5/7 WWE Smackdown On-Site Report: What happened during commercial breaks, the main event tag match that didn’t air, attendance, crowd reactions, corporate jet tracking, Shelton and Buddy sightings

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WWE SMACKDOWN ON-SITE REPORT
MAY 7, 2019
LOUISVILLE, KY.
REPORT BY ADAM, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

-About 60-65 percent of the lower bowl was open, but the entire upper deck was tapped off. Anything on the hard camera side was blocked. It was just five people in the production area. It was a clear decline in attendance here because two years ago I actually sat on the second balcony and this time it was closed off completely.

It was strange watching wrestlers cut promos while facing the empty side of the arena. I was almost right across the ring hard cam. It was especially the case with Shane McMahon who spoke a long time with our back to us. And even A.J. Styles doing his pose for the camera crew instead of the fans. I guess that’s why they train so hard so they don’t look confused playing to empty seats like that.

-The fans were electric for A.J. Styles when he first came out. When he talked about the Wildcard, fans didn’t really react. But everybody was there for Kofi and they were red-hot for him.

-Sami Zayn had pretty strong heat. In Louisville, the word “redneck” might as well be a slut. The fans don’t like being called “rednecks” or “hillbillies.” They take it super-serious.

-Randy Orton is really over. I think he’s stale, but on the whole, he got a great response as soon as he slid into the ring.

-The second-biggest pop of the night was for a big table spot on 205 Live, although not many fans were left at that point. But it got a response because it was the most action of the night. It was during the Akira Tozawa vs. Mike Kanellis match. They set up a two tables outside the ring and Tozawa suplexed Kanellis onto them. Then from there they got some chairs from under the ring and stacked them on top of Kanellis and then Tozawa did a seated senton to the chairs to win. That was more action than anything else up to that point.

-During a commercial break, they got kids to do impressions of wrestlers. A kid did John Cena, another Braun Strowman, and then a third did The IIconics.

-There was a segment that didn’t air on TV where Buddy Murphy stepped onto the stage and said he beat Ali before and he’s coming for him.

-By mid-way through 205 Live, well over half of the fans had left. They were leaving during the Noam Dar and Aria Daivari match.

-On the way in driving on the interstate, we passed the airport and saw the WWE executive jet, and when we left, the jet was already gone. There was no way they could have taken off so quickly after show ended, so Vince McMahon didn’t even stay for 205 Live.

(1) Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods beat Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. I heard the entrance music when I went to the restroom and the match was over before I got back to my seat.

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