WWE Smackdown/ECW house show report
Fredericton, N.B.
Report by Dot Net reader Matt Jones

Crowd seemed to be about 3/4 full. I said hi to former-suicidal referee Tim White who was wandering outside in near-anonymity before they let the fans in.

1. C.M. Punk pinned Chuck Palumbo after the GTS. Palumbo actually got a really big response, though probably more due to being the first guy out. Big pop for Punk. Solid opening match, got the crowd into it with Palumbo tearing up a pro-Punk sign at ringside at the start. Big pop for Punk kicking out of Chuck's version of the Last Call.

2. Kenny Dykstra pinned Ted DiBiase Jr. after whatever his neckbraker finisher is called. I was really excited to see DiBiase, since his father is an all-time favorite of mine. He seems as good as Cody Rhodes, as a comparison with another second generationer at a similar stage of his career. Seems to have a lot of potential. The crowd was into DiBiase's comebacks. Good finish where DiBiase went for the Million Dollar Dream, but Dykstra reversed into his finish before he could cinch it in.

3. Kelly Kelly beat Cherry, Lena Yada, Natalya and Maryse in a Best Body Contest (nothing subtle about that). Estrada hosted this, which provided lots of entertainment, starting with a big hello to "Fredericville." Natalya refused to take her robe off and attacked Cherry and Kelly after the match. Cherry and Kelly fought back and stripped her of her robe and, presumably, her dignity. The crowd liked it.

4. Jamie Noble pinned Matt Striker with some sort of complex pin move. The match of the night at this point. Noble was really over, getting about as big a reaction as Punk. Lots of good back and forth and the crowd was into it. Really solid stuff.

5. Finlay and Big Show (w/Hornswoggle) beat Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder after a chokeslam on Ryder. Both faces (and Hornswoggle) were hugely over. Crowd loved them. Before the match, Show made fun of a fan wearing a Flair robe, but then he and Finlay got him to come into the ring where he did the strut. Anyway, good match with Finlay playing face-in-peril, drawing big support from the crowd. Hornswaggle did a Tadpole Splash off Show's shoulders. The winners all danced together afterwards.

6. John Morrison and The Miz beat Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore when Morrison pinned Yang after the Moonlight Drive. Morrison and Miz got the crowd really riled up. Usual good match here. Crowd was into it, but the finish fell a little flat. Still, really good match.

7. Kofi Kingston pinned Mike Knox after the Trouble in Paradise. The crowd didn't seem to care too much, though Kofi did get some pops.

8. Kane pinned Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) after a chokeslam. A lot of stalling to start, which was fine because Chavo got the crowd really worked up by challenging a particularly muscly guy in the audience (and naturally, then backing off when the guy stood up). Decent match that saw Chavo work the leg for a while. Bam Neely was there, but didn't factor into the match too much other than stepping in between Chavo and the muscle guy.

9. Matt Hardy and Batista both pinned MVP and Edge after a simultaneous Twist of Fate and a spinebuster in a No Diqualification match. The stipulation was determined by a text messaging poll conducting during the show. Edge came out in a Montreal Canadiens t-shirt carrying hockey sticks. He and MVP then did a five-second pose mocking the Canadiens' goalie.

This worked well to reverse the "Hey, it's a Canadian!" pop he got when he first came out. The crowd popped big for Batista, but ended up cheering for Hardy more during and after the match. Lots of good spots with Edge not being a great partner to MVP (i.e. tagging him in when he wasn't looking). They both teased walking off then running back to the ring, but Edge stopping short and let MVP run into a two-on-one.

Afterwards, Hardy and Batista celebrated with the crowd for a little bit and the ring announcer promised they'd be back soon. Security set up a perimeter out back as soon as the show was over to keep the fans at bay. I assume this is because they had a show in St. John (about an hour away, possibly more with recent flooding in the area closing some roads) in a few hours and needed to get out of there quickly.

Notes: Overall, really good show. This was the first time they've been through this way in a while. There were lots of little kids buying Cena, Mysterio, and Undertaker merchandise, ironic since none them were there. Also interesting, the crowd was always into the losers of the matches. DiBiase, Yang and Moore, for example, got lots of sympathy cheers on their way out. Palumbo, Chavo, and Knox, on the other hand, may have gotten bigger heat on their way to the back than during the match.

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