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WWE Raw house show report
January 4, 2003
Anaheim, Calif.
Report by Octavio Fierros, PWTorch.com Correspondent
Anaheim, California gets the Raw Brand more than the Smackdown Brand since the “extension” took place last year. We rarely get Smackdown here in Anaheim, but it was fun show tonight with the Raw wrestlers getting ready for the new year. Speaking of Raw, they announced a return date and that’s February 10, 2003 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
(1) The Hurricane defeated Rico. Fans wasted no time in chanting, “Rico Sucks” at Rico. The Hurricane got a good pop, since he was the first babyface of the card. Good match with nearfalls towards the end.
(2) Steven Richards defeated Spike Dudley. One word: Boring. No heat for both wrestlers.
(3) Lance Storm defeated Tommy Dreamer. Storm looked like a small Ken Shamrock with his new tights. A brief “ECW” chant to start the match. Too bad Dreamer didn’t acknowledge those chants, despite not being on TV. Storm won with the half Boston crab.
(4) The Dudley Boyz defeated Christopher Nowinski & D-Lo Brown in a Tag Team Tables Match. Up to this point of the show, the Dudleyz received the biggest pop. Bubba played to the crowd like five times during the show. “We Want Tables” chants by the Anaheim crowd. Towards the end of the match, Bubba miscued the powerbomb to Nowinski and missed the table. He made it up with another powerbomb, this time on the table for the win. This was the first ever “inter-race” match in house show history. I think…
(5) Booker T defeated Chris Jericho. According to Howard Finkle (where was Lillian by the way), Eric Bischoff ordered the match for tonight. The stipulation: No Disqualification! This was the best match of the night. I try to start a “Fozzy Sucks”, but again, this is Anaheim, the worst crowd in the country. Since this was a no DQ match, Jericho’s tag partner, Christian interfered. Booker still won, despite his interference. Christian and Chris Jericho double-teamed Booker T. We were all expecting Goldust to come out and help his tag partner. IF YOU SMELL… The Rock ran to the ring to the biggest pop EVER in Anaheim history. The Rock kicked Christian and Jericho’s ass! The Rock did his usual spiel as the fans continued to go nuts! The Rock called out Booker T to re-enter the ring. Rock told the fans that they came to see the “spin-a-roonie” from Booker T. Booker looked tired, but still did his popular move in the middle of the ring. Booker then told The Rock to do his “Rock-a-Roonie”. It looked like The Rock was going to do it wrong, but he did it nicely. Both men celebrated after the skit. The Rock made up for the show for the rest of the night.
(6) Victoria & Molly defeated Trish Stratus & Jacqueline. Like always, every time there’s a big time match or storyline, the divas come up next to kill the crowd. Usual Women’s match ended when Victoria pinned Trish.
(7) Test defeated Raven with the Big Boot. Stacy Keibler came out first to assure a good pop for Test. She was wearing a “I Love Testicles” t-shirt. Test came out with his mix of Sean Stasiak and Billy Gunn look. Raven came out with his new look. Keibler distracted Raven with her dancing in the apron. Raven kissed her. Lucky Raven. But Keibler responded with a slap on his face, then a boot on his face. Good match, though.
(8) Kane defeated Rosey. No pyros to begin the match. I took a break during this match. When I came back, Kane had already won.
(9) Rob Van Dam & Scott Steiner defeated Triple H & Batista. Ric Flair came out first to get some heel heat, ripping on the state of California. “I got more titles than the state of California.” Flair said. Now, that’s a joke. Angels won their first championship this season in baseball. Lakers have like 14 championships here. Oh, and don’t forget the XFL. Flair introduced the “Next Big Thing” version of Raw, Batista! Then, Triple H got a pretty good pop as he was carrying his banged up knee to the ring. RVD came out for another good pop, but Scott Steiner got a similar one next. Five minutes of stalling took place during the beginning of the match. If Steiner was in, Triple H would tag in Batista. If RVD was in, Batista would tag in Triple H. Steiner delivered 11 clotheslines during the match. He needs to polish his skills before the Royal Rumble. Steiner got his hands on Triple H towards the end of the match. Steiner and Triple H brawled outside while RVD pinned Batista in the ring. RVD celebrated his win to end the show.
Oh, by the way, there was a fake Hulk Hogan in the arena. Hey, fake Hogan, if you’re reading this…I was the one who told you about your wheelchair and your inflated 24-inch pythons!…UPW wrestlers were signing autographs as well. Go UPW!
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS FLASHBACK: 10 YRS AGO – WWE in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (1-5-08): Triple H & Jeff Hardy team together in main event, Santino, Snitsky, Maria, Cody, Kozlov, Regal, Ashley
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