John
08-31-2009, 07:51 AM
I thought I would send along a quick live report from the WWE RAW House Show on 8-30-09 in Valparaiso, Indiana
This was originally to be a Smackdown/ECW show earlier this year but was postponed because of the commercial free RAW on USA.
I think that is the reason the attendance was very high. Last year's house show at this venue wasn't half as full as today. From what I could tell, it was sell out.
I arrived after the start of the first match...so I didn't catch the name of the new ring announcer lady. She didn't do a bad job at all.
Match 1
Evan Bourne def. Chavo Guerrero
Ending saw Hornswoggle come from under the ring and distracting Chavo...that lead to the Shooting Star Press
Match 2
Primo def. Alex Riley
No one knew who Alex Riley was at all. He did some great heel mic work prior to the match about being from Boston College and being better than everyone. He comes to the ring in a sleeve-less letterman's jacket with an "R" on it. No one seemed to know who Primo was either. Decent match. Primo wins with high cross body off the top rope.
Match 3
Chris Masters def. Santino Marella
The crowd was WAY into Santino. Santino did some opening mic work about getting beaten up by Masters a few years ago. He said that his ex girlfriend Beth Phoenix taught him how to lift weights and he is no longer a rookie. Some fun comedy to start and Masters wins with a Masterlock.
Match 4
6 Diva Tag Team Match
Mickie James/Kelly Kelly/Gail Kim def. Beth Phoenix/Alicia Fox/Rosa Mendez
Match was ok for what it was. What stuck out to me was 2 things. Alicia Fox is getting much better in the ring...she may have that "it" factor. Rosa Mendez doesn't. She looked WAY out of place and very green. She almost killed herself taking a flying head scissor from Mickie James and took a Thez press all wrong. I forget who pinned who...I think Mickie pinned Rosa but not 100%
Intermission
Match 5
Fatal Four Way for United States Championship
Kofi Kingston def. Carlito/The Miz/Jack Swagger
Carlito came out to a lot of cheers. Guess the universe missed the memo. Swagger and Miz got some nice heat. Kofi wins with Trouble In Paradise on Carlito (I think).
Match 6
Special Challenge Match
The Big Show def. Mark Henry
We were never told what the special challenge actually was. After watching the match, the challenge was staying interested. Big Show came out to a pop...again the universe missed the memo. Big Show wins with the knock out punch.
Main Event
John Cena/HHH def. Legacy (Rhodes/DiBiase)
I thought this was a REALLY weak main event. A funny note, when WWE was in Valpo over a year ago....Cena and HHH teamed up for a win. Same thing here with almost the same finish (19 months later). Pedigree and Attitude Adjustment at the same time and Cena pins Rhodes.
Tons and tons of kids. Nice hot crowd. Pretty weak (read safe) wrestling here. I think my ticket to DGUSA for next Sunday will be a whole different experience.
Best Pops:
1. Cena
2. HHH
3. Hornswoggle
Best Heat:
1. The Miz
2. Jack Swagger
3. Chris Masters
This was originally to be a Smackdown/ECW show earlier this year but was postponed because of the commercial free RAW on USA.
I think that is the reason the attendance was very high. Last year's house show at this venue wasn't half as full as today. From what I could tell, it was sell out.
I arrived after the start of the first match...so I didn't catch the name of the new ring announcer lady. She didn't do a bad job at all.
Match 1
Evan Bourne def. Chavo Guerrero
Ending saw Hornswoggle come from under the ring and distracting Chavo...that lead to the Shooting Star Press
Match 2
Primo def. Alex Riley
No one knew who Alex Riley was at all. He did some great heel mic work prior to the match about being from Boston College and being better than everyone. He comes to the ring in a sleeve-less letterman's jacket with an "R" on it. No one seemed to know who Primo was either. Decent match. Primo wins with high cross body off the top rope.
Match 3
Chris Masters def. Santino Marella
The crowd was WAY into Santino. Santino did some opening mic work about getting beaten up by Masters a few years ago. He said that his ex girlfriend Beth Phoenix taught him how to lift weights and he is no longer a rookie. Some fun comedy to start and Masters wins with a Masterlock.
Match 4
6 Diva Tag Team Match
Mickie James/Kelly Kelly/Gail Kim def. Beth Phoenix/Alicia Fox/Rosa Mendez
Match was ok for what it was. What stuck out to me was 2 things. Alicia Fox is getting much better in the ring...she may have that "it" factor. Rosa Mendez doesn't. She looked WAY out of place and very green. She almost killed herself taking a flying head scissor from Mickie James and took a Thez press all wrong. I forget who pinned who...I think Mickie pinned Rosa but not 100%
Intermission
Match 5
Fatal Four Way for United States Championship
Kofi Kingston def. Carlito/The Miz/Jack Swagger
Carlito came out to a lot of cheers. Guess the universe missed the memo. Swagger and Miz got some nice heat. Kofi wins with Trouble In Paradise on Carlito (I think).
Match 6
Special Challenge Match
The Big Show def. Mark Henry
We were never told what the special challenge actually was. After watching the match, the challenge was staying interested. Big Show came out to a pop...again the universe missed the memo. Big Show wins with the knock out punch.
Main Event
John Cena/HHH def. Legacy (Rhodes/DiBiase)
I thought this was a REALLY weak main event. A funny note, when WWE was in Valpo over a year ago....Cena and HHH teamed up for a win. Same thing here with almost the same finish (19 months later). Pedigree and Attitude Adjustment at the same time and Cena pins Rhodes.
Tons and tons of kids. Nice hot crowd. Pretty weak (read safe) wrestling here. I think my ticket to DGUSA for next Sunday will be a whole different experience.
Best Pops:
1. Cena
2. HHH
3. Hornswoggle
Best Heat:
1. The Miz
2. Jack Swagger
3. Chris Masters