Corneroffandom Chronicles: Prelude to Payback 6/15/13
So slightly over a week ago, my trip to Bloomington began. This was a new experience, I'd never been to the US Cellular Coliseum before, and I had no idea what to expect. On top of that, my mother decided she wanted to actually go somewhere that wasn't home, so we hashed it over and decided to make a day of it, booked a hotel and everything. This ended up being a lifesaver by the end.
Rained heavily on the way there, dried up nicely by the time we arrived, and we got into our room, I changed clothes, painted my nails (there's a girl somewhere in there... deeply in there lol) and got ready to go, because Mom wanted to drive around a bit, explore the city before I got ensconced in WWE stuff. So we went to a park and walked around briefly, then sat by a large lagoon until it was 5. The event was supposed to start at 7:30, but I wanted to arrive early, to acclimate properly, have time to buy merch, find my seat, yada.
As it ended up, that wasn't to be... because we did arrive early but people were standing around watching wrestlers arrive! I've never figured out where exactly they enter at the Civic Center, I believe I had some idea years ago, but I have no clue now. So I dashed out of the car, grabbed my signs, and joined them in watching. Saw Big E, the Shield, Daniel Bryan, and a few others arrive... but then Miz and Del Rio actually came over, standing just feet away from me, and signed autographs and took pictures. And of course, I wasn't expecting any of this so I had absolutely NOTHING TO SIGN because I'm an idiot. lol. Miz even looked right at me, saw I had nothing to sign, and continued on his way. Sigh. But I did get pics...
Ricardo, who had arrived with Del Rio, stayed by the car and unloaded, then went inside with Del Rio. Bit disappointed he didn't come over, but prolly just as well, I probably would've died right then and there. Came close a couple hours later, but that part of the story will come in time ;) I waited around a little while longer, but by then it was a little after 6:30 and a security guard had claimed the show was to start at 7 and end a bit after 10. I didn't want to get lost and not find my seat in time so I went inside, after emptying my pockets for the security and they scanning my ticket.
Found the merch table and spotted Jericho's Never Duplicated shirt which... yay... but no Viva Del Rio shirt. Damn. So I bought the Jericho shirt and a program, got a soda, and went to find my seat. USCC's stairs actually have railings, which is a step above PCC's! I haaaaaaaate stairs to begin with, give me nothing to grab onto and I always feel like gravity is trying to suck me down. But anyway I get to the floor and wander a bit until I find my seat. Three rows from the ramp, three seats from the aisle seat nearest where they walk to the ring at. Dear God! For example, my view of the ramp, and then the ring:
In my haste to get to my seat, counting to make sure I had the right side, I wasn't aware that some guy had laid his nachos on the floor so I... curbstomped them. Crap, lol. Apologized to him and continued on my way once he said it was ok. So once I've taken this all in, I check my phone and my friend Aly had suggested I go look for a second table for the Del Rio shirt, so I decide to go for a bit of a walk. No other merch tables other than the one I'd bought from, so I make my way back to my seat. I'd just arrived back before the show started, at 7:22. Whew!
Matt Striker was the announcer for the event. Never woulda guessed he'd be fired five days later. Huh. Miz vs Antonio was announced, with voting open for us to decide match type.
First match was Tons of Funk vs Rhodes Scholars. No Naomi or Cameron.
Stop staring at me?! D: So they promo'd a bit, talking about how amazing each other were, and it ended with...
Yeah. Tons of Funk won.
We get a small video of Dolph, E, and AJ and Dolph and E say something about a tag match later on with them vs Del Rio and... I couldn't hear what he said here, perhaps nothing. Either way...
AJ vs Kaitlyn.for the Divas title.
AJ and Kaitlyn fight for awhile, just for AJ to get the Black Widow locked in, but Kaitlyn powers out and eventually retains her title.
R-Truth comes out then
and Heyman appears on the titantron
He says that he won't be there in Illinois (pronouncing it with the s, which makes people boo him. That doesn't fly here, haha.) And he seems like he's going to correct himself, but instead says that the state Ill-annoys him. Funny, Heyman. Funny.
So Curtis vs R-Truth, and Axel wins.
Time for Miz vs Antonio, and Matt announces that 2 out of 3 falls have won the vote.
Cesaro wins the first fall, but Miz regroups and wins the next two. However, his success is quickly squashed when The Shield come down and begin to beat him down.
But before too long, BOOM! Kane's music hits and Team Hell No come down to pull the save, followed by-- Chris Jericho!
Jericho brings a chair into the ring, prepared, but once The Shield is outside, the referee talks him into releasing it so we can begin a six-man tag match, which goes back and forth for quite awhile, before eventually going by way of DQ when Roman used a chair on Kane. Daniel brought in a chair of his own, however, and cleaned house, saving his (at the time) tag partner!
We then went into intermission, during which I sat and played around with USCC's slooow wifi. Upon returning, the first match back was Wade Barrett vs Sheamus for the Intercontinental title... mm hmm?
Rough match, like theirs tend to be. Ended after Barrett cracked Sheamus on the outside, against the steel steps, and made it back into the ring before the 10 count. Sheamus wasn't finished, of course, and snuck back into the ring. Although Wade held him off for awhile, Sheamus managed to fight back and hit the brogue kick.
After that had quieted down, we hear a loud... falsetto... "EXCUSE ME! EXCUUUUUUUSE ME! EXCUSE ME!" People begin to boo as Brad Maddox appeared, choking on a last highpitched attempt at Vickie's saying.
He goes on for a bit about Brickie and his usual... stuff, before challenging the best in the back to a match. So his challenge is answered by...
Yerp, Hornswoggle. Brad mocks him for awhile, but 'Swoggle quickly gets the upperhand, and beats him in about a minute after the Tadpole Splash. Ha.
Then, seriously. The best moment I've ever had in my life as a wrestling fan. Keep in mind, being on the road so much of the afternoon, and exploring Bloomington and everything else, I completely missed all of the hints. Ricardo tweeted specifically about it but I missed it, because I couldn't watch Vine videos on my iPod. All I really knew was he kept tweeting about Zubaz. And it made me smile, because of my sign. And I'm so, so thankful for that because this happened.
Dolph and Big E vs Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez.
That's right. My first time seeing Ricardo live ever and he was tag teaming with Del Rio.
Somehow I pulled together what was left of my brain cells by this point and, through shaking hands, grabbed my sign and held it up.
And as he made his way down the ramp, all grins and excitement, he saw it and pointed at it, and I'm pretty sure he was just that little more hyped up after he saw it, and I died a little more inside, now close to tears and shaking all at once. It was a perfect, unexpected, lovely little moment, haha. And the match was, it was perfect. ADR got ahold of Ziggler's shirt and first mocked him with it, then kept it away from Big E like a matador (Got an ole' ole' ole' chant from the crowd, that was FUN to chant along with, hee hee) before eventually throwing it out of the ring, angering both Ziggler and E. AJ tried getting involved but ultimately did next to nothing, Big E punched Ricardo off of the apron needlessly at one point, but he was ok, and ADR tagged him in after a bit, and he tried to get something going against E, but E gained the upperhand so Ricardo tried tagging ADR back in but E stopped him upon tagging Dolph in. He roughed Ricky up a bit before tagging E back in, but Ricardo eventually got away and tagged ADR in after E tagged in Ziggler. As E tried interjecting when ADR started to get some momentum going, Ricardo regrouped and tried to keep E away from Alberto, succeeding in sending him out of the ring with ADR and Ziggler down in various parts of the ring. Ricardo then splashed him on the outside, allowing Del Rio to get to his feet and take Ziggler out with an armbar, cementing the victory for their team :D
And just because the same turnbuckle thing isn't reserved just for Rhodes Scholars (Thank God!)
Then once Del Rio was in the back, Ricardo paused on the ramp, bowed in thanks towards us, and left as well. *sniffs happily*
Then it was time for the 'main event', though I'd already had mine. ;) Ryback vs Cena in a table's match. Which ended up being basically the same tables match they would have the next night at Payback, breaking a table with steel steps and all. So I texted Mom that the show was about over, just to be told that it was storming badly out. Yay!
So of course Cena won, and Matt Striker thanked us for coming, and the usual spiel about how they'd come back soon and yada... well, not all of us, now. =/ So I walk out the nearest exit and end up on the other side of the building from where I'd entered at, then have to traipse through heavy rain and harsh wind to get back to where I'd been dropped off at. Now this is the fun thing. Mom and I, being the people that we are, miscommunicate on where the entrance to the building is. Ends up she's waiting just around the corner of the building that I'm at, and I'm waiting in the rain, arms full of wrestling merch, my new Jericho shirt getting soaked, not to mention my signs... Finally she drives around, gets through roadblocks so the wrestlers can leave just down the street from where I'm standing, and locates me. I'm pretty much a drowned rat by this point, haha.
Amazingly, even though my signs that ultimately didn't see the light of day because all of the entrances seemed kind of... abbreviated (I think the parking lot security guard was right and the show WAS supposed to start at 7, but they were delayed for whatever reason, so entrances were rushed through so the show could end close to 10, which is why I don't have many pictures of most. Oh well. I got the important one (Delcardo!) were all soaked or bled out despite my trying to protect them inside a WWE bag and even my new program got glitter on it, my Zubaz Sign was mostly intact (There's a bit messed up that you can kind of see in that picture I took of it after the fact, but it was 99% fine) so I kept it. It's in my closet as a fun little memory now...
So after some food, and a hot shower, I felt a tiny bit more human and then struggled to sleep through Mom snoring some and the general weirdness of being in a bed that wasn't my own, then we came home, where I bought the VIva Del Rio shirt and saved about $5 over what I would've spent at the merch table on it in the end, even with shipping and stuff...
I'm just very glad I got the chance to see ADR and Ricardo as face, tag team partners, live, before the heel turn. It just made me very happy. And there are many, many more pictures here for anyone interested.
Rained heavily on the way there, dried up nicely by the time we arrived, and we got into our room, I changed clothes, painted my nails (there's a girl somewhere in there... deeply in there lol) and got ready to go, because Mom wanted to drive around a bit, explore the city before I got ensconced in WWE stuff. So we went to a park and walked around briefly, then sat by a large lagoon until it was 5. The event was supposed to start at 7:30, but I wanted to arrive early, to acclimate properly, have time to buy merch, find my seat, yada.
As it ended up, that wasn't to be... because we did arrive early but people were standing around watching wrestlers arrive! I've never figured out where exactly they enter at the Civic Center, I believe I had some idea years ago, but I have no clue now. So I dashed out of the car, grabbed my signs, and joined them in watching. Saw Big E, the Shield, Daniel Bryan, and a few others arrive... but then Miz and Del Rio actually came over, standing just feet away from me, and signed autographs and took pictures. And of course, I wasn't expecting any of this so I had absolutely NOTHING TO SIGN because I'm an idiot. lol. Miz even looked right at me, saw I had nothing to sign, and continued on his way. Sigh. But I did get pics...
Ricardo, who had arrived with Del Rio, stayed by the car and unloaded, then went inside with Del Rio. Bit disappointed he didn't come over, but prolly just as well, I probably would've died right then and there. Came close a couple hours later, but that part of the story will come in time ;) I waited around a little while longer, but by then it was a little after 6:30 and a security guard had claimed the show was to start at 7 and end a bit after 10. I didn't want to get lost and not find my seat in time so I went inside, after emptying my pockets for the security and they scanning my ticket.
Found the merch table and spotted Jericho's Never Duplicated shirt which... yay... but no Viva Del Rio shirt. Damn. So I bought the Jericho shirt and a program, got a soda, and went to find my seat. USCC's stairs actually have railings, which is a step above PCC's! I haaaaaaaate stairs to begin with, give me nothing to grab onto and I always feel like gravity is trying to suck me down. But anyway I get to the floor and wander a bit until I find my seat. Three rows from the ramp, three seats from the aisle seat nearest where they walk to the ring at. Dear God! For example, my view of the ramp, and then the ring:
In my haste to get to my seat, counting to make sure I had the right side, I wasn't aware that some guy had laid his nachos on the floor so I... curbstomped them. Crap, lol. Apologized to him and continued on my way once he said it was ok. So once I've taken this all in, I check my phone and my friend Aly had suggested I go look for a second table for the Del Rio shirt, so I decide to go for a bit of a walk. No other merch tables other than the one I'd bought from, so I make my way back to my seat. I'd just arrived back before the show started, at 7:22. Whew!
Matt Striker was the announcer for the event. Never woulda guessed he'd be fired five days later. Huh. Miz vs Antonio was announced, with voting open for us to decide match type.
First match was Tons of Funk vs Rhodes Scholars. No Naomi or Cameron.
Stop staring at me?! D: So they promo'd a bit, talking about how amazing each other were, and it ended with...
Yeah. Tons of Funk won.
We get a small video of Dolph, E, and AJ and Dolph and E say something about a tag match later on with them vs Del Rio and... I couldn't hear what he said here, perhaps nothing. Either way...
AJ vs Kaitlyn.for the Divas title.
AJ and Kaitlyn fight for awhile, just for AJ to get the Black Widow locked in, but Kaitlyn powers out and eventually retains her title.
R-Truth comes out then
and Heyman appears on the titantron
He says that he won't be there in Illinois (pronouncing it with the s, which makes people boo him. That doesn't fly here, haha.) And he seems like he's going to correct himself, but instead says that the state Ill-annoys him. Funny, Heyman. Funny.
So Curtis vs R-Truth, and Axel wins.
Time for Miz vs Antonio, and Matt announces that 2 out of 3 falls have won the vote.
Cesaro wins the first fall, but Miz regroups and wins the next two. However, his success is quickly squashed when The Shield come down and begin to beat him down.
But before too long, BOOM! Kane's music hits and Team Hell No come down to pull the save, followed by-- Chris Jericho!
Jericho brings a chair into the ring, prepared, but once The Shield is outside, the referee talks him into releasing it so we can begin a six-man tag match, which goes back and forth for quite awhile, before eventually going by way of DQ when Roman used a chair on Kane. Daniel brought in a chair of his own, however, and cleaned house, saving his (at the time) tag partner!
We then went into intermission, during which I sat and played around with USCC's slooow wifi. Upon returning, the first match back was Wade Barrett vs Sheamus for the Intercontinental title... mm hmm?
Rough match, like theirs tend to be. Ended after Barrett cracked Sheamus on the outside, against the steel steps, and made it back into the ring before the 10 count. Sheamus wasn't finished, of course, and snuck back into the ring. Although Wade held him off for awhile, Sheamus managed to fight back and hit the brogue kick.
After that had quieted down, we hear a loud... falsetto... "EXCUSE ME! EXCUUUUUUUSE ME! EXCUSE ME!" People begin to boo as Brad Maddox appeared, choking on a last highpitched attempt at Vickie's saying.
He goes on for a bit about Brickie and his usual... stuff, before challenging the best in the back to a match. So his challenge is answered by...
Yerp, Hornswoggle. Brad mocks him for awhile, but 'Swoggle quickly gets the upperhand, and beats him in about a minute after the Tadpole Splash. Ha.
Then, seriously. The best moment I've ever had in my life as a wrestling fan. Keep in mind, being on the road so much of the afternoon, and exploring Bloomington and everything else, I completely missed all of the hints. Ricardo tweeted specifically about it but I missed it, because I couldn't watch Vine videos on my iPod. All I really knew was he kept tweeting about Zubaz. And it made me smile, because of my sign. And I'm so, so thankful for that because this happened.
Dolph and Big E vs Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez.
That's right. My first time seeing Ricardo live ever and he was tag teaming with Del Rio.
Somehow I pulled together what was left of my brain cells by this point and, through shaking hands, grabbed my sign and held it up.
And as he made his way down the ramp, all grins and excitement, he saw it and pointed at it, and I'm pretty sure he was just that little more hyped up after he saw it, and I died a little more inside, now close to tears and shaking all at once. It was a perfect, unexpected, lovely little moment, haha. And the match was, it was perfect. ADR got ahold of Ziggler's shirt and first mocked him with it, then kept it away from Big E like a matador (Got an ole' ole' ole' chant from the crowd, that was FUN to chant along with, hee hee) before eventually throwing it out of the ring, angering both Ziggler and E. AJ tried getting involved but ultimately did next to nothing, Big E punched Ricardo off of the apron needlessly at one point, but he was ok, and ADR tagged him in after a bit, and he tried to get something going against E, but E gained the upperhand so Ricardo tried tagging ADR back in but E stopped him upon tagging Dolph in. He roughed Ricky up a bit before tagging E back in, but Ricardo eventually got away and tagged ADR in after E tagged in Ziggler. As E tried interjecting when ADR started to get some momentum going, Ricardo regrouped and tried to keep E away from Alberto, succeeding in sending him out of the ring with ADR and Ziggler down in various parts of the ring. Ricardo then splashed him on the outside, allowing Del Rio to get to his feet and take Ziggler out with an armbar, cementing the victory for their team :D
And just because the same turnbuckle thing isn't reserved just for Rhodes Scholars (Thank God!)
Then once Del Rio was in the back, Ricardo paused on the ramp, bowed in thanks towards us, and left as well. *sniffs happily*
Then it was time for the 'main event', though I'd already had mine. ;) Ryback vs Cena in a table's match. Which ended up being basically the same tables match they would have the next night at Payback, breaking a table with steel steps and all. So I texted Mom that the show was about over, just to be told that it was storming badly out. Yay!
So of course Cena won, and Matt Striker thanked us for coming, and the usual spiel about how they'd come back soon and yada... well, not all of us, now. =/ So I walk out the nearest exit and end up on the other side of the building from where I'd entered at, then have to traipse through heavy rain and harsh wind to get back to where I'd been dropped off at. Now this is the fun thing. Mom and I, being the people that we are, miscommunicate on where the entrance to the building is. Ends up she's waiting just around the corner of the building that I'm at, and I'm waiting in the rain, arms full of wrestling merch, my new Jericho shirt getting soaked, not to mention my signs... Finally she drives around, gets through roadblocks so the wrestlers can leave just down the street from where I'm standing, and locates me. I'm pretty much a drowned rat by this point, haha.
Amazingly, even though my signs that ultimately didn't see the light of day because all of the entrances seemed kind of... abbreviated (I think the parking lot security guard was right and the show WAS supposed to start at 7, but they were delayed for whatever reason, so entrances were rushed through so the show could end close to 10, which is why I don't have many pictures of most. Oh well. I got the important one (Delcardo!) were all soaked or bled out despite my trying to protect them inside a WWE bag and even my new program got glitter on it, my Zubaz Sign was mostly intact (There's a bit messed up that you can kind of see in that picture I took of it after the fact, but it was 99% fine) so I kept it. It's in my closet as a fun little memory now...
So after some food, and a hot shower, I felt a tiny bit more human and then struggled to sleep through Mom snoring some and the general weirdness of being in a bed that wasn't my own, then we came home, where I bought the VIva Del Rio shirt and saved about $5 over what I would've spent at the merch table on it in the end, even with shipping and stuff...
I'm just very glad I got the chance to see ADR and Ricardo as face, tag team partners, live, before the heel turn. It just made me very happy. And there are many, many more pictures here for anyone interested.