Dot Net reader Huw Rawlings attended Monday’s Raw in London, England at the 02 Arena and sent the following report.
-My brother and I went to our first ever show. I’d describe us as casual fans. I read about the shows and pay-per-views more than watch whole shows and then i’ll catch up on highlights later.
-The place was packed and everyone was pretty fired up. Lots of wooo’s and Yes! chants at the start. Titus O’Neil got a surprisingly good reaction when he came out for the Main Event tapings but that might be because it was one of the first matches, or his trip has actually made him popular.
-Of course, Roman Reigns was booed. But for all the boos, and I agree that he should turn heel, it was still heartwarming to see the small child sitting in front of me who cheered him as loudly as he possibly could.
-The show probably peaked with Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens. I was surprised that Owens got as many boos as he did. It shows what a great heel he is. The awesome Sami Zayn, got a huge reaction, very similar to the one he got in Montreal.
-It seems early to give Ronda Rousey a title shot. I’m not sure how they get past that without her either winning or having a screwy finish, but we’ll see. They actually showed that video three times and by the third time the crowd really weren’t bothered, same with the Reigns video package of him beating up Jinder Mahal. No one even bothered to boo the third time.
-The first triple threat MITB qualifier match was pretty good. No Way Jose was pretty over, as was Bobby Roode. It’s a shame Baron Corbin lost, I think he’s very good.
-Everyone loved the B-Team. The crowd were singing the A-team song. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel are pretty decent in the ring so it would be nice to see them go after the tag titles. It will be fun to see Bray Wyatt and Dallas together.
-The six-woman tag with Ember Moon, Natalya, and Sasha Banks vs. Riott Squad seemed pointless on paper, but it had some really good action. Moon’s dive through the rope was well received.
-As you mention often, The Revival are wasted, but the crowd loved Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. Hardy is brilliant in the woken role.
-Sami Zayn is so popular. I can’t wait for his next babyface run. He has the best music in wrestling. I hope there’s a double turn with him and Bobby Lashley. Zayn delivered an excellent promo, although the sisters angle could be pretty cringe.
-The Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James Triple Threat match had some good action. Around this point, the crowd started to get a little restless/bored. And it probably hurt the match. Not a surprise that this was around the two-hour mark.
-Braun Strowman and Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler was again a pretty pointless match. With all the entrances and match time with the women’s tag earlier and this, it was probably around 40 mins. Couldn’t they have just set some things up that would give these matches more meaning. The trophy spot was pretty funny, with the one lad trying to hold onto it. Strowman is still getting huge reactions. Have him win the MITB, Reigns beats Lesnar somewhere, and then Strowman cashes in. Reigns turns and off they go to SummerSlam.
-I was not happy that we didn’t get to Walk With Elias. But it was KO who interrupted him and that probably gained him some more heat. Elias was very over. The spot with him asking JoJo to hold the mic was funny. The crowd really wanted to hear him. And we got to see Zayn again, so it was worth the long show.
-Overall, it was thoroughly enjoyable first show. But as everyone seems to say, it was too long. Along with the Main Event tapings, it went nearly four hours. But for a first time, just about worth it.
This guy saying “I would describe myself as a casual fan” the using phrases like ‘double turn’ ‘getting heat’ and ‘Jose was pretty over’ is quite funny.