Hey rajah
Long time reader, first time contributor - I attended the WWE Raw
Survivor Series show in Brisbane, Australia last night, thought I'd
send in a quick report. The card seemed pretty thin - while the
non-appearance of the Showstopper HBK had been announced, the absences
of Carlito, Hornswaggle and Paul London seemed to surprise the crowd.
But that failed to dull the excitement of a WWE fan base whose
appetite for live action is fed once every couple of years.
The Brisbane Entertainment Centre was pretty much packed out, with a
nice spread of age groups represented. While there were still the
customary smattering of Rock, Stone Cold and even NWO Wolfpac shirts
on the twenty-somethings, it was great to see the youngsters out in
force, wearing their John Cena or Rey Mysterio gear, cheering the
faces, enjoying the new generation of superstar. Took me back to
1990, when as a 9 year old I watched Warrior do the impossible and
defeat Hogan at Mania VI, sealing my status as a wrestling tragic for
life... but enough of the past, onto the present.
The (limited) pyros hit, and RAW General Manager William Regal hits
the ring. He bids Brisbane a good evening, and announces the 2nd
Brisbane Cup - a 15 man battle royal with the winner to have a title
match against Orton later in the night. With current Brisbane Cup
holder Rey Mysterio not here to defend his silverware, a new winner is
ensured.
1st Match: 2nd Brisbane Cup (15 man over the top rope battle royal -
winner to face Randy Orton for WWE Title later in the evening).
Contestants: HHH, Umaga, Mr Kennedy, Jeff Hardy, Snitsky, Hardcore
Holly, Cody Rhodes, Highlanders, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Hass,
Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Santino Marella, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch (I
know that is 16, but I swear they were all in it).
Before the match can start, Santino gets on the mic and talks about
being embarrassed by Stone Cold Steve Austin on RAW. He says he was
as embarrassed as we should be by the Brisbane Broncos (our local
rugby league side) - huge cheap heat. Santino slides under the ropes,
the bell rings - and all other competitors in the match gang up to
throw Santino straight out of the ring! Huge pop for that.
The battle royal continues, as battle royals are wont to do. HHH
doesn't get involved for a long time, sitting on the turnbuckle.
Short sighted Brisbane fans struggle to make out which is Hardcore
Holly and which is Kennedy. The crowd is right into Hacksaw, the
first ever Royal Rumble winner showing he's lost nothing in the
intervening 20 years.
Our final six is HHH, Umaga, Kennedy, Hardy, Holly and Snitsky.
Snitsky misses with a big boot on HHH, gets hung up on the top rope
and is quickly tossed over. Sparkplug Holly quickly follows. Hunter
then turns his attention to Umaga, and manages to dispose of the
Samoan bulldozer. But much to the crowd's dismay, Umaga grabs a hold
of HHH from outside the ring and proceeds to eliminate the Game! A
flurry of boos from the Brisbane crowd. Our final two are Hardy and
Kennedy.
Good back and forth between the two, with both going over the top rope
but catching themselves on the apron. But it is the Rainbow Haired
Warrior who prevails, eliminating Kennedy. Hardy is presented with
the Brisbane cup, and the Intercontinental Champ will face the WWE
Champ later this evening!
Your winner - Jeff Hardy
2nd Match: Women's Title: Beth Pheonix (c) v Mickie James v Jillian
Hall
Jillian out first - has that woman had hair extensions? - and takes
the microphone. We all know what is coming - Jillian tests the
durability of Aussie eardrums with a hair raising number, inviting big
heat from the crowd. Mickie interrupts to big pop, and she is quickly
followed by the Glamazon, who receives little crowd reaction.
A decent triple threat. Beth Pheonix spends a lot of time on the
outside of the ring selling a fall, which seems to go against her
gimmick to me. That allows Mickie to get a number of near falls with
a Mick Kick and a Stratusfaction. I keep telling my mates that the
Tag Titles changed hands at a house show in South Africa recently -
but none of them are convinced a title change could happen tonight.
Very soon Beth Pheonix re-enters the ring, and finishes off Mickie
with the delayed fisherman's suplex. 1, 2, 3 - and the champ retains.
Your winner - Beth Pheonix
3rd Match: Shelton Benjamin v Brian Kendrick
Shelton Benjamin is out to a decent reaction, while Brian Kendrick
does his best to gee up a crowd. Didn't Shelton tag team with Hogan
at Bash at the Beach one year... no hang on that was Rodman. Can't
get into the blond hair. Crowd is a bit confused as to where Paul
London is. I'm now reading on Rajah that he didn't make the trip...
There are scattered chants for Shelton's mama, which garner some
laughs.
This is the most athletic match up of the night to date. Some good
back and forth, leading to some high spots including a double arm
drag/superplex style move off the top rope.
I was expecting a Shelton victory in this one, but it is Kendrick who
gets the pin after Shelton misses with a Stinger Splash and Brian hits
his Sliced Bread manoeuvre (reverse DDT off the ropes). My oh my, how
Shelton has slipped down the card since his IC reigns and Money in the
Bank heroics.
Your winner - The artist formerly known as Spanky
4th Match: Mr Kennedy v Cody Rhodes
Kennedy gets a great reaction - mostly heel, but a lot of face work as
well. No microphone descending from the ceiling, but he borrows the
stick from Tony Chimmel and duly proceeds to tell us his fighting
weight and from whence he hails. Then, channelling the Rock, he asks
the crowd a few times to be quiet while he finishes his
'KEEENNNNNNNEEDDDDY'. The crowd does not oblige - and the result is
we only get one Kennedy out of the man. Love his mic work. Charisma
will take you far.
Cody Rhodes is out, and I am trying to explain to the 8 year old next
to me who the American Dream is and why Cody has a lot to live up to.
He responds with a "Kennedy sucks". Good kid.
Kennedy patronises Cody, patting him on the head and clapping in his
face numerous times. With a longer match than we see on TV, it
appears to me that Kennedy is definitely improving in the ring - he
would have been primed for that illegitimate son feud with HHH - as
Kennedy does the old school heel working of the left arm/shoulder.
Cody periodically fights back to keep the crowd interested, but
without Hardcore Holly there to help him he was destined to job.
Kennedy gets the three count following a standing fireman's carry
slam.
Your winner - MISSSSSTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRR Kennedy
5th Match: Tag Team Titles: Cade/Murdoch (c) v Highlanders
I'm late back from intermission, and the teams are already in the
ring. The mate I'm at the wrestling with looks just like Trevor
Murdoch - so much so that we almost had the youngsters convinced last
time WWE was in town - so we're naturally pulling for the heels in
this one.
Someone seems to have taught Rory and Robbie of a well known chant in
Australia - one person shouts "Aussie Aussie Aussie!", and the crowd
follows with "Oi, Oi Oi!". So here we are being led in traditional
Aussie chants by a Scottish-Canadian. Only in the WWE.
I like Cade and Murdoch as a team - they did a good job attracting
heat and interacting with the crowd on the floor. The match is OK -
eventually finished off when Cade and Murdoch deliver the Sweet and
Sour. All hopes of an unlikely house show title change have
disappeared now.
Your winners - Cade/Murdoch
6th Match: WWE Title: Randy Orton (c) v Jeff Hardy
Some off the crowd are slightly surprised to hear this match announced
next - though with the reaction the Game received earlier, I'm not
surprised this was booked as the penultimate bout.
Randy gets a very loud reaction, mostly heat but there's a number of
pro-Orton fans amongst us. The man looks great - if not a little
disinterested to be there - as he shows off his gold to Brisbane. I
hope marriage has settled him down and he stays champ for a while.
Jeff Hardy is getting giant pop tonight, and the crowd immediately
erupts into Hardy chants. The challenger and the champ engage in a
bit of a stare down, before the bell in rung.
This is what I'd expect a typical house show title match to be. Hardy
was on the offence for long periods of the match, at one point flying
over the top rope to the outside and at another point delivering a
Whisper in the Wind that only missed by a foot or two. It seems that
Orton has been doing an awful lot of selling and not a lot of
attacking since he became champ - but whatever the case the Legend
Killer, as expected, eventually gains the ascendancy and finishes off
Jeff.
He missed with the first RKO, but the second connects.
Your winner - Randy Orton
7th Match: HHH v Umaga (no DQ)
Prior to the match, William Regal appears for a second time (earning
his keep) to tell us that he has a surprise - tonight's main-event is
going to be a no-DQ match! Big pop for that.
HHH out first, to by far the biggest pop of the night. The Game
salutes the crowd, and his peck-flexing display could be seen from the
bleachers. Umaga out second. I'm trying to explain to the kid next
to me that the match should be over in about... 3 minutes. The guy on
the other side is explaining that it's not the one that pretended to
be a superhero with the Hurricane, but it's the other one. The kid
ignores both of us and boos Umaga. Smart kid.
Power wrestling to start. Trips tries to take Umaga down with
microphone shots to the head. When that fails, HHH goes looking under
the ring... the cheers start... but it's only a 'steel' trash can.
The trash can looks just like it does on TV - I wonder if they brought
the trash cans from America? - and Trips finally succeeds in taking
Umaga down.
A steel chair appears later in the match as well, though it never
connects with human cranium. HHH no-sells the running stinkface move
that Umaga does. Eventually HHH goes under the ring and brings out
what we've all been waiting for - Sledgie. Never have I seen so much
pop for a garden tool.
Eventually Trips counters a move with the sledgie, a disorientated
Umaga finds his way in between HHH legs, and a Pedigree ends a great
Brisbane evening.
Biggest Pop:
1. HHH
2. Jeff Hardy
3. HHH's sledgehammer
4. Santino being eliminated from Brisbane Cup
Biggest Heat:
1. Santino Marella cheap heat
2. Jillian Hall's singing
3. Orton
4. Mr Kennedy
