WWE Raw/ECW house show match results
January 31, 2009
Hammond, Indiana Civic Center
Report by Seth Berger, PWTorch.com reader

Greetings and salutations, everybody. I'm bringing you another one of our events from the fabled Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana. This time around, it's the debut of the Raw brand to the famed arena that has seen some of the greatest wrestlers to ever step inside a ring. Personally, I've been attending shows there since 1988 - where the NWA/WCW main event was Ric Flair & Barry Windham vs. Sting & Lex Luger.

But, enough of that, as you'll more-than-likely hear about that later on in the report. Let's get in gear and hear about the show. (Just so you know, it was my son's eighth birthday and his gift was getting to come along with his uncle Zach - the guy who answers my phone calls "Hey yo!" - and our friends Mike and Doug. So, he was having his first live wrestling experience.)

The event started at 7:38 p.m. local time, when the Smackdown ring announcer (yes, a Smackdown ring announcer on a Raw/ECW show) pushed the "Behind Enemy Lines: Columbia" DVD by Mr. Kennedy. (Fans booed a Smackdown wrestler. Harsh start to the show.)

Then, he revealed that "despite being advertised, John Cena will NOT be on the card this evening. All refund requests must be made by the conclusion of the second match." (When the tickets went on sale in December, he was advertised. When my brother finally got the tickets a couple of weeks ago, it was supposed to be a main event of John Cena vs. Chris Jericho. Then, that night on Raw, Jericho was "fired" by Stephanie McMahon. Great.) Quickly, they changed gears and announced the first match was for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, so fans would be distracted from their "No Cena" anger.

(1) Intercontinental champion C.M. Punk defeated Kane to retain his IC belt. Chicago's very own C.M. Punk is always a hot draw to this area (even back to his ROH and IWA Mid-South days), and this evening wasn't any different. The crowd loves him for some odd reason. He did a lot of posing, he threw his shirt and a couple pairs of the C.M. Punk "hand tape" (socks with the toes cut out and X's where the back of your hand is) being sold for $10 a pair at the WWE Shop to lucky fans and he held the belt aloft a lot. Kane came to the ring with a somewhat calm reaction. Kane got off to a fast start, kicking and throwing hand thrusts at Punk. Anytime Punk tried a comeback, Kane would use his strength to beat him back down. Punk clotheslined Kane out of the ring, then hit a standing dive onto the Big Red Machine for a loud cheer. At one moment while Punk was reeling from a slam, Kane went to the corner and removed the turnbuckle pad. A lot of teasers with both men trying to use the exposed steel to their advantage.

When the action went outside of the ring again, Kane tried to whip Punk into the ringpost; Punk made a leap onto the stairs and tried a bodyblock. Kane caught him and slammed him hard into the ring apron. One cool counter was when Kane attempted a chokeslam. Punk lifted his left leg and kicked Kane in the skull. Punk tried to get him set-up for the GTS, but Kane wriggled off of his shoulders. Punk whipped him face-first into the exposed steel in the corner, then rolled up Kane for the three-count after about 13 minutes of action. Very nice opener.

(2) Dolph Ziggler beat Jamie Noble. Dolph did the handshake thing with the ring announcer and referee before asking for the microphone. He discussed how "2009 is going to be the year for Dolph Ziggler. And why?" He riled up the crowd to the point that he wouldn't stop until the fans knew his name was "Dolph! Ziggler!" The fans would yell "sucks!" which would really irritate the former Spirit Squad member. Jamie Noble came out second to a polite reaction and the match was a go. Dolph really dominated this match, even putting Noble (and the fans, apparently) in a sleeper hold for a long bit of time. Jamie came back to mudhole stomp Ziggler. The ref separated the two from the corner and Ziggler hit his finisher, which is almost a version of the Codebreaker. Good heat for Ziggler, but a really dull nine-minute match. Jamie got a nice ovation for his hard work.

(3) Women's champion Melina defeated Beth Phoenix to retain her WWE Women's Championship. This is the first time I can ever recall attending a WWF/E event and not see the women trot out in bikinis for some worthless contest. Beth is definitely not a person I want on my bad side; she looked exactly like they describe her when they say "Glamazon." I'm sitting in the balcony section above where the wresters come out and Beth is one big gal. Melina is a fan favorite, especially in this area. Once again, the format seemed to be the good guy/gal gets beat up for the majority of the match, but Beth and Melina added their own twist. I've never seen a woman with flexibility like Melina, but everything Beth did with stretching this poor girl made me cringe. (Some guy behind us was really trying to rally Melina by speaking Spanish, continually calling her "Mellie." I just listen for my name, like Bill Cosby says.)

Melina tried a backslide later on, but Beth reversed it just enough to carry her to the opposite corner and brutally shoved her face-and-chest first into the buckles. Beth went for her finisher, but Melina escaped and won with a small package for the clean pinfall. Fine for what it was; I'm pretty sure the fans tuned out after Melina's unique ring entrance. Melina took some hellacious bumps in this match. (She don't look like much but, "she's tough." My brother will get that joke.)

(4) Rey Mysterio beat Mike Knox. I honestly didn't get to see a lot of this match because my son wanted to go downstairs and check out what kind of souvenirs they sold at the stand. On the positive side, I was getting a much better view from the floor at seeing how big this Mike Knox is. Rey got his expected huge pop and posed at all the turnbuckles. Then the match started with Mike jumping Rey before the bell. Half of the time we stood in line, I was wondering if Rey was ever going to show up again. Turned out he was in the ring getting the stuffing knocked out of him by Grizzly-Man. A couple of times, Rey had big Mike in position for the 619, but they were all for naught. One pretty neat move was Rey getting a head of steam and bouncing off of the ropes, putting the boots to Knox. Then, he went in for the kill with Mike on his knees, and dang-near got clotheslined out of his boots by the huge mountain of a man. The third time was the charm with the 619 and Rey and the fans had a happy ending. (My son's happy ending, after playing with the displayed John Cena spinner pendant, were a pair of "619" glow sticks. My kids love the glow sticks.) I didn't get the approximate time on this clash of styles, but it did its job of setting Rey up as a giant killer.

Intermission time. Get your pizza, get your pop and get your little pitchers of beer. We chose to use the restroom, which still smelled like the circus from Thanksgiving. On the way down the stairs, a bunch of pre-teens were blocking our side, peeking in at Kofi Kingston getting ready for his match later. We get done, and back up to the balcony area. There's Mickie James (looking perky as ever, and I'm not a Mickie fan) throwing out t-shirts, including stripping off the one she was wearing. (Sorry guys, she was dressed in a halter top underneath.) This was the time when Mickie would choose a lucky (little) fan to be the guest bell ringer. She gets some kid in the front row (which sat in the $50 seat) who was about four years old in a Rey Mysterio mask. Eh, the day these shows actually give some props to those of us who can only get the $20 balcony seats is when we'll take these seriously. Mickie sat with the kid while they announced the next match was for the ECW Heavyweight Title.

(5) ECW champion Jack Swagger defeated Tommy Dreamer to retain the ECW title. Wrestling cliches 101 is now in session with Professor Tommy Dreamer giving us a lesson of how the Hammond Civic Center has housed some of the greatest wrestlers ever to lace up a pair of boots and step into a wrestling ring. He mentioned the great days of the AWA stopping regularly (the controversial Scott Hall-Curt Hennig title loss by count-out was here), and pretty much saying the right things to get us to like him. Tommy said his contract will expire June 6 of this year, but if he wins the ECW Title tonight, we will have the biggest contract resigning ever seen here in Hammond. Tommy said "we got some drinks I see right over here (he was careful not to allude to the fact it was beer) and we have plenty of food. Tell you what, if I win the ECW title tonight, not only will I renew my contract with WWE, I will also pay for everybody's food and drinks here." Tommy paused, looked at Mickie sitting ringside and corrected himself. "Me & Mickie will pay for everybody's food and drinks!" (Gee, I wonder if Tommy will win?)

Jack Swagger finally came out, sporting his recently-won hardware around his waist. He got ready to wrestle and Tommy started off quickly with a few punches. Swagger would slip around and hitch on a waistlock, riding Dreamer down to the mat. Dreamer got up, started punching Swagger again, and the same counter happened. Tommy was getting upset, and Jack left the ring to slow it down. Jack stepped between the ropes and put on an amateur wrestling clinic, with a fireman's carry. Swagger looked at the fallen Dreamer and started doing push-ups, showing his stamina. Jack got in the down position (his hands and knees) to give Tommy Dreamer a free chance. Dreamer tried to take him down with a failed leg trip, so he just punched the back of Jack's head a few times, sending him scurrying from the ring again. Tommy did some push-ups of his own to a big pop. Then a rush of action happened, with plenty of believable near-falls - to the point where a loud "Tommy" chant was echoing off of the walls. It even went to the outside, where Swagger stood dazed in the corner of the floor.

Dreamer did a somersault senton bodyblock onto Swagger in a completely insane move, then took a fan's beer and downed it. Back into the ring, Dreamer got a near-fall. Swagger attempted his gutwrech powerbomb but Tommy slipped out, caught Swagger with a boot and hit his DDT for a very close near-fall. Swagger slipped out of another DDT attempt, hit his finisher and won the match. Best match of the night. The fans were really into the 15 minutes of action; even I got caught up in the fact that maybe Tommy had a good chance. (If he hadn't said anything about "free food and drinks if I win," I could have believed he could have won this match.) Swagger "escaped" with his title, Tommy got a very nice ovation for busting his butt in this encounter. A fan gave him a post-match beer.

(6) Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase beat Kofi Kingston & Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspar & JTG) when Orton pinned Shad Gaspar. I was honestly surprised at the reaction "Legacy" got from the fans. There was no overwhelming jeers. It was just about split down the middle. Not so with the other team. They barely got the "Yo, yo, yo!" out of the speakers before the fans jumped out of their seats and screamed their heads off. (Let's safely say that Cryme Tyme is VERY over.) The match started with Ted Jr. against Kofi. Kofi made quick work of the young DiBiase (sporting new sparkly sequin trunks), and Ted tagged out to Cody. Cody had a little better showing than his partner, until Kofi tagged out to Shad. (Seriously, Shad is a "Big Dude." That Knicks jersey isn't a prop; he could seriously play center for the New Yorkers.)

Shad's physical offense made Cody think twice about staying in the ring very much longer, so he tagged in Orton. Randy came in only when Shad tagged in his tag partner JTG. This was the moment that the match would change; the Legacy team used the smallest member of the other team and wore the guy down for a good six-to-seven minutes or so. Orton would let his teammates do all the dirty work. Ted stretched JTG (a double armlock behind his head, ouch!). Cody missed a bodypress attempt, which finally got JTG to tag Kofi, and it's the proverbial "pier-six brawl," as the late Gordon Solie would exclaim. Randy Orton wasn't a part of the ring excitement, as a security guard (looked like "Biggie Smalls" in a trenchcoat) rushed over to stop some sort of commotion in the front row. (Some jackass probably tried to take a swipe at Orton. Right in front of a few kids too.)

In the middle of all the action, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase were lying on the mat. Kofi & Shad did the "boom boom boom" legdrop/elbowdrop combo (I swear Shad did the People's Elbow, and my friend Mike saw the same thing). Kofi shoved Cody from the ring, as Shad attempted a pinfall on Ted Jr. Lurking in the corner on the arena floor was Orton (the viper!). Ted kicked out at almost three, then Shad stood up. Orton caught him with the RKO and Legacy gets the win. Lots of heat for Orton and a huge pop for Kofi & Cryme Tyme. Pretty good match that went about 16 minutes.

Main event time, even though I was in a discussion over whether that six-man was the main event. Hammond shows don't usually last past 10:00 p.m. But, we get the surprise!

(7) Shawn Michaels beat Chris Jericho. The Jericho countdown started and, just like Legacy, fans were in the middle - until Jericho showed his face. Definitely not a popular figure by any stretch of the imagination. Chris grabbed the mic and soaked in the unpopular opinions from the paying public before starting his speech. "I think you should show a little respect for a man voted 2008 Superstar of the Year, a man who claimed two World titles to earn that award, and a man who tells you the truth. I find is sickening that you would cheer a man like Shawn Michaels, although it's very fitting you would cheer a man who is deceitful, a liar, a scammer, a cheat; because that is how I see each and every one of you. And, when I beat Shawn tonight, I will also be beating up on each and every single one of you wrestling fans who can't accept it." Shawn Michaels is in the building (!) and he got an even bigger reaction that Kofi & Cryme Tyme. (I thought he "doesn't do these club shows..." as the Torch quoted him as saying way back in 1997.)

He spun, he posed, he threw his $20 straw hat (on sale at the souvenir stand now) and cut-up shirt ($25 at same location, but it's a t-shirt). Jericho started the match by walking out. They must have spent about seven-to-eight minutes just looking at each other. Chris went to get a steel chair, which perked my son up from playing with his glow sticks. ("Daddy, Daddy! Chris got a chair!") My son joined the other four people in our area chanting "Y2J". (I'm so proud of him; I raised him good - to think for himself.) The rest of the people were definitely on Shawn's side, as the "HBK" chants thundered from every corner. Jericho finally got in the ring when the referee and Shawn both attempted to count Chris out, as the fans counted with them. At nine, Jericho slid into the ring. Chris pounded on Shawn's face, Shawn reversed the Walls of Jericho twice, and Chris elbowed Shawn and did his leaping dropkick to the floor. Chris was distracted by the fans jawing with him at ringside, and Shawn punched Jericho.

Back in the ring after another stalling session by Chris, Shawn was a house of fire. He hit his flying forearm, then kipped up for a huge pop. (I'm not going to describe the set-up while he was on the mat. Although it resembled Navin Johnson's feet in "The Jerk," where they have a mind of their own. I'm sure the ladies got a thrill from Shawn's version - and a few of the guys, as Bret Hart would sneak in.) Just as Shawn attempted the Sweet Chin Music, Jericho ducked and locked in the Walls for a very good hope spot. Shawn reached the ropes, slipped in a quick shot on Chris, then scaled the ropes for his infamous "up yours" elbow drop from the top. One superkick later and it was lights out for Mr. Serious. Shawn celebrated in the ring, as Chris Jericho slinked away and the fans got up and went home.

I was kinda blase about the show. The stars were there, no doubt. No Miz and Morrison, as even when they were advertised. ("That makes Seth something something.") No Matt Hardy, and his picture was in the paper Friday. No Lillian or Howard Finkel, which would have solidified the fact this was a Raw brand show, instead of getting Tony Chimel from Smackdown. The show was changed a couple of times, which is a birdie for Northwest Indiana house shows. (Usually they change a few times; a Valparaiso house show I was at five years ago had Scotty 2 Hotty flip-flopped so many times he was dizzy when he finally showed up.) Jericho was scheduled to face Rey Jr. in a 2-out-of-3 falls match, and Shawn was to take on Orton in a "special challenge grudge" match, according to our city website. Have no idea if it was sold-out, but I didn't see very many empty seats. Lines moved fast. Security was superb; great job by the Hammond Police Department when it came to parking matters and directing traffic.

The one thing I did not like was that it seemed like every match had the same story: good guy gets a couple of quick shots, bad guy beats down good guy for 90 percent of the match. Those wear-downs don't just affect the wrestler, it affects the fans too. As for my son, he had a really fun birthday gift. We went out for a post-show ice cream, then he fell asleep on the way home. When we came home, he gave one of his glow sticks to his sister, as her birthday is in two weeks.

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