credit: Gerald Saunders and Gerweck.net
WWE Raw House Show
London, England
9th November
Mark Henry bt Zack Ryder by pinfall
Henry got huge cheers from the fans. Won, when Zack Ryder ran into the Worlds Strongest Slam.
Santino Marella and Valdimir Kozlov bt. The Usos
Really popular match which started as a dance contest as order of the GM. The Uso’s attacked the Marella and Kozlov whilst they were dancing, thus starting the match. Marella delivered the Double Cobra to both Usos for the pin.
Ted di Biase bt Yoshi Tatsu
Crowd wasn’t really into this match. men put on a decent show though. Di Biase really is wasted by this company.
Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett w/Bret Hart as Special Enforcer for the WWE Title ended in a no contest when Sheamus and then John Morrison ran-in. Anonymous GM announced that Orton and Morrison would face Sheamus and Barrett in a tag match.
Randy Orton and John Morrison bt. Wade Barrett and Sheamus
Barrett received a split reaction with the majority of the crowd jeering him. Orton was really over. Good long match.
Melina and Eve Torres bt Tamina and Maryse
Suprisingly good divas match. Maryse was really over with the crowd and looked to be having a lot of fun. Melina looked a little rusty but overall a decent match.
Daniel Bryan bt William Regal and R-Truth to retain WWE United States Title
Regal was so over with the fans despite playing a heel. After the match he announced that he will not be returning to England with the WWE and that he is going to let the young guys move into the spotlight. Interesting to note that Daniel Bryan played a heel in this match up. Plus… i caught R-Truth’s bandana, result!
Ezekiel Jackson bt Alex Riley
Jackson wins a boring match with a sort of modified rockbottom. I’m quite impressed with A-Ri’s in ring ability.
John Cena bt The Miz
Miz was getting serious heat and played up to it perfectly. Was definitely the best performer of the night. Early on Cena went for his fame-asser of the top rope and slipped. Looked to have really damaged his thigh. I guess he was ok though as match carried on for a long time. Some really good spots. Miz dominated including throwing Cena into steel steps on the entrance ramp. Alex Riley was ringside and got involved regularly. MAtch ended when Miz nailed Riley with the MITB briefcase accidentally and turned into the AA for the pin.
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable night although it was my first house show so maybe i’m a little biased. The big surprise for me was the hugely positive reaction that MAryse received. Also just how over with the fans R-Truth is. It was amazing how many members of the crowd were in Nexus gear and how many were in Cena merchandise. I had to wait for an hour for a Nexus top. Apparantly they didnt get them in stock until fifteen minutes before the gates opened. The merchandise stand was open well over two hours before the event gates were opened.
The Regal retirement speech was actually quite emotional and really showed how important wrestling is to him. Although his in-ring performance was very average i do think he has been wasted by the WWE over the years.
Biggest Pops
1. John Cena
2. William Regal
3. R-Truth
4. Maryse
Biggest Jeers
1. The Miz (by a country mile)
2. Daniel Bryan
3. Sheamus