By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members are listening to my 36-minute audio review of Monday's WWE Raw television show. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership now via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

WWE Raw Hits

C.M. Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: A good main event with a clean pinfall that surprised me. Granted, it may have surprised me too much from the standpoint that it felt like the finishes we see in TNA where the finish comes out of nowhere to the point that the fans aren't expecting it and are slow to react to it. Nevertheless, it was a competitive match and Del Rio got in a lot of offense before losing clean.

Cody Rhodes wins battle royal: An entertaining battle royal with a nice mix of mid-card talent involved. I was ready to crap all over Christian interfering to cost Sheamus the match and thus himself a chance at the Intercontinental Title via their match on Sunday, but they covered that base by having Christian ask Sheamus how it felt to have someone cost him a title. Cody looked like the pesky champion who was lucky to sneak away with his title.

Mason Ryan turn: Ryan's return was surprising to those who don't know he's been working live events, and the babyface turn also had to surprise a lot of viewers. It went over well with the live crowd, who popped big when he attacked Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. However, I am curious how a guy misses that much ring time due to injury and comes back looking like a Mr. Universe or WBF competitor.

Beth Phoenix and Natalya vs. Kelly Kelly and Eve: A minor hit from the standpoint that Beth pinned Kelly. It feels like it's too little too late, as Beth's status as the dominant Diva has taken a major hit via her recent losses to Kelly. Here's hoping that she'll regain it once she takes the title from Kelly on Sunday.

WWE Raw Misses

Overall show: This felt like the type of show that WWE would put together if they had an extra week to kill before really kicking in the pay-per-view hype. Unfortunately, this was the go-home show. I'm not sure what they could have done to sell viewers on a pay-per-view is being held just two weeks after the last pay-per-view where both World Titles changed, but they failed to get this viewer even remotely excited about Sunday's show.

Closing segment: I was enjoying it when C.M. Punk and John Cena were trying to hit their finishers on one another, and I was ready to praise the company for focussing on their rivalry to close the show. Instead, they decided to put heat on Del Rio again by having him lay out both guys with chair shots. I'm sorry, but they've done so much damage to Del Rio lately that I don't think whatever heat he regained from this is enough to sell the pay-per-view. They should have focussed on the Punk vs. Cena dynamic more, as reminding viewers of how strong their rivalry has been was much more likely to get people excited about the pay-per-view.

Anal bleeding: I'm anything but a prude, but this was the type of low brow humor that Vince McMahon would laugh harder at than anyone else. I can picture him laughing it up backstage and thinking he pulled a fun rib on Jerry Lawler. I can also picture the eyes of WWE viewers rolling, and parents who were told repeatedly that WWE is a PG product reaching for their remotes. It was just an unnecessary line, and the fact that it trended on Twitter does not endorse the decision to use it in any way as far as this viewer is concerned. I'm all for edgy non-PG content if the company opts to abandon that approach, but this was just plain corny.

Triple H opening segment: The hype for the show was centered around whether Hunter had lost control of the company. I guess WWE's answer to their self imposed question was to have Triple H reassert his control by making a bunch of mid-card heels look like goofs. WWE also responded to all the laughter over the $250,000 fines that Hunter issued last week by having him issue another $250,000 fine to Mark Henry. What's worse is that Henry didn't even complain. It was a total non-issue for him apparently.

Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler: One week it looks like Swagger is going to be the babyface, and then the next week it looks like Ziggler will be the babyface. Suddenly, they're on the same page and shake hands. I love twists and turns, but the ever changing dynamic between these two is such that I've stopped caring.

David Otunga's lawyer character: Clarence Mason lives on in the form of David Otunga. I wonder how many casual viewers have no clue that Otunga really has a law degree and worked for a prestigious legal firm in Chicago before giving it all up to try out for WWE. It's a legitimate story, yet I wonder how many of those fans who aren't aware of it were left rolling their eyes at the idea of a guy who was portrayed as a scrub wrestler for so long suddenly changes his look and boasts about having a legal background this week. The transition should have been smoother, and the idea of a group of wrestlers filing a lawsuit against Triple H doesn't sound like great television to this viewer.

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