Smackdown/ECW at the O2 Arena in Dublin house show report 11/14

Smackdown/ECW at the O2 Arena in Dublin house show report 11/14


By Breffni O'Sullivan

Hey Dave, I just got back from the Smackdown/ECW house show that was on tonight at the o2 here in Dublin. Here's a quick rundown of the card;

John Morrison Vs. Matt Hardy (Intercontinental Championship Match) Morrison was booed despite wrestling babyface for the match. Both shook hands prior to and during the match. Solid opener, the crowd got into it later on for the nearfalls.

Morrison def. Hardy w/ Starship Pain

After the match, Hardy stuck out his hand, Morrison shook it, and Hardy laid him out with a Twist of Fate.

Shelton Benjamin Vs. Zack Ryder

Benjamin hit his capture top rope suplex which got a great pop. Nothing else did, really.

Benjamin def. Ryder w/Paydirt

Drew McIntyre Vs. Finlay

McIntyre cut a very decent promo before the match saying he hated Ireland because we joined the Euro like sheep. Finlay came out to a tremendous ovation. Hell of a lot of stalling. McIntyre looked impressive here.

McIntyre def. Finlay via rollup with feet on the ropes

Katie Lea Burchill & Mickie James Vs. Michelle McCool & Beth Phoenix Burchill and James had done a trivia segment at the top of the building earlier which got no reaction.

Burchill & James def. McCool & Phoenix when Burchill pinned Phoenix.

Ezekiel Jackson Vs. Goldust

Little to no heat, real filler match here.

Jackson def. Goldust

Rey Mysterio Vs. Dolph Ziggler

Great reaction for Rey but nowhere near the volume he got a few months ago in the same building.

Mysterio def. Ziggler w/Frog Splash

Intermission.

Christian Vs. William Regal (ECW Championship Match)

Match of the night. Christian pulled the crowd in early on with a pointing boo / yay spot. Regal went nuts and it was awesome.

Christian def. Regal w/ Killswitch

After the match, Regal got on the mic and announced he was never coming back to Dublin again. Boo.

R-Truth Vs. Eric Escobar (without Vickie Guerrero)

Escobar went for a clothesline; missed; R-Truth rolled him up for the pin. Toodles, Eric.

R-Truth def. Escobar via immediate rollup.

While Truth was celebrating, Escobar threw a temper tantrum in the ring which was pretty funny.

The Undertaker Vs. CM Punk

World Heavyweight Championship Casket Match

Crowd was very into this match, although it was very short; no more than about 4 minutes. Taker moved fairly slowly. They brought the casket out to CM Punk's music and lighting. That was bizarre. One or two spots with the casket itself, including Punk taking a nasty looking backdrop onto the casket over the ropes which dented it. A little too similar to the Shawn Michaels casket bump for my liking but at least he landed dead-centre on it. Punk appeared to botch a GTS early on. Match was messy, but the crowd were into it purely because it was The Undertaker.

Undertaker def. Punk following Tombstone.

Overall, a decent event, nothing spectacular. It really seemed like some of the guys were knackered from the rest of the tour. No Jericho or Batista, which was a bit disappointing.