Source: Winnipeg Sun
By SCOTT UNGER, STAFF REPORTER
The cheers were loud, but the jeers were boisterous last night at the MTS Centre. Yes, the WWE was back in town as part of the Biggest Party of the Summer Tour.
The nine-match card gave plenty of opportunities for the 6,000 fans at the Phone Booth to interact with the top superstars in wrestling. None are more famous than little mighty Rey Mysterio and Batista. Mysterio is the current world champion of the Smackdown division.
Mysterio and Batista teamed up in the main event last night against “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry and The Great Khali. Despite a huge size differential, Mysterio hit his patented 619 on Mark Henry while Batista followed with a spinebuster. Mysterio capped off the win with the West Coast Pop. The win drew huge applause from the crowd.
‘ADRENALIN’
“The love of the fans — that’s what gives me energy, that’s what gives me adrenalin,” said Mysterio. “When I go out (to the ring) and see the reaction of the fans, that’s what makes me want to go there every night and perform.”
Mysterio believes that it’s the fans, along with his talent, that have driven him to the place he is in his career right now.
“The fans are the ones that put you in this spot,” Mysterio said of his rise to the top. “Your performance in the ring has to be at its best.”
“The fans are the ones that buy the pay-per-views. The fans are the ones that buy your T-shirts. They reflect the ratings on television … That’s what WWE sees in me. Rey Mysterio is a guy that is led by many fans. That’s where (the WWE) says ‘Let’s give Rey Mysterio a shot at the WWE title.’ ”
Although he loves being champion, Mysterio admitted the extensive travel doesn’t fall into the fun category of the profession.
“The fact that I have to leave my family (is hard),” said Mysterio, who has been wrestling for 17 years.
Wrestlers in the WWE are on the road at least four days a week and sometimes are away from home for two weeks or more.
Families are a huge part of the WWE’s fan base though. Many fathers and sons could be seen in the crowd, as could a few husbands and wives.
“I am with my son. He is a huge wrestling fan,” said Mark Zacharias, who said he was in attendance to see Batista.
Also in the ring last night, Paul London and Brian Kendrick retained their tag-team titles in a close fought bout against Kid Kash and Jamie Noble. Kendrick used a high-flying kick to get the win.
The giant Sylvester Terkay easily dismantled the undersized Funaki in mere minutes.
Blondie Jillian Hardy defeated Kristal Marshall in the feisty diva’s match of the evening.
Sylvan withstood the Worm to beat Scotty 2 Hotty, much to the boos of the crowd.
In the U.S. title match, Bobby Lashley tossed William Regal aside with relative ease in a couple seconds.
In other matches: Vito made Simon Dean submit, Matt Hardy used a reverse suplex to top Mr. Kennedy and Super Crazy defeated Psicosis in an acrobatic all-Mexican affair.
