Tuesday, September 30 – 3:53 P.M. (CT)

I attended last night's Raw at Target Center in Minneapolis and the following are some of the observations I made about the show and the WWE live experience.

-The live crowd was really excited to see D-Lo Brown. Some of the reaction can be attributed to him working the opening match against Dolph Ziggler, but the crowd chanted his name repeatedly during the dark match.

-Lillian Garcia delivers a knockout rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.

-The fans don't give a damn about Mike Adamle. There were some boos, but it was mostly indifference when he came out. I realize Vince McMahon wants to justify that ridiculous $300,000 salary he gave Adamle, but I think it's time to eat the contract and move on.

-Kane received a babyface pop the first time he appeared on camera. WWE has him playing the kiddie monster role, yet it was mostly children cheering him. Strange.

-C.M. Punk got one of the better pops of the night. The ovation for Punk was equal to that of Rey Mysterio last night even though there were kids wearing Mysterio masks and merchandise everywhere.

-Speaking of merchandise, WWE was charging $20 for those nylon things Jeff Hardy wears on his arms. After the show, I saw one of the venders selling the same Hardy item for ten bucks.

-Sign of the times? No Minnesota Vikings were shown on TitanTron. Former Vikings John Randle and Chris Hovan were big wrestling fans. Meanwhile, current Vikings Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen shown on the big screen during the UFC show at Target Center last month.

-I rarely see people on the street wearing WWE gear, yet the merchandise area was packed throughout the night.

-Diverse crowd with fans of all ages in attendance. There were more mothers at the show with their children than I remember seeing in the past. Some looked bored, while most were going crazy for the babyfaces, particularly Batista.

-There weren't as many boos for Michael Cole as I expected. Don't get me wrong, he didn't get many cheers, but he was mostly greeted with indifference. Jerry Lawler got a great reaction from the live crowd.

-Ric Flair no longer works for WWE, but there where countless "Whooooo!" calls before, during, and after the show. All it takes is one "Whoooo" to draw 500 in response.

-The live crowd booed Santino Marella when he came out, but most people had smiles on their faces while booing him. Those same fans were cracking up at his best promo lines.

-Great promo by JBL. I rolled my eyes when his music started, but he delivered a very entertaining rant and the live crowd hated him for it.

-The live crowd was thrilled to see Triple H. The DX reunion was over big with the live crowd even though it seemed like most people expected him to be the mystery partner.

-The fans popped for the Divas, but they didn't care about them once the bell rang. They cheered the finish, but this appeared to be the bathroom break match for most fans. The in-ring action just isn't connecting with the fans for some reason. The only exception is Mickie James, as the crowd was excited to see her and cheered throughout her mixed tag match.

-Shawn Michaels teasing Hulk Hogan as his tag team partner got no reaction. I don't think most people figured out what he was referring to when he threw out the "Real American" line, but they definitely caught on when he teased Steve Austin and Bret Hart.

-No one seemed to mind that WWE didn't deliver the advertised dark match main event of Batista and Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho and Kane. Most fans headed for the exits after the television main event.

-The videos that aired during the show got old in a hurry. I think they'd keep the live crowd interested if they played pre-taped promos recorded specifically for the local audience.

-It was a fun atmosphere and the live crowd really enjoyed the show. I enjoyed myself, but this was not a good episode of Raw, and it was a really sorry effort considering that this is go-home week for the No Mercy pay-per-view.

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