WWE Raw house show report
March 21, 2010
Reno, Nev.
Report by Chad Holdren, Torch reader

The show started at 5:00 p.m. sharp. The arena was about I'd say 85 percent full and the Reno Events Center really isn't all that big at all. The show was supposed to feature Triple H vs. Sheamus is a "Raw Challenge," but this is what unfolded...

(1) Santino Marella & Primo beat Carlito & Chavo. The match was about 16 minutes long and that was about 16 minutes over what they should have been given. The finish saw Santino do a swinging neckbreaker that somehow rolled into a schoolboy for the win. The live crowd was NOT into this at all and there were many "TNA" in the arena, not to mention random Ric Flair Whooos.

It was Masterlock Challenge time and out came William Regal with his "house show" speech about how Masters could never make him submit in a normal match.

(2) Chris Masters beat William Regal via submission. The match went back and forth and it was a decent match for Chris Masters, who was way over with the Reno crowd, which was 80 percent kids 13-years-old and younger. Six minutes in, Masters slapped on the Masterlock and Regal didn't even give up; the second it was slapped on, the bell rang. Horrible ending. It made Regal look really bad and he walked out saying he was never coming back to Reno.

(3) Divas champion Maryse & Jillian Hall & Alicia Fox beat Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres in a six-divas tag match. To be honest, this is when the arena almost all got up and took a bathroom break, but I did come back to see Gail Kim miss a flying cross-body off the top rope and land right on her head. The match stopped for about ten seconds and then it was a quick win for the heel side with Maryse scoring the pin.

(4) MVP beat Big Show. It was a six-minute match yet again and the finish saw MVP getting the pinfall on Show after he hit the playmaker. Show just doesn't have the ability to take a finisher at his size. Remember how he takes the Pedigree? Well, this made that look like he took that great. MVP could barely get his leg over Show's head and it was sloppy. Even MVP got up after the win and shook his head as if he knew that it was bad.

(5) U.S. champion The Miz beat Christian to retain the U.S. Tile. This was a great match. Prior to the match, Miz cut a promo about how he got into this business and dreamed about headlining MSG and L.A. and even Las Vegas, but he never...NEVER thought he would be in a place where dreams come to die, and that would be the armpit of America - Reno, Nevada. This was so great. The Miz is just so impressive on the mic that it was, in my eyes, the highlight of the night. Christian then entered the ring and tried to do a funny face promo and it was good at the start, but then when we all thought he was going to be serious for a moment, he did an audience poll on if we all thought Miz was awesome or if we thought that Christian was "cooler." It's a really sad age in wrestling where to get "over" with the audience, a wrestler needs to use the word "cooler." If only I were 13-years-old again.

(6) Legacy (Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes) beat Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne. This was by far the best match of the night - back-and-forth all the way with everyone hitting their highspots. The finish came when Bourne hit the Shooting Star Press perfectly, only to see DiBiase break up the pin. Cody then rolled out and Bourne chased him to the ropes, but Ted came up behind him to hit Dream Street for the easy pin.

So here I am, waiting for the big stars. You know guys like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton - all of whom were advertised for the show. And I hear "time for the main event!" Apparently one hour and 45 minutes into the event, it was the main event. I was shocked, so I sat there waiting to hear maybe it was a fatal four-way, seeing as all the headliners had not appeared yet. This is exactly what I heard:

"Tonight's main event is scheduled for one fall with no time limit and it is a tag team match." I thought, okay, it has to be DX vs. Sheamus and Batista. Instead, out comes Sheamus at first and that guy is huge in person, let me tell you, followed by his partner, Batista. Then, I hear music for a wrestler I never thought I'd see in a main event a week away from WrestleMania - Mark Henry. His partner was none other than Mr. Rodgers, John Cena.

(7) John Cena & Mark Henry beat WWE champion Batista & Sheamus. The match was without question the most awkward match I have ever seen. The finish came when Batista tried to go for the Batistabomb and Cena reversed it into a back body drop. Sheamus made the blind tag and clotheslined Cena only to see Cena "Hulk Up" and get up right away before hitting the Attitude Adjustment for the win. During the match, Hornswoggle ran in and "tuned up the band." He was in all DX gear and he performed Sweet Shin Music on Sheamus, which is what turned around the match for the faces.

So here I am after the bell rang and there was no Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and there was never a mention of WrestleMania being one week away. They never promoted Bret Hart, and they said that they would be coming back to Reno in the very near future. I just hope that next time they come, they bring the big guns because after what I just saw, it was a shame that WWE could even put on an event like that and think that the fans would come home satisfied. It was supposed to be the "Road to WrestleMania" and there was not even one mention of the event! The very last thing the audience saw was Cena and Henry doing the heel-click to Hornswoggle's music and the kids just ate it up. Overall, a very disappointing show to say the least. The wrestlers just seemed to be very out of it. I understand that Mania is a week away and the big draw talent need to be ready for Phoenix, but there has to be an answer, right?

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