Warning: Contains Spoilers!
And now, a countdown of the Top 10 Moments for me personally while in Fayetteville, NC last night for SmackDown/ECW.
10- Gordon Solie Announced As Hall Of Fame Inductee
I was predicting it would be the Brooklyn Brawler. My friend, SW said it would be a broadcaster. Well, he was right and I couldn’t agree more with the selection.
9- Kevin Thorn: Action Ring Crew Man!
Ever wonder what you’re favorite midcarders are doing when they’re not on TV? In the case of ECW’s resident ventrue, Kevin Thorn it’s being a member of the ring crew. A friend of mine, Yuk was also working as a ring crew member last night so a special shoutout to him as well. However, Thorn was there and he did not look happy. In fact, he looked down right angry about something. Whenever he would pass by, I would yell, “You rock, Thorn!” but he just ignored me. The one time he didn’t was when I yelled, “Hey, Mordecai!” at him. He was less than thrilled to say the least.
8- At Least Michael Hayes Still Likes Me
At one point in between matches, Michael Hayes and Bruce Prichard could be seen standing near the stage. Those of us who noticed him quickly pointed him out and starting yelling, “Freebirds.” He gave a friendly wave to us and went back to talking to Bruce. Unfortunetly, my, “Brother Love,” chant didn’t get anywhere.
7- The M Stands For Trip
Montel Vontavious, “MVP,” Porter took part in the post-SmackDown match and afterwards was walking back to the stage to exit. He was favoring his aching body from the fight and we were all yelling at him. At around the time I yelled at him not to fall down, he looked at me and then proceeded to almost trip and fall down. Fans went from booing to laughing and it was great. Porter’s a pro though and he rolled with it nicely.
6- Eve Torres’ Manly Handshake
After the Water Balloon fight on SmackDown, Eve (special guest referee) was walking back to the stage and we all reached out for high fives. Among the high fivers was myself. Eve had other plans however, as she gripped my hand but good. So I returned the favor and the result was a nice, firm mutual handshake.
5- Being Used As A Landmark
Upon taking my seat in front of the stage, other people close by started talking on their cellphones to whomever. There were various points where I would hear things like, “look for the guy with the pink hat, that’s where we’re at,” and so on. You’re welcome, people!
4- Open The Floodgates To The Bathroom
Waiting in line can be a restless situation. Waiting in line with some thousands of people, about half of which have to piss can be even more restless. So when the doors finally open to let us in, did we look at the merchandise? Did we get drinks or nachos or try to find our seats? No! We raced to the bathroom and let me tell ya…that was far more entertaining than Batista Vs. Snitsky. The bathroom wound up getting one of the bigger face pops of the evening.
3- Colin Gives The Thumbs Up To My Sign
Now, I had quite a few signs last night. The Kace sign, the Dana Fairbanks sign, the Save TiBette sign and so on. But the sign that got the seal of approval from one of the wrestlers was, “Go Colin!” I was the only one there with a sign for Colin Delaney and caught some flack for it earlier while waiting in line. Much of my argument for cheering for a guy like Delaney to the fan wound up being emphasised far more epically by Tommy Dreamer on ECW. As ECW goes off the air, Colin shows up to force Chavo Guerrero Jr. back into the ring so he can be beat on some more by the battle royal wrestlers for this Sunday’s WrestleMania. Afterwards, he sees the sign and gives me the thumbs up. That was just cool.
2- Ric Flair In Fayetteville, One More Time
With SmackDown off the air, the ring crew guys quickly disassembled the end segment setup in the ring and made it a regular wrestling ring again. Our match…Dave Batista, The Undertaker and Ric Flair Vs. Montel Vontavious Porter, the Big Show and Edge. Normally for the post show match, people start to leave…but not this one! This was Ric Flair! And considering what’s on the line at WrestleMania this Sunday, people wanted to see and appreciate Flair while they still could. The, “Woo’s,” were rampant. The fans were great and the performers were pros. Flair wins with the Figure Four and it’s over. Undertaker did a nice tribute to Flair in the ring by having the Flair theme interrupted with the UT theme and UT getting to his knees and pointing at Flair with a, “thank you.” Flair gave a nice, short speech about what Fayetteville has meant to his career, including the fact that every other Monday Night for sixteen years, he would be there with Crockett Promotions. And as he left the ring, we all yelled various compliments and thank yous.
1- Michelle Gets The Pink Fedora
You’ll probably not see this occur on SmackDown, but I don’t care. Throughout the evening, I was rockin’ out in the pink fedora that I had bought at a dollar store weeks before. Then came the water balloon fight. After that was over with and Eve and the others had passed by, here came Michelle McCool and Cherry. We all waved at them and I used my hat to do so. Michelle sees the hat and comes over. “You want me to wear the hat?” Who am I to say no? I gave her the hat and she looked far better with it on than I ever could. So if you see Michelle in a pink fedora anytime soon, just remember…I gave her that hat. And it rocked…and Michelle McCool rocks. So there!
Overall, it was a fantastic time last night and next time WWE’s in town for TV, dang right I’ll be going back.
