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WWE Raw Hits

Lilian Garcia's farewell address: Her tearful goodbye speech was classy and genuinely emotional. I'm happy WWE gave her a chance to say goodbye in her own words.

Triple H vs. Cody Rhodes: I'm giving the match a hit because it was very entertaining and I liked the way they made Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase look strong for the most part. The thing that bothered me was that they felt the need to establish that Hunter would have won with the Pedigree had it not been for DiBiase running in with the chair. It defeated the purpose of making Cody and Ted look strong. Still, though, I am happy to see Cody and Ted getting a real push.

The Miz vs. Evan Bourne: A minor hit. I was actually frustrated by the lack of offense that Bourne received. He's the flashiest wrestler on the Raw brand, yet he was grounded until the closing seconds. They need to get Bourne off the Raw brand and let him go to a brand that will actually showcase his talent. That said, it is nice to see Miz getting a push and winning matches clean. Bonus points for the backstage segment with Kofi attacking Miz from behind and taking the U.S. Title back.

Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and Big Show vs. John Cena, Mark Henry, and MVP: A solid main event with a stipulation added late that gave it some meaning. I'm not looking forward to watching Cena run the gauntlet next week, but I'm sure it appeals to his fans.

WWE Raw Misses

Overall show: I couldn't wait for this show to end. They managed to get me excited about the DX vs. Cody and Ted pay-per-view match, but that was about all. The Hell in a Cell lineup looks good on paper. However, the Raw show was such a turnoff that I don't even want to watch next week's show, let alone order the pay-per-view. Of course, I will because it's my job, but the Raw show is just plain frustrating to watch. It appeared the creative team was more concerned with writing jokes for the guest host than the actual wrestling product.

Cedric The Entertainer: I enjoyed The Original Kings of Comedy DVD, but Cedric was a lousy host. I don't blame him as much as the lousy material he had to work with. I hated the look he had during the comedy match with Chavo Guerrero. It's the same look you'd see used when wrestling is featured in a parody. The idea of having the big Cedric under the ring was clever, but I was bored by everything Cedric did, including the silly opening limo skit that WWE was so proud of they felt the need to show it twice.

John Cena and Randy Orton contract signing: Orton tried to be intense and set the tone for the segment, and it can't be easy to come up with new material when you're stuck working with the same two or three guys repeatedly. Sadly, Cena killed the intensity right off the bat by acting like he wasn't listening to Orton. This is a Hell in a Cell match. Knock off the clowning around and give me some intensity. Cena went the intense route at the end, but it was too little too late for this viewer.

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger: Why in the world would Swagger steal the title belt when he had a chance to actually win it? Why would the referee just stop the match rather than count Swagger out? It's bad enough that there's a glass ceiling on the Raw brand, but the least Vince McMahon and the creative team could do is put some thought into the mid-card feuds.

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