WWE Live show results
August 8, 2014
Sydney, Australia
Report by Antonio, PWTorch reader

I attended my first event in Sydney, Australia which I had been planning to go for about three years now, but always couldn't at the last minute. The show had a weak line-up going in, but I was very excited.

I arrived an hour before the show and there wasn't much to the merch stand. Roman Reigns, the Usos, and Jphn Cena shirts mainly. Other things included were the headbands, sheep masks, etc. I got a Reigns t-shirt for $50 and a WWE Title replica for $40. I must say that the title belts are terrible. I own a World Heavyweight Title belt and a Undisputed Title belt from 2003 or so and they were so much thicker and durable than this which felt like a sheet of plastic.

The show kicked off at 7:30 p.m. on-time. The crowd was hot all night, but the show did drag after the sixth match, in my opinion, but the main event got the crowd's spirits up again. I would say there was a sell-out. Very few scattered seats at times, but I think thats due to buying food.

I just want to note that the music system was very loud. Also, there was no pyro at all and the set wasn't what I saw. It had two Titantrons and a WWE live logo, which I can tell was different than to the sets in the USA.

- Usos & Emma had a video package talking about charity.

(1) Rob Van Dam beat Fandango, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Bo Dallas, R-Truth, Diego, and Kofi Kingston in a 10-Man Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender's Battle Royal. I'd estimate time at ten minutes roughly. It was a solid match and was very enjoyable. I loved the skits and I sat in the area with the fans that loved starting chants so it was wonderful. Everyone got great pops and I mean everyone...besides Diego. Bo Dallas got a great pop and he was the best. The ending came when Harper attempted to eliminate Van Dam, but Van Dam countered and eliminated Harper.

(2) Nikki Bella & Emma beat Alicia Fox & Layla. It was a choice of a Dance-Off or Match, and it was very close. The match won and it surprisingly was another solid match. Nikki got the best pop ... even beating Emma. I want to mention from the Melbourne report that it said Alicia got new music, but she had her original one here. There was only one mis-timing in the match, but the rest seemed to flow perfectly. Nikki won with her backbreaker in about seven minutes roughly.

- Chris Jericho cut a promo backstage about Bray Wyatt.

(3) U.S. champion Sheamus beat Cesaro to retain the United States Championship. Sheamus won with the Brogue in about 12 minutes roughly. Very fun match. Both men played to the crowd greatly and I loved every bit of this match. Cesaro going for the swing to turning them away and then he would actually go for the swing, but Sheamus countered into a small package...it was basic but made the crowd happy. Before the match, Sheamus got a massive reaction while Cesaro got a mild one. Cesaro had his original theme music without the ambulance music.

- Rove McManus came out to the ring and was guest announcer for the next match.

(4) WWE tag champions The Usos beat The Wyatt Family to retain the Tag Team Championships. Great match. A more basic encounter than I've seen from the two, but I loved it. Wyatt's facial expressions were spot on while Usos were just Usos. I could tell they were one of the favourite teams on the tour as they got massive pops all night. The ending came with a superkick followed by a splash in about 11 minutes. Match of the Night. The show started to damper on from here.

[Intermission]

(5) IC champion The Miz beat Rob Van Dam to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Wow, it was great to see Miz. This was a comedy match with Miz playing to the crowd trying to get the fans to rally behind him, while protecting the money-maker. Miz cut a promo before the match talking about himself and I got a good laugh out of it. I'd call it a decent match, but was fun. I want to note RVD kicked Miz in the face and Miz spat everywhere. I also want to say there were C.M. Punk chants, but they were small and they were the only un-normal chants of the night. Miz won with a Small Package in about ten minutes roughly.

(6) Chris Jericho beat Bray Wyatt. Good match. Both worked well with the other Wyatts at ringside. But, the show started to drag from this point on. Wyatt cut a pre-match promo saying literally two words before Jericho's music hit and he came out to a massive pop. The Wyatts interfered during the match, but the Usos ran out and cleared them away. Jericho won after countering Sister Abigail into a Codebreaker in about 14 minutes roughly.

- Justin Roberts said WWE plans to come back to Sydney in the very near future. I hope it's sooner than next August.

(7) Roman Reigns beat Kane with Ric Flair as referee in a Sydney Street Fight. Great pops for both. Very solid match that had all the environmental craziness and it was hard work from both. Ric took a bump from Kane and I think his too old for that. It was the usual from Reigns moveset, but you can tell he is improving his consistency in the ring. Reigns won with the spear in about 13 minutes.

Reigns gave a post-match speech thanking everyone and putting over Flair. His music played as the show ended.

Overall, for my first event to attend, it was amazing. The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant and electric. Wrestling-wise there wasn't much to it, but it still was a very fun three hours.

A complaint is the lack of roster attending this tour. The Usos and Wyatts were in two matches and a brawl while RVD got used twice. It certainly got tired and brought the show down, in my opinion. I think they need to cut so many house shows. That leaves the fans with wanting more while bringing attendances up. I'd definitely come back next year, though.

Biggest Pops:

- Ric Flair
- Roman Reigns
- Chris Jericho
- The Usos

Biggest Heat:

- The Wyatt Family
- Kane

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

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