WWE Raw Hitlist: Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels steal the show, plus Triple H, JBL, John Cena, Ashley

Raw Hits

Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in-ring verbal exchange: How great was that? Flair was finally able to let loose and be the Nature Boy on what may have been his final Raw as an active wrestler. As great as Flair was, I thought Michaels actually stole the segment with the “Old Yeller” line. The slaps were tremendous and the look on Flair’s face after HBK left the ring was priceless and I’m guessing he’ll eventually say that he realized at that moment that Michaels was right. A truly memorable segment that may have finally driven home the idea to casual fans that this may very well be Flair’s final match.

Ric Flair forces Randy Orton to tap: A fitting end to Flair’s what may have been Flair’s final appearance as an active wrestler on Raw. It’s a shame that fans weren’t treated to Flair challenging for one of the World Titles during his final weeks, but at least he went out by forcing the WWE Champion to submit to the figure-four. This was also effective in the sense that it made Orton look vulnerable heading into Sunday’s match against Triple H and John Cena. Am I the only person who thinks there’s a better chance of Orton winning at WrestleMania because he’s been made to look so weak lately?

Raw Misses

Opening segment: It started strong with John Cena setting the pace and getting over the importance of WrestleMania. I also enjoyed Big Show coming out and claiming that he would steal the show. However, I felt like they tried to work in too many different people. And I know I wasn’t the only person who rolled his eyes when Triple H was given the final say. I also had to laugh when he implied that everyone on the WrestleMania card would trade their match for a spot in the WWE Title match. It’s always good to put over the importance of the title, but I don’t think Big Show would trade places with Hunter this year.

Eight-man tag main event: Again, I enjoyed the finish, but I thought the match was ridiculously overbooked to give final hype to every match. I understand that strategy, but the problem I have with it is that none of the matches really stood out by the time the match was over. I think this show was a good barometer for the rest of the show. If you liked it, then you were probably satisfied with Monday’s Raw. If you didn’t like it, then you probably agree that there was just too much going on and all of the mixing and matching of the various story lines did more harm than good.

No Floyd Mayweather: It just struck me as odd that the man who is featured more prominently than any wrestler other that Big Show on the WrestleMania 24 poster did not appear in person on the go home edition of Raw. His videos were fine, but I think WWE would have benefitted by having Mayweather make one more appearance and give the fans one more reason to pay to see him get his ass kicked at the pay-per-view.

Ashley Massaro: I’m down with the punk rock look, but I don’t even know if that’s what she’s going for. Ashley looks like a 10 year-old girl who snuck into her older sister’s closet and played dress up in the dark without a care in the world of what clothes look good together. Some of you may disagree, but Playboy Playmate is the last thought that pops into my head when I see her these days.