WWE Smackdown brand house show report
December 29, 2010
Cleveland, Ohio
Report by Kent Sinkler, PWTorch reader

WWE's Smackdown show on Wednesday night was held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center. This is the first time in recent memory that WWE has held a show at this venue. They normally run at the larger Quicken Loans Arena. To my knowledge, the last wrestling event held at CSU was a WCW Nitro taping in summer 2000. That was a seriously dark time for that brand because that show featured the epic match-up of David Flair & Ms. Hancock vs. Lt. Loco & Major Gunns. Future WWE star Rey Mysterio also teamed with Disco Inferno in a loss to General Rection and Corporal Cajun.

The floor seats were filled, as was a fair percentage of the lower bowl. The upper section had scattered people throughout. I would roughly estimate that 4,000 - 5,000 people were in attendance.

Merchandise was available for Smackdown's Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kane, Edge, and Kofi Kingston. Raw merchandise for John Cena, The Miz, and Randy Orton was also available. I'll give you one guess on whose shirt was seen being purchased the most. Yes, it was the "sex child of the Incredible Hulk and Grimace." Yes, the majority of the people wearing said shirt were in grade school.

The evening began with a very pleasant surprise as Howard Finkel made his way to the ring to helm the ring announcer position. He gave a run down of the night's events and introduced Smackdown General Manager and former Doom Manager, Theodore R. Long. Teddy announced that he was giving everyone in Cleveland a New Year's present because the main event would be a World Hvt. Title match featuring Edge, Kane, and C.M. Punk in a "15-foot-high steel cage." I didn't realize that people normally received New Year's presents. He then declared that the first match would be a 12-man battle royal with the winner facing Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler later in the evening.

(1) Kofi Kingston won a 12-man battle royal for an Intercontinental Title shot. The participants made their way to the ring while Smackdown's "Green Day" penned theme song was poorly played through a shoddy PA system. The entrants were Ezekiel Jackson, Trent Barreta, Chris Masters, Mason Ryan, JTG, "Showtime" Percy Watson, Jack Swagger, Chavo Guerrero, Drew Mcintyre, Tyler Reks, "Dashing" Cody Rhodes, and Kofi Kingston. The match started with the typical punch, kick, punch, kick repeat pattern. Ezekiel Jackson was given a few moments to display his power offense. The final three men in the battle royal were Jack Swagger, Drew Mcintyre, and Kofi Kingston. Kofi eliminated Swagger for the victory.

Kelly Kelly was then introduced as the host for the evening. She held a contest to find an honorary bell-ringer for the next match. She asked the same question they always ask, "What is the next Pay-Per-View?" The child correctly answered the Royal Rumble.

(2) Divas champion Natalya Neidhart & Beth Phoenix defeated Layla & Naomi. This match was announced as a "Santa's Little Helper" tag match. However, that was just a clever name because none of the divas were dressed festively nor were there any special holiday rules. This was a decent match that was given close to ten minutes. It was your typical house show tag match. However, the crowd was involved throughout. The finish saw Kelly Kelly get involved long enough for Beth to deliver a Glam Slam for the victory.

(3) FCW champion Mason Ryan defeated Chavo Guerrero. Mason Ryan was introduced from Cleveland, Ohio. I assume he will be announced from East Rutherford, New Jersey tomorrow. He has a slight resemblance to Batista and a similar build to Ezekiel Jackson. He won with his finisher after Chavo missed a frog splash.

Howard Finkel then solicited the audience to purchase WWE souvenir cups.

(4) Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre defeated JTG & Trent Barreta.
Didn't Cody and Drew breakup? House shows are indeed a parallel universe. Before the match, Cody Rhodes cut a promo on The Fink and told him the reason he is not announcing on Raw or Smackdown is because he is ugly. He then heckled a front row fan for his alleged lack of teeth. Cody did some impressive bumping and Drew finished the match with a Future Shock DDT on Barreta for the win.

(5) Rey Mysterio defeated Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio was introduced first by Howard Finkel. Ricardo Rodriguez must command too high of a salary to tour the house show circuit with Alberto. Del Rio cut a promo on people in the cheap seats. He told everyone in attendance to blame their parents for their poverty and lack of class. He did the obligatory LeBron James mention to rile up the parents. He then said that Rey Mysterio would not be there due to the winter storm on the East Coast because he is stranded at the JFK airport. Rey's music then hit to a big pop. Del Rio stalled for ages and ripped up a fan's Rey Mysterio sign. Rey gave the child his shirt in exchange. The match featured most of Rey's typical highspots and concluded with a 619 into a seated senton on Del Rio for the victory.

Kelly Kelly came back out and displayed some of the merchandise that was available and did a t-shirt toss. This led to intermission.

(6) Chris Masters defeated Jack Swagger via submission. How the mighty have fallen. Swagger got in very little offense and attempted to bring in a chair at the two-minute mark. Referee Mike Chioda took the chair from Swagger, which led to Masters immediately putting Swagger into the Masterlock for the quick submission victory.

(7) Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston to retain the IC Title. Dolph came to the ring and put on a Miami Heat LeBron James jersey. I hope this pained him because he is an Ohio native. This move definitely upset the cocktail-induced parents who were dragged to the event by their children. Kofi came out and eventually ripped the jersey off Ziggler to a large applause. Kofi got in most of his trademark offensive moveset. These two have wrestled so much recently that they certainly know how to have a decent match and this was no different. Dolph hit the Zig-Zag for the win.

There was another brief intermission to set up the "15-foot-high steel cage" for the main event. That exact phrase was said at least six times throughout the night. This was a house show cage and it was not very secure. Referee Jack Doane was the true MVP of the evening as he walked completely around the ring on the top rope to help assemble the structure. C.M. Punk, from the Raw brand, was introduced first to massive heat. He had no signs of any Nexus memorabilia. Again, the parallel universe. Punk verbally berated the ringside fans until eventually settling into the cage. Kane came out next to a mixed reaction. Edge followed out to loud applause.

(8) World Hvt. champion Edge defeated Kane and C.M. Punk in a three-way steel cage match to retain the World Hvt. Title. This was a solid match that featured some nice spots from all the competitors. Punk catapulted Edge into the cage, but Edge was able to hang on and almost escaped over the top before being hauled back in by Kane. Any time one of these men were thrown into the cage, it was definitely shaking. Edge later attempted a spear on Kane but was blocked by Punk. They definitely played for comedy with a triple crotching in the corner. This was not 1992 in Saskatoon, therefore no major titles would be changing hands at this house show. Edge was able to exit over the top of the cage to retain his title. He teased spearing Punk on the outside, but Punk ran out of the arena. Edge then shook hands and signed autographs for everyone at ringside.

The show ended promptly at 10:00 p.m. No return date was mentioned.

Biggest Pops:

(1) Rey Mysterio
(2) Edge
(3) Kofi Kingston

Most Heat:

(1) Alberto Del Rio
(2) C.M. Punk
(3) Dolph Ziggler's literal Heat jersey

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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