WWE Dark Matches, Heat Results, Post Raw Main Event, and Crowd Reactions from Fayetteville
Submitted by Calvin Martin on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 1:06 PM EST





Thomas Gidlow aka Rated_PG13 from LOPforums.com sent in the following report


Crowd was a bit late in arriving. There were a few sections of empty seats as Heat began. I'm doing this from memory, so it may be a little out of order.

First match was Jamal (or his twin) wrestling under a new name taking on a local guy from Fayetteville. Jamal played the heel and dominated most of the match. It was a slop fest, and the local guy seemed to botch his finisher (looked like he clocked the guy right in his kisser with a kick), but picked up the win via pinfall.

The Higlanders took on two no-names. One guy kept screaming "Kemo" at one of them. Maybe he's an indy regular getting a shot? I have no clue. Rory and Robbie dominated and picked up a quick win via pinfall.

Val Venis came to the ring and started his "How great it is to be back in Fayetteville" speech when he was interrupted by Charlie Haas (new solo intro music/graphics). Pretty good-length match. Lots of both men dominating back and forth. Val won via pinfall after about 12 minutes or so.

Super Crazy wrestled yet another no name. This guy looked like he needed some more gym time. A bit soggy in the midsection. Anyways, Crazy pulled off most of his regular moves, ending with a springboard moonsault from the top rope. Super Crazy won quickly via pinfall.

Daivari came out and grabbed a mic, spewing in all likelihood some nice profanities in Arabic to a unusually hostile crowd. Some near me were saying things I won't repeat even in written form. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan interrupted and began the match doing his usual 2 move-set offense. Lots of clotheslines. You could tell Daivari was trying, but Duggan just doesn't have any talent in the ring anymore. He did get the crowd fired up with his USA chants. Daivari tried to hit Hacksaw with his 2x4 but Duggan took it away. The ref then stopped Duggan from using his "big piece of wood", allowing Daivari a sloppy roll-up for the pinfall victory.


After RAW went off the air, GM William Regal came to the ramp and told Randy Orton he didn't have to wait until SummerSlam to take on John Cena for the WWE Title. He ordered the bell rung, and Orton immediately went for the cover (having just administered two RKO's). Just before three, Cena's hand grabbed the bottom rope. Orton pulled Cena to the middle of the ring, and pinned him again. Only a two count. Cena then somehow rapidly brushed off the beating he had taken and began on Orton. About three minutes in, Cena got Orton up on his shoulders and delivered an FU. 1-2-3. John Cena retained the WWE Title via pinfall. If it sounds a little anti-climactic and brief, that's because it was!

All in all, the crowd in Fayetteville was absolutely dead. It was a bit louder than the TV picked up, but it was just as bad as it sounded. The largest pop of the evening was when Regal ordered the bell rung for a WWE Title match after RAW was over! The crowd went nuts when Cena retained.

People were actually wanting to see Cryme Time more than anything else. They seemed uninterested in the Carlito/Kennedy match, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The crowd kept chanting "Boring" and some said they were waiting to see Jeff Hardy and Bobby Lashley. It wasn't the most "educated" crown when it comes to recent events in the WWE. Hell, everyone in the building was expecting Stone Cold to appear because he was on Saturday Night's Main Event.

I marked out when Triple H's music hit (I'm shameless), but the crowd seemed to get that he wasn't really there quite quickly. His entrance music is pretty cool live, however.

Ron Simmons mingled on the concourse before Heat began. A kid near me asked for an autograph, and Simmons asked if the kid had a pen. The kid said no. Simmons just looked around, and then laid out a "DAMN!" for the kids troubles. He did get the autograph, though.

After the show we watched wrestlers exit the building. If you ever wanted to know about wrestlers and their habits outside the ring, here's a few notes:
Daivari cannot drive. He nearly crashed into Mickie James on his way out.
By the way, Mickie loves interacting with the crowd. She yelled up to us that her mom was next to her, which got a pop. She blew some kisses and got drove away.
John Cena didn't even acknowledge the crowd. He just looked up and walked on by. Granted, the man had just gotten done in the ring about 30-45 minutes prior, but he seemed uninterested in all of those that had waited around an hour for just a 10-second glance at their hero.
Umaga and Carlito drove together. As did Cade/Murdoch and Cena.
Randy Orton is a smoker? The second he got out in the parking lot, he bummed a cigarette from a worker. I thought that was unusual...
And finally, I got my "Hustle Is Posting Right Now" sign on crystal clear for about five seconds. It occurs when Cryme Time is exiting through a tunnel just after their "selling Murdoch's hat for $2" skit. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, it's a phenomenon. Just visit LOP's Forums to find out more.

All in all, it wasn't a bad show. But the crowd could have been better.

Biggest Pops
1. Easily the announcement of the post-RAW title match
2. John Cena's first entrance
3. Triple H entrance music

Biggest Heat
1. Randy Orton (during the post-RAW match)
2. King Book-ah
3. Ken Kennedy (A lot of "Keennneeddyyyss" in the crowd)








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