WWE Raw Hits

Undertaker and Shawn Michaels: A great video package that set up an awesome in-ring verbal showdown between the two future Hall of Famers. The announcement that Shawn's career is now on the line makes their WrestleMania 26 battle so much more monumental. Great mic work by both men. I'm normally a big believer in putting a World Title match on last, but these are special circumstances. Even if the sequel to last year's classic doesn't live up to lofty expectations, no match will be able to match the emotion and significance of Taker vs. HBK.

Chris Jericho and Edge: Great opening segment. Jericho was laugh out loud funny (while scoring mega-heat) as he gloated over winning the World Hvt. Championship the night before. There was no mystery regarding which title Edge would challenge for, so it was nice to see the quick and painless announcement as opposed to having it dragged out during the show.

Vince McMahon, Batista, and John Cena: A good verbal exchange with Vince McMahon explaining why he gave Batista the title match on Sunday. Cena had good intensity here. It's nice to see his character more concerned with revenge than pandering to the fans for a change. The main event match with Batista vs. John Cena was a quality beatdown angle. Batista is playing his heel character extremely well, and it's a nice plus that he's fresh to all the Raw viewers who don't watch Smackdown.

Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase: The bit backstage with Orton babyfacing his minions was a nice setup that showed he was one step ahead of them. Orton is one of the most over acts in the company. I'm not sure where they are going with him now that they are giving away his match with DiBiase next week, but I pray it's not a weak handicap match.

Overall show: As I've said many times, the Hitlist format isn't always a great barometer for the quality of a show. There are nearly as many misses as hits, but this show was excellent. WWE bounced back from last week's lousy Raw with a fantastic outing last night. The show was loaded with newsworthy moments that set up several key matches for WrestleMania 26. Last week was the worst Raw of 2010, whereas last night's show was arguably the best Raw of the new year.

WWE Raw Misses

Batista vs. John Cena advertised for WrestleMania 26: Cena qualified for a WWE Title match at WrestleMania by winning a match by disqualification? Really? Weak. The match isn't listed on the official WrestleMania 26 page, but it is listed elsewhere on the WWE website. I liked the angle, but this was an uneventful way for Cena to "earn" the title match.

Maryse vs. Gail Kim: A long, boring tournament with a championship final that took forever to get to, only to have the expected winner capture the title in a three minute match on television. It's too bad WWE just doesn't take the Divas seriously as in-ring performers. I would understand if their approach (whatever the hell that might be) was working, but the live crowd greets the Divas with apathy more often than not. By the way, that cross body block spot was brutal.

Christian and Yoshi Tatsu: Throwaway announcements that the two free agents had opted to sign with the Raw brand. Hell, two Canadian readers were quick to point out that the clip of Christian getting ready backstage as Jerry Lawler announced that the former ECW Champion had signed with Raw didn't even air on Canadian television. That said, Christian fans shouldn't lose too much sleep over their guy not being on the same brand as Edge. After all, he could win the Money in the Bank match and challenge his longtime buddy, and the WWE Draft is probably right around the corner.

Diva Bull Riding: Yawn. I'm sure the goal was to lighten the mood for a few minutes, but this was dreadful. The Miz and Big Show did their best to salvage the throwaway comedy segment, but it felt completely out of place on an otherwise hot and newsworthy show.

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