WWE SmackDown/ECW House Show Results (05/10/08) - Huntington, West Virginia
Written by Jeff Bartram on May 11, 2008 - 3:28:55 PM
The following report was written by Jeff Bartram & is courtesy of the Wrestling Observer website. If you are a WNW reader that attended the event and would like your report publish here, please email it to us.
WWE SmackDown/ECW House Show Results - 5/10/08
Huntington, WV
Howard Finkel welcomes everyone, they play the national anthem, and he then announces that the fans can "choose" the type of match for the main event between Undertaker and Edge by texting, and they would reveal the results later on in the show.
I don't believe this concept for a second, but people were getting out their cellphones just the same.
Also Eve was in the crowd doing some trivia with a special treat for the correct answer.
The first kid answered correctly and his family got to sit ringside for the entire show.
Finley w/Hornswoggle and Jamie Noble def Hawkins and Ryder in a long match that was fast paced with no wasted motion on either side.
Noble (being a Wva native was really over) worked much of the match, took a nasty bump to the floor by Ryder and ultimately made the hot tag to Finley.
Finley does the Celtic Cross, but Hawkins prevents the pin.
Usual Hornswoggle antics and the kids loved it. Finley eventually got the Sheleleigh and clocked Ryder (I believe) Good t.v. caliber opener. ***
Kofi Kingston def Ted Dibiase (jr)
Quick, typical Kofi match with all of his spots and picking up the victory with the Jamaican Buzz kick. (I think that's what it's called)
Dibiase is a big kid, but looks nothing like his father.
He had zero reaction coming out until Finkel said his last name, and at that point a few cheers were heard. DUD
Mike Knox def Tommy Dreamer in a match that seemed to go nowhere.
Knox picked up the victory with that finishing maneuver he does that I can't recall the name of.
The Mike Knox push continues.
Diva match-Victoria/Natalya def Michelle McCool/Cherry
Michelle worked most of the match and I must say she has improved tremendously over the past several months. Cherry on the other hand is not ready for this level yet and certainly not ready for t.v. matches, but anyway...crowd was into it.
I honestly can't remember the finish, but I'm sure it was underhanded. (darn heels!)
A triple threat match was announced, and out comes Chuck Palumbo, Shelton Benjamin, and C.M.Punk (with briefcase in hand) to a big pop.
Not the pop that he usually gets in the bigger cities where rock reigns supreme, but still a decent pop for someone like Punk in the middle of Bluegrass country.
Prior to this a kid was chosen from the crowd by Eve to be C.M.Punks manager for the night.
Funny thing cause the trivia question the kid had to answer was the location of Wrestlemania 24. The crowd is shouting Orlando but the kid answers Madison Square Garden.
Eve gives him one more chance and tells him to ask someone around him, so ultimately this clueless kid says Orlando.
I think they should have went to another kid seeing that this one had no clue were the superbowl of professional wrestling took place only two months ago.
When Palumbo first comes out, this kid is standing at the entrance where the sound crew is giving Pulumbo the DX crotch chop.
The story behind this match was that Shelton and Palumbo would work together to eliminate Punk.
A little friction between Palumbo and Benjamin as Benjamin started to turn on Palumbo at one point but was caught in the act by Chuck.
Palumbo also did the longest vertical suplex I have yet to witness on Punk.
Palumbo had him up in the air for a good 10 seconds before I started recording it, and then another 11 seconds afterwards. 21 seconds doesn't seem like a long time, but when you're upside down it seems like an eternity.
Shelton did a spinning heel kick that missed by a country mile, and even the hardcore believer beside me took notice. Punk sold the kick as well which made the whole thing wreak of kayfabe.
Punk eventually scored the pin with the GTS (which recieved a huge pop) on Benjamin.
Not really much of a match. *1/2
Big Show def Mark Henry.
Show was way over, and one can't really appreciate how large this man truly is until you see him in person.
Five minute DUD match that was basicly just filler with Big Show picking up the win with a chokeslam.
Big Show was a total babyface here and did a lot of crowd mingling and some interaction with some kids at ringside.
A brief intermission (they never shoot shirts into the crowd here) and we're back with...
Matt Hardy def MVP for the U.S. Championship.
MVP was definately not himself tonight, and the arena was very cool (probably 60 degrees) yet MVP was sweating profusely early on and it just seemed to me that he physically did not feel well.
Match was passable, but nowhere near their matches on television.
Several near falls, Hardy hit's the side effect for a two count and ultimately hits the Twist of Fate for a clean win.
World Tag Team championship match with Miz/Morrison def Jesse/Festus
Big surprise here because Jesse and Festus were not advertised.
As soon as "Bisquits & Gravy" hit...the crowd went nuts. Afterall, what better place to make reference to Bisquits and Gravy than right here in West Virginia.
I think the fans related more to the Bisquits and Gravy than the team it represented!
Festus owned this match and had the crowd in a frenzy, but eventually Miz and Morrison pick up the win, but the finish has eluded my mind for some reason.
Morrison is a chissled piece of art with almost zero body fat along with probably a 28 inch waist.
I see a bright future for this guy if booked properly, and after the way he owned Batista on Smackdown this week, maybe they're pushing him to the next level.
I can definately see a little HBK in Morrison.
As for Jesse, he's very underated in my opinion, and if/when they decide to dissolve this tag team I'm afraid that Jesse will get lost in the shuffle.
Teddy Long makes his way to the ring to announce that the fans have decided "by text" that the main even will be a no DQ match according to 73% of the fans who voted. (yeah right)
Undertaker def Edge in another t.v. caliber match that was probably 20 minutes long.
Edge picked up a tremendous amount of heat before the match started.
On the way down the isle he grabs a poster from a kid, tears it up and then blows his nose on it.
A lot of interaction with the fans. Edge knows how to work the crowd.
Undertaker comes out to the biggest pop of the night, but nothing compared to the pop that John Cena recieved from the Raw house show months earlier.
Undertaker did his usual spots including the old school walk on the ropes, the best pure striker in the business routine as labled by Michael Cole.
They went out into the crowd early on, but nothing much came of it.
Edge used the steel steps hitting Taker in the head with them.
Also a couple of chairs were used for good measure.
I thought we may see a little blading here after the shot to the head by the steel steps as well as the chair shot to give it a more realistic feel, but nothin' doin'
Taker barely sold it.
In the ring, Taker rebounds and attempts to put Edge in that "illegal choke hold", but Edge slips out.
I may be wrong on this, but I think maybe the point when Hawkins and Ryder ran in was when Taker was attempting The Last Ride, but I could be wrong.
He did put Edge up for the Last Ride at some point, and Hawkins/Ryder ran in at some point, but I'm not 100% sure that it happened in that order.
Taker cleaned house on Hawkins and Ryder, and while they were recovering on the outside floor, the Undertaker gave Edge the Tombstone to score the pinfall.
Pretty stacked card and the show lasted exactly three hours from start to finish.
For the first half of the show I was stuck sitting with some "believers" if you know what I mean.
The guy beside me was asking me questions like "why is Vicky Guerrero still in that wheelchair on Smackdown every week becuase it's been months ago since Undertaker gave her the Tombstone'?
And the best one was when he looks at me and says "sometimes I don't think they're even hurting each other because if they were...there would be lawsuits and everything". HELLO!
I eventually made my way to another part of the arena and found Tom ,a friend of mine who had better seats with several empty in that row.
I thought man, this is great to be away from those other folks, but then my joy was shattered as some guy behind me was more of a believer than they were?
If I had a dollar for every time this guy hollered "tag Festus" to Jesse during their match I would be rich.
And if I had a dollar for every time this guy hollered "getem' Taker" during the main event I would be even richer.
This is also the very first WWE show out of many over the years that did not contain derogatory remarks about West Virginia and HillBillies in general.
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