7/7 WWE Results: Cape Town, South Africa
David Kruse sent this report in:
WWE Live Smackdown Tour
Grand Arena, Grand West Casino
Cape Town, South Africa
Thursday 7th July 2011
This is the second show of the Smackdown Live tour in South Africa, and it is also night two of the Cape Town leg of the tour. I believe this is the first WWE tour that has run twice in Cape Town, probably because the venue is a bit smaller than normal. Both Cape Town shows took place in the Grand Arena, a venue which holds about 6000 – 7000 people seated.
Sin Cara vs Cody Rhodes
Good way to open the show. Sin Cara hit his signature spots which came across brilliantly and got the crowd warmed up quickly. Rhodes was heeling it up a lot but ended up being defeated by Sin Cara by a sudden pin of some sort after seven minutes of good action. Sin Cara is really dazzling in person.
Yoshi Tatsu vs Jinder Mahal
An alright match for its placement on the card. A signature spinning heel kick and a shining wizard from Tatsu were pretty cool. Although, Mahal won with the Full-Nelson slam after about 6 minutes.
Natalya vs Alicia Fox
A good divas match. A tuft of Foxs’ hair came out and everyone laughed. Natalya won with a rollup. Another quick match and another sudden finish. These matches are flying by.
Sheamus vs Kane
Started off slow and physical, with momentum slowly building throughout. Some brawling on the outside. A false finish that had everyone fooled. A few feverish seconds where the tombstone was reversed, the crucifix powerbomb was countered and eventually a tombstone delivered to defeat Sheamus after 16 minutes. Nice and physical match, very good stuff here.
During intermission Justin Gabriel came out and greeted some of the fans at ringside.
Daniel Bryan(w) vs Ted DiBiase
WOW!! What an amazing match! Layer upon layer of wrestling goodness. LOTS of back and forth action. Some comedic spots as well, that were really well done. The crowd was heavily behind Daniel Bryan, and there were so many suspenseful moments when it seemed the match was over for him. However he managed to win with the LeBell Lock after 20 minutes. Excellent performance from both men, and from a live event perspective a legit 4-star plus match.
South African Street Fight for the Intercontinental Championship
Ezekiel Jackson vs Wade Barrett
South African? Street fight? Uh oh…
Good match. The fans hated Barrett just as much as last night. They brawled outside and got the kendo stick. Barrett hit Jackson several times with the stick. Barrett also choked him with the stick; is choking allowed in house shows? Ezekiel made a comeback and hit Barrett with the kendo stick and irish whipped him into a chair propped between the ropes. Jackson retained the title with the torture rack.
Six-man tag-team match with Bret Hart as the special match enforcer
Justin Gabriel, Big Show & Randy Orton vs Christian, Mark Henry & Alberto Del Rio
Bret Hart came out to loud cheers and chilled at ringside for most of the match.
Mark Henry went heel crazy during his entrance and ripped several fans posters and programmes that they paid good money for, he’s actually pretty intimidating. Match started with boo’s for Christian and cheers for Gabriel. Several spots where the heels attacked Gabriel, with Bret intervening. Action was solid and got fast and frantic at the end like the typical WWE-style six-man tags usually get.
Randy Orton won with the RKO on Christian after about 20 minutes of solid action. Post-match Big Show did a chokeslam to Henry, Gabriel did the 450 splash to Del Rio. They celebrated up the ramp to end the show.
Overall, a fantastic house show and a big portion better than the Wednesday show.
That ends the Cape Town leg of the tour, and I believe they will now be going to Durban to continue the SA tour.