WWE Raw Hits

John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels: I expected a throwaway match since WWE didn't bother to advertise it in advance and because it took place so early in the show. Damn good match. They weren't going 20-plus minutes, so they worked a consistent pace rather than wasting time early and saving their energy for later in the match. My guess remains that HBK and JBL get in the Elimination Chamber together somehow. Perhaps JBL buys the two spots.

Kofi Kingston pins Kane: A nice surprise to get the Elimination Chamber match qualifiers underway. Of course, the followup to Kofi's big upset is what really made this work. What followup, you ask? The part at the end of the show where Shane McMahon punched him in the face and then kicked at him to close the show.

Rey Mysterio vs. William Regal: A solid qualifying match with a good, decisive finish. Regal looked strong by dominating the match only to have Rey make his comeback with a flurry of offense in the finals seconds.

WWE Raw Misses

Shane McMahon beats up Legacy: Shane did what even the mighty Triple H couldn't do at the Royal Rumble by beating up all three members of Legacy. The McMahon family probably convinced themselves that this is what Shane would do if someone really kicked his father in the head. I have news for them. Shane might try to avenge his father, but no amount of adrenaline, piss, and vinegar would prevent him from getting his ass handed to him by three professional athletes.

I assume WWE will try to say that Legacy didn't fight back because they were instructed not to do so by Randy Orton's lawyers, but this was still ridiculous. How stupid did Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase look when Shane ran by them to get to Orton not once but twice? How stupid did Orton look when he had to sell Shane's attack by wobbling at ringside as if he'd just taken the Fedor knockout punch that Andrei Arlovsky ate on Saturday night? I could go on all day about why I hated this masturbatory angle, but you get the picture. This was an alarmingly horrible finish to Raw.

Stephanie McMahon: There's nothing likable about her character. She seems like a bigger bitch now than she was during her prime years as a performer. Although nothing can top Super Shane, I did roll my eyes when Steph yelled at Orton's attorney and the guy actually sold for her by backing down like a coward. What lawyer would do that? A good attorney would laugh in her face or give her an expressionless stare with no sign of intimidation.

Chris Jericho vs. C.M. Punk: There's no shame in losing to Chris Jericho, but there was no need to have the guy who was fresh off a hot Intercontinental Title win lose on this week's show. I also didn't understand the match placement. There were already three babyfaces in the Raw version of the Elimination Chamber (John Cena included), so it was only logical to assume that the heel would win this match. I'm not sure who was at fault, but the Codebreaker used for the finish looked terrible.

Chris Jericho responds to Mickey Rourke: WWE must have felt the need to respond after Rourke presumably went into business for himself on the red carpet. At least I hope he went into business for himself because that's the only way to explain why he would give away his WrestleMania appearance, his likely opponent, and the likely involvement of Ric Flair as his trainer. If so, I feel bad for WWE because Rourke just erased weeks of fun angles. As great as Jericho is on the mic, there wasn't much he could do with this. Don't get me wrong, the publicity the company scored from Rourke's announcement was nice, but did he have to give away so much?

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