15 YRS AGO – WWE in Milwaukee, Wisc. (1-27-03): Cena, Angle, Edge, Mysterio, Torrie, Kim, Marie, Nidia, Matt Hardy

WWE house show report
January 27, 2003
Milwaukee, Wisc.
Report by Erik Ernst, PWTorch.com correspondent

The WWE returned to the Bradley Center for a house show Monday which disappointedly drew less than the XWF house show last year. Another gaffe was the lack of mentioning that Brock Lesnar wouldn’t be appearing to a crowd that bought tickets only after watching numerous TV commercials hyping the show as Lesnar’s Milwaukee debut. Also upsetting was the lack of any ring lighting, as the WWE decided to simply have the matches play out with the House Lights on, making the Wrestlers indistinguishable from anyone else in the sparsely-filled arena.

(1) Jamie Noble (w/Nidia) defeated Brian Kendrick. Noble let Kendrick hit a number of his high spots before taking him down for the win.

(2) Bill DeMott defeated Chris Kanyon. This was a classic WCW match up with Hugh Morrus taking the win in a fun back and forth match.

(3) Nathan Jones defeated Matt Hardy. Hardy uses the Mic to mistaken Milwaukee for Green Bay in a poor attempt at cheap heat. Despite the promos on TV, the crowd was a bit unsure of Nathan Jones. Jones is a fine specimen in build, but is still awfully green in the ring. He managed to botch at least three spots so badly that the crowd noticed and boo’ed him for it. In the end, Jones took the win.

(4) Billy Kidman defeated Nunzio to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Title. This was a so-so match. It was a bit disappointing with Nunzio playing the classic heel. For a cruiser match there was a significant lack of high spots. After the fourth match, we have yet to see one single finishing move.

(5) Rikishi defeated Chuck Palumbo in a Kiss My Ass match. This was a fun match, and even though Rikishi might not have a great storyline on TV, the live crowds continue to eat him up. After the win, Palumbo retreated before the aforementioned kiss. The Ref warned Palumbo to do it, or else face indefinite suspension. Palumbo came back to the ring, but before he could kiss Rikishi’s rear, he hit him with a low blow and hiked his own shorts up and tried to make Rikishi do the job. Another low blow from Rikishi set Palumbo up for the stink face.

(6) Los Guerreros beat Team Angle to retain the Tag Titles. This was mostly a snoozer of a match, with the exception of the ending which came after a hilarious belt shot spot from Eddie and a great looking frog splash.

Intermission

(7) Torrie Wilson & Gail Kim beat Dawn Marie & Nidia. Torrie ends up beating Dawn Marie in a fashion that seemed much less angry than someone who had just had their father killed by their opponent.

(8) Nova & Rey Mysterio defeated Red Dogg & John Cena. This was a fun match. After Cena ragged on Milwaukee in a very slow rap, (Come on WWE, this angle begs you to bring back Curt Hennig and the “I Hate Rap” crew), Nova and Rey-Rey put on great match with all of the expected high spots. The match ends with the 619 and the crowd goes wild.

(9) Chris Benoit beat A-Train. Surprisingly, A-Train was the star of this match, as the classic heel. He mugged for the crowd on numerous occasions, even leaving the ring to go face to face with fans. In the end Benoit misses a flying head butt before strapping on the crossface for the win.

(10) Kurt Angle (w/Paul Heyman) beat Edge to retain the WWE Title. Heyman started on the microphone with a great heel promo on Milwaukee’s wrestling traditions. Crowd chants “We want Brock,” setting them up for disappointment later. Kurt comes out to the usual “You suck’s” and edge gets a nice pop. After some back and forth Kurt begins to leave. Heyman says Kurt will never come back to Milwaukee if Edge doesn’t stop throwing closed-fist punches. Edge said that while the Milwaukee crowd had noted that Kurt sucks, they forgot to say that “Heyman does the sucking.” After the Ref gets knocked down, Edge lands two three-count falls. Team Angle runs in, Heyman distracts and Angle hits the Olympic slam to win. Edge, with help from Benoit, clears the ring. The two leave and the crowd realizes they aren’t going to see Brock tonight, leading to more angry chants of we want Brock as numerous kids who had bought Brock foam fingers looked on with upset eyes.

Biggest Pops:

1.Rey Mysterio
2. Edge
3. Rikishi

Biggest Heat

1.No Brock
2. Angle
3. A-Train

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS 15 YRS AGO FLASHBACK: 15 YRS AGO – WWE in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (1-20-03): Angle main events, plus Lesnar, Cena, Benoit, Hardy, Big Show, Dawn Marie, Benjamin