By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Hardy vs. Umaga: This was a good way to start Raw, instead of the post-PPV Triple H promo I was expecting. When Umaga came out as Jeff Hardy’s opponent, my initial thought was, “great, we haven’t seen these guys wrestle before” (note the sarcasm). After the match, I remembered why I enjoyed their feud. Hardy brings out the best in Umaga. Their matches have been good over the past year or so. This match had a lot of energy and good back and forth action. I am always disappointed in a double count out ending, but this one worked o.k. It set up their match at One Night Stand (which WWE has only two weeks to promote, although that is nobody’s fault but their own). Also, it got heat back on Umaga after his loss to Hardy this week. Sure he didn’t win the match, but in the end he was the one standing tall.

Regal and Kennedy: After their storyline seemed to be over last week, it was good to see it return this week. I question moving forward with the angle so quickly. It seemed rushed. However, William Regal and Mr. Kennedy played their parts very well, as did Mr. McMahon. Regal vs. Kennedy was intense, but too short of a match to get a Hit in and of itself. The post-match reaction from Regal getting fired was great. I also liked the tease of Teddy Long as the new General Manager. I figured that Kennedy would lose and have to do something to get his job back (I was thinking of Matt Hardy after the Lita and Edge controversy, when he would show up and attack Edge then run away from security), so I was surprised when Regal got fired. I am curious to see where they go from here. He was getting great heat as the GM, but if that heat can be transferred to him as a wrestler (if he gets rehired by the new GM) then I am all for it.
Note: I wrote this before looking at any news, and now I see that Regal has been suspended. That is very disappointing, but is clearly why this angle was quickly accelerated.

Melina - Phoenix: I am intrigued by this feud. For one thing, it is nice to see WWE actually build a Diva feud that doesn’t involve the Women’s Championship. For years, it has seemed that the only feud among the real women wrestlers in the company has been between Champion and challenger. So, I like that Melina and Beth Phoenix are building a personal feud. Melina was solid on guest commentary. Phoenix looked strong in her squash of Maria. On a side note, with Natalya doing the Sharpshooter, Michelle McCool busting out a new leg submission hold last Friday, and Phoenix using this new stretching submission hold, the Divas have gone submission and I like it. Getting back to business, the crowd seemed to come to life when Melina attacked Phoenix after the match. It was good to see Phoenix still end up on top in the end.

Jericho vs. Batista: I question giving this match away for free without announcing it ahead of time, but I can’t question the quality of the match itself. That was one of the best matches on Raw in quite awhile. It had good action, and very good ring psychology. The writing for the Chris Jericho, Batista, Shawn Michaels angle has been very good, and this match played into the storyline perfectly. I loved it when Jericho started selling an apparent knee injury. That was a great moment and Batista’s doubtful reaction was great as well. How was I to know at the time that they would top that spot when Batista came up with a knee injury later in the show? Jericho’s brief doubtful look was spot on. The match told a great story from that point on as Jericho looked to prove that Batista’s knee was actually hurt. The match built nicely to the finish which worked well as Batista finally hit the Batista Bomb after two failed attempts. Batista vs. Michaels is about all WWE has to really sell One Night Stand other than the fact that all matches will have extreme stipulations.

Extreme Match Choices: I am not a fan of the all extreme rules for One Night Stand. I gave it a Miss last year. But, I guess I am more accepting of it in year 2 (the way I begrudgingly accept the all cage format for TNA’s Lockdown). So far, I like the choices of matches that have been announced. Ugama vs. Hardy in a Falls Count Anywhere match makes sense given the double count out this week. A Stretcher match makes sense for Batista vs. Michaels. It plays into their storyline of fake injuries well. I am actually not thrilled with the other choices so far, but I like the stipulations more than the ones that I was predicting. I was expecting John Bradshaw Layfield to choose a Bull Rope match or a Strap match, but instead it will be a First Blood match which is a better choice, as the other two are among the lamest gimmick matches in wrestling. I was expecting Randy Orton to choose Hell in a Cell for his match against Triple H. I feared that it would really spoil Hell in a Cell to feature it on a PPV with all the other gimmick matches. So, I am pleased that Orton went with Last Man Standing instead. It isn’t a great choice, but is there one? At least this one plays into their storyline as it was the match in which Orton won the WWE Title from Triple H in the first place. I am predicting Edge vs. Undertaker in a Ladder match, as it fits perfectly with a vacant title situation where a wrestler has to end up with the belt, and it will be Vickie Guerrero’s way of favoring Edge in his type of match.

RAW MISSES

Katie Lea and Mickie James: This to me was a really awkward and random scene. Katie Lea hasn’t been on t.v. much at all, now suddenly she is getting in Mickie James’ face about sleeping her way to the top. Really? This segment didn’t last very long, but it seemed like it went on forever. I found myself losing interest every second it did last. Maybe having a more established heel Diva like Jillian Hall in the role would have helped, but I wasn’t thrilled with the start of the John Cena and Mickie James angle last week, and I am less thrilled with its continuation this week. Neither James nor Katie Lea delivered well here.

Piper’s Pit: This was a very disappointing segment. I am a huge Santino Marella fan, and I laughed out loud when he came out dressed as Rowdy Roddy Piper. But other than that visual, the scene really dragged and wasn’t very funny. He had one great line, when he imitated Piper’s catch phrase by saying, “just when you think you’ve got the answers, I babble incoherently.” That was it for the good of the segment. The rest was just bad. I didn’t need to see them show the footage from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” a second time. Santino’s repeated use of the wrong names for Kimmel, Cousin Sal, and Piper got redundant. The scene just kept going and got boring after awhile. Cousin Sal’s lines about Santino weren’t very good. Ron Simmons’ cameo on the big screen was way too forced. The joke about Santino having pictures of fourth graders was creepy and uncomfortable. I don’t particularly look forward to seeing Sal vs. Santino. So in the end, what started out with so much promise ended up a big mess.

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.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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