7 Observations From Attending WWE Raw Live In Missouri
What went down in the crowd at WWE RAW? Let's find out.
WWE Monday Night RAW emanated from St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis has been the venue for many notable wrestling events. It's the home of Randy Orton, and was the birthplace of Sam Muchnick’s National Wrestling Alliance. It was also the location for the debut of Kane at 1997’s In Your House: Bad Blood, the Owen Hart Tribute Show, the WWE-debut of Sting, the 1000th Episode of Monday Night RAW, The Rock’s very first WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign, and many other noteworthy events in wrestling history. More importantly, it’s the hometown of yours truly, which means I was there live and in-person.
Grabbing some second-hand seats over the internet and disguised as a date night with the wife, I managed to sit second row on the floor near the time keeper. Decked out in Young Bucks gear and glowing New Day unicorn horns, I even managed to get stood up on a high-five by Cesaro when the action sprawled out into the crowd. Too cold, buddy. Too cold.
It was a night filled with feel-good moments and miscues, props and pageantry, long-winded promos, some of the greatest talents the world has ever seen under one roof, lots of “Woos” towards the Flairs and several matches in pairs. Jim Cornette says that when the WWE comes to town, it’s like a circus, and nothing has ever felt truer. Even a mediocre RAW is better in person, but when some special moments occur like at this particular RAW? That’s where the magic happens.
7. Cosplay Is King
St. Louis, Missouri is usually known as a babyface hotspot in the Midwest of the United States, and thus can make for a relatively predictable and vanilla crowd. They love guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, and yes, even Roman Reigns. What we’re not typically known for, however, is a raucous crowd who actively participates the way a, say, Chicago or Philadelphia group might.
Strangely enough, many of the patrons at Monday Night RAW in St. Louis were dressed up as their favorite WWE Superstars of past and present. Presumably seen on the television hard camera (and definitely in person) was a group dressed as the Dudley Boyz, including a dead-ringer for D-Von Dudley who could have passed for the actual man ten years ago—and even a little Spike Dudley, brandishing his Confederate flag bandana and broken, taped eyeglasses. There was even a guy who shoddily made his own American Alpha gear, parading around with a white towel emblazoned by black Sharpie marker.
Seen on the show floor after the event was a fantastic Finn Bálor cosplay from an absolutely ripped gentleman. The face and body paint was pure gold, dedication and attention to detail that you’d certainly hope he was featured on television at least once during the program. Furthermore, no one was seen as being removed from the event for dressing up, though that could be due to a lack of alcohol in their system.