WWE Live show results
February 7, 2015
Salt Lake City, Utah
Report by Derrick Hubbard, PWTorch correspondent I attended WWE's matinee live event in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon. Here are the results and some observations.
I would estimate the attendance at around 5,000. This is on par with the last three events I have attended at the Maverick Center in Salt Lake City. Primarily, the crowd consisted of families with many young children.
(1) Dolph Ziggler beat IC champion Wade Barrett in a non title match. Initially, the match was announced for the intercontinental Title. But, Barrett cut a promo at the onset and claimed Ziggler was a new employee and therefore did not deserve a title match. Good match that lasted about 10 minutes. Ziggler got the pin after a superkick and Zig-Zag. As I have noticed before, Dolph's strength is his ability to connect with the crowd. This is clearly apparent when watching him interact with a live crowd.
(2) NXT champion Sami Zayn & Adrian Neville beat The Ascension. While many older fans consider The Ascension act to be a joke, I can say that the younger fans at the live event take Konnor and Viktor seriously. I was surprised how many fans knew Zayn and Neville. The Ascension put the heat on Zayn until the hot tag to Neville. Neville moves at a different speed then the rest of the roster and he wins fans over with his athleticism. He scored the deciding pinfall with the Red Arrow at around the 12-minute mark.
(3) Darren Young pinned Adam Rose with a schoolboy in less than a minute. Rose grabbed a microphone and claimed he would not leave Salt Lake until his hand was raised in victory. Ryback came out to a loud ovation and...
(4) Ryback squashed Adam Rose in less than 30 seconds. Lots of love for Ryback in Salt Lake City. I would guess he received the second loudest ovation of the day.
(5) Naomi & Emma beat Cameron & Summer Rae in Divas tag action. Standard Divas action in this match and better then their usual showings on television. I think they do better when they take their time. Hot tag to Naomi, who scored the pinfall after a Rear View on Summer. The match lasted under 10 minutes.
(6) Randy Orton pinned Kane in less than five minutes. Lukewarm response for Randy Orton. Little fanfare for his in-ring return and a lacking response during the match. Orton defeated Kane with the RKO. Orton posed on all four corners after the match. He did get some love from the crowd in his post-match celebration.
[Intermission]
(7) Sin Cara beat Bo Dallas. Dallas, returning to action like Orton, cut a pre-match promo and generated some additional heat from the live crowd. I think Dallas is a perfect heel character for children. Kids love to boo the guy. Good action in this match. Sin Cara went over strong with a Swanton bomb in about 10 minutes.
(8) Tyson Kidd & Cesaro beat Goldust & Stardust. Prior to the bell, Goldust and Stardust used some fan pandering to win over the live crowd and establish themselves as the babyface team. Interesting, as Goldust received some legacy star love from the crowd in Salt Lake. Okay match with a long heat segment on Stardust. Hot tag to Goldust, who picked up the pace leading to the finish - miscue by Stardust, who accidentally hit his brother with the Disaster Kick allowing Cesaro to get the pinfall.
(9) Daniel Bryan beat Seth Rollins in the main event. Rollins increased the stakes before the match claiming that if he won he would take Bryan's place as Roman Reign's opponent at the Fast Lane PPV. Bryan got the loudest ovation of the night. In Salt Lake, he is truly over with all segments of the crowd. Rollins is a next level heel. He is the only villain on this card who generated legitimate crowd heat. He generates a reaction by doing so little. A glare here, a pose there. The guy has progressed so much in the last year. This was the best match of the evening. I would estimate it went about 15 minutes or so. Bryan got the pinfall victory after avoiding a Curb Stomp and hitting the running knee attack.
