WWE Raw Hitlist: Ric Flair returns to Raw, Matt Hardy shines more than the wrestler who pinned him, John Cena and Batista vs. Legacy, The Miz's streak ends, Vickie Guerrero and Santina

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WWE Raw Hits

Matt Hardy: One of the shining stars of the show despite the fact that he lost clean to MVP last night. In fact, I thought Hardy came across like a bigger star than the person he lost to. Hardy made the most of his promo time, whereas MVP just worked his match and didn't get mic time. There's a shortage of top heels on the Raw brand and at this point Hardy looks like the best candidate to push into one of those roles.

John Cena and Batista vs. Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes: Yes, I've had enough of the handicap matches and I'm tired of seeing Legacy portrayed as so weak that they always need the man advantage when they work with top guys. That said, it was an energetic match that pleased the live crowd and ended a disappointing show on a good note.

Ric Flair: I still don't want to see him come out of retirement, but there's no denying that he added some star power to the show. It will be very interesting to see whether the ratings improve dramatically with Naitch back on the show. The backstage segment with Flair and Batista was very well done with Flair saying the company retired him, and Batista flashing a look like he was just a concerned as many fans are that Flair is return to the ring.

WWE Raw Misses

Overall show: Honestly, I wouldn't be disappointed if the NBA game forced WWE to run a "best of" show next week. I doubt that will happen, but the timing couldn't be better if it did. Vince McMahon and the WWE creative team clearly need a break. Monday's show was embarrassingly bad. It was overloaded with comedy segments and campy moments. As I said in the audio recap last week, it's a shame they can't flip flop Raw and Smackdown because I really believe the high quality Smackdown shows we've been getting since the draft would have a trickle down effect on the other WWE shows as far as the ratings are concerned. Of course, Vince McMahon would get more involved in the Monday show and turn it into the same shitty variety show that Raw has become.

The Miz: I've loved everything Miz has done since he came to Raw, but his Cena impersonation segment was long and painful. Worse yet, he was shown up by Jerry Lawler. Nothing against The King, but made Miz look a little bush league to have the aging color commentator stand up to him. That said, Big Show coming out and taking care of Miz's chump work keeps my hope alive that Miz and Show are somehow aligned. Sure, it's a long shot, but I can dream.

Vickie Guerrero vs. Santina: Make it stop! I got a kick out of Vickie standing on the couch backstage getting ready to practice a frogsplash, but I'm so tired of Santina. Please say this was the blowoff of the character.

Divas Battle Royal: Even the less talented Divas should be able to take a simple bump over the top rope. This probably doesn't bother most viewers as much as it does me, but can't they at least make the Divas go over the middle rope when they have a battle royal?

Goldust and Hornswoggle: Get ready for HornDust.

Shots at the Denver Nuggets owner: How many viewers had no idea what the hell the announcers were talking about when Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Jim Ross (nice to see him back on Raw where he belongs) told the corny jokes about the Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner? Sure, WWE received plenty of publicity on ESPN yesterday, but a little background info would have been nice for the viewers who aren't big sports fans.