SO I've been back home for about half an hour now, but despite a sore throat and aching hands, I will endeavour to bring you the best report I can.
The arena was pretty full, although there were some empty areas, as well as the tarped off section at the back of the arena. Despite being in the cheapest seats (£29 a ticket), the view was still good and better than I expected considering how little you can see from the top of the similar O2 Arena.
Neither Taz or Mike Tenay were there, so I assume they'll dub the commentary in later. SoCal Val's ringside duties were handled by one of the cameramen.
Jeremy Borash and Christy Hemme started by hyping the crowd up, before introducing Dixie Carter who did her usual spiel about how she's going to cry and how she's so grateful to all the fans who turned up. Dixie thanked SJM Concerts for helping them put the show on.
February 2nd Show:
The show started out with Bully Ray and Bobby Roode coming out and saying how they put Jeff Hardy through a table, and he wasn't able to make it. This made me laugh as the episode hasn't actually aired over here yet, but it seemed like most people went along with it anyway. They then run down England a bit, with Roode pretending that he thought he was in Ireland. Both James Storm and Sting entered shortly after, with Sting making a four way title match for the Pay-Per-View with Roode defending against Hardy, Storm and Ray. Storm then challenged Roode and Ray to singles matches, and Sting made both of them for tonight. Good, strong opening segment between the four men.
Crowd chanted "We Want Devon" at Ray. Another funny bit with Ray shielding Roode's ears so he wouldn't hear the boos.
Magnus/Joe vs Crimson/Morgan was up next in a Buckingham Brawl match. Joe and Magnus won the toss and weren't forced to tag in and out. Massive boos for the champions, unfortunately it was go away heat rather than normal heat. Not surprising as Crimson has been booed nonstop on the tour. Magnus got the pin following their Snapmare/Elbow drop move.
The champs were treated to chants of "Who Are Ya?" as they headed backstage.
Haskins was once again introduced as being from the location of the show, rather than from Oxford, but the crowd was still about 65/35 in favour of Aries. Haskins is no longer trying to look Kurt Cobain and wrestled in normal trunks. Good X Division style match that finished when Haskins missed the Shooting Star Press, then got hit with a brainbuster that Aries turned into his Horns Of Aries submission.
I don't think that Haskins botched the SSP at all, but I'll have to see it again on TV to know for certain.
The Storm/Roode match was a strong affair from the two has is the norm when the former partners are in the ring together. It was a back and forth affair, which ended as Ray distracted Storm as he set up for the Last Call. Roode then hit Storm with a spear to pin him. Storm took the spear the same way he takes the Gore, where he flies off in a random direction. After the match, Roode lay the title on the mat before Bully Ray hit Storm with a Uranage on top of the belt.
Sting then came out and ran them off before they could do anymore damage.
I could hardly hear anything during the next segment due to the massive booing and chants including "Fuck off Bischoff", "Shut the fuck up" and a number of things about Mrs Bischoff. I couldn't believe that they'd pretend Garett was on the phone in the middle of the ring, it seemed so stupid.
There was also an audible "Hogan" chant for quite a while during the segment that I'm sure was picked up.
Tara/Gail was up next and was a reasonably strong showing. There was one point where they messed up, which caused the dreaded "You fucked up" chant.
Not a bad showing, and IMO, a lot better than Gail's re-debut match against Gail a couple of months ago.
Another strong match. Ray mainly targeted Storm's mid-section which he had taped up following the Uranage earlier. Roode came out during the match, but Sting quickly followed with the trademark baseball bat in hand. Roode attempted to get involved when the three men in the ring were down, but Sting chased him off. Storm then hit the Last Call for the win.
Numerous chants about Ray's weight during the match, as well as a return for the "We Want Devon" chant.
Now came time for the reveal. Garett came out, but was interrupted by Eric, with Gunner in tow. Similar chants as the previous segment between the Bischoffs. Eric said they had backstage spies (Yes, really), and that they hadn't seen Garett's trainer anywhere. Hulk Hogan then entered to an absolutely massive reaction. Pretty much everybody on their feet, and for most of his promo as well. I really hope that TV does it justice.
February 9th Show:
The second half of the taping started with Daniels Vs AJ. Very enjoyable match with the usual spots. Daniels was thwarted the first time he attempted to use the brass knuckles. AJ then got hit with them as he had Daniels up for the powerbomb.
Nice match between the two with what seemed like a reasonable amount of time. The crowd made their appreciation clear with a "This is awesome" chant.
Bully Ray then came out for a promo. He called out Roode and confronted him on the aisle. They teased dissension between the two as Ray asked Roode why he didn't have his back. They were interrupted by Sting as he said they would have to get on the same page as they're in a tag match against James Storm and..................Sting. Big reaction for the match announcement.
The Icon also mentioned that at Against All Odds, he would be the special guest enforcer so as to keep control in the match.
Next up was an X Division three way between the returning Douglas Williams, Alex Shelley and Austin Aries. All three got similar reactions as they entered. Typical fast-paced match from the three, which ended when Williams hit the Chaos Theory suplex on Shelley, before a low blow from Aries as he bridged the suplex into a pin. Aries then went to hit the brainbuster on Shelley before Shelley reversed it into the Sliced Bread #2.
Strong promo from the challengers as Magnus handled the talking. The champs answered and took it to Joe and Magnus. Joe pulled Magnus from the ring before he fell victim to the Double chokeslam.
It appears Magnus took a number of lessons from Mick Foley as there was the Foley-esque cheap pops by mentioning London numerous times.
Velvet Vs Mickie was up next and was a pretty uneventful match up, apart from what I felt where the sees being sown for a heel turn by James. She used the old not-letting-go-of-the-handshake move and appeared to be arguing with Brian Hebner about the result as they went up the ramp. Whether this happens or not remains to be seen.
Next, Hogan and Garett out for a promo. Similar reaction when Hogan came out, but when he mentioned Garett, it illicited a mixed response. Eric then entered with Gunner, but once again, it was hard to make out exactly what he was saying due to the reception he received from the crowd. Hogan then said that Garett was the future of the business (Maybe this is why the Mayans think the world is going to end) and that he had got his good friend Sting to set up a match between Garett and Gunner for the PPV.
The main event was up next, with Sting returning to the ring to team with James Storm against Bobby Roode and Bully Ray. Storm took most of the beatdown before getting the hot tag into Sting, who hit Roode with the Scorpion Death Drop and then placed him in the Scorpion Death Lock. Ray grabbed the title and was going to whack Sting with it, but changed his mind and hoped out of the ring. Roode had no choice but to tap.
After the taping:
Sting got on the microphone and thanked everyone. He said he wasn't sure if this was going to be his last match in the UK, especially as he had just felt something in his right heel "blow". The crowd responded with chants of "Please Come Back", "You're a legend", and "You've still got it" during the tag team main event.
At that point, Storm and Sting were jumped by Ray and Roode. Kurt Angle's music then hit and he got a massive pop when he first entered, but this quickly turned to boos when he started putting the boots to Storm.
Hogan's music then hit. He pointed the finger and shouted "YOU!!!" at the three heels before laying them out with punches. The Hulkster also managed to pull off "Big" boots on Ray and Angle.
Hogan then celebrated in the ring for five minutes or so, before JB thanked everyone for coming and wished them a safe journey home.
Notes:
The crowd was lively throughout, despite most people being in the arena for about four hours in the end.
The ringside barriers were the kind you would get at a music concert, which isn't surprising considering that SJM Concerts helped put the show on. There was a crazy surge whenever some one would enter as everyone tried to get up close. It looked quite dangerous.
The merchandise at the show was pretty bad. There was very little selection, with Roode's most recent t shirt not making an appearance. A WWE Basics-style t shirt took its place. The lack of any type of Anderson shirt left many disgruntled from what I could hear. The lack of sizes was also disappointing as they only had kids shirts left before the show had even started. The prices was another stalling point as most shirts were priced at £20 which is reasonable for the newer shirts, but shirts such as the Motor City Machine Guns shirt which is priced at £8.50 on the TNA Eurostore was still £20 as well.
Overall:
A brilliant show throughout, with the only let down being the merchandise.
I can't wait to go again.
