I went to a taping of WWE’s Smackdown show last night (Tuesday, August 31) at the Times Union Center in Albany (home of AHL hockey!!!), and enjoyed myself quite a bit. The arena about a twelve minute drive from my apartment, tickets were only $25, and the Undertaker was going to be there…all aspects which made me want to go, despite the fact that I haven’t sat down and watched wrestling since the very early 2000′s. I must say that it is a heck of a lot more fun when you’re there as opposed to watching from home.
Note: I did not bring my camera, since I assumed they would be searching and Shell was not around to hide it in her pocketbook. Turns out that cameras are encouraged, just no video cams, so I could have brought it, and if I had known, there would have been a lot more pics. Instead all I have are a few crappy ones I took with my cell phone.
Let me talk about the overall feel in the arena first. It was hot, sweaty, and stinky…I have to say that the stench was far worse than anything I had to endure at PAX East. But the slight discomforts made up for actually being there, surrounding by raving fans who probably believe that the WWE is the same as UFC and other MMAs, in that the fights are real. There were kids, teens, and full-grown adults walking around sporting various WWE shirts, signs, and even belts (professional and makeshift.) To hear the crowd react to the wrestlers in the ring was also pretty cool, from everyone shouting for a fan-fave to kick out of a pin or submission to the crowd booing at the heel when he flaunted to the stands. You could hear everyone say “oooh!” with each chest chop and dropkick that was received. The other mind-blowing reaction was when a wrestler’s theme music hit, indicating they were on their way to the ring. The people got so worked up to see their fan favorites, and it really did make the experience a fun and memorable one.
Next I want to talk about the actual wrestlers. I knew some who wrestled when I was still watching, including Undertaker, Kane, Christian, Big Show, Matt Hardy, and Mark Henry (though he didn’t actually wrestle, but just sat there.) Others I knew only because I purchase the newest edition of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw each year. These wrestlers who I never saw on television, but knew on sight from games and commercials, were the likes of MVP, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, Festus, Cody Rhodes, and Dolph Lundgreen. There were also other wrestlers present who I am not familiar with, probably because they started after the release of SvR 2010, but I will be familiar with them once 2011 comes out.
Now for the actual event. The show actually consisted of three different show tapings, followed by the “main event” which I’m fairly certain will never be televised. The first show they taped was simply called “Superstars.” It was basically a few jobber and low-card wrestlers, and reminded me of Sunday Night Heat, which I used to watch. It was nothing too special or flashy…just some decent wrestling with no storylines involved.
Next they taped Smackdown, which was kind of disappointing in some respects. There were only a handful of singles matches (one of which was a diva match) and a handicap match. Instead, I had to listen to a bunch of people blather on about their stories, and worst part was that I didn’t know who these people were, so I didn’t really enjoy it as much. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to come to the show was because the radio ad kept saying that the main event would be Undertaker vs. Kane for the title. However, this never happened. Instead, Kane started blabbing from backstage, then came out disguised as Taker in a coffin, then started blabbing in the ring…man, I liked Kane more when he was taller, leaner, wore a mask, and didn’t talk (and for all those wrestling fans out there, yes I know the Kane I am referring to and the current Kane are indeed two different people). Finally Taker came out, and I got psyched for the upcoming carnage. However, there was no match, and they eventually just left the area.
Once the Smackdown show was done taping, the announcer explained that the would next be taping the final episode of the reality show NXT, which was kind of lame. I didn’t really understand the premise, since they guys were fighting to see who would be the winner of the show, yet since wrestling is “fake”, how could they fight to see who would win? Anywho, I had to sit through an hour of random weirdness, waiting and waiting for it to be over so I could see an awesome Kane vs. Undertaker match.
By the time 11:00 rolled around, they were done filming NXT, and the main event was set. Kane’s music hit and he came out, followed by the Undertaker. Then the match started, and I was in all my glory. About forty seconds later I was brought back to reality as the match ended after Kane slammed Undertaker through an announce table and then fled back to the ring, thus allowing him to win by ring-out. I think the vast majority of the arena all shouted out “WTF?!” along with me as I just stared at what had just happened. To give them credit, they continued fighting for about a minute after the bell rang, and ended with Taker chokeslamming Kane and Kane rolling out of the ring and running away before he could get Tombstoned.
My overall impression: I enjoyed watching it live. Being surrounded by true fans who follow the show and take it seriously definitely gives it a whole new atmosphere, and you can’t help but get swept away in it. While I enjoyed the live event (and would go to another one in a heartbeat next time it comes to town), and continue to have a love for the video games, I will not be watching it on television anytime soon. While I enjoy the actual wrestling, some of the storyline processes with ten-minute dialogue/speech sessions are just enough to make me remember why I stopped watching in the first place.
