WWE Raw house show
Bethlehem, Pa.
Report by an anonymous Dot Net reader

Bethlehem crowd was short of a sell-out but very hot. One fan in particular, first row by the entrance way in a Warren Moon Houston Oilers #1 jersey made himself part of the show with some fun interactions with the wrestlers.

1. Primo defeated Chris Masters. Masters generated a lot of heat for a guy just back on TV after his two-year absence. Primo was nicely over as the acrobatic curtain-jerking babyface. Primo won after a top-rope springboard splash.

2. Evan Bourne beat Alex Riley. Riley came out first and cut a promo acknowledging that nobody knew who he was: "You're wondering whether to like me or hate me. Well, I'll make it easy for you. After this match is done, you are going to love me." Generated heat. Even Bourne was over. It seemed like these two had worked together quite a bit in Florida. Good chemistry. Bourne sells very well. Bourne won with the Shooting Star Press after an awkward superplex-teasing top rope spot.

3. The Miz over Santino Marella. Miz set up his promo as a shoot. "What I have to say I'm not saying as The Miz character." Sitting in a chair center ring, he claimed to have had an epiphany today and that epiphany was that he is the greatest WWE superstar of all-time. Great heat. Santino entered, took the mic, and told some silly jokes, getting kids and parents laughing pretty hard.

The match was a great comedy match. Many funny spots, Santino rolling across the ring as Miz chased him, for example. The crowd was laughing through much of the match. Santino hulked up at one point. Miz had great heat with the No. 1 fan ringside. Miz won following the Reality Check. Miz made the pin staring at No. 1 fan directly. They then jawed, while security inched closer to be on the safe side. After the match, after talking with Santino, Tony Chimel announced, "I've just been informed...that Santino will be okay." More good laughs.

4. Kofi Kingston pinned Carlito to retain the Intercontinental Title. First match to not get the crowd excited. Some "boring" chants. Not much to it. Championship matches sometimes seem to fall flat at house shows, since even the most casual fans know not to expect a title change without TV cameras present. Kofi won following his signature kick.

Intermission. Big boos when Tony Chimel tried to sell autographed copies of 12 Rounds. It was movie heat, not Cena heat.

5. Mickie James, Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly beat Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox. Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox are two of the worst workers I have ever seen. Every single move involving either of them was botched. Even kicks and slaps. They are brutal to watch and they took the crowd right out of it. I felt that there was real heat between Mickie and Rosa at the finish of the match. Hornswoggle got involved for no apparent reason, Mickie pinned Rosa following a pretty stiff DDT, then stepped to the ref and said, "Check her mouth." A really awful match and I felt badly for Mickie having to put up with these amateurs. But she seemed to have some fun dancing a jig and playing to the crowd with Hornswoggle after the match.

6. Jack Swagger beat MVP. Good heat on Swagger's entrance. MVP was not over with this crowd. A few fans but he seemed to connect less than any other babyface of the night. Swagger won following a pumphandle slam and a few "boring" chants.

7. John Cena and Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase. Big, electric reaction for Orton. It was clear that for 10 percent of the crowd he was who they came to see. Very slow walk to the ring. Many, many boos and many cheers, both loud. Mark Henry's intro seemed to disappoint and confuse the crowd as it meant either Triple H or Cena was not going to be seen tonight. When Cena's music hit, it was complete pandemonium. A completely chaotic crowd. I'm assuming there were boos, but I couldn't hear them because the cheering was so out of control.

It had been a good crowd all night, but when Cena hit the ring, the crowd jacked it straight up to 11. The crowd remained super hot for the entire match. Henry was great and got over with the fans by the end. I think he has a very infectious smile. Orton was interacting with the fans in an almost-goofy way, presenting a different, kinda funny side. The match went on for a while as Cena received a hot tag early and Henry got the hot tag late. Cena tossed Orton over the top rope in a way eerily reminiscent of the HHH-Orton spot at One Night Stand last year that broke Orton's collarbone. Cena and Henry then performed a simultaneous Attitude Adjustment and World's Strongest Slam on DiBiase and Rhodes to score the double-pin and the win.

After the match, Cena took the mic, called "senior official Mike Chioda" back to the ring and announced that today was a big day for him. He said Chioda is a diehard Steelers fan, which drew big boos from the Eastern Pennsylvania crowd. He then said he was kidding and that Chioda is an Eagles fan and a Pennsylvania boy who "offically" turns 50 years old today. The crowd popped big. Cena then led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" and told Chioda that instead of 50 birthday punches, he gets a big sweaty hug from Henry. That ended the show. The crowd seemed very happy on the way out the doors.

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