News & Notes From WWE's First House Show In 16 Months
A new set design, John Cena, 4 title matches, and more!
WWE ran its first house shows since March 2020 this weekend, hitting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Louisville, Kentucky on 24 and 25 July respectively.
PWInsider have published a report on the Pittsburgh show, noting that WWE debuted a new set design described as a "scaled-down" version of the stage currently being used on main roster television and pay-per-view.
The event was preceded by ring announcer Greg Hamilton putting over WWE's excitement at returning to house shows after 500 days away. Tweets from fans were highlighted on the screens, as were ring entrances and footage of the night's winners, which were filmed by a small crew.
Results-wise, here's how things panned out:-
Women's Tag Team Titles: Natalya & Tamina (c) d. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler.
Drew McIntyre d. Sheamus. Jinder Mahal attacked McIntyre after the bell but was hit with a Claymore.
SmackDown Women's Title: Bianca Belair (c) d. Carmella.
WWE Title: Bobby Lashley (c) d. Kofi Kingston. Originally advertised as a handicap match pitting Kingston and Xavier Woods against Lashley, this was changed when footage of a laid-out Woods was shown. Kingston demanded it be changed to a singles.
Riddle d. AJ Styles.
Raw Women's Title Triple Threat: Nikki A.S.H. (c) d. Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley. Ripley was the big babyface here, drawing several chants, while Nikki received some boos while entering.
John Cena, Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio vs. Roman Reigns & The Usos.
WWE's Adam Pearce tweeted the following picture of the Pittsburgh crowd:-
And we are LIVE at #WWEPittsburgh! ? pic.twitter.com/k1Ar7ffKW2
— Adam Pearce (@ScrapDaddyAP) July 24, 2021
Per @WrestleTix's final tweet before the show, WWE sold upwards of 7,226 tickets for the event.