FanPost

Raw is Miami

@HeatherJeannine

I want to preface this by saying that I haven’t been to a Raw live event in almost 8 years. The last time I went was in 2006 & I was 15 at the time. I was with my dad & we sat in the nosebleed section. It was an amazing experience then because I love this sport more than just about anything.

Last night though, was on a whole other level. I thought when buying my tickets that seats 13 & 14 would be at the end of the aisle not near the ramp; I was wrong. I was basically on the ramp & it was awesome. I’ll say it now; I won’t post any spoilers (that weren’t already leaked) just in case you haven’t actually seen these matches.

The crowd was chanting before anything even started "Cena sucks" or "Let’s go Cena", which I found amusing because Cena wasn’t even in the building as far as I was aware. After what seemed like a while it was announced that Superstars was about to be taped.

Tom Phillips & Renee Young came out. Everyone was basically chanting for Renee. It was great to see.

First up was Adam Rose & his party posse vs Heath Slater with Hornswoggle. This was a short match. The crowd seemed a bit divided since there were chants for Slater as well as Rose. I don’t want to spoil this one for you because it was a fun bout so watch Superstars!

The second match of Superstars was R-Truth vs Alberto Del Rio. The arena was singing along to R-Truth’s entrance and the kid behind me got R-Truth to come over & high five him so don’t be surprised if you see me there trying to get a high five too ( I failed). Alberto Del Rio got a nice warm welcome from Miami. This match was fun & short so it kept the crowd engaged & happy.

After all the Superstars fun, the Raw announcers came out.

Michael Cole, JBL & Jerry "The King" Lawler all got their respective chants. I will say though, that Cole only got one cause everyone felt bad after chanting for Jerry & JBL as far as I'm concerned. After their entrances were made we were told that there’s 90 seconds till the show goes live.

I was seated where there were a whole mess of little kids. So when they were told "Hey 90 seconds till the show starts!", they obviously started asking questions. "Is Big Show here?", "Is John Cena here?", "Is it going to be loud?" & I had to giggle a bit at the dads trying to come up with answers to these questions because obviously they didn’t want to crush their spirits. The kid in front of me was great though. He was so happy to see every one of those wrestlers, well except for the girls (because they’re gross he said.).

When Triple H came out it was to deafening boo’s. Then when Orton came out it was to deafening Boo’s followed by women cheering for him. It was amazing. Kane was also booed but what stood out to me was Reigns. When Reigns came out that arena exploded (as it would do a few times throughout the night). Reigns, I think, is what really got everyone excited. Everyone was whispering & chanting while obviously being behind Reigns 100%.

I know I’m not the only one but I’m tired of these handicap matches. It was fun to see because Reigns & Orton, I think, really do well against each other but the whole "overcoming more than one person thing" is getting tired. The crowd was obviously going for Reigns but sometimes even the arena would get a little too quiet for these guys. The best part of this match to me was Randy Orton when he was walking away. The smug attitude really just sealed that the Authority is starting to crack.

Next up was Nikki Bella in a (shocker) handicap match against Cameron, Eva Marie, Rosa Mendes & Alicia Fox. The crowd was basically silent when the handicap team was coming out but erupted in cheers when Nikki’s music hit. Then Stephanie came out & that’s when I found out that Brie was in the crowd (and proudly wearing her sisters’ shirt). Almost everyone was cheering for Brie. Stephanie McMahon’s promo on Brie was amazing to see live. The crowd was going insane with their hate for Steph (chorus of boos’ people!) while also going crazy with their love for the Bellas. The match was short and underwhelming. Rosa, Eva & Cameron were all stiff (not in a good way) during the match & proved why people dislike them all so much. Nikki had no chance of fighting back while Alicia Fox scissor kicked Nikki & got the win for her team. Again, I’m tired of the handicap matches.

Then we had Bo Dallas who got a nice round of cheers vs Damien Lebrondow. I think I’m one of the few people who really loves this comedy/costume angle that Damien Sandow has going on. I think he’s great. He draws heat from the crowd & seems to be having fun while doing it. I feel like everyone that’s been watching longer than a week knew he’d be coming out as Lebron but that didn’t stop the chorus of boos’. There’s not much worth mentioning here except that seeing Dallas’s’ victory lap thing in person was hilarious.

Little note: I have been dying to see The Wyatt Family live since they left NXT. I have been dying to see Chris Jericho live since I was a kid so when they announced that I’d have them both in a ring last night I was a little skeptical. Wyatt’s entrance is truly something to experience especially if you enjoy this character. The little kid next to me apparently doesn’t & was hiding the whole time. Wyatt came out & basically said that Jericho wasn’t coming out. They showed a short clip of what happened backstage (IE: Wyatt’s’ attacked Jericho) & Wyatt delivered another solid promo. I wish they’d give a reason for this feud but I’ll take Jericho on my screen happily without the explanation.

The Miz is a character that I love to hate. I find him to be such an entertaining heel. His entrance alone was so cocky that it was awesome. Everyone was basically booing him. When Dolph Ziggler came out the arena erupted again. During this match the atmosphere in the arena was too mesmerizing to describe. Everyone was up & cheering for Ziggler or booing Miz. When Ziggler won, people were just sort of going nuts. It’s always great to see a superstar who people are really & truly cheering for.

Okay, so I know everyone was sick of this "frenemies" thing going on between Paige & AJ. So when we had another tag match with the two I was sort of bored by the idea & was instead hoping for a heel turn. Now, I love the divas. I think that Nattie, Emma, Paige & AJ are some of the best but this match was just so boring to me. When the match ended and Paige & AJ had won, I was really hoping that this would be the time for a heel turn & boy was it! I have never heard people react like that to a diva since Trish & Lita in their heyday. Paige dominated AJ & looked amazing doing it. I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again, Paige is at her best when she’s a heel. Now that she’s finally established that again I think we’re in for some awesome bouts.

We then moved on to Fandango, I don’t think anyone hated the Fandango/Layla/Summer Rae love triangle as much as I did. So now that they’re all broken up it’s been a little interesting to see Summer & Layla lead Fandango to a losing streak. It was great seeing Zack Ryder, a lot of people were on their feet for him. When he won, everyone was cheering. I think though, it might be time to separate Layla/Summer from Fandango. Let the dancing queen (Fandango) get back to being himself.

I had a few favorite moments of the night. One of them was Stephanie getting arrested. The crowd was going insane the whole time during this segment. Brie being there added to the cheers. The backstage moment with Triple H was amazing too. All in all, this was one of those segments that will definitely help build Summerslam up.

Rybaxel vs Kofi Kingston & Big E was next. Big E got a nice reaction while everyone else’s was just sort of luke warm. The best part of the match came after the actual match had ended. With Xavier Woods in the ring announcing that they "needed to take what they wanted" there was some nice cheering. It’s going to be interesting to see where this goes.

Rusev & Lana were welcomed with a chorus of Boo’s while the Great Khali was welcomed with cheers. I was bored throughout this whole match. I could even say it was painful to watch but it was short & they were all gone just as quickly as they came.

The final Match of the night (on TV) was Ambrose vs Cesaro. Ambrose got the biggest pop from the crowd all night. Everyone was cheering for him & it was awesome. Cesaro, was welcomed with a mixed chorus of boos as well as cheering. The match itself was a fun bout. Both guys looked strong & composed. The ending made sense since it didn’t make anyone look weak. Ambrose was still being cheered heavily as he walked to back.

The whole night everyone was anticipating "the announcement" from Triple H about Summerslam. When Randy came out there was a lot of confusion in the air but when Paul Heyman came out, it was just excitement. Everyone was cheering for Brock. So when Brock actually appeared, it seemed like the roof would go off the arena. I think it was a strong close to the show especially since people were starting to leave.

The actual final bout of the night was Rollins & Kane vs Ambrose & Reigns. This all started with Rollins saying he was coming out to take care of the "little cockroach" that is Ambrose. This fight was fun. Reigns & Ambrose dominated it & won. After that the two guys went around & high fived people as well as signing things for fans.

This was honestly one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. I wasn’t expecting much to be honest after Battleground was just a letdown. The atmosphere last night though was electric. The crowd was super engaged. The performers were all basically on their A games. I can’t wait to go again.

P.S. I didn't mention Flo Rida because that performance was underwhelming nor did I mention backstage segments too often because I couldn't hear them at all.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.