WWE Raw house show report
July 23, 2010
Houston, Tex. at Toyota Center
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The demographics for the every-six-months trip to Houston are the same: kids and families. Everywhere. 

(1) Santino Marella & Kozlov beat William Regal & Zack Ryder in 8:00. Santino was very popular with the kids. The wrestlers had an easy crowd, so the heels did a ton of stalling to set up the babyfaces for some easy offense to turn the heel heat into babyface pops. Santino eventually hit the Cobra on Regal, who sold like a pro, for the win. Basic house show opener. (*)

U.S. champion The Miz came out to very strong heel heat. Miz had the MITB briefcase with him to draw more heat. Miz cut a lengthy promo saying he will prove doubters wrong that he'll be the first wrestler to unsuccessfully cash in the case. He said people thought he would be future endeavored on Smackdown. He went on about being doubted throughout his career. Miz vowed to not defend the US Title until he becomes WWE champion. Miz threatened to walk out, then the Raw GM buzzed. Justin Roberts read an email that Texas's own Mark Henry will challenge for the title right now. With that set up, Henry came out to a strong pop. Henry had the taped shoulder gimmick to sell Wade Barrett's finisher from Raw. 

(2) U.S. champion The Miz beat Mark Henry in 4:00 to retain the US Title. They worked around Henry's limitations by having Miz stall and roll to the outside constantly. Miz built heat before teasing walking away. Henry got the face pop chasing him down before Miz rammed him into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Miz teased using the briefcase as a weapon, but the ref pulled the case away. Miz then used a belt shot behind the ref's back for the win. Smartest match ever conserving the body and working with an easy house show crowd. (*)

Gail Kim came out for trivia on what PPV is next  Luis didn't know the answer. He should audition for the writing team. A second kid got it right on Summerslam. 

Ted DiBiase and Marsye came out for the next match. Goldust came out next to face Ted, who had a proposition. 1,000 bucks to walk away since the fans don't deserve to see his abilities. Ted referenced Goldust as Cody's brother for a Legacy reminder. Ted was pretty good on the mic with his slow, dry heel delivery. Goldust thought it over and said the offer wasn't enough before popping Ted with the mic. 

(3) Ted DiBiase (w/Maryse) beat Goldust in 7:00.  DiBiase came back with aggressive offense after the mic shot and played to the crowd after knocking Goldust to the floor. Goldust made a strong comeback flying around the ring before having the pin, but the ref was distracted by Maryse on the apron. DiBiase then hit Dream Street for the win. Decent match you'd probably see on Superstars. DiBiase's offense looked crisp throughout. (*1/2)

(4) Unified tag champions Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & DH Smith w/Natalya) beat Usos w/Tamina in 14:00. Strong house show match with both teams working hard  Smith busted out an MMA submission takedown on Jey early on. I'd like to see him incorporate that into his TV moveset. Kidd and Smith worked over Jey until Kidd lost control. Jimmy and Jey traded tags until Kidd came back with a nice dropkick. He then took out both Usos on the floor with a cannonball splash just like in the Superstars match on Thursday. Back in the ring, Smith got a pop for the big delayed vertical suplex. On the floor, the Usos gained control and went to work on Smith back in the ring. Good tag work from the Usos building and building the heat for Kidd to get the hot tag at 10:00. Kidd showed off his trademark high-flying offense before both sides traded nearfalls. Tamina got involved and they had the easy pop spot where Natalya clotheslined Tamina on the floor. The Harts then hit the Hart Attack for the win for the loudest pop of the night. Very similar to the Superstars match and equally good. (**3/4)

Chris Jericho came out for the next match. He has that legacy pop where the crowd gets hot just for his music hitting. Jericho simply stared into the crowd for a few minutes without saying a word once he hit the ring. Evan Bourne came out as the opponent. 

(5) Evan Bourne beat Chris Jericho in 18:00. Another in a series of very good Jericho vs. Bourne matches. Since they went nearly 20 minutes, they set a slow pace early on to differentiate the match from their TV and PPV matches. Jericho had a cut on his forehead that had to be tended to early on. After Jericho teased the Walls of Jericho twice, Bourne made his big comeback and they did three big teases for the Air Bourne. Great work hitting a Level 1 tease, then a Level 3 tease before Bourne eventually hit his finisher for the win. As expected, Jericho set up Bourne well to get over his offense and comebacks. (***1/2)

[Intermission]

(6) Divas champion Alicia Fox beat Eve Torres in 9:00 to retain the Divas Title. After intermission was the Divas match of the night to get the crowd back in their seats after scurrying off to get autographed John Cena programs for 20 bucks a pop. Eve and Alicia had a basic back and forth to start. Alicia ended up controlling most of the match to set up Eve's comeback. Alicia eventually cut off Eve and hit the Axe kick for the win. Appropriate finisher in Booker T's hometown. Basic match that didn't really hold the crowd's interest back from break. (*)

Justin Roberts announced WWE coming back to Toyota Center for the TLC PPV on December 19. Tickets go on-sale tomorrow morning. 

Edge came out first for the. Texas Street Fight semi-main event. Another legacy pop for Edge and his theme music. Randy Orton then came out to a blow-away reaction. Easily the pop of the night thus far. 

(7) Randy Orton beat Edge in 16:00 in a street fight. They executed a very simple formula very well. Another strong match putting the babyface in peril throughout the match to build anticipation for Orton hitting the RKO. At the beginning of the match, they brawled into the crowd and traded blows. Back in the ring, Orton tried to use ring steps as a weapon, but Edge countered into a drop toehold. Edge sustained a beating on Orton for a while before introducing two trashcans and Kendo sticks. Good drama-builder with Orton in jeopardy. Orton did a Level 1 RKO tease, then a Level 3 tease before Edge set up the spear. Orton moved, Edge ate a can in the corner, and Orton hit the RKO on the second can for the win. Good match using the formula to get over Orton as a babyface. (***)

WWE champ Sheamus came out for the main event first. John Cena then came out a blow-away reaction. Easily the strongest of the night, as expected. Before the title match started, the email buzzed. Roberts announced a lumberjack match...with Nexus. They came out to a mixed pop. The vocal minority cheered Nexus and booed Cena while pretty much the whole crowd booed Sheamus. The kids then started a Cena chant before the opening bell. 

(8) John Cena beat WWE champion Sheamus via DQ in 22:00; Sheamus retained the WWE Title. Another very good house show formula match. Nexus delivered equal-opportunity beatings throughout.  Early, Sheamus popped Wade Barrett on the first teased spot on the floor. Cena then knocked Sheamus to the floor and Nexus slowly circled him before beating him up a bit. They returned the favor to Cena moments later when Sheamus knocked him to the floor. Cena took another beating on the floor to build crowd tension before they cheered when Sheamus took another beating on the floor. This went on two more times before Sheamus sustained an attack in the ring. Cena teased a comeback, so Sheamus dumped him to the floor for Nexus to deliver another beating to help his cause. Nice spot.

The next phase of the match was Sheamus hitting the big boot for a close nearfalls that popped the crowd. Cena then hit the Attitude Adjustment for a close nearfall. Sheamus avoided a corner attack, then Cena fell to the floor where Nexus sprung. Skip Sheffield took out Cena with ring steps, then Sheamus scored another close nearfall in the ring. Cena eventually countered into the STF and Sheamus teased a tap out. Of course, Nexus hit the ring to cause the DQ. (***)

Post-match: Team Cena second-stringers Evan Bourne and Santino stormed the ring. Nexus subdued them, then Orton's music hit to bring out Orton, Team Cena, and other babyfaces. They cleared Nexus, who retreated to the back. Cena then led Orton, Bourne, Hart Dynasty, Goldust, and Santino in a curtain call to send the crowd home happy. 

Final Thought: Strong WWE house show with some very good matches mixed with some matches getting characters over. Well-booked show that was over with an easy crowd and captured why the Raw brand is clicking right now. 

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