By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Raw Starts with Glamarella: This was a much better Raw than last week's rather bad episode, and it got off to a good start with Glamarella. Seeing Santino Marella on screen put me in a good mood right from the start. Santino was his usual great self, with some very humorous lines, particularly about being mis-respected. His Italianized pronunciation of John Cena was hilarious. Cena was fine in his role. Even Goldust's bit was funny, and kept to a minimum. It set up what would turn out to be the main event for the show and got me excited about the possibility of more Glamarella to come as opposed to last week when their role was diminished.

HBK and Triple H: I am not a fan of the Shawn Michaels working for John Bradshaw Layfield storyline, but even a stopped watch is right twice a day. The scene between Michaels and Triple H was very well written. It answered some of the questions that us skeptics have had, like why hasn't Michaels gone to Triple H for help. It also avoided the problem that wrestling shows have so often when wrestlers choose not to talk to each other during the week, but only on t.v. tapings. They covered that traditional flaw by saying that Triple H showed up because Michaels won't answer his calls. What do you know? Logic. The performances were well done too, especially Michaels' quiet and understated "I hope so too" after Hunter left the room.

Regal on Commentary: William Regal should get more mic time (more in ring time too, but that is another matter). He is very good on the mic. This was much better than the last time he did guest commentary when Jerry Lawler just kept making jokes about British people having bad teeth. Regal delivered here, putting over the importance of the Intercontinental Championship and his upcoming match with CM Punk. It is good to hear someone refer to the IC Title with such reverence. He was also very witty. I loved when he said that English men blow all their money on flirty women and fancy suits.

Mysterio vs. JBL: This was a very well-booked match. It wasn't a great match, and it did start to drag after awhile as JBL was on offense for so long. But, it still told a good story of the dominant JBL trying futilely to finish off Rey Mysterio. Mysterio got enough offense in bits and pieces throughout the match to keep things interesting. They did a good job of teasing the fans into thinking that Mysterio was about to make a big come back a few times, only to have JBL knock him down once more. The ending with Shawn Michaels' interference was very clever. It was better than a strictly heel move like attacking Mysterio behind the referee's back. This keeps some sympathy for Michaels.

Jericho vs. Punk: This was clearly the best match of the night. Chris Jericho and CM Punk worked hard and put on a very good match. I figured all along that Jericho was going to win, but I thought that with a heel heavy field for next week's fatal four way, that they might trick me and have Punk win instead. He didn't, but that little bit of doubt made the match more enjoyable to watch. It had plenty of good wrestling action and went back and forth nicely. Punk did a great job of selling the Walls of Jericho. There were several near falls at the end that were very well done. The final moment of the match with Jericho catching a leaping Punk with a Code Breaker was great as well.

Trish's Cameo: It was nice to see Trish Stratus back in a WWE ring after being retired for two years (although she did make a cameo at the 15th Anniversary Raw last December). She still has it. She didn't have to do too much in the ring, but I was pleasantly surprised to see her actually selling for Beth Phoenix. Having read the rumors that she was going to be there, it was very obvious from the start that she would ultimately be Cena's partner, but it was probably a nice surprise for those who aren't in the know. The WWE has really missed Stratus and Lita the last few years. However, with Phoenix, an improved Melina, and improved Kelly Kelly, Mickie James, Victoria, Natalya, a returning Gail Kim, plus solid workers like Jillian Hall and Maryse, the women's division could be something special.

RAW MISSES

Kofi's Sloppiness: This was a very enjoyable Raw, that featured some nice storyline advancement, and some good in ring work. The only major issue with the show was the sloppiness of Kofi Kingston in his match with Manu. Luckily the match wasn't very long as Kofi was a few steps off. I'm not sure what happened when he went for the Boom Boom leg drop. He almost just fell over. That is a case where some editing would come in handy on a taped show. There were a few other sloppy moments as well, but obviously that one was the major one that really distracted from the quality of the match. I am a fan of Kingston, but this was an off night.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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