By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Cena vs. Big Show: I don't understand giving away this match for free so close to WrestleMania, but at least it isn't the exact match that will happen at the PPV. But, it was a good 11 minute match. Big Show is slow and plodding, but he understands how to put together a match. The reason this match is getting a Hit is for the story it told, both in the context of the match itself, as well as in the context of selling the match at the PPV. The story of the match was Big Show's size advantage and how John Cena was unable to put him in the STF or lift him for the Attitude Adjustment (I hate that name). In the larger context, WWE is doing a very good job of building Show into the favorite to win at WrestleMania. If Cena couldn't finish him off here, and Edge couldn't last week, and if they can't work together, how will Show be defeated?

Michaels - Undertaker: Just like on Smackdown, the Shawn Michaels - Undertaker segment stole the show. It wasn't quite as good as Smackdown's, but it was still very good. The only thing that brought it down a bit is the notion that every person who has a feud with Undertaker at WrestleMania has to do a funeral for his streak. But, this one was well done and memorable. Michaels gave a great promo, again reminding everyone that he is undefeated against the Undertaker. Some of the lines were very strong, like when he said he was personally insulted by Undertaker's refusal to admit that he might defeat him, or when he said that people will talk about championships changing, ladders, legends and 70,000 people, but the moment that will remain in their minds is when he snaps the streak. After the lights went out, the scene continued to play out well. Undertaker was great in showing anger at Michaels' disappearing. I loved the look he got on his face as he realized that Michaels was in the casket, and his fit when he was wrong. If anyone is looking forward to a WrestleMania match more than this, I don't understand.

Orton's Promo: Randy Orton gave a good promo in the final segment of the show. It effectively recapped his history with Triple H and put this current feud into a historical context. I liked how they wove the clips into his promo. I will take that over just a long video package any day. I was also happy that they dumped the whole IED thing, as Orton said he was in total control the entire time. The added stipulation that Triple H can't get disqualified or he will lose the WWE Title has a chance to make the match more memorable as he will have to restrain his anger. Orton's delivery was good. My only problem is that in less I am mistaken, haven't these two feuded over the WWE Title before? Triple H took the Title from Orton at last year's Backlash. Hunter and Stephanie McMahon were married then. Orton was still angry over Evolution. So, why didn't he attack the McMahons back then? These are obviously rhetorical questions. Orton's promo made it sound like their paths hadn't really crossed since Evolution as he had been waiting patiently to hatch his plot. Obviously that isn't the case. But as I said, the promo on the whole was still very strong and well delivered.

RAW MISSES

18 Divas Tag: Where to begin? I think the purpose of this segment was to get the fans excited about seeing these women, plus seven more in a battle royale at WrestleMania. I don't think WWE accomplished that goal. Having 2 minutes of very basic wrestling leading to a Santino Marella comedy bit (which was humorous as usual) isn't going to get anyone excited about the match. Why was Tiffany, who isn't a wrestler (in terms of her on air character) given the bulk of the ring time and the victory? Unlike when Eve Torres hinted on Smackdown of having aspirations to be a wrestler, Tiffany has not shown any proclivity towards an in ring career on ECW. Throwing out a returning Gail Kim with the rest doesn't do much for her. I just don't get why put on this match and have it go so short.

"12 Rounds" Video: When it comes to WWE Films, I am like an Alzheimer's patient. Each time WWE has a film coming out, I get so tired of the constant bombardment of highlight videos that I keep saying "I can't wait for this movie to come out so they will stop hyping it!" But, I always forget that they continue to hype it even after a disastrous opening weekend. The $5 million that the movie made in its opening weekend can't be spun into a positive. It was $2 million less than "The Marine" made and that was a disappointment. WWE wants to reach a wider audience with its movies than the fans who watch Raw, but they should try to get WWE fans to go. However, I think that they are doing themselves a disservice by pounding us over the heads with the hype. Some "on the fence" fans might think about going to see the movie, but will get turned off by multiple videos on Raw each week, especially if they see the same videos on ECW and Smackdown. I have a BA in Cinema. I used to write for a film website where I did box office tracking. Movies always go down their second week, often by 50% (especially a bad movie). There is no way any type of hype at this point is going to get fans into the theater to save the movie from being a flop. Instead, they are more likely to turn off fans watching Raw.

Mysterio vs. JBL: Can someone explain why I'm paying $50 for WrestleMania? I know the answer. I always buy WrestleMania no matter what the card looks like. This year, the card is looking weak. Now, some of the matches have a chance to be good (Triple H vs. Randy Orton for instance), but the hype has been poor. The Intercontinental Championship match doesn't look good on paper. It seems like a waste of Rey Mysterio's talent. I wasn't looking forward to the match much, but I figured it would be solid. Then WWE gave the match away for free on Raw. It was solid, what I expected. This doesn't ruin a WrestleMania match for me as I wasn't looking forward to it anyway. But, I don't get under any circumstances giving away the same match that we will see at the PPV, the week before! It makes no sense. On a side note, WWE has done a poor job of hyping JBL's historical moment at WrestleMania. The announcers have talked about it more that JBL has. Does anyone care about finding out on Sunday?

Charge of the McMahons: When Vince McMahon's music first hit, I liked the surprise. I assumed that he was going to announce that Vickie Guerrero is no longer in charge of Raw and would void her stipulation and add one of his own. Instead, Shane McMahon showed up and you knew it was going to turn into a McMahons vs. Legacy fight. It was ok, but it just seemed cheesy. After they got rid of Orton's security, it seemed silly how they continued to kick the guys when they were down. I suppose it is business as usual and I should just accept it as fact, but I am still bothered that a man in his 60s can easily beat up a young wrestler in the prime of his career. At least they didn't show much and focused on Orton and Triple H. But, I still long for those days when Orton said there couldn't be any physical confrontation between them before WrestleMania.

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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