This week Raw was live (on tape) from London, England. Will Italy's Santino Marella be able to hang onto his Intercontinental Title? Or will some lucky fan from the U.K. be the next to make the title truly intercontinental (and the whole concept pretty gimmicky)?

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Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcomed viewers to the sold-out Earl's Court in London, England. It seemed only fitting that Prince Shane of the McMahon clan would be the first person down the ramp. (The crowds boo him across the pond, too.)

Shane O'Mac assured the crowd that Bobby Lashley would not be at tonight's show because of his part in making Santino Marella the new Intercontinental Champion.

In honor of St. George's Day, Shane said he would be the dragon and he was giving someone in the audience a chance to be the dragonslayer. I guess because last week's opening segment was so fast-paced and exciting, they decided to recapture the magic. Just kidding. This first segment was dragging just as badly as last week's did. Shane mocked the Chelsea Football Club for some cheap heat, then introduced Robbie Brookside, a local wrestler. Or some such. He looked like a combination of Edge and Bo Bice.

(1) Shane McMahon vs. Robbie Brookside (a/k/a Jobbie du Jour). Shane had made this a no disqualification match. Garbage can. Shane on the top rope. You can probably guess what happened next. Robbie got a taste of Shane's coast-to-coast specialty. At this point, Shane told Robbie that this was really a two-on-one handicap match. Shane's partner was U-u-u-u-u-maga, who was headed to the ring. When he got there he bulldozed poor Robbie as the crowd booed. Umaga was feeling froggy and went up top for a massive splash on Robbie.

But wait, there's more (as they say on those cheesy commercials)…

Shane advised Robbie that the match was really a three-on-one match, and the coup de gras was going to be delivered by Dear Old Dad. McMahon had on a new hat for the occasion. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mister McMahon is not a hat person.

(Commercial break)

(2) Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch. Matt Hardy dominated most of the match, but it was Murdoch who rolled him up and got the win. For some reason, Murdoch reminded me of Big Dust tonight.

Maria was on her way to the ring.

(Commercial break…followed by a problem with the transmission.)

Hmmm…Edge and Randy Orton still have a match scheduled for Backlash. Make of that what you will.

(3) Melina vs. Maria. Melina won. Are you surprised? (There were too many close-ups of a "devastating" face plant that didn't look quite as devastating up close. Wink, wink.)

Carlito told Ric Flair he wanted to face Khali on his own.

(Commercial break)

Uh oh. Khali's in the ring.

(4) The Great Kahli vs. Carlito. Carlito was as quick as the proverbial hiccup, which enabled him to get in a few good moves, but with a tree slam and some other lumbering and dangerous-looking moves, Khali put a foot on Carlito's chest and took the win.

Flair came out to see if Carlito was okay, and Carlito started yelling at him in Spanish. A hurt Flair backed off and headed up the ramp.

(Commercial break)

Mick Foley looked dapper in a turtleneck sweater and a new sport coat. He recounted that Make-a-Wish's Michael Pena had made the Backlash main event, which included Edge. Speaking of the devil…Edge joined Foley and said he was looking forward to watching John Cena and Shawn Michaels tear each other apart later in the show.

(Commercial break)

Shawn Michaels was wandering around backstage, getting cheers. He encountered John Cena, and the cheers turned to boos.

Shawn Michaels came out to "Sexy Boy" and the crowd loved it. Then HBK's music stopped and the crowd started booing again, anticipating who was coming out next.

(5) Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena. These two were sending each other subtle (and not so subtle) messages in the ring. Mind games, if you will. Michaels had had enough, and before long they were trading slaps which turned into slugs.

(Commercial break)

Back from the break and they were trading thrilling headlocks. Cena was controlling the pace of the match, which was none too quick. Michaels seemed to get his second wind and delivered a series of chops to Cena. Cena resumed control, then HBK attempted some Sweet Chin Music, but didn't complete it.

(Commercial break)

Back from the break, and the pace was beginning to quicken. Near fall by Cena, then another and another. Cena was getting frustrated. J.R. said the Chin Music could come from anywhere at anytime. Foreshadowing?

Michaels came off the top rope and dropped an elbow on Cena. Then he started tuning up, but, again, didn't get to play the music.

Cena appeared to be hurt after a fall to the outside, and HBK came over the top with a plancha. Cena caught him in mid-air, and introduced HBK to the ring steps.

(Commercial break)

Back from the break, and both were in the ring again, with HBK getting the better if Cena. Suddenly Cena came to life with a five knuckle shuffle and almost an FU. HBK tried for the Chin Music once more, but Cena countered with another FU.

(Commercial break)

This match was still going, and now Cena was getting chants from the crowd. These guys were leaving it all in the ring and the chants of encouragement were well-deserved. Cena with a leg drop off the top and another near fall. HBK with a power bomb on Cena from the top turnbuckle. They managed to take the match to the outside, and Cena's face bounced off the announce table. Both tried to use the ring steps as a weapon.

(Commercial break)

Back from commercial, and they were pummeling each other all around ringside. After arguing with the ref, Cena rolled HBK into the ring and locked on the STFU. HBK tried his best to reach the ropes and finally made it.

Then--out of no where--HBK delivered the Sweet Chin music. HBK crawled over and covered Cena for a two count. Cena tried for another STFU, but HBK managed to twist out of it and delivered another chorus of Sweet Chin Music and capped if off with a cover and the 1-2-3.

Cena was out cold, so HBK slid over and picked up the title belt. He stood and held it up before placing it on Cena and giving him a DX crotch-chop.

Wow! Technically, Shawn Michaels won this hour-long match, but in reality, they both won. This was a fantastic match and both gave it their all. You can't say that WWE didn't deliver on this pre-PPV show (as long as you get amnesia about most of the first hour).

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