WWE Raw live event
Kingston, Ontario
Report by Dot Net reader Matt Corcoran

It was not a sellout but it was pretty close, way more people than last time. The energy was completely different as well, it felt like everybody was really excited to be there and people were really getting into it from the first match which is always a good sign.

1. Brodus Clay and Tensai defeated Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre (w/Jinder Mahal). This was such a good opener, the crowd was surprisingly into Tensai (even though you can't get them to stop chanting "Let's go Albert", at least they care about the guy). He got a huge pop for his pin after a double splash on McIntyre, but the biggest pop of the match came when he did his gangnam-style dance into corner running knee. Kids came in and danced afterward, the usual.

2. Justin Gabriel defeated JTG in the shortest match of the night. This was confusing, as JTG came out first and being so close to New York people just naturally cheered for him when "Brooklyn Brooklyn" started. They didn't like Gabriel much until the 450. Post-match, The Shield beat Gabriel down and cut a great promo on Kingston and their opponents that night.

3. Bray Wyatt beat Alex Riley. I think I was the only one who popped for Wyatt, I was so happy to see him there. He cut a great promo before the match, basically about how in 5000 years this is the match we'll all remember. Great stuff, great performer and gimmick. Crowd was pretty behind Riley, and he did the whole "get up and walk to the back sad" to get one more pop.

4. Tamina (w/Vickie Guerrero) defeated Layla. Not an interesting divas match at all, the highlight was all the heat on Vickie.

5. Antonio Cesaro defeated The Miz in a No DQ match to retain the U.S. Title. Cesaro said Kingston doesn't deserve to see him defend his title and tried to leave, but Miz ran for him and brought him back. They did their table spot where Miz keeps trying to bring out a table and Cesaro keeps putting it back under, it made for great back-and-forth from the crowd and kept things interesting. Miz finally set the table up in the corner but couldn't put Cesaro through it before he ate Antonio's finish for the pin. Cesaro left while staring at the table, then came back to beat down on Miz who fought back and eventually got an enziguri on Cesaro through the table. Match of the night easily, and a great match to have before intermission.

6. Zack Ryder over Michael McGillicutty. Nothing exciting here, Ryder was so over at the start but by the end there weren't too many people into the match.

7. CM Punk defeated Kofi Kingston. Awesome promo by Punk about how he despises the city and word Kingston, and nothing good ever came from the name Kingston. He then got into a bit of a yelling match with a fan, inviting him to "waddle his fat ass into the ring." The guy was completely red in the face, throwing middle fingers and just in a total fit. Punk tore a few signs before Kofi entered to a decent pop. Their match was even slower paced than the opener, neither guy really moving too quickly and mostly focusing on a story of Punk being a "chicken." Things got a little physical at the end but the match featured very little contact between the two. During this match, you could clearly see two men in flack jackets doing jumping jacks at the top of the bowl behind the stage; my partner confirmed it was Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. This was sadly the most entertaining part of the match. One GTS later and Punk was gone.

8. Ryback, Sheamus and John Cena defeated The Shield by DQ. Ryback was over huge, Sheamus almost as much, and Cena had the roof coming off the place. Huge heat for The Shield, who had everyone looking all over the crowd for them during their entrance. This was a very good match, all six men can really go and have excellent chemistry with each other. Rollins was hit with White Noise pretty early, but Dean and Roman isolated Cena for much of the match until Ryback tagged in to dominate. He and Sheamus attacked Dean and Roman until Seth came in with the chair for the DQ. Cena saves the day, and a well-timed finishing sequence with Ryback and Cena hitting their finishes at the same time. 

Most Heat
1. Vickie, as soon as she spoke everyone hated her
2. The Shield, they did a great job telling a story throughout the night and making themselves out to be the "villains" of the show
3. Antonio Cesaro, huge heat on him for his win and post-match attack

Most Over
1. Team Superfriends, but that was to be expected
2. The Miz
3. Zack Ryder

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: