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Smackdown House Show
3/25 Nashville, TN
Bridgestone Arena
5:00PM Bell Time
We arrived at 5:15. Heard the opening match was Great Khali def. Jinder Mahal.
Didn't miss much!
-Daniel Bryan promo on the triple threat match tonight, vows to retain title
*Hunico w/ Camacho def. Tyson Kidd. This was probably the match of the night
from an in ring standpoint. Neither of these guys have anything going on for
Wrestlemania so they were going all out. Bout went about fifteen minutes, and
the finish saw Hunico trapped in the Sharpshooter with Camacho hitting the big
punch through the ropes on Kidd, and Hunico catching him in a rollup. Hunico was
surprisingly really over and continually got good heat with all his antics. Kidd
hit a pair of impressive dives that brought the crowd to their feet. Good match.
*Drew McIntyre def. Ezekiel Jackson. This was short and not too sweet. Their
styles didn't really gel well. Neither were particularly over with the Nashville
crowd, which is kind of surprising considering how well received Kidd vs. Hunico
was. Drew countered out of the Torture Rack and took out Zeke's knee with a
kick, then hit his Future Shock DDT for the fall. Post match Cody Rhodes comes
out and takes out Zeke, then cuts a promo on beating Big Show at 'Mania.
-Michael Cole promo - Usual drivel.
*Nashville Street Fight: Jerry Lawler def. Michael Cole. Ugh. The promos and
entrances went on for about 15 minutes, and the match was an unforgiving 10
more. This was obviously the in ring low point of the show. Cole brought out
Hunico & Camacho for the triple team on Lawler, but Khali made the save hitting
chokeslams on everyone. Lawler hits the middle rope fist drop for the fall.
*Sheamus def. Mark Henry. Business really picked up here. The crowd was really
into this. Henry had great heat, and also his fair share of cheers too. The roof
went off for Sheamus, biggest pop of the night at this point. Classic power
battle, with Sheamus using his quickness to stay ahead of Henry's offense.
Sheamus hit his ten big pounding clubberin' shots on Henry through the ropes,
then nailed an impressive top rope shoulderblock for a near fall. Henry was
selling like a champ here and got airborne on a few bumps, most notably the
aforementioned shoulderblock. In the end Sheamus avoided an Avalanche and hit
the Brogue Kick for the fall. Sheamus took a massive victory lap signing
autographs all over ringside on his way out. Class.
-Intermission
*Beth Phoenix & Natalya def. Alicia Fox & Tamina. Not too much to report here.
Alicia & Tamina looked pretty good, getting lots of offense in on Natalya, but
every time Beth tagged in she cleaned house. Finish was Tamina countering the
Glam Slam into a Samoan Drop, then going for the big SuperFly Splash, and
missing. Beth capitalized with the Glam Slam for the fall.
*IC Championship Match: Cody Rhodes retained def. Justin Gabriel. This was
pretty boring for the first ten minutes but picked up nicely by the end. The
finishing sequence was an impressive exchange of springboards and counters with
Rhodes evading a Gabriel moonsault and hitting the Beautiful Disaster Kick for
the fall. Crowd wasn't too interested in Gabriel unless he was flying, and Cody
didn't really do much to impress with his offense.
*World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan retained def. Randy Orton & Big
Show. Decent heat for Bryan, massive pops for Show & Orton. Several big double
team spots early on here, with Show & Orton taking turns punishing Bryan. Show
did a pair of SHHHH! chops on Bryan that thundered throughout the arena. At one
point Bryan called a timeout and kissed Big Show's feet, seeking an alliance
against Orton. Show told him he could kiss his ass instead and the pummeling
continued. Show & Orton eventually ended up at odds over a cover, and Bryan took
a powder and let 'me go. Orton ends up outside the ring and Bryan takes Show's
leg out from behind, actually putting the big man in a single leg crab. Orton
comes back in to break it up and gets immediately dumped out again. Bryan hit a
few stiff kicks on Show and worked him into the LeBell Lock, but Show powered
out and hulked up hitting a massive spear on Bryan turning him inside out. Show
signaled for the chokeslam, but Cody Rhodes made his way out and got up on the
apron. Show turned his attention to Rhodes, who backed away. Show turned around
into an RKO to blow the roof off the place, but Orton was immediately thrown
into the ringpost by Bryan who pounced on Big Show for the cover & the fall.
Post match Show catches both Orton & Rhodes in a chokeslam clutch, but opts to
toss Bryan to Orton for a dual RKO / Chokeslam finish to send the crowd home
happy.
Overall it was a fun show. The ticket sales were kind of soft. We walked up at
5:15 and bought four 100 Level tickets that were previously $47 for $17 at the
box office. The 300 level was completely empty, and the 200 level was only full
on the sides. The capacity for this arena is about 20,000 & the lower levels
were totally packed so it was still a decent house. The new house show stage was
cool, but left the arena floor empty looking towards the stage. No return date
was given. TNA did have a street team promoting Lockdown outside the arena. Good
luck with that. The local radio/ TV promotion on that is non existent here.
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