By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Opening Segment: This was a good way to start Raw. Rey Mysterio got a chance to talk on the mic and he did a solid job. It was nice to see them intertwine multiple storylines together at the same time. They followed up on Shawn Michaels costing Mysterio the spot in the fatal four way last week. That included a further development in his business relationship with John Bradshaw Layfield. They also continued the feud between Mike Knox and Mysterio. The opening also accomplished the task of hyping the main event for Raw, as well as laying the foundation for John Cena to later ask Stephanie McMahon to put together a big match.

Batista Surgery Video: This was a well produced video on Batista's surgery. The idea of Randy Orton's punt to Batista's head causing Batista to be out because of surgery on his leg sounded a bit far fetched when it was posted on wwe.com. However, this was handled really well. They did a very good job of playing up the fact that Batista was going to be out of action for a long period of time because of the concussion from the punt. That fits in with what has happened to others who took the punt, most recently Ted DiBiase. It made perfect sense to take the time now to have the nagging injury worked on since he was going to be out of action any way. It was all very logical and it allowed the focus to remain on Batista's anger towards Orton.

Glamarella: The 6 Diva Battle Royale was ridiculously short, but it was enjoyable to watch, or perhaps I should say that it was enjoyable to listen to. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix provided guest commentary for the match and it was great. It is no surprise that Santino would end up in the Hit column one more time where he has dominated in 2008. He is so funny, whether in the way he pronounces otherwise normal things ("she will beat her uuuuup") or in some of the hilarious things that he comes out with (when talking about Melina not wanting another match with Phoenix, "if she does then she is stupider than I think, and I think she is very stupid"). Beth got in some good lines too. When Michael Cole brought up Santino's attempt to do Melina's splits entrance, Beth simply said, "that's a sensitive subject." They were good after the match too in the way that Phoenix went into the ring to challenge Melina, and the way that Santino stayed on commentary even through the fight and the crazy fan coming out of the arena.

Elimination Fatal 4 Way: This was a really good main event, based largely on the emotional moments at the end with Michaels and JBL. The rest of the match was solid, with Michaels stealing the show. It was well booked as Michaels was the one to get the pin on both Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. He even broke up a pin attempt on JBL. This was a very good way to develop the Michaels - JBL storyline. I have not been a fan of the angle, but the last two weeks it has been advanced very well. The wrestling content of the match wasn't great, but it was good enough to set up the very emotional ending. The dead crowd finally came alive trying to convince Michaels not to take a dive. The storyline is getting better, but I still don't buy into the premise. Also, if this is leading to Michaels vs. JBL at WrestleMania, I will be very disappointed, as that is not exactly a Match of the Year caliber match that Michaels should be having at WrestleMania 25.

RAW MISSES

"Phase 1": This was just cheesy language from Randy Orton. The idea that the guys in Legacy would have to win to stay in the group was o.k., but it seemed to come out of nowhere. Not that there hasn't been any development to lead to that decision by Orton, but certainly not much. I was confused as to why Sim Snuka was there. I know he asked to be part of the group, but he had never been officially a member, yet he suddenly was treated as being on the same level as Cody Rhodes and Manu. That made little sense. Mostly I was distracted by Michael Cole's constant repeat of Orton's phrase, "Phase 1." What did that mean? He kept saying it over and over again all night long as if he knew exactly what Phase 1 meant, but he didn't I don't think. He sounded like a total tool for continuing to repeat the phrase. Also, kicking a member out of a group that has only been around a short time is ridiculous booking.

Bad Humor: I like the idea of John Cena talking Stephanie McMahon out of having him just do guest commentary and having him in a big match instead. Unfortunately, in doing so Cena busted out a really lame Harry Carray impression. It wasn't funny at all and really took away from the rest of the backstage scene. After that, it was hard to get behind Cena for the rest of the show. The second bit of bad humor came moments later when Goldust in Santa hat presented the list of presents he gave various WWE Superstars for Christmas. There were a few clever lines in the poem (I think it was a poem), but for the most part the segment fell flat.

Snuka vs. Haas: This was a pretty boring 4 minute match. The crowd was dead all night long, but they seemed more dead during this match. Charlie Haas did a decent Superfly Jimmy Snuka impression, but the match failed to entertain. Sim Snuka needs to do more than just a few cool kicks or knees to get over. Doing a long boring old school chin lock in such a short match isn't the answer. The only fun part of the match was when Haas went to the top rope, but that was too little too late at that point.

Kelly and Orton: This seemed stupid on a number of levels. For one, it had the bad WWE trademark of a conversation that is supposed to be a secret taking place in front of a camera. For another, it makes Kelly look bad for sleeping with Orton in the first place. For another, it complicated Orton's current Legacy storyline to be possibly involved with Kane wanting revenge. We don't know that that is what will happen, but it would make the most sense considering what Kane did to Miz a few weeks back. It was a short scene, but it really bothered me on many levels.

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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