1/28 WWE SuperShow in Evansville: Mark Henry does not appear as advertised, John Cena vs. Kane, Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show for the World Hvt. Championship, Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett


prowrestling.net
MEMBERSHIP INFO | LOG-IN | CONTACT US | SUBMIT NEWS | ABOUT US
Insider News • Live TV & PPV Coverage • Hitlists • Results • Blogs

HOME | WWE NEWS | TNA NEWS | MMA NEWS | ALL NEWS | TV & PPV | ARENA REPORTS | VIEWPOINTS | PRODUCT REVIEWS | AWARDS



Dot Net App
GOT AN IPHONE, IPAD, IPOD TOUCH, SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB, OR ANDROID PHONE?

THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE APP
(or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in App Store or Android Marketplace)

Dot Net Podcast
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO DOT NET FREE PODCAST IN ITUNES OR CLICK HERE FOR LISTING OF LATEST SHOWS

WWE Live Events


1/28 WWE SuperShow in Evansville: Mark Henry does not appear as advertised, John Cena vs. Kane, Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show for the World Hvt. Championship, Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett
Jan 29, 2012 - 12:32 PM


WWE SuperShow live event
Evansville, Indiana at Ford Center
Report by Dot Net reader Nicholas Wentzel


For what it’s worth, this is the first time that WWE has performed at Evansville’s new stadium, the Ford Center. There was not a bad seat to be had in the house, and when I got there, all seats save one section and some of the nosebleeds were filled up. Somebody (not sure who) introduced the special guest ring announcers for the evening, The Bella Twins. The Bellas entered and riled the crowd about with their 'sexy sister' (eww) act. They wasted no time in announcing the first contest and we were under way.

1. Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal by pinfall. The two men spent the first few minutes of the bout jockeying for position. They traded grapples, a few hip tosses, clotheslines, and the like and the crowd willed Sheamus on. As opposed to what we’ve seen on TV recently, Jinder got some solid heat from a hot crowd. Still not enough to make this storyline interesting mind you, but it was better than nothing.

Jinder tried to leave the ring for a breather at one point, and Sheamus chased him around the ring. When they re-entered Jinder attempted to take control by stomping Sheamus. Sheamus was having none of that and quickly started tossing solid lefts and rights, backing Mahal into a corner. Sheamus went for an early Brogue kick, which Jinder ducked. Mahal took control with a couple hip tosses and Russian leg sweep, then he started in with various submissions, culminating in a camel clutch attempt.

The crowd cheered loudly for Sheamus who was able to rise up and toss Jinder over the top rope and onto the apron. Sheamus turned him around and beat on his chest a good ten times before pulling him back in the ring. The ref tried to pull Sheamus off and Jinder tried to take advantage by charging Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior ducked however, leaned into the rope and connected this time with the Brogue kick, for the win by pinfall.

2. R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger by pinfall. Swagger entered first and got a lot of heat from the crowd. He grabbed a mic and said he hoped no one came to see Zack Ryder. He said that while he would be headlining WrestleMania after winning the Rumble tomorrow, Ryder would still be in the hospital getting his diapers changed. He worked the crowd a bit more and told everyone to shut up, so he could issue and open challenge to anyone in the back willing to take on the U.S. Champion.

Almost immediately, we heard the familiar ‘The Truth Shall Set Me Free’ bit and R-Truth charged the ring. The crowd popped a little for Truth but not much, and We Want Ryder chant began, fading just after the bell rang. Swagger took control of the match early, and the two were hot from the get go. The crowd got more and more into as the match went on and both men kept up a decent pace, which is not what I was expecting from either man the night before the Rumble.

Truth began to mount a comeback and Swagger rolled out of the ring, took his belt, and started to leave. Truth dragged him straight back to the ring, tossed him in, and played up the crowd a little. When he got back in, Swagger went for a clothesline that Truth ducked. When Truth went to hit his own clothesline Swagger went for a shoulder block, and both men ended up down. When the men got to there feet, Swagger took control again and hit a devastating looking German Suplex on Truth.

Swagger dragged him over to the turnbuckle and went for his patented Swagger Splash, but Truth lifted his legs. Swagger seemed to sense something was amiss and caught, Truths foot for the ankle lock. Just when Truth looked as though he might tap he rolled through, sending Swagger into the ropes. When Swagger turned around, he walked into the Lie Detector. Truth pinned Swagger for the win, and began to celebrate as the Bellas announced a new U.S. Champion.

David Otunga entered the arena and informed Truth the per the instructions of Raw Interim GM John Laurinitas, he was in charge, and since he was in charge he thought Truth should know that the previous match was a non-title match. He demanded Truth give the belt back to Swagger, and Swagger ran around the ring in his goofy fashion acting as if he just pulled huge accomplishment. Truth left dejected. For the record, seems a poor way to build up a new champ, who until getting the title was a glorified jobber. Just saying.

3. Beth Phoenix defeated Eve to retain the Divas Championship. What is there to say about this match? The crowd was interested in ‘the pretty one’ as I heard several people refer to Eve, which just reaffirms the crappy job creative has been doing with the Divas. Don’t get me wrong; they actually put on a nice match, with a couple very believable close calls, as well as some very nicely executed moves. It was just hard to care, given that there has been little to no story line for the Divas lately. It was nice to see them wrestle for longer than the two minutes they get on Raw and Smackdown though.

In the end, Eve went for a moonsault, but Beth had been playing possum. She grabbed Eve off the turnbuckle and set up the glam slam for the win.

4. Ryback (Skip Sheffield) defeated Santino Marella via pinfall. The crowd popped nicely for Santino. Crickets for Ryback who for whatever reason kept slapping his own head. Repeatedly. Um, okay. It’s also worth noting that the Bellas introduced him as the Sin City Cyborg. Sometimes, when creative comes up with things like this, I cry a little inside.

Santino started with his tired karate comedy bit, but the crowd was into it. Ryback quickly took control and never looked back. There were some funny spots where Santino tried dropkicks, shoulder blocks, etc. and Ryback just took it to the dismay of Santino. After toying with Santino for a few minutes, Ryback power slammed him, speared him, and then picked him up for an admittedly well executed but kind of boring fisherman suplex for the win.

After the match, Nikki Bella went to say something about concessions but the lights went out. The crowd was not falling for those shenanigans, as moments later, a jacket lit up on stage. After weeks of wondering just the hell is going on with Jericho, you’d think people would start to boo and get restless, but the crowd (myself included) was just as hot for Jericho as ever and popped loudly. He worked the crowd for about seven or eight minutes, and Otunga came out again.

Otunga said one of these fat slabs in the crowd might try to claim Jericho’s jacket gave them a seizure and then they would sue the WWE. Otunga said that wouldn’t happen on his watch and demanded Jericho take off the jacket and leave. Jericho took off the jacket, but then hit Otunga with the mic, and applied the Walls of Jericho. When he released Otunga he grabbed for the mic again and repeated his words from Monday: "Sunday, at the Royal Rumble, it will be the end of the world as you know it." He left. Loved. This.

5. Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett by pinfall. A good portion of this contest took place outside the ring, which was a nice change of pace. The crowd popped loudly for Orton, and Barrett received moderate heat. This match was very face paced, and difficult to keep up with at times, Late in the match the two began trading blows, and Barrett hit a solid looking pump handle slam followed by a two count.

Barrett picked up Orton for wasteland but Orton slid off the big mans back and went for the RKO. Barrett shoved Orton away, and then charged after him as if to toss him back outside but Orton elbowed Barrett and when Barrett turned back around off the elbow, Orton hit the RKO for the win. This has been the match of the night so far. The audience was with it the whole way, and they took some solid bumps outside the ring. Two thumbs up. On a side note, Orton spent a long time with the fans after the match, shaking hands and signing autographs. Gotta love that about the live shows, and Orton stood out as a class act here.

Intermission

6. Cody Rhodes defeated Justin Gabriel in a non-title match. Cody came out to the ring and cut a great promo. He hyped the Rumble by talking about the Royal Rumble by the numbers video. He said they were going to do a new thing called Cody Rhodes by the numbers. 2, was the number of his peers in Otunga and Swagger that had told us to shut up. He said he would be number three and that as IC champ he deserves our respect. 26 is his age which by the looks of things means that he’s accomplished more and at a younger age than everyone in the building.

No argument here. The truth hurts. 6,800 the number of people in attendance was the number of people who paid to see him. 28 is this years WrestleMania and it will be the time when the Intercontinental Champion goes on to headline the show of shows, and become a dual champion. He demanded the Bellas re-introduce him as the 2012 Rumble winner. A nice touch.

Before they could however, Justin Gabriel charged the ring. Not much pop for Justin as there isn’t anyone who has faith the in the man, despite him having what this viewer will call one of the most impressive finishers in the business. These two also kept a fast pace that was difficult to keep up with at times, but the short version is that Cody rolled out of the ring when Justin went for the 450 splash. Justin got down and started to follow Cody but Cody pulled him down against the top rope, slid quickly back into the ring, and hit the Cross Rhodes for the win.

7. Big Show defeated Daniel Bryan by DQ. D Bry is starting to get some serious heat from the local crowds now, which is good as it means his slow burn heel turn is taking effect. I couldn’t help but notice the total absence of Mark Henry. No one said anything, but this leaves me to be his apparent injury on Smackdown may have been more serious than anyone let on. It was disappointing not to see him live, but here is hoping he was simply taking a night off to recover some more for tomorrow.

After Bryan spent a solid amount of time running away, Show caught him and did a series of head butts, culminating with Daniel trying to catch his breath in the corner. Show went for the famous shhh! Chop and it was pretty cool, because the crowd really did go almost completely silent for it. When Show sent Bryan into the ropes though, Bryan hit a solid drop kick to the left knee of Show and it was all Bryan from there.

Bryan continued to work the legs and apply various submissions. Finally he went for the pinfall and Show powered out and sent D Bry through the middle and top rope and out of the ring. Nicely done, and it looked brutal. Daniel acted as though he was done with the match and got up to get his belt and go, but Big Show reached down and lifted him back in by the head. After a couple shoulder tackles and slams by Show, he dragged Bryan to the corner and went to the middle rope for a splash, which Bryan rolled away from.

Show landed on the leg that Bryan had been focusing on and Bryan hurried to the top turnbuckle. He attempted what apparently would’ve been a cross body if Show had not almost literally punched his head off his body in mid air. As Show started to cover Bryan, Jinder Mahal and Wade Barrett (why?) charged the ring, and attacked Big Show for the DQ. It seemed as if they were practicing for the Rumble, as they were trying to push Big Show over the top rope. That scenario ended with both of them getting chokeslammed.

Overall, a great match, that leaves me worried about Mark Henry and excited none the less for the match tomorrow. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that Barrett and Jinder Mahal stay the hell away from it. That was beyond silly.

8. John Cena defeated Kane by DQ. Evansville used to be die hard Cena country but the mixed reactions he’s been getting lately have trickled here as well, though the crowd was a bit more pro-Cena. Cena cut an excellent promo tonight by inviting the Bellas into the ring. He told them to stand in the corner. He then said, "Allow myself to…(realizing he made a mistake) to introduce myself." The crowd got a nice laugh out of that and Cena rolled on. He continued, "In the very attractive red corner, we have the Count of Monte Fisto (nice), the fighting fruity pebble (heh), the man from who the hell cares where, because after he beats the crap outta Kane so it won’t matter anyway…me." The crowd went nuts and I have to admit, I enjoyed more than what I’ve seen from him lately.

He seemed like he would continue on, but Kane’s music hit and Cena helped the Bellas out of the ring as Kane approached and Cena readied himself. Kane wasn’t getting a loud reaction from the crowd as I think most of them were in awe of the Sith Lor…I mean masked Kane. As Kane walked down the isle, he seemed to favoring his knee. I over heard a couple other fans near me say something as well, so that could be something to keep an eye on. As the match started and wore on though, Kane didn’t seem to be in any apparent pain, just walking a bit gingerly.

The two traded blows early on and brawled until the battle went to the outside. Kane threw Cena into the steps and then back into the ring. He continued to work Cena over, and finally went for the Tombstone pile driver, but Cena slid away and after a clothesline or two, he set up for the five moves of doom. When he bent down for the ‘You can’t see me," part, Kane grabbed him by the throat and stood.

As he lifted Cena for the choke slam, Cena reversed and pushed Kane over the top rope. Frustrated, Kane grabbed a chair and tossed it in the ring. Cena stood in the corner waiting, and as the ref tried to dispose of the chair, Kane climbed back into the ring and grabbed it, threatening the referee. Cena made as if to grab the chair from Kane but Kane turned and struck him in the ribs with the foreign object causing the DQ. Kane choke slammed Cena and started to leave.

By the time he reached the ramp, Cena was getting up, and Kane shook his head. He went down to the ring and grabbed Cena again, but Cena had his number this time, hitting the Attitude Adjustment to send the crowd home happy. After Kane stalked away, Cena grabbed the mic, and said they would be back, and next time there would be TV cameras, because they were coming back for Monday Night Raw. I hope this is the case, as we haven’t had a taped show in Evansville for years on end.

Overall this was a slow live event, and definitely not the best I’ve ever seen but the crowd was pumped the whole time, which makes it hard to criticize. In the end a good time had by all.

Biggest Pops
1. Big Show
2. John Cena
3. Randy Orton and Y2J

Most Heat
1. Daniel Bryan
2. Cody Rhodes
3. Wade Barrett or David Otunga.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE:


READ OUR INSIDER NEWS BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! BECOME A MEMBER FOR JUST $7.50 A MONTH (or less with a year-long sub) - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO CONTENT, MEMBER MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AND VIEW THE SITE WITHOUT ANY ADVERTISING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO)



RELATED ARTICLES FROM MGID AFFILIATE SITES...



MEMBERSHIP INFO
Become a Dot Net Member right now for $7.50 a month or $66 a year ($5.50 a month avg.). Get exclusive audio, first-look insider news, Forum access, member blogs, more...

CLICK FOR SIGN-UP INFO


The Current Must-Read List
ACCESS PREVIOUS MUST-READ ARTICLES

Vote In Our Latest Poll


Dot Net Free Podcasts
CLICK FOR FULL LISTING OF ALL PODCASTS

Latest from Our Affiliate Site

_pwtorch.com_
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PWTORCH HEADLINES

© 2008-2012 LAST ROW MEDIA LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -- PRIVACY POLICY