WWE Raw brand house show report
July 4, 2009
Sydney, Australia
Report by Julian and Kasey Mazur, Torch readers

We recently went to the WWE tour in Sydney and were expecting a huge night, considering Raw is the top brand. We were even more excited when we got the program and it had HBK, Duggan, plus a few other big names in it.

Our first let down was the merchandise. We expected, at least, a t-shirt for every performer there. I decided in the car I would buy six shirts, based on who was there, plus more, as there is quite a few I like now. Being in Australia, we pay a hefty conversion fee, plus a big freight charge when ordering shirts. It was also very cold and I would have bought two hoodies so the wife would be happy.

Here's a list of the shirts there. Triple H, Orton, Legacy, Cena, Jeff Hardy, Superstars, Batista. That's it. Plus some caps and wrist hands. One design each.

The card provided looked ok-ish and we expected a good show. Wrong. First half, besides some Santino skit and Regal brilliance, was a waste. Expecting better things in the second half, we were greeted by Divas. Beer time.

Colons vs. Legacy - we caught up on some zzz time. The arena was actually near silent, to the point we could hear what they were saying. All cheers and chants stopped and everyone wanted it to end.

Luckily, we were spared the awful main event that was billed. If I would have seen Cena vs. Big Show one more time, I would have vomited. Instead, we got a tag team match of Triple H and Cena vs. Big Show and Randy Orton. I was excited to finally see Hunter live. It took him longer to make his entrance than the time he spent wrestling, though. Orton ran off and it was then a five minute Cena script on the Big Show. Hunter comes in to hit a Pedigree, Orton comes back, Cena comes in, Orton walks off, and Show is pinned.

There was then a 20 minute segment consisting of Hunter and Cena seeing which side of the stadium could cheer louder and to give the fans a chance to get some photos. Hmm, okay.

A lot of people were disappointed and said everything but the main event was weak. Apart from Miz's mic work (the only person who used the mic besides Regal's one line "How can I suck, I'm not Australian?"), I agree.

We went to the SD/ECW tour last year, and although the talent wasn't as good, the matches, and feel, was way better. $150AUD on a ticket and $110 on merchandise and I feel disappointed.

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