There really is nothing like watching the WWE live and the Raw Superstars “rocked” the very foundations of Birmingham NEC. The Arena was full to capacity and the crowd were hot all night long baby and pumped up and the Raw Superstars didn’t fail to deliver in an awesome show from top to bottom. I loved every minute of this amazing show and can’t wait to see them again.

The show kicked off with Howard Finkel who then introduced Stephanie McMahon to start off proceedings. Stephanie got a great reaction from the fans, it was a nice surprise and she is a great spokesperson for the McMahon family. The pyros then exploded (boy were they loud, I am sure the ground shook!!!!!) and things got underway.

A great wait to kick off the show, Edge was very over with the UK fans while Batista generated a lot of heat. Batista is amazing to watch live, he really is a monster and very impressive in the ring. This was a very enjoyable match to watch, some stalling at times with sleeper holds but still action packed and really got the crowd going (not that we needed much encouragement!). Edge picked up the win over the monster in the end much to the delight of the fans.

I have to admit that when Trish and Tyson Tomko came out and this was announced as a Tag Team match I actually prayed that Jericho wasn’t going to be involved and fortunately my prayers were answered. (I’m sorry, but I really have had enough of watching this Y2J and Trish Storyline and just didn’t want to see them together again and in particular in this show, I wanted to see something different and that‘s just what we got - thank you WWE). Trish did a great job of generating heat from the fans with her pretty over the top British accent but she was very entertaining on the mic. Lita got a rousing reception from the fans and at first it looked like Kane was going to be her partner, then Matt Hardy who got taken down by Kane who then left leaving Lita alone to face Trish and Tomko who took advantage of the opportunity straight away. Trish and Lita started off and they are very entertaining in the ring but in all honesty, I really didn’t pay much attention to Tomko. He just doesn’t have the same in ring presence as Batista - maybe in time but I just fear he is being pushed before he is ready and may end up causing someone an injury because he is green in the ring right now. Rhyno then ran to the ring to even up the odds. Entertaining match thanks mainly to Lita and Trish who kept the action flowing.

WOMEN’S CHAMPIOSHIP

Victoria is very over with the fans in the UK (particularly the male demographic!!) and Molly did a great job generating heat throughout this Championship match. Nice match for the title seeing Victoria retaining her belt after Molly lost her hair (again).

Next up was a segment with Stacey Keibler (I am sure the male fans loved this but personally I think she is better suited to Smackdown as the women on Raw wrestle!). This brought out Eric Bishoff with his sidekick Johnny Nitro followed shortly afterwards by Eugene and William Regal. Boy, is Eugene ever over with the fans - we all loved him and William Regal got a great hometown reception. Eugene just ran around hugging everyone before Eric laid into Regal for not keeping a tighter hold on his nephew. Regal then blew his top and, much to the delight of the fans, really yelled at Bishoff. Eugene picked up Nitro and then Bishoff and spun them around in an airplane spin. This sort of angered Bishoff (can’t understand why!!!) and he put his nephew in a tag match against Garrison Cade and Johnny Nitro. Eugene could have any partner from the locker room except Regal ………. Cue …….. Jericho!!!!!. I love the way that Eugene imitates his “heroes”, it’s a really endearing quality of the character showing that he has a lot of respect for them and that he really loves wrestling.

Wow, what a reception for Y2J, us Jerichoholic’s were out in force in Birmingham!. This was actually the first time that I have seen Jericho wrestle live and believe me it was well worth the wait.

The match started with a game of “paper, rock, scissors” between Jericho and Eugene to see who started off - Eugene won (well, he does like playing “games” after all) and then it was sheer entertainment from then on. Watching Jericho wrestle live is just amazing, he has such great in ring presence, he is so quick and lively and just seems to know how to entertain the masses. He certainly seemed to be enjoying himself out there with Eugene and William Regal. Eugene is fun to watch in the ring and there were a lot of “Eugene” and “Y2J” chants throughout this match as the crowd were so into it. The ending came with a double take down form the top rope by both Jericho and Eugene and finishing with Nitro and Cade both locked in the Walls of Jericho. No question, this certainly was my “Highlight of the Night”.

After the match, Johnny Nitro called William Regal back to the ring and after a sneak attack by Nitro which was quickly turned around, William Regal just stood in the middle of the ring while the fans chanted his name.

Shawn Michaels received a huge pop as he made his way the ring and the fans showed their respect for Ric Flair. This was a very entertaining match up and great fun to watch. Shawn Michaels, unfortunately, decided to treat us fans to a close up view of Ric Flair’s naked backside towards the end of the match - thank you so much Shawn!!!!!!!! - not!. This was the first time that I have actually seen Shawn Michaels wrestle live also and it was awesome. Another enjoyable match to watch.

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The fans were very split in this match, Randy Orton was very over with the fans as was Shelton Benjamin. Randy came out to a huge pop and he is very impressive to watch live. The match got underway and pretty quickly Shelton Benjamin picked up the win much to the amazement, joy and slight confusion of the fans but Eric Bishoff quickly put a dampener on proceedings by changing the match to two out of three falls. Randy Orton quickly got the second fall and then the match really got underway. This match was awesome and was a great taster for their up coming battle at Bad Blood. The action was back and forth and both Superstars were very evenly matched throughout. Randy Orton won the day (this time) which wasn’t a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination but I don’t think that it will be long before Shelton Benjamin has his!.

Awh, Rosey has finally finished his training and has a new “Superheroes” outfit. La Resistance certainly generate a lot of heat as the UK fans were all over them throughout this match. This was entertaining to watch and afterwards Hurricane and Rosey brought two fans in from the crowd who were dressed like them and all four climbed the turnbuckles to salute the crowd - great fun.

WORLD HEAVYWEGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Triple H came out to a huge pop as did Chris Benoit and this was a really nice surprise match for us fans in Birmingham. Triple H was just so funny at the start and spent 10 minutes or so just having a go at the fans (who continually chanted “you tapped out”) in particular one guy and an 8 year old kid!. He even tore up a sign in the crowd that said “you tapped out”. He then got on the mic and told us he would take us all on before Benoit joined in. The match did eventually get underway and it was extremely entertaining. Evolution tried to help out towards the end but Chris Benoit once again made Triple H “tap out”. A great match to end an awesome show.

The Raw Superstars gave their all and then some and gave the fans in Birmingham a night to remember that’s for sure. Thank you guys!.

Thank You to the Raw Superstars and to the WWE for making the UK one of their regular tour destinations each year and long may it continue.

BIGGEST POPS

(in no particular order)

Y2J

EUGENE

WILLIAM REGAL

TRIPLE H (when he first came out)

SHAWN MICHAELS

CHRIS BENOIT

EDGE

LITA

RANDY ORTON

MOST HEAT

(in no particular order)

TRIPLE H (when he started on the fans)

BATISTA

ERIC BISHOFF

RIC FLAIR

LA RESISTANCE

TRISH STRATUS

JOHNNY NITRO

RESULTS