Hershey, Pa.
Report by Dot Net reader Erik Beaston
1. Finlay (w/ Hornswoggle) defeated Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas). The crowd popped for Finlay as he was the first superstar of the night and Henry received a loud chorus of boos. Henry dominated for the majority of the match until Finlay made the token face comeback. The finish saw Hornswoggle deliver the Tadpole splash to Tony Atlas, then threaten to fight Henry. This distracted the referee long enough for Finlay to grab the shillelagh, lay out Henry, and pick up the win. Afterwards, a few kids were invited into the ring to dance with the victors. Match rating: **
2. John Morrison and The Miz defeated Cryme Tyme to retain the World Tag Titles. Big heat for Morrison and Miz, who were at their heat-seeking best, insulting pretty much anyone sitting at ringside on their way to the squared circle. Cryme Tyme received a nice pop but nothing on the level of Finlay or Hornswoggle. Pretty good match from both teams as the champions singled out JTG and worked over him for the majority of the match before the hot tag to Shad. The finish saw JTG take Miz to the outside. As Shad picked up momentum and looked to finish Morrison off, Miz distracted him long enough for Morrison to land the springboard kick to the face for the victory. Match rating: **1/2
3. Beth Phoenix (w/Santino Marella) defeated Melina to retain the WWE Women's Title. Santino accompanied the champion to the ring but, sadly, didn't get any mic time. Melina received a nice pop, but not on the level Candice Michelle did recently in Reading, Pa. a few weeks ago. The writers need to give the people a reason to cheer her other than, 'Hey, she's fighting Beth.' They did a decent job starting the feud before Melina's injury, now they need to pick it back up. Anyway, Beth controlled the contest, working over Melina's back. A nice spot in the contest saw Melina counter out of a superplex attempt and land a face-buster off the top rope. Finish saw Melina set up for her new finisher, the Canadian Destroyer-like sunset flip bomb, but Beth countered with the dominator for the win. Match rating: **
4. William Regal (w/Layla) defeated C.M. Punk to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Biggest pop thus far for Punk while Regal scored his typical, glorious chorus of boos from the crowd. I'm always amazed how much heat Regal attracts just by flashing a specific look on his face. Just awesome. A pretty solid match ended very abruptly by what looked like an injury, but not to either Regal or Punk. As Punk lifted Regal up for the GTS, Layla hopped on the apron to do the typical 'heel manager distracts the referee' bit. When she got on the apron, it looked like she twisted her ankle and the referee held her up for a second. She fell to the floor and against the guard rail.
Regal delivered a punch to Punk and picked up the win. Just a punch, no brass knuckles. The referee counted to three, looked agitated, and called for the bell. Then he waved it off. Then he called for the bell again. Layla managed to roll into the ring and, from where I was sitting, appeared to apologize to Regal right away. She then limped around the ring with the Intercontinental Championship before Punk delivered the GTS to Regal. The referee and Howard Finkel exchanged some words before Regal, still selling the GTS, was obviously aiding Layla to the back. Maybe she was just selling REALLY well but whatever the case was, the finish definitely didn't seem like it was the intended result. Match rating: **
5. Matt Hardy beat Jack Swagger to retain the ECW Title. Hardy received a huge pop, rivaling Punk for the night's biggest to that point. Swagger received a reasonable chorus of boos. A very solid match out of these two but, sadly, not a lot of crowd reaction. Swagger is very solid in the ring and had good timing with Hardy but one thing I noticed about the ECW heir-apparent was that he does not play to the crowd at all. It's move after move but no in-ring charisma, other than his cocky smile and chest pounding. It was disappointing because he comes off so well on the ECW show that I was expecting more when seeing him live. Perhaps it was an off-night. The finish of the match saw Swagger attempt the gut-wrench powerbomb, only to be countered into the Twist of Fate for the win. Best match of the night thus far. Match rating: **3/4
During the first few minutes of intermission, the lights were down but you could catch a glimpse of the head of security escorting Boogeyman down the aisle and under the ring, shrouded in a dark cloth.
After the break, Kelly Kelly came to the ring to thank us for coming out to the show. Jillian Hall interrupted and said Hershey didn't want to hear Kelly talk, they wanted to hear Jillian sing. She did and, as one would figure, Boogeyman appeared and chased her off.
6. Kane beat Kofi Kingston. This was the second time I've seen this match live over the last month, further fueling my prediction that Kofi will be the revealed as Kelly's boyfriend sometime in the near future. Just an opinion. Anyway, Kofi and Kane have developed a nice chemistry and the two matches I've seen between them are a vast improvement from the farce that was the Intercontinental Championship tournament match a few months ago. Kane caught Kofi coming off the ropes and attempted the chokeslam. Kofi countered out and tried for the Trouble In Paradise kick but Kane ducked. He finally landed the chokeslam for the win. Match rating: **1/2
7. Shawn Michaels, in a rare house show appearance, defeated Randy Orton (w/ Manu and Cody Rhodes). Orton received a nice pop, mostly from the 18-35 male demographic and the young-adult women but Michaels' reaction easily blew away anyone else's up to this point. As for the match, I was slightly disappointed. It was a classic, cookie-cutter match from Michaels as he sold the majority of Orton's offense before making his comeback. An RKO attempt was countered with Sweet Chin Music for the win.
If I ever had to show anyone proof of Michaels 'going through the motions,' this would probably be it. Of course, Michaels going through the motions isn't a bad thing as he's still better than 90 percent of the roster. It was a definite treat getting to see HBK in a non-televised capacity. Orton looked very good, even in a loss. And in a side note, it's only an opinion but I am relatively sure that Randy Orton doesn't do anything any more spectacularly than Mike Knox or Gene Snitsky. He uses a lot of headlocks and basic moves the two previously mentioned guys do. The thing that makes Orton special is that he carries himself as a superstar. When Orton walks through the curtain, you know he is a big deal and I can't say that about Snitsky or Mike Knox, both guys that have received sizeable pushes in the past. Again, it's just an opinion. Oh, and having a fan-poppin finisher like the RKO doesn't hurt either. Match rating: ***
8. John Cena pinned Chris Jericho to retain the World Hvt. Championship. Jericho is an absolute master at inciting a negative crowd reaction. After his pre-match promo, even those who cheered his entrance openly booed him. Let's put it this way: when kids and their MOTHERS are ready hop the barricade and do physical harm to you, as a heel, you're doing your job. Cena got a HUGE pop. Good match that looked eerily similar to the Armageddon match, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Best match of the night, by far, that saw Cena land the FU for the win. Afterward, Cena stuck around, slapping hands, posing for the fans, and doing everything you would expect the top face on the show to do. Match rating: ***1/2
Notes: Overall, a very solid and enjoyable show right after the holidays. The guys, and girls, looked very loose and fresh after their near week-long break and the majority of them looked like they wanted to be there, performing for the fans. Typically, there's always someone I can overhear complaining about some aspect of the show but tonight's the first house show I've been to in a long while where no complaints were heard. A good show, good performances, a lively crowd, and a handful of top WWE stars made for a great night of action. Sorry if this report runs too long. Thanks for hanging in there to get through it all.
