Dot Net reader Dylan Maharrey attended Monday’s WWE Raw in Orlando, Florida and sent the following report.
The dark match was American Alpha beating The Vaudevillans. There was ittle to no reaction for the Vaudevillans. It was surprising to see Alpha working the dark open. Alpha controlled the opening part of the match. The Vaudevillans took control until Gable gave the hot tag to Jordan. The finish was the bulldog from Chad Gable while Jason Jordan had Simon Gotch in the electric chair position. The match lasted 3:59.
The commentators made their entrance. No Mauro Ranallo again. Get well soon, Mauro.
It was billed as a sellout house, but there were a few empty seats in one of the lower bowl sections.
The crowd turned on Randy Orton pretty badly. The guy next to me was a huge Orton mark, though. I shudder to think of what a House of Horrors match may be. So I missed where Wyatt came from when he snuck out to the ring. I don’t think a lot of people saw him, actually.
I know she’s short, but dang is Alexa Bliss tiny in person. The beach balls were back during the women’s title match. The guy who popped three of them is my new hero. When Naomi is throwing forearms, it looks awful. Seriously, I don’t think any of them actually made contact.
Curt Hawkins is out? Time for a squash match. Tye Dillinger debuting on Smackdown isn’t too shocking. It’s not like he was doing anything in NXT anyway.
Kudos to the vendor who tried to start a “cotton candy” chant. Hey, make your money somehow.
I really think the guy next to me didn’t know it was the Miz who came out dressed as John Cena. What was the point of the Miz and Maryse segment?
Nakamura’s debut was a lot of fun. During what seemed like a dark segment, Dolph Ziggler came out and challenged him to a match.
In contrast to Bliss, Baron Corbin looks even bigger in person. Fans love to chant “this is awesome” when the match is, in fact, not awesome. Dean Ambrose sold being delirious after the match by trying to armbar the referee.
The Shane McMahon and AJ Styles segment was another one that felt like it went nowhere.
Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are both massive in person as well. The disappearing act is about as much of the Wyatt hocus pocus as I can stand. Even that’s a bit much.
WWE’s production team is really impressive. They have the ring swap down to a science. You’d never even know that while the announcers are introducing the show, they’re finishing the swap. The arena emptied out a bit after Smackdown wrapped, but overall it was still pretty full.
Akira Tozowa is a future star. The guy has just incredible charisma and in ring talent.
I’m not surprised to see Oney Lorcan on 205 Live. Does this mean he comes to Raw, or stays on NXT? Lorcan losing in his debut makes sense, I guess. How is it that there aren’t more James Ellsworth type wrestlers for people to job to? Everyone on 205 needs wins.
Alicia Fox is now a trophy to be passed around 205 Live. That’s disgusting.
Good promo from Neville. The fans don’t seem as rowdy as they were even during Smackdown. People are more content sit around and just watch.
TJ Perkins’ entrance is more impressive in person, but he also looks like more of a tool, so it’s kind of a wash.
Jack Gallagher is incredibly over. His schtick is just fun.
It was not surprising to see Austin Aries go over in the four-way. His feud with Neville isn’t quite done yet. Still, a good main event, with everyone getting time to shine.
After 205 Live went off the air, Shinskue Nakamura made his entrance for the main event match against Dolph Ziggler. The crew left up all of the 205 Live setup for the dark main. Shinsuke got the same song that Cesaro and Shamus did last night, just with his full name. Dolph controlled the early part of the match. Dolph heeled things up a bit, mocking Nakamura’s entrance. He got a “you don’t do that” chant as a result. Ziggler ducked a Kinshasa attempt, and hit a DDT for a two count. He then tuned up the band, because he hasn’t realized he’s not Shawn Michaels. Nakamura ducked the kick, hit the reverse exploder suplex, and the Kinshasa for the win in 8:30. Nakamura celebrated to end the show.
Mike Rome closed the show to send the crowd home, thanking Orlando for a great WrestleMania week.
Attending every show this weekend is exhausting, but I think it’s something you should do at least once in your life. It’s way too much fun to miss.
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