Philly Raw/ Dark Matches/ Heat tapings
From: Katie, Rajah.com Reader
Hey, what's up, ya'll. Just got back from the Philly Raw show on 7/18. I must say,
WWE was incredible as always...
To start off, before the show, there were tons of ECW chants, Woos, and Eagles
chants. Instead of the Kid Rock video, they aired a WWE 24/7 video, with Flair,
Hogan, and Austin getting huge pops when they appeared in the video. Not as good as
the Kid Rock video, but still fun to watch.
Match 1 was TNT (Garrison Cade and someone) Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten. HUGE pop
for Balls and Axl, with the crowd playing into the ECW chants immediately. Okay
match with TNT picking up the win when Garrison tripped Axl up and the other dude
pinned him as Cade held his foot down. Balls and Axl were really respectful to the
crowd afterwards, tapping their hearts before leaving.
Match 2 was Viscera/Tyson Tomko.... Big Vis was very over and got a quick win.
Match 3 was Rene Dupree vs. Tajiri. Mike Chioda was the ref for this match, and the
crowd loved him. He also liked my Mike Chioda = Greatest Ref Ever sign. Tajiri got a
pretty good pop plus some ECW chants. Funny moment had Tajiri doing the French
Tickler. Dupree wins.
Match 4 was Rob Conway vs. Val Venis. Rob cut a promo saying he could now be himself
since he didn't have to carry La Resitance now. Conway wins but the crowd was more
into doing Eagles chants for Hugh Douglas.
Match 5 had The Heart Throbs vs. Rosey and the Hurricane. The Heart Throbs are
hilarious and had Chad Patton backed into the corner and were dancing all over him.
Funny shit. Hurricane and Rosey win after Stacy distracts Romeo and Antonio.
Antonio had the crowd laughing at one point when Rosey gave him a back body drop and
he yelled "Oh, my God!"
At this point, they introduced Lilian Garcia, who got a decent pop and lots of
whistles. She sang the National Anthem, which was as fabulous as always. Next were
JR, with a good pop, King, as well, and Coach with some heat. Gotta love it. Philly
was pissed when Bisch came out cause we thought WWE was gonna screw us out of
opening pyro like last time (May 2003).
During the commercials, they shot out t-shirts twice, showed the Bad, Bad Man video,
showed a sweet Wrestlemania 21 video, and had Lilian plug Cena's concert tomorrow.
Only twice did they keep the arena dark.
Not much of a reaction for Hardy at first cause people couldn't really tell what was
going on. Once he left, there were a lot of Hardy chants.
After Raw went off the air, the faces and heels went to the back as JBL's music
hits. We found out we were going to be treated to a special interpromotional match.
Triple H came out to a good face pop next, and the HBK to a more face than heel
reaction. Then Hogan, Cena, and Batista came out also. The six squared off with Cena
holding his belt, Batista holding his belt, and Hogan holing his belt up to a good
pop. Fun match with Shawn tearing the ass of his pants somehow and HHH trying to use
duct tape (with no luck) to patch it up. Then HHH uses the tape to choke Cena and
the heels beat on Cena for 7 minutes or so. Finally, HHH goes to the top rope and
Cena puts his foot up. HHH stood there for a good minute with Mike Chioda waving his
hand in front of his face, and HBK/Hogan/Batista watching him. JBL snaps his fingers
and HHH snaps out of it, thanks JBL, and falls flat on his face. Gold right there.
Hogan wins with a leg drop on JBL. Hogan, Cena, and Batista posed for the crowd for
a good ten minutes as Hogan invited his son in the ring. The champs leave and Lil
thanks us for being there and says she hopes they will be back soon.
Biggest Pops:
1. Hogan: The crowd was electric.
2. Cena: Close second, was very over.
3. Balls and Axl: Philly will forever be ECW country
4. HHH: Philly loves Hunter.
5. Batista: Everyone was so happy to see him.
Most Heat:
1. Angle, especially after the Eagles comment.
2. The Raw Diva Contestants. Very audible boring chants and about 75% of the crowd
was booing them.
3. Edge/Lita: She's a Crack Whore! chants were frequent.
4. JBL
5. Carlito's cheap victory
Later, and love the site,
K-D
By Justin, rajah.com reader
Just got back from the RAW in Philadelphia, here's
what happened that you didn't see on TV:
Dark Matches/International Heat
TNT vs. Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten
Garrison Cade was a member of TNT with a Dusty Rhodes
lookalike. Huge ECW chants from the Philadelphia
crowd. Match ended with Cade getting the pin with his
partner holding Balls’ leg down on the apron. Good
opener.
Tyson Tomko vs. Viscera
No one cared about Tomko. Big Vis got a huge
reaction. Nothing special, Viscera gets the win with
his finisher.
Rene Dupree vs. Tajiri
Good heel heat for Dupree, equal reaction for Tajiri.
The crowd starts a USA chant for some reason. Dupree
gets the win with the cobra clutch slam.
Rob Conway vs. Val Venis
Conway gets on the stick and yaps about the right way
being Conway. He picks up the victory with the Ego
Trip off the top rope.
Heart Throbs vs. Hurricane and Rosey w/ Stacy
The Heart Throbs started dancing with the ref before
the match, funny stuff. Great cheers for the Tag Team
champions; Stacy is really helping them out. The
champs once again pick up the win with their double
finisher.
Main Event Dark Match
JBL, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H vs. Batista, John
Cena, and Hulk Hogan
JBL comes out first to a mixed reaction. Triple H is
next with huge pops from the audience. Philadelphia
loves the Game. Shawn Michaels is last, and him and
Trips shake hands begrudgingly. Hulk Hogan comes out
first for the good guys, followed by the WWE Champ,
and the World Heavyweight Champ. Batista’s entrance
is amazing live. Very entertaining match to say the
least. Shawn Michaels pants get ripped, exposing
himself a little bit in the back. Triple H finds some
black duct tape at ringside and attempts to cover up
Michaels behind, but to no avail. Cena is in most of
the match as he is getting beaten by all the heels.
Hogan put away JBL with the leg drop to win the match.
Miscellaneous Notes
Biggest pop of the night goes to Hogan by far,
followed in no particular order by Triple H, Batista,
John Cena, and the Big Show during the Masterlock
Challenge. Edge and Lita get the award for biggest
heat, tied with the Diva Search boring chants.
>From where I was sitting, Matt Hardy was standing
behind a black curtain during Edge’s entrance, waiting
to attack. Hardy got a great reaction, but from where
I was sitting, everything was a brawl.
We thought that Philadelphia Eagles DE Hugh Douglas
was gonna be the Masterlock challenge opponent. Other
stars in attendance were Eagles CB Sheldon Brown,
Phillies OF Bobby Abreau, and MTV’s Bam from Viva la
Bam. Cena brought him into the ring after the main
event to celebrate with Hulk Hogan.
All in all it was a great show.
- Justin
