I had the chance to attend this years GAB thanks to Tshadowchaser, and had a great time. I also took a trip to Rochester to see this weeks Smackdown taping.
First, the GAB.
I wasn't able to get any pics as we got there and I realized I'd left the camera on the table. Definately annoyed me as there were some excellent spots I wish I'd caught.
Opening the show in a dark match (ie not shown) was Paul London vs Nunzio for the cruiserweight belt. Match was way too short, but a good start. These guys should have more time as they really are good.
I'm not going to go match by match, just hit some highlights.
Christian is really being underused. He got one of the strongest reactions from the crowd, yet has been dropped to midcard by the creatives. He really deserves more, especially considering he's one of the few who can put on a good match with almost anyone.
JBL sucks. He really does. He's a big man, with limited moves. His match with Batista was abysmal. Basically, it was a throwback to 80's big-man wrestling, which means slam-suplex-resthold-repeat for the bulk of the match. Batista's really green in the ring. Put either of these guys in with someone more experienced, and they can lead them to a good match (Batistas series with HHH was great), but together, they just aren't a good fit. Batista was -really- over with the crowd.
The Mysterio/Guerreo match was good. Lots of near falls and a couple "oh my god" moves. It's being panned alot, but I thought it was the best match on the card.
The Undertaker is also really over, and he destroyed Hassan. I feel for the guy (Hassan) as he just did what the "Creative" said, and now is going to go through hell getting away from a crap gimmick.
Now for Smackdown...
The low point of the evening was being caught outside in a virtual flood, as the skys dumped more water in a few minutes than goes over Niagara Falls in an hour....well, maybe not, but it sure felt like it. Morons handling the doors kept em closed until everyone was nice and soaked. Took me 6 hours to dry off fully.
Seats were awsome, had a clear view of the ring, and we must have been less than 500 ft from the pyro. That stuffs LOUD!!!!!!
The velocity matches weren't bad, though there were several chants of "Who are you" when the local jobbers came out. Couple of good matches there, the highlight was the London/Nunzio rematch. This time, they had some time to do their thing, and put on one of the better matches of the night.
I am constantly amazed that Booker T gets the reaction he does. The guy was over big last night, but personally, I just can't get behind him. COuple of cool martial arts kicks in his stuff though. (Side note: he and his brother are/have opened a combo dojo/wrestling school in Texas.)
They introduced the new gimick for one of the bimbos, err, I mean "Divas"...she has a growth on her face. Yeah, thats the best "Creative" can come up with. My cat has crapped out better ideas, y'know? WWE Creative is a joke, out of work soap opera writers with no industry experience...but, they can put out T&A, so they keep their jobs. BAH!
Back to the matches....it's mostly a blur. Alot of good stuff there. JBL got a ton of heat..I'd say the most out of anyone. The Undertaker blew the roof off the place, and just when I didn't think it could get any louder, the return of 1 person caused my SO to get -really- excited. Her squeek hurt my ears. Batista's intro also really caused some serious crowd happyness.
I had a blast both days. I really have to thank Sheldon and Charlie for the GAB tix, and my SO for dragging me to the tapings. Both were a fun time, and I really gotta do it more often.
First, the GAB.
I wasn't able to get any pics as we got there and I realized I'd left the camera on the table. Definately annoyed me as there were some excellent spots I wish I'd caught.
Opening the show in a dark match (ie not shown) was Paul London vs Nunzio for the cruiserweight belt. Match was way too short, but a good start. These guys should have more time as they really are good.
I'm not going to go match by match, just hit some highlights.
Christian is really being underused. He got one of the strongest reactions from the crowd, yet has been dropped to midcard by the creatives. He really deserves more, especially considering he's one of the few who can put on a good match with almost anyone.
JBL sucks. He really does. He's a big man, with limited moves. His match with Batista was abysmal. Basically, it was a throwback to 80's big-man wrestling, which means slam-suplex-resthold-repeat for the bulk of the match. Batista's really green in the ring. Put either of these guys in with someone more experienced, and they can lead them to a good match (Batistas series with HHH was great), but together, they just aren't a good fit. Batista was -really- over with the crowd.
The Mysterio/Guerreo match was good. Lots of near falls and a couple "oh my god" moves. It's being panned alot, but I thought it was the best match on the card.
The Undertaker is also really over, and he destroyed Hassan. I feel for the guy (Hassan) as he just did what the "Creative" said, and now is going to go through hell getting away from a crap gimmick.
Now for Smackdown...
The low point of the evening was being caught outside in a virtual flood, as the skys dumped more water in a few minutes than goes over Niagara Falls in an hour....well, maybe not, but it sure felt like it. Morons handling the doors kept em closed until everyone was nice and soaked. Took me 6 hours to dry off fully.
Seats were awsome, had a clear view of the ring, and we must have been less than 500 ft from the pyro. That stuffs LOUD!!!!!!
The velocity matches weren't bad, though there were several chants of "Who are you" when the local jobbers came out. Couple of good matches there, the highlight was the London/Nunzio rematch. This time, they had some time to do their thing, and put on one of the better matches of the night.
I am constantly amazed that Booker T gets the reaction he does. The guy was over big last night, but personally, I just can't get behind him. COuple of cool martial arts kicks in his stuff though. (Side note: he and his brother are/have opened a combo dojo/wrestling school in Texas.)
They introduced the new gimick for one of the bimbos, err, I mean "Divas"...she has a growth on her face. Yeah, thats the best "Creative" can come up with. My cat has crapped out better ideas, y'know? WWE Creative is a joke, out of work soap opera writers with no industry experience...but, they can put out T&A, so they keep their jobs. BAH!
Back to the matches....it's mostly a blur. Alot of good stuff there. JBL got a ton of heat..I'd say the most out of anyone. The Undertaker blew the roof off the place, and just when I didn't think it could get any louder, the return of 1 person caused my SO to get -really- excited. Her squeek hurt my ears. Batista's intro also really caused some serious crowd happyness.
I had a blast both days. I really have to thank Sheldon and Charlie for the GAB tix, and my SO for dragging me to the tapings. Both were a fun time, and I really gotta do it more often.
