms getting applauded for is efforts too
(this happened to every face who lost their match in the night, it happens on every
show in Cardiff).
Fourth match was Duece and Domino defending against London and Kendrick. Duece and
Domino seriously had no reaction except when their music hit. They tried to get
heat, but it wouldn't work. Duece and Domino won this match with an awesome double
team move. One of them held London in the starting position for the famous Hart
attack double team move. The other one then did a great calf kick and got the pin.
Winners are Duece and Domino, still tagteam champions.
Fifth match was Finlay vs Kane (I knew they would have this match on the card, it
was just obvious). Finlay used JBL's "why is there a squirrel on the Welsh flag"
joke. The joke that JBL did in 2005 when they were in Cardiff. Kane got a great pop.
Near the end of this match someone ran down to attack Kane, to be honest I can't
remember who it was, but it was either MVP or Gregory Helms. Anyway, the distraction
allowed Finlay to hit Kane with the shilleleigh in the back of the leg but he could
only get a 2 count. This match was quite funny as near the end, Little Bastard or
Hornswaggle (whatever they're calling him now) came out from underneath the ring.
Kane got down on his knees to match his height. Hornswaggle put his green hat on
Kane's head which looked absolutely hilarious. He was about to chokeslam
Hornswaggle, but Finlay stopped it and got a chokeslam of his own. Throughout this
the hat stayed firmly on Kane's head. Kane got the 3 count to win the match.
There was an intermission announced, not much to say here
Sixth match was Sabu, RVD and Tommy Dreamer of the ECW originals against Elijah
Burke, Marcus Con Von and Matt Striker of the New Breed. Insane match (well that's a
big overstatement, but there were quite a few good dives from Sabu and RVD, only 1
of them was "Extreme" though). The New Breed picked up the win in this match. Sabu
was distracted in the corner, Elijah ran up and hit him with a knee to the back, I
think they call this move "The Elijah Experience". (I don't know these things for
sure as I haven't been so up to date with wrestling lately). Elijah pinned Sabu for
the win in this 6 man tag.
Seventh match was a divas match. Krystal was the special guest referee (I don't like
the look of her on tv, but live she looked good). Jillian came out and sang a
Britney Spears song terribly (Hit me baby one more time I think it was). Michelle
McCool was the opponent. Michelle McCool won this match. Jillian was angry after the
match and attacked Krystal. The Boogeyman's music then hit. He came out behind
Jillian from under the ring. Threw worms on the ring floor. Jillian ran off, you get
the idea. He walked around the ring, spat worms on a fan hahaha. ooooo and then he
was talking to someone in the front row (dressed like The Undertaker, he does it
every year this man. I was talking to him earlier in the day. We discussed wrestling
in general while waiting to see Foley. I was wearing my Kurt Angle t-shirt so he did
his Undertaker impersonation on me). Boogeyman offered him some worms and the fan
ate them!!! Boogeyman runs to the back.
Main Event. Kennedy came out with his briefcase, he got a lot of heat. He raised his
arm to the ceiling for the mic. The CIA is so cheap that they couldn't even have a
mic coming down from the ceiling for him. But it made it funnier when the announcer
ran over to him, held the mic in the air and dropped it into Kennedy's hand. He did
the KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY...................................KENNDYYYYYYYYYYYYY
thing. We all joined in. Next out was Batista, huge pop for him. My friends and I
put Boo'd him. Next out was Mark Henry, as he got to the ring, the smoke effect
started for The Undertaker's entrance. Undertaker's music hit, VERY loud. He had a
huge pop. He has an amazing entrance when you're there live. It was better than the
entrance from 2005 when he was in the CIA as well. Apparently this match was no DQ
as steel chairs and Kennedy's briefcase were brought into play. (The announcer for
the night made a few mistakes when announcing superstars and what matches would be
next). All men hit their finishers in this match (except for Batista). Kenton bomb
was done on Batista, Mark Henry went for the pin but Kennedy broke it up. Kennedy
then turned on Henry completely. The world's strongest slam looked pretty weak when
he did it to Kennedy. At the end Kennedy hit Undertaker with the briefcase as
Batista and Henry fought outside. Kennedy got a 2 count, Undertaker sits up as
Kennedy was distracted by the fight outside the ring. He eventually hit a tombstone
on Kennedy and got the 3 count to win the match and retain his championship. During
the count Batista tried to break up the count but Henry stopped him from doing so.
Undertaker's post match celebration was cool. My friends and I gave Henry a standing
ovation as the arena went quiet hahahaha.
Biggest Pops
The Undertaker
Batista
RVD
Chris Benoit
Biggest Heat
Mark Henry
Ken Kennedy
William Regal
Dave Taylor
When the show had finished I ran to the back to get autographs. I managed to get
some from Michelle McCool, Jimmy Wang Yang, London and Kendrick and RVD (once again
haha. I got RVD's autograph last year as well). Sabu came up to us with RVD but
didn't sign anything. Finaly didn't sign anything, neither did Kane, Kennedy,
Undertaker or Batista. When Kennedy came out of the arena he was dressed in a towel
and nothing else hahah. He ran back in and got dressed properly after. It was cool
to see The Undertaker come out of the arena dressed as himself. His hair was tied
back and he was wearing a bandanna. Basically he looked like the biker from
2000-2001. Overall, it was an enjoyable show, it was a lot of fun. I definately
enjoyed it more than last year's Raw in the CIA. Until next time, see ya! =]
Report by: Gareth Jones, rajah.com reader
hi mate, just got back from the cardiff cia house show on 22/4/07 and thought id
update u on the results if u post them feel free to add my email address
show kicked off with teddy long coming out and thank us for being there and told
us we would be seeing a fatal fourway match between undertaker, mr kennedy, mark
henry and batista! he then gave us a holla holla holla and left
match1 - benoit v MVP
entertaing match with benoit winning via a headbutt, crowd was really into this
match, wasnt very entertaining, on a personal note MVP was rubbish!!!!
match 2 - Kane v Finlay
ok match, kane won after hornswaggle interfered, he put his hat on kane, kane went
on his knees and got chokeslammed, finlay then tried hitting kane with the
shilalie, kane countered and chokeslammed him for the win.
after the match finlay laid into the welsh saying we had a squirrel on the flag
and that ireland was glad it wasnt in the uk, he then staped on a welsh flag and
covered it with the irish flag, this recieved major heat!!!!
match 3 - deuce & domino w/ cherry v london and kendrick
not a very entertaining match deuce and domino won with a kick to the head when
london was on the shoulders!
match 4 - helms v chavo
crowd was chanting eddie all through this match, chavo won with frog splash. great
match back and forth
match 5 - regal & taylor v jimmy wang yang & nunzio
what a waste of time this match was, only plus part was regal waving at the end
match 6 - new breed (elijah burke, alpha male & striker) v RVD, Dreamer, sabu]
huge pop for RVD, sabu and dreamer. Didnt realise just how good sabu, RVD and
dreamer were. new breed won after elijah burke hit sabu in the corner with flying
knees!
match 7 - 2 divas, cant remember, wasnt very good, only good part was boogeyman
coming in after the match and spitting worms at jillian hall if i remember
correctly
Match 8 - fatal fourway - undertaker v kennedy v mark henry v batista
mr kennedy came down to the ring to an amazing pop, so he tried doing his heel
stint by slagging off the welsh
he slated the rugby team saying we coulnt even win the wooden spoon, and why, he
explained that we are a bunch of sheep shaggers!! at this point the crowd were
chanting 'who are ya'? to which he replied ill tell u that in a minute u sheep
shaggers!!! he then introduce himself to great pop, mr
kennedy............................KENNEDY
next came batista then henry then the reason the place was packed, the entrance of
the undertaker!!!!!
his enrtrance was worth the money in full!!!
undertaker won after tombstoning mr kennedy, good match with undertaker and mr
kennedy being in the ring the most of the time, think it was a no DQ match as
taker got hit with a chair twice and then sat up and hit henry with a chair.
overall an awesome show seeing as it was only a house show. big sout out fot mr
kennedy for the way he did his research about wales and the rugby and sheep
shaggers bit, the crowd kinda found it funny
biggest pop
undertaker
batista
kennedy
RVD
chavo
biggest heat
finlay
kennedy
mark henry - just cos he was there
MVP
new breed
