WWE Raw TV taping report
April 8, 2013
E. Rutherford, N.J.
Report by Ryan in Australia, VIP member

- Randy Orton and Sheamus had it ROUGH live. The chants included, but weren't limited to: boring, Mike Chioda, RVD, JBL, "Jerry" and Michael Cole chants, and even a "Justin Roberts" chant. Poor dudes. And, yet, they didn't go home fast enough. The match continued, which led to "We want X-pac" chants, followed by "ECW," "ice cream guy," "We want pretzels," "cotton candy," and even "We want Benoit,' amongst others. Brutal.

- Fandango was definitely "made" tonight. Initially it seemed he received a mediocre reaction on his entrance (particularly with some early "Johnny Curtis" chants), but from that point on the crowd was there for the Fandango show. Even back in New York walking through Times Square, there were groups still singing his tune and dancing. This really could be what helps him break away from the pack, and personally I'd love to see it.

- We were told right before the start of Raw that The Rock had an abdominal tear and would not be appearing, which drew loud boos.

Every time John Cena's or Rock's image were shown on the Titantron, there were pretty noticeable boos around the arena. Given that they showed two previews for "Pain and Gain," there was plenty of Rock booing.

- The hot crowd was noticeably disappointed when Big E. wrestled instead of Dolph Ziggler early on, especially since they used Ziggler's Titantron and music.

Then, Ziggler's MITB cash-in moment was fantastic! The crowd was very behind it, so the nearfalls and submissions felt huge, and by putting Ziggler in that tiny bit of jeopardy, I think it really made for something awesome.

- The crowd was really behind Wade Barrett, but it was hard to tell if they really liked him or just hated him less than Miz.

- There were quite a few "Thank you, Taker" chants during his ring entrance, and a huge pop when Bryan, Kane, and Taker raised their arms in unison on-stage after they scared away The Shield.

- Overall, after leaving WrestleMania feeling kind of flat, Raw felt like the perfect redemption. There was Ziggler's big moment, a relatively rare appearance by Taker on Raw, and what could be a defining moment in Johnny Curtis/Fandango's career. Perhaps this can help make some new stars to minimize the impact of the regular WrestleMania hangover.

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