House Show Results ? 8/12/06 ? Johnstown, PA
By: Greg Jones, rajah.com reader
I attended the RAW brand house show last night in my hometown of Johnstown
(about an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh). The WWE tried to come here
twice before in recent years, but cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The
fans came through this year, but there were only 1,000 ? 1,500 people there
(it?s a small arena). However, the crowd was hot, and I had a pretty good
time.
Howard Finkel makes his way down to ringside to a big reaction.
Match 1: Johnny Nitro (w/ Melina) vs. Harry Smith (Non-Title Match)
Smith was booed when he first came out, because everyone thought he was some
random jobber. Nitro cut a heel promo where he casually mentioned that Smith
was the British Bulldog?s son, and all of a sudden ?Harry? chants burst out.
Typical back and forth match, which ended when Smith reversed a fisherman?s
suplex and nailed the running powerslam!
Winner: Harry Smith
Match 2: Oleg Prudius vs. Eugene
Oleg comes out to the typical ?U.S.A.? chants when it?s announced he?s from
Russia. He cuts a promo where he shows absolutely no mic skills or charisma.
I think that may be his gimmick, in which case, it wasn?t all that bad of a
promo. Oleg stated that he came to the ?Du-buh-u Du-buh-u E? to destroy all
of its ?su-puh-stahs.? Eugene comes out to a nice response, and he has a
teddy bear with him. Eugene hulks up in the beginning, but is soon beat down
by Oleg, who tears the teddy bear apart (cheap heat!), prompting Eugene to
cry. Oleg picks up Eugene in the torture rack, and then drops to his knees,
giving Eugene a backbreaker for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Eugene
The Fink announces that Maria is the special guest commentator for the next
match. She?s especially, uh, ?bouncy? tonight.
Match 3: Victoria vs. Candice Michelle
Regular women?s match, that sees Candice reversing the Widow?s Peak, and I
think rolling Victoria up for the 3 count. For some reason I can?t remember
the end. Candice won though.
Winner: Candice Michelle
Match 4: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. The Highlanders
The Highlanders got a huge reaction when coming out. I wasn?t high on their
finishing move, the Scot Drop, because it?s rather unimpressive. Apparently,
the WWE agrees because the finish sees one Highlander throw the other of the
top rope for a huge splash. It looks as though they?re testing out new
finishers.
Winners: The Highlanders
As The Highlanders are leaving, Umaga attacks them. He spits a liquid in
their faces and nails two Samoan Spikes. Cade and Murdoch hightail it out of
the ring after acting like they are going to take the Umaga on. Estrada cuts
a promo, delivering all the big lines.
The Fink hypes the merchandise, and we break for intermission.
Match 5: Randy Orton vs. Snitsky
Orton got a surprisingly big reaction, which led to Snitsky being booed.
Orton got on the mic and insulted Hogan, resulting in some temporary boos.
Orton nails the RKO for the finish, to a huge pop. The crowd finally cheers
for Snitsky when he exits the arena.
Winner: Randy Orton
Match 6: The Spirit Squad vs. Shawn Michaels & Ric Flair
The SS make their entrance, minus Kenny, which is the one member I wanted to
see the most. Michaels enters without Triple H, who had been advertised to
be here for the past month. Michaels announces that for ?one night only? he
would have a special partner. Flair enters to his normal music, but it soon
cuts into DX music when he comes out in the DX shirt. Michaels and Flair do
the normal pre-match shtick, which includes Michaels insulting the SS?s
sexual preferences, and Flair stating that he?s getting good at doing the DX
routine, which completely contradicts Michaels. Oh well, it?s a house show.
There were a few comedic spots in the beginning, including the referee
giving a shoulder block to one of the SS members. Some of the fans at
ringside started chanting ?you suck d*ck,? so Flair grabbed the microphone
and held it up to the crowd. Flair is eventually trapped in the Figure Four
for a few minutes. Finally, Michaels is tagged in and cleans house, nailing
all of his moves. After he cleans house one more time, he nails Sweet Chin
Music and gets the 1-2-3. I have to give it to the members of the SS. They
have a pretty crappy gimmick, but really make the most of it to show off
their talent and they are good at working the crowd as well.
Winners: Shawn Michaels & Ric Flair
The Coach comes down to ringside to talk about how he can?t stand John Cena
and how he?s going to sit at ringside to make sure the match is fair.
Match 7: Edge (w/ Lita) vs. John Cena
Cena enters to a HUGE pop (well, about as huge as you can get with 1,000
people there). Someone threw an action figure into the ring, and before the
ref or Coach could get it out, Edge grabbed it and chucked it a good
distance towards some empty seats. Back and forth match, which sees the
referee getting knocked out, and Cena locking in the STFU, with Edge
tapping. After awhile, the ref is back up, and Cena nails the FU, but Coach
pulls the ref out and slams his head off of the mat. Cena gets speared, and
Coach goes to make the cover, but the ref grabs Coach?s hand and calls for
the DQ. Edge punches the ref (and it looked rather stiff from my seat), and
sets up Cena for the Litacanrana. Lita misses and nails Edge, and Lita gets
nailed with the FU, followed by an FU to Coach. Cena slaps hands with
everyone and poses a few times before leaving.
The Fink thanks us all and tells us to watch Summerslam.
Overall, I was entertained although no matches were remarkable. It was nice
just to see the WWE in person.
Top Pops
1. John Cena
2. DX
3. The Highlanders
Top Heat
1. The Spirit Squad
2. Edge, along with Lita and Coach
3. Johnny Nitro
