WWE Live show results
March 13, 2015
Abbotsford, B.C., Canada
Report by VIP member Brad Hainer

My second WWE live event in less than a year. The last time I saw more than one live show in a year was during the Attitude Era. Last summer, my son Jeffrey and I went to his first live wrestling show. When I asked him if he wanted to go again, he was very enthusiastic. Yesterday, I asked him what he remembered from the show last summer. He replied:

- climbing up the rock hill behind the arena.
- eating hot dogs and popcorn.
- the screaming kid beside me.
- Randy Orton running away from Dolph Ziggler.
- we stayed up until 1 a.m.

The show started at 7:30 p.m. with Tony Chimel as the ring announcer. I would estimate that the show was close to a sell-out as there was some scattered empty seats in each aisle. The $20 cheap seats in the endzone were completely full. After the national anthem was played, we were welcomed to the show by Triple H on the mini-tron. A mixture of cheers and boos for the head of The Authority. The acoustics in the arena were not as good as last time, as I could barely make out what he was saying. The woman sitting beside me with her two teenagers said she didn't know who any of the wrestlers were anymore. She hadn't watched since the '80s with George 'The Animal' Steele and Hulk Hogan.

(1) Erick Rowan beat Fandango (w/Rosa Mendes). Short match with Rowan tossing Fandango around the ring before pinning him. Fandango got on the house mic and said "...(he) was not prepared and I demand another match!" I remember last summer Damien Sandow did the same routine in the opening match. Maybe Fandango should become a stunt double and he could be as popular as Mizdow is now.

(2) R-Truth beat Fandango. Truth came to the ring with a sack. Inside was the Intercontinental Title. A short back and forth match in between Rosa and Fandango gyrating. After the match, R-Truth was blindsided by Stardust on the entrance ramp. Stardust then stole the belt and ran to the back.

(3) The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto) beat Tyler Breeze & Bo Dallas. A surprisingly good reaction for Bo when he came out. It looks like he has grown a goatee during his time away. Lots of stalling and comedy from Tyler and Bo including tagging back and forth without doing anything. A funny spot they did was the run around ringside together with their arms raised. Sin Cara and Kalisto hit double suicide dives onto Tyler and Bo outside the ring. They continued to show off innovative lucha-inspired dives and flips before Sin Cara pinned Bo after about ten minutes.

(4) Natalya & Emma beat Summer Rae & NXT Women's champion Sasha Banks. Huge pop for Natalya when she came out and it looked like she really appreciated it as she played to the crowd the entire match. Good action for this match and the crowd seemed into it. The heels worked over Emma for a while before she got a hot tag to Natalya. Natalya put Summer Rae in the Sharpshooter for the submission win. After the match, she brought a fan's poster into the ring that read "Home Is Where The Harts Are."

The Connor 'The Crusher' Michalek tribute video aired that still brings tears to my eyes. I love it when he tells A.J. Lee to "stop the craziness" and she laughs giving him a big hug. If anyone could be called a Warrior, it would be Connor.

A short video from the Attitude Era with all the carnage of crashing cars, monster trucks, and limos exploding with Stone Cold, the McMahons, The Rock, Edge, etc. You can see it all on the WWE Network!, they said.

(5) Goldust beat Stardust. Lots of "Cody" chants at Stardust. He called for a time-out and then spit water in Goldust's eyes. A decent match between the two brothers with all their signature spots before Dustin pinned Cody. Stardust then was about to hit Goldust with the belt, but actual IC champion Bad News Barrett ran out and grabbed it.

(6) Daniel Bryan beat Luke Harper. Probably the best match of the night because of the crowd heat. Bryan blew the roof off the building when he came out with thunderous "Yes" chants. The bulk of the match was Harper punishing Bryan with punches and kicks and Bryan making babyface comebacks. The crowd chanted "Daniel Bryan" when he was being beaten down and "Yes" when he came back with kicks of his own. Just incredible fan support that Bryan has. Some cool spots included Bryan putting Harper in the surfboard in the middle of the ring and slapping on the figure-four leglock with loud chants of "Whooo!" Harper had Bryan in a torture rack which he reversed into the Yes! lock. All the signature spots from Bryan including flying clotheslines, flips off the top rope, and a suicide dive outside the ring that nearly put him in the first row. For the finish, Harper missed a superkick and Bryan finished him off with the flying knee.

Overall, Luke Harper played his role very well, using good hand and facial gestures and a brawling style. Bryan gives 110 percent even at house shows. It is no wonder he is the most popular wrestler in the world.

[Intermission]

(7) New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods) beat The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor). Still feeling pretty drained after Bryan-Harper match. Not really much to this match as Kofi took the majority of the beating before tagging in Big E. New Day tried to get the fans into it, but the guys in front of me kept chanting "New Day sucks" whenever Xavier would slap the mat. Big E. got the pin after he and Kofi did the New Day finisher. I guess all the hype surrounding The Ascension has completely worn off. Of course, their gimmick of ripping off/riffing on the Road Warriors, Demolition, etc. didn't help them either.

(8) Dean Ambrose beat IC champion Bad News Barrett via DQ; Barrett retained the IC TItle. Barrett told the crowd to "...look at the real Intercontinental Champion...with this bullhammer, I'll knock Dean Ambrose teeth down his throat!" Good back and forth brawl between the two before Barrett gets DQ'ed for hitting Ambrose with the belt. I did not see that one coming from a mile away. After the match, Ambrose gave BNB the Dirty Deeds and picked up the belt. Luke Harper came down to ringside, clotheslined Ambrose, and walked away with the belt. But wait... R-Truth jumped Harper and left with the belt. Who's going to win the Ladder match at Wrestlemania 31?

(9) Roman Reigns beat Kane in a Street Fight in the Main Event. The fan vote was a Street Fight or No Street Fight. Wow, that was really creative. I guess they did not consider a Cage match or Hell In A Cell. Anyway, the Street Fight won with 77 percent of the vote. Reigns entered through the crowd, so I guess that is not just a TV spot. Lots of weapons were used ('cause, you know, it was a Street Fight) including the ringside steps (good acoustics), kendo stick, ring bell, and chair. There was a loud chant of "We Want Tables" from the crowd. When Kane went to get a table from under the ring, the crowd erupted. But, he decided not to and the crowd booed loudly. Finally, much to the delight of the audience, two tables were brought into the ring. Kane ducked a Superman Punch from Reigns and chokeslammed him through a table for a nearfall. He then did The Undertaker cut throat gesture and set Reigns up for a Tombstone Piledriver. Reigns reversed it and gave Kane the Superman Punch followed by the Spear through the other table for the win. Good reaction to Reigns by the crowd, but nothing near Daniel Bryan level. He went around ringside and down the aisle celebrating with fans even stopping to sign a few autographs along the way.

Biggest Pops: Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Natalya.

Biggest Heat: Kane, Bad News Barrett, Fandango.

Overall, a good show. I'm sure Jeffrey and I will go again if they come back later this year. Judging from the crowd reaction and attendance, this seems to be a good venue for them instead of the larger buildings in Vancouver. Anyway, it looks like an all-nighter for me, as I still have to watch Smackdown, Lucha Underground, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. There is just no rest for a wrestling fan.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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