WWE House Show Report 8.26.12: Rochester, Minnesota

Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.27.2012

Matt Stryker opened the show and did a good job in the emcee role and with ring introductions all night. The National Anthem was played. I know they do this on Raw/Smackdown prior to the show going on the air but I wish they’d find a way to get it on TV.

Sheamus beat Alberto Del Rio in a last-man-standing match to retain the World Heavyweight Title. Ricardo Rodriguez introduced the challenger. Ricardo is fun to watch live because he’s never off-camera like he is on TV. He works damn near as hard as the wrestlers. Both wrestlers did some good house-show mic work before the match. Chairs, kendo sticks, and T-shirts used as weapons during the match. In the end, Del Rio missed Sheamus with a chair shot and hit Ricardo instead. It was a pretty legit chair shot that Ricardo sold great. Sheamus won with an awesome Brouge kick.

As a nice surprise after the match, Ziggler appeared out of nowhere ready to cash in his MITB contract. He actually handed it to a referee and immediately received a kick to the head, ending the confrontation and sending everyone home happy. My question is, since the referee actually received the briefcase and it left Ziggler’s hands, did that constitute cashing it in? I know, I know, it’s just a house show.

Notes: Overall a great house show with no complaints. Many of the bigger matches were plenty long and featured a lot of great wrestling.

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