Live News And Notes From Last Night's WWE RAW
Credit: PWInsider.com reader Mikey
The crowd was 95% full with some empty seats here and there.
The crowd seemed to be split between John Cena and HHH. I would say it was 55% Cena, 45% HHH.
There's nothing like having Trips start out RAW with a great promo. The crowd hated seeing HHH sit out RAW.
I know that it probably didn't come across on TV but the RVD/Cena staredown had all eyes.
The fatal 4 way for the IC title announcement was great. The match was a solid contest. I think it makes the IC belt one of prestige to have so many men gunning for it. RVD was the most over with the crowd, even in the west coast, ECW still gets chanted in the arenas. Chris Masters had some vocal supporters, but I think a lot of people felt that after his entrance, the show was over for him.
Striker is good on the mic. Very good. He knows how to tap into crowds without seeping into that stereotypical cheap heat. Carlito attacking Eugene for costing him the match went over with the crowd.
It's great that RAW fans didn't have to sit through another backstage video of Vince McMahon publicly masturbating himself with Candice Michelle. I had to sit through it in the crowd and no one seemed to enjoy it.
I, for one, was glad to see Tommy Dreamer. I hadn't seen him live since Heat Wave 2000 in that tremendous Stairway To Hell match with Justin Credible so I popped big for that surprise. Tommy looked great physically and emotionally. Even though Dreamer was beaten to the OOOOH's and AAAAAH's of the fans and bled like a stuck pig, I think the lack of fan response to the finish was due to the crowd realizing it had been cheated out of a possibly GREAT street fight between Edge and Foley. Very anti-climactic.
The crowd was dead for the women's match, and fell asleep during Umaga's squash. As soon as Estrada made his way to the ring, I noticed a couple of people start to take their "bathroom break". Umaga isn't getting over the way WWE wants him to, I think.
The Big Show vs. Kane was what you expected. I laughed out loud hearing Kane's own voice over the loud speakers.
This Week in Wrestling History is a great segment week by week and the images of Hogan in "Hogan Country" made the crowd pop.
The crowd was huge for the main event. The HHH run-in went over. The crowd ate up the DX crotch chops.
Some people began exiting once RAW went off-air, but 90% returned to their seats when it was announced that Cena would defend his title in a triple threat steel cage match against Edge & HHH. Edge ripped on Southern California by saying that he'd take Cena's belt and wouldn't choke like Kobe Bryant did. Edge got MAJOR heat for this.
The main-event dark match was a great one with most of the crowd sticking around. The match lasted about 15 minutes with everyone getting an equal amount of offense in. HHH climbed the cage, while Cena slapped the STFU on Edge and made Edge tap seconds before HHH got to the floor. Cena cut an unscripted, or as he called it "un-cue carded" promo after the match. He put over the West Coast by calling it the Best Coast and appreciated his Chain Gang soldiers for sticking with him..
All in all, an awesome night with great action.