WWE Raw Hits

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: A tremendous last man standing match. I sincerely hope that this is not the end of the feud even though that's how the match was presented by Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. Granted, it's lasted seven months, but these two have amazing chemistry together and I'll never get bored with their matches. If this was the swan song, they went out on a high note, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

William Regal: I was thrilled to see that he left that hideous shirt he's been wearing during his matches back in the United States. More importantly, it's nice to see him get a push again for the first time since his suspension. Regal was doing a terrific job as the general manager and King of the Ring, so I hope this is a sign that they're ready to start featuring him prominently. Unfortunately, Regal and Layla have shown no on-air chemistry together.

Rey Mysterio vs. Kane: I'm giving this match a "Hit" simply because it was presented as the final match of their feud. It's about time. This feud got off to a rocky start with the mask in the bag storyline and it never gained momentum. Good riddance.

Randy Orton and Batista: Nice mic work by both wrestlers to set up their feud. The bait and switch was a letdown, but the idea of giving this match away on free television felt a little too good to be true as a viewer. For that matter, it would have been a bad business decision by WWE. If nothing else, the tease of their match succeeded in making this viewer want to see them wrestler.

Stephanie McMahon delivers bad news to Batista: Good followup to her showing subtle signs of being a heel on last week's Raw. How great would it be if this somehow led to Steph being in cahoots with a heel John Cena? I'm not holding my breath while waiting for that one to happen, but I'd love to see WWE do something radically different with the Cena character.

Overall show: Change is in the air. The theme of this show was blowing off some of the current feuds, meaning we're about to see some new feuds. There were some pay-per-view quality matchups on this show. Granted, not all of those matches were given enough time (and one never even came to fruition), but I like the "out with the old and in with the new" message that was sent.

WWE Raw Misses

End of the Honk-A-Meter: They say all good things must come to an end, but I will miss the weekly Honk-A-Meter gimmick. Santino was a fun Intercontinental Champion even though his reign lowered the prestige of the title.

Cody Rhodes and Manu: Rhodes finally grew a set and slapped Orton across the face. This didn't do much for me, though, because Orton punt kicking Ted DiBiase in the head warrants more than a slap in retaliation. I know they're telling a story and I assume it will eventually lead to an alliance between Orton and the second generation wrestlers, but they sure are taking a strange path to get there.

Batista vs. Cody Rhodes: Rhodes finally shows some balls with Orton and steps up to face Batista, only to lose decisively in less than three minutes. One step forward, two steps back.

Mike Knox vs. D-Lo Brown: WWE didn't do a good job of spotlighting Knox. The match was just too short and it appeared on a loaded show, so I pretty much forgot about it by the time the show was over. Here's hoping Knox isn't their replacement for Snitsky in the sense that they build him up as a monster for a few weeks just to feed him to one of the top guys. Knox has shown a lot of potential and I think he could be player for WWE if they take their time and push him properly.

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