By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Triple Threat Takeover: A very up and down Raw got off to a good start as William Regal announced the Triple Threat Takeover. I like that John Cena, Triple H and Randy Orton will be given a chance to run Raw for the next few weeks. All three played their parts well. Orton was great in trying to strike up a deal. It made perfect sense given his character. Triple H’s response made perfect sense as well, as he obviously can’t trust Orton. Cena was good in putting all that talk to rest and reminding the audience of what has happened the last few weeks. His scene later in the show with Regal was strong and he made two matches that I was looking forward to seeing. WWE could have done better making it clear whether these guys get control over all of Raw, or just what happens with the other two. Next week we have a WrestleMania Rewind special 3 hour Raw (which I am looking forward to), but either Triple H or Orton will be in charge, which is a little confusing. However, I still like the concept and the execution so far.

Big Show Tosses Hill: After his silly MMA exhibition, during his argument via satellite with Floyd Mayweather, Big Show gave the best moment on this week’s Raw. While bickering with Mayweather, Big Show picked up his fallen opponent, Brandon “The Thrill” Hill and tossed him over the top rope. I loved that for two reasons. One, it looked cool as the camera angle added to the effect as Hill totally dropped out of sight. Two, Big Show did it in the middle of a sentence as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I loved how it didn’t break up the argument. It just happened in the middle of it.

Michaels-Flair: When Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair came to the ring for their tag match, I commented that it will be hard to hype Michaels vs. Flair at WrestleMania for the next four weeks as Michaels and Flair won’t be trying to hurt each other before their big match. I didn’t know how WWE would build to the match with so many Raws to go. But, WWE seems to know what they are doing. After last week when Michaels agreed to face Flair, I assumed that was the end of the discussion. It was good to see the discussion continue this week. Michaels’ second thoughts on the match worked well and fit the storyline. I liked that Flair didn’t talk afterwards. It makes sense when hit with something unexpected that you wouldn’t know what to say right away. It also creates anticipation to see what Flair will say to Michaels next week.

Highlight Reel: I enjoyed the return of the Highlight Reel. Chris Jericho’s rundown of the various real and fake WWE talk shows was fun (“Are You Smarter Than a Snitsky” has potential). Jericho was good throughout, as was Jeff Hardy. Hardy has never been great on the mic, but he can deliver in these types of situations when he isn’t asked to cut long promos. The end with the surprise Twist of Fate was strong. After Jericho vs. Hardy last week, I would love to see more of them in the ring, and they did a good build to that with the Highlight Reel.

Playboy Cover Reveal: This was the best Playboy cover reveal in WWE history, because of one man, Santino Marella. The reveal with Santino’s face plastered on the cover was laugh out loud funny. Santino was pretty funny in his appearance. He got in classic Santino lines, like when he asked Maria about her “timing of the month” and when he said that the men who want to see Maria in Playboy will have “an erectile dysfunction.” I had some problems with this segment. Maria’s fun former ditzy character was totally gone and in its place was a generic WWE Diva strong feminist character who won’t let any man tell her what to do. I also don’t particularly need to see another Santino and Jerry Lawler feud. So while there was a lot to like about this segment, there was some not to like as well, making this just a marginal Hit.

Main Event: Orton vs. Triple H was a good t.v. Main Event. It was short and ended in a DQ, but WWE didn’t want to give too much away for free so that makes sense. It was a nice tease for the WrestleMania Main Event. Orton and Triple H put on a good match before in got interrupted. Cena was good doing guest commentary. The end was great as Cena gave Triple H an FU, then got hit by an RKO by Orton. WWE continues to do a good job hyping this match.

RAW MISSES

Cena vs. Kennedy: This is a marginal Miss as what we saw of the match was not bad. There was some good action, and the match told a nice story as Mr. Kennedy worked on Cena’s neck. But, WWE has been doing a good job of building up Kennedy lately and this was a step back. I was intrigued that he ended Raw on top last week. But, this week he lost clean. He had momentum that is totally gone now. Plus, the match was only about 9 minutes and after a commercial we only saw about 6 of those minutes. Down the line, Kennedy vs. Cena could be a PPV match, maybe even a PPV Main Event. But, it will be hard to sell that after this match.

MIB Qualifier: After complaining about a lack of a Money in the Bank qualifier on Smackdown after so many on Raw in my Smackdown Hits & Misses last week, I must complain about having this match this week. Now we have had four qualifiers on Raw and only one on Smackdown. If there are only six men in Money in the Bank, then Smackdown is only going to have one representative. If there are eight as has been rumored, then there is still time to add some from Smackdown, but they better start soon and this better be it for Raw. The match itself, Carlito vs. Cody Rhodes was actually a good 4 minute match. That’s the best Rhodes has looked in a WWE ring. But, WWE has to rethink how they use the qualifiers next year.

Mayweather Interview: I didn’t mind the early argument between Big Show and Mayweather. It wasn’t great, it went on too long and started to drag, but it had its moments. I appreciate how it felt more real than many of the over-scripted arguments we see in WWE. I didn’t like it enough to give it a Hit, but the fact that it felt different than what we usually see kept it out of the Miss column. However, the same can’t be said for Mayweather’s interview with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler later in the show. The first appearance was all that was needed and Mayweather didn’t do a good job in the interview. He repeated himself way too much. He didn’t seem to actually answer any of the questions. Why is WWE so insistent on scripting its own proven talent, but seem to not script Mayweather? While I liked the spontaneous feel, a little scripting would have helped it from becoming so redundant. Mayweather still comes off as a heel, and I’m not really sure how WWE feels about that.

Mike Ademle: This guy has to go. He sounded like a buffoon introducing the Hall of Fame inductees. He is terrible. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Give it up already.

Finlay Segment: This was the biggest disappointment of the night. After last week’s intriguing development in the Finlay, McMahon and Hornswoggle saga, WWE followed up with a bad segment this week. Last week, John Bradshaw Layfield said that he had proof that Finlay was Hornswoggle’s father and promised to force Finlay to admit it. That gave the impression that the truth would come out down the line with some fireworks in the mean time. Instead, Finlay admitted to everything without a fuss. What happened to JBL’s proof? I guess he didn’t need to force Finlay to do anything. This was such a let down. The segment got off to a bad start with Finlay’s horrible new music and kept going downhill from there. This should make Finlay a heel as he took advantage of his son for financial gain. That doesn’t make me want to cheer for him the way I have been lately. JBL’s beating of Hornswoggle in the cheesy hospital room was unnecessary. And, what ever happened to the deal between Finlay and McMahon? That angle appears to have been dropped. This was disappointing from top to bottom.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

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