Falls
Count Anywhere EXTRA
03-26-03
Welcome
to a Special Falls Count Anywhere. My name is Chris. Free
Mumia.
Live
SmackDown!
My ticket hook-up almost let me down, but not as hard as the
fans who failed to bring Falls Count Anywhere signs to the
show.
Where's
the love? My Roommate and I got seats at the last minute and
saw a show that is in the top half of live shows that I have
been to of late, but not as good as the last two I saw at
the Arena.
The
Good- Fine wrestling from Jamie Noble and Funaki for Velocity.
Really, this was a solid match that showed why Sho (Funaki)
was the best thing to come out of Japan in years. Nidia was
great in her role as well, and if it weren't for the fact
that they rubbed folks the wrong way, they'd be doing much
bigger things. The Jumping Swinging DDT that Funaki delivered
was off the charts awesome!
Chris
Kanyon had a fine match with Chad Collyer. This was a hot
match, especially when Collyer got a near fall and some of
the crowd thought it might have been a finish. Good heat,
likely because the Chad was announced as from San Jose, even
though the night before he was from Sacramento.
Johnny
Stromboli and Tajiri had a fun match, and the crowd gave it
up for Tajiri as he left. TAJIRAMANIA was running wild!!!
Rey Misterio and Brian Kendrick had a fantastic, Lucha-infused
tag team battle with Matt Hardy and Shannon Moore. It was
very clean, until a couple of missed spots in the end (don't
worry
they'll fix it in post). Kendrick did an awesome
Swinging DDT, and looked as good, if not better, than Matt
Hardy, and just a notch below Rey. Matt got a great reaction,
as did Rey. Should be a fine match at Mania.
My roommate
wants to corrupt Brian Kendrick. She said the same thing about
Hurricane, and look where that got him. I smell a trend.
A couple
of Vince McMahon training videos were shown, each featuring
the inspirational tones of Shane-o-Mac. Good stuff, including
a Dr. Tom Pritchard sighting!
Hogan
came out, talked a little, and then left. The whole while,
every single person in the house, even the "retain an
air of detached irony" crew in front of me were cheering
so loud, my ears were ringing after the show. AMAZING, and
I've heard some loud pops before. A really good, old-school
face interview.
Chavo
took on Shelton Benjamin in a good match. Though Chavo got
a chant early, the wind sort of went out of the crowd here.
I am really thinking that Chavo is the better of the Guerreros
at the moment, as it seems that Eddy's injuries have started
to catch up to him. He's got charisma, talent in the ring,
and is still young.
Angle
and Lesnar had a backstage encounter that should be required
viewing of any big program participants. The intensity was
huge, Angle was perfect, and Brock was better than I have
ever seen him in getting over the fact that this was a match
of huge importance.
This sort
of had the ring of a passing of the torch interview, the type
you would see in 1989 in the NWA, and the crowd, after starting
with "What!"s for everything that Angle said soon
recognized that this was an important speech and by the end,
gave Angle huge respect. This is the best interview of Angle's
career, and if they cut the Whats, it should come off even
more intense on TV. The graphic for Brock vs. Angle during
the WrestleMania card rundown got the biggest pop, even bigger
than Rock/Austin and Hogan/Vince.
John Cena
came out and had a match with Rikishi. It wasn't a very good
match, though the rap backstage that Cena did to call out
Brock was fun.
The ending,
one simple move, a Death Valley Driver by Cena on Rikishi,
changed everything. He held him for a long time, and then
dropped him. The crowd was stunned.
That one
move made Cena for everyone in the building. I don't think
it will play as amazing on Thursday, but it was incredible.
The Cena fight with Brock after, which may not be on the show,
was good, with Cena looking credible hanging with Brock, even
though he ended up taking the F5. Done right, Cena vs. Brock
could be real good.
The bad
was there, too. Benoit and Rhyno had a match with A-Train
and Big Show that wasn't classically bad, but did nothing
for me. A run-in by Nathan Jones didn't help.
Eddy Guerrero
had an off night working with Charlie Haas. They missed a
few spots, and it wasn't a train wreck, but not what I was
hoping for.
Nidia
and Torrie wrestled. This was a classically bad train wreck.
On Velocity,
Apollo Kahn and Bill DeMott had a match that was stiff, and
ended with a KO finish. Kahn wasn't given an entrance, got
very little offense, and as such, got no reaction. The crowd
didn't know what to make of the finish, but they wanted DeMott
to keep beating on the poor sap. This could have been real
good.
Other-
I got the last Cheat 2 Win shirt, which I am wearing right
now. The Roommate picked up a Hurricane mask and a Rey Bobblehead.
Ernest "The Cat" Miller got a big pop coming out
and doing his dance. Taz got a good pop coming out to announce.
The people in front of me laughed at my "ChavoMania is
running wild!" cry.
The line
to get in was huge. There was a lot of Jailbait. The WWE uses
really nice DigiBeta cameras, but when they shoot in the crowd,
they were too well guarded for sneak job. The opening to Velocity
is much cooler than the opening to SmackDown!. Dave Meltzer
was in attendance, and his analysis of the show will likely
include two or three points I don't agree with.
There
was more facial hair at the show than any other I've ever
been to.
OK, that's
that. More to come this week, including the big WrestleMania
preview. Remember, the next time you get the chance, see a
WWE taping in your town.
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