Casey Davies sent this report in from the Raw tapings in Birmingham, England on Monday:
Dark Match:
Harry Smith defeated Carlito.
Chants of Bulldog throughout the match. Smith looked really good, nice array of suplexes and running powerslam finisher.
Heat Tapings for WWE.com:
Mickie James defeated Melina.
Melina is an awesome heel. Pretty good match.
Snitsky defeated Robbie Brookside.
Squash. No reaction really.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Super Crazy defeated The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin).
One of the best matches for crowd involvement all night. Chants of ‘Ho’ and ‘Ci’ throughout.
WWE Monday Night Raw Tapings for tonight:
WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy in a Non-Title Match. Mr. Kennedy interfered to setup the win for Orton.
Short but sweet. Massive pop for Hardy and his execution was really polished. Looks like he has improved so much.
Santino Marella defeated Val Venis.
No reaction apart from when Marella said he was in London.
Mr. Kennedy defeated WWE Champion Randy Orton via DQ when Jeff Hardy interfered attacking Kennedy.
Similar to the first match. Big pop for Kennedy.
Vince McMahon comes out and announces Triple H vs. Umaga for Cyber Sunday. McMahon announces the first choice fans can make for the match: Street Fight. Umaga comes out and destroys local wrestler Andy Simmonz in a Street Fight. They announce the second option: First Blood. Umaga destroys Simmonz again busting him open. They announce the final option: Steel Cage Match. A steel cage lowers and Umaga destroys Simmonz once again.
Simmonz is a top British wrestler and quite a few knew him and cheered when Vince made a point of mentioning his name. He took a real beating and looked legitimately hurt.
Candice Michelle defeated Jillian Hall.
Talking beforehand longer than the match.
Rory McAllister defeated Brian Kendrick.
Highlanders much better as heels. Short match again.
Hardcore Holly defeated Cody Rhodes.
Big reaction for Holly. Not too different to the previous matches they’ve had.
Shawn Michaels defeated WWE Champion Randy Orton via DQ in a Non-Title Match. Mr. Kennedy interfered to cause the DQ finish. Jeff Hardy also ran out as well to close the show.
Obviously building Shawn to be No. 1 contender for Cyber Sunday. Massive pop for him but really short match before the run in.
As Shawn was leaving, HHH’s music hit and they did a few poses before the bonus match of HHH beating Umaga in a street fight. Longest match of the night and biggest pop of the night for HHH. (by quite a distance)
Biggest Pop
1. HHH
2. Shawn Michaels
3. Jeff Hardy
Biggest Heat
1. Randy Orton, with no one else close.
Great show but they tried to cram a lot in.
