Raw Live Report

8/11/08

Richmond Coliseum; Richmond, VA

Place was practically sold out, if not completely. A couple of the higher sections were tarped off for some reason (I was behind the hard camera).

Show kicked off about 8:30 with the ending highlight video from Wrestlemania 24 to promote the DVD. During it, Cena, Batista, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, CM Punk got the biggest ovations. Edge got some huge boos, as did Maywheather. And then there was Ric Flair. Any shot of Flair got a thundering “Whooo” from the crowd. Richmond is still Flair Country for sure.

Lillian welcomed the crowd before getting ready for the first of our two dark matches.

Snitsky vs. Johnny Curtis

Curtis was from Richmond (or so they say), and got a great welcome for it. Snitsky just squashed the kid after Curtis got in a couple of punches and a flying clothesline. Snitsky was looking for the pumphandle slam, but Curtis turned it into a cradle, getting the shocking pin. The fans gave Curtis a great ovation after the win. Curtis has the prototypical look of a WWE Superstar.

D’Lo Brown vs. Charlie Haas

WWE needs to put D’Lo on TV posthaste. The man is so over, it’s ridiculous he’s not on Raw every week. Brown and Haas had a nice little back and forth contest, with Brown hitting all of his signature moves. The match ended when D’Lo caught Haas in midair with the Sky High Bomb before using the Low Down to finish Charlie off.

John Cena entered the arena to open the show. The fans gave him a great ovation…until his music stopped. Then the male fans came with the sea of boos. And that sea stayed throughout the opening segment, especially when Cena started talking about how he turned the haters into believers. Batista could do no, or say no, wrong, being cheered throughout the whole segment. Great way to get the crowd pumped for the main event.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix w/Santino Marella

Kelly got no response when she came out. I don’t think anyone knew who she was. Beth, on the other hand, is really over with the male fans. Typical Beth/Kelly squash, but the fans were into just as much. The fans really got hot when Mickie James and Kofi Kingston made the save for Kelly before she could be face planted again. To say the crowd gave Mickie a warm welcome would be an understatement. The ovation for her rivaled Batista’s and John Cena’s. Santino taunted Mickie until she accepted a match with him. Santino followed up by mocking Mickie’s parents marital status and their raising of Mickie into a strong, independent woman instead of a village mother stuck in the kitchen. Mickie did some wild high kicks to stretch before the match. The majority of the match was Mickie outwrestling Santino. Beth Phoenix interfered, slamming Mickie into the steel ring post shoulder first. Santino used that help to cradle Mickie for the win. During the Kane/Adamle backstage segment, Mickie ran around the area, slapping hands and thanking her family. Jillian came out during the commercial break to host the Kiss Cam. Jillian ended it early to sing. And sing she did. Lovely voice that Jillian has.

Cryme Tyme vs. The Highlanders

No one knew who The Highlanders were, but they sure loved Cryme Tyme. Everything Cryme Tyme did had the fans cheering. Short and sweet squash.

During the commercial the crew set up for the Punk/JBL confrontation. It took four guys to carry that rug in. JBL got some great heat upon his entrance. CM Punk got a great ovation. It actually shocked me how popular Punk is. The segment went over pretty well, and the fans were into the whole thing. The only bump in the road was when Punk said he was the man, no matter who won between Batista and Cena. The crowd booed a little, but got back on Punk’s side when he jumped JBL. Richmond loves CM Punk, and thank God for it. During the commercial, the ring crew stripped off the mat to reveal that underneath was a plastic tarp. They removed the tarp to reveal another canvas. By the time the Shawn Michaels clip was done, everything was clean like the beginning of the show.

Chris Jericho vs. Kane

Both men’s pyro is so loud. Awesome and loud. Okay match. The fans gave Jericho a babyface reaction, while Kane…not so much. The crowd did like Kane when he dropped Jericho on the back of his head. The focus of the whole time was the sack. When the match was over Adamle asked for the sack. During the course of Kane’s speech, I yelled out that it was Rey Mysterio’s mask. Low and behold, it was. The fans didn’t know how to react, as it seemed Kane was insinuating he had abducted Rey and tortured him. I thought WWE was trying to get more PG with this show.

Jamie Noble vs. William Regal

Before the match, Noble cut a promo backstage, stating that in America, unlike England, there’s Batman, “And it’s fixin’ to be a dark night for William Regal.” The match was fun while it lasted. But more disappointing than the match length was Layla not being there. We can’t get a dance segment, or even an appearance. For shame WWE.

World Tag Team title: John Cena & Batista (c) vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase

Before the match, the results of the “Who’s The Bigger Star Between Batista and John Cena Text Off” were revealed. The fans booed big time when Cena won. Poor Team Priceless; they had no heat whatsoever. The fans’ attention was on the champs. Especially Batista who was making such distressed faces during Cena’s beat down. When Batista came in, he went wild, and so did the crowd. The finish got very little response as everyone was waiting for Team Centista to explode. And when they did, the fans lost it. Every time they broke through security, the fans popped hard. When they finally got the two separated, the new Tag champs jumped The Animal. Ted Dibiase screwed up taking the spear, causing Batista to do it again. Batista followed up with the Batista Bomb on Cody, leaving him folded in the middle of the ring. The champs recovered, cutting a promo about how great they are to succeed in their father’s business, unlike the fans tonight. It’s amazing how Cody & Ted got more heat with one live promo after the than they did all night on TV.

Thoughts: Not to most amazing show match wise, but entertaining nonetheless. The crowd was hot all night, and added a lot to the show. The most popular stars were Batista, Mickie James, and John Cena, with Punk right behind them. D’Lo and Cryme Tyme get an honorable mention in the babyface department. The fans hated JBL more than anybody, then Santino for pinning Mickie. Jillian’s singing got some major heat, as well as Cody & Ted’s after show promo. The crowd died during the Kane/Adamle segment with the unveiling of Rey’s mask. WWE better have an explanation because no one had a clue why Kane had Rey’s mask. I have to commend WWE for one thing: Batista has the coolest pryo going. Return date is 12/29 starring Smackdown/ECW.