10 Live Observations From WWE Las Cruces
Lots of of eyebrow raisers were showcased the night before Elimination Chamber.
This past Saturday night, WWE held a 'Road to WrestleMania' house show in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The New Mexico State University Pan American Center was jam packed with fans, many of whom were losing their minds over John Cena and Dean Ambrose - not to mention causing a severe lack of elbow room.
Throughout the night, there was some wonderful wrestling to be seen, plenty of fun to be had and chants a plenty, along with major implications for the rest of WrestleMania season. As anyone who has ever been to a house show can attest, there's always much more to them than most expect, and considering this SmackDown Live Event took place merely one night before the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, these implications came in great numbers.
After an utterly electric night, here are the ten biggest takeaways from the show.
10. Tag Team Action Provides An Exciting Opener
To open the night of entertainment, we were given a preview of sorts to the tag team turmoil match that would take place at Elimination Chamber the following evening. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions, American Alpha, defended their titles in a fatal four-way match against The Usos, Heath Slater & Rhyno, and Breezango.
The match was face paced and exciting. Breezango were the perfect heels, rubbing their good looks in the faces of both their opponents and the crowd, not to mention the fact that Tyler Breeze has apparently been taking lessons from the Dolph Ziggler school of bumping, as he took some impressively high-impact ones over the course of this match.
Heath Slater proved that he is still very much over with the fans, getting what almost seems like a preposterously loud ovation at this point, merely for having a pose-off with Breezango. Plus, his partner Rhyno got a decent pop as well upon hitting the Gore. It's been well over a decade since ECW folded, and yet, the man still hasn't lost his step.
The Uso twins got their spots in as well, nearly going full Superkick Party at one point, but when it was all said and done, American Alpha finished the job with Grand Amplitude to retain their titles to much fanfare. They would do the very same the following night.
All and all, a solid way to start a wrestling show.