Monday night RAW
Naturally Cena got booed but what really got me was just how much the audience genuinely reacted to him once he started speaking and more specifically, to his jokes. Ive said for a long time that the fans dont hate Cena; they are simply bored of him and want change. The jeers are all we the fans have got to tell management this. I was also surprised with the hate Rocky got. It was music to our ears to hear the boos for him when his name was mentioned, when they announced he wouldnt be on the show and even more delighted to hear the entire crowd chant BULLSH*T when told of his injury. Sorry Rock but we just simply didnt believe you at first and thought youd taken your payday and left. Can you blame us seeing as a lot of like-minded people were in attendance as it relates to The Rock that night? I dont need to tell you just how amazing that crowd was on RAW but I will say that the TV coverage didnt do it justice at all. The chants during Orton Vs Sheamus were some of the most outlandish things screamed at a show in the history of wrestling. I felt kind of bad chanting for Pretzel Guy, Popcorn man, Cotton Candy and even Michael Cole while two of the WWEs top stars tried their best in the ring. We also saw what those at home didnt see when Kane, Taker and Bryan made there way back up the ramp. In what must have been an unreal mark out moment for everyones favourite Goat face, he joined the brothers of destruction in Takers legendary exit pose. Hell, i marked out myself to see a guy i followed from the indy's to now being involved in such an iconic moment.
But, none of that, nothing at Mania and nothing over the entire weekend prepared me for the noise, excitement and overall feeling as soon as Del Rio was down holding his ankle. I knew it, the Wife knew it, Fat man knew it and by god the entire crowd KNEW that if Dolph came out now, it was going to happen. As soon as we all heard IM HERE TO SHOW THE WORLD the place genuinely erupted. (Just look at the crowd almost hopping the barrier below)
We and the rest of the crowd were on our feet jumping up and down like mad people. Feeling unbelievably tense with the amount of time it was taking Dolph to hand the ref his suitcase, for the ref to then hand the same briefcase to the time keeper and for the bell to ring out. It felt like minutes but at long last, we were actually about to witness history in the making. What followed had us genuinely shaking with excitement and borderline anger as Del Rio dared to place Dolph in the Armbar. But after only a few minutes, the new World Heavyweight Champion was crowned and once again, the place exploded. Out of everything that we saw and experienced over the entire WrestleMania weekend, that will be my most fond memory by quite some margin. The rest of RAW felt like a blur but as has been documented by countless outlets, the audience made for a VERY special night. I would say to anyone that is thinking about attending a WrestleMania to 100% book the RAW the night after as well. No matter where you sit during an arena show, you will see everything anyway but youll no doubt be part of the most raucous crowd of the entire year.