Here’s my running commentary — 10 Thoughts style — from Section 308 at WWE Fatal Fourway, live from the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, NY:
1. There is nothing like seeing people tailgate before a wrestling show. We saw more makeshift beer pong tables walking into the Nassau Coliseum than can be seen at one of the local LI campuses on a Friday night. The line is a little long to get into the arena as I write this, looks like an energetic crowd, which is encouraging. Also, I am glad to see the NY tradition of pre-show Ric Flair “Woooooooos” is still alive and well.
2. We are now waiting for the PPV to start and we get a bonus/dark match. Long Island native Zack Ryder comes out to some pop, but quickly catches heat when cutting the typical heel promo: “Yes, I’m from Long Island like all of you, but I made it and you didn’t.” (Paraphrasing) He also says something about his spray tan, then beats MVP in a very quick match.
Onto the PPV show…
3. My money is on R-Truth’s “What’s Up” being the requisite crowd-pleasing curtain-jerker to kick things off. And I was… wrong by a mile, as Vince McMahon came out to recap the NXT attack on Bret Hart.
Also of note: During the NXT-Hart recap and throughout Vince’s segment, several “Daniel Bryan” chants broke out in the live audience.
4. Kofi Kingston got a huge pop before, during, and after his match with Drew McIntyre. Also, props to Section 308 for starting an amusing “Drew Can’t Wrestle” chant that reverberated throughout the upper level.
The crowd was buzzing for this whole match, and Teddy Long got one of the best opening match pops I’ve ever heard live when he refused to finish the three count as Drew covered Kofi.
5. The Divas Match caused a mass exodus to the concession stands. A chant of “Bathroom Break” even broke out in our section. It’s sad to see Gail Kim so grossly mismanaged and underutilized in WWE.
Funny moment: When Alicia Fox and Maryse were nose to nose. a brief but hilarious “HLA” chant came through. Take that PG audience!
6. Chris Jericho got a huge face pop when he came out. No matter what he said, he was way over with the crowd. The “Let’s go Evan / Let’s go Jericho” chants were tremendous. Match of the Night so far, at least in person.
Lingering thought: This was a big win for Evan Bourne on a PPV against a tough live crowd in an unadvertised match. He got himself over (with help from Jericho I’m sure) by the time they got to the finish, even with all of the diehard Jerichoholics in the arena.
7. Rey winning the Big Gold Belt caused a huge pop after a slightly flat reaction during the World Heavyweight Championship match. I personally think Swagger lost the title way too early, but I’m sure they were going with a crowd-pleasing / PG-friendly result, and that’s what they got.
Lingering thought: Also, when WWE advertised “Anything can happen” and “25 percent chance” of retaining in their Fatal Fourway PPV promos, we all knew titles would change and that it likely wouldn’t be Cena who lost. We’ll see if that prediction holds true or if Cena drops the title in the main event.
One more sidenote: I can’t wait for Rey vs. Kaval vs. Evan Bourne vs. Hornswoggle on the next episode of Half-Pint Brawlers!
8. The Miz was awesome (no pun intended) in his pre-match promo mocking / imitating R-Truth’s entrance with his own lyrics. Even though it’s not a very face thing to do, I thought R-Truth should have changed the script and jumped Miz from behind (or ran to the ring to fight right away), rather than us having to sit through his theme music for a second time. Good if predictable match with Miz retaining the U.S. title.
9. Shades of Superfly Jimmy Snuka from Tamina! (though she missed) That’s the only thing I took out of that match in person, but I’m sure it served its purpose on TV in the “pre-main event appetizer” slot.
10. Now that was an electric main event from the introductions all the way through to the finish. Sheamus winning was definitely a surprise, and it really drove home the aforementioned “Anything can happen” / “25 percent chance” themes they heavily promoted. I just didn’t think they would go all the way with it and have Cena lose too.
Extra Thoughts…
11. The NXT graduates generated heat with the crowd, but it was too much of a repeat of what we’ve already seen. Also, it seemed like the main event match was cut too short when it ended at 10:36 pm, so many folks in our section thought the last few minutes dragged on and that Cena’s final promo was a big misfire to close out the proceedings.
12. Overall, this was a solid live show and the crowd was really sharp. There was a buzz in the building that was sustained throughout most of the show, with the only real down periods being the Divas Fourway and the pre-main event six-man tag matches.
13. Let me leave you with one last note that has come to be an IWC tradition for these types of columns:
Biggest Pops (live):
1. Randy Orton
2. John Cena
3. Teddy Long (refusing to count to three)
4. Chris Jericho
5. Rey Mysterio (after winning the Big Gold Belt)
Most Heat (live):
1. John Cena
2. Sheamus
3. NXT graduates
4. Drew McIntyre
5. CM Punk
Hope you enjoyed this edition of 10 Thoughts on WWE Fatal Fourway Live!
