SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
PWTorch features unmatched archives of live wrestling reports (not just results, but match details, context, and analysis). The following is a report originally published here 20 years ago this week…
WWE Raw house show report
September 8, 2006
Tampa, Fla.
Report by Jason Allen, PWTorch.com reader
Before the event began, Howard Finkle told us that Vince McMahon had declared that DX would be forced to “run the gauntlet” tonight, meaning they would have to face two separate tag teams in two separate match ups. This marked a change in the advertised card which was DX & Ric Flair vs. Spirit Squad.
(1) Highlanders defeated Spirit Squad by pinfall in non-title tag team match. Mikey and Kenny were representing the Spirit Squad in the ring while the other Squaders watched from outside. Action was back and forth with Roby taking the extended beating from the male cheerleaders. About midway through the match the referee caught Mitch tripping Roby and ejected Johnny, Nicky, and Mitch to the back. He even hit the ropes to give his “your outtaaaa here” declaration added emphasis. Match ended with the Highlanders hitting there flapjack suplex finisher.
While Mikey was still recovering Armando Alejandro Estrada and Umaga made their way towards the ring. Kenny looked scared and bailed quickly while Estrada broke a cigar and Mikey felt the Samoan Spike. Armando then went through his routine which is by far the most over catch phase sense the Rock. 10,000+ saying “Oooooooooooooomaga” was a promising reassurance that WWE can still put together characters we can sing a long with. Estrada’s pandering brought out Kane for the night’s second match.
(2) Kane defeated Umaga via DQ. Kane came out with no pyro at all. No explosion to start the music and no ring post fire works. Was WWE bought by Bill Watts when I wasn’t looking? The pace was fairly quick for these two behemoths. Kane elbowed out of an attempted Umaga ass-to-face move and hit his flying clothesline to set up the chokeslam. Estrada then entered the ring and cracked Kane in the back with a chair. Kane no sold it and bell rang. Afterward Kane gave Umaga an over the top rope clothesline and celebrated his DQ victory.
(3) Carlito defeated Rob Conway by pinfall. When was the last time Rob Conway was on Raw? Why is Carlito feuding with him on the house show circuit instead of Benjamin? When Conway came out you could see lots of confused looks, then someone in the row would say “you know, that guy from La Resistance” and everyone would nod and start booing. Action was fast paced. Carlito attempted three 2nd rope spring boards in 1 match. He hit two. Finish came when Carlito hit his backcracker for the pinfall. Afterward he played to the crowd and spit apple on the fallen Conway. I guess he really doesn’t “got it all.”
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(4) Lita defeated Torrie Wilson by pinfall in a Women’s Championship match. The crowd was all over Lita, which proved that breaking up with Matt Hardy was the best move she ever made career wise. Torrie showed a valiant effort but really isn’t on pace with the other WWE women. Trish Status, James, or Victoria would have been a better choice. In the end Torrie did her Rikishi impersonation infuriating Lita and fell victim to Lita’s swinging DDT for the pinfall.
(5) New Russian Guy defeated Eugene by pinfall. New Russian Guy is sort of a young Nikolai Volkoff. He came to the ring in a Russian military jacket and beret. He looked like a cross between Dolph Lundgren and Heidenreich. Before the match began he yelled some anti-American gibberish and said “I new champion.” Really… just like that. His pinfall victory came after an interesting looking move where he set Eugene up for a Torture Rack and then dropped to his knees. After the match, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan made an appearance and an impromptu match started.
(6) New Russian Guy defeated “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan by referee stoppage. Duggan’s thumbs up was about all the offense he could muster. Within 30 seconds Omega Red had Duggan in a read naked choke with body scissors for good measure. The ref stopped the match when Duggan passed out. Eugene did his “don’t hurt my friend” routine.Â
(7) Super Crazy defeated Chris Masters by pinfall. Masters came out first and declared Super Crazy’s win on Raw as the biggest fluke in the history of the business. He demanded a rematch. Crazy came out and delivered a very similar match to Raw. Masters had almost all of the offense, but was counted when he went for the Master Lock. Crazy slipped out as Masters was setting up the hold and scored a quick 3 count off a victory roll.
Howard Finkle stepped in the ring to welcome a Tampa native and WWE Hall-of-Famer. People were musing Hogan, but Jimmy Hart came out instead. Hogan doesn’t make house show appearances for free, even when they are in his backyard, and if WWE had paid him to be there they certainly would have advertised him ahead of time. Hart was there to tell us that Smackdown and ECW would be back in this way in January. Smackdown mentioned received little reaction, but ECW got a decent pop.
Intermission
(8) Johnny Nitro defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall in a Intercontinental Championship match. Again, very similar in pacing and action to this past Monday’s edition of Raw. Not that that’s a bad thing. This was the most athletic outing of the evening thus far showing of both wrestler’s speed and countering ability. Finish came when Nitro set up Hardy on the top rope for a huracanrana. Hardy held the ropes and Nitro hit the canvas hard. Melina then dove in and pushed Nitro out of the way causing Hardy to miss his Swanton Bomb. Instead of just flopping on the mat, Hardy rolled through a la Eddie Guerrero missing a Frog Splash. He charged Nitro in the corner, but was taken down with a double leg sweep. Nitro stacked him up with his feet on the ropes for good measure and the victory.Â
Prior to next match, something kind of crazy happened. This guy came running to the security railing looking a lot like Chris Kanyon. He whipped out this huge sign (at least 6 feet wide) that said “Triple H, ask Vince why he fired me.” Security fought with him somewhat, but not as though they really wanted him to stop. He turned the sign around and the backside said “Shawn, pray for my gay soul.” It was unclear if it was in fact Kanyon, but Triple H did ask over the house mic, “who invited Kanyon.”Â
(9) DX defeated Viscera & Charlie Haas by pinfall. DX was the most over so far. The crowd response was tremendous as they went through their routine. Viscera and Charlie Haas did little to keep that going. Haas jabbered with a ringside fan for a minute before the match started. Triple H had enough and said “Haas, why don’t you quit before the drunk guy kicks your ass.” HBK took a huge Bossman/Abyss slam from Vis early on and took a sustained beating before hot tagging the Game. Triple H hit a pedigree on Haas, then Michaels booted Vis who fell on top of Haas. DX sat on Viscera’s back and scored the 3 count pinfall.
(10) DX defeated Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade by pinfall. This went much quicker than the previous match with Michaels hitting a top rope elbow drop and Sweet Chin Music on Murdoch while Triple H destroyed Cade with a pedigree. After the match DX was joined in the ring by Sean Waltman a/k/a X-Pac. DX played surprised. Could the duo become an official stable possibly even the stakes at Unforgiven?
After the match, Triple H noticed a fan decked out in his complete Conan the Barbarian outfit from WrestleMania. He was so impressed with the outfit that he invited the fan into the ring. Triple H even grabbed him a bottle of water and applauded Conan’s water spitting prowess. The Game joked about giving his the Pedigree and set him on his way. Conan’s buddy was dressed up like a mid=’90s HBK, but his invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.
(11) Edge defeated John Cena in a no-holds barred match for the WWE Championship. Edge came out first to the most heat of the night. Only the Spirit Squad was able to muster more. The roof absolutely came off the St. Pete Times Forum when Cena came out. The reaction was surprising given his mixed reaction on television. The action was par for the course for this paring. They didn’t really take advantage of the no-holds barred stipulation until action spilled to the outside midway through. They exchanged hits with a large plastic trashcan up towards the entrance way, then battled back through the crowd. Back at the ring, Edge reversed Cena into the stairs. Back in the ring Cena showed life and went into his finishing sequence. He set up the FU, but Edge was able to grab the top rope. Cena yanked him off causing the ref to get kicked in the face by Edge. Cena then applied the STFU and got the visual tapout. Edge recovered, removed the top turn buckle pad and slingshot Cena into it. A second ref came down and counted a long two. Edge was crazed by that and punched the ref. Cena fired up again and ended up giving Lita FU. He turned back to Edge and caught the title belt in the face. The original ref woke up and counted a slow 3 for the win. After the match Edge set up a ladder and went to splash Cena. Just like their spot Monday night, Cena caught Edge, shifted him to his shoulders and delivered the FU to end the show.
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