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6/23 SMACKDOWN RESULTS FROM SPRINGFIELD, IL

I went to see the Smackdown World Tour in Springfield, IL last night. It was a very fun experience. I was seated right next to the entrance ramp and had a great view of what was going on in the ring.

Sin Cara def. Hunico (accompanied by Camacho)
Typical Sin Cara match with what you have been seeing from these two on television. Hunico and Camancho came out on the lowrider bike.

The Usos def Darren Young and Titus O'Neal (accompanied by AW)
The Prime Time Players had blue tights rather than the yellow they wore on Smackdown.on Friday. Titus O'Neal was yelling at the crowd afterwards that they were cheated. Good, but short, tag team match. Half of the crowd was chanting Uso and the other half was chanting You Suck, and it blended together from where I was sitting.

The ring announcer told the crowd to text a number to vote on the stipulation for the World Heavyweight Championship match: Street Fight or 2 out of 3 falls.

Damien Sandow came out and cut a promo calling the fans ignorant and dirty minded delinquents. A few fans popped at being called dirty delinquents in the rows in front of me.

Sandow def. Yoshi Tatsu.
The match was basically a squash. Yoshi Tatsu had little to no offense in the match.

There was a promo from Cody Rhodes promoting the upcoming Intercontinental title match on the mini-trons. Cody said that sometimes you have to take the opportunities given to you and not wait for the next Monday Night Raw. Loud chorus of boos.

Alicia Fox def. Natalya. Kaitlyn was the special guest referee.
Natalya was playing the heel, but the few chants going on were pro Natalya.

Alberto del Rio cut a promo on the mini-trons as well talking about taking the WHC from Sheamus.

Antonio Cesaro (accompanied by Aksana) def. Tyson Kidd.
Man, I really wish they would push Kidd more. This was a great match and I really love watching Tyson Kidd wrestle.

Teddy Long comes into the ring to announce the stipulation for the World Heavyweight Championship match. The match ended up being a Street Fight. He makes like he is going to announce the entrants for the match but Ricardo Rodriguez runs out and interrupts him.

Sheamus def. Alberto del Rio. for the World Heavyweight Championship
The match spilled into the crowd several times as well as having action up and down the ramp. Several spots with kendo sticks and chairs. Afterwards, Sheamus spent a lot of time with the fans on the Ramp and the areas surrounding it.

There was a brief intermission before the rest of the matches took place.

Heath Slater came out and cut a promo saying that Cyndi Lauper, Roddy Piper, and "that other girl I didn't know" embarrassed him on RAW. He begins to sing his hit single, but Ryback's music hits.

Ryback def. Heath Slater.
Ryback actually got a decent crowd reaction. There were a few scattered people trying to get Goldberg chants started that didn't take.

Christian def. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship
There was a segment where Cody kept retreating and going up the ramp like he was going to quit because the fans were booing him. Christian got on the mic and said that Cody really wasn't going to like it once his peeps in Springfield started chanting Cody sucks. Decent back and forth match between these two and in all honesty, some of it was better than what I had been seeing on TV recently from these two. I still hope to see Cody get in the Money in the Bank match but after Smackdown I'm thinking they are just going to have Christian and Cody continue to feud.

CM Punk def. Kane and Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship.
Punk was ridiculously over due to the close proximity to Chicago. Kane also got a decent crowd response. Bryan received more boos and "no" chants than anything but there were still a few people chanting yes. Kane yet again had the advantage but AJ came out (sans Kane mask) and skipped around the ring, distracting Kane and allowing Punk to pick up the victory. People in my section were openly staring at the ramp waiting for AJ to come out so it was no real surprise. Punk also spent a lot of time with the fans after the match.

Other notes:
The arena was only 3/4ths full and tickets were still for sale when I entered.
I was expecting the promos on the mini-trons on the main stage because of earlier house show reports on the website, but I wasn't expecting the "choose the stipulation" for the WHC mach. Maybe they are testing for the interactive portions for the 3 hour RAWs. Evidently WWE also did this at the RAW house show because Ziggler was trying to get people to vote for 2 out of 3 falls for his match on Twitter.

Overall, it was a fun experience and I will probably come back to see the house show the next time they are in Springfield. Of course, if they keep bringing all the people I want to see and leaving John Laurinitis and Cena on the other house shows, it's not going to be a hard choice to pull the trigger on the tickets.

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