Eduardo Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 I went to a WWE house show last night. It was a legitimate sell out, but that's been the trend in Hidalgo since 2003. Meltzer told me it has the longest streak of sell outs of any market WWE currently tours. I've been to live shows and seen Perro Aguayo, El Hijo Del Santo, Marco Antonio Solis, Canelo Alvarez, Eddy Guerrero, Hulk Hogan and John Cena's pop and reception was probably more impressive, and positive than all those guys. The Shield, Big Show, Sheamus, and The Usos all got great receptions too, but Cena was at another level. Big E. vs Swagger, The Usos vs Rhodes Brothers vs Rybaxel, Sheamus vs O'Neil, and Cena & The Shield vs The Wyatts & Kane were good to really good matches. I think Dylan and some of you would have really dug Sheamus-O'Neil. Really physical match, you could loudly hear a significant amount of the forearms, slaps, and body shots. O'Neil had three really impressive power spots where he tossed Sheamus around like a rag doll. At one point, Sheamus jumped off the top, and O'Neil caught him easily, and then just threw him around the ring. They got a good amount of time out there, felt like the longest match of the night, and it was a really strong effort from both guys. Really good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 reading the RAW preview on wwe.com and it looks like tonight's show will continue storylines and maintain kayfabe. I'll bet they do the bell salute at the top of the show and air clips of his career throughout the night. Maybe the talk to the camera confessionals will be on the Network special http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2014-04-14/five-point-preview-26229904 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 A bit selfish but I hope Raw isn't just filled with exhibition matches and Ultimate Warrior tributes. The product is so hot that we need a continuation of all the feuds. I don't think that's what they'd do. They've done that in the past with guys like Owen and Eddie who were active on the roster and literally died the previous day. I love Warrior and his passing was tragic and strange, but there isn't a lockerroom full of guys who just lost one of their best friends here. Most of them just met Warrior for the first time. I think a fitting tribute would to be have Vince McMahon open the show, bring the boys up on the stage, give him a heartfelt goodbye. And then during the show show highlights of his great moments. If they had some guys do a lame "Warrior tribute match" I'd puke, and so would Warrior. Have Cena shake the ropes and point to the sky and pin a guy with the running splash, but that's about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I don't see confessionals even being done. Who on the main roster/staff was even around during Warrior's run that is going to be able to tell a really heartfelt, positive story about him as a person? I don't see the point in Linda or Vince eulogizing him and I don't think the 'E is going to bring out non-TV personalities like Pat Patterson, Bruno Lauer, Steve "Skinner" Kiern, or the Brooklyn Brawler just to talk about how popular he was. Hogan and Lawler are the only two I could see giving "confessionals," but I see them being less emotional and more just about how popular was (a.k. a - nothing that hasn't been said before or needs to be said again). I do expect some face paint and tassles tonight and, hopefully, Rob Van Dam wearing some custom airbrushed gear with his own face and Warrior's on the kneepads and the words "Means Much More Than This" on the back under the image of a huge joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I would be cool with just the opening picture of Warrior that shows his birth & death dates, that says Rest in Peace, then continue on with the show as normal. Don't spend too much time on it or dwell on it & bring the whole evening down to a somber, depressing level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 They said they would pay tribute. It will be more than that, but it sounds like less than for previous tribute shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I don't see them ever doing Owen & Eddy type tribute shows again. They parodied the aesthetics of those tributes in June 2007, and if someone on the roster dies at some point, I assume they'll have a new format to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I don't see them ever doing Owen & Eddy type tribute shows again. They parodied the aesthetics of those tributes in June 2007, and if someone on the roster dies at some point, I assume they'll have a new format to work with. I think it depends. God forbid anyone on the active roster dies again...but if it was someone on the Owen or Eddy level in terms of respect and performance...how could they not do another tribute show with that sort of format? What if John Cena or Undertaker died suddenly the day before a RAW? Maybe they'd "cancel" RAW like they did with Benoit and run video packages and old matches with "confessionals" peppered in, but they would absolutely have to devote the full 3 hours to them When Savage died, the next RAW was full of guys doing tributes to him, but overall it was a "normal" RAW. I expect it to be the same way with Warrior, but it's a little more personal with them JUST mending fences and putting him in the HOF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I don't see them ever doing Owen & Eddy type tribute shows again. They parodied the aesthetics of those tributes in June 2007, and if someone on the roster dies at some point, I assume they'll have a new format to work with. Why? I know news was trickling out as the show was airing, hence Vince's "turn" (for lack of a better word) at the end, but for the most part, all anyone knew at that point was that Chris and his family died in a grisly manner. I don't think it was ever proven that Vince and the higher ups really did know the full scope of the reports when the show started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 He was referring to the mock tribute show they did after Vince's limo blew up and he was "presumed dead". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efrim Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 It won't happen, I keep imagining Punk showing up in tribute appropriate ring gear and doing a one time only match. He was by far the most visible Ultimate Warrior fan/friend/apologist while he was still mostly persona non grata around WWE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Yep, as Loss said, I was referring to the mock tribute show they did. I don't think it was ever proven that Vince and the higher ups really did know the full scope of the reports when the show started. I don't know if this is the thread for this, but Mike Benoit said then WWE Canada President Carl DeMarco gave him a call hours before the show. Meltzer also received a call before the RAW show telling him Benoit was the killer. I don't know about Vince, I don't remember any details there (if anyone has any, please inform me), but there was definitely executive(s) and people who knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I went to a WWE house show last night. It was a legitimate sell out, but that's been the trend in Hidalgo since 2003. Meltzer told me it has the longest streak of sell outs of any market WWE currently tours. I've been to live shows and seen Perro Aguayo, El Hijo Del Santo, Marco Antonio Solis, Canelo Alvarez, Eddy Guerrero, Hulk Hogan and John Cena's pop and reception was probably more impressive, and positive than all those guys. The Shield, Big Show, Sheamus, and The Usos all got great receptions too, but Cena was at another level. Big E. vs Swagger, The Usos vs Rhodes Brothers vs Rybaxel, Sheamus vs O'Neil, and Cena & The Shield vs The Wyatts & Kane were good to really good matches. I think Dylan and some of you would have really dug Sheamus-O'Neil. Really physical match, you could loudly hear a significant amount of the forearms, slaps, and body shots. O'Neil had three really impressive power spots where he tossed Sheamus around like a rag doll. At one point, Sheamus jumped off the top, and O'Neil caught him easily, and then just threw him around the ring. They got a good amount of time out there, felt like the longest match of the night, and it was a really strong effort from both guys. Really good stuff. I'd get you guys a fancam, dammit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsault Marvin Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I don't know if this is the thread for this, but Mike Benoit said then WWE Canada President Carl DeMarco gave him a call hours before the show. Meltzer also received a call before the RAW show telling him Benoit was the killer. I don't know about Vince, I don't remember any details there (if anyone has any, please inform me), but there was definitely executive(s) and people who knew. I remember from reading Irv Muchnick's writings, he proved DeMarco knew, but it was never clear to me if DeMarco was actually Meltzer's source or another person told Meltzer that DeMarco knew. We will probably never know if the people actually running the show like McMahon or Dunn knew or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 As crazy as Vince is I have to think that he didn't know. I'm sure the thought crossed his mind but like anyone close to the situation he was probably in denial about that possibility. I have to think if he knew there's no way he would have made himself and the company a target for that kind of criticism, and the way they've completely erased him from history in the aftermath seems to suggest that there's no way they'd have done a tribute show if Vince knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 This is crazy but knowing Vince, you almost wonder if he didn't think he couldn't somehow control public opinion if he pushed hard enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I think it was simply a decision made in haste when emotions were high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I don't see them ever doing Owen & Eddy type tribute shows again. Big difference between those two and UW. Warrior was totally a Vince creation, while they were proven commodities before they became big with Vince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposer Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 I went to a house show here in Chattanooga last night. The card went down like this. Sheamus beat Titus O'Neil - This was real physical and had some pretty brutal exchanges. Sheamus won with the Brogue kick. Goldust beat Fandango w/Layla - Goldust did some comedy spots with Layla. There were some good punching spots too. Goldust won with the Final Cut. Natalya beat Alicia Fox - This was fine. Nattie worked underneath for a few minutes, then put in the sharpshooter for the win. Cesaro beat Dolph Ziggler - This was very good and built nicely. The crowd was popping for every near fall by the end. We had great seats, and my brother Dustin and I signaled Cesaro for the swing. He saw us and nodded but Ziggler countered it into a small package for a near fall. He later got him in the swing and the crowd counted along. Cesaro hit the Neutralizer for the win right afterwards. The Usos beat Rybaxel (WWE Tag Title) - This was also very good. They all chopped the hell out of each other, and the Usos worked well underneath. The hot tag was fun, and the Usos won with a splash on Axel. Big E beat Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter & Cody Rhodes (Triple Threat IC Title) - Zeb cut a great promo pre-match bashing Chattanooga. This was mostly spot trading, but it didn't last long. Big E pinned Cody (I think) with the Big Ending. Big Show beat Damien Sandow - Sandow had a pre-taped promo telling the fans to cheer him. He had insane heat for it. Brad Maddox showed up and called out the Big Show to face him. Big Show pinned him after the KO punch after Sandow pleaded on the mic for a few minutes. John Cena & The Shield beat Kane & The Wyatts - This had tremendous heat and was off the charts fun. Reigns and Cena have so much charisma it's disturbing. Ambrose worked FIP and was great. Cena's hot tag was the most spectacular hot tag of all time and we all were marking out when it happened. Reigns hit the Superman Punch followed by the AA from Cena for the win. This was an extremely fun show. There were four matches I'd call at least good. Every other match was either decent or fun. Most notably, every match had someone who was insanely over. Sheamus, Fandango, Goldust, Nattie, Ziggler, Cesaro, The Usos, Big E, Zeb, Cody, Big Show, The Wyatts, The Shield, and Cena all had tremendous reactions. The Wyatts had some face reactions. They also drew huge heat. They are way over. The most over were Sheamus, Nattie, The Usos, The Wyatts, The Shield, and Cena. They all had some insane pops. Cena had the loudest pop I've ever experienced. It was deafening, and the place was shaking. Reigns was the most over from the Shield. People love that guy. The pops for his offensive run and big spots were outstanding. I haven't heard crowd reactions like this for so many people since I was a kid in 2000-2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 #1 Contender for the IC Title tournament starts tonight on RAW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposer Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Also, they had a minute long Warrior tribute video that played as the show started last night. It got a great reaction. It was pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 what the FUCK is this toys r us commercial? jesus that was bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 That made local commercials look professional. Does Sheamus walk around toy stores like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Poor Big E. He has to spend the whole night pensively looking at that monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexstar Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Poor Big E. He has to spend the whole night pensively looking at that monitor. Big E is fairly amusing in the short videos he puts up on Instagram - doing versions of those while the matches play in the background would be an interesting way to try and give him some spark, I think. Better than 10 seconds of staring at a TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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