Dot Net Members are listening to my 38-minute WWE Raw audio recap, as well as Rich Twilling's 47-minute TNA Impact recap. You can gain access to all Dot Net Audio on the ad-free version of the website for only $5 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

WWE Raw Hits

Bret Hart and Vince McMahon: Most of us saw the Bret Hart injury hoax coming a mile away, but the execution was still solid. Vince McMahon carried the segment, and Bret's facial expressions were stronger than his actual dialogue. I'd love to say that Steve Austin enhanced the segment. He did his best to help, but the censoring made it more frustrating than effective. Fortunately, though, the segment put the car accident angle silliness behind them and seemed to get viewers excited about seeing Hart vs. McMahon again.

Triple H vs. Randy Orton: This was the best of the three WrestleMania Rewind matches. Good work from both men, who seem motivated to prove that their WrestleMania bomb from last year was just a fluke. The finish was weak, yet expected. If anything, I was surprised they had Hunter look so strong by hitting the Pedigree. I guess I should never feel surprised when Hunter looks dominant, but I didn't think it would come at the expense of Orton, who is losing momentum in this throwaway feud with Cody and Ted.

Big Show vs. John Cena: I was surprised by the lack of Cena on the show. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining because I think it helps his character to take a backseat once in a while. I expected more from Batista and Cena this week, but this was effective. The placement was a little peculiar, though, as this happened so early in the show that it didn't really stick with me. A decent match with a semi-surprising outcome that gets the Cena fans more anxious to see their hero get his revenge at WrestleMania. Get ready for the preacher man final sales pitch promo from Cena next week.

Batista vs. Kofi Kingston: Kofi scored a bit of offense. However, the goal of the match was to make Batsta look dominant and that was accomplished. Heel Batista looks like a killer heading into WrestleMania. The announcers are doing a decent job of making it seem like Batista has Cena's number, but they need to do more next week to really drive home that point.

WWE Raw Misses

Steve Austin censored: It's a PG show. I understand that and the various reasons WWE is taking the PG approach. That doesn't mean I can't gripe about it, though. It usually doesn't bother me, but it was annoying to have Austin's promos cut off by the censors simply because he used the word "ass." It was also annoying to watch him climb to the second ropes and give the fans a double fist rather than two finger salute. It was great to see Austin back on Raw, but having "Stone Cold" censored was just a sad reminder for longtime fans of how tame WWE has become compared to the Attitude Era. No Stunners? Really?

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: Anyone who had their hopes up for something more than a forgettable television match had to be disappointed. I never got my hopes up for the WrestleMania Rewind matches because WWE is understandably focussed on WrestleMania 26 and I expected some type of cheap finish, but these two set the bar so high with their past encounters and they simply weren't given enough time to deliver anything memorable.

Sheamus promo: Randy Orton respects Triple H. Sheamus respects Triple H. We get it. Sheamus stands out because of his unique look, but there's nothing special about his character, and he failed to get me excited about his match with Hunter at WrestleMania. As I mentioned last night, he did a decent job of establishing that he isn't intimidated by Hunter and it wasn't a bad promo, but it wasn't the money promo he needed to sell the WrestleMania match.

Overall show: This looked like a loaded show on paper, but I couldn't help feeling let down by the end result. It was nice to see WWE get away from the silliness thanks to having a serious guest host. There were no Hornswoggle or Santino Marella skits for a change, and no Bella Twins hanging all over the guest host. It wasn't a major miss, but the show has lacked the type of energy it had throughout the bulk of the first two months of the year.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: