By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Dot Net reader Nathan Sags attended the WWE Super Show-Down event on Saturday in Melbourne, Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground and sent the following report.
The MCG is a huge venue and the setup was a little strange. It’s probably not the best venue for crowd interaction at a show like this. The G has two big screens, but because one is behind the area where WWE set up as their stage, it wasn’t in use. Not only that, the screen they used above their stage was small and partially blocked by their rigging equipment.
We were seated first level in the stands facing the entrance ramp (as in way back from commentary). Even from our slightly elevated position you couldn’t see a single wrestler make their entrance so I pity everyone on the actual ground in front of us. The ramp way just wasn’t elevated enough. And they insisted on showing standard video for entrances. Whenever they cut to a live shot on the screen the crowd reacted.
The crowd was generally into the action but as the MCG is so huge by the time a chant really picked up on one side it just didn’t carry to the other side. It was a pretty tame audience. I think there were some mic issues though, as the ring mic seemed to come and go which was a shame. It definitely helps the spectacle when you hear what you’re seeing.
New Day vs. The Bar had a good crowd reaction including the only decent ‘you are a wanker’ chant directed at Sheamus when he noticed we were counting along to his punches and stopped. Decent match.
Side note: it’s so weird the efforts they go to to not do the ‘scheduled for one fall’ in a moment a crowd can react to. It seems harmless to me, but anyway… They were doing it while entrance music was playing all night.
Becky Lynch was clearly favourite against Charlotte with the crowd. The Becky chant was solid. Kind of disappointing finish. One could say rolling through a spear for a quick pin was a fluke and now she takes a DQ. Meh. Charlotte Reigns must look strong, I guess.
Elias got a great reaction for saying local sports team Collingwood (you either support or completely detest them) choked in the final last week. Cena and his LEGO hair received a loud reaction. I hope the mics picked this up. The match was dull. Lashley has no sympathy at all and I think the whole crowd all knew KO and Elias were playing the role of job squad. Cena’s ‘ni hao’ punch was laugh out loud funny.
The Iiconics received a really muted reaction. I felt for them a bit. I think we were expecting them to heel on us (Sydney girls, and Sydney vs. Melbourne is kind of a thing) but they didn’t. Boy, oh boy, what have they done to Asuka? I think I heard about 20 different people in my area say the same thing. What a waste of a super talent. Naomi’s entrance is always fun. The Iiconics received a nice pop at the end but this was definitely a toilet break match for so many ppl on the ground level filing in and out.
AJ Styles and Samoa Joe were great. The crowd didn’t do them justice in a way, but I think with the stipulation they were waiting for weapons. Table chants kept popping up throughout the match. Really great effort and the reversal of the forearm into the Coquina Clutch got a huge reaction. That was the moment to change it, which I think the crowd wanted. The eventual tap had people in my area disappointed. Great match though
Ronda Rousey received a decent pop. Not much else to say. The argument between Ronda and Nikki Bella over who would start the match wasn’t played well from my seat. I had no idea that’s what happened. At least Brie didn’t knock anyone out. The Brie Mode thing drew boos. So yeah, it was what it was.
The crowd was right behind Buddy Murphy. He and Cedric Alexander got time and with five more minutes this would have been the hottest crowd. Really good action and a hot crowd. The roar when he kicked out of the Lumbar Check was awesome. They had the crowd from there. Really enjoyable.
The Shield match just had no heat. People don’t want to boo any of these guys except Roman Reigns. Dean Ambrose on the apron was a moment, but again they lost the crowd when he attacked Braun Strowman. If he’d attacked Reigns the place would’ve gone nuts. But then he’d be Becky Lynch… anyway that muted the crowd until the eventual win.
Daniel Bryan received a great pop and the yes chants were cool. The match itself was a real WTF. We thought time was an issue or someone was injured.
The crowd really came to life for the video package and entrances. Kane’s without pyro fell flat. The match itself was just ok. It was a little over booked in a way and Shawn Michaels pleading after two chair shots to the back was a little far fetched. Kane came across like a goof, with Michaels constantly interfering and Kane being practically a statue. The respect hand raising didn’t make sense so I was pleased to see an attack, however a good portion of the crowd had already filed out or were on their way so they held that moment a little too long.
Check below for the free audio review of WWE Super Show-Down hosted by Jason Powell and Jake Barnett on the special edition of the Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast.
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