Monday Night Raw Review - October 29, 2007

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​Kelly Kelly Won a Halloween Costume Divas Battle Royal

It wouldn't be a Halloween-themed episode of Raw without a Divas costume contest of some sort! Throwing all the women in one Battle Royal is even worse because you know it's bound to be a train wreck, but it's hard to complain because this was relatively harmless. Above all else, I was happy Women's Champion Beth Phoenix was kept out of the match and instead made her presence felt afterward by attacking Kelly Kelly. It solidified her as being different from the rest of the Divas, which she was.


Mr. McMahon Granted Shawn Michaels a WWE Championship Match at Survivor Series

Michaels showed some intensity in the weeks leading up to Cyber Sunday, but his "win" over Randy Orton at the pay-per-view definitely lit a fire under him storyline-wise. He cut a very passionate promo, starting out a little lighthearted before going into serious mode about wanting to exact revenge on Orton. McMahon was a fantastic foil for him, and despite being involved in the silliness with Hornswoggle, he once again proved why he can be the best heel in the business. The tease of the Sweet Chin Music on McMahon from HBK was excellent as well.

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Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes def. The World's Greatest Tag Team

After coming to the aid of Rhodes the week prior, Holly put his differences with his rival aside to take on The World's Greatest Tag Team. They weren't given a ton of time to work (it seems as if whatever Rhodes and Holly are involved in is always the victim of time constraints), but it was a fun little tag team match while it lasted. Rhodes scored another impressive win for himself, but I love how Holly wasn't quick to show him respect or congratulate him on scoring the victory for their team. He would have to earn it.


Hornswoggle def. Jonathon Coachman (Mick Foley Served as Special Guest Referee)

This is what I feared we would get on the previous edition of Raw when Hornswoggle vs. Umaga mercifully never came to fruition. If you couldn't already tell, this was pure comic relief, though I'm not sure what about it was supposed to be funny. The storyline was stupid, but at least Coachman played his role well and Foley's surprise appearance made the match bearable.

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World Tag Team Champion Lance Cade def. Paul London

There weren't many feuds in the tag team division at this time that were enticing, but there were a few angles that piqued my interest, if that makes sense. London and Brian Kendrick obviously had their thing going with The Highlanders, but I liked what they were teasing with Trevor Mudoch and Mickie James. Cade attempted to shut it down, though the two wouldn't part ways for another year. The match was forgettable, but the storyline progression in that respect was solid.


Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy and D.H. Smith def. Mr. Kennedy and Carlito

This was a pretty logical way to further two feuds with one match, and it was cool that they were given the time they deserved. Smith definitely benefited from working alongside the established Hardy, and Kennedy and Carlito had nice chemistry as partners. Carlito's credibility took another hit by eating the pinfall loss, but it was a good second win for Smith.


Santino Marella Mocked Stone Cold Steve Austin

The pop from the crowd when Stone Cold Steve Austin's music hit was deafening. Needless to say, they were pissed when they realized he wasn't coming out. Marella's mockery of The Texas Rattlesnake was humorous, but the announcement that Stone Cold would be at Raw the next week fell flat because the live crowd desperately wanted to see them on this show. Whoops! Nevertheless, it was wise to advertise such a major name a week out to boost the Raw rating.


WWE Champion Randy Orton and Umaga def. Triple H in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match by Disqualification

Didn't we see this exact match a few weeks earlier? And that saw both Orton and Umaga in the ring at the same time, so this was hardly anything new. But I knew something big was planned when the main event happened so close to the end of the show, so thank the lord the match ended abruptly and they sent the crowd home happy with a D-Generation X reunion. Was this the first time HHH and HBK had crossed paths in ring since HHH returned from injury? Either way, it was a memorable moment that set up the subsequent week's tag team match effectively.


Overall Show

I don't know if Raw's ratings were in the toilet at this point or what (they probably were considering it was football season), but it forced them to hype a stacked show for the following week featuring a DX reunion and the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin. The fallout from Cyber Sunday on this episode was well done and nothing was too atrocious, so it was an edition of Raw worthy of a thumbs up that left me wanting to check out the following Monday's show.


SEE ALSO: "Monday Night Raw Review - October 22, 2007"