Went to the house show in Birmingham last night for the WWE UK Tour, and it was interesting. The show was surprisingly fun given I dislike most of the wrestlers but seeing them live and in person can produce different results. The crowd was very casual and young, too. Half of the fans were little kids and their parents and the other half were my age (early 20s). I kept on hearing “who” for some of the wrestlers, like the Street Profits, Austin Theory, etc. So this wasn’t your weekly Raw Audience. Randy Orton was the most over wrestler on the show. A ton of children (and adults) wearing RK-Bro shirts and their entrance got a massive pop. Although Finn Balor got a bigger pop but less sustained reactions throughout the match.
Damian Priest vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
Fun opener. Everyone was over with Balor being the hottest face and Seth being the hottest heel. Seth’s schtick was really fun and the crowd had a ball booing and laughing at him. I don’t know how it comes off on TV but it works for these house shows. Priest probably needs a bit more work in the booking department but he was fairly popular and could work in a bigger spot if they tried, honestly. ***
John Morrison vs. Austin Theory
Solid house show MATCH. Morrison has a lame gimmick and he tried to get a “snarehole” chant going which failed. Theory did a ton of headlocks and eventually won rather cleanly. **
Carmella vs. Liv Morgan
Another fine match. Carmella got rolled up in 5 seconds but she got an immediate rematch after complaining about her mask. Carmella's character work was entertaining to watch and she had some stiff back elbows. Probably the best piece of offence in the match. Liv Morgan had flashy, but flawed offence, and it usually didn’t work in execution. But both had their fans cheering them on. **1/4
RK-Bro vs. The Street Profits vs. The Dirty Dawgs
Like I’ve already stated, RK-Bro were hugely over. Orton comes off as magnetic live and everything he did came off as a big deal. The building was tight and compact so any big reaction doubled in volume. The Street Profits were unimpressive. Dawkings had a cold tag that was quickly cut off and Ford wasn’t really over either. I continue not to see anything in Ford and seeing him live didn’t help with that. Roode came off well. He is a solid professional and had one of the better performances of the night. ***1/4
Reggie vs. Drake Maverick
Spud was heel, which is odd considering it’s Birmingham but he got the crowd against him quickly by saying that he had actually done something unlike the rest of the people from here and then complained that they didn’t cheer him after the match. That was funny. *1/4
Becky Lynch vs. Doudrop vs. Bianca Belair
Doudrop looked really good in the match despite being the clear pin taker. Neither Becky nor Belair could suplex her and her splashes were put over strongly. She had a small fanbase section in the crowd but obviously Becky got the biggest reaction. The heel turn isn’t taking and she didn’t get booed until she made “Yam, Yam” jokes. She was very similar to Seth in how performative her heel schtick was but it came off really unnatural to me. She isn’t good as a heel, especially a chickenshit heel at that. Bianca Belair’s athleticism really shines when you’re in the building. ***
Big E vs. Bobby Lashley
Short and sweet. None of the fluff that street fights have with the tables, kendo sticks and chairs being brought out very quickly. Lashley was over with the men and Big E had the kids on his side. Both went through the tables and went home. My favourite match of the night. ***1/2
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