From PROWRESTLING.NET

WWE Raw onsite report: First time attendee's detailed report on Monday's show and the crowd reactions

Posted in: WWE News
By
Jun 18, 2013 - 04:38 PM

Dot Net reader Mike Cheyne attended Monday's WWE Raw in Grand Rapids, Michigan and sent the following report.

I was at the Monday Night Raw broadcast in Grand Rapids. This was my first time attending a live WWE event and it was good fun. The arena was packed--probably a sell out or a near sell out.

Alberto Del Rio got a very good heel reaction when he first came out. The crowd went right into booing him and by my estimate, it was one of the first times in a while where Del Rio as a heel got proper heat.

CM Punk got a HUGE reaction. I think a lot of people didn't think he would show.

Vickie Guerrero got a lot of heat, but at least where I was sitting (young college students mostly), it was just sort of mindless heat.

Nobody cared about Wade Barrett. His entrance is very lame too.

Christian got a good-sized pop. The fact that he did not cut a promo or anything led to a bit of audience listlessness; I think he should have at least said a few words to get some welcome back chants.

The Rhodes Scholars got little reaction. I was disappointed that there was not a Damien Sandow promo.

Sheamus got a big pop. The match itself wasn't anything, but the audience loves chanting along to Sheamus' clubbing blows and the Brogue Kick.

The backstage segments got little reaction, although at least in my section, it was hard to hear a lot of the participants (especially Stephanie McMahon).

Both Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan got huge reactions--in my section, Orton got the huger reception, although I was in front of young adult women who dug everything Orton did. Orton seemed to be heeling it up for most of the match, but the fans cheered him anyway and it was hard to tell if it meant anything. The match was long but never really gelled and then the abrupt ending really confused the live crowd.

A.J. Lee got a decent heel reaction. Stephanie got a decent reaction, but it was hard to hear her (I had no idea what she said to Kaitlyn until I got home). Nobody cared about Kaitlyn, at least in my section, although she almost revealed her breast when she attacked A.J. at the end. 

The Shield really didn't get that big a reaction, oddly enough. Decent heat, but nothing crazy. Kane got a nice reaction and I agree with everyone that his pyro is really scary in person.

Nobody really cared about Zeb Colter. I sarcastically chanted that he was right about Del Rio all along and got a few of the other young guys near me to agree. I got the feeling that people were *interested* in Cesaro per se, but not until he does anything (people seemed to dig his mannerisms).

The reaction to John Cena was huge--I was very much in the anti-Cena section, but there was a lot of cheers too. I couldn't tell if Cena was trying to pump up a reaction or if he was genuinely impressed by it (it sounded loud on site). His promo was straightforward and got a straightforward reception. Mark Henry's entrance got a large pop and the crowd perfectly reacted to everything he did--laughed at his jokes, started respectful chants, gave him a few standing ovations, was polite, and then went nuts when he attacked Cena. That was probably the highlight of the night.

3MB got no reaction. Chris Jericho got a huge reaction; his entrance is fantastic in person. The match itself was nothing, but Jericho did a good job playing along with the crowd. The Paul Heyman interview played on the screen while Jericho was leaving but he kept playing to the crowd, which was funny.

The Miz got a decent reception, although he just went to commentary without doing anything. Sin Cara's entrance is actually quite cool live and he actually got a good reaction when he came in oddly enough (although not when he wrestled). Curtis Axel got some heat, I guess. The crowd didn't like this match which seemed very very awkward but I guess it served a storyline purpose.

Alberto Del Rio didn't get much reaction when he re-entered, but he had already come out once before, the crowd was a little tired near the end of the night, and his entrance took forever as it apparently was during a rather long commercial break, so I don't think it means anything in terms of his heat. Punk got a nice pop again. This match was solid if short; Del Rio was good at milking heat during the match.

Afterwards, the crowd went insane for Ziggler's run-in and I think everyone thought the show would end with that brawl. When Lesnar's music hit, the place went nuts. Everyone was standing all throughout Lesnar's entrance and confrontation and went crazy when he hit the F-5.

The dark match was Cena vs. Ryback in a tables match for the title. Kids really liked this match, which was short and basic (and kind of awkward).

All in all, this was a really fun show. Crowd seemed to have a great time.

© Copyright 2013 by PROWRESTLING.NET