WWE RAW LIVE TOUR IN MANILA
by Hub Pacheco
By now, I think it’s safe to say that wrestling fever has boiled down for most of the people who watched the RAW LIVE TOUR last week. Personally, vivid memories of those two nights still linger in me. As promised, here is the recap of day two of the RAW LIVE TOUR in Manila.
Armed to the teeth in full camera battle gear, I arrived at Araneta with Mr. P.O.L.I.T.I.K.O. himself, Jeff Ty. After a brief “run-in” with the touring superstars (more on that in an upcoming post), we headed inside the arena, hoping to buy a Spit or Swallow shirt. Sold out, the merchandiser said. Oh well, t-shirts alone do not make a wrestling fan, or a wrestling analyst to be more precise. On with the program!
Justin Jason Roberts welcomed us again for the night as ear-splitting pyro started the show. It was interesting to note that a number of seats remained empty as the show started. No Maria intro tonight as we get ready for our opener.
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This match is, for me, one of the best ones for the night as it both men really had a great chemistry from start to finish. This rematch of Taboo Tuesday 2005 started with some hair-pulling from both superstars. One of the bright spots in this match occurred when both men ran from all sides of the ring corner, bouncing off the ropes with Foley running horizontically and Carlito, vertically. Foley eventually stopped first as he went to sit on a chair at ringside while Carlito kept on running around the ring. This got the crowd into a good laugh.
Carlito kept on leaving the ring as he sold his “fear” of the Hardcore Legend well. This prompted Foley to mimic a chicken flapping its wings which eventually started a “CHICKEN, CHICKEN” chant from the crowd. It came to a point that Foley whispered something to announcer Jason Roberts. Roberts announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been informed and it has been confirmed that Carlito is, indeed, a chicken.” That got the crowd going even more. “Carlito’s not a chicken,” Carlito fervently replied on the mic.
Foley eventually pulled Carlito back in the ring. Carlito fought back and, with Foley down, took out his apple. Foley retaliated as Carlito spitted out chunks of apple all over the ring. A double-arm DDT later, Foley positioned Carlito for Mr. Socko and this match is over.
Foley got on the mic again, thanking us for coming and saying that he only wrestles on important occasions like Wrestlemania and this tour. “Foley, Foley” chants ensued.
Bright spots also included HHH doing a figure-four on Flair, HHH’s delaying a collapse on the mat after a hard shot by Flair, Show carrying the ref and sitting him down on a top turnbuckle after a dubious call, and Show chokeslamming both Masters and HHH. The match ended with Masters tapping out to the figure-four leglock.
Show got on the mic afterwards and announced that today was Flair’s birthday. Venis, Eugene, Trish and Maria came out to the ring with a birthday cake in hand. Trish also announced that it was also Maria’s birthday as well. The Araneta crowd joined in for a big “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” song. Flair thanked the crowd after the song.
Triple H came back out and hugged the Nature Boy, raising his hand afterwards.
*Roberts took the mic, threw some WWE shirts to the crowd, and called for a five-minute intermission.*
The cage came down slowly, accompanied by fast drumbeats amd flashing lights often seen during the start of cage matches.
As I have predicted, this match was a bloody one as Cena took most of the hits to the cage. A very, very close call occurred when Edge, already on top of the cage with Cena still laid out on the mat, started to climb out. Out of nowhere, Cena darted up the cage and pulled Edge back in. (I really can’t tell if this was really good booking or miscommunication. A discussion will follow soon.)
With Edge knocked out, Cena crawled to the cage door, only to be whacked with it by Lita. The ref inside was also knocked out, by the way. Edge capitalized with a spear to Cena as he turned his back to the ring. Lita entered the ring as he slapped Cena in the face, with Edge holding Cena by both arms. Lita got on the top rope and inadvertently hit Edge with a huricanrunna as Cena ducked out of the way.
Cena FU-ed both Lita and Edge (pinned him for the win) as the champ retains his gold.
*The show ended rather informally as a WWE crewmember thanked us for coming tonight.*
GENERAL AFTERSHOW COMMENTS:
As I have said before, the crowd was hotter on the first night. And the matches were slightly better on the first night compared to the 25th. But Ric Flair’s birthday celebration, Carlito & Foley’s match, and the cage match more than mad up for the night.
by Hub Pacheco
By now, I think it’s safe to say that wrestling fever has boiled down for most of the people who watched the RAW LIVE TOUR last week. Personally, vivid memories of those two nights still linger in me. As promised, here is the recap of day two of the RAW LIVE TOUR in Manila.
Armed to the teeth in full camera battle gear, I arrived at Araneta with Mr. P.O.L.I.T.I.K.O. himself, Jeff Ty. After a brief “run-in” with the touring superstars (more on that in an upcoming post), we headed inside the arena, hoping to buy a Spit or Swallow shirt. Sold out, the merchandiser said. Oh well, t-shirts alone do not make a wrestling fan, or a wrestling analyst to be more precise. On with the program!
Justin Jason Roberts welcomed us again for the night as ear-splitting pyro started the show. It was interesting to note that a number of seats remained empty as the show started. No Maria intro tonight as we get ready for our opener.
Match # 1: Eugene vs. Snitsky
No Pacquiao jacket this time as Eugene came out with a stuffed teddy bear in hand, placing it in a corner of the ring. This prop will prove to be useful as the match progressed. A couple of beat downs here and there and the match was set for its finish. Snitsky grabbed the stuffed bear and threatened a pleading Eugene. Snitsky tore the bear to shreds as Eugene went on a rage-filed comeback. Eugene won via a simple schoolboy rollup for the win..
Match # 2: Diva Tag Match with Special Referee Val Venis -
Trish Stratus & Maria vs. Torrie Wilson & Lita
The Big Valbowski came out to a nice pop from the crowd as he is the special guest ref for this match. So did the divas, especially Lita and Trish. Lita, surprisingly, showed little ring rust as she was able to carry herself in the match. A bright spot occurred when two divas (I can’t remember who exactly) are rolling around the ring as they grappled. Venis was on the mat to oversee the tussle when both divas rolled their bodies flat across Venis’ body. Imagine a baking batter where the dough is rolled flat by the batter. Venis’ reaction afterwards was priceless. The match ended when Lita powerbombed Maria off the top rope for the win. Trish and Maria kissed Venis after the crowd chanted “KISS, KISS…” (You gotta love Filipino humor.)Match # 3: Rob Van Dam vs. Tyson Tomko
This match really broke my hopes down as I was expecting a RVD-Shelton match as advertised. The jobber match notions aside, this was an entertaining match as RVD was flying all over the place. That, and the next match, made up for the disappointing match up. RVD won with the 5-star frog splash.Match # 4: Carlito vs. Cactus Jack
Carlito came out to a huge pop as he got on the mic and ranted on about the Philippines being unlike the Bahamas. “The food stinks. The beaches stink. At least the women here are beautiful,” Carlito said. The crowd cheered. “Just kidding,” he added. Mick Foley interrupts Carlito as he countered with positives about the country. Before the match started, Carlito took off his best-selling Spit or Swallow shirt and gave it to a female aide ringside. Carlito hugged her afterwards.This match is, for me, one of the best ones for the night as it both men really had a great chemistry from start to finish. This rematch of Taboo Tuesday 2005 started with some hair-pulling from both superstars. One of the bright spots in this match occurred when both men ran from all sides of the ring corner, bouncing off the ropes with Foley running horizontically and Carlito, vertically. Foley eventually stopped first as he went to sit on a chair at ringside while Carlito kept on running around the ring. This got the crowd into a good laugh.
Carlito kept on leaving the ring as he sold his “fear” of the Hardcore Legend well. This prompted Foley to mimic a chicken flapping its wings which eventually started a “CHICKEN, CHICKEN” chant from the crowd. It came to a point that Foley whispered something to announcer Jason Roberts. Roberts announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been informed and it has been confirmed that Carlito is, indeed, a chicken.” That got the crowd going even more. “Carlito’s not a chicken,” Carlito fervently replied on the mic.
Foley eventually pulled Carlito back in the ring. Carlito fought back and, with Foley down, took out his apple. Foley retaliated as Carlito spitted out chunks of apple all over the ring. A double-arm DDT later, Foley positioned Carlito for Mr. Socko and this match is over.
Foley got on the mic again, thanking us for coming and saying that he only wrestles on important occasions like Wrestlemania and this tour. “Foley, Foley” chants ensued.
Match # 5: Intercontinental Title Match - Shelton Benjamin vs. Viscera
Shelton again got on the mic and expressed his frustration on being called a Momma’s Boy. Actually, the crowd started the jeers. Benjamin just reacted to them. Big Vis shares the crowd’s sentiments as he motioned the crowd to chant “Momma’s Boy.” This was a very entertaining match as the crowd got to see the 485-pounder do a roundhouse kick on the IC champ! And of course, the (ugh but entertaining) walrus move. Benjamin won with a simple pinfall.Match # 6: Big Show & Ric Flair vs. Triple H & Chris Masters
This match is also one of the highlights of the night. As expected, HHH and Flair got the best pops from the crowd. All superstars showed their funny and, later on, personal sides in this match. HHH was especially hilarious when he mocked Show and Flair. Again, the crowd anticipated Show’s big chest chop as they initiated the “SHHH…” chant, instead of the Show doing the honors. “We want Flair” chants were also heard as Flair responded with a great in-ring performance.Bright spots also included HHH doing a figure-four on Flair, HHH’s delaying a collapse on the mat after a hard shot by Flair, Show carrying the ref and sitting him down on a top turnbuckle after a dubious call, and Show chokeslamming both Masters and HHH. The match ended with Masters tapping out to the figure-four leglock.
Show got on the mic afterwards and announced that today was Flair’s birthday. Venis, Eugene, Trish and Maria came out to the ring with a birthday cake in hand. Trish also announced that it was also Maria’s birthday as well. The Araneta crowd joined in for a big “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” song. Flair thanked the crowd after the song.
Triple H came back out and hugged the Nature Boy, raising his hand afterwards.
*Roberts took the mic, threw some WWE shirts to the crowd, and called for a five-minute intermission.*
Match # 7: WWE Title Match in a Steel Cage - John Cena vs. Edge
The cage came down slowly, accompanied by fast drumbeats amd flashing lights often seen during the start of cage matches.
As I have predicted, this match was a bloody one as Cena took most of the hits to the cage. A very, very close call occurred when Edge, already on top of the cage with Cena still laid out on the mat, started to climb out. Out of nowhere, Cena darted up the cage and pulled Edge back in. (I really can’t tell if this was really good booking or miscommunication. A discussion will follow soon.)
With Edge knocked out, Cena crawled to the cage door, only to be whacked with it by Lita. The ref inside was also knocked out, by the way. Edge capitalized with a spear to Cena as he turned his back to the ring. Lita entered the ring as he slapped Cena in the face, with Edge holding Cena by both arms. Lita got on the top rope and inadvertently hit Edge with a huricanrunna as Cena ducked out of the way.
Cena FU-ed both Lita and Edge (pinned him for the win) as the champ retains his gold.
*The show ended rather informally as a WWE crewmember thanked us for coming tonight.*
GENERAL AFTERSHOW COMMENTS:
As I have said before, the crowd was hotter on the first night. And the matches were slightly better on the first night compared to the 25th. But Ric Flair’s birthday celebration, Carlito & Foley’s match, and the cage match more than mad up for the night.
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