5/14 WWE in Raleigh – Detailed Report on Jericho & The Club vs. Reigns & Usos, crowd demos & reactions, more

WWE Live Show Results
May 14, 2016
Raleigh, N.C.
Report by Scott Lunn, PWTorch correspondent (@ScottLunn)

Full Photo Gallery HERE.

The top section of the arena was curtained off and the lower level sections even and behind the entrance weren’t used. I’d say potential attendance was maybe 7,000 and there was likely about 5,000 actually there. The floor was full, as were the cheaper tickets (lower bowl furthest from ring), but the upper parts of the lower level at ringside remained empty. This was definitely a typical Southern, family-heavy event. Plenty of kids everywhere and a very different audience than the NXT show I attended in Concord, N.C. last month.

(1) Dolph Ziggler beat Baron Corbin via superkick. Corbin has the “heel basics 101” handbook down at this point. Between the NXT show in April and this show, he is definitely working in the subtle spots to get proper heel heat. Ziggler was solid as usual, but nothing overly flashy here to start the show.

(2) Apollo Crews beat Stardust via Spin-Out Powerbomb. Fairly standard back and forth match with Crews getting the majority of the offense. He hit the standing moonsault and followed it up shortly after with his finishing maneuver for the win.

(3) Big Cass beat Devon Dudley (w/Bubba Ray) via East River Crossing. Cass’s schtick was over from the start. Bubba ran interference throughout the match and ate a big boot from Cass which lead to the finish. Interestingly, when Bubba was kicked, his glasses went flying, and somehow in the process he got cut open on the top of his head and bled noticeably.

(4) Sami Zayn beat Kevin Owens via Helluva Kick. Owens is simply the best heel in the company. He ran his mouth left and right and had the kids booing him relentlessly. Great match and easily the match of the night. A toned down version of what we’ve seen from these two previously on tv, but still really solid. Zayn escaped a powerbomb attempt and ended up getting the pin after a Helluva Kick.

[Intermission]

(5) Women’s champion Charlotte beat Natalya to retain the Women’s Title by rolling Nattie up in the corner and putting her feet on the ropes. No Ric Flair. Very solid match from these two and given some decent time. Most surprising moment was Natalya intercepting a Charlotte moonsault attempt and turning it into a big powerbomb. Charlotte got plenty of woos being in Flair Country, but still was mostly booed.

(6) IC champion The Miz (w/Maryse) beat Cesaro and Sheamus in a Triple Threat Intercontinental Title Match when Miz pinned Sheamus. Miz spent most of the match out of the ring, trying to let the other two take each other out, only sliding in to break up counts or try to take advantage of a situation. Maryse got involved multiple times as well. The end came when Cesaro hit a Neutralizer on Sheamus and Miz slid in the ring, threw Cesaro out, and got the pinfall.

(7) WWE World Hvt. champion Roman Reigns & The Usos beat Chris Jericho & Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows in a six-man tag match. Jericho knows all the tricks and utilized them beautifully. He turned the crowd completely against him in moments, like simply repeating the word “quiet” endlessly while the crowd grew more and more upset. He said he didn’t know who the “Club” was, but they were in luck since they get to team with him tonight. He said if they did everything he told them to do, they’d win easily. After the heels isolated an Uso for most of the match, the inevitable hot tag came and cleared house. When things settled down, Jericho started talking down Anderson and Gallows and demanded they tag in. Anderson refused first and started to walk out, so Jericho turned to Gallows and eventually slapped him. Gallows fired back and the Club left, leaving Jericho to take the Roman Reigns standard move list, Vol. 1. A Superman Punch followed by a spear was good for the pin.

Raleigh doesn’t get much in the way of shows anymore other than about one live event a year. Not sure the cause of it, but if attendance was any indication, I guess I get the rationale. This was the least-attended WWE Main Roster event I’ve ever been at with ease. No return date announced and probably no TV on the radar. Many people in my area were unaware and rather disappointed with A.J. Styles not being at the show due to injury.

Biggest Pops

(1) Roman Reigns
(2) The Usos
(3) Cesaro

Most Heat

(1) Chris Jericho
(2) Kevin Owens
(3) Miz