WWE Live Holiday Tour in Toronto (12/30/13) Report
Dec 31, 2013 0:18:33 GMT -5
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Post by Bang Bang Bart on Dec 31, 2013 0:18:33 GMT -5
Tonight was WWE's final house show event of the year at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and I just got back from it. Here's a recap with various thoughts of mine:
Various songs played as time counted down to the event, with the jumbotrons and the not-quite-Titantrons showing tweets and pics from fans attending the show. During this, fans were asked to vote on the gimmick for a Natalya vs. AJ Lee match and got to choose between a "Santa's Helper Dance Contest" or a "Santa's Helper Divas Championship Match". Three guesses as to which one got the vote. After the WWE signature, a countdown played before the ring announcer hyped us up and welcomed everyone to the show. Then we stood for the Canadian anthem before the WWE Live "intro" played.
1. Alberto del Rio vs. Sin Cara
A good short match with Hunicara winning out in the end. Lots of heat for ADR and cheers for Cara. Me and a few people sitting near me even got a "You Are Boring" chant at him.
Randy Orton cut a pretaped promo about his match with John Cena later tonight.
2. Natalya vs. AJ Lee
The latter option between the two (Divas Championship Match) was chosen, though AJ refused to put her title on the line. It went for a good bit before Natalya won with the Sharpshooter after causing AJ to bump into Tamina.
A Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro pretaped promo aired, but Jack Swagger was absent because he apparently "hates Canada" (the kayfabe reasoning, anyway)
3. Ryback vs. Zack Ryder
Not as much of a squash match as you'd expect, as Ryder did get some offense in, but Ryback ultimately won with Shellshock. Lots of "Goldberg" chants from the Toronto fans, myself included.
Ring crews began setting up the cage as the ring announcer got fans hyped for the next match featuring a "special guest referee"
4. Big Show vs. Kane
Christian was the guest referee in this one. Show got the victory with the KO Punch and Chokeslam after Christian prevented Kane from escaping the cage. Christian did have good reason for his intervention, though, as Kane had attacked him earlier. And no, Kane was not referred to by his title (Director of Operations) whatsoever.
Intermission time was here as the cage was being disassembled.
5. The Mounties (actually 3MB sans Heath Slater and featuring Ricardo Rodriguez instead) vs. Los Matadores & El Torito
A fun match, with some funny bits, especially from Ricardo. 3MB (2MB?) did their "dress-up" thing and were dressed like Mounties ala The Quebecers. El Torito got the win for his team after his high-flying offense. Prior to the match, Vickie Guerrero introduced "The Mounties".
6. Cody Rhodes (w/ Goldust) vs. Antonio Cesaro (w/ Zeb Colter)
Probably my pick for match of the night. Things really picked up near the end between the two, but Cody got the win after Cesaro tried to introduce a steel chair into the match and failed, leading to Rhodes hitting the Disaster Kick and Cross-Rhodes for the win. Prior to the match, Zeb Colter cut a heel promo on Toronto, which was then followed by Cody cutting a promo of his own, offering to become the "Real Canadians" in response to the Real Americans.
7. John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE World Championship
Crowd was hot as hell for this one. Lots (and I mean lots) of "Let's Go Cena / Cena Sucks" chants throughout the match. This one was a length as hell match. The finishing sequence saw Cena and Orton kick out of their respective finishing maneuvers, and Orton taking the easy way out by lowblowing Cena to end the match. However, Cena avoided an Orton punt and hit Randy with the AA to end the house show happily for the kiddies. No post-match promo by Cena thanking the fans. Instead, the ring announcer thanked the fans and urged everyone to drive home safely.
As I was leaving the show to head home, some people noticed John Cena (yes, in his wrestling gear) walking over to the coach buses parked next to the arena, and Cena started handing out his armbands to fans. In something that'll probably make Radio Clash envious, I managed to snag one of Cena's armbands.
Various notes:
- Several of the "commercials" played were pretty out of date, like the WWE on YouTube one advertising older YT programming not seen on the E's YouTube site.
- Some of the tweets featured actually mistook the live event for a Raw taping.
- I picked up a "YES!" Rally Towel and Fake Beard from the merchandise store.
- That awesome WWE Live stage wasn't used, instead using a plain set with square screens and some lighting. No pyro, either, just coloured steam for certain guys.
- Throughout the night, promos aired hyping WWE's next Toronto vist, which is yet another house show at the Ricoh on April 25th, 2014. Cena, Orton, and Daniel Bryan were advertised, though as always, it will change. Presale code is "TORONTO".
Above all, a pretty interesting experience for my first live WWE event. I had fun, which is the important thing about going to a wrestling event.
Various songs played as time counted down to the event, with the jumbotrons and the not-quite-Titantrons showing tweets and pics from fans attending the show. During this, fans were asked to vote on the gimmick for a Natalya vs. AJ Lee match and got to choose between a "Santa's Helper Dance Contest" or a "Santa's Helper Divas Championship Match". Three guesses as to which one got the vote. After the WWE signature, a countdown played before the ring announcer hyped us up and welcomed everyone to the show. Then we stood for the Canadian anthem before the WWE Live "intro" played.
1. Alberto del Rio vs. Sin Cara
A good short match with Hunicara winning out in the end. Lots of heat for ADR and cheers for Cara. Me and a few people sitting near me even got a "You Are Boring" chant at him.
Randy Orton cut a pretaped promo about his match with John Cena later tonight.
2. Natalya vs. AJ Lee
The latter option between the two (Divas Championship Match) was chosen, though AJ refused to put her title on the line. It went for a good bit before Natalya won with the Sharpshooter after causing AJ to bump into Tamina.
A Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro pretaped promo aired, but Jack Swagger was absent because he apparently "hates Canada" (the kayfabe reasoning, anyway)
3. Ryback vs. Zack Ryder
Not as much of a squash match as you'd expect, as Ryder did get some offense in, but Ryback ultimately won with Shellshock. Lots of "Goldberg" chants from the Toronto fans, myself included.
Ring crews began setting up the cage as the ring announcer got fans hyped for the next match featuring a "special guest referee"
4. Big Show vs. Kane
Christian was the guest referee in this one. Show got the victory with the KO Punch and Chokeslam after Christian prevented Kane from escaping the cage. Christian did have good reason for his intervention, though, as Kane had attacked him earlier. And no, Kane was not referred to by his title (Director of Operations) whatsoever.
Intermission time was here as the cage was being disassembled.
5. The Mounties (actually 3MB sans Heath Slater and featuring Ricardo Rodriguez instead) vs. Los Matadores & El Torito
A fun match, with some funny bits, especially from Ricardo. 3MB (2MB?) did their "dress-up" thing and were dressed like Mounties ala The Quebecers. El Torito got the win for his team after his high-flying offense. Prior to the match, Vickie Guerrero introduced "The Mounties".
6. Cody Rhodes (w/ Goldust) vs. Antonio Cesaro (w/ Zeb Colter)
Probably my pick for match of the night. Things really picked up near the end between the two, but Cody got the win after Cesaro tried to introduce a steel chair into the match and failed, leading to Rhodes hitting the Disaster Kick and Cross-Rhodes for the win. Prior to the match, Zeb Colter cut a heel promo on Toronto, which was then followed by Cody cutting a promo of his own, offering to become the "Real Canadians" in response to the Real Americans.
7. John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE World Championship
Crowd was hot as hell for this one. Lots (and I mean lots) of "Let's Go Cena / Cena Sucks" chants throughout the match. This one was a length as hell match. The finishing sequence saw Cena and Orton kick out of their respective finishing maneuvers, and Orton taking the easy way out by lowblowing Cena to end the match. However, Cena avoided an Orton punt and hit Randy with the AA to end the house show happily for the kiddies. No post-match promo by Cena thanking the fans. Instead, the ring announcer thanked the fans and urged everyone to drive home safely.
As I was leaving the show to head home, some people noticed John Cena (yes, in his wrestling gear) walking over to the coach buses parked next to the arena, and Cena started handing out his armbands to fans. In something that'll probably make Radio Clash envious, I managed to snag one of Cena's armbands.
Various notes:
- Several of the "commercials" played were pretty out of date, like the WWE on YouTube one advertising older YT programming not seen on the E's YouTube site.
- Some of the tweets featured actually mistook the live event for a Raw taping.
- I picked up a "YES!" Rally Towel and Fake Beard from the merchandise store.
- That awesome WWE Live stage wasn't used, instead using a plain set with square screens and some lighting. No pyro, either, just coloured steam for certain guys.
- Throughout the night, promos aired hyping WWE's next Toronto vist, which is yet another house show at the Ricoh on April 25th, 2014. Cena, Orton, and Daniel Bryan were advertised, though as always, it will change. Presale code is "TORONTO".
Above all, a pretty interesting experience for my first live WWE event. I had fun, which is the important thing about going to a wrestling event.
