SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE LIVE EVENT REPORT
SEPTEMBER 22, 2018
TUCSON, ARIZ AT THE CONVENTION CENTER ARENA
REPORT BY BRIAN ALSTON OF PHOENIX, ARIZ., PWTORCH VIP MEMBER
If you attend a live event, please send results in the format of the following report to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!
Byron Saxton opened the show and was the ring announcer. He’s very engaging.
(1) The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston with Xavier Woods) beat Sanity (Eric Young & Killian Dain without Alexander Wolfe). A ton of comedy. New Day weren’t wearing matching tights. Young knows how to work the crowd while waiting for a tag. Day won with the Midnight Hour on Dain.
(2) Luke Harper pinned Tye Dillinger. Crowd started a “Let’s go Harper” chant. Tye looked confused. Tye and Harper kept the match moving at a good pace. Tye did a nice frog splash. Harper won with the clothesline.
(3) R-Truth defeated Shelton Benjamin. Beginning was comedy with Truth frustrating Shelton with “What’s Up!” shouts from the crowd. Several near count outs. Truth won with a roll-up. After the match, Benjamin argued with referee Charles Robinson. Charles pushed him down, guy near me yelled “Little Naitch!”
(4) Rusev (w/Lana) tapped out Andrade Cien Almas (without Zelina Vega) with the Accolade. Aiden English came out for a distraction, but the ref quickly sent him to the back. Huge cheers for Rusev Day, which includes Lana. I’m not happy that Zelina wasn’t there.
(5) Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte to retain her Smackdown Women’s Title. Becky was the overwhelming fan favorite. Yet there were a lot of ” Whoooos!” Before the match, Becky cut a heelish promo on the Tron. Becky won with roll-up. I believe she had a handful of tights but couldn’t tell. As Charlotte left, she received a nice pop.
(6) Naomi & Nikki Cross & Asuka beat Carmela & The Iconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce). Carmela now has dark hair and played total heel. Peyton purposely mispronounced Tucson. Cross acted insane. Imagine working at Subway sandwiches and Nikki walks in for a tuna melt. A lot of missed moves/moves showing light. Naomi sold for most of the match. Asuka made Peyton tap.
(7) Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy when Nakamura pinned Hardy to retain the United States Championship. Shin and Randy initially teamed up against Hardy, but soon turned on each other. Shin pinned Jeff. Jeff got the biggest pop of the match, Randy right behind him.
(8) WWE Champion A.J. Styles pinned Samoa Joe. Joe attacked A.J. during ring announcements. Good back and forth action. Styles won with a phenomenal forearm.
FINAL THOUGHTS…
-A lot of families. Kids of all ages. Telling their parents what to buy. A toddler was dancing to Truth’s rap. Two young girls were dressed up, one as Bailey, one as a Bella. There was a boy, maybe 7, kept walking up & down the stairs. The couple in front of me asked was he okay. He was lost. Woman sat with him while the guy got an usher. They took him, never saw him again.
-Attendance looked to be around 8,000. Huge estimate, probably was more. The floor seats were mostly full. So was the 100 level. 200 level was weak. Including the seats to the extreme sides of the Tron. I didn’t see any unique signs.
-Only one merchandise table. Only Raw items were for Cena and the Shield. Didn’t realize until someone said it, but I didn’t see any women’s shirts.
-Biggest babyface pops were for AJ, Becky, Hardy & Rusev Day. With it being a house show, there wasn’t a ton of heel heat. But Joe got the most. Far distant would be the Iconics and Shelton.
-My tickets were $75 face value, $83.30 total with TicketMaster. Section 122, row G. I always try to get an aisle seat. The 4 seats to my right were empty. I had a great look and if this were TV would’ve been facing the hard camera.
-I wore the Velveteen Dream shirt. Got two complements. I’ll always say “nice shirt” when I see Randy Savage. They played a commercial for the “Randy Savage Unseen Matches” DVD.
-I saw the husband/wife/son who sat next to me at NXT show in July. Wife recognized me. I gave her son, Hal, Tyler Breeze shirt that we caught. He seemed to remember me. We chatted throughout the show. Hal was totally behind A.J. Parents bought him shirt and gloves and kept trying to show me A.J.’s hand signal.
-When the event was over, the ring crew started tearing down everything. The only person that I recognized was Robinson. Because I was close and it was quiet, I said “Thank you Charles Robinson!” and he said “You’re welcome.” I told him he’s always done a great job and he looked and said “thanks!”
If you attend a live event, please send results in the format of the following report to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!
NOW CHECK OUT THIS REPORT: 9/7 WWE in Birmingham, Ala.: Kevin Owens vs. Zack Ryder, Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Drew & Dolph, Reigns vs. Braun, Six-Woman Tag
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