WWE Smackdown/ECW house show
Honolulu, Hawaii at Blaisdell Arena
Report by Dot Net reader Reid Shimizu

The local fans really packed the house for this one. With the exception of three areas in the upper section that were roped off, the place was just about full from top to bottom. The WWE made no announcement about Edge's injury, although some fans knew about it while others were unaware.

1. John Morrison pinned Shelton Benjamin. A decent opener that started off slow before picking up at the end. Morrison pinned Benjamin following a counter into a DDT that led to Starship Pain.

2. Mark Henry pinned Evan Bourne. I was really excited to see Bourne for the first time, I only hope the next time I see him in action it'll be against somebody his size. Henry basically rag dolled Bourne throughout the match and despite Bourne getting some high flying offense in towards the end, Henry pinned him following the World's Strongest Slam.

3. Great Kahli pinned Dolph Ziggler. Honolulu is Kahli country! The Punjabi Playboy was over big time with the Hawaii fans and I must admit Kahli really is a sight to see live. The bout was a comedy match with Ziggler doing lots of stalling before Kahli finished it with a two handed choke slam.

4. World Heavyweight champion CM Punk pinned Jeff Hardy. Before the match Punk posed for a picture with a fan whose sign read, "Why can't the Cubs win a championship like CM Punk?" Speaking as a Cubs fan, I feel the pain, bro. Jeff Hardy was over big time with the fans, while Punk received a mixed reaction. The match itself was action packed with Punk picking up the win after countering a Hardy sunset flip attempt into a pin.

5. Melina and Gail Kim defeated Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox with Maria as Guest Ref. I saw one fan returning from the concession stand, eagerly sprint back to seat as soon as Maria's music hit. The Diva's match was fast paced and I was pleasently surprised how good it was. The finish came after Melina made the hot tag to Gail Kim, who finished off Alicia Fox with a sort of odd jumping armbreaker that drew "oohs" from the fans.

6. ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer defeated Jack Swagger and Christian in a Triple Threat. Jack Swagger is a lot bigger in person than I thought he was. Either that or Christian has gotten a lot skinnier. The match was okay with Christian playing the role of punching bag throughout the bout. After Swagger hit the gut wrench powerbomb on Christian, Swagger walked right into a DDT by Dreamer for the finish.

7. Intercontinetial Champ Rey Mysterio pinned Chris Jericho with Ricky Steamboat as guest referee. Jericho is simply awesome live. Before the match he took the mic and insulted all of the fans to draw massive heel heat. Mysterio was over huge with the fans, and in my opinion may have received a bigger pop than Hardy. Steamboat of course got a loud pop, especially since he's billed as being from Hawaii. As for the match, I don't think its possible for Mysterio and Jericho to have a bad match together as the two put on a solid 15-20 minute main event.

The finish came after a tug of war between Jericho and Steamboat over a steel chair, resulted in Mysterio nailing Y2J with the 619/Splash combo. After the match, Jericho beat down Steamboat for a bit before the Dragon came roaring back with a few karate chops that sent Jericho packing.

Biggest Pops
1) Rey Mysterio
2) Jeff Hardy
3) Great Khali

Biggest Heat
1) Chris Jerico (by far!)
2) Dolph Ziggler
3) CM Punk (following his match)

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: