WWE house show report 3-15-15 – Portland, OR: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane, Roman Reigns vs. Big Show (updated)
Rough start intro played twice then HHH promo had audio was not synced. HHH promo is playing during Fandango entrance with no audio.
– Erick Rowan vs Fandango: Rowan wins via pinfall after using full nelson slam 4:02 min. Rowan is a fan favorite only due to having a mask. Lots of kids wearing the masks.
– Lucha Dragons vs. Tyler Breeze and Bo Dallas: Lucha Dragons win via pinfall (Sin Cara over Breeze) 8:07 min. More production problems when Tyler Breeze intro is botched. Dallas receives a lukewarm welcoming as he is destined to be one of the men thrown out of the Andre The Giant battle royal. Breeze really off. Always rushing to the spot and seemed to be waiting for a move to come to him.
– R-Truth vs. Luke Harper: R Truth wins via Pinfall using standing side slam 7:02 At the end of the match, Bad News Barrett steals back his intercontinental championship back.
– Nattie/Emma vs. Sasha Banks/Summer Rae: Summer Rae taps to Nattie in the sharpshooter 6:48 min.
– Roman Reigns vs. Big Show: Reigns wins via pinfall using spear 12:33 min. Crowd was into Reigns.
– The Ascension came out and gave a gimmickly bad promo “best part of Portland is leaving” “Hall of Fame…. Should be hall of shame.” New Day comes out and gives the crowd a homecoming promo. Xavier woods and Big E. New Day wins via pinfall (Xavier woods with the pin) 9:41 min.
– Dean Ambrose vs Bad News Barrett vs Dolph Ziggler. Barrett wins via pinfall on Ziggler in 6:23 min. using the Bullhammer.
– Daniel Bryan vs. Kane Street Fight: Bryan wins via pinfall and with a knee into a chair into Kane’s face. 16:55 min.
– Submitted by Joe Ryan Stefan and Mr. Ooh La La
By Mr. Ooh La La
Entire upper bowl of Moda Center was blacked out. The rest of the arena was about 65% full, there were a couple of sections in the 2nd bowl that were almost completely empty. I’d say there were probably 2,500 to 2,700 people there.
They opened the show with a Triple H video greeting the fans and welcoming them to the show. This was after 15 minutes of video hyping the Sting match with Triple H portrayed as a ruthless heel. I know kayfabe is supposed to be dead, but c’mon.
Erick Rowan d. Fandango by pinfall in 4:02
If this was the “Road To WrestleMania” tour, then this was the “Road To Nowhere” match. Crowd popped for Rowan but I’m guessing it was because he was the first babyface they saw. Basic match, Rowan pinned Fandango after a full nelson slam.
Lucha Dragons d. Tyler Breeze & Bo Dallas in 8:07
Crowd was into the NXT guys so apparently a lot of people are watching NXT, at least in Portland. Even though Bo hasn’t been on tv in a while, fans repeated his catchphrases. Good little tag match, Sin Cara pinned Breeze with a swanton.
R-Truth d. Luke Harper in 7:02
Poor Luke Harper. R-Truth is a great house show character, though. Truth had the I-C belt in the potato sack, and Barrett came out and stole the belt back, distracting Truth. Harper tried to take advantage but Truth caught him with a kick and pinned him.
Natalya & Emma d. Sasha Banks & Summer Rae in 6:48
On the converse, the people didn’t really seem to care about Sasha Banks which really says something about the casual fans’ perception of the women wrestlers. Natalya was the only one here who really got a reaction, and it was quite boisterous, really. When Emma came out doing the dance a couple of women behind me said “I don’t get it”. Good formula tag match with Emma taking the heat before hot-tagging Nattie who wrapped Summer up in sharpshooter for the win.
Roman Reigns d. The Big Show in 12:33
Show was clearly recognized as the first real star of the night as he got a lot of boos and “You Sold Out” chants. I was hoping he would reply with “which time”? Thunderous reaction for Roman, I didn’t hear a single boo or jeer. Basic Hogan-Andre style match with Show beating down Roman, then Roman kicking out of all of Show’s finishers before finishing him off with the superman punch and the spear. Not bad, all said. If Roman had a Pat Patterson type agent behind him to meticulously formulate his matches while he developed he would do fine. Given the reaction Roman got here, I can see why the WWE braintrust pays little attention to the TV crowds. I did not see a lot of people with Reigns merchandise, however.
Intermission
The New Day (Big E & Woods) d. The Ascension in 9:41
Ascension cut a heel promo that was every single heel promo you’ve ever heard (cutting down the city, etc.) then New Day responded in kind with a protypical babyface promo (bringing up members of the Trailblazers basketball team) etc. Match was fine for what it was, E & Woods did the New Day finisher on one of The Ascension (I can’t tell them apart).
Wade Barrett d. Dean Ambrose & Dolph Ziggler in 6:23.
This was the surprise in that what should have been the match of the night got the least amount of time save for the opener. Mind boggling. Perhaps they saw the not-stellar crowd and decided at intermission to just get the hell out of there. Typical 3-way formula with one guy selling on the outside while the other 2 went at it. Barrett caught Ziggler with the bull hammer for the pin. Harper came out and stole the belt after blasting Ambrose, but Truth caught him at the entrance and the belt was returned to the safety of his Potato sack to maintain tv continuity.
Daniel Bryan d. Kane in 16:55 of a Street Fight.
Being a Northwest and hipster city, Bryan was over huge. They used every weapon currently allowed (kendo stick, chair, table). Bryan narrowly kicked out of a chokeslam through a table and finished off Kane with a running knee while Kane was holding a chair, smashing it into his face. Best match of the night, but that’s not saying much.
This was pretty much what I expected. The crowd was happy to see everyone but in what may be a sign of the times or just disengagement from the product a lot of people were staring into their cell phones for the duration of most of the matches. I feel bad for a lot of the WWE roster, so many of them are quite talented but it doesn’t seem like anyone outside of Reigns and Rusev really have any kind of momentum. The product is very staid right now and that seems to be how it will stay until some massive creative changes are made.
Mister Ooh-La-La
Florence, Oregon