Rantin' on Wrestling: Cajundome Smackdown Review and Observations

Another WWE taping in Lafayette has come and gone. Wrestling fans in Acadiana got a chance last night to see divas and superstars of WWE during this week's edition of Smackdown in the Cajundome. As a wrestling fan myself, I was eagerly anticipating not only last night's card, but also the hype that surrounds the show. Here are some observations from yesterday's events.

Dean Ambrose is a solid interview subject. I know Dean Ambrose is a controversial figure among wrestling fans--you either love his gimmick or you hate it. However, after his appearance on this station and on

Good Morning Acadiana yesterday, you have to admire how great he is at interacting with media folks not named

Renee Young.

His interview on GMA yesterdayis the best wrestler spot we've had on that show in a long time.

Dean Ambrose on KATC's GOOD MORNING ACADIANA. (Courtesy: Auzenne Archive)

It's a long, hard road for the WWE Superstars. Speaking of Ambrose, I was amazed at how well he performed on the various local morning shows considering that he got little--if any--sleep Monday night. He and the WWE representative with him said they came straight from Raw in New Orleans to Lafayette. I just hope they were able to take a nap before Smackdown.

The WWE Superstars are some of the nicest folks you'll meet. Seriously. People think that because they're famous that they'll blow fans off. That's far from the truth. Granted, some of the guys and gals of WWE are more personable than others, but I've never seen anyone turn down a handshake or an autograph. Follow the golden rule, and the wrestlers will appreciate it.

Elliptical machines, treadmills, and weights are the workout stations of choice for WWE's superstars. At least, that's what I've been told. A couple of them even enjoy playing basketball to stay in shape.

Did I mention that the superstars are nice people? Speaking of being down to earth, you'll never know when or where you'll run into a superstar or diva. Whether it's at the gym, a restaurant, or even a comic books store, they'll be quick to return a smile or "hello." In that vein, I need to give a shout-out to Kofi Kingston, Ron "R-Truth" Killings, and Damien Sandow. I ran into them during the day, and they were all a blast to meet. Here's hoping they get major pushes soon. (Vince McMahon, are you listening?)

The Divas are even more beautiful in person. Layla El, will you marry me?

The dark match opening Smackdown was the best match of the night. The Prime Time Players took on tag team champions New Day (featuring the aforementioned Kofi Kingston). Great pacing, great action, and a good clean finish to put the Prime Time Players over. It's a pity that the bout wasn't televised. Here's hoping that these two teams are booked into a feud. It would make for good TV and could lead into a resurgence of the WWE's tag team division.

The Main Event and Smackdown were, well, the Main Event and Smackdown. The Main Event featured mainly squash matches, while Smackdown did its job in setting up this weekend's

Money in the Bank

~~pay-per-view~~ WWE Network event. Nothing earth-shattering happened, and no titles changed hands. However, it was still a good show with a handful of decent matches. If you want to see how things played out, you can watch

Smackdown on SyFy Thursday night at 7 p.m.

The crowd lights up the Cajundome for Bray Wyatt's entrance. (Courtesy: Auzenne Archive)

The Lafayette crowd was dead. This is the second

Smackdown show in a row in which the Cajundome crowd acted as if it didn't know how to cheer, chant, or boo, and it detracted from the overall quality of the show. I know Lafayette wrestling fans are some of the most passionate in the United States (if not the world). We need to do better when WWE comes to town in getting into the show. I don't care if you boo the good guys and cheer the bad guys, just give some sort of reaction. That's half of the experience. I just hope it doesn't sound as quiet on TV as it did last night in Section 124. That said, the crowd came alive in a big way during Bray Wyatt's intro for the non-televised main event pitting him against Ambrose.

Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger gives Sheamus the business during the June 9 Smackdown taping in the Cajundome. (Courtesy: Auzenne Archive)

Thank heavens for "Sign Guy." Rick Achberger, known as "Sign Guy" to faithful fans, keep the crowd in the show the entire night be starting chants, claps, and various other cheers. If it weren't for him, the crowd would have been quieter than Dean Malenko in his WCW days.

Charles Robinson is the man. The longtime referee is one of the few people who openly responds to the crowd when they call his name as he's walking to the ring. He's also pretty good about responding to his fans on Twitter.

Michael "P. S." Hayes looks like he could still wrestle. And his voice sounds like its in the shape necessary to cut a sequel to "Badstreet U. S. A." It was fabulous to see the Fabulous Freebird back in the Hub City.

No word on when WWE will be back in the Cajundome. No announcement was made last night as to when WWE will return, and no events past September are posted on WWE's website. If history is any indication, it'll be a six- to nine-month wait.

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Rantin’ on Wrestling: Cajundome Smackdown Review and Observations