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A DEEP DIVE INTO WWE'S HOLIDAY SHOW AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, CM PUNK'S RETURN, BEHIND THE SCENES NOTES AND MORE

A long time ago, in a Madison Square Garden long since renovated, my father brought my younger brother and myself to our first-ever professional wrestling event, promoted by WWF in the Garden.  They were one of the Christmas gifts that year, tickets sticking out of the stocking that X-Mas morning, although my mother, not adhering to holiday kayfabe out of excitement of knowing what it meant to me to see my first-ever show, quietly told me two days before under orders not to ruin the surprise for my brother.

That evening, we watched as Hulk Hogan in all of his prime and glory wrestled the Mighty Kamala, winning barely by DQ as the entire Garden was SURE Hogan was about to lose after he was hit with the giant splash and nearly pinned.  A lot has been said about Hogan over the years, some of it correct, but no one can ever take away that in that time period, December 1986, in the midst of his first WWF title run, there was no one grander or more important as a performer.  He sold like crazy for Kamala and when it came time for the comeback, the only pop bigger than Hogan pointing that finger at his challenger was the roar that came when he walked out to Real American.

That night was the first time I saw a cavalcade of stars, some legends like Pedro Morales, some soon to be legends like Bret Hart all the way down to undercard talents who don’t get the Internet love but certainly had their roles in either making the stars look good or presenting athletic bouts to start the card off right - names like Terry Gibbs, Siva Afi, Paul Roma and Steve Lombardi.  From The Fabulous Moolah to Blackjack Mulligan to Bobby Heenan to The Honkytonk Man, I can still remember the unique special feel of being immersed in that show, walking out with a George “The Animal” Steele t-shirt and cheering and booing and clapping, being totally washed away and not knowing of anything or anyone else around me, as if the show was only being put on for me, although I was one of a legion who got to lose myself in that moment.

In a lot of ways, one could argue it was one of the best holiday gifts I ever received - I can still remember the exact way my father drove to a municipal parking lot, then walked us to the Long Island Railroad and even the path from the train station underneath to the exact staircase that brought us into the MSG lobby, then the box office, the escalators and finally into the arena.  While my path to the arena has long changed, most times I am there, I still try to walk the same stairs into the building itself, because that’s as much of a tradition to me as anything I see inside the ring when I return to MSG.  Plus, it certainly help nudge me onto the path for what I do for a living, although certainly that wasn't my dad's intentions.  He just wanted us to enjoy a night at the matches.

Last night, World Wrestling Entertainment returned to MSG and while my father and my brother didn’t join me, I sat with friends from three different States as we convened for our annual post-holiday visit to The Garden.  In a lot of ways, things have obviously changed, but in other aspects, things stay the same.  Internally, the company listed the show as sold out, although with the staging, there was no way they could fit as many people into the Garden as that fateful night in December 1986.  There were some sections they *could* have opened theoretically, but that might have exposed fans to being able to view backstage areas below.  However, with price increases and the passing of time, WWE, now owned by Endeavor, had one of, if not their most successful non-televised live events ever when the final gate ends up properly tallied.

None of that matters though, at least to the people in the room where it happens.  On this day in 2023, it could have easily been 1986 or 1963 or any other night where the spotlights rained down on a squared circle, where no one questions the logic or sanity of being tossed into ropes and magically bouncing back in the opposite direction, where good and evil meet head on and for everyone who wishes to believe, they get to do so, without anyone else questioning that moment, because as a community, everyone is there for the same reason.

Sure, some may be talking inside lingo or smart topics, they might break down who had the best match or the best bump or who they love and hate as a person, but the true essence of what a professional wrestling show - no matter who promotes it - should be, was all around me last night.  

There was a young kid, sitting there with his father, leaning against him, trying so hard not to fall asleep because he wanted so badly to see Cody Rhodes.  When it came time for the Bullrope match between Cody and Nakamura, this child jumped up and down so much and sang Cody’s theme with all his heart and soul, then jumped up for every two count and near fall.  He believed, in the best way possible, and all I could think about was how this kid had the same bonding moment with his dad that I got to have so many decades ago - and how I hoped he would remember when he got to my age.

Then, there were the older fans, who might have been young children when CM Punk disappeared from WWE programming in 2014.  These were fans who didn’t care for Twitter drama and backstage fights, they just wanted to see their guy in their ring for their company - and they got what they wanted.  After Punk’s addition to the show helped sell thousands of tickets, those fans came to see their guy, chanting for him before the show and during opening matches, until Cult of Personality finally hit and MSG lost their minds.  I have seen hundreds of CM Punk entrances but never before had I heard the crowd, in unison, scream IT’S CLOBBERING TIME alongside Punk in the volume and manner as they did last night, and again, I was at The First Dance in Chicago, Punk’s hometown.  There were fans last night who got their wish fulfillment, to get to see Punk back - and to have a pretty good showing against Dominik Mysterio.

Then, there were the TV fans, who reacted to so many characters they watched religiously on Raw and Smackdown, who were incredibly over - Jey Uso had the entire Garden dancing, Sami Zayn’s return to MSG brought squeals of excitement, Rhea Ripley commanded the entire Garden every time she appeared, leading on the audience with every devilishly condescending action.  For these fans, they were seeing their heroes and villains appearing and playing out in real time, right before their eyes, something that was engaging and uplifting to them, just as it was to 12-year old Mike Johnson all those ages ago.

I’ve written before about how WWE has tapped into a new and different audience that has risen up, not just an audience of lapsed fans who somehow staggered back into pro wrestling but a group of today’s population, weaned on social media platforms and videos, attracted by the stunts, the acting and the unique pro wrestling storytelling that we all love, groan and debate over.  This is a new generation that has wrapped their hearts and souls around pro wrestling, specifically WWE, that likely aren’t following anything out of the WWE presentation, at least not yet.  They digest and embrace it differently from the generation before them - and there’s nothing wrong with that because each time period, each nuance of pro wrestling is specific for that time period the fans live in - and it’s to create memories for those fans today.  

If older fans still want to be part of that, it’s theirs too, but tonight taught me a very important lesson.  Pro wrestling, more than ever, is no more than athletic pop music and every pop generation is going to be different from what came before, or else it will stagnate.  Hair Metal gave way to Grunge.  Disco gave way to rock.  Techno gave way to electronica.  Pro Wrestling will always be pro wrestling but right now, we are watching it give way and change into whatever it will be tomorrow.

That’s OK, and it’s a good thing, because if it doesn’t, it will stagnate - and many of us have lived through those desolate time periods.  Personally, I’d rather see it grow and evolve and  explode, even if it doesn’t always sing to me 100% of the time.  I just want it to sing so others can live through it vicariously and enjoy it, and for me, a lot of tonight’s show that I truly enjoyed was seeing how it made others react and enjoy, because it brought me back emotionally to when I was that kid in the crowd so happy to seeing so many stars that I’d watch every weekend.

WWE HOLIDAY TOUR AT MSG 2023

Byron Saxton was the ring announcer and emcee for the Holiday Tour Shop, doing a great job at riling up the crowd and interacting with them all night.

WWE had all the holiday graphics for the show you’d expect, as well as a lot of inflatables at the entrance.

After the national anthem, they aired the traditional WWE Then Now Forever Together intro and the Raw TV opening to keep everything standard with the current TV presentation, minus pyro, of which there was none.

WWE had several cameras filming the show and it was noted during the pre-show announcements that portions of the show could air at a later date.

There was a lot of CM Punk merchandise on sale, including a shirt with the 12/26/23 date, denoting it as the night “The Best in the World came home to New York City.”  I am sure Chicago would take umbrage with that!

Chris “Abyss” Park and Robert Roode were among those producing the show.

There was no talk of Paul Levesque or even Vince McMahon being there that I am aware.

The show opened with Becky Lynch, getting a massive pop, pinning Zoey Stark with the Bookend in what was Stark’s first ever match in Madison Square Garden.  Lynch’ star power is ridiculous at this point, as she could have simply reveled in the audience reaction and gotten massive responses to every movement without working anywhere as hard as she did.  Stark is a real workhorse And looked good in all her offense, but this was a feel good show, so the babyface had to win convincingly here.

Kofi Kingston pinned Ludwig Kaiser with Trouble in Paradise.  No other members of New Day or Imperium worked the show and this was Kaiser’s first-ever singles bout in MSG.  In a lot of ways, as the legendary Jess McGrath pointed out last night, Kaiser is the walking embodiment of Lord Steven Regal in terms of expression and body language coming to the ring and interacting with fans.  I don’t believe you can give a better compliment.    Kingston, as always, knew exactly what to do to get the fans involved and timing was dead on.  A good competitive bout.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champs Katana Chance & Kayden Carter defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven.  Green and Niven got some nice heat for their entrance.  This was Green’s MSG debut as well as the Tag Team Champions’ first appearance in the ring in The Garden.  This didn’t click as well as their recent Raw TV bout but it was solid throughout.  The finish saw Chance do a great assisted twisting splash off the top onto Green for the pin.

Omos pinned R-Truth.  MVP came out and knocked NYC for sucking because apparently the props department forgot his cane and his briefcase of money to offer for an Omos open challenge.  So, he put up his Rolex, which was allegedly worth more than the briefcase of money.  R-Truth came out to accept and the crowd was happy to see him.  MVP’s mic work was good as he basically promised every piece of jewelry he ever owned if Truth could even knock Omos off his feet.  Truth tried but it didn’t happen, as Omos scored the pin with a chokeslam in a short bout.

WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley beat Ivy Nile and Shayna Baszler in a Triple Threat match.  Rhea was seen as a STAR when she arrived.  This was Nile’s first MSG appearance and she looked damn good, especially in grappling and reversals against Baszler.  You could feel the crowd getting more and more behind her as the match went on.  This was patterned as your atypical WWE Triple Threat with two competing as the third was on the floor recovering from a big move.  In the end, Baszler locked Nile in a choke but Rhea preyed upon them both, taking out Baszler and scoring the pinfall on the weakened Nile.

They aired a backstage promo from Drew McIntyre where he, correctly, pointed out he was main eventing MSG but wasnt even on the poster.  Well, that sucks.

Undisputed Tag Team Champions Judgement Day defeated Sami Zayn & Jey Uso.  Zayn received a massive reaction that was then dwarfed by Jey Uso.  WWE has really established him as a massive star.  Judgement Day was accompanied by JD McDonagh, who used the Senor Money in the Bank briefcase to drill Zayn and allow Priest to get the pinfall.  The crowd was super into all the personalities here and Balor was especially working his rear end off.  You can tell WWE has Priest primed in the eyes of the fans for something big and the real question is how long can they avoid the lure of pulling what’s a great act apart to position them as singles talents.  Hopefully, they can.

CM Punk pinned Dominik Mysterio. When Punk’s music hit, MSG exploded in a way that was different from everything else on the show and felt like something akin to a religious revival as everyone was taking in the music, cheering for Punk’s return and in the case of some fans, embracing him as he came down the aisle and around the ring.  Fans had been chanting for Punk all night and when they finally got to see him, they reviled in that moment.  In some ways, the appearance was even more important than the match.  That said, Dominik Mysterio is absolutely awesome as a performer.  This isn’t news to a lot of you, but watching him live in the house show environment, I really got to take in his facial expressions, reactions to everyone else involved in the bout and even the fans and his timing in that regard is nothing short of impressive.  They worked a very simple good vs. evil bout, which given that some fans there were watching Punk for the first time, made sense.  They played to the audience, Punk got an early shine, Dom and Rhea (via interference) got control before Punk reversed a move into a perfect-looking GTS and scored the pin.  Other than a clothesline that looked off, it was a good return to MSG for Punk and he took the mic to pay tribute to the audience:

“Yeet! That was for my boy,  Uso, back there.  This was for all of you. I'll be honest, there's a little, there's a little bit, a little part of me that came here for me, but you guys  are the high tide that raises all ships. You have carried me throughout my career to my greatest moments, and this is one of them. So I want you to look to your left, and I want you to look to your right.  I want you to look at the people behind you. I want you to say hello to your neighbors. I want you to shake hands. We are all in this  together. We're all in this together. When I wake up in the morning, when somebody asks me how my day is, I say, hey, I woke up this morning. Everything else After that,  I'm fortunate for it.   Every day I'm in this ring in front of all of you, I am fortunate for it.   I came back here to finish what I started.  It starts tonight, in the world's most famous arena, in front of you, the greatest fans I know. And I know I got  stiff competition.  But I'm here to finish what I started and when I win the Royal Rumble and go on to main event Wrestlemania  Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to let you know that that isn't me finishing my story.  That's just me getting started.”

With that, Punk did a long lap around the ring, signing his life away with autographs, embracing fans and heading to the back, looking happy as hell.

This led to intermission, where THIS happened:

Ricochet pinned Bronson Reed with a shooting star press.  This was a short but competitive match to get the crowd going again after an intermission.

Cody Rhodes pinned Shinsuke Nakamura in a Bullrope Match.   Big reaction for both Nakamura and Rhodes in the entrances.  This was the first Bullrope match in MSG since Cody’s father Dusty Rhodes defeated Superstar Billy Graham back in 1978 (I would have been four, by the way).  The entire Garden was singing Cody’s song and he was presented and came off like a massive star.  You could feel they were working at a fast pace.  Nakamura used the mist but Cody was able to endure and used the CrossRhodes.  Nakamura kicked up but Cody crotched him with the bullrope and hit another for the pin.  Good match with Cody celebrating with fans all the way up the aisle, dragging the bullrope all the way back, still attached to his arm.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins pinned Drew McIntyre.  They were working at superspeed and we are told by WWE sources that by this point in time, the New York State Athletic Commission curfew was becoming dangerously close as the show had to end by 10:30 PM.  It used to be that the curfew was 11 PM and at the first show I ever attended, the final bout was Nikolai Volkoff vs. Blackjack Mulligan.  “This won’t take long,” my father declared.  It was almost 11 PM.  Nikolai went to sing the Russian National Anthem, Blackjack clobbered him with a lariat before he could finish.  1-2-3.  It was over and so was the show.  

While Drew vs. Seth wasn’t THAT fast, we are told that a lot of what was planned happened a lot faster than originally envisioned, which is a shame in some respects as it was McIntyre’s first MSG main event and Rollins’ second ever World Heavyweight Championship defense in The Garden.  While I don’t believe this was ever announced as No DQ, that’s certainly what this was as they whipped out chairs and tables and stairs.  The ending saw Drew put Seth through several chairs with the Alabama Slam but Rollins blocked the pinfall.  A table was set up and Drew went to do the Claymore Kick but was caught and hit with a powerbomb through the table and then hit with the Stomp for the pin.

Rollins, noting that today was the anniversary of Brodie Lee’s passing, asked the fans to bring out the fireflies, lighting up the flashlights on their phone and sing Rollins’ song as loud as they could in tribute to former WWE star Luke Harper.  It was a respectful, nice way to the end show.

An enjoyable night at the matches.

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