By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

2008 HITS

Miz & Morrison: The Miz and John Morrison were the best tag team in 2008. They have the power to appear on all three brands which does get annoying (see upcoming WWE Misses for 2008 for more on the lack of a brand split), but at least they were consistently entertaining throughout the year. They delivered on the mic. Their Dirt Sheet on wwe.com was great all year. The live versions on ECW were not as good, but they were still solid. Their in ring work was also very good. Miz had shown great improvement. Morrison was already a talented worker, but continued to improve as well. They are definitely set up for a big 2009.

Colin Delaney: As I looked back on my Hits & Misses from the year, I kept seeing Colin Delaney's name over and over. He had a great first half of the year. He played his part to perfection. The many times he got beat down in the ring were memorable. What was even more memorable were his in ring interviews with Tazz. I remember when he told Tazz, "it pretty much hurts everywhere." His declaration that he hopes to be at WrestleMania 25 without having to buy a ticket was great too. He delivered every time he was on screen. He will be missed.

Kelly Kelly: Kelly really improved this year. I was not a fan of her in 2007 on ECW when she seemed like a pretty face who danced even though she wasn't a good dancer. However, she showed that she is more than just a pretty face in 2008. She worked hard and improved in the ring. Her acting skills also improved. I used to get scared when she was in the ring, but now I would rather see her wrestle than most of the other Divas. There is room for more improvement, but if she continues down her current path, she should turn into a top Diva in 2009.

The Royal Rumble: My favorite event of the year did not fail to entertain. It started out great with Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in a reverse from the previous year when those two legends ended the match. They both lasted very long and helped carry the first half of the match. John Cena was a legitimate surprise as #30 in the Rumble. The match was very strong at the end when it came down to Cena, Batista and Triple H.

Hardy vs. Michaels: I usually don't high light individual matches in my year in reviews. After all, even in a bad year there are bound to be many great matches. However, as I looked back on the year, this match from the February 11th Raw stood out. It was definitely the best match on free t.v. this year, and one of the best (if not the best) in all of WWE. It could have been a PPV main event. At the time I called it "Jeff Hardy's best one on one (non-gimmick) match ever." With Michaels’ great work with Ric Flair and Chris Jericho (more on both later), it would be easy to overlook this match, but it would be a shame to do so.

Glamarella: Santino Marella, either alone or with Beth Phoenix had to appear in more Raw Hits & Misses in 2008 than any other wrestler. He is brilliant at what he does, and the Glamazon has been the perfect addition to his act. Whether it was his great work early in the year with Maria, or his great work later in the year with Phoenix, Santino consistently delivered hilarious mic work. His Honk-A-Meter probably deserves a Hit itself. Beth Phoenix really got a chance to show her own personality which has been fun to watch. She rightfully dominated the women’s division on Raw. She is a very good worker. There are too many great moments to single any out, which is a testament to how great this duo has been.

Chris Jericho: Jericho was definitely the MVP of Raw and probably all of WWE. His year got off to a less than stellar start with the conclusion of his feud with John Bradshaw Layfield, but it got going again with his run as Intercontinental Champion. I will talk more later about his feud with Shawn Michaels, but for now I will just say that his heel turn worked very well and catapulted him to the top of the Raw roster. He had two runs as World Champion, and had many memorable matches with guys like Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Michaels, Batista, and John Cena. His mic work was far beyond anyone else in the company.

Money Mayweather: Floyd "Money" Mayweather was involved in a news worthy program with the Big Show, leading to their match at WrestleMania. It wasn't always good. Mayweather's poor satellite interview stands out. But, for the most part it was entertaining. It got off to a great start with their confrontation at No Way Out in February. It cooled off, then got hot again leading to WrestleMania. The match itself was fun. WWE did a good job booking the match to take advantage of Mayweather's strengths while hiding his weaknesses. It is too bad that WWE failed to capitalize on how hot Big Show was coming out of that angle.

MVP vs. Batista: This Hit is not for one match between these two, but for a series of good matches that they put on in February and March. During about a 6 week stretch, Montel Vontavious Porter proved that The Undertaker is not the only one who can have good matches with Batista. This feud on Smackdown provided four quality matches between these two. You might think that facing each other multiple times like that would get old, but it didn't. WWE might want to take a look at those matches and remember how good MVP really is.

Flair Farewell: The highlight of the year was the emotional farewell to Ric Flair the night after WrestleMania. But, we should remember the entire program, not just that night. It all started when Flair challenged Shawn Michaels to a match at WrestleMania. The build to the match, with Michaels saying no and having to be convinced to face Flair provided several great moments. It gave Flair one last chance to shine on the mic. Next came his induction into the Hall of Fame with his emotional acceptance speech. The match itself was outstanding. The emotion of these two all time greats was clear and felt by the audience watching at home. The next night was one of those times when WWE showed that it can be very classy with the heart felt tribute to Flair. It was great to see so many past and present wrestlers who played such a large role in Flair’s career all in the ring together. It was a great end to an even greater legendary career.

Mr. Money in the Bank: Shortly before WrestleMania, everyone expected Jeff Hardy to win Money in the Bank and go on to cash it in for his first World Championship run. However, a Wellness Policy suspension ended that. That left open the door for CM Punk to become Mr. Money in the Bank. It is easy to complain about how Punk was treated as Champ, but his run to win the gold was well done. The Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania was another very good ladder match. Punk winning was a bit of a surprise. He definitely was on the rise with the briefcase throughout 2008, leading to the surprise moment when he cashed it in and defeated Edge to win the World Title. It was nice to see Punk elevated to that level this year.

The Gold Standard: Shelton Benjamin has been one of those guys who has been around for quite awhile, had some early success, but then found himself in WWE mid-card (at best) limbo. After his early singles career success and multiple runs as Intercontinental Champ, Benjamin was pushed to the back burner. But this year, he went to ECW, then to Smackdown, dawned the Gold Standard gimmick, and became the United States Champion. It was the first Title that he won in a long time, and he deserved it. His mic work still needs to improve, but it is better now than a year ago. His in ring skills have gotten better as he seems more intense in the ring and more focused. As of the end of 2008, he is still the US Champ, and hopefully he will continue to get a push in the New Year.

William Regal: Other than a major snafu, this was a good year for Regal. His run as Raw General Manager was a lot of fun. He did a great job of getting the fans to boo him. Before Vickie Guerrero's "Excuse Me" became the best heat generator for an authority figure, Regal got intense heat by turning out the lights. It wasn't always popular with everyone, including myself. But, it was a great way to get the fans to hate him. He was the most hated man in the company when he was suspended. It is too bad that suspension happened when it did. However, Regal's year wasn't a total waste, as he has come back and after a bit of a lag, he became Intercontinental Champion, and has vowed to bring prestige back to the Title. Hopefully he stays clean, sober, and healthy, and hopefully he has the chance to elevate the IC Title.

Jericho - Michaels: Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels carried Raw for much of 2008. There were times when Raw was bad, but you could count on something great from one of these two, if not both. Their storyline was the best of the year. It started out with Shawn’s feud with Batista, which was good, but it got even better once Jericho got involved. His involvement with that feud, leading to the feud of the year with Michaels was outstanding. As I said above, he gave the best promos of the year, particularly during this angle. On a particularly bad episode of Raw in June from Oakland CA (which I happened to be at), Jericho threw Michaels through the Jeritron 6000 in one of the most memorable moments in several years. That started the possible retirement angle for Michaels which put another great wrinkle on the feud. They constantly delivered great mic work and great wrestling matches. This was not only the best storyline of 2008, it will go down as one of the best ever as far as I am concerned.

Edge vs. Undertaker: If it hadn't been for Michaels vs. Jericho, the feud between Edge and Undertaker would have been the feud of the year. They had many memorable matches with each other all year long. They had a great main event match at WrestleMania. They had some great gimmick matches at other PPVs, like a ladder match and an epic match in Hell in a Cell. They battled over the World Championship on Smackdown for much of the year. It didn't have all of the great drama of Michaels vs. Jericho, but it had some stellar in ring action and was definitely the Smackdown feud of 2008.

The Shooting Star Press: One week into his WWE t.v. career, Matt Sydell changed his name to Evan Bourne. It was cheesy. However, a few weeks after that, Bourne started doing his stupendous Shooting Star Press as a finisher and until his injury, he was on the way to becoming a huge WWE star. Now, hopefully he will return soon and be healthy and pick up right where he left off. He does so many amazing things in the ring, it will be great to see him back again. He is a very exciting wrestler who can do so many things in a match that nobody else in WWE can do. However, the best thing that he does is that picture perfect Shooting Star Press, which rightly won the Slammy for Finisher of the Year.

Randy Orton: Orton battled injuries this year, but managed to be the most interesting character on Raw at the close of 2008. He had memorable feuds and some very good matches. It was only an injury that caused him to lose the WWE Title. But, that injury actually may have helped. It was when he came back, while still recovering that he started doing the best mic work of his career. His work has been so great the last few months that he is getting a bigger babyface reaction from the fans than Batista. He is just that good right now. His work with Priceless teasing a possible faction was superb. His punt to the head has become the most feared move in WWE, and he only has to do it once every few months! Just lining up for the kick gets a huge reaction from the fans which is a testament to how great he has become. It is no wonder WWE has reportedly offered him a 10 year contract.

Mark Henry: After over a decade with WWE, 10 plus years filled with many injuries and a less than impressive resume´, 2008 was a breakout year for the World’s Strongest Man. Henry has always had good mic skills, but those skills improved this year. His greatest draw back has been his in ring work, but that has improved as well. He hasn't had all good matches. Some of them have been stinkers. But his series of matches with Matt Hardy have been good. Being healthy for such a long streak has helped. He is delivering. His move to ECW let him be the real big fish in a small pond and it worked well for him. The addition of Tony Atlas as his manager has been good too. I hope to see more of the good work from Henry next year.

Jamie Noble: I almost left Noble off the list. After all, he is a jobber who has hardly been on Raw the last few months. However, as I continued to look back on my Hits & Misses for the year, I kept seeing his name. His work in the first few months of the year on Smackdown in his love triangle story with Michelle McCool and Chuck Polumbo was great. He is hilarious. He constantly delivered funny promos on Friday nights, trying to get McCool to go out with him. He had a series of good matches with Polumbo. He wasn't used much after being drafted to Raw which is a shame. But, his brief storyline with Layla allowed his comedic talents to shine again. If WWE ever realizes that the guy can wrestle then maybe they will give him a push.

Striker and Grisham: Mick Foley wasn't on color commentary on Smackdown long enough to get a Hit. His work with Michael Cole was solid, but he got better with Jim Ross. Then he left for TNA. His absence left a void which was filled by moving Tazz from ECW. Tazz's absence left a void which was filled by moving Matt Striker to the announce table along with Todd Grisham. The rest is history. They rightfully won the Slammy for the best announce team of 2008. Even when ECW is bad, it is fun to listen to them. Grisham does a good job on play by play. He is much better than Michael Cole. Matt Striker does a great job on color. He is insightful and entertaining at the same time. He doesn't go over the top like he easily could. He is very funny. The banter between the two seems less forced and scripted than with the other announce teams. Maybe Vince McMahon doesn't care as much so he doesn't produce them as much as the others. Whatever it is, these two are doing a great job on ECW each week.

Haas' Impersonations: Charlie Haas' impressions have been Hit or Miss, but they have been more Hit than Miss. He has had plenty of very funny moments over the last few months. He has even found a way to win a match every once in a while. Clearly he works hard at getting the impressions down. He should be commended for the effort. The gimmick is never going to lead anywhere, but he is consistently on Raw most weeks, which is much better than how he was doing the first half of the year.

Initial Build for Kozlov: There are some promising young wrestlers in WWE right now. None had a more impressive initial build than Vladimir Kozlov. That is not to say that he himself is the best of the rookies. But, WWE did the best in building him up to a main event level star. It was an old school method of having him dominate several squash matches. They made a big deal about how he had never lost or even been knocked off of his feet. To this day he has yet to be pinned or forced to submit. His in ring work could use a lot of work. His mic skills and English are a bit touchy. But, the writers have done a great job with what they have to work with. If you want to get behind a big new heel wrestler, this is the way to do it.

Initial Build for Jack Swagger: While not as great as the build for Kozlov, the build for Jack Swagger has been very good too. And, unlike Kozlov, Swagger has it. He is talented in the ring, has shown flashes of talent on the mic, has plenty of charisma, and carries himself like a star. He too is undefeated. He had a break out performance in a hardcore match vs. Tommy Dreamer a few months ago. He has a lot of potential, the most of any rookie in 2008. He even finds himself at the end of the year as the #1 Contender for Matt Hardy’s ECW Championship.

Hardy Finally Wins the Gold: This was an up and down and up again year for Jeff Hardy. And when I say "up" and when I say "down" I mean way up and way down. He started out 2008 as the top babyface in the company in a feud with Randy Orton for the WWE Title. They headlined the Royal Rumble. He was very hot. As I mentioned above, all signs pointed to him winning Money in the Bank, but he was suspended for 60 days. That started the down part of the year. After returning and being in limbo for awhile, he switched to Smackdown and got a chance to prove himself again. His feud with MVP allowed him to address his personal issues. The build to his feud with Kozlov and Triple H over the Title was well done. His work with Triple H in particular has been great. He has been in some great matches all year long. The whole "who beat up Jeff in the hotel stairwell" angle hasn't been good. But, it led to him finally winning the WWE Championship a few weeks ago. That was a great way to end 2008. He is a deserving Champion from an in ring and fan reaction stand point. Like Regal, I can only hope he takes this opportunity to stay clean and be the star that he can be.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hitlist Specialist, providing his point of view in the Torch's hitlist format for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

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