“Roman Reigns, listen to me, you’ll be at my house tomorrow night***!”
ten words. In French. That’s all Sami Zayn had to say to set the Bell Center on fire.
And it’s not because the fire hasn’t already started. On the other hand.
Arriving under his old motto, the Quebecer received an ovation worthy of the great, to the delight of the fans in attendance. And when I say great, I mean legends.
On March 11, 1996, when the forum closed, Maurice “Rocket” Richard received a standing ovation that lasted 6 minutes and 33 seconds (and not 10 or 15 minutes as we fondly remember today).
On April 9, 2002, Saku Koivu was cheered for 4 minutes and 51 seconds by the crowd at Bell Center on his return to the game after defeating cancer.
On May 16, 2002, Hulk Hogan received a 4-minute, 16-second ovation in his first appearance in Red and Yellow in Quebec in more than 10 years.
Sami Zayn’s last night? Outrageous 5 minutes 12 seconds including the “F*** you Roman” which in the unique world of professional wrestling remains a way of celebrating the person in front of us.
That makes it the longest standing ovation in Bell Center history. It’s just extraordinary!
I don’t want to take anything away from Kevin Owens, who fans have always appreciated since his WWE debut, but it’s something even he never had.
It says a lot about the story that led to Sami Zayn bearing the brunt of the final against Roman Reigns at the Elimination Chamber tonight. That says a lot about the work he has done over the past year. That says a lot about his talent.
All the media wanted to talk to him yesterday. WWE even had several journalists gathered at a downtown hotel so they could meet some of the company’s stars.
There was Natalya, Raquel Rodriquez, Nikki Cross, Bronson Reed, Austin Theory, but the person everyone wanted to talk to was Sami.
On my site only, I’ve given interviews to TVA, TVA Sports, LCN, QUB, Radio-Canada, CBC, La Presse, Journal de Montréal, and BPM over the past few days. Everyone wanted to talk to me about Sami. Kevin Raphaël said that several people in the Quebec arts community who would never normally discuss wrestling with him spoke to him about Sami. You had heard about it.
I said it was Sami Zayn’s inauguration this weekend and that’s exactly how I felt as the crowd exploded for him on Friday night.
I saw his second life struggle in 2002. I was there when he wrestled under the El Generico mask for the first time. I saw his development, then his rise.
Last night I was moved, I had chills and I will remember it for the rest of my life.
And you know what? I won’t be the only one!
A frenzied crowd
SmackDown wasn’t a bad show, far from it, but it was made even better by the vibe that only Montreal WWE wrestler audiences can convey. I don’t mean to be chauvinistic but damn we’re hard to beat at this level!
When I heard the crowd react like Braun Strowman did on the pre-show, I was like, oh oh this is going to be a big night! »
I wasn’t wrong.
One game caught my attention and it was between Drew McIntyre and Sheamus versus the Vikings. Good 17 minute match between four big boys that made the crowd even better. McIntyre and Sheamus are the closest I can think of to Kevin and Sami. When they compete they do magic together, but even when they team up they have some pretty amazing chemistry.
Natalya also received a standing ovation as she was the first to enter the arena after the show aired on FOX and Sportsnet. On the other hand, viewers were cruel to Ronda Rousey and let her know she didn’t know how to fight, which I personally think is overkill. But it’s the Montreal crowd, and not me, who will stubbornly insist. The match went well, right for a first fight.
If Asuka didn’t show passions against Liv Morgan, Gunther and Madcap Moss did better. The Austrian’s Atemi shots were well appreciated by the crowd, making the Intercontinental Champion look like the game’s babyface.
But regardless of the previous fights, tonight we will only remember the last 10 minutes and the ovation for Sami.
Biggest rush in 25 years
If the WrestleTix site indicates that approximately 13,000 tickets have been distributed, the latter cannot count the people in the boxes, which still contain 2,674 seats. The number I heard at the end of the event was around 15,500 spectators, which would make sense considering the boxes.
It would be the biggest crowd in Montreal since the famous Survivor Series in 1997. When I said it was the biggest wrestling weekend in Montreal in 25 years, I wasn’t wrong!
Predictions for Elimination Chamber
It’s not necessarily an easy event to predict as much depends on the plans for WrestleMania. But here are my predictions anyway.
- Edge & Beth Phoenix v. Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley)
I’m going with Rhea Ripley on Beth Phoenix to give Rhea some momentum for her match against Charlotte
- Bobby Lashley c. Brock Lesnar
Now that Bray Wyatt has challenged the winner of the fight, I’ll take Brock Lesnar.
Elimination Chamber Match for the United States Championship
- Austin Theory (c) vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins c. Johnny Gargano v. Bronson Reed v. Damian Priest v. Assemble Ford
Everything will depend on the plans for WrestleMania. If Theory takes on John Cena, he doesn’t need the title and then I would see Montez Ford win his first singles title. Otherwise, Theory retains the title.
Elimination Chamber match to determine who will face off against Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at WrestleMania
- Asuka v. Liv Morgan v. Nikki Cross v. Raquel Rodriguez v. Natalia v. carmela
Asuka is the only one who can put up a really good match for WrestleMania against Bianca.
Match for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship
- Roman Reigns (c) (after Paul Heyman) c. Sami Zayn
Roman retains the title. That’s for sure. NOW. Does he win or lose by disqualification? I couldn’t tell you
Burst Results:
Finally, here are the results from SmackDown:
Vorgala:
- Braun Strowman & Ricochet defeated Legado del Fantasma, shared by Zelina Vega
knock down
- Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defeated Natalya & Shotzi
- Drew McIntyre & Sheamus defeated the Vikings, gem of Valhalla
- Asuka defeated Liv Morgan
- Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. Madcap Moss, acc. by Emma
After Gala:
- Charlotte Flair defeated Sonya Deville
- Bray Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a street fight