By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Miz & Morrison vs. Primo & Carlito: I'm disappointed that I didn't get to see this at WrestleMania. It is an insult to my intelligence for the announcers to claim the fans in Houston got to see it as a "bonus match." It wasn't a bonus, it was advertised for the PPV! Moving on, this was a good Tag Team Title match. These guys have had several good matches against each other and this was no different. The lumberjack stipulation was handled well. John Morrison's crazy shooting star press flip to the outside was incredible. I assumed Miz & Morrison would win the unified Tag Titles, but losing again here suggests they might be split up next week.

WrestleMania All Star Tag: This was a fun 10 man tag match that featured a lot of good quality wrestling action and lasted about 15 minutes. There was plenty of athleticism and the match never dragged. They did a good job of getting Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat some offense and allowing him a chance to shine in the ring for the larger tv audience than at the PPV. The live reaction to the new Hall of Famer was great. There were some interesting side stories in the match based on the feuds involved. Afterwards, I liked how CM Punk made eye contact with John Cena reminding the new World Champ that he has the Money in the Bank briefcase. The respect shown to Steamboat by his teammates was a nice touch too.

Vickie as Raw GM: I am giving this a Hit, because Vickie Guerrero will only be the General Manager of Raw, and not Smackdown too. It was interesting to hear that the Board of Directors (worst Board ever) put a time limit on her being GM of both brands, and that now she has to choose one or the other. She has done a fine job as a performer, so I don't mind her being on one show, and it doesn't matter to me which it is. She will now be on Raw, and it will be interesting to see who WWE gets to be the GM of Smackdown. Also, Vickie was right. Raw has become stale.

End of the Show: That was a good way to end Raw. Randy Orton vs. Vince McMahon was silly. McMahon got in too much offense, but at least Orton was able to get back in control and put McMahon out without too much trouble. Things proceeded well from there with Shane McMahon getting the advantage over Orton by attacking him from behind. It was more believable than what we've seen from them fighting in the past. Then, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase showed up to get the better of Shane. Then Triple H showed up. I expected him to clean house, but he only had a brief advantage before being overcome by the numbers advantage. Then came the surprise return of Batista which worked very well. It really was a nice surprise. It was good to hear the announcers acknowledge that Batista was put out of action by Orton. I was also happy to hear Vince change the six man tag for Backlash, replacing himself with Batista. That will make for a much better match.

RAW MISSES

Draft Hype: Every time I complain about the lack of a brand split, at least one reader leaves a comment that I should just accept it. But, when WWE shoves the draft hype down my throat I have to gag because of how ridiculous the concept of a draft is, when it makes zero difference at all what brand any wrestler is actually a member of when that wrestler can just show up on any show at any time for any reason. I got so tired of hearing the announcers ask questions about draft possibilities. What if Miz & Morrison are split up? Who cares? They appear on all three shows now, so if Morrison were to get drafted to Smackdown, can't Miz just keep appearing on Smackdown like he does now and nothing will be different. During the All Star Tag match, they kept asking what would happen if Edge got drafted to Raw? Well, he was wrestling on Raw while the question was being asked, so I don't think things would be different. The Backlash main events feature wrestlers from different brands, so who cares about the draft? I really wonder if the announcers realize how stupid they sound when asking these questions.

Six Man Tag for the Title: Was that Vickie Guerrero, or Jim Cornette, or Eric Bischoff? Having the WWE Title defended in a six man tag is ridiculous. It is one of those stupid stipulations that WCW used to do, and TNA still does that makes no sense. And, like TNA, WWE is getting into a problem with the authority figure situation. Vince McMahon made the six man tag for Backlash, specifically saying that he would not give Randy Orton another Title match. Then, Vickie makes the tag a Title match, going against McMahon's earlier ruling. How does she as the GM of Raw have the authority to overrule the owner of the company, and force a Smackdown wrestler (remember, Vickie isn't in charge of Smackdown any more) to defend his Title in any match?

Glamarella: I have enjoyed so much of the team of Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix, but the team seems to have run out of steam. Santino in drag just isn't that funny. Sure, there were some funny lines when he was talking to Phoenix, but on the whole it wasn't that good. Having Phoenix focus just on this is a waste of her talent. They have done some great work together in the past, and I hope things get better. On a side note, Santina's music is recycled WWE entrance music. Who used to use that music? Watching live, I knew it was recycled but I couldn't put my finger on it. For some reason, the old WCW team Three Count came to mind, and I thought it might have been their "hit" single. But, I didn't think so. My brother says he believes it was Billy & Chuck's music. Is he right? Any thoughts?

Where was Michaels?: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker was an epic match of the year candidate. Instead of focusing on it, and making a huge deal out of it, it was barely mentioned in a brief segment when the announcers called it a classic. That hardly seemed enough of a recognition for the effort that Michaels and Undertaker put in at WrestleMania. Where was Michaels? Shouldn't he have been on to address the loss? I can accept the fact that he isn't on, if they make a big deal about his absence. At least draw attention to the fact that he wasn't on, and talk about it in the context of losing to the Undertaker in a match that lasted over 30 minutes. You want people to buy the replay? Then make this match a bigger deal.

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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