WWE House Show Results 6/3/12 – Savannah, GA

Credit: Charles Cruz & PW Torch

Greetings from beautiful, historic Savannah, Georgia! Matt Striker comes out to intro the show – compared to the last time they were here, the new house show set and HD televisions add a lot to the experience. The first match is Hunico and Camacho vs. Sin Cara and Tyson Kidd.

(1) Sin Cara & Tyson Kidd beat Hunico & Camacho. Sin Cara pins Camacho with a huracanrana. This was the most acrobatic match of the evening, and a good choice to open the show. The kids gave a lot of love to Sin Cara, and transitively, some for Kidd.

(2) Jinder Mahal beat Ezekiel Jackson via submission. Mahal wins with a Camel Clutch after about five or six minutes of so-so wrestling. Jackson’s name doesn’t make for a good chant, so between that and the mediocre ring work, this brought the crowd down some.

Cody Rhodes comes out to threaten Matt Striker, telling him to announce him for his match as the “soon-to-be” Intercontinental champ.

(3) Ryback beat Heath Slater. Ryback hits his marching finisher after making Slater bump like a champ. Some “Goldberg” chants for Ryback, who mostly played babyface. The match was a bit longer than a typical Ryback squash.

(4) Damien Sandow beat Richie Steamboat. Steamboat wears trunks with a flame pattern, and didn’t get much of a reaction since he’s not on TV. Sandow cuts a generic “I’m smarter than you” promo pre-match, and beat Steamboat after six or seven minutes with his finisher and an extra-cocky pin. The highlight of this was Sandow’s post-match cartwheel.

Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio came up on the entranceway TV screens and cut a promo to set up the main event against Sheamus.

(5) IC champion Christian beat Cody Rhodes in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain the Intercontinental Title. This was the first match the crowd went nuts for. Before the first lock-up, Christian conditions the crowd to go nuts when he raises his arm, and boo when he points to Cody. It gives a really fun vibe to the match. Christian wins with a frog splash after about 12 minutes of action. However, Teddy Long comes out (with Aksana, who makes him wear a nametag), to announce the match is now best two-out-of-three falls by decree of John Laurinaitis. Jinder Mahal is also the guest referee, and he makes his way out in a ref’s shirt and trunks. Cody hits the Beautiful Disaster and gets a quick count for the second fall. After another two or three minutes, Christian gets the last fall when Mahal and Rhodes bump into each other, allowing Christian to hit the Killswitch and get the count from a sprinting Charles Robinson.

[ 15-minute intermission. Lots of Cena, Orton, and Daniel Bryan merchandise, amongst the merch for the guys actually present on the show. ]

(6) A.J. beat Kaitlyn. Both enter the match as faces, slapping fives and shaking hands before the bell. The crowd is confused on who to cheer for, and is still filing back in from intermission. Lots of restholds until A.J. snaps, has a super-brief rally, and wins with a low dropkick.

A bonus match, “Battle of the Giants,” is added, with Kane fighting Great Khali. Mid-way though Khali’s entrance, they switch to the Beatles birthday song and announce that today is Khali’s birthday. Huge pops for both men…And then they wrestle, which kills their pop.

(7) Kane beat Great Khali. Kane wins with a chokeslam. As Khali leaves, I try to start a birthday sing-along for him, but fail.

A commercial airs for “WWE ’13,” then WWE runs an entrance for Ricardo Rodriguez, who gets mariachi music. Alberto Del Rio comes out, then Sheamus comes out to a massive pop. Official World Title intros followed and made this feel big-time.

(8) World Hvt. champion Sheamus beat Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Title. They start the match with their t-shirts on and Sheamus tosses them both out into the crowd as they wrestle. Rodriguez distracts and earns his paycheck by really riling up the crowd, Alberto does his usual, and Sheamus does his usual antics. The action was about what you’d expect from the two, with some good main event nearfalls, and a hot crowd. Sheamus wins with a Brogue Kick after failed Rodriguez interference.

To close the show, Sheamus spends a long time circling the ring, signing autographs, and shaking hands. Striker was in the ring to wrap the show up, but I booked it to beat the crowd.

Overall, an enjoyable house show because everything’s better live. I’m still not over how much the house show set adds to a typical house show – it really makes everyone look like bigger stars to be able to keep their entrance videos. While there weren’t any five-star matches, the mostly-young crowd got into the action, which made for a fun show.

- Biggest Face Pops: Sheamus, Christian, Sin Cara, Kane and Khali’s intros

- Biggest Heat: Rhodes, Del Rio