WWE Raw, June 11: Thoughts from a Fan in Attendance

*This Article Contains spoilers for WWE Superstars. Skip down if you don’t wish to be spoiled*

As I sat down in my seat I was in awe as to where I was situated. I’ve been to many WWE shows before, and have sat on the floor, but my seat was literally right behind the ring bell. I could have touched it if I wanted to.

I even got a peek at the script once in a while. I immediately noticed the cage hanging above the ring, so my excitement level went through the roof.

Things kicked off with a dark match between Alex Riley and Drew McIntyre. Riley got a huge pop from the crowd. He’s a lot more popular than WWE thinks he is. McIntyre got a decent amount of heel heat, though not much.

The match itself was pretty good. A lot of back-and-forth action from two talented athletes got the crowd pumped for the soon to be taped Superstars.

WWE then taped two matches for Superstars. The first one was Zack Ryder vs. Michael McGillicutty. The Long Island Iced Z was over huge with the crowd.

I feared that I wouldn’t get the chance to see him since the Ryder Revolution is dead, but thankfully Superstars exists.

The crowd was dead for the son of Curt Hennig. No one really seemed to care for him.

The match itself was a good one. Both Ryder and McGillicutty worked well together and delivered a good showing. The crowd was into Ryder the entire match!

The second match taped was tag-team action between the Usos and Titus O’Neil and Darren Young. Seeing the Usos entrance live was really cool! They were over pretty well while the heel team got a bit of heat.

The match itself was decent as there really isn’t much to note here.

Justin Roberts then got us ready for Raw when the announcements of Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. Both of them received the appropriate heat and pop; Lawler was over huge here! The pyro then went off and Raw began!

The crowd went nuts, but everything turned to boos as soon as John Laurinaitis’ music hit. Before he could say a word, Vince McMahon’s music hit and we went into a frenzy.

At one point during the promo I couldn’t hear Big Johnny as the boos were so loud. Sheamus got a good pop when he came out and he capped off an entertaining opening segment.

The mic work was solid by all three involved and they delivered in opening this three-hour episode.

Sheamus vs. Tensai

Tensai got some heat on his way to the ring but people didn’t seem to care too much. Loud “Albert” chants broke out throughout the match with people from my section also screaming out “A-Train” and “Hip Hop Hippo.”

Tensai should really change his tights as they’re always falling down. There were a few moments where I got a bit frightened.

Sheamus hitting the Brogue kick got a good reaction and it ended a good match. At least it looked good live.

Tensai wasn’t his usual boring self, as he had to face someone just as big and just as powerful as he was. Sheamus is as impressive live as he is on television.

I thought Tensai being involved was going to kill the crowd before the show really got off, but it kept everyone alive.

Albert got booed heavily as he destroyed Sakamoto, but it wasn’t exactly impressive as he’s half the size of Tensai.

Up on the Titantron, McMahon wanted to know what Laurinaitis was going to do about Alberto Del Rio not being able to compete. Vickie Guerrero suggesting Dolph Ziggler got a good pop while the mention of Jack Swagger killed it.

Teddy Long then brought up the Great Khali to no reaction and Christian to a nice pop. McMahon’s insult to Laurinaitis about having small hands got a good laugh from crowd as well.

R-Truth then appeared up there and was eventually knocked out by the Big Show. Nobody really cared.

Santino Marella and Layla vs. Ricardo Rodriguez and Beth Phoenix

Santino came out to a huge pop; my home state was loving the United States champion. Layla received a decent reaction, while the crowd was all but dead for Beth and Ricardo.

I popped for Beth, but most didn’t seem to care.

This mixed tag match was basically a divas match as Layla and Beth fought for most of it. They were actually pulling off a good match despite the comedy of Ricardo on the apron.

A funny moment saw Ricardo run into the ring post, which got some laughs out of the crowd.

No one really cared that Beth pinned Layla here unfortunately. Ricardo’s goofy celebration and Santino stripping him to reveal his Justin Bieber shirt got a better reaction than his and Beth’s entrance and victory combined.

I would have preferred if this was just Layla vs. Beth as they could have put on a decent match with the time given.

Back up on the Titantron, McMahon’s comments about lawyers to David Otunga got a good chuckle. Kingston showing up got a small reaction while the booking of the cage match was a big pop!

Daniel Bryan then made his way out to massive “Yes” chants! He was very much over here, but everyone turned on him when he said he’d win the WWE Championship.

Punk made his way to one of the loudest pops of the night and the crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand. The “goat face” comment was received well here in Connecticut.

I jumped out of my shoes when Kane’s pyro hit. No matter how many times I’ve seen Kane, I never get used to his pyro.

A.J. was pretty over here as well. All four cut good promos which made this an overall good segment. The downside to it, though, was that they said the same things they’ve been saying. It was received well by the live crowd, so that’s all that really mattered to us.

Christian vs. The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger: No. 1 Contender’s Match

Christian made his way out first to a good pop. I was worried that I wouldn’t see Captain Charisma due to his appearance at TNA Slammiversary the night before so I’m glad he made it back!

Khali actually received some heat when his music hit. Nobody really wanted to see him there, but man is he huge in person. Seeing him on television doesn’t do it justice.

Vickie received her usual boos while Ziggler was over big! Swagger got some attention but all eyes were on the Showoff.

I was thankfully that Khali was eliminated first as that left three great athletes. The triple threat match was very good as the crowd chanted for Ziggler throughout it. The crowd popped again when he pinned Swagger and popped bigger for his victory.

The Showoff was very popular here in Connecticut. Believe it or not, he got one of the loudest pops of the night. The only other one cheered in this match was Christian, but his cheering section didn’t compare to Ziggler’s.

Christian and Ziggler delivered a good match once it came down to them. I don’t think he’ll defeat Sheamus, while I believe Christian will retain his title over Rhodes. I would love to see Captain Charisma and the Showoff battle it out over the Intercontinental Championship.

Up on the Titantron, Natalya wanted another Hart Family reunion, but she apparently forgot that the last one resulted in McMahon getting pinned by her uncle Bret. No one really seemed to care that she was on screen but the Funkadactyls got a nice little pop.

Them dancing with Vinnie Mac was received well and got a lot of laughs. Zack Ryder’s appearance was cool, as the look on his face was just hilarious.

Connecticut loves Ryder; they should have given him a match on Raw.

Ryback vs. Two Local Talents

I was surprised that Ryback got the pop he did, though parts of it came from ‘Goldberg” chants. He’s really starting to get over by squashing jobbers.

While the match was the typical Ryback squash, the man is impressive. Seeing him run over those two guys live was awesome, especially his finishing move. I’m not sure if this aired on television, but after the match, he had the crowd chanting “Feed me more!”

After seeing him up close, I think I have become a fan of Ryback.

Back up on the Titantron, McMahon and Hornswoggle aren’t getting much of a reaction. Cena’s appearance certainly did, though. Once he left, the crowd died since Otunga was back on screen.

We popped big time for William Regal’s random appearance, though. I don’t understand why WWE doesn’t use him more; the fans love him!

Kofi Kingston vs. The Big Show: Steel Cage Match

This was the first time I’ve seen a steel cage match live, so I was very excited. Kingston received a good pop as he made his way to the ring while the Big Show got deafening heat.

The match wasn’t too special, unfortunately. It was cool to see someone thrown up against the cage, but Big Show was pandering to the crowd a bit too much for my liking.

Sure, I was booing at the top of my lungs along with everyone else, but I would have liked to see more of a match.

It also disappoints me that Big Show destroyed the tag team champions again. It just goes to show you how much WWE actually cares for the division.

Sin Cara vs. Curt Hawkins

Hawkins got zero reaction as he made his way out. It’s a shame because Hawkins is a good talent.

Sin Cara received a good pop as this little kid next to me wearing a Sin Cara was freaking out. The crowd was loving each move he performed and rightfully so. Seeing moves like that don’t happen too often in WWE anymore.

Sin Cara was very impressive live and I have a new respect for him. Sometimes watching on television doesn’t do certain moves justice.

And his light wasn’t as annoying live as it is watching at home. It probably had to do with being mesmerized by him, though.

Daniel Bryan then appeared on the Titantron. McMahon eventually approached him and questioned his ability to be recognized on the street. He then made fun of him for losing the title in 18 seconds saying “I’ve never finished anything in 18 seconds.” Other than the last line, the crowd didn’t seem to into the segment.

Vader vs. Heath Slater

Much like Hawkins, Heath Slater got zero reaction from the crowd. With his arrival, I knew that this would be a squash, but I had no idea who it could have been.

Brodus Clay is banned from Raw, which was disappointing not being able to see him, and I just don’t see Damian Sandow on Raw.

As soon as Vader’s music hit, the roof blew off the building! I was a fan of Vader back in the day, so I was super pumped to see the Mastodon! I wouldn’t have expected in a million years that he would have gotten the reaction he did, though!

I don’t think Vader was expecting it, either, as he had a huge smile on his face.

Most of the time when they say a legend or a former main eventer was showing up it would be the same people that always pop up. Vader was an excellent surprise!

We chanted his name throughout the entire match and a loud “You still got it” chant broke out as well. This was certainly a treat and I thank WWE for it!

Punk and A.J. then popped up on the Titantron. They received a decent pop, but got a bigger one when she kissed him on the cheek. Thankfully, this was the last of the backstage segments as I was growing tired of them. I think others were as well.

CM Punk and A.J. vs. Daniel Bryan and Kane

By this point I was tired, and I think a lot of other people were as well. Punk and Bryan received huge pops but they weren’t as big as they were earlier. Punk performed great with both Bryan and Kane which leads me to believe that their match this Sunday will be excellent.

The crowd really woke up as soon as A.J. got in the ring, though. As she pranced around Kane, the crowd was eating it up. As soon as she jumped up, wrapped herself around him and kissed him, the crowd went nuts! Nobody expected to see her do that.

With just a few simple actions, A.J. continues to prove that she is the best Diva on the roster right now.

Punk’s Macho Man elbow drop got a good reaction and we popped for the victory. A.J. continued her games when she sat cross legged in the middle of the ring like Punk once did.

To quote CM Punk, “I love crazy chicks!”

It was then time to see what the fate of John Laurinaitis was. McMahon made his way out to a good pop while Laurinaitis received some nice heat. The segment itself was dead, though. Everyone seemed so tired.

When the Big Show made his way out, he got some heat, but the crowd went back to sleep afterwards. It wasn’t until John Cena’s music hit that the crowd woke back up.

While there were some boos, Connecticut seems to be a John Cena state.

As the segment continued, we once again began to doze off. WWE woke us up again, though, when Cena and Big Show started to fight.

Big Show’s punch to McMahon totally missed! He was nowhere near his head so I hope the camera angle was good. After the heels left, some referees helped get McMahon up and Laurinaitis then booked the dark match of John Cena vs. Big Show, David Otunga and John Laurinaitis. T

he match wasn’t anything too special, though. Big Show and Otunga dominated until Cena eventually pinned Otunga. Laurinaitis did receive an Attitude Adjustment so that was cool

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with this three-hour Raw. The crowd was hot for most of the night and the show featured some good matches.

The only real downside of being there live was the fact that it was three hours long. People got tired after a while, and the crowd pretty much fell asleep as the third hour hit. We woke up at the appropriate times, but it was really hard to stay interested after sitting there for so long.

I think WWE is going to hit some troubles with this when the show goes three hours permanently.

It was a great experience, though, and I can’t want to go again when they come back!