11/1 WWE in Casper, Wyo.: Moore’s in-person report on Reigns & Ambrose vs. Wyatts

WWE Live Event Results
November 1, 2015
Casper, Wyoming
Report by PWTorch Collectibles specialist Michael Moore

This was WWE’s first event in Casper since 2002. The Events Center’s stated capacity is just over 10,000. I’d guess there were 3,500-4,000 in attendance, but I’m not great at counting crowds. The entire upper area was empty, the last few rows on the floor were empty, and there were quite a few holes throughout the arena. Ticket prices were high ($101 plus fees for ringside) and Wyoming’s economy is really struggling because of tumbling oil & gas prices, so that may have contributed to the attendance. Nevertheless, the crowd was hot all night.

(1) R-Truth beat Bo Dallas. Good reaction for Truth and good heat for Bo. Quick match, probably less than a minute of action. Truth won with a roll-up. Dallas got on the mic and said that would never happen again and challenged anyone in the back, which led to…

(2) Jack Swagger beat Bo Dallas. Surprisingly big pop for Swagger. The crowd was really into the “We the people” chant. Zeb Colter is still all over Swagger’s Titantron video, by the way. Swagger won quickly with the Patriot Lock.

(3) Zack Ryder & Curtis Axel & Damien Sandow beat Heath Slater & The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) in a six-man tag match. The babyfaces won with the Rough Ryder. Not much to say here. Poor Sandow.

(4) Sheamus beat Fandango. Fandango was out first and the crowd had no idea how to respond to him. Sheamus came out to a really big pop, probably because he was the first big star of the night. Sheamus was cheered throughout, despite mic work trying to turn the crowd against him. I think the crowd thought Fandango was still a heel, and who can blame them? When was he last on TV? Good match, but way too competitive for a match between a guy carrying the Money in the Bank case and another guy positioned as a jobber. Sheamus won with the Brogue Kick.

(5) WWE tag champions New Day (Big E. & Kofi Kingston) beat Prime Time Players (Titus O’Neil & Darren Young). Big reaction for New Day. Most of the crowd booed them, while the “too cool for school” adult males cheered them. Big E. and Kofi really know how to work the crowd, but their heat is confusing. The crowd would boo them and then laugh at their antics. New Day retained the titles when Kofi rolled up Titus and put his feet on the ropes.

(6) Divas champion Charlotte & Becky Lynch beat Sasha Banks & Tamina. Really strong reaction for the babyfaces, which was great to see. There were a few catcalls from the males in the audience but it settled down. Charlotte hit a flipping cutter on Tamina for the win. A guy in my row had the line of the night: “Charlotte, you look so much like your dad it’s disgusting!”

(7) Dolph Ziggler beat Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae). Good heat for Tyler despite being so new on the main roster. Star reaction for Ziggler and the pop of the night to that point. Dolph won with the Zig-Zag.

(8) Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman in a Casper Street Fight. Ambrose was out to a huge reaction and then Reigns out to the pop of the night. Reigns was way over with the crowd; even the adult males around me who had been cheering for the heels all night were cheering for Reigns. Reigns and Ambrose won after Reigns speared Bray through a table for the pin. Reigns and Ambrose hung around and played to the crowd afterward.

Biggest pops: Reigns, Ambrose, Ziggler.

Most heat: Wyatts, New Day.

Thoughts: A pretty entertaining show, but, wow was it thin on talent, especially given ticket prices. And, this was the only house show of the night featuring all available talent. WWE wanted fans to pay $101 for ringside seats, and half of the matches featured guys who haven’t been on television most of 2015. There weren’t as many families as I’ve seen at recent Colorado house shows, more 20-somethings, 30-somethings, and old-time wrestling fans. The kids who were there were really into Reigns and Charlotte. They must’ve done really well on merchandise because the two tables were packed literally all night long until the main event started.