By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Orton - Hardy: WWE finished off 2007 with a very good Raw. That very good Raw got off to a good start with the opening segment featuring Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. It was a good video package on Orton. Orton cut a solid promo. Hardy was good on the mic when he came out to interrupt. Their brief physical encounter resulting in Hardy escaping the RKO and hitting the Twist of Fate was very well done also. It was good to see Matt Hardy getting some air time during his recovery. It didn’t make a lot of sense that he would be there, but it was a good way to have him on and get more heat on Orton. Thus far, the Orton vs. Hardy feud has been largely nonexistent, as Hardy is the #1 Contender, but there hadn’t been much at odds between them. The attack on Matt makes it personal, and allows Orton to one up Hardy after the opening segment.

Kennedy vs. Michaels: This was simply a great t.v. match. I would not have felt ripped off if I had paid to see it, but it was free. It had great back and forth action. It also told a story as Shawn Michaels worked on Mr. Kennedy’s knee, and Kennedy worked on Michael’s lower back. There were several little things in the match that made it so good. One was early on when Michaels started to focus on Kennedy’s knee. He slipped to the outside in the corner and tripped Kennedy. But, unlike how that spot works 99% of the time, Kennedy struggled to stay on his feet as Michaels tried to trip him. He did not just go right down. It was almost like they were actually fighting and Kennedy was trying to keep Michaels from hurting him. It sounds basic, but that type of detail is sadly often missing from wrestling matches. A similar instance occurred later in the match as Kennedy attempted to set up a Superplex only to have Michaels struggle to avoid it. The fast paced near fall sequence was a lot of fun, as was the ultimate ending with Kennedy picking up a surprise clean win.

Vince’s Ringtone: It is such a small thing, but when Vince McMahon’s phone rang, and we got to hear that his ring entrance music is his ringtone, I laughed out loud. That was just hilarious.

JBL’s Intro: I would certainly understand it if people changed the channel during John Bradshaw Layfield’s long introduction in the ring, but I enjoyed it. It fits his character perfectly to have such a huge fan fare to welcome him back (despite the claim that it was his debut) to Raw. The extended use of fireworks was a nice touch. WWE played up his return as a big deal, which helps sell his importance to the audience. His brief brawl with Chris Jericho was well done also.

Triple Threat Women’s Match: This was one of the better WWE Womens matches in recent memory. Part of that is that it featured two of the three women on the roster who can actually wrestle. Melina is also one of the more talented Divas on the next level. There were no screw ups, and they played the triple threat stipulation well. There were some nice near falls and they built hope that Mickie James would win the Title without having to defeat Beth Phoenix.

William Regal: I was intrigued by the William Regal vs. Hornswoggle “match” and what happened between Regal and McMahon afterwards. Regal played his part to perfection showing mercy to Hornswoggle. McMahon claimed that it was just a test for Regal and that he didn’t really want Regal to hit Hornswoggle, but it was ambiguous as to whether or not that was the truth. This was a great start to wherever they are going with Regal. I was also surprised by his involvement in the Main Event, which makes me even more intrigued to see where they are going. By helping Flair win, he should be in McMahon’s dog house, which would make him seem like a babyface. But, he also cost Triple H his shot at being in the Royale Rumble, which would make him seem like a heel. A Triple H vs. Regal feud has a lot of potential.

Build to Main Event: WWE did a good job of building to the Main Event. This was accomplished in three ways. The first was the video recapping the win or retire stipulation. The second was the interview with Triple H where he found out that if he lost to Ric Flair he would be out of the Royal Rumble. Adding that stipulation was a great idea. It gave Triple H more of a reason to give it his all than just not wanting to lose. It added to the tension of the situation. The third was the face to face encounter backstage between Flair and Triple H. It was a great scene between the two, who put over their friendship, each other’s place in wrestling history and today, and beautifully set up the Main Event.

Main Event: This was another great wrestling match. It had the built in drama and the long history of Triple H and Ric Flair’s on screen friendship. It was slow and methodical, but that worked under the circumstances. The crowd was very hot for the match which made it even more fun to watch. Every chop was great. Triple H did a great job of selling the pain of the Figure Four. The drama and tension in that situation was incredible. Nobody expected Flair to make The Game tap out, but nobody expected Flair to lose either. Regal’s involvement was a nice surprise to give Flair the win without taking away credibility from Triple H. I can’t wait to find out where things go from here with Flair, Triple H and Regal.

RAW MISSES

Rumble Qualifier: I am not a fan of having Royale Rumble qualifying matches, as WWE is too inconsistent with them. 30 wrestlers each year appear in the Rumble, yet there are not 30 qualifying matches. It makes some sense that not everyone would have to qualify, but they are still too inconsistent as to who has to qualify, and who doesn’t. It makes sense to have a mid-card talent like Hacksaw Jim Duggan qualify. But Umaga? He has earned a spot without having to win a qualifying match. Will Michaels or Kennedy have to also? What about Undertaker or Batista on Smackdown? And, when someone like Santino Marella shows up in the Rumble without having won a qualifier, then what are we supposed to think of these matches?

No Kennedy Follow Up: The only problem with Kennedy vs. Michaels is that WWE did nothing to follow up on Kennedy’s huge win. At the time, Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler talked about it being a huge victory for Kennedy. But, it was quickly forgotten. They briefly mentioned it later in the show when talking about some of the unexpected moments from Raw, but that hardly seems enough to capitalize on the moment. It wouldn’t have taken much to have a 30 second interview with Todd Grisham in the back, to let Kennedy gloat and really drive home the point of how huge this win was for him. They will undoubtedly build on it next week, but some momentum was lost almost right away.

“Best in the Business”: My one problem with Ric Flair’s retirement storyline has been his kissing of Triple H’s ass, first on Smackdown and again on Raw. Clearly, Flair is being biased when he calls Triple H the “best in the business,” and given their friendship it makes sense. But, Jim Ross should not be calling him that as well. He should be more unbiased and proclaiming a man who is not the WWE Champion as the best is a slap in the face to Randy Orton. If he isn’t the best, then why is he the Champ? If Triple H is the best, why hasn’t he been the Champion for more than a few hours at a single PPV in the past few years?

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hitlist Specialist, providing his point of view in the Torch's hitlist format for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

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