WWE Raw Hits

Kane: One of the big things missing from WWE over the last couple years has been strong cliffhangers. The Vince angle was supposed to be a cliffhanger, but most people just laughed it off. The Kane cliffhanger was solid. It gets people talking about a character that has been stale for months. I'm not sure where they are going with his post-main event meltdown, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Batista beats John Cena, JBL, and Kane: Of the potential pay-per-view matchups for C.M. Punk's firs title defenses, the thought of him facing Batista excited me most. It would have been easy for WWE to go with JBL or Kane, but they're giving us a big title match right out of the gate. I'm a lot more interested in the Great American Bash pay-per-view today than I was a week ago.

Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho verbal sparring: Another great verbal exchange. Jericho is at the top of his game right now. His delivery is so smooth and believable. Michaels doesn't get as much mic time as Jericho, but his rebuttal was strong. The best thing about this feud is that both men are making intelligent, believable arguments.

Opening segment: Another good verbal segment that set up the rest of the show nicely. I was especially happy to see C.M. Punk get the last word and establish himself as someone who won't back down when confronted by the top stars. However, I'd gladly give up five minutes of mic time if it led to more in-ring action.

WWE Raw Misses

Lack of wrestling: Six minutes and 25 seconds of "action" in the first hour of the show. There were about 18 minutes of wrestling in the second hour of the show, but we last at least four of those minutes during the two commercial breaks during the main event. Don't let the lopsided "hits" and "misses" count fool you. I enjoyed most of this show and I still believe WWE is headed in a better direction than they were going before the draft, but I want more wrestling on Raw.

John Cena: Poopy? Really? I look at his new alliance with Cryme Tyme as something that will give them rub and help him gain some street credibility. However, no one ever gained street credibility from spray painting "poopy" on the top of a limo. Grow up, dude.

Michael Cole: Is it just me or does it sound like he's totally disinterested in about 90 percent of the show? I'm guessing that's the Vince McMahon effect, as Cole sounds a lot like the neutered Joey Styles did during the end of his ECW run. Here's hoping they at least had the decency to tell him that Kane was going to grab him at the end of the show.

Kofi Kingston vs. Charlie Haas: Because nothing builds credibility like a win over Charlie Haas. If nothing else, I'm happy to see Paul Burchill is in the Intercontinental Title mix.

Rey Mysterio vs. Santino Marella: What the hell? A three minute squash? Will they ever try to give Santino some in-ring credibility? I'm equally flustered by the lack of buildup they gave Mysterio's return and Raw debut. Smackdown advertised the in-ring debut of Jeff Hardy and the return of Mr. Kennedy for over a week, whereas the Raw side just threw Mysterio out there cold.

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