haVoc 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 - Scott Steiner did not work WWE house shows last weekend due to a deep thigh bruise. Triple H also recently had that injury and they both got it the same way, from taking a Frog Splash from Rob Van Dam. - WWE's flight had a very rough landing in Korea earlier this week. Ric Flair was said to be freaking out over the landing. Credit: 1wrestling.com/411 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 And here is a house show report from Korea Just got back from Smackdown's house show in Seoul, Korea. Events: I got there a bit late so I missed the beginning, but the opening had Paul Heyman out in the ring, bragging about Brock Lesnar. Surprisingly, despite being a Raw superstar, Ric Flair was on the show; he came out and started arguing with Heyman. Heyman belittled the sixteen-time world champion and Flair, in turned, locked Heyman into a figure four. When A-Train came out and made the save, and Heyman booked a Flair/A-Train match for later that night. The first match pit Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty against the FBI (Palumbo/Stamboli). The match started off very slow, with both sides working the crowd for a long time before actually locking up. After hitting the Stinkface and the Worm, Rikishi won it with a Samoan Drop on one of the FBI (can't remember for sure which one). After the match, Scotty did his usual convince-Rikishi-to-dance routine and Rikishi came up with two kids out of the audience to dance. Scotty did another worm and tried to get the kids to imitate him; the first kid did a pretty decent worm. Ultimo Dragon vs. Shannon Moore: Moore was ostensibly the heel here, as Korea is still pre-Survivor Series. Dragon won with his finisher (don't know its name, shamefully). Afterwards, Moore got a decent ovation as well. Billy Kidman and Funaki beat the World's Greatest Tag Team after Kidman hit a Shooting Star Press. WGTT got a good pop coming out (and rightfully so). Shaniqua beat Dawn Marie with a big boot to the head. Shaniqua looks absolutely _huge_, I might add. A fatal four-way for the Cruiserweight Championship pit Tajiri against Rey Mysterio, Jamie Noble, and Nunzio in the match of the night. Mysterio got a _huge_ pop coming out. Tajiri first pinned Noble after the blinded Nidia was dragged into the ring, distracting Noble. A big "Rey" chant started up, although with the Korean accent it came out as "Reh-ee, Reh-ee", which sounded a lot like "Eddie" to me. Rey pinned Nunzio with a cool-looking maneuver. The finish came when Rey hit the 619 but Tajiri pulled the ref into the West Coast Pop, giving him time to hit Rey with the green mist for the cheap win. John Cena and Bradshaw came out for their match. Cena was over huge, and won even more pops incorporating some Korean words into his freestyles. They were facing Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, and the Big Show. The place exploded when the Big Show came out; the audience was popping huge for any big star when they made their entrance, face or heel. Heyman came out next, starting off an "asshole" chant, saying that Hardcore Holly was scheduled to be Cena and Bradshaw's partner but that he was suspended and banned from coming to Korea. Right on cue, Holly came out. Holly won the match with the Alabama Slam on Morgan, but I don't think he's well-known enough in Korea after his long injury; the crowd didn't pop big for his finisher (or even seem to recognize that it was a finisher). The cheers for Big Show's entrance, and a big pop when he first entered the match and gave Cena a chokeslam, didn't diminish the "Big Show sucks!" chants though. Intermission: Flair vs. A-Train: Flair was the face and played a comic role for most of the match, starting a test-of-strength contest and getting forced to his knees using two hands against Albert's one, flopping around for a bearhug, etc. A-Train dominated for most of the match, but pulled Flair up at two to dish out more punishment. Flair put a knee up at an attempted Vader Bomb and got A-Traint to tap to the figure four. Post-match, A-Train extended a handshake and showed his respect to Flair. The Bashams beat the Guerreros to retain the Tag Titles. No Eddie/Chavo dissention; lots of Eddie/Chavo comedy, including a bit where the referee kept forcing Eddie to hold the tag rope and Eddie loosened the other end of the rope from the turnbuckle and dragged it all the way to the middle of the top rope, all the time still holding it. Eddie and Chavo were over huge. Finish came after Eddie hit a frog splash but Shaniqua distracted the ref, allowing the Bashams to switch and cradle Eddie for the pin. Brock Lesnar beat Chris Benoit in the main event to retain the WWE Championship. Big pop for both contestants as they entered; big "you tapped out" chant. Lesnar kicked out of the headbutt; Benoit kicked out of the F5. Lesnar blocked two Crippler Crossfaces but got trapped in a third and tapped, but the ref was out; Lesnar hit a low blow for the pin. An okay match, but on the short side, and not up to what these two are capable of. Post-match, Benoit says it was worth not winning the title to see Brock tap again; Brock runs out, enraged, only to get snapped into another Crossface and taps again to close the show. Credit:1wrestling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 After what Flair has been thru with planes I don't blame him for freaking out. After see the piece they did about Flair's plane crash I'm shocked he ever got on a plane again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest netslob Report post Posted December 5, 2003 Scott Steiner did not work WWE house shows last weekend due to a deep thigh bruise. Triple H also recently had that injury and they both got it the same way, from taking a Frog Splash from Rob Van Dam. well...it ain't ballet... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 After what Flair has been thru with planes I don't blame him for freaking out. After see the piece they did about Flair's plane crash I'm shocked he ever got on a plane again. If Flair was that freaked out about planes I imagine he wouldn't be flying so damn much over the past 10 years. I'd like to think he was just trying ribbing people here in a "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!" fashion, but maybe not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 Be Fair 2 Flair, if he was really freaked about planes he would be like John Madden and have a personnal bus, that he would take to shows...........Where is the Lex Express now, rename that to the WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Cruiser! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Invictus 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 You can't drive a bus to Korea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 What is the deal with all of this "insider" stories about plane rides. Really why should I care about this tabloid journalism. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 You can't drive a bus to Korea. Oh yes you can! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 You can't drive a bus to Korea. Oh yes you can! Its True, Its True, but only if you live in Europe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lomasmoney 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 Why doesn't the WWE run a ppv in Japan it seems like it would go over huge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 Why doesn't the WWE run a ppv in Japan it seems like it would go over huge The same reason I don't think they tape shows there. You see, the Japanese don't hoot and holler like Americans do. They sit and watch the matches, paying attention to the little details. American crowds will watch a match, and if there isn't a crazy spot within the first couple of minutes, they chant "booooring, boooring." Basically though, if WWE ran a TV show or PPV there, it would seem like the crowd was dead, and would hurt the enjoyment of the Western fans. Plus, it would have to be on a tape delay because of the time zone differences, and they typically want PPVs to be live all the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Brian Report post Posted December 5, 2003 The crowds that are showing up at the WWE shows in Japan, as for now, will act very much in the same way an American crowd does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 A little news on Austin It is still not known for sure when Steve Austin will return to WWE TV. WWE wants to get the fans hating Eric Bischoff as much as possible before Austin returns to cap off that feud. While the time off as worked out well since Austin is busy promoting his book, it was not planned out like that ahead of time. He was scheduled to promote his book on days where he was not needed by WWE actively. Regarding his rumored WrestleMania XX match against Vince McMahon, he has yet to be approached about it by WWE. The match likely has been discussed internally by WWE, but until Austin agrees to working the match (despite his neck which remains in bad condition), it can only be considered a rumor. Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter/411 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 A little news on Austin It is still not known for sure when Steve Austin will return to WWE TV. WWE wants to get the fans hating Eric Bischoff as much as possible before Austin returns to cap off that feud. While the time off as worked out well since Austin is busy promoting his book, it was not planned out like that ahead of time. He was scheduled to promote his book on days where he was not needed by WWE actively. Regarding his rumored WrestleMania XX match against Vince McMahon, he has yet to be approached about it by WWE. The match likely has been discussed internally by WWE, but until Austin agrees to working the match (despite his neck which remains in bad condition), it can only be considered a rumor. Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter/411 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheArchiteck Report post Posted December 6, 2003 If they wanted the crowd to hate Bischoff even more....it would have made more sense to let him run the show on his own. Just having Foley there sort of balances everything out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coffin Surfer 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 Why doesn't the WWE run a ppv in Japan it seems like it would go over huge The same reason I don't think they tape shows there. You see, the Japanese don't hoot and holler like Americans do. They sit and watch the matches, paying attention to the little details. American crowds will watch a match, and if there isn't a crazy spot within the first couple of minutes, they chant "booooring, boooring." Basically though, if WWE ran a TV show or PPV there, it would seem like the crowd was dead, and would hurt the enjoyment of the Western fans. Plus, it would have to be on a tape delay because of the time zone differences, and they typically want PPVs to be live all the time. Much like in America, it depends on the arena, promotion, and the wrestlers involved. All Japan in the late 80s/early 90s featured some of the loudest and hottest crowds of all time. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a match in America as hot as Kobashi/Kikuchi vs. Can Am Connection. Hardly the passive fans, sitting at attention that you described. New Japan Heavies had good crowds too, back in that era. While, the juniors weren't draws, guys like Lyger usually got a good reaction out of the crowd too. But as the work of the major promotions detoriated, so did most of the crowds, who became conditioned to pop for crazy bumps, finisher kick outs, and little else. But still, matches like Chono/Hogan got super crowd heat this year. And IIRC the 1990 WWF show at the Dome with Hogan vs. Hansen, had a pretty good crowd. And I would have to agree with Brian, that the crowd today would act no differently to a WWE show than an American crowd, maybe even louder since they don't get to see them in person as much as we do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 Hmph. I did not know that. Thanks for the correction, though. Of course, this leaves virtually no excuse for them to not at least do a Smackdown there, since it's taped anyway and the matches would go over better than Raw's 3 minute resthold-laden specials. Provided, of course, they would give more time to the matches and have it be a show more along the lines of the shows before the recent Raw-izing SD has gone through. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Amazing Rando 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 Why was Flair with the SD crew?? I'm a little confused on that one... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mad the Swine Report post Posted December 6, 2003 Vince asked Flair to be on the crew because he thought they had a lack of star power. And Flair's wrestled a lot in this area of the world, plus he got some pretty good pops on the last tour. Flair has always stated that flying doesn't really bother him. He doesn't think about the crash much at all. And the guys prefer flying with him, their belief being that the odds are almost impossible that Flair could be in two plane crashed in one lifetime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Amazing Rando 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 I like how Vince says "lack of star power" when those are they guys that are being pushed down our throats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest THE MIGHTY THOR Report post Posted December 7, 2003 Who's got a bigger hitlist:RVD or Lesnar??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JumpinJackFlash Report post Posted December 8, 2003 American crowds will watch a match, and if there isn't a crazy spot within the first couple of minutes, they chant "booooring, boooring." Yeah, that's why a lot of people will say their favorite match is a TLC match. Granted they're great and all, but what's put into the match. It looks like it has no meaning. That's what I hate about some fans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
