WWE Raw Live at the O2 - 18th April 2011
My very first experience of live WWE action was at the taping of Raw at the O2 in London. I had been an on and off fan of the WWE, as I had said in my previous blog posts. But as this would prove to be a new experience for me. I was excited to break my live wrestling cherry. Our seat location however wasn't great. We found ourselves in the top tier and it was very difficult to see anything. On top of that, because of the fact it was a full house, it was uncomfortably warm. This photo may look like it was close, but my camera was zoomed in full:
I excused this fact though as it was my first ever event. WWE Superstars was filmed before the Raw show which was ok. Then, the Raw event started.
The first match of the show was R-Truth vs. John Morrison. John Morrison had goaded Truth into putting up his number 1 contendership spot for the WWE Title. John Morrison won the match, and in an infamous (and illegal spot) R-Truth lit a cigarette and blew the smoke into the face of Morrison. It was edited out of the broadcast of Raw as smoking in an indoor place was outlawed in the UK! Dolph Ziggler (going through his "Perfection" gimmick when he aligned himself with Vickie Guerrero) also defeated Evan Bourne in a short match.
Then was the entrance of John Cena. Even here, he was receiving polarising views from the crowd in our block, where the younger members of the audience would cheer for him and the older members would boo him. He teamed with Sin Cara (the original Sin Cara) against The Miz and Alex Riley. Cena and Cara won the match when Cena pinned Riley. Eve Torres defeated Nikki Bella in a forgettable encounter.
The last 2 broadcasted matches involved a very quick encounter between Sheamus and Santino Marella (in which the former won) and Randy Orton and CM Punk (during his New Nexus days). This photo shows the view of Randy Orton's entrance that I had:
Randy Orton won a long match-up, solidifying his position over CM Punk at that stage. This would be 2 months before CM Punk's infamous "Pipe-Bomb" which would alter the shape of the WWE. The dark match (a match that is not filmed for TV but is a parting "gift" to the fans) was John Cena & Randy Orton against CM Punk and The Miz, a match that the babyfaces won.
I loved my experience of a live WWE event. It would not be long until I repeated the experience, at the same arena as well.
WWE Raw Live at the O2 - 16th April 2012
This was a last minute decision to go this year, it was not as planned as what the first occasion was, however I believe this was a better occasion. Thanks to last minute ticket buying, we found ourselves just to the left of the stage (meaning we could not see the titantron) but we were able to see the entrances in their whole.
The first match on the card was the most important, The WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Mark Henry. CM Punk was going through his "Best In The World" gimmick (and his 434 day WWE Title reign). The crowd were white hot for Punk, and the match was over in minutes. There was then a promo from Chris Jericho (who at the time was claiming the teetotal Punk was an alcoholic) and then a short match between Santino Marella and David Otunga for the formers United States Title, which the champion retained.
Daniel Bryan (fresh from his 18 second defeat to Sheamus at Wrestlemania XXVIII) then faced off against Kofi Kingston. A match that Bryan won with the newly christened "Yes" Lock. He then kept the hold going until Sheamus ran into make the save. Brodus Clay then made his first appearance in the UK under his "Funkadactus" gimmick, in a match that Clay's entrance lasted longer than the actual action against Dolph Ziggler. Then a throwaway matchup between the world's largest tag team, Big Show and Great Khali verses Primo and Epico. a match that was easily won by the giants,
The last match featured the returning Lord Tensai vs. John Cena in a extreme rules match. It was Tensai's first appearance in the UK for WWE since returning from Japan. He surprisingly won the match against Cena, thanks in part to interference from John Laurinaitis and David Otunga. The shows dark match featured a WWE Title match between CM Punk and Chris Jericho, which featured a run in from pretty much half the locker room and that ended up with CM Punk retaining the belt.
It would be a while until I went to my next WWE Live event, and boy did I make it a good one,,,
WWE Summerslam 2013 at The Staples Center, Los Angeles - August 18th 2013
This ranks as one of the best experiences of my life. A trip that again was only planned with about 3 weeks notice, it was my first time in the United States, my first time to a WWE Pay-Per-View and my first time to see the WWE Championship change hands at an event.
We started our Summerslam Day by visiting the WWE Axxess session at the nearby Nokia Plaza. When we arrived, this hyped me for the whole day:
My personal highlight of the day was meeting R-Truth. He was such a nice guy and was so welcoming, including giving me this photo:
The event itself came up quickly (5pm local time). We found our seat, which gave us this view:
We could see everything, and we had a fantastic event. The pre-show started with the WWE United States Championship between Dean Ambrose and Rob Van Dam. RVD had the match won until Roman Reigns made the save for his Shield team-mate. Then The Shield started a 3 on 1 beatdown until The Big Show and Mark Henry made the save.
The event started with Bray Wyatt's first WWE PPV appearance against Kane in a "Ring of Fire" match. Thanks to some clever thinking from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, they were able to help Wyatt win the match. The next match was the official break up of Team Rhodes Scholars, between Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow. Rhodes picked up the win after a Cross Rhodes.
Alberto del Rio then defended his World Heavyweight Title against Christian. Del Rio used his technical wrestling skills to work on Christian's shoulder and then won the match to retain his title. Natalya then faced Brie Bella in a throwaway Diva's match. Natalya won the match after locking in a sharpshooter.
Then the first of the main event matches, where CM Punk would face off against Brock Lesnar. The match during the pre-show was changed to be a no disqualification match. In a 25 minute classic, the match went back and forth with Punk being able to counter the strength advantage of Lesnar. The match was eventually won by Brock after an F5 on to a steel chair. CM Punk was wildly cheered by the Los Angeles crowd, even though he lost the match.
The 2nd main event was a match between Dolph Ziggler and Katliyn vs Big E Langston and AJ Lee. The match was a short affair and not very well received from the fans. The match ended with a ZigZag to Big E, and the faces took the win.
Then, the actual main event. One of the best wrestling matches in history between Daniel Bryan and John Cena. Cena, who went into the match as WWE Champion, was the huge favourite, but Bryan was the fans favourite. A clean match, the WWE fans were on the edge of their seats throughout. Triple H, who was the special guest referee, called the match down the middle. In a finish that surprised most of the arena, and most of the watching public, Bryan won clean to win his first WWE Championship. Cena congratulated the new champion and left Bryan to soak up the crowd reaction. Then Randy Orton, who was the Money in the Bank holder, came out and shockingly, Triple H delivered a Pedigree to Bryan. Randy Orton then cashed in his MITB briefcase and became the new WWE Champion. The arena was shocked by this, and that then set the Authority storyline in motion. I will never forget this moment, as I had witnessed the start of a storyline that ended at Wrestlemania XXX.
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