WWE Raw Hits

The Draft: My expectations were low because there really weren't many big moves to be made. Sure, moving Undertaker back to Raw seemed logical enough, and I suppose John Cena could have been moved to Smackdown. Really, though, there was nothing that WWE could have done to truly shock anyone because they've ignored the brand split rules so frequently in recent months. Overall, though, the draft picks seemed logical and achieved the goal of adding more star power to Raw. That said, I'm also excited about Smackdown because the brand is light on top stars, meaning there could be room for some mid-card acts to be elevated. As for ECW, well, let's just see how the supplemental draft shakes out.

John Cena vs. Jack Swagger: This is as close as Cena has come to making a star. Granted, he didn't put Swagger over, but he gave him a lot of offense and let him shine in defeat. There are plenty of people griping over how the young stars looked weak in three of the first four matches, but I felt that Swagger left this match looking stronger.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz: A fun match with a predictable finish. I knew the moment we saw The Miz and John Morrison walking backstage together that they were finished as a tag team. That said, I was surprised to see Miz go to Raw since I thought he would have been a better fit as a singles wrestler on ECW, whereas Morrison would have fit nicely with the younger talent on Smackdown.

Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin: I enjoyed this match so much that I was hoping the loser would be drafted to the winners brand so that we could see more from these two in the future.

Matt Hardy vs. C.M. Punk: This match failed to wake up the tired crowd, but I still enjoyed the action. I also like the way Jeff Hardy's interference sets up a probable Backlash match with Matt, and could also be the launching pad for a feud between Jeff and Punk if the writers want to go in that direction.

WWE Raw Misses

Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon vs. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase: There were six announcers throwing out stipulations for the six-man tag at Backlash, another stipulation for if the babyface team won the Raw handicap match, and another stipulation for if the heel team won the Raw handicap match. By the time it was over, I had no idea what the hell the fallout would be when Triple H scored the pin. I realize they're trying to promote the Backlash pay-per-view, but this felt like an anti-climactic way to conclude the WWE Draft edition of Raw. By the way, can we please get some character development for Rhodes and DiBiase?

Rey Mysterio vs. Evan Bourne: It was fun while it lasted, but I can't believe they didn't give these two more time. I was also disappointed to see Bourne lose so decisively. Unlike Swagger, I felt like Bourne finished the match looking weaker than he went in. It's not a career killer by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm definitely ready for the youth movement to start in WWE. Maybe I'm being hard on the match by giving it a "Miss," but I had high expectations for these two.

Great Khali vs. Santino Marella: The Santina bit was a fun WrestleMania weekend comedy bit, but it looks like the character is going to overstay its welcome. The segment with Khali could be fun, but I hope it's the blowoff for Santina.

Edge wins the battle royal: I suppose there's something to be said for pride, but it doesn't ring true for the Edge character to go all out and insure that his brand would score two more draft picks. Worse yet, neither one of those two picks were named Christian.

Chris Jericho vs. Tommy Dreamer: The live crowd was dead by this point and this match wasn't enough to bring them back to life. Dreamer is a fun side act on ECW, but I can think of several wrestlers who should be getting more camera time than he is at this late stage in his career.

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