Last night, I caught the huge WWE event at Dayton's EJ Nutter Center.  It's worth mentioning that the Nutter Center is really in Fairborn.  I am surprised that Wright State still advertises that Nutter Center is in Dayton, seeing as how the Gem City's current claim to fame is that we're on the Forbes list of America's fastest dying cities.  Something to be proud of, I'm sure.  Leave it to the spectacle that is sports entertainment to take our minds off the spiraling malaise of our economic recession...even if it's just for one night.

Anyway, the last WWE event I attended was back in October 2007 and as great as that show was, last night's show was way better.  Plus, this time around I landed ringside seats.  This was a big first for me and it was every bit as exciting as I'd hoped.  Just like the last time, I made a sign in support of CM Punk and I had it with me throughout the show.

The event was actually three WWE shows in one, including tapings for both ECW and SmackDown! as well as two matches for WGN's Superstars show.  

The ECW show was the first one of the night and for a little while I thought I might be able to hold it together without completely losing my mind.  But once Tommy Dreamer made an appearance, I completely flipped out.  To me, Tommy Dreamer is true wrestling greatness.  Vladimir Kozlov was pretty exciting as well and I am completely loving his new "Lundgrenesque" training montages and entrance themes (complete with Red Army Choir music and archival film footage).  The formation of the new incarnation of The Hart Foundation was a great moment as well.  I was disappointed that Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's daughter Natalya didn't see any action in the ring, but at least she made an appearance during the show.

Seeing Rey Mysterio wrestle twice in one night was pretty cool.  He had an impressive bout with Shelton Benjamin for the Superstars show.  Once SmackDown! started, I had the feeling we were in for a really good show and the opening match certainly got things headed in the right direction.  CM Punk's tag partner was John Morrison and they took on The World's greatest Tag Team in what I thought was a sound, solid match.  Punk and Morrison had surprisingly good chemistry considering their heated rivalry some years ago when they fought over the ECW championship.

I'm not a huge fan of the Divas division, so I wasn't really enthusiastic about the tag match.  But Gail Kim is pretty impressive and it was really something to see her in person.  

Edge
Edge before the
SmackDown! main event.
Jericho and Edge stole the show with some really caustic mic work that set the stage for a phenomenal main event.  When GM Theodore Long booked Jericho vs. Edge as the final SD! match of the night, I went crazy.  It was kind of unexpected to see the two biggest heels square off going into a pay-per-view weekend and these guys are two of my all-time favorites, so it felt like something really special.  Early in the match, I wasn't sure who I'd root for but once Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho of Edge, I knew I was pulling for Y2J.  I jumped up and charged towards the barrier yelling, TAAAAP!  Tap, Edge!  Edge is gonna taaaap!" Some 10 or 11 year-old kid started yelling "No he's not!" at me.  I looked at him and smiled for a second and then I started heckling Edge again.  Once Edge got out of the hold the kid was like, "See?"  Yeah, whatever.  I kind of freaked out when I saw Edge apply what looked to be a Sharpshooter on Y2J and I think other people were as shocked as I was.  It was a great moment.

The ending for the main event seemed to be something of a letdown at first, but after Edge was laid out (courtesy of a run-in by Jeff Hardy, if I remember right), the real excitement started as CM Punk's music hit and he charged down the ramp with the Money in the Bank suitcase.  For a minute there, I thought he was going to cash in his contract and win the title just like last time.  I knew it was unlikely given that the weekend's PPV card was set, but or a second there, it almost happened.  I ran into some friends after the show and one of them told me, "When CM Punk's music hit, we thought he was going to win the title for sure tonight!  We were so happy for you!"

Edge
My hair is tied back and
I'm all sweaty and hoarse...
but I'm also very, very happy!
Umaga came out and squashed CM Punk's shot at the title, but Punk did deliver a massive blow to Umaga's face with the MITB case and that was pretty cool.  The ensuing melee saw Edge and Hardy take their fight into the crowd as Jericho, Mysterio, Punk and Umaga fought all over the damn place.  It was chaotic, but very well done.

After the SD! Taping concluded, the crew set up the steel cage for a non-televised championship match featuring Jeff Hardy and Edge.  Edge retained the title in a short but well-choreographed match.

It was a great night and I have sure come a long way from sitting in the nosebleeds at Rupp Arena with my dad and my older brother. Of course, I do have some really good memories of those days many years ago.  Now my daughters keep asking if they can go with me to a live wrestling event.  One of these days – once they're old enough to handle all of the noise, drama and excitement of a bombastic WWE supercard -- it will sure be a lot of fun to make some new memories with them.

I took some photos and posted them in a gallery here.  Anyone who has been to an event like this knows it's kind of tough to get good photos in this setting, but I think this batch is okay.