8/2 WWE house show results from Stockton, CA

By Mike Ahn

Here are the results from Stockton last night.  The match times are accurate to within 5 seconds.  A couple of changes from the previous night in Hidalgo, TX.  Fandango and Slater were added to a Six-man-tag and Natalya teamed with Cameron against Emma and Dana Brooke.  Both changes were for the better.  

Show started off with a 10-bell salute to Roddy Piper.

Eden was the ring announcer

1.  Lucha Dragons defeated the Ascension and Los Matadores in a triple-threat tag team match in 9:49 when Kalisto pinned one of the Ascension.  The Ascension had already eliminated Los Matadores a few minutes earlier.  The Ascension had the mic on their way down to the ring and were able to generate some heat.  Hard to get any kind of feeling for Los Matadores when they are in a match with the Lucha Dragons.  

2.  Luke Harper defeated Jack Swagger in 7:40.  Hard-hitting match that showcased both guys.  Harper has some true comedic talent and personality.  He did his flexing gimmick a bunch…and it got over.  WWE needs to let him open up.  The guy is legit.  

3.  6 man tag:  Damian Sandow, Curtis Axel and Fandango defeated Adam Rose, Brad Maddox and Heath Slater in 10:15 when Fandango pinned Slater.  Sandow was just in his regular trunks, but Rose and Maddox were doing their fitness/ambiguous gimmick.  They have a real chance with that.  They have chemistry already and Maddox can play this part.  The match was actually okay.  The audience knew Sandow the best, so he started the match luckily, otherwise it would’ve been pretty quiet.  Even when he was out, Sandow got the crowd cheering his team or heckling the others.  Axel really seemed like the odd man out.  No gimmick…which is not good for him.  

4.  Randy Orton defeated Sheamus with the RKO in 18:21.  Very consistent match from two great workers.  Sheamus got on the mic a couple of times and teased leaving once until Orton chased him down.  Orton also took Sheamus’s shirt and threw it into the crowd.  Orton came off as a megastar here.  Played to the crowd a bunch and after the match stayed around ringside taking pictures and signing for at least 5 minutes.  

Intermission

5.  Divas Tag match.  Before the show began the crowd had a chance to vote on a Divas single match or tag match.  The results were 97% for Tag match.  Go figure.  
Team of Natalya and Cameron beat Emma and Dana Brooke in 8:46 when Nattie hit the sharpshooter on Emma.  Dana Brooke started the match and was actually okay.  She plays heel well.  Truly, it might have been the best performance I’ve seen out of her.  No coincidence it was a tag that she didn’t have to carry.  The oddest part of the match was that Cameron jumped off the apron to avoid a Nattie tag about 7 minutes in…leaving Nattie in a 1 on 3 match?  It happened so fast that I don’t think most of the crowd got it.  Nattie threw Dana Brooke out of the ring into Cameron just before putting Emma in the sharpshooter.  

6.  Roman Reigns pinned Bray Wyatt in 14:10.  Reigns got the pin when he reversed Sister Abigail into a rollup for the win.  These guys can definitely have quality matches with each other.  Both played to the crowd a bunch.  Reigns seems to be doing more “open mouth, tongue out, islander ferociousness.”  It could just be a house show thing, but it was noticeable.  Wyatt is so much better when he doesn’t talk.  He can get over with the crowd with his actions and personality in the ring.  

7.  Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose in a street fight in just under 25 minutes when Bray Wyatt interfered and gave Sister Abigail to Ambrose and then pulled Rollins over for the pin.  After the match Wyatt and Rollins double teamed Ambrose until Reigns came for the save.  This match proved once and again that Ambrose and Rollins can truly entertain.  They didn’t go crazy with the weapons.  They teased chairs before using them…and then got the tables near the end.  Both Ambrose and Rollins went through tables.  Ambrose actually hit the elbow from the top rope on Rollins through the table just before Wyatt did his run in.  Solid main event.  

Notes:  This crowd was kid heavy.  I would wager that 40% of the audience was under high-school age.  This led to a lot of shrieking and screaming…but the young kids kept it up throughout the night.  Reigns was probably the crowd favorite, but Orton wasn’t far behind.  Ambrose was 3rd with Natalya 4th.  Heel heat was biggest for Sheamus….because no one likes him.  Wyatt and Rollins both got a good amount of cheers….for good reason.  They are both great.  Overall a good Sunday night show.