I must say that RAW was definitely worth my 6 hour drive from Chattanooga, TN to Greensboro, NC! It was incredible to see live and it came off very well on TV. This RAW was likely one of the best of the year.
The arena had very few seats tarped off (mostly behind the TitanTron/Stage area and the far, top side directly across from it). With that being said, 95% of the arena seat-ready was sold out.
Dark Matches Before RAW:
Brian Kendrick defeated Nick Nesmith with a rollup. I believe Nick is a former Spirit Squad member. He sported a new look with highlighted hair, white shorts, and a two-tone tan that no one could ever forget. It makes my farmer’s tan in the summer look Hollywood-esque.
Snitsky defeated Super Crazy via pinfall. The match went on for a solid 7 to 8 minutes with Super Crazy getting an impressive show of support from the live crowd. There were even a few Mexican flags throughout the crowd.
DH Smith defeated David Tibo via pinfall. DH Smith got absolutely NO reaction. Most people either scratched their heads, took an early restroom break, or stayed in their seats to heckle him about his suspension following a failed drug test. I did all three. Hopefully WWE will keep him off of live TV and out of major storylines for a while. Just because you are the son of a phenomenal entertainer, it shouldn’t give you the rites of passage.
Drew McIntyre defeated Charlie Haas via pinfall. Haas began with a promo saying that he was the WWE. He said he was NOT the “E for Entertainment” in WWE, but rather the “W for Wrestling”, reminding us of his All-American honors at Seton Hall. During the match, Haas was thrown from the ring and crawled halfway under the apron before emerging with a red Luchador mask. He then proceeded to imitate the lucha libre style of wrestling, leaping over the top rope into the ring complete with the roll on the mat. Haas continued his antics of entertainment and eventually lost after McIntyre pulled the mask off of Haas, exposing his “true identity”. I hope this new gimmick of Haas’ gets picked up on RAW. It truly was one of the highlights of the night (and that’s a lot considering how great RAW was).
Hardcore Bob Holly defeated Trevor Murdoch via Alabama Slam/pinfall. Not much to this match. It was a great contest between the two with neither bringing out their tag team partner. And just FYI, Murdoch has a face that not even his own mother could love… it’s just ridiculously hideous!
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |