On Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 12:53 AM EST Hollywood Showdown
By Greg Adkins
November 5, 2007
Results courtesy of WWE.com
The events on this week’s Monday Night Raw left many WWE Superstars seeing stars—and not just because the show took place in Hollywood.
Tonight’s Raw was such a blockbuster that the Superstars of SmackDown made a rare appearance. The 17, 133 fans who packed into the sold out STAPLES Center witnessed an intense tag team match setting SmackDown’s Rey Mysterio & Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy against Finlay & Mr. Kennedy in a precursor to the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match they will all be involved in on Nov. 18. Charging hard out of the gate, Mr. Kennedy brought the fight to Mysterio first. But once the bout began tilting back toward the high-flying duo, tension between Mr. Kennedy and Finlay began to mount. After a few anxious moments between the blond bruisers, the dangerous duo snapped back into the match.
But just when it seemed Mr. Kennedy & Finlay’s tenuous partnership had hit a stride, Mysterio elevated his game to new heights. The aerial amigo landed a 619 on Mr. Kennedy, kicking him back into the ring.
It wasn’t the place to be. As Mr. Kennedy lie on the mat, Hardy climbed the ropes and dropped a Swanton Bomb on the Green Bay, Wis. native to finish him off for the three-count.
If this intense match was a sample of what will happen at Survivor Series when the team of Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio & Kane confronts the monstrous forces of Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Finlay & Big Daddy V, then the 21st annual event promises to be an epic showdown.
In other Raw action:
Repeat Performance
In last week’s Divas Halloween Battle Royal, Kelly Kelly outlasted several of other beauties to emerge with the win. Unfortunately, her victory celebration was short-lived. The Glamazon, Beth Phoenix, entered the ring and pummeled her. The stunning – and gutsy – Kelly Kelly, seen Tuesdays on ECW on Sci-Fi, challenged Phoenix this Monday, and once again suffered a thrashing at the hands of the Women’s Champion, who won in under a minute.
Apple Jacked
Once again, the Caribbean Bad Apple proved lazy to the core. Rather than compete in his scheduled match against a local wrestler, Carlito informed our fans that he had arranged a replacement for himself in the form of Snitsky. After the yuck-mouthed ogre handily disposed of his opponent, Carlito congratulated the giant and went to raise his hand. But Snitsky wasn’t having it. He turned on the laid-back Superstar and doled out a swift kick to Carlito’s face, sending the chewed apple in his mouth flying all over the ring.
Love Hurts
Is Mickie James distracting Trevor Murdoch from “gettin’ er done”? Ever since the stunning Diva told Murdoch how much she appreciated his chivalry during a match two weeks ago, the country boy has shown that his head may not necessarily be in the ring. Murdoch’s World Tag Team Championship partner, Lance Cade, watched as up-and-coming Cody Rhodes fought the Southern-fried grappler to earn a hard-earned victory. While Murdoch continues to insist that James is not a distraction and that the two are “just friends,” Cade appears unconvinced… and perhaps with good reason.
U-S-A! A-O-K!
The familiar chants of Ho!, Si! and U-S-A! rang throughout the STAPLES Center as tag partners Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Super Crazy tried to whip the crowd into a cross-continental frenzy. The duo faced off against the Self-proclaimed World’s Greatest Tag Team of Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin. In a surprising twist, the high flyer from south of the border rolled up the athletic Benjamin for the three-count. When Haas went to charge Super Crazy, he thought better of it after running up against an imposing Duggan.
Back to the Future
It was only a matter of time. After weeks of taunting “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Santino Marella finally felt the bite of the Texas Rattlesnake. Marella’s comeuppance came after he once again carped on Austin’s performance in his movie The Condemned. Austin laid the Italian loudmouth out with a Stunner, but he wasn’t finished there.
DX: Getting Their Kicks
The animosity was palpable as Umaga & WWE Champion Randy Orton rambled into the ring to face off against DX, Triple H & Shawn Michaels. Like two runaway tractor trailers barreling head-on toward one another, Umaga and Triple H collided with frightening force. Meanwhile, Michaels put on an aerial display against the Legend Killer. As the saying goes, always put your best foot forward. However, a dazed and confused Orton probably didn’t appreciate HBK’s effort.
Matches:
* Beth Phoenix def. Kelly Kelly
* Snitsky def. Local
* Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio def. Mr. Kennedy & Finlay
* Cody Rhodes def. Trevor Murdoch
* "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan & Super Crazy def. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin
* DX def. WWE Champion Randy Orton & Umaga