WWE Raw Hits

John Cena vs. Jack Swagger: A quality match that made Swagger look strong in defeat. Michael Cole actually enhanced the match by making it seem like Cena was at risk of losing and failing to follow through on his promise to win every match until he regains the WWE Championship. A quality outing for Cena and Swagger, and a rare quality performance from Cole.

Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, and Evan Bourne vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase: A quality six-man tag match that gave Kingston and Bourne a chance to shine. I could have done without Jerry Lawler referring to Bourne as "this little guy," but Bourne's flashy offense helped him stand out as much as Kofi. Here's hoping they move Bourne to one of the other shows this year because they aren't doing enough with him on Raw. Of course, the same could be said for Swagger, MVP, DiBiase, and most of the mid-card performers.

Sheamus vs. MVP: Sure, I'd love to see WWE do more with MVP, but this match was all about establishing Sheamus as a bad ass, and setting his post-match exchange with John Cena. I'm not a fan of giving away the Sheamus vs. Cena rematch on next week's show. I'm looking forward to the match, but you'd think they'd save this for the Royal Rumble. Let's just hope they don't pull the title off Sheamus so soon.

Mae Young: She's a guilty pleasure when used infrequently. Sure, it's the same act we've seen for years, but it still gets a chuckle out of me if we only see it every six months or so.

WWE Raw Misses

Overall show: I'm not a sports entertainment hater. I'm not the type of viewer who wants nothing but wrestling even though the "Hits" section this week doesn't include many non-wrestling segments. Like most viewers, I simply don't want to have my intelligence insulted. WWE has done this repeatedly over the last two weeks. Honestly, I can't remember back-to-back shows I've despised more than what we've seen the last two weeks on television. The saddest part is that Vince McMahon knows that this isn't what his paying customers want to see. If he actually thought they did, the pay-per-views wouldn't be so heavy on wrestling. Speaking of which, I can't remember the last time the Raw show and the pay-per-views have been so contrasting. They really are two completely different products at this point.

Little People's Court: Whatever happened to Hunter and Shawn being the guys who talked Vince McMahon out of the campy comedy skits? Have they completely sold out for merchandise money or are they just throwing their hands up? These segments might cater to children, but they make it impossible for anyone over the age of five to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the show. This company has an identity crisis. One week they cater to kids, and two weeks from now they'll cater to 30- and 40-somethings by bringing back Bret Hart.

Secret Santas: IRS's line about baseball players being the biggest cheaters was well done. The rest of these segments were corny. Here's hoping WWE creative got all the campy crap out of their system with the Slammys and the Christmas edition of Raw. I'm desperate to see the company deliver a quality show that won't make me regret my decision to make my living covering the industry.

Johnny Damon: Zero charisma and a lousy talker. He wasn't the worst guest host, but that doesn't mean he was good either. Honestly, I expected a little more from him simply because he's a fan of the product. Of course, it's not like the writers gave him much to work with.

Chris Masters and Eve: I guess they felt like they had to add a woman to the Masters act so that it wasn't so astonishingly homoerotic for the mostly male viewing audience to be enchanted by a shirtless man bouncing his tits. They keep trying to find roles for Eve, but nothing seems to click with her. Maybe this will be the one.

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