It is a tradition in WWE for some reason that when you’re in your home state or town there’s a very good chance you’re not going to win, especially if you’re a babyface. Just ask Sasha Banks, Bayley, or any number of other WWE Superstars. It is actually known as WWE’s “home town curse” meaning if you’re in your homestead, don’t expect to be pulling off a victory.
Bruce Prichard remarked on an episode of Something To Wrestle With that Vince McMahon often has someone lose in their home because it’s a great way to put heat on whoever is beating them. There are the few exceptions like Naomi’s win at WrestleMania 33 but those are few and far between.
Heath Slater had a double whammy against him last night when he came to Huntington, WV with the Raw brand for a house show. Not only was the One Man Band performing in his home state, but it was also his birthday. Slater and Rhyno were the first two people who hit the curtain and it was one of the biggest pops of the night. Lots of people were yelling “happy birthday” and an impromptu birthday song started during the opening moments of the match.
But it was the ending of the six-man tag with Slater, Rhyno, and Apollo Crews vs The Club and Curt Hawkins that really surprised a lot of people. After some chaos ensued in the ring, Heath Slater came down with a clean pin to win the match for his team.
As Heath Slater’s music played on all of the babyfaces jumped in the ring to celebrate his birthday win with him. You can see from the clips below that it was a great night for Slater, baby.
CHECK THIS OUT TOO…WATCH: John Cena tries to sing Country Roads at WV house show.
Hell Of A Good Time!!!!!!! #HappyBirthdayHeath https://t.co/R7AcXOz7Bo
— HEATHXXII (@HEATHXXII) July 16, 2017
Great pop to start off #WWEHuntington with @HeathSlaterOMRB and @Rhyno313–#HappyBirthdayHeath @briantheguppie @WrestlingNewsCo @stillreal2us pic.twitter.com/wH1Bx75M7x
— Pinecone Marketing (@PineconeSocial) July 16, 2017
@HeathSlaterOMRB's reception on his b-day in WV was insane and he went over! @briantheguppie @WrestlingNewsCo @stillreal2us #WWEHuntington pic.twitter.com/3UBiFI0xIa
— Pinecone Marketing (@PineconeSocial) July 15, 2017
It’s been a busy week full of news. If you’d like to catch up on some of the top stories from this week, check out some of the links below:
- WATCH: John Cena tries to sing Country Roads at WV house show
- Mini-Shield reunion at WWE show, SummerSlam news, Ryback-Dana Warrior Twitter exchange + more WWE news
- WATCH: WWE & Rousey’s 4 Horsewomen have words at Mae Young Classic
- WWE planning on signing lots of Mae Young Classic participants
- Eric Bischoff reveals who he heard Kurt Angle’s mystery guest really is
- WWE Talking Smack hosts were never told about the show being canceled as a weekly series
- Dana Warrior shoots down Ryback’s claim that he almost wrestled The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 30
- Update on Shelton Benjamin’s possible WWE status
- Lots of familiar names at Thursday’s WWE Mae Young Classic tapings
- WWE star has backstage heat, gets kicked off talent bus by Roman Reigns
- WWE star has heat over his political views and strong support for Donald Trump