Report by: michael marurono, rajah.com reader
Hey I went to Raw Brand house show in Kingston and I have the following to report.
I'd first like to point out that earlier in the day some friends and I attended a
John Cena signing in CT and were appalled to find out they were charging ridiculous
amounts of money for pictures and autographs. I decided it wasn't worth it, since
the fee had not been mentioned anywhere on WWE.com or on the sign promoting the
event at the mall. The same is the case for the Batista/Melina signing we went to
after, however I opted to pay since Batista is Batista and Cena is...just Cena. If
you go to an autograph signing make sure you know ahead of time if a fee will be
charged so you don't waste your time driving 100 miles like I did! Later we met
Torrie in Providence, and no fee was charged and I was able to get a picture and
autograph. She is very nice. Anyway, the house show...
Our ring announcer will be Justin Roberts.
Harry Smith went over Rob Conway with the Powerslam a-la his dad. This kid is a
natural. I think he got a decent pop, but feel there were a lot of people who had no
idea who he is, despite the Canadian and British flags on his trunk.
Highlanders over Cade & Murdock. Highlanders were impressive, and obviously will
work face once they debut on tv. They borrowed a lot of moves from other tag teams,
as I saw them use the battering ram used by the bushwackers, and also a variation of
the Quebecers' finisher.
Umaga attacks the Highlanders on their way back to the dressing room, which leads
into...
Umaga over Vicera in a quick one with the Samoan Spike. It knocks Vicera's saliva
out of his mouth, and after the match Umaga licks some of the mat. Weird.
Carlito over Johnny Nitro. Big pop for Carlito. He wins with the back cracker.
Next up was Orton over Kane with an RKO following interference from "Kane". Randy
Orton got a surprisingly good reaction here tonight. Following the match, the two
Kanes went at it, and fake Kane chokeslammed real Kane in the ring and left. Real
Kane sat up and chased the imposter to the back.
Matt Striker's Classroom
It ends with Striker getting beat up by Eugene and Hacksaw Jim Duggan beating up
Striker and then celebrating with the U.S. flag.
Coach comes out and announces the DX/Spirit Squad main event for the evening.
Mickie and Candace Michelle beat Torrie and Maria in a tag team bra and panties
match. Not exactly your 5-star mat classic here, but an entertaining match.
John Cena beat Edge with an F-U after drop toe-holding Edge onto the steel steps.
Cena got a HUGE pop here tonight. I've never claimed to be a fan of his, but I
respect his in-ring ability and dedication to the business, and it's nice that
somewhere people still cheer him.
DX (Shawn and HHH) over The Spirit Squad. DX came out complete with music and green
lighting. Very cool. Very retro. HHH did his usual "Are you ready" promo pre-match,
altering it to say for the millions NOT watching at home, and also made reference to
the Spirit Squad members being gay. End came when HHH pedigreed Kenny and Shawn gave
Sweet Chin Music to Mikey.
All in all this was a good show. Afterward we stayed behind to see some guys
leaving. Cade and Murdock left together along with Conway and Mikey from the Spirit
Squad. Cena and Eugene also left together. Shawn Michaels left in a Volvo, by
himself, and HHH left on his MASSIVE tour bus presumably with his pregnant wife also
inside.
