12/16 WWE in Portland, Maine: Styles vs. Mahal, Charlotte vs. Natayla, Nakamura vs. Owens, Roode vs. Ziggler vs. Corbin

WWE LIVE EVENT
DECEMBER 16, 2017
PORTLAND, MAINE
REPORT BY BRANDON LECLAIR, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

The Cross Insurance Arena used to be WWE’s most frequented arena in Maine, but in recent years they’ve begun splitting time with the Augusta Civic Center and the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. This was my first Portland show since June of 2014, having missed the last two shows there (October 2015, which ran concurrently with a Bangor house show I attended instead, and March of 2017, which I opted to skip because I was leaving for Wrestlemania just days after.) With that in mind, I can’t compare tonight’s attendance with the last show in the building, but I’m confident in saying it fared better than their last visit to Bangor in August, and slightly below their stop in Augusta on that same circuit. The latter show featured John Cena, which likely accounted for the superior draw. This was the Smackdown crew’s first show in Maine since the roster split. We’ve been very Raw heavy.

The Cross Insurance Arena seats around 6,000 with WWE’s configuration and I’d put attendance at about 3,000, possibly a little less. The floor became sparse in the deep rows, the center bowls on either side were about 75 percent full, but multiple sections flanking the center were entirely empty. The deep end of the arena, home to the $15 cheap seats, was almost completely full (as is the case with most Maine house shows.)

For reference (and because it’s become such a staple on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast), I was sitting dead center, front row, on what would be the TV/On-Camera side of the floor. The tickets were $98 each plus applicable Ticketmaster service fees. These seats are usually part of WWE’s Ringsider VIP package, but since they opted not to do that for this show, I was able to scoop these up during the first pre-sale.

(1) The Usos defeated The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods), Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin, and Rusev & Aiden English to retain the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship in 14:00. The New Day entered first to an excellent reaction. Their huge Booty-O’s box inflatable was put up to the right of the stage, which was a nice touch. The trio danced and girated to every team’s music, getting into tussle’s with Rusev & English and Gable & Benjamin before the champions hit the ring. Xavier worked the vast majority of the match against English, Rusev, Benjamin, and Gable, with The Usos and Big E getting brief spots during the thick of it. Kofi strutted and danced happily at ringside, engaging with the crowd and occasionally thwarting heel tactics from Benjamin and Gable. Late in the match, the Benjamin & Gable and Rusev & English took turns tagging each other in and out incessantly, beating on Xavier and creating a comedy spot as each tag came more and more aggressively. This allowed Xavier to eventually land a hot tag to Big E, who cleaned house. Eventually, after a ring clearing brawl, the Usos emerged in control, superkicking the majority of competitors in the match and hitting a top rope frog splash for the win. One of the better openers I’ve seen at a house show in a long time. Great comedy and good action.

(2) Sami Zayn defeated Sin Cara in 9:00. A little girl in the front row quickly became the star of this match (and frankly, a large portion of the night.) After Sami boastfully entered the ring (shouting “the best wrestler in the world is here!”), he settled into some early heel stalling tactics that evidently rubbed the little girl the wrong way. She began screaming at him, immediately catching his attention and creating an interesting dynamic for the rest of the match. Sami made a concerted effort to look to her often, lock in holds in her direction, and play up Sin Cara’s comebacks nicely. What would have been a paint-by-numbers undercard match became a highlight of the night simply because of Zayn’s unwavering commitment to play to this girl. Eventually, so broke into tears, not because of anything Sami did specifically, but because she was screaming so passionately for so long. Sami eventually crotched Sin Cara on a springboard attempt and followed up with a Helluva Kick for the win. After Sin Cara recovered, he went and gave the little girl his shirt and took a photo with her. She was over the moon.

Next, a brief backstage promo with Breezango and the Ascension aired. It was introduced on the screen as a Fashion File, but it was just a generic promo of them talking about their match.

(3) The Bludgeon Brothers & The Colons defeated Breezango & The Ascension in 4:00. The Fashion Files intro played to a strong reaction from the crowd, but Breezango received very little in the way of a pop. The same goes for the rest of this match’s competitors. Breezango started out early working the Colons in pretty standard tag action. Eventually, Rowan tagged himself in and cleaned house. Harper, disinterested in teaming with Primo and Epico, took them out as well. Harper & Rowan laid waste to all six men and hit their finisher on Breeze for the win. Not much to this one, but Harper & Rowan looked good.

(4) Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kevin Owens (w/Sami Zayn) in 13:00. A great reaction for Nakamura out of the gate, with the crowd ready and willing to sing along with his theme. He threw himself into the corner of the guardrail as he normally does during his entrance, and he was bombarded by a sea of kids eager to see him. Though his journey on the main roster has been rocky to say the least, he still conveys a rockstar persona up close and in person. Owens hit the ring to a huge initial pop, which turned to heavy boos as he viciously attacked the Santa blow-up decoration on the stage, toppled over the Christmas tree, and kicked all the presents. Hilarious. A strong encounter, with Owens playing up Sami’s position at ringside and jawing with fans (including the little girl from earlier) frequently. At one point, with Nakamura in a chinlock, he nodded my way and accused me of “illegal recording”, asking security to take care of me. (For the record, I was just snapping a picture, and security never came my way.) After blocking a superplex attempt from KO, Nakamara tried to gain his footing on the top rope, only to be struck down by Owens. KO hit the running corner cannonball on Nakamura for a near fall. Shortly after, the two traded a series of counters, ending in Nakamura hitting the Kinshasa for the win. Good match with fantastic heel work from Owens and Zayn. Nakamura stuck around ringside for several minutes slapping hands, signing autographs, and stealing phones to take selfies of himself (much to the owners’ delights.)

Greg Hamilton led us into intermission.

(5) Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya in a Lumberjack Match to retain the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship in 11:00. Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Carmella, Lana, Tamina, and Naomi surrounded the ring as lumberjacks. Nattie dominated the opening stretch of the match, gaining the upper hand multiple times after the Riott Squad tripped Charlotte or grabbed at her ankles. Charlotte threw Nattie outside and she was quickly returned to the ring by Ruby and company. Nattie locked in a Sharpshooter and the crowd fed into Charlotte’s escape as she tried desperately to reach the ropes. She eventually broke the hold, but the Riott Squad pulled her from the ring and began attacking her. This brought Naomi into the fold, who jumped the Riott Squad. Carmella, Lana, and Tamina joined the fray and the ringside area erupted into chaos. Eventually, only Charlotte and Nattie were left standing at ringside. Nattie threw Charlotte into the steps and returned her to the ring. After a brief exchange, Charlotte locked in the Figure 8 for the tap out victory. Charlotte made the rounds at ringside as the lumberjacks sauntered off. Another strong match, with good reactions for both Nattie and Charlotte.

(6) Baron Corbin defeated Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WWE United States Championship in 15:00. Roode entered first to a great reaction – the crowd excited to sing along to “Glorious.” Ziggler’s music hit, but then cut to silence when he hit the stage (guess they’re doing that again?) Corbin entered confidently and quickly retreated to the outside as the match began, content to watch Ziggler and Roode go at it. Ziggler retrieved a “Glorious” sign from a fan at ringside and played up ripping it. Instead, he dropped it in the ring and delivered an elbow to it. Roode picked it up, held it in the air, screaming “GLORIOUS!” and then returned it to the fan. Corbin, meanwhile, stole Greg Hamilton’s water bottle, took a few sips, and then spit in it, casually handing it back to Greg. He followed that up by bickering with the little girl from earlier, deciding the stand directly in her field of view as she protested. He gave the little girl play by play of the action between Roode and Ziggler. Upon returning to the ring, he and Ziggler double teamed Roode for several minutes before Corbin accidentally clotheslined Dolph. Eventually, Ziggler hit a Zig-Zag on Roode for a near fall. He folllowed it up with an attempted super kick, which Roode blocked and countered with a Glorious DDT. Bobby went for the cover, but Corbin quickly threw him out of the ring and stole the pin to retain the title. The referee carried a fallen Ziggler to the back in his arms like a baby. Another strong outing with a good mix of action and comedy. Corbin was excellent here.

Greg Hamilton thanked us for coming and introduced our main event.

(7) A.J. Styles defeated Jinder Mahal (w/The Singh Brothers) to retain the WWE Championship in 13:00. Some assistants rolled up a dingy and faded carpet for Jinder, not at all like the one you see on TV. It was so dilapidated that I couldn’t help but wonder if they just found it somewhere in the back and decided to use it. The Singh Brothers introduced Jinder to a chorus of boos, but not nearly as strong as those bestowed upon the likes of Owens and Zayn, or even Corbin earlier in the night. Jinder began cutting a promo that was hard to make out (this seemed to be a combination of his delivery and poor sound in the arena, which was a problem throughout.) AJ’s music cut him off, and the crowd erupted. I had a feeling, based on the AJ Styles chants prior to the show starting, and amount of AJ merch throughout, that he would receive a warm a welcome. It was a star pop, period. AJ was their guy. Styles hit the ring with immense swagger and immediately owned the space. He carried the match confidently, and fielded a myriad of complex interference sequences from the Singh Brothers without missing a beat. After a series of near falls, Styles caught Jinder in a Calf Crusher, which brought the Singh Brothers to the apron. After breaking the hold, AJ took out both Singhs and nearly got hit with  the Kalas, but managed to hit a back elbow to free himself. AJ went for the Styles Clash, but was flipped out of it by Mahal. Styles hit the Pele Kick and followed it up with the Phenomenal Forearm for the win. Jinder retreated with one Singh in tow. The other was brought back into the ring by AJ. The Singh brother offered AJ his title on hands and knees and begged for a handshake. AJ took the microphone (seemingly on his own volition), and asked the crowd whether or not he should oblige the handshake. After some teasing, styles shook the Singh’s hand, but quickly pulled him in and hit a Styles Clash. AJ made a lap around ringside, slapping hands and thanking fans individually for coming out. He visited both sides of the entrance ramp, and each corner of the floor, as well as the front rows of the lower bowl. He was still slapping hands when Greg Hamilton bid us goodnight. A true class act.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Excellent show. I’ve been coming to WWE house shows for nearly twenty years, and while I always enjoy them, it often feels like once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. This was a rare exception. The talent was engaged, the crowd was lively and the action was above average with some great comedy that landed with the whole crowd, not just a fraction. Not to mention, we got the vast majorirty of tomorrow’s Pay-Per-View card at a fraction of the cost. My friends and I labored for a while whether to attend this house show, or make the 3 hour trek to Boston for Clash of Champions tomorrow. Ultimately, we were unwilling to commit to Pay-Per-View ticket prices and much longer drive for a Jinder Mahal main event. As far as I’m concerned, we made the right call. No return date was announced, but I’d expect them to hit one of the arenas again come spring.

Biggest Pops:
1. AJ Styles
2. The New Day
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. Kevin Owens (initial reaction)
5. Charlotte Flair

Most Heat:
1. Kevin Owens
2. Sami Zayn
3. Baron Corbin
4. Jinder Mahal
5. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin (during match)

NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT: 12/9 WWE in New Delhi, India: Keller’s report on Triple H pinning Jinder Mahal in main event, plus full results

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