WWE Raw Hitlist: Ric Flair, Vince McMahon, Big Show, Triple H, Brian Kendrick, Paul London

Raw Hits

Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon: The live crowd really bought into the possibility that Flair could lose this match. They were standing at ringside and really got caught up in those nearfalls. Jim Ross made it easy for the viewers at home to buy into the possibility of Flair losing by expressing his concern that Vince was going to take out the Nature Boy. As much as I enjoyed the match, I must ask why it took this long for WWE to make it seem like Flair’s career was truly in jeopardy? There has been the occasional good nearfall that popped the crowd during some of his recent matches, but it’s ridiculous to think that this is the first time in months that WWE actually made viewers feel nervous for Flair.

Brian Kendrick bails on Paul London: I cringed when I saw these two waiting in the ring to be squashed by Umaga. After all, anyone who watched Big Show squash Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore on Friday night saw what WWE thinks of the tag team division right now and knew what was coming. So I was pleasantly surprised when Kendrick deserted London. If nothing else, at least the creative team finally did something with these guys. With any luck, maybe they can feud over the WWE Cruiserweight Title. Oh wait, apparently Hornswoggle is using that title to decorate his apartment under the ring.

John Cena and Randy Orton vs. The Raw roster: And by Raw roster they meant JBL, Umaga, and a bunch of guys who aren’t being pushed. If the last two weeks are proof of anything it’s that the Raw theme song sucks. Seriously, it’s time to do away with that awful bubble gum pop song. Nevertheless, the main event match was something out of the ordinary and I’m curious to see how it did in the ratings.

The Highlight Reel with Big Show: Big Show was never a great talker before his hiatus. He displayed a good comedic presence during his appearances in Water Boy and on “Saturday Night Live,” but he was one dimensional and it just so happened to be the one dimension that WWE couldn’t really exploit given his role as the monster heel. He improved during his run as the ECW Champion and he’s been better than ever since he returned to action for the Floyd Mayweather angle. He just seems so much more confident and relaxed. Meanwhile, I’m not sure what to make of Chris Jericho right now. If he was trying to come across smarmy and full of himself, then mission accomplished. I get the sense he’s playing a tweener role right now. If not, then he really needs to reconsider the way he presents himself on the mic.

Raw Misses

No Triple H in the main event: I’ll bet you never thought you’d see those words written in the “Misses” section. Hunter could have added something to this match had he stood in the corner and taunted Cena and Orton. For that matter, he could have shown some frustration when Cena and Orton pinned some of their opponents. I realize this would have prevented him from making his grand entrance after the match, but it would have made the actual main event a lot more interesting.

Umaga squashes London and Kendrick: You didn’t think I was going to let them off that easy did you? WWE’s disregard for tag team wrestling is a sore spot with me. Tag team wrestling thrived during the early WrestleMania years with teams like the British Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation, Demolition, and the Dream Team. These days, WWE seem to be building up tag teams just to feed them to their monsters in handicap squash matches. At this rate, I expect to wake up one day and find the tag titles listed next to the cruiserweight title in the defunct title section on WWE.com.