The Utica Auditorium is a small facility that wasn't quite filled to capacity but the crowd was downright rabid. If you've ever been in Utica, you'll know why. That city is starved for entertainment.

• Match 1 - Evan Karagias d. Villano IV with a twisting splash from the top rope
  • Evan comes out with the other members of Three Count and the green dots,
  • They lip-sync their ways into the people's hearts.
    • (The entire song, by the way, not the abbreviated version ... darn thing is still in my head)
  • Three Count got massive heel heat, by the way, only behind Jeff Jarrett and Bret Hart.
  • Villano IV gets no music and is virtually unknown.
  • Match wasn't bad by any means, but not a great choice for an opener. Evan didn't look as clumsy as he usually does and he landed some nice aerial moves.
  • Villano IV got some offense in, notably a nice looking powerslam and a vicious DDT, but other than that it was an Evan squash.
  • Evan wins it with a twisting splash from the top rope.

• Match 2 - Maestro d. Villano V with an STF.
  • Villano V comes out right after Villano IV leaves... I think they may have just ripped the "I" off his tights.
  • Maestro comes out with Symphony ... his conducting shtick comes off better live, but TV time shouldn't be wasted on it.
  • Similar to the Evan match but Maestro is more mat-based.
  • As all heels with attractive valets must do, Maestro hid behind Symphony at one point.
  • Maestro wins it by hitting his gorgeous spinebuster and then slapping on an STF.
  • btw, Charles Robinson reffed that match ... before the wrestlers came out there were many "Whooooo"s from the audience and he graced us with a strut. Lil' Naitch lives.

• Match 3 - Jerry Flynn d. Bam Bam Bigelow via count-out in a "No Holds Barred Last Man Standing Match"
  • Lightning Foot comes out to zero reaction.
  • Bam Bam Bigelow comes out with no music but the second biggest pop of the night. Bam Bam is over HUGE in Utica.
  • BBB milked the crowd reaction for all it was worth, asking who wanted to catch Flynn like he was still in ECW.
  • Flynn eventually takes control after hitting the Super Kwang but BBB regains momentum on the outside.
  • Every attempt to use an international object by BBB is thwarted by Flynn.
  • Bam Bam attempts to enter the ring but Flynn punches him where it counts and he crumples to the floor.
  • Bam Bam is counted out to the disappointment of the fans ... doubly silly because he was definitely standing, just not in the ring.

• Match 4 - David Flair and Crowbar defeat The Harris Boys via Dusty Finish to retain the Tag Team Titles
  • Daphne screams a lot
  • Crowbar and Flair beat each other up a lot.
  • Crowbar works his tuckus off but the match is pretty much secondary to the champs' antics.
  • A Harris eventually pins someone after something (I can't read my notes ... it was dark) and they are declared the new Tag Team champions to a mild pop.
  • But there's Billy Silverman and the specter of Dusty Rhodes rears his massive head.
  • It turns out it was the wrong Harris making the pin so the champs retain.
  • Seemed to me that the match should have continued.

• Intermission
  • Musical Interlude - Three Count comes out and the crowd reaffirms their love by giving the boys all of their popcorn and soda.
  • They sing and dance through it all, using their green dots as shields
  • Sid sneaks in behind them and, I'll tell ya', the pop is phenomenal. From my seats in the back, the crowd really looked like a crowd at a boy band concert and Three Count played it up beautifully.
  • Sid taps Evan, Shane and Shannon bail, and Evan takes the powerbomb.
  • Sid removes shirt and tosses it into the crowd
  • Two notes on Three Count ... these guys should drop the business about "taking your girlfriends home, etc." It's been done before and they don't need it. They're heat magnets without it, and whoever takes them out will be revered as gods. Secondly, there was actually one woman dancing both times they performed. I got a chuckle out of that.

• Match 5 - Dustin Rhodes d. Jeff Jarrett by removing a guitar from a pole in a non-title Guitar on a Pole match
  • JJ out first and first thing, "How about the Tennessee Titans?" Utica, like much of Upstate NY, appears to be solidly behind the Bills, so they did not take kindly.
  • "Slapnuts" gets a pop
  • JJ claims that he doesn't have to work the match, but Dustin sneaks in from the crowd and says otherwise.
  • Pretty elementary brawl here, ruined by how easy it would be to actually remove the guitar and the awkward attempts to make it look difficult.
  • Dustin nails the Shattered Field Goal and grabs the guitar for the win.
  • JJ begs off from the guitar, Dustin swings and kabongs the ref.
  • JJ makes a grab for the US belt and takes a swing but Dustin takes it from him and pastes him with it.
  • Dustin: "How does that feel, slapnuts?" - Big pop
  • It seems "slapnuts" is even bigger than Jarrett. It's bigger than all of us.
  • Surprising to see JJ lose to Rhodes so soon before his big match at Souled Out.

• Match 6 - Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Asya d. Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko with Chavito's Tornado DDT
  • Saturn and Malenko come out to some heat and make some nasty (but not necessarily untrue) comments about Utica.
  • Saturn didn't do his goofball gimmick.
  • Chavo comes out with a wee bit of face heat and says Malenko and Saturn are as dumb as they look.
  • He says that they probably haven't read the program, or they would know who his mystery partner was, but that you'll probably know their music.
  • I was praying for Eddy with all of my being.
  • Alas, the Revolution's music brings out Asya
  • Asya doesn't look too bad in there, but thankfully Chavo spends most of the time for that team.
  • Saturn and Malenko really dogged it, much to my disappointment. Five chinlocks do not a match make.
  • Big heat from the crowd though.
  • Eventually Chavo hits the Tornado DDT on Saturn for the pin
  • Real nice to see Chavo back in action.

• Match 7 - Meng d. Total Package with the Tongan Death Grip
  • Lex comes out with Liz and poses for two hours and twenty minutes.
  • He says that he was supposed to face Sting but Sting is so frail he can't even be there to entertain the fans.
  • He is such a phenomenal athlete that his physique alone is worth the price of admission and then some.
  • He figures that we got out there on a cold winter night and drove to the arena, not that he understands why we live here (I don't, I live in Syracuse), so we should get something, but not a match against Meng.
  • TP leaves but Meng stops him on the way out, big hair and shiny pants representin'.
  • Basic brawl ends with the Tongan Death Grip, which Meng refuses to release.
  • Doug Dillenger doesn't seem to care, either... funny moment.

• Match 8 - Sid Vicious d. Bret Hart by disqualification in a World Heavyweight Title Match.
  • Hart gets the first entrance and makes nice nice with the crowd.
  • Sid comes in to a nice pop although secondary to his first appearance.
  • Hart says it's non-title.
  • Charles Robinson says that Terry Funk says it is.
  • Bret is unhappy so he leaves and Charles, Sid, and the crowd put the count on.
  • Bret makes it back and there's even more stalling.
  • Bret offers the test of strength and comes out on top (!) but Sid regains control.
  • Brawl, brawl, brawl.
  • Bret starts to work on the knee and it's such a thing of beauty.
  • Sid eventually grabs Bret by the throat for a chokeslam but Bret kicks Sid in the knee.
  • Sid is selling and using psychology... wow.
  • Sid goes for the chokeslam a second time and hits it.
  • Sid sets up for the powerbomb but there's Jeff Jarrett (no guitar) to cause the DQ.
  • Sid eventually takes control of both of them and they bail.
  • I guess house shows only merit one guitar.