WWE Raw live event
North Little Rock, Ark.
Report by Dot Net reader Mike

The arena had plenty of empty seats with most of the upper deck seating tarped off. The crowd was very hot throughout the night, and it was definitely a "southern" crowd in the sense that the babyfaces were really over and it appeared that most of the people probably were not aware of a lot of current storylines.

1. Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne beat David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty to retain the WWE Tag Titles. I was late arriving to the event and got in about 3-4 minutes into this match.

2. Mason Ryan defeated Zack Ryder. Next out was Mason Ryan who didn't get much of a reaction. He came out to a generic rock theme and yelled a lot. Next out with Zack Ryder who got a mixed reaction. You could tell some people in the audience are fans of his Youtube show because they completely freaked out at his entrance, but the kids around me had no idea why. The match accomplished what it was supposed to, making Mason look like a badass.

3. Kelly Kelly and Eve defeated The Bella Twins. Standard Divas match that lasted longer than it does on TV. It really wasn't THAT bad and the crowd seemed to enjoy K2's huracanrana and stink face.

4. Santino defeated Jack Swagger. Same comedy routine as always, but Santino was really over. Little Rock has always been a good city for the pure faces and they definitely love Santino. It was entertaining in a funny kind of way, with Swagger showing off a few nice technical moves and Santino "hulking up" and no selling some punches. Santino pulls out his Cobra sleeve thingy and hits it for the win.

5. CM Punk defeated R-Truth. R-Truth came out to a lot of heat, especially once he started talking. He said that we all sound like a bunch of animals. He started picking on fans on the way to the ring with various insults. It was a great promo that built up Punk, who came out to a decent reaction (not as big as he would get in a different market) as some of the fans either don't know he's a face or think he's a face against Cena. A few top rope spots that were really nice. The match was very good, every spot was planned perfectly and both men came out looking great at the end. The crowd was very into this match.

Next we had a dance off between four fans. A man who appeared to be in his 30s, two women (one appeared to be very attractive), and a little kid in Cena gear. The kid busted out some really good dancing, it was actually pretty amazing. No doubt he was a plant, and the winner.

6. Dolph Ziggler defeated Alex Riley. Dolph came out without Vickie, he got on the mic and started insulting the crowd. He isn't too bad on the mic but definitely needs more experience talking himself instead of having Vickie do it for him. He insulted HBK for retiring and insulted us for still cheering him. Then he started insulting Riley, saying Riley can't hang with him and that the fans don't even like Riley and if they cheer him at all it's all because of their hatred for Dolph.

Cue Riley's music and the place erupted. I can't decide on a match of the night but I might have to choose this one. Loud A-Ry chants. Both wrestlers were showcased nicely, Riley hit his DDT finisher and Dolph kicked out, Riley applied a perfect Texas Cloverleaf, Dolph applied the sleeper, Riley hit his old TKO finisher (much better than the DDT) and Dolph kicked out, Dolph hit the Zig Zag and Riley kicked out. So many near falls it felt like a rehearsal for a PPV match. Dolph hits his finisher one last time at the end for the win. Even though Riley lost, they played his theme while he walked to the back. He seems to be getting over. If Riley and Dolph have a match at NOC, it will be a very good match.

7. John Morrison defeated Drew McIntyre. Drew got very little reaction, which wasn't cool considering how well he performed during the match. Morrison got a huge reaction. These two had a great match with lots of spots, Morrison kept on selling his knee and had a lot of people wondering if he was really hurt or not. Morrison jumped over the top rope to Drew on the outside and completely missed, it was hilarious. Other than that one awful botch, it was a very good match. Drew freaked out after the match, throwing the ring steps and throwing an announcers chair and kicking it down the aisle.

8. John Cena defeated The Miz. The Miz was incredible on the mic. He cut a much better promo than the promo he's cut the last three or so years. Ever notice he's had the same house show promos for a very long time? Looks like he finally ditched it. He talked about being called Big Fat Mike in school growing up and even had the Sign Guy hold up a sign that said Big Fat Mike.

Miz then said that instead of letting it affect him negatively, he turned it into a positive and by the time he was in high school he wasn't big fat mike anymore, he was the star of all the sports teams and led them to championships. Despite him playing the sympathy card, it was a very heel promo. Cena came out to the most cheers of the night. It was your standard Miz vs. Cena match with Miz acting very cowardly. Cena made Miz tap to the STF, but Miz had previously knocked the referee out. Cena hit the AA for the win.

Most Loved:
1. Cena
2. Alex Riley.. maybe a tie with Morrison
3. CM Punk - Confusion at first but lots of love during and after the match
4. Santino
5. Kofi/Evan after they won

Most Hated:
1. The Miz
2. R-Truth
3. Dolph Ziggler
4. Jack Swagger
5. No one else really got a big reaction as a heel

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