WWE shows more than meets the eye

One of the most entertaining things are what they call the ‘dark matches’ where matches are put on solely for the live audience in the arena. This Monday night, after RAW went off the air, we got treated to a one-on-one match between John Cena, who had just seen his father beaten down, against the man who did the beating, Randy Orton. The match itself was very short as Cena, who was still cuffed to the bottom rope which he had freed from the turnbuckles, quickly subdued Orton, locking him into the STFU until he passed out.

Last time RAW was in Nashville, the dark match was more entertaining. On that occasion Vince McMahon’s son, Shane McMahon, had a singles match with Cena after the champ had been beaten down by the Great Khali. The match lasted about 20 minutes and saw Shane O’Mac take three separate FU’s after his father kept rolling him back in the ring.

In addition to the dark matches, we also get to see the taping of Heat which is now aired via the Internet. This usually involves midcarders getting some ring work but Monday night the live audience got a special treat as we got to see Hardcore Holly make his return after a long absence due to injury, issuing his Alabama Slam to some jobber.

Another thing which surprised me is the incredible voice Lillian Garcia has. She sang the national anthem just before the show started and she almost rivaled Whitney Houston’s rendition before the Bills-Giants Super Bowl back during the first Gulf War. Great voice and great legs. And, speaking of legs, the lovely Maria does the ‘Kiss Cam’ between matches while the rest of the world is watching a commercial, tempting various members of the live audience to swap slobbers on camera.

A really good thing about Nashville is that there is generally a hot crowd on hand, meaning they are loud and into almost all the matches. Hot crowds come across well on television and wrestlers also love a hot crowd because they are putting their bodies on the line and like the live reaction. Hot crowds generally secure more regular visits as this was the second visit this year to Nashville by WWE. As was the case last time, it appeared to be a near sell out with only a small portion of the arena covered up.

As for production values, between matches I counted up the number of cameras catching the action. Along with the main still camera which captures most of the ring action, there are three video cameramen stationed around the ring to catch all angles with mobile cameras. There’s also a WWE photographer constantly snapping still images. This isn’t counting another cameraman who is in the back taping skits such as McMahon’s interaction with his new son, Hornswaggle.

But, perhaps the coolest thing about attending a show in person is the crowd itself. The loudest pops of the night came for Cena as there was a healthy mix of both cheers and boos, the women and kids cheering, the guys booing just like everywhere else. And, of course, Triple H got a loud pop as did Jeff Hardy. The heels of the night were Orton, who got a chorus of boos, and McMahon when he threw Hornswaggle out of the ring. And, don’t forget Daivari in his flag match with Hacksaw Jim Duggan. People still love to chant USA at the tops of their lungs while booing the Middle Eastern guy. Hey, it’s been that way since Hulk Hogan and the Iron Sheik.

All in all, it was a good live show. However, if you do go and you’re sitting anywhere near the ring, wear plugs because the pyrotechnics and explosions will have you hearing a dial tone in your ears for a week.