Des Moines — In an occurrence that shocked the live crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, this evening at a WWE RAW brand house show, Christian (Jason Reso) pinned Intercontinental Champion Booker T (Booker Huffman) in a title match.
Joseph Treanor, who was in attendance at the show, described the finish. “(Booker T) bounced off the rope to give him the (Ax Kick) but hurt himself. He yelled in sheer pain and he (seemed) hurt. He bent over, and Christian went over gave him the softest unprittier, and pinned him.” He was then assisted to the back by the trainer that goes on tour with the company and two referees.
Booker T has had back problems for years and worked through them. Recently, he was plagued by so much back trouble that WWE demanded that he be sent home as soon as they got back in the country. He was scheduled to get a checkup on his back but the results of any session, if one took place, are not known. WWE obviously felt that he was well enough to work the house show match with Christian, and presumably time after that.
Whether the incident was a work or shoot is unclear and the situation will probably be given more light when an angle is done on WWE RAW to explain it. The match itself was not short or guarded seemingly. Both live reports I’ve read made no mention of cameras live.
This is the first title change on a WWE house show in years, however similar injury angles are not uncommon, as WWE did a similar angle with Test on the recent tour in Australia.
Please stay tuned to the newsboard and News and Analysis for coverage as the story develops.
~Trevor
