Raw Hits

Big Show and Floyd Mayweather angle: This was just what WWE needed to get this feud back on track. The angle is being described internally as a double turn, but the problem with that description is that no one really knew whether Mayweather was supposed to be a babyface previously. The odd man out in all of this could be Rey Mysterio, who had been assured by WWE officials that he’d stay involved in the story line despite undergoing biceps surgery earlier this month. The original plan was for Mysterio to serve as Mayweather’s story line trainer and presumably accompany him to the ring at WrestleMania 24, but one can only assume that’s off now that the entire locker room is rallying behind Big Show. Either way, this was a really hot angle that saved the angle and last night’s Raw.

As I noted last night in my live coverage of Raw, I assume that the injury angle with Mayweather was done to get the mainstream sportswriters buzzing about the angle again. The biggest talking point amongst the sportswriters who appear regularly on ESPN has been whether Mayweather could get hurt. And by teasing an injury last night on Raw, it plays right into what the sportswriters want to talk about. If that was truly the goal of the angle, then WWE deserves some credit for coming up with this game plan. Unfortunately for WWE, there's been more mainstream buzz about Jeff Hardy's suspension than the Mayweather injury angle thus far.

Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho: A really good match that seemed like just another chapter in their feud. Rather, it turned out to be Hardy’s blowff match for at least the next 60 days. To Hardy’s credit, he delivered a strong performance despite presumably knowing going in that this would be his last appearance for a while. Jericho has been awesome in the two matches against Hardy and WWE made the right call in putting the strap around his waist. Assuming Hardy returns in 60 days, he has a good story line waiting for him, as he is now 0-2 in matches against Jericho this year.

Finlay’s attack on Mr. Kennedy: I’ve complained in recent weeks about the lack of push that Kennedy has received, but I really didn’t have a problem with this angle. I suppose the same thing could have been accomplished with a lesser role playing Kennedy’s part, but I don’t think fans are going to think any less of Kennedy for being attacked with a weapon. There are online reports that state Kennedy is going to be making a movie, so perhaps he was put in this position to explain his absence from upcoming television shows (although he is scheduled for WrestleMania 24 in just a few weeks). Either way, the attack was memorable and established Finlay’s rage and what he’s willing to do to get even with JBL.

Raw Misses

John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels: WWE hyped last week that last night’s show would be filled with nothing but WrestleMania rematches. They came through with only three legitimate rematches and all three are listed in the “Misses” section. Of those three matches, this was the only one that looked good on paper. It was given the main event spot on the three-hour show, yet it also received the least amount of hype. As I wrote last night, I actually had to think for a moment about what the main event match was during the segment that preceded this match. The match itself was nothing special and the DQ finish was especially lame.

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry: A slow, plodding match that turned out even worse than it looked on paper. Henry was not the right opponent for Taker on this three-hour show. Any WWE fan who only watches Raw must be thinking that Taker has really slowed down since his last Monday night appearance. I’m stunned that Taker’s match with Edge received such little fanfare. WWE had so much filler on this show, yet the best they could give the World Hvt. Title match was two short matches with Taker and Edge, and no face time together? If there was any question before Monday regarding which title match WWE thinks is the true main event of WrestleMania 24, they answered it last night.

Triple H vs. Kane: I’ll give WWE some credit for trying to make this match feel meaningful via backstage segments that recalled the history between these two. Unfortunately, the outcome was never in question, which is a big problem with Hunter when he works with 95 percent of the roster. The match was solid, but somehow I don’t think this was one of the dream matches that fans were hoping to see when WWE advertised the WrestleMania Rewind gimmick.

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