By: Mike M., rajah.com reader
SmackDown/ECW Live!
Saturday, January 19, 2007
Bryce Jordan Center
State College, Pennsylvania
Greetings Rajah.com readers from the campus of Penn State University. I
arrived about an hour before the 7:30 PM opening bell and about half the lower
level was full.
SmackDown announcer Justin Roberts handled the ring announcing for the evening.
Kane vs. Big Daddy V (w/ Matt Striker)
- Your typical big man bout. Kane got a good pop and the crowd was very
anti-Striker. Match ends with Kane throwing Striker into the ring and
chokeslamming V for the three count. After the match, V bailed and Kane gave
Striker a chokeslam for good measure.
YOUR Winner: Kane
WWE Tag Team Championship: John Morrison & The Miz (c) vs. Jimmy Wang Yang &
Shannon Moore
- A good match that lasted about ten minutes. Ending comes when Morrison rolls
up Yang via the tights for the three count. Yang & Moore had the Titles won,
but Miz distracted the referee which allowed Morrison to execute the winning
pinfall.
YOUR Winners and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: John Morrison & The Miz
Kelly Kelly vs. Victoria
- A pretty boring match. Kelly Kelly gets the win with an inside cradle.
After the match, Victoria promptly told the crowd to kiss her backside twice.
Or, as one guy behind me said, "go back to your girlfriend, Kenny Dykstra".
YOUR Winner: Kelly Kelly
Tommy Dreamer vs. Elijah Burke
- A nice pop for Dreamer as "ECW" chants went throughout the arena. It was a
back-and-forth match between the two until Dreamer missed a spear in the
corner, crashing his shoulder into the post. Burke exposed his knees and hit
the Elijah Express on a weakened Dreamer for the three count.
YOUR Winner: Elijah Burke
Kofi Kingston vs. Deuce
- The crowd was absolutely dead. No Domino or Cherry. The only exciting part
for me was Deuce's entrance theme, which I like for some reason. Kingston won
with a 540 kick, otherwise known to me as Cool Runnings. Afterwards, Deuce
rolled out of the ring, put his jacket on, and resumed his gimmick which I
found very hilarious.
YOUR Winner: Kofi Kingston
ECW Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
- A good match. Benjamin controlled the majority of the bout, but Punk mounted
the comeback and won with the GTS around the ten minute mark.
YOUR Winner and STILL ECW Champion: CM Punk
The 15-minute intermission followed where I started a conversation with another
Penn State student about King of the Ring 1995 and why it was the absolute most
poorly booked pay-per-view in WWE history. Seriously Vince, Mabel vs. Savio
Vega?
Career Match: Ric Flair vs. Mark Henry
- Tons of fan support for the Nature Boy and huge heat against the World's
Strongest Man. Flair and Henry took their battle to the floor, where Slick Ric
was able to push Henry into the guardrail and roll back into the ring for the
countout victory.
YOUR Winner: Ric Flair
Finlay (w/ Hornswoggle) vs. The Great Khali
- No Ranjin Singh this evening. Khali controlled the majority of the match and
actually knocked Hornswoggle down, but this allowed Finlay to grab the
shillelagh and smack Khali over the head for the three count. Afterwards,
Finlay and Hornswoggle did their Irish dances in the middle of the ring and
invited a young fan to join them.
YOUR Winner: Finlay
World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) vs. Batista
- This was the main event of the evening. Batista got the biggest pop of the
nights hands down. Tons of stalling before this one as Edge refused to enter
the ring. The match was typical Edge/Batista stuff until the champ decided to
take a countout. All of a sudden, Teddy Long made a surprise appearance and
said he was the acting general manager for the evening due to Vickie Guerrero's
absence. He ordered the match to be restarted under no disqualification.
Batista had the Title won after a spinebuster until the Edge-heads showed up to
attack the Animal. He was able to eliminate both of them, but this allowed
Edge to grab the World Title and smack Batista over the head with it for the
three count.
YOUR Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Edge
After the match, Batista thanked the crowd for coming out and had some fun with
Justin Roberts. Another huge pop for the Animal.
Overall, it was a fun show. WWE tends to make one or two appearances in Happy
Valley per year. I went outside the BJC to the wrestlers' area and saw
Hornswoggle driving with Mark Henry as his passenger. Shelton Benjamin waved
to us as he drove away blaring rap music.
- Mike M.
