As the countdown approached zero, the fans in The Oncenter War Memorial Arena began to take their seats. The announcer stepped into the ring to greet the Syracuse crowd when, suddenly, Sami Zayn’s music played. Red and white lights flashed everywhere as the manager to Shinsuke Nakamura made his way to the ring with Cesaro, the “Swiss Cyborg.” The crowd quickly erupted into boos.

“You’re so close to the Candian border, but you’re all unfortunately still Americans,” Zayn said. The boos grew louder and chants of “You suck!” echoed through the arena. Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman quickly interrupted Zayn, turning the boos into massive cheers. The show had only just begun.

The WWE Live Road to WrestleMania show held in Syracuse last night featured performances from superstars such as Strowman, Roman Reigns and members of The New Day.

Passionate fans lined the stands of the WWE Live event last night. Children and adults alike adorned their WWE merchandise, consisting of replica championships, shirts depicting their favorite superstars and more. Many fans patiently awaited the opportunity to see the WWE superstars perform live.

The event also featured superstars like Bayley and Lacey Evans, who are from the SmackDown brand. Usually, they can only be seen on Friday Night SmackDown on Fox, but live events allow them to travel to smaller arenas around the world each week. It also featured referee Jessika Carr, who recently became WWE’s first full-time female referee in its history.

Live events also further the storylines between superstars that fans see on Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown throughout the week. For example, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison competed in a triple-threat match against their current rivals The New Day and The Revival, which began with a peculiar twerk-off.

“I’m really hoping to see Bayley tonight. She’s definitely one of my favorites,” said Emily Linn, a wrestling fan for more than two years. “And, obviously, I’m excited to see Roman Reigns. There are some kids up in the stands that have been screaming for him all night.”

Bayley, the reigning Smackdown Women’s Champion, was indeed one of the superstars featured at this event. Her presence, however, was cut short when she launched an unexpected attack on her opponent, Lacey Evans. Bayley then expressed her disgust toward the booing fans and the city of Syracuse. “You think I suck? People with championships don’t suck,” yelled Bayley.

Later in the evening, Bayley returned to the ring to gloat that Evans had to be taken out of the arena via ambulance. To Bayley’s surprise, Evans’ entrance music blared, indicating a match was at hand. 

For much of the match, neither woman was able to get the upper hand — that is, until the referee’s back was turned and Bayley poked Evans in the eyes and promptly pinned her for the victory. 

After the match, Evans eventually got her revenge when she delivered her signature “Women’s Right” punch to Bayley.

Keri Elainey was not a huge fan of WWE before attending the event with her friend Linn, but small, comedic confrontations like this made her realize why people of all ages love WWE. 

“From the beginning, I felt this massive energy,” Elainey said. “The atmosphere is so family-friendly, and seeing both the talent and fans so invested in each other is amazing.”

The Oncenter holds two WWE Live events each year, one featuring superstars from Raw and the other from SmackDown. Fans like Dallas Gridley have been attending these particular WWE Live events for many years, yet each one brings about a new experience.

“I’ve been following WWE since I was in third grade,” said Gridley, an SU alumnus from the class of 2019. “I’ve been to every live event here since I’ve been in Syracuse, and I can’t get enough.”

The main event of the evening featured Roman Reigns and The Usos in a six-man tag team match against King Corbin, Sheamus and Robert Roode. Reigns, one of WWE’s most popular superstars, was greeted by a massive roar of cheers from the fans when his entrance music hit. Corbin and Reigns have been involved in a heated rivalry for a number of months.

Corbin attempted to keep Reigns out of the match for as long as possible, but to no avail. When Jimmy Uso tagged in his cousin Reigns, the audience’s cheers were the loudest they had been the entire night. Reigns delivered his infamous “Superman Punch” to Roode, followed by a devastating spear takedown, winning the match for his team and marking the end of the night.

Although WrestleMania 36 in Tampa Bay, Florida is only one month away, only a few matches have been confirmed to be featured, including Reigns versus Goldberg for the Universal Championship. The excitement for WrestleMania could be felt pulsing throughout The Oncenter, with many hoping that their favorite superstars would have matches, too.

“I’m super excited for WrestleMania. We all are,” Linn said. “But there’s still so much we don’t know. We just have to wait and see.”

Published on March 2, 2020 at 6:35 pm