WWE House Show Results 6/24 – Huntington, WV

Credit: Kaleb B. and PW Torch

Good crowd on-hand Sunday evening. We got there early to try to get a peek at some of the Superstars. My wife got a picture with Kofi Kingston, who was very nice and signed autographs for probably 20 minutes. Jack Swagger walked toward the crowd, then turned around right before he got to us. Everybody hated it, but I thought it was a great, classic heel move. Inside the arena, the set looked really nice, and made it seem like we were at a bigger show than a house show.

Matt Striker was the announcer for the show. He thanked us for coming, then they went right to the action.

(1) U.S. champion Santino beat Jack Swagger to retain the U.S. Title. Big pop for Santino and a lot of heat for Swagger. The match started with a good back and forth, then they played to the crowd pretty much the rest of the match. Santino hit the Cobra for the win in a fun match.

(2) Alex Riley beat Bray Wyatt. Wyatt came out singing Pink Floyd, and most people had no clue who he is. A lot of people recognized him for being Husky Harris, which I found amusing. Decent pop for Riley. I actually enjoy his matches, as he brings a lot of energy. Pretty short match with Riley getting the pin.

(3) Divas champion Layla beat Beth Phoenix to retain the Divas Title. A lot of heat for Beth as she came down the ramp, and a nice pop for Layla. I expected a typical, short Divas match and was pleasantly surprised when it turned into a good back and forth match. Beth grabbed a fan’s sign that was praising Layla and ripped it in half. The match ended when Beth went for the Glam Slam, but Layla reversed it into a nice roll-up for the win.

(4) WWE tag champion Kofi Kingston & Justin Gabriel beat Primo & Epico to retain the Tag Titles. Kofi came out to a huge pop with both Tag Titles, then announced R-Truth couldn’t be here. Justin Gabriel’s music hit and he teamed up with Kofi to defend the Titles. This was a really good match with a lot of high spots. Very fast paced. Epico hit Kofi with the backstabber and made the pin, but Kofi put his foot on the rope after Rosa pushed it off before the ref could see it as he counted 1, 2, 3. Everyone thought there were really new champs until Mike Chioda came out and saved the day. They re-started the match and Kofi hit Epico with Trouble in Paradise to retain the Titles.

[Intermission]

(5) Brodus Clay beat David Otunga. I missed a good part of this match because of the line for the restroom. I came back in time to see Brodus get the pin and bring some kids in the ring for his funky dance.

(6) Zack Ryder beat Dolph Ziggler in a Huntington Street Fight. This was the match I was waiting for. Ziggler is so over with the older males and Ryder got a huge pop. Nice, back and forth match. They incorporated a kendo stick and a chair, which both men got smacked with. There were a few nice nearfalls, and Ziggler just sells everything perfectly. For the finish, Ryder hit the Rough Ryder for the win. There was a split crowd the whole match with a lot of “Let’s Go Ziggler” chants. It was the best match of the night by a large margin.

For the main event John Cena handicap match, Cena came out first to a thunderous pop. Biggest pop of the night by far. I really enjoy seeing kids get so worked up for Cena. Next out was Big Johnny. A lot of heat for the former GM. Next out was Tensai, who the crowd didn’t seem to care about. Big Show was out next to a mixed crowd. Kids still want to cheer for the big teddy bear, but not as much as they want to cheer for Cena. So, once the match started, they turned on Show.

(7) John Cena beat Big Show & Tensai & John Laurinaitis in a handicap match. We have seen this match before. Cena was manhandled the majority of the match, then he finally mounted some offense on Tensai. He picked him up for the AA and Big Show went for the WMD, but hit Tensai instead. Cena then caught Show with the AA for the win.

After the main event, Big Johnny hit Cena with a chair and waited to give him another, but Cena ducked and hit the AA. The place exploded. Cena then took the mic and led the crowd in singing “Country Roads” by John Denver to send the crowd home happy.

Overall, a good show, albeit lacking in star power, but the undercard wrestlers worked hard for the crowd. And, the two big matches of the evening were very entertaining. Money well spent in my book.