By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Michaels vs. Kennedy: This was a very good t.v. match, as I was expecting it to be based on their last match. What I liked about it in particular was how it was booked. Shawn Michaels and Mr. Kennedy went all out and performed the match very well. But, the booking was what stood out to me. I loved how they went to Michaels’ finishing sequence early in the match. We saw him hit his signature moves that usually follow his comeback after a prolonged beating leading up to Sweet Chin Music. However, in this match we saw those moves early hinting at a quick win for Michaels. Kennedy was able to avoid Sweet Chin Music and the match continued after the break. It is great to see them changing a formula around. After getting that sequence out of the way, I was looking forward to seeing how Michaels would attempt to put Kennedy away later in the match. The ending sequence was strong as Kennedy again avoided the Super Kick, and Michaels’ new leg submission, only to get a Super Kick a moment later.

Phoenix vs. James: This was a good, short match. I was happy to see this one on one match between the only two real women wrestlers on Raw without the others involved in some way as usually happens. The match was short, but good while it lasted. Mickie James got more offense against Beth Phoenix in that short time than we’ve seen from anyone against The Glamazon. WWE continues to do a good job of building up Phoenix as an unstoppable Women’s Champion, but in this case they gave James some credibility. The crying at the end was an interesting touch, which was followed up nicely later in her conversation with Maria backstage. I’m curious to see where this is going.

Jericho’s Promo: This was not what it needed to be. It came close and was a good promo, so I am giving it a marginal Hit, but it was not a home run. Jericho delivered the promo very well. He did a great job showing his serious side. He got very emotional talking about his son. He highlighted the key parts of John Bradshaw Layfield’s promo from last week, while pointing out that JBL wasn’t there this week. He underscored how personal this feud has gotten and his anger over the injuries he suffered two weeks ago, as well as the emotional pain that JBL caused him and his family last week. The problem is that the live fans didn’t buy into the promo very much. They gave a decent pop when he said that JBL had failed to finish him off. They gave a smaller pop when he said that he wasn’t looking to put on a show, but to have a fight. I liked the promo, but I fear that it failed to really grab hold of the audience.

Kendrick vs. Umaga: I seldom include squashes in my Hit column. I wanted to mention this match, as it is a good example of how a squash can work. Umaga has credibility issues as of late. Sure, he easily won a Royal Rumble qualifier a few weeks back, but he also recently lost to Ric Flair and Jeff Hardy. Having him look very strong going into the Royal Rumble was a good idea. Instead of having him just steam roll through someone, Brian Kendrick actually showed great fire and got in more offense than you get in most squashes. Along with the earlier scene between Kendrick and Cody Rhodes, and Jim Ross’ talk about Kendrick before the match, this match might actually lead to something for Kendrick. Time will tell, but by featuring him in two segments, and letting him hit some high energy moves on Umaga, WWE hinted at giving him more air time in the future, which would be great.

Final Sell for Orton vs. Hardy: I had some problems with the final sell for the Royal Rumble Main Event, particularly the back stage pep talks that Vince McMahon gave to Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy (more later). But overall, WWE did a good job of hyping Orton vs. Hardy. They had three very good video packages as part of the hype. One was a nice recap of the feud so far, leading up to Hardy’s 30 foot Swanton Bomb last week. The other two were career retrospectives of Orton and Hardy. They were very well produced and a great way to help put this match in both the context of their feud and in the context of their careers. The final segment of the show was strong too. McMahon gave a good promo hyping the match. Orton put over Hardy as someone who had gained his respect. Then Hardy put over himself and the fans. His promo about why he hit the Swanton last week was very good. His march through the fans was a bit cheesy, but it worked to reinforce the notion that he was a man of the people. I was expecting to have Orton get the better of Hardy this week, but Hardy continues to get the better of Orton each week, making it somewhat doubtful that he will once again on Sunday.

RAW MISSES

McMahon’s Backstage Talks: These pep talks failed for a few reasons. McMahon never gave a satisfactory explanation as to why he wanted Orton and Hardy to shake hands in the first place. That was a cheesy idea that could have at least been given a good reason from McMahon, but it didn’t. These were classic WWE moments where the characters are talking like they aren’t on camera. McMahon gave both wrestlers what seemed like confidential advice on the importance of the handshake as if the opponent wasn’t watching. If shaking Hardy’s hand was going to help Orton get a competitive edge, then Hardy probably shouldn’t have been able to see McMahon tell that to Orton. Also, his advice to both men didn’t make much sense at all. I didn’t see a reason to have the handshake in the first place, and these segments were supposed to give a reason why Orton and Hardy would agree to it, but they did not.

Triple H’s Gauntlet: I’m glad this was an over the top rope, not a pin fall Gauntlet that we’ve seen Triple H (sometimes with Shawn Michaels) easily win in the past. The fact that he dumped Snitsky, Mark Henry, and William Regal over the tope rope instead of pinning them helps them save some credibility. But, the match was boring. Nobody expected Triple H to lose so there was no drama. Vince McMahon is an idiot for giving Triple H a second chance to get in the Rumble in the first place, and an even bigger idiot for this being his great plan. I was intrigued by Regal’s holding off the planned third opponent to go to the ring himself, and am curious to see if that angle is followed up on. WWE could have gone an unpredictable rout and kept Triple H out of the Rumble. They could have created several interesting possibilities for his character and his next feud based on being kept out of the Rumble. But if you aren’t in it, you can’t win it, and all signs point to Triple H winning and facing Orton at WrestleMania.

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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