By Jon Mezzera, PWTorch specialist

RAW HITS

Punk - Jericho: I had some issues with this opening confrontation between WWE Champion C.M. Punk and his WrestleMania challenger Chris Jericho, but it was still good enough to get a Hit. Punk and Jericho were both very strong in their performance. I didn't like that Jericho kept referring to himself as a "performer." I'm not a fan of either of them talking about having great matches or stealing the show. The conversation should be about winning matches. However, in the end they did get to the ultimate point that Jericho wants to win the WWE Title to prove that he is the best, while Punk wants to keep it. They effectively threw in a personal issue between them to elevate the Title match. They both had some good lines and it was entertaining to watch.

Undertaker - Triple H Video: I seem to be in the minority of viewers who weren't fans of the confrontation last week between Undertaker and Triple H. However, I was a fan of the video package looking back at their match from last year. This was very well done with the footage of the match interspliced with reactions from wrestlers, both past and present. Having Hall of Famers like Steve Austin comment also makes it feel like a huge deal. They did a very good job of reminding the audience why last year's match was so special, but they now need to transition that into why this year's match will be even better (did they show this same video at some point last year?).

RAW MISSES

Cole - Lawler: The bickering between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler was more annoying than usual this week. What really stood out this week was how each of them (not just the heel) was blindly supporting his side. It is a tradition for the heel announcer to ignore obvious facts to support the heel wrestlers. How many times did Bobby Heenan's screen go blank just at the moment a heel cheated? But, the babyface announcer shouldn't do the same thing. It was ridiculous for Cole to say that Laurinaitis did the right thing on Smackdown last week in restarting the match, but Teddy Long was wrong for doing the same thing. However, it was equally ridiculous for Lawler to say that Long was right to restart the match, but Laurinaitis was wrong. Then, Cole claimed it was clear that Daniel Bryan had won the match, while Lawler claimed it was clear that Punk had won. It wasn't clear at all. Instead of sounding like a voice of reason, Lawler sounded just as delusional as Cole, only taking the other side of the argument. This continued during Punk vs. Bryan. The announcers along with Long and Laurinaitis were really a distraction from the match itself. They didn't enhance the product; they distracted from it. And once again (on a bit of a side note) what could have been a very good match turned into an angle involving authority figures and ended up being not much of a match at all.

Miz vs. Cena: I had multiple problems with this match. For one thing, a WM main event should always be special. A year later, it should still be special. Yet here, last year's main event was treated like no big deal by being thrown out on Raw with very little hype. It also made a joke out of last year's main event, when the rematch goes about 4 minutes (yes, I realize that The Miz and John Cena have faced multiple times since last year's WM, but WWE emphasized the fact that it was a WM main event rematch right before the match in Miz's promo, so it should have been treated as a bigger deal). Can we assume that a main event from this year's show will be a joke come this time next year? If so, why should I buy the event? Moving past that, I do like the importance on WM being sold in how much Miz wants to be part of the show. However, just how one gets picked to be part of WM is not well defined by WWE. Cena challenged the Rock and Rock accepted and it became a WM match. Undertaker challenged Triple H and Triple H eventually accepted and it became a WM match. So, why doesn't Miz just challenge someone for a WM match? The precedent is set that if you challenge someone at WM and they accept, it becomes a match. Why not challenge Dolph Ziggler for the US Title? Nobody else has. So, I like the idea of establishing a storyline for Miz and establishing a goal for his match against Cena (win to prove he belongs at WM), but when the process of receiving WM matches isn't established, the angle sort of collapses in on itself.

Henry Buried Again: I know he took a huge spear from Big Show and a Brogue Kick from Sheamus who is being built up as a huge star right now, but it was still disappointing to see Mark Henry lose in such a quick fashion. He seemed like a probable WM main eventer just a few months ago. I understand injuries changed things, but it is a shame how ordinary he is looking right now with nothing going in terms of a storyline other than this nebulous idea that he doesn't like Long as the Smackdown GM.

The Rock: This was not a good promo from The Rock. I don't know that it is ever a good idea to say that what you said before wasn't meant to be taken literally. Well, why not? Should we take what you say now literally? Also, last year Rock would say something to say it. It felt genuine. It felt like he was making fun of John Cena just to make fun of him. The result being a "fruity pebbles" chant was secondary to making fun of Cena. During this appearance, the purpose of everything he said seemed to be to get a chant going. Last year he would say something and it would turn into a chant. This year, he only said things hoping they would turn into a chant, like Kung Pou Bitch. Now, he may have well known last year that fruity pebbles would turn into a chant, but he wasn't fishing for a chant like he was constantly here. He was entertaining at times, but not as much as he usually is. There was more talk (echoing the opening Punk - Jericho confrontation) about entertaining fans instead of wanting to defeat an opponent. He did say in the end that he was going to kick Cena's ass, but not that he would win the match which was a disappointment. I also don't need more insider terms like babyface from Rock, and the fact that Cena would point out that Rock had notes was totally unprofessional. I do think that Rock and Cena can and will have a very good match against each other at WM, but this did nothing to really make me want to see it.

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

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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