7/16 WWE Raw HOLT Report: On-site report, matches that didn’t air on Raw, which big name was advertised but never appeared in front of fans

WWE RAW HOLT REPORT (Happenings Off Live TV)
JULY 16, 2018
BUFFALO, N.Y.
REPORT BY DAVE BUCHANAN, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

If you attend a live event, send a report to pwtorch@pwtorch.com.

“MAIN EVENT” TV TAPING

(1) No Way Jose beat Curt Hawkins.

(2) The Revival & Mike Kannellis beat Heath Slater & Rhyno & Chad Gable.

DARK MATCH

WWE advertised Braun Strowman & Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns & Bobby Lashley vs. Elias & Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin & Dolph Ziggler.

The match didn’t take place. There was no dark match at all. The last match was what aired on Raw. Some fans were leaving during the main event, and it was a long night. The only big issue with the change in what was advertised is that Braun Strowman, one of their top babyface attractions, didn’t appear in front of the fans at all, so fans who purchased tickets to see him were cheated out of seeing him in person.

OTHER NOTES

-I enjoyed myself. This was my first live wrestling event since attending ECW live 18 years ago. It was a nice three-and-a-half hour distraction.

-As for attendance, the seats that were available were full. They had the area behind the stage blocked off, of course. And most of the 300 level was blocked off except for the side of the arena that faces the hard camera.

-The B-Team are really over. They didn’t get the loudest pop, but they have their fans.

-The highlight was the first triple threat match. I was into that the whole time. I’d have liked to see Finn Balor win.

-The crowd reaction for Reigns was 50/50. A lot of people cheered for him during the match. They were younger fans and women, but the guys were booing him.

-The second triple threat didn’t go as well. The crowd wasn’t into it much. They popped for Seth Rollins early in the show, but weren’t into the match itself. Maybe the crowd was just worn out. They got into it at the end, but otherwise it was pretty dead.

-There was good heel heat for Alexa Bliss and Mickie James, but the highlight on the mic was seeing Paul Heyman. I liked the opening segment, but I had my hopes up to see Brock Lesnar.

If you attend a live event, send a report to pwtorch@pwtorch.com.

NOW CHECK OUT THE FULL REPORT ON RAW HERE: HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT 7/16: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including Extreme Rules fallout, the future of the Universal Championship, and more