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RAW HITS

Big Ben: Ben Roethlisberger did a good job being the guest host of Raw. He was confident and natural on the mic. He handled himself very well throughout the show. Like we've seen from a few of the other celebrity guest hosts (someone like Freddie Prinze Jr. jumps to mind), Big Ben showed that he is a genuine WWE fan and was very excited to be there. His interaction with various wrestlers during the show was strong. His offensive line seemed to be big fans too. They did a good job.

Ben - JeriShow - DX: This was a fun scene. I already talked about the good job Roethlisberger did as guest host and this was probably his best scene. I loved how Big Show questioned the size of Big Ben and his O Line. I also loved how Chris Jericho chimed in (in classic Jericho fashion) that the O Line is probably smaller than him. Jericho's excessive use of big words was fun as usual. It continued well with DX coming out. I was excited to see DX come out to challenge JeriShow as it is something different and the Legacy feud has played itself out. There is some definite potential for good verbal exchanges between the two teams and that was the case here. And, the segment ended with the nice moment of the Steelers posing with DX.

Kingston vs. Miz: Apparently, Kofi Kingston is only capable of winning when he has multiple opponents. It was really nice to see Kingston defend the US Title in a singles match, and it was nice to see that match go over 10 minutes. His match against the Miz was quite good. There were a few sloppy spots, but Kingston's style lends itself to them on occasion. They worked well together. Kingston showed a lot of aggressiveness in the match, more so than we typically see from him and that was good. The match was well booked to have Kingston frustrated at not quite being able to put Miz away. It all built nicely to Miz getting the win and the US Title.

JeriShow vs. DX: This was a good tag team match and a nice hint of what these two teams can do against each other. Despite how it ended, it was good to see earlier in the match how Show and Jericho were able to dominate both Triple H and then to a much larger degree Shawn Michaels. The work on Michaels' injured back was very well done. I loved the Walls of Jericho with Michaels inching multiple times towards Triple H, only to have Jericho drag him back to the middle of the ring. That was a great way to build tension in the match as well as anticipation in the crowd for that eventual hot tag. And, the match had the feel good moment as Big Ben and his O Line came out to keep Jericho from retreating, allowing DX to get the pin.

RAW MISSES

Divas Bowl: I have to disagree with Jerry Lawler. This was not a great way to kick off Raw. Or to end Raw. Or to be on anywhere on Raw. I complained last week in my Smackdown Hits & Misses about how the Divas are being treated like a collective group and not individual women wrestlers. This "match" completely underscored that notion. All the babyfaces were dressed alike, as were the heels. It was yet another 3 minute Divas match with multiple Divas, only this one had more than the usual ones on Raw which made it worse. On a bit of a side note, Smackdown was a celebration so it is understandable having wrestlers from all the brands. We've seen the Bellas on Raw escorting guest hosts before. Last week's ECW featured John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler. This Divas Bowl had all the Divas from all three brands. I guess what I'm getting around to is that I really hope the brand split isn't going to come to an end soon.

Orton - Cena: Randy Orton's entrance is challenging the Undertaker's for longest in WWE and that is not a good thing. It is becoming a channel changing situation. This one happened right before the commercial. I wonder if anyone changed but didn't come back. Orton's promo was actually quite good. I liked how he talked about not cheating, needing back up, or taking short cuts to defeat John Cena. Then Cena came out and the segment went downhill. I like the idea of making their next match (which was inevitable) the final match in their feud. I don't think an Iron Man match was the way to go. It makes sense from a creative stand point, but aren't we all tired of this match up? Do we need to see them wrestle for 1 hour? I don't think so. Cena over hyped it as he usually does. Cena vs. Orton has had some good matches, but not great. I just don't like the thought of sitting through an hour of them wrestling.

Swagger vs. Primo: I like that WWE seems to have a program for Jack Swagger with his promise to end 2009 undefeated. However, his promo announcing that goal wasn't very good. His match against Primo wasn't either. They seemed off and didn't really work well together in the ring. If I were grand supreme commander of the wrestling universe (and hopefully I will be one day), I would ban the use of bear hugs. As soon as someone grabs you like that, punch them in the face, slap them on their ears, poke them in the eyes. Do something to get out of the hold. Don't just stand there and take it for a minute before showing signs of life. That to me is so old school and wrestling needs to update itself every once in a while. Also, the gut wrench power bomb at the end didn't look good either.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and Superstars 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.

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

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