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WWE Summerslam Fan Axxess Report
August 22, 2009
Los Angeles, Calif. at the Staples Center
Report by Tim Tse, Torch reader
I went to both sessions of Summerslam Axxess on Saturday, August 22 and was surprised at how much fun I had and thought there were many interesting moments. I arrived two hours early thinking it would be like previous autograph signings I'd been to, but it turns out I really didn't need to arrive that early because of how well organized the event was. However, it was quite the sight to see a limo pull up to the entrance to Axxess a few minutes after I had arrived and none other than Vince McMahon popped out to loud cheers from those that had arrived. He smiled and waved to the crowd, with some rushing to hug and shake his hand, but otherwise afterward he needed to talk to the people running the event and prepare it.
Match Results
Session 1:
(1) Jimmy Wang Yang (who hasn't been on TV for quite some time) beat Mike Knox (who WWE seems to be pushing)
(2) Chris Masters beat Jamie Noble with the Masterlock. Afterwards, Jamie sold the hold for a few minutes before getting up to a decent ovation from the crowd.
Session 2:
(1) Yoshi Tatsu beat Zack Ryder.
(2) Goldust beat Charlie Haas.
I didn't really watch the matches because I was going to Summerslam and thought it'd be better to go to the autograph signings instead, but I do know they were generally short matches, about 5-10 minutes long. There was a crowd watching, but not too much so that if you watched them, it was basically getting a very close, ringside look at them.
Some notes from the Q & A sessions - held inside the ring
Session 1 - Batista
-Batista seemed very laid back, kinda quiet, but seemed to be in good spirits.
-When he first went onto the top turnbuckle, he made a lewd gesture at a woman perhaps, almost if he was spanking an invisible girl in the air
-He's not sure when he'll be back
-A girl asked him if he'd go out with her and he replied that he's single, thought about it, said she was cute, and said they'll talk after.
-Someone asked the significance of his theme song and he just said they were words they came up with since he was breaking free from Evolution. Put over his experience in Evolution.
Session 1 - Chris Jericho
-Jericho was mostly out of character joking around. Someone asked why he switched from tights to spandex and he said technically his tights were already spandex before...but he just wanted to do something fresh because he was having a new character and he was breaking away from the Y2J thing.
-He made a joke something like if he were an actor he'd be the fat kid Jonah Hill or Seth Rogen.
-Afterward he went around the ring and high-fived a lot of people, and signed a few autographs, mine included
Session 2 - Randy Orton
-Since I was in line for the signing with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, which was conveniently located very close to Orton's Q & A, I was able to hear everything and it was very memorable.
-Orton came out with sunglasses (looking a lot like Nigel McGuiness) to very loud cheers, and he completely played into it. He acted completely like a face throughout the whole interview actually.
-He pointed to the turnbuckle, and as people cheered, he shrugged his shoulders as if to say "why not?" and did his old trademark ballerina pose that he never does anymore
-The interview was being filmed by a camera crew and conducted by Howard Finkel, like all the other Q and A's.
-He lifted up his shirt and smiled, much to the delight of the females who screamed.
-Howard Finkel asked him how he feels about the WWE Universe, and he said even though they've seen him show disdain towards them, he knows that deep down inside he'd be nothing without them and said that's why he goes out there and gives everything he has.
-He promised that he would give 110 percent on Sunday night for those attending Summerslam. Really put over how much he appreciated the fans.
-Asked the crowd if they like John Cena, and laughed at the Cena sucks chants
-A fan asked him what was his favorite match, and surprisingly he said his match against Chris Benoit at Summerslam five years ago, although he never mentioned him by name just talked about it generally. Before he gave the response though, he put the microphone down and talked to Howard Finkel, seemingly to ask him for permission to say it or something.
-Fan asked him how he prepares before his match, and he just described how he stretches, listens to rock and hip hop, jump ropes, etc.
-A fan asked him something about how to make it in the business, and he described his time in OVW, putting over the class he graduated from, with Cena, Shelton Benjamin, and Brock Lesnar (who received boos). He also explained you need to have confidence, which he admits when he first started on Smackdown in 2002 he didn't really have, but once he joined Evolution he was able to find it. Then he told the fan there's a similar developmental group now called FCW that's great.
-Put over Ric Flair, saying without him and their time in Evolution, both him and Batista would not have made it this far. He said he's doing the same for Cody and Ted and eventually they'll follow the same path as well.
-He made a joke about DX, saying their combined age is 110 and asked the audience if they think Legacy will win, which they surprisingly cheered. Cody stood up from the signing, looked at Randy, and did his pose too.
-Talked about how having a family now has really changed his life, as he now all he really wants is to be a perfect husband and father. Told a story about hearing his baby talk for the first time. Said he's having fun going out and entertaining everyone while also getting to pay the bills at the same time because of it.
-If he could turn back time, the one superstar that he would love to face is a no brainer - his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton.
-Howard Finkel asked him since the tag titles are unified, would he like to see the other world titles unified as well and challenge the winner of Punk vs. Hardy. He said down the line he would like to see that happen and would love to see who the very best in the company is, but right now he really does like how each show has their own individual champion so they can see who the best is on their own brand.
-Afterwards he slapped hands with everyone, going around the ring twice actually and did his pose again on the turnbuckle
-Really classy interview completely out of character and while I was always a fan of his dating back to his evolution days, I can tell he has really matured since those days and really did seem like a genuinely nice guy.
Session 2 - C.M. Punk
-The C.M. Punk interview started about two hours later and I believe the crowd had died down. I don't believe there were as many people. I couldn't hear everything, but all I remember was him talking about where to go to become a wrestler, which he mentioned there aren't as many places to go since the many territories are gone, and it's become a lost art.
- He was asked the obligatory "what does C.M. stand for?" question, to which he replied that it's centimeters, but then again that would be an insult to himself. Again, I wasn't able to catch most of it, but it seemed like another candid, out of character interview.
Overall, the Q and A's were really interesting and the matches were a nice addition as well. Overall, this was a really fun event that I would definitely recommend to any wrestling fan of all ages. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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