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RAW HITS

Opening Segment: Raw opened strong as Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton got a chance to look good on the mic. Hardy gave a good promo to start the show. It underscored what he said last week about taking out Orton, but not achieving that goal. Orton did good in seeming confident despite Hardy’s surge of momentum. His line about running out of Hardys to kick was great. The idea of Orton wanting to be the third man to hold both the WWE and Intercontinental Title was interesting, and allowed for a few trips down memory lane to the first two men to do so. It set up the Main Event, and got me excited about the rest of the show.

Michaels and Kennedy: It was a good week for Shawn Michaels and Mr. Kennedy. I was thrilled that the announcers and Michaels addressed the obvious question as to why he has to qualify for the Royal Rumble. They didn’t answer, but at least it was brought up. Michaels gave a good promo addressing that issue and his feud with Kennedy before the match. His match with Trevor Murdoch was short, but good while it lasted. I like seeing Michaels use submission moves. It started in the match vs. Orton when Sweet Chin Music was banned, and it has been good to see him continue to diversify his offense. After the match, Kennedy gave a good promo from the screen. I was confused by the on-screen timer, but that didn’t distract too much from his words. He set up his match vs. Michaels next week. The segment ended on a very good note as the crowd got to see the Super Kick which they didn’t see during the match.

JBL’s Promo: John Bradshaw Layfield gave a good promo. He is showing reasons why he was a strong heel Champion on Smackdown. The balloons and fireworks were a bit much, but they made sense in the context of Chris Jericho’s interruption of JBL’s return a few weeks ago. WWE has problems with this feud as both guys are returning from long absences from the ring. It would have been a better idea to fully establish Jericho as a strong babyface for more than just a few months before having him feud with a man coming out of retirement. Even better, they should have had JBL come out of retirement to feud with a more established star before moving to a feud with Jericho. It is a huge uphill struggle to sell this feud. JBL’s promo was very good, and will help. Next week, Jericho needs a strong response for the final sell.

Mini-Rumble: I have to admit to laughing multiple times during this “match” so I am giving it a Hit. I would understand if readers disagree with my assessment. The little people did good jobs imitating their larger counterparts. Mini-Kennedy was great when he tried to reach the drop-down mic. Mini-Batista was great, especially when he shook the ropes. Mini-Kane was pretty good too. I found it amusing that Mini-Kane was actually the shortest one in the match. I was impressed that Hornswoggle was able to gorilla press one of the others over the top rope. It was predictable that it was going to be the real Great Khali, but his appearance worked, as did Finlay’s save. It was cheesy, but I enjoyed it, so I have to give it a Hit.

Flair vs. Regal (the good): I have mixed feelings about this match. It doesn’t deserve a spot in either column, but I want to address a few points about it, so I am putting it in both. I have been saying for awhile that Ric Flair had to face opponents during his retirement storyline who are not as big of a threat to his career as Randy Orton and Triple H. William Regal falls into that category, so I was glad to see Flair get a convincing win over an opponent, instead of getting a lucky count out or winning after outside interference. Also, while some will disagree, I don’t want to see Flair give the same promo about his career before every match. WWE did a good job of building to this match with the videos setting up Flair’s situation without having him cut a promo. I also enjoyed the end of the match with Flair using Regal’s tactics against him.

Final Segment: It was obvious with such little time left, that Orton vs. Hardy wasn’t going to happen. After Orton got himself disqualified, he told the audience to stick around as it would be worth seeing what was going to happen, and he was telling the truth. This was a great bait and switch (I don’t say that often). It makes perfect sense not to give away this match for free two weeks before asking us to pay for it. Plus, the end was so strong that the fans will not feel ripped off for not getting to see the match. Orton getting back dropped off the stage was a great surprise moment. Hardy did a good job teasing jumping onto Orton before ultimately climbing the set. When he went even higher, you could hear the anticipation buzzing through the crowd. His Swanton dive was a moment that will resonate with fans for a long time to come. The end was so strong with the announcers going totally quiet for the final few minutes as paramedics checked on Orton and Hardy. Hardy’s hand signal as he was taken away on a stretcher got a huge pop. There is no doubt where Hardy stands in they eyes of the fans.

RAW MISSES

Enema Joke: That was just stupid and unnecessary. It is a normal ploy to get cheap heat by insulting the local crowd, which worked. But, it was still not funny and didn’t add to the show in any way. In fact that whole scene between Vince McMahon, Regal, and Snitsky seemed forced and didn’t accomplish much other than setting up Triple H vs. Snitsky.

Triple H vs. Snitsky: This match wasn’t terrible, but it was far from good. It just suffered from Snitsky’s slow and plodding nature. Triple H isn’t exactly Mr. Excitement either. This is a rare case when I’m glad the match was interrupted by a commercial, as 10 minutes of Triple H vs. Snitsky would be a bit much. There was too much slow and methodical offense in the match. It picked up nicely at the end as Triple H made his comeback. There were some nice moments in the match, but not enough to save it from the Miss column. I wasn’t thrilled with the DQ finish either. It upsets me that WWE sees Snitsky as someone to be protected from a clean loss to Triple H, after he has buried much more talented wrestlers in the past.

Triple H “Destroys” Titantron: This was not a good night for The Game. After that match, he was confronted on the screen by McMahon who told him to calm down. Instead of calming down, he decided to use his sledgehammer on the screen. He tore the thin screen which looked bad enough, then pyro started shooting off to give the impression that he had destroyed something more valuable than what he actually ripped. He then ripped it again to a similarly cheesy effect. He then threw the sledgehammer through the screen to an even bigger “explosion.” This was terrible. It would have been better if he had just thrown the sledgehammer through the screen in the first place. I can’t believe they actually showed a replay of it after the commercial.

Flair vs. Regal (the bad): The problem with this match is that it was just too short. I don’t think it had to be as big of a deal as Flair vs. Orton, Umaga, or Triple H, but Flair’s final matches should all be at least a somewhat big deal. The match only went about 6 minutes, and we only saw 3 of those minutes. This suffered from the fact that there wasn’t much time left in the show, and there was still a Main Event to come. It made it feel rushed. The rest of the show didn’t feel rushed, but the end certainly did. WWE should have found a way to show the entire match.

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.

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

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