WWE Raw brand house show report
September 10, 2010
Toronto, Ont. at Air Canada Centre
Report by Tarun Suri, PWTorch reader

I took my seven-year-old son to his first WWE house show in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. We got there a few minutes late. As we were trying to get into the arena, we heard Santino Marella being introduced. He got a nice pop as he's a hometown boy, from about 30 miles outside of Toronto in Mississauga. By the time we got into our seats, about 30 seconds later, they were announcing Santino as the winner. (Editor's Note: Zack Ryder was the opponent.)

(1) Santino Marella beat Zack Ryder. Next thing we know, Nexus was in the ring beating down Santino. Only four members of Nexus were involved - Barrett, Tarver, Slater, and Otunga. I'm not sure where Gabriel was. Great heat on Nexus; they got a huge "You Suck" chant. Barrett grabbed the mic and said that was no way to treat a fellow member of the British Commonwealth. He was thrilled that the eyes of the world were on Toronto for the International Film Festival, as he wanted everyone to see what Nexus would do to their opponents that night, Chris Jericho and Edge.

(2) John Morrison beat Ted DiBiase (w/Maryse). Maryse did her usual routine tearing up a sign to get cheap heat. Morrison started with some quick offense and DiBiase grabbed Maryse before starting to walk away. He taunted some fans and jumped back in at a count of nine. It turned into back and forth action that ended when it looked like Maryse was going to distract Morrison, but Morrison caught DiBiase just in time to hit Starship Pain for the pinfall win. It actually connected pretty well for once.

(3) Goldust beat Primo. Before the match, the Bella Twins came out and said they needed a special time keeper. They asked a kid what the name of the next PPV was. I actually drew a blank. He guessed right and was escorted to ringside. Primo came out to silence. A lot of people in my section were wondering why he was even there. Goldust got a great pop and a nice chant going. Nothing special about the match and Goldust won via the Final Cut funky-looking suplex.

(4) U.S. champion The Miz beat Evan Bourne to retain the U.S. Title. Miz came out to an incredible pop. He grabbed the mic and turned the cheers into intense heat. He's so smarmy, it's hard not to boo him, but you do it with a smile on your face. The crowd tried to do his catch phrase with him, but he wouldn't have it and he scolded us for trying. He tried it again, but was cut off by Bourne's music. Really athletic match. Bourne even delivered that cool move where he jumps backwards off the corner and does a leg scissors. Miz won clean with his finisher.

(5) WWE tag champions (Tyson Kidd & D.H. Smith w/Natalya) beat Uso Brothers to retain the WWE Tag Titles. We're in Canada, so the strong ovation the Harts got was no surprise. An "Owen" chant started. Personally, I didn't think it was appropriate, but not a big deal. Natalya gave a nice body slam on the outside to one of the male Usos. Then, HD set up their version of the Hart Attack for the win.

The announcer let us know that Smackdown is moving to Syfy, which got some real heat from the crowd, as we don't get Syfy in Canada. We get Raw, Smackdown, and NXT all on the Score network, so his announcement was just ignorance on WWE's part. The Bellas came back out to throw some t-shirts into the crowd for intermission time.

As I'm outside getting some popcorn, I hear someone on the mic. I got back to my seat and it was Alicia Fox telling the crowd that she doesn't care if they haven't gotten their popcorn yet because she's ready to win back the Women's championship . They give her a lot of mic time on TV, but also at the live shows. They must really think she's good.

(6) Divas champion Melina beat Alicia Fox and Gail Kim in a three-way match to retain the Divas Title. Gail got a nice pop coming home to Toronto. The match was a typical triple threat. The faces started teaming up on Fox and then Kim was knocked out to the floor. She disappeared for most of the match. Melina won easily in about five minutes.

Chris Jericho was out for the next match. He came out with all of his typical swagger and attitude. I fully expected him to take the mic and tell us what idiots we were. Surprisingly, he took it all in and accepted the cheers. The crowd loved it even more when we realized that he was going to play face tonight. Edge came out to an even bigger pop. Nexus was already in the ring. The GM chime then went off and the announcer read his Blackberry. The GM said that only Barrett and Tarver could stay and if anybody else from Nexus interfered, Barrett will lose his spot in the PPV. This is where the comedy started. Tarver announced that there will be no spears tonight. Jericho and Edge made fun of how he talks and called him "marble mouth." They then competed with each other to see who could get cheers. No contest here. Nexus is hated in Toronto. Good heat, not go away heat yet.

(7) Edge & Chris Jericho beat Nexus (Wade Barrett & Michael Tarver). The match was average with Jericho putting Tarver into the Walls of Jericho, but then breaking it to avoid Barrett. Edge speared Tarver for the win. Edge then took the mic and talked about having his first match down the road about 19 years ago and how this felt really great. He thanked Toronto and said, "I don't if this will matter but 'Go Leafs Go.'" Great to see them not fight the cheers and play face at home.

It was main event time with Sheamus vs. Randy Orton. Sheamus came to the ring first, but we didn't know who his opponent was. What upset me is there were a ton of kids in the audience with Cena signs and Cena was not on the show. When is the last time Cena missed a house show? (Editor's Note: Cena was not advertised in advance for the tour.) Apparently, this show was competing with his new movie premiere. Typically, it wouldn't upset me, but the kids were disappointed and this is a guy who says that movies would never get in the way of his WWE career. Orton still got one of the biggest pops of the night coming out to face Sheamus.

(8) Randy Orton beat WWE champion Sheamus via DQ; Sheamus retained the WWE Title. Really good match and the "smart fan" next to me even started to think that maybe Orton could pull it off and win the championship. Orton went for an RKO, Sheamus saw it coming, and Sheamus pushed the ref for a DQ. The crowd booed, but Orton still hit the RKO and knocked him out. The Miz suddenly ran in looking to cash in his MITB briefcase, but Orton hits him with the RKO. The crowd is eating it up.

Post-match: Nexus hit the ring and took down Orton. The Hart Dynasty's music hit and they came to the rescue. The numbers were still too great and Nexus took over. Jericho and Edge then came to everyone's rescue as some in the crowd were chanting for Cena. Finally, the good guys cleared the ring and soaked it in. Nexus left Otunga in the ring to take an RKO. Orton quietly left, which left Otunga surrounded by the Harts, Edge, and Jericho. Edge grabbed the mic and said this looks like a new "Team Canada." He said he feels the need to sing the national anthem. It was the worst rendition I've ever heard, but it was great. The crowd was standing and singing, and Edge couldn't hold a tune, but he got down on his knees and got in Otunga's face to sing it right at him. They let him get up, then he took the spear and the faces left the ring. Great ending.

A good show, overall, with some nice matches. Most went 15 to 20 minutes long and the Canadian theme for the night went over well.

Biggest pops:
(1) Edge
(2) Jericho
(3) Randy Orton
(4) Hart Dynasty
(5) Goldust

Best Heat:
(1) Nexus
(2) Miz
(3) Alicia Fox

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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