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WWE Raw Hits

Triple H and Randy Orton: This was a money segment that stole the entire show. Everything that took place after this verbal exchange felt flat. Sure, it would have been cool if Orton had been the one to acknowledge the way Evolution turned on him and then issued the challenge to Hunter, but the segment still played out nicely, and Orton came across more sadistic than ever when he gloated about giving Stephanie McMahon the RKO. It's important to establish that Orton wants this match as much as Hunter does so that this isn't just a case of Hunter going for revenge against a chickenshit heel at WrestleMania, so here's hoping Orton continues to establish that he wants this match as much, if not more, than Hunter does.

Shawn Michaels vs. Vladimir Kozlov: The live crowd didn't give a damn about anything Kozlov did. Kozlov defenders (a/k/a Vince McMahon) can argue that the Raw audience hasn't been exposed to him on a regular basis, but that didn't stop the fans from booing Vickie Guerrero last week. Still, I'm giving the match a "Hit" simply because the right man won and we now know that we'll see HBK vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Why won't Vince McMahon give in and hire a manager to talk for Kozlov?

Chris Jericho hosts Piper's Pit: Another gem of a segment. It's always a treat to see clips of the infamous Piper's Pit with Roddy striking Jimmy Snuka with the coconut, and Jericho continues to deliver some truly memorable moments on the mic.

WWE Raw Misses

Edge vs. John Cena: This wasn't their best match. It wasn't lousy, but it didn't leave me anxious to see a rematch at WrestleMania 25.

Vickie Guerrero announces Edge vs. Big Show for WM25: This announcement was greeted with the same level of enthusiasm I felt when T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed with the Seahawks over my beloved Vikings yesterday. Actually, that's a bad analogy because I groaned upon hearing the T.J. news, whereas the live crowd at Raw sat in apathetic silence after the big announcement. I was completely frustrated by the way WWE wasted Big Show following his big match with Floyd Mayweather last year, but company officials have to know that he's not over right now. I'm sure John Cena will be added to the match or will simply replace Big Show, but this was a lame way to end an otherwise solid show.

Kane qualifies for Money in the Bank: I guess it's Kane Week in WWE because his lousy movie See No Evil is debuting on the Sci-Fi Channel on Saturday. I'm all for getting the veteran on the WrestleMania 25 card, but I'm not crazy about seeing him in the MITB match. Am I the only person who was hoping that anyone other than Kane would win the Triple Threat match?

Did You Know graphics: Yes, we know. A bunch of people, mostly men from the 18-34 demographic, watch Raw every week, buy the video games, make ECW the highest-rated show on Sci-Fi, and whack off to photos of the Divas on the WWE website. We get it. You know the campaign has run its course when TNA started its own version on Impact.

WWE Smackdown: Does anything happen on the Friday night show that matters? It's become a missable show that serves little more than setup to the big show on Monday nights. Both World Champions are technically Smackdown wrestlers, yet the announcement of their WrestleMania 25 matches took place on Raw. It's not that Smackdown isn't entertaining, it's just that WWE has clearly positioned it as the B-show heading into WrestleMania 25. Here's hoping that changes at the doubleheader taping tonight.

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