By Richard Gardner, Torch specialist

The fiasco that is the guest host concept has offered up a range of personalities. They have ranged from the mundane (Batista), cringe-worthy (ZZ Top), disrespectful (Jeremy "Summerfest" Piven), spiteful (Sgt Slaughter) to the virtually non-existent (Floyd Mayweather).
The guest host concept divides opinion. Executives from USA and WWE have spoken about what a useful marketing tool it is for celebrities while at the same time providing mainstream publicity for the WWE. Others may argue that a few sarcastic snippets on ESPN are not worth sacrificing the overall quality of Raw and time that could be spent building younger stars.

Nevertheless, if we assume that the WWE is going to continue with the practice of having a different personality run Raw every week (hell, Bob Barker is booked for Monday), Dusty Rhodes's appearance this week set the standard for others to be judged. Of course there were the usual gaps in logic. WWE needs to establish that the guest host is not able to fire the wrestlers, as Rhodes could have simply rid Legacy of Cena for good (or at least until he comes back the following week under a mask as The Calgary Kid). But this was outweighed by a main event angle that was the best Raw has produced this year.

In the opening segment, Rhodes booked his son Cody to face Randy Orton for the title in the main event with John Cena as the guest referee. However, instead of having a competitive match as Ted DiBiase had with Orton a few months ago, it was a trap that enabled Legacy and Dusty to beat down Cena and DX. The angle had played out beautifully both on television and in the arena, when Orton suddenly executed the RKO on Dusty. Cody, filled with a mixture of rage and anguish, teased attacking Orton before eventually backing down.

Leading up to the final segment, Dusty had been involved in what could be considered collectors items: DX comedy skits that were actually funny. In order to promote the new "Rise and Fall of WCW" DVD, the three of them watched the main feature (does HBK ever watch Raw?) and poked fun at the best and worst moments of the defunct wrestling organization.

Shawn Michaels freaking out over not being part of the Attitude era and the recreation of the infamous Shockmaster debut were amusing, although way too inside for the majority of the Raw audience. The humor established Rhodes as a lovable comedy figure, which made his heel turn in the main event all the more surprising.

The angle played into the characters of Legacy superbly. Orton's evil streak was reaffirmed, while Cody Rhodes's backing down established him as a coward, forsaking his own father so that he could continue to learn from the champion. The acting was great, doing more to put over Cody Rhodes than months of being Randy Orton's henchman. The beauty of the way it played out was that Rhodes could turn on his mentor a year from now and cite Monday's incident, while providing teases in between.

Dusty Rhodes's appearance on Raw this week was refreshing; one of the few times where the guest host has not been a liability. It was a nice story that put the wrestlers over rather than the host, when in previous weeks the situation was the exact opposite. Added to which, Dusty is revered by wrestling fans so the turn and Orton's attack meant so much more than jumping a random celebrity such as Freddie Prinze Jr.

It's a pity that Raw will return to being a glorified infomercial for celebrity products this week... whenever the price is right.

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