WWE Live Event results from Portland (3/15): Daniel Bryan headlines, Roman Reigns in action, more
Thanks to WrestlingINC.com reader KingOfSwagStyle for sending in this report for today's WWE live event in Portland, OR:
I attended today's house show in Portland, Oregon. It was a fun show that I enjoyed.
Fandango vs Erick Rowan
The first match was Fandango w/ Rosa Mendes vs. Erick Rowan. Rowan, surprisingly, got a very loud reaction from the crowd. It shocked me quite a bit considering his recent TV reactions. Rowan pinned Fandango after a Full Nelson Slam. The match wasn't very good, but Rowan's popularity was quite shocking.
Bo Dallas and Tyler Breeze vs The Lucha Dragons
The second match of the show was the newly formed team of Bo Dallas and Tyler Breeze taking on The Lucha Dragons. Bo cut a promo about him and Tyler are calling themselves BoBreeze, it was funny just because Bo sounds like such a doofus. Lucha Dragons were out to a mild reaction, and I heard a few in the crowd ask who Kalisto is. But when the Lucha Dragons used their High-Flying Tag Moves the crowd absolutely ate it up, popping for every spot they did. Bo and Tyler played a fun dysfunctional tag team, and the Lucha Dragons went over with Kalisto's Salida Del Sol and a Sin Cara Swanton. Fun match.
R-Truth vs Luke Harper
The next match saw R-Truth, with Intercontinental Title in tow, wrestle Luke Harper. Truth didn't receive much of a reaction, but the crowd loved the What's Up shtick. Harper got decent heat, and a few people near me cheered for Harper, as did I. They started the match with some dancing, which was really lame, and the rest wasn't all that much better. Bad News Barrett came out and took the Intercontinental Championship, which distracted Truth long enough to run into a killer Superkick from Harper. Truth kicked out at two of that and hit his finisher for the win. Disappointing match, and the fact that Harper is relegated to comedy with R-Truth is pretty lame, he's a top 5 talent in WWE right now, no argument.
Sasha Banks and Summer Rae vs Emma and Natalya
The next bout was another a Tag Bout, with "The Boss" Sasha Banks and Summer Rae taking on Emma and Natalya. Natalya got a HUGE Pop, with Sasha getting a nice pop as well, while Summer and Emma were met with indifference. Sasha having a fit on the apron whenever Summer took a beating was really fun to watch.
When Sasha was in the ring, she didn't really do a whole lot unfortunately, she's extremely talented. Emma was beat on for most of the match, and when she managed to get the Hot Tag to Natalya the roof came off the place. Natalya made Summer tap with the Sharpshooter, it was an ok match, but I would have liked to have seen Sasha get more ring time.
Roman Reigns vs Big Show
The next match featured the Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns against Big Show. Reigns got a pop from the crowd, but not a huge one. Big Show got massive heat, but I gotta be honest, this match was terrible. I don't hate Reigns at all, but this match was slow and boring. The crowd was totally hot for it though. Reigns is an underwhelming worker, but putting him in with Big Show does nothing to help his development as a talent.
Big Show got massive heat, and got multiple You Sold Out chants throughout the match. Reigns kicked out of a KO Punch and hit a big Spear for the win, and posed with fans ringside afterwords. Again, I like Reigns and want him to succeed, but matches like this don't help his case at all.
We had an intermission after that match. I wore my Bullet Club shirt, and I too sweeted a few others in Bullet Club apparel as I got back to my seat.
The Ascension vs The New Day
Next up was The Ascension vs. The New Day's Big E and Xavier Woods. They totally screwed up by playing Bo Dallas's music again instead of The Ascension's, which was funny. The Ascension was met with extremely mild apathy from the crowd, and the two cut a horrid promo burying Demolition, LOD and the Hart Foundation which again was met with mild apathy. Even burying Portland didn't garner much of a reaction.
But at least The Ascension got a reaction, for the New Day came out to silence. Yes, you read that right. Silence. The New Day got 0 reaction. Kofi cut a promo that finally got the crowd woken up by mentioning Basketball Hall Of Famer and former Portland Trail Blazer Clyde "The Glide" Drexler. But that promo was the biggest reaction of the match, for the match died a death when it started.
This match was awful. It had an extended headlock from Konnor that killed the crowd, and it didn't get better after that. The crowd mildly popped for Big E's comeback, but it was over at that point. New Day won after Big E and Xavier's tag finisher.
Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler vs Bad News Barrett for the IC title
Next up was an Intercontinental Title Triple Threat between Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Bad News Barrett. Ambrose and Ziggler got huge reactions, while Barrett got good heat. This was the Match of the Night. This was a fun match to watch, and Barrett retained after Ziggler hit a huge Superkick on Ambrose, and BNB hit a Bullhammer on Ziggler.
After the match, Ambrose hit BNB with the Dirty Deeds to a big pop and held up the IC Title, when Luke Harper ran from the back and clobbered Ambrose in the face with his boot. Literally, Harper had his boot in his hand. As Harper walked back up the ramp, R-Truth attacked him and took back the IC Title. Truth ran away with it like a cartoon character, which irritated me. I don't know why.
After that fiasco, Ambrose and Ziggler interacted with fans front row, and Ziggler even hugged a few fans. This was my Match of the Night, the match and the antics after it were fun to watch. That IC Title Ladder match will be awesome!
Daniel Bryan vs Kane
The main event of the show was Corporate Kane taking on Daniel Bryan in a Portland Street Fight. I need to say this: DANIEL BRYAN IS SUPER-MEGA OVER. Not only did he get the largest reaction of the night, but the crowd was White Hot for the match.
Whenever Bryan would pick up a weapon of some kinds, the crowd would erupt. In one Spot, Kane set the stairs up in the rampway and was going to drive Bryan into them headfirst. But when Bryan slipped out the back and pushed Kane into the stairs the crowd went absolutely bananas. Bryan got choke slammed through a table and when he kicked out at 2 the reaction was tremendous.
Bryan is a major cash cow, and the fact that they aren't pushing him to the moon and riding the Yes Movement to the bank boggles my mind. THE GUY IS SUPER OVER. HE WOULD MAKE THEM SO MUCH MONEY. But I digress. Bryan won after a Running Knee into a Steel Chair Kane was holding. This was another fun match. It had Tables, Kendo Sticks, Steel Chairs, the steps, all typical Street Fight stuff.
In all, this was a fun Live Event. 6 of the 8 matches were fun to watch, and since WWE rarely comes to Portland, they always get a fired-up crowd. I had a very fun time.
Biggest Pops:
1. Daniel Bryan
2. Dolph Ziggler
3. Dean Ambrose
4. Natalya
5. Roman Reigns
Most Heat:
1. Big Show (BY FAR)
2. Bad News Barrett
3. Kane
4. BoBreeze
5. None