Date: Monday 07 November 2011
The WWE Smackdown Superstars are in town, so it is a good opportunity to see the guys in live action, rather than on the television, whilst they are in the country on the European Tour.
With Little SBI changed, we are all ready to make our way, so we get to our stop in Stallings Lane, and after a few minutes wait, in which we look at the redecorating progress of The British Oak, our NXWM's service 257 arrives and we make the trip to Stourbridge. After passing through Kingswinford and Wall Heath, we arrive in Stourbridge and we have a few steps to walk from our temporary stop to the NXWM Service 9 stop, but Little SBI carries on to the layover stop and tells the driver to hurry up, he must be excited! Whilst we are waiting the Pensnett Garage drivers are having a joke with the woman driver, they point at something on the entrance and she subsequently bends over to have a closer look, I catch one of the male drivers having a cheeky look at her cheeks (so to speak). Its not long after our NXWM Service 9 pulls up and we board ready to make our way to Birmingham, Mrs SBI decides to have a little joke by sitting upstairs, normally I don't mind this as it keeps Little SBI happy, but I cannot bend very well as I have a big belt around my waist limiting bendiness!!!
We make our way through Halesowen and Quinton, and eventually we arrive in Broad Street in Birmingham, and I have to guess when to press the button to get off for the hotel, and luckily I correctly guess as when we alight, the Birmingham Central Travelodge is virtually opposite. We check in, and we can go to our room which is on the fifth floor and drop our bags off and give my waist a rest by taking off my belt for a couple of hours. After dropping our stuff off, we head back onto Broad Street, where we catch the bus for a short trip into the City, and we alight at Colmore Row. We decide to look for food before having a quick look around the shops, and so we head to JD Wetherspoons, "The Square Peg", where we feed ourselves, bet you can't guess what I had? We have a few minutes so that the food can go down, and we spend a little time looking around a couple of shops before heading back to Colmore Row and getting NXWM's service 9 for a short journey back to our hotel.
We have a little rest back at the hotel before we get ready for the main event of the day. We eventually leave the hotel at around 5.00pm and catch the bus back into the city where we alight at Colmore Row and walk to Moor Street to get NXWM's service 900 to Birmingham International Railway Station. It takes us about 45 minutes to get there due to the peak traffic from the city, we alight at Birmingham International and now we have to try and find the LG Arena, our host for the WWE Smackdown Tour tonight. As we are in the bus station we spot a few men dressed up as WWE characters, so we decide to follow them, seeing one of them as disguised himself as "Papa Shango", I decide to show off my belt. We make our way upstairs and head towards the NEC, we have to turn right before we reach there and have a short walk to the LG Arena. I get a few looks off the kids passing as they make there way to the arena, I think they like my belt, I also get a few good comments from the adults, or should I say big kids attending the show too.
We arrive at the LG Arena, and after we have our tickets scanned we are inside and first of all a trip to the toilet is needed, and Little SBI is eager to get to the merchandise stand. Little SBI wants everything from John Cena Armbands to a Sin Cara Mask, but he does eventually opt for a John Cena T-Shirt, and we throw in a show programme as well. I have to have a shirt as well and I opt for a "Christian's Hit The Switch" T-shirt. Mrs SBI feels left out, so she gets herself a Sheamus T-Shirt. After we spend all of my money, we make our way to our seats, but Little SBI changes into his John Cena T-shirt first, we eventually find the stairs for Block 1, and we climb the stairs to find our seats. The usher informs us that our seats have been changed and we find ourselves in better seats with a better view. I decide to follow Little SBI's enthusiasm and change into my Christian top, and whilst doing this the fans behind me decide to check out my belt and find that I must be strong as they also feel the weight of it. It is not long before the show starts and as the lights dim, we prepare ourselves for our first live WWE event, what we didn't prepare for is the pyrotechnics that go off and what makes it worse for us is that they are virtually in front of us. After we have our heart attacks we keep our eyes on the entrance and see who is the first to wrestle....
William Regal Versus Daniel Bryan
The first match of the night is between William Regal, one of the British wrestlers who is signed to the WWE, and the American Daniel Bryan, one of the newer signings to the WWE. The match demonstrates a lot of the classic scientific moves, William Regal scores the pin, he had to really seeing as he is the Brit. After the match Regal gets the microphone, thanking his opponent for a good match, and it turns out that Daniel Bryan was one of the many wrestlers that have been trained by Regal (on later research, it turns out that Regal has trained many of the superstars who are appearing tonight). Regal also thanked Robbie Brookside, who was in tonight's audience, for training him, all them years ago.
Jinder Mahal Versus Johnny Curtis
The second match is about to start, and Johnny Curtis is making his way to the ring. As he is halfway down the aisle, Jinder Mahal runs down and attacks him from behind. He pulls Johnny into the ring where he attacks him a bit more. At this point a medic makes his way to the ring and it looks like Jinder won't be wrestling a proper match. Mick Foley's ring music starts blaring out, and the audience are surprised that Mick Foley is making an appearance, his first in a very long time for the WWE. Foley grabs a microphone and talks to the crowd, and then he calls out Curtis' replacement and Tyson Kidd makes his way to the ring, and the bell rings and Kidd wrestles Mahal. The match finishes and is won by Tyson Kidd after outside interference from Mick Foley.
Tamina Versus AJ (with guest referee Aksana)
Next up was a WWE divas match, with the main divas in Liverpool for the RAW tour, and television taping, we have Tamina and AJ with the match being refereed by Aksana. This match was a slow match and it didn't cause a lot of reaction judging by the audience being quiet for most of the match.
Christian Versus Sheamus
The last match before a break, and so Christian's music blared out and he came down to the ring. His opponent was about to come down to the ring, and as his music started, Mrs SBI started to scream, one of her favourites was on his way to the ring, the flame haired Sheamus. After my hearing came back, the match had started, and it was also a funny start as Christian and Sheamus had a bit of banter going. As Christian had took his shirt off and about to throw it to the audience, Sheamus grabbed it and wiped it on his bottom. He then held it up like a matador, and Christian got in the act as he bent down as if he was a bull about to charge. Shenanigans over, and the wrestling started, throughout the match, the crowd and Mrs SBI were chanting for Sheamus, I was in the minority and I was cheering on Christain. After a fast moving match, Sheamus got the pin, and Mrs SBI had a big smile on her face.
It is time for a break in proceedings, and Mrs SBI decides she feels left out so she is the first to go for a toilet break and then change into her Sheamus t-shirt. Little SBI and myself wait so that we don't lose our seats, so after ten minutes Mrs SBI returns and Little SBI and myself have the opportunity to go for a toilet break, and we dash as I am desperate to go. After the toilet break I get some more liquid refreshment and we make our way back to our seats, we time it right, as soon as we take our seats the second half of the show begins....
Sin Cara Vs Yoshi Tatsu
Time for the next match, and it was Sin Cara's and Yoshi Tatsu's turn to wow the crowds. Sin Cara had entered the ring in his high flying way, and as Yoshi was waiting in the ring, Sin Cara had gone to the crowd, picked up a home made poster and took it to the ring and ripped it up. It turned out that this was the evil Sin Cara, in the Goody Sin Cara's ring attire. After the bell had rung, the two lighter weighted wrestlers gave us a good fast match with high flying moves. It was Sin Cara who got the pin.
Ted Dibiase & Randy Orton Vs Cody Rhodes & Wade Barrett
Next up was a tag-team match, and the first team to come down was Cody Rhodes and Mancunian born Wade Barrett. For the other side, Ted Dibiase made his way to the ring, and as he is about to enter the ring, Wade and Cody attempt to double team him even before the match had started. Ted turned around to the curtains to signal his partner to come down. Randy Orton's music blared from the main speakers and very loud screams blared from Mrs SBI's mouth, her other favourite wrestler is on the show, and my ears are definitely going to need some medical attention in the morning! After a well thought match, there was only going to be one winner, and after RKO'ing his opponents, Randy Orton and Ted Dibiase get the win. As the RKO was about to be used, so was Mrs SBI's vocal chords again. If I come to another WWE live event with her, I will have to bring some ear plugs!
Big Show Vs Mark Henry
Time for the last match and the main event. It is a World Heavyweight Championship match between the current champion, Mark Henry and The Big Show. They both make their entrances, with the crowd booing Henry and cheering for the Big Show. The Big Show is a bit of a joker who has always got a smile on his face. As he climbs onto the ring edge, he holds onto the ropes before giving a "booty shake" and entering the ring. Before the bell rings, the referee does his final checks, and ensures that there aren't no hidden weapons hidden on the wrestlers. After the Big Show is checked, he plays another joke by turning round, sticking his bottom out and asking the referee if he wants to ensure that nothing is hidden there. The belt is held high in the air by the referee before the bell rings. Despite the size of both wrestlers, the match is quite a good one. Seeing as this is a house show, the championship rarely changes hands as it is not televised, so we know that the Big Show cannot win by pin fall. The Big Show does win the match though, by disqualification after Mark Henry gets a steel chair and hits the big show with it in full view of the referee.
After the main event finishes, we have fifteen minutes to get back to the bus stops at Birmingham International, so we make a dash, and luckily the doors are open by our block entrance, so we save a few minutes walk, we head back to the National Exhibition Centre, and along the main walkways back to the station, we arrive at the bus stops just as NXWM's Service 900 pulls up to take us back to Birmingham. After half an hour, we arrive in Moor Street, Birmingham, so we walk through the Bull Ring, where we pass the bull glistening in the moonlight. We are feeling peckish, so we make our way around to The Pallasades to have a crafty McDonald's before we go back to the hotel. After we have eaten, we walk up to Colmore Row to catch the bus back to the hotel, as we arrive, NXWM's Service 9 pulls off. We think that this is the last bus, but upon closer inspection, we discover that there is one more. We wait at the stop for about ten minutes, when a NXWM Service 126 pulls up. We decide to jump on this as it goes past the hotel. After about five minutes we arrive back at the hotel, where we go straight to bed. In the morning, we will make our way back home, that is after sampling one of J D Wetherspoons tasty fried breakfasts!
A good day out and a new experience by watching WWE live rather than on television. I certainly enjoyed it and I think Little SBI thoroughly enjoyed it, the best part of the evening for Mrs SBI was the appearances by her favourites, Sheamus and Randy Orton. The WWE normally makes two trips to the UK each year, and after tonight's WWE experience, I think a visit to the next live show is definitely on the cards.
Jinder Mahal Versus Johnny Curtis
The second match is about to start, and Johnny Curtis is making his way to the ring. As he is halfway down the aisle, Jinder Mahal runs down and attacks him from behind. He pulls Johnny into the ring where he attacks him a bit more. At this point a medic makes his way to the ring and it looks like Jinder won't be wrestling a proper match. Mick Foley's ring music starts blaring out, and the audience are surprised that Mick Foley is making an appearance, his first in a very long time for the WWE. Foley grabs a microphone and talks to the crowd, and then he calls out Curtis' replacement and Tyson Kidd makes his way to the ring, and the bell rings and Kidd wrestles Mahal. The match finishes and is won by Tyson Kidd after outside interference from Mick Foley.
Tamina Versus AJ (with guest referee Aksana)
Next up was a WWE divas match, with the main divas in Liverpool for the RAW tour, and television taping, we have Tamina and AJ with the match being refereed by Aksana. This match was a slow match and it didn't cause a lot of reaction judging by the audience being quiet for most of the match.
Christian Versus Sheamus
It is time for a break in proceedings, and Mrs SBI decides she feels left out so she is the first to go for a toilet break and then change into her Sheamus t-shirt. Little SBI and myself wait so that we don't lose our seats, so after ten minutes Mrs SBI returns and Little SBI and myself have the opportunity to go for a toilet break, and we dash as I am desperate to go. After the toilet break I get some more liquid refreshment and we make our way back to our seats, we time it right, as soon as we take our seats the second half of the show begins....
Sin Cara Vs Yoshi Tatsu
Time for the next match, and it was Sin Cara's and Yoshi Tatsu's turn to wow the crowds. Sin Cara had entered the ring in his high flying way, and as Yoshi was waiting in the ring, Sin Cara had gone to the crowd, picked up a home made poster and took it to the ring and ripped it up. It turned out that this was the evil Sin Cara, in the Goody Sin Cara's ring attire. After the bell had rung, the two lighter weighted wrestlers gave us a good fast match with high flying moves. It was Sin Cara who got the pin.
Ted Dibiase & Randy Orton Vs Cody Rhodes & Wade Barrett
Big Show Vs Mark Henry
After the main event finishes, we have fifteen minutes to get back to the bus stops at Birmingham International, so we make a dash, and luckily the doors are open by our block entrance, so we save a few minutes walk, we head back to the National Exhibition Centre, and along the main walkways back to the station, we arrive at the bus stops just as NXWM's Service 900 pulls up to take us back to Birmingham. After half an hour, we arrive in Moor Street, Birmingham, so we walk through the Bull Ring, where we pass the bull glistening in the moonlight. We are feeling peckish, so we make our way around to The Pallasades to have a crafty McDonald's before we go back to the hotel. After we have eaten, we walk up to Colmore Row to catch the bus back to the hotel, as we arrive, NXWM's Service 9 pulls off. We think that this is the last bus, but upon closer inspection, we discover that there is one more. We wait at the stop for about ten minutes, when a NXWM Service 126 pulls up. We decide to jump on this as it goes past the hotel. After about five minutes we arrive back at the hotel, where we go straight to bed. In the morning, we will make our way back home, that is after sampling one of J D Wetherspoons tasty fried breakfasts!
A good day out and a new experience by watching WWE live rather than on television. I certainly enjoyed it and I think Little SBI thoroughly enjoyed it, the best part of the evening for Mrs SBI was the appearances by her favourites, Sheamus and Randy Orton. The WWE normally makes two trips to the UK each year, and after tonight's WWE experience, I think a visit to the next live show is definitely on the cards.
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