Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Dec 13, 2016 8:32:59 GMT -5
Gotta do that shit more often. Had a blast with the little brother.
I don't think I can stay neutral on the crowd thing anymore after being involved in it. They were great most of the night, not going into complete self-indulgence like can happen at times. Might have worked a little blue, though, with a lot of gratuitous f***s and c***s from a few people in my section. Props to Andrea D'Marco as well, being the public face of the card trying to keep things moving is greatly underappreciated work, especially when the crowd is giving it to you when you're trying to do the promotional copy. Now, for matches.
1. Akira Tozawa def. Andrade Almas. Crowd was hot for Tozawa being the first guy out, doing his random screaming schtick. Good heat for Almas too. Tozawa stuffed up a springboard attempt going down the stretch, which led to Botchamania chants, but managed to win it with the German suplex.
2. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce def. Liv Morgan and Aliyah. Despite the big face pops for the local girls made good, they insisted on being announced from Orlando, Florida. Got some light-hearted booing, but they still got the majority of the support. In hindsight, this was a masterstroke since they avoided the hometown curse as a result. Crowd started singing the Australian national anthem during the middle of this, trying to sway them back to our side. Royce got the pin with the running bulldog/knee smash combo. Despite nominally abandoning it, both were noticeably emotional about winning in their home city after the match.
3. Oney Lorcan def. Wesley Blake. F***ing phone camera was stuffing up, so I couldn't get any good shots of Blake's silly string gimmick. Crowd wasn't all that into it, unfortunately, going into the weird chanting territory. Great finish though... Blake went for a top rope move with a foreign object in hand, but Lorcan uppercutted him in mid-air and made more silly string in the process. The follow up neckbreaker gets the pin. As Lorcan tries to regroup post-match, he gets interrupted by Patrick Clark, who cuts a heel promo and slaps Lorcan with a glove. This leads to...
3b. Oney Lorcan def. Patrick Clark. Uppercut, neckbreaker, done.
4. #DIY def. The Revival. This was one of two matches changed from the advertisements, but nobody was cut up about this one. Damn good match as usual from these guys, even with the house show lag, and the crowd was plenty into it too. Ciampa gets the win with his armbar.
5. TM61 def. Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss. Good reaction for the next Australians up, none really for the fringe TV guys in Sabbatelli and Moss. They did manage to rile up the crowd pretty good as the match went on. TM61 with the win with some double-team move other than Thunder Valley.
6. Asuka def. Ember Moon. This was damn hard-hitting, and gives me hope they can manage to do something special for a Takeover down the line. Asuka gets the win with a flying armbreaker into the Asuka Lock. They did some kind of respect thing after the match, couldn't quite see it for all the standing people.
7. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dillinger and Buddy Murphy def. Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Elias Samson. This was changed from an advertised Fatal 4-Way, and the crowd wasn't happy. Fortunately they had a good punching bag in The Drifter, who claimed he got it changed beforehand before singing one of his little tunes. Crowd was hyped for all the other entrances, what with the singing and the chanting and the more singing and all that. Lots of standoffs early on as all the established feuds and rivalries get teased. Later on, Samson absolutely MURDERS Murphy with an Orton-esque hanging DDT, and it really looked like Murphy was out of it as a result. Seemed fine at the end, so it was likely just good selling. Everyone gets their shit in until Nakamura wins it with a Kinshasa on The Drifter. Post-match, Dillinger and Nakamura cut a thank you promo and do the Nakamura pose on the ropes, before they make Murphy do it as well.
I don't think I can stay neutral on the crowd thing anymore after being involved in it. They were great most of the night, not going into complete self-indulgence like can happen at times. Might have worked a little blue, though, with a lot of gratuitous f***s and c***s from a few people in my section. Props to Andrea D'Marco as well, being the public face of the card trying to keep things moving is greatly underappreciated work, especially when the crowd is giving it to you when you're trying to do the promotional copy. Now, for matches.
1. Akira Tozawa def. Andrade Almas. Crowd was hot for Tozawa being the first guy out, doing his random screaming schtick. Good heat for Almas too. Tozawa stuffed up a springboard attempt going down the stretch, which led to Botchamania chants, but managed to win it with the German suplex.
2. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce def. Liv Morgan and Aliyah. Despite the big face pops for the local girls made good, they insisted on being announced from Orlando, Florida. Got some light-hearted booing, but they still got the majority of the support. In hindsight, this was a masterstroke since they avoided the hometown curse as a result. Crowd started singing the Australian national anthem during the middle of this, trying to sway them back to our side. Royce got the pin with the running bulldog/knee smash combo. Despite nominally abandoning it, both were noticeably emotional about winning in their home city after the match.
3. Oney Lorcan def. Wesley Blake. F***ing phone camera was stuffing up, so I couldn't get any good shots of Blake's silly string gimmick. Crowd wasn't all that into it, unfortunately, going into the weird chanting territory. Great finish though... Blake went for a top rope move with a foreign object in hand, but Lorcan uppercutted him in mid-air and made more silly string in the process. The follow up neckbreaker gets the pin. As Lorcan tries to regroup post-match, he gets interrupted by Patrick Clark, who cuts a heel promo and slaps Lorcan with a glove. This leads to...
3b. Oney Lorcan def. Patrick Clark. Uppercut, neckbreaker, done.
4. #DIY def. The Revival. This was one of two matches changed from the advertisements, but nobody was cut up about this one. Damn good match as usual from these guys, even with the house show lag, and the crowd was plenty into it too. Ciampa gets the win with his armbar.
5. TM61 def. Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss. Good reaction for the next Australians up, none really for the fringe TV guys in Sabbatelli and Moss. They did manage to rile up the crowd pretty good as the match went on. TM61 with the win with some double-team move other than Thunder Valley.
6. Asuka def. Ember Moon. This was damn hard-hitting, and gives me hope they can manage to do something special for a Takeover down the line. Asuka gets the win with a flying armbreaker into the Asuka Lock. They did some kind of respect thing after the match, couldn't quite see it for all the standing people.
7. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dillinger and Buddy Murphy def. Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and Elias Samson. This was changed from an advertised Fatal 4-Way, and the crowd wasn't happy. Fortunately they had a good punching bag in The Drifter, who claimed he got it changed beforehand before singing one of his little tunes. Crowd was hyped for all the other entrances, what with the singing and the chanting and the more singing and all that. Lots of standoffs early on as all the established feuds and rivalries get teased. Later on, Samson absolutely MURDERS Murphy with an Orton-esque hanging DDT, and it really looked like Murphy was out of it as a result. Seemed fine at the end, so it was likely just good selling. Everyone gets their shit in until Nakamura wins it with a Kinshasa on The Drifter. Post-match, Dillinger and Nakamura cut a thank you promo and do the Nakamura pose on the ropes, before they make Murphy do it as well.
