Hey there Rick, The GR81 with a rundown of an awesome house show, an interesting "run in" with Billy Gunn and an interesting bar story! Anyway, here it goes................

To start off with, before the show my party decided to stop for eats and drinks at a place called The Graduate. After we ordered our food, my buddy Morris pointed out to me that Tim White was sitting at the end of the bar. So like any good wrestling fan would, I ran out to the car and grabbed my Wrestlemania X8 program out of the trunk and made my way to the bar. He was very receptive and even allowed Morris and I to take a picture with him. It felt good to know that everyone else was wondering who he was, and we knew! The only thing I regret now was not offering to buy him a beer, hopefully I'll have another shot. After that is was on to the show!

The arena was set up differently than it was for a Raw show I attended in '98. It was the show after the notorious Austin/Tyson melee in Fresno. No pyro but they did use authentic entrance music. Here are the results in no particular order.

1 - Smackdown Swimsuit Challenge w/ Stacy Keibler, Ivory and Torrie Wilson - A very entertaining match for what it was worth! Who am I kidding, it was a peep show for horny guys and it rocked! The highlight was Ivory coming out and informing the crowd that she would not be showing the crowd her tits!

2 - Snow/Maven vs Morrus/Chavo Jr - Nice match. Huge pop for Maven. I found it interesting that he was conducting an impromptu conversation with someone in the crowd during the match. I was very impressed by Hugh Morrus' look. He's lost a lot of weight and looks good in the ring. Maven's drop kick is nice but his ring work still needs work. Finished with a Snowplow.

3 - 2 Hotty/Orton vs Albert/Storm - Not a bad match. Albert looks bad without a shirt, he needs to put it back on. Orton looked sharp. He's got a nicer drop kick than Maven. Finished with Baldo Bomb.

4 - Kidman vs Tajiri (Cruiserweight Title) - I always find it amusing when they put belts on the line at house shows, since puts a damper on the finish. Still a very fine match though. I finally did see how Tajiri slaps himself for his own sound effects. Kidman looks to be in good shape. Kidman used a new finisher that I've never seen. Tajiri was very entertaining in the ring.

5 - Venis vs D-Von - OK match. I still think Venis sucks and I refuse to refer to a man as "The Big Valbowski", so Venis will have to do. D-Von is playing the heal again which is ok with me. Match ends with Venis pulling the tights.

6 - Hardcore Holly vs Test - OK match. Test still sucks and gets the finish with the Big Boot. This match was funny because they did a bunch of false finishes when people started running for the aisle way. I admit it, I got caught too!

7 - Suck & Chuck vs Hurricane & Rikishi (Tag Team Titles) - OK, you've been waiting for it so here it is, The Billy Gunn incident! I got a great spot along the aisle way before the match and I was waiting for The Hurricane and Rikishi to come out. Along come Suck & Chuck w/Rico. I couldn't resist joining the crowd in some hazing when Billy stops and looks at me admiring my Tazz shirt and says, " Hey Chuck look at this shirt, it says Just Another Fat Guy!". Needless to say I was just a little pissed off. OK damn it, I was really pissed off! But it proves my point that Billy Gunn is a dick. At the previous show I attended in Davis, I saw him do the same thing to a guy in front of his kids. It's a wonder that he's never gone over as a singles wrestler with that kind of charisma! Anyway, the match rocked. Huge pop for Rikishi and Hurricane. Rico Spinning Heel Kick with a Palumbo cover for the win. Finish with a Hurri-Stink Face and Rikishi Stink Face on Rico. One more note, I noticed that Palumbo really interacts with the fans while Billy does not. Hmmmm!

8 - DDP vs Christian - Nice match with a Diamond Cutter finish. We even got a Christian tantrum at the end. The highlight was DDP going out through the crowd and running me over on his way out. A nice guy even in a situation like that!

9 - Edge vs Angle - Huge pop for Edge and loud chants of "YOU SUCK" during Angle's entrance. Nice match with a crappy finish. Angle hits himself with a chair and gets speared. Edge blew Angle's suplex off the top turnbuckle.

10 - HHH vs Jericho (Undisputed Title) - The worst thing about this match was that the PA system went out when the match started so we couldn't hear any of Jericho's mic work. Excellent match with The Pedigree finish. If HHH really has a cracked knee cap, he doesn't let on about it.

Overall, this show rocked. It really changed my image of house shows. I had more fun than at any of the TV tapings I've been to. It's great to see the wrestlers in this environment because they really are a lot looser and perform better. Notable sightings around the show, Fit Finlay, Dean Malenko, Dave Hebner who walked right through the crowd, and Tony Chimel was the ring announcer.

The GR81