By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Hardy vs. Regal vs. Kingston: After a dismal start to Raw (more later) it was nice to finally see some good wrestling action with this triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for Montel Vontavious Porter's US Championship. The match started out a bit sloppy, but the second half was very good. Matt Hardy, William Regal and Kofi Kingston worked hard to put on a good 10 minute match. The triple threat rules were booked well with guys being taken out so that it could be one on one, only to have them return to break up a three count. It is a bit formulaic, but the formula works. The final few minutes of the build to the end were the strongest of the match, like when Hardy hit the Side Effect on both Kingston and Regal, leading to Kingston hitting the Trouble in Paradise on both Regal and Hardy to get the win. MVP was strong on guest commentary as well.

Flair - Orton - Batista - Kennedy: I liked the scene in the back between Ric Flair and Batista. It continued the good part about the similar scene from last week, with Flair being upset at Batista for doubting him, while doing away with the bad part of last week, when Flair talked about actually wrestling. The ultimate in ring confrontation was good too. Flair showed great passion on the mic as you would expect in calling out Randy Orton for a fight. Orton was very good on the mic as well in not really answering that call. I liked what he said about Flair being over, and how he has been for along time, and how everyone feels sorry for him. That plays into what Flair has been saying to Batista. I find it interesting that the 16 time World Champion would have trouble over coming a beating from Orton, when Shane McMahon could easily beat up Orton with Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes, but I digress. The physicality worked well as did the save from Batista. It was interesting to see Mr. Kennedy interrupt and announce himself as the fifth member of the Lakers for the main event. It was good to see him back.

RAW MISSES

McMahon vs. Nuggets: I had a feeling this was going to be a bad episode of Raw, and I was right. It sucked. And the suckiness started right from the start with the lame opening with E. Stan Kroenke coming to the ring. I don't understand how WWE could think this was a good idea. The fake David Stern and Jack Nicholson were stupid. Sure, the LA fans booed the fake Kroenke, but I'm rooting for Denver against the Lakers as are many fans watching at home, so he didn't seem bad to me. Vince McMahon seemed like an ass, which he is, for making fun of the guy's name. McMahon's sense of humor is childish. WWE does do taped Raws from time to time. They could have taped it in Denver and it wouldn't have been a big deal. I agree that the NBA should have scheduled their games differently, and that WWE should have had the rights to the building for Monday, but it didn't work out. They got all this publicity, and instead of starting the show hot with something that would grab the audience's attention, they started with this crap. Sure, things picked up with The Miz and the following brawl, but I felt like changing the channel before that. And, this was the start of the theme for the night which was a shame.

Kelly vs. Maryse: What was that? I was glad to see Kelly Kelly get a chance at the Divas Championship, and the match started off well enough. However, the ending left a lot to be desired. Can someone explain to me what Maryse did to get disqualified? She shoved Kelly on the announce table? Is that it? If that is all it takes to get a DQ, then what PPV main event would ever end in anything other than a DQ? That was so lame, and confusing. I kept trying to figure out if I had missed something. It was also disappointing that the match was only 3 minutes long at that point.

Bellas, "Jack", Goldust, Hornswoggle: This was bad on so many levels. For one thing, I can over look the fact that Goldust and Hornswoggle thought the guy was Nicholson. After all, they aren't booked to look smart. But, the Bella twins looked like absolute idiots for falling all over the guy, thinking he was a huge star. Before this scene, all we knew about the Bellas is that they are twins and like to hang out under the ring. Now, all we know is that they are twins, like to hang out under the ring, and are stupid. The Nicholson impression wasn't even good. Why is Goldust doing the electrocuted gimmick from several years ago? I recall when he was thrown into that electrical piece of equipment when he was teaming with Booker T, but that was a long time ago! He hasn't been properly reintroduced to the WWE fans, and newer fans aren't going to remember that. I think Goldust can be an entertaining character and a boon to the roster. Yet, digging up one of his worst gimmicks and springing it onto the fans is a mistake.

NBA Finals Match: The lame NBA style introductions for this match seemed to last longer then the match, which itself seemed to drag on forever, which is a really bad sign. I can't speak for any of the ten wrestlers in the match, but if I were a star the stature of Orton or John Cena or Batista, I wouldn't have wanted anything to do with this match, and I would have been upset about having to wear an NBA jersey. The whole concept was so stupid, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it even if it had featured good wrestling action. Luckily, it didn't feature good action, so I didn't have to worry about being distracted. The match dragged with the two very long beatings, first of MVP, then of Kennedy. Kennedy looked good in his first match back, but appeared to injure his arm again, which wouldn't be a surprise, but a disappointment if he is hurt again. The Five Knuckle Shuffle / Ballin' Elbow was stupid. It was a bad ending to a bad show.

Extreme Rules: I didn't do a Smackdown Hits & Misses last week, but if I had I would have complained about the card for Extreme Rules. Through Smackdown, the five matches announced for the PPV were all rematches from Judgment Day. Each one has a stipulation, but most of them suck. The ladder match between Jeff Hardy and Edge was predictable, but should be a great match. The submission match for Cena vs. Big Show is interesting, but I am very tired of the feud. WWE has done a lot of steel cage matches over the last year, so the announcement that it would be the gimmick for Orton vs. Batista did nothing for me last week on Raw. The Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio Intercontinental Title no holds bared match is a bit boring, but ok. But, I don't see what Jericho did to deserve a rematch, and I am concerned to see where they are going with Mysterio's mask after he made such a big deal about it in his interview. If a Samoan strap match involves touching each turnbuckle to get the win, then I have no interest in seeing it. Also a bigger deal should have been made about Umaga speaking for the first time. And now, on Raw, they have added a hog pen match between Santina Marella and Vickie Guerrero for the Miss WrestleMania crown. Yawn. Will it be better than Henry Godwin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley? They aren't doing much to get me interested in the PPV, when these are mostly the same matches from the last one with mostly disappointing gimmicks.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and Superstars 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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