By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

RAW HITS

Opening Segment: The post-TLC Raw got off to a good start with a clever way of recapping the events of the PPV. I liked how C.M. Punk made the announcements that he had defended his WWE Title, that Zack Ryder had become the U.S. Champion, and that Daniel Bryan had cashed in Money in the Bank to become the new World Champion. It was something different for the first Raw after a PPV and it was entertaining. The brief physicality at the end was predictable but worked well to set up the main event six-man tag and give the fans something to look forward to for the rest of the show.

Barrett: Wade Barrett is poised to make a splash at the top of the Smackdown ladder (does that even make sense?). He is doing very good work right now in this feud against Randy Orton. After the loss in their Tables match at TLC, it was good to see Barrett back on track, getting himself purposefully disqualified against Orton and giving Orton a memorable beat down, including a Wasteland through a table. This was well written to get Barrett some heat back and further their feud.

Cena - Henry - Kane: I liked this segment. John Cena was solid in his promo addressing what happened at the end of last week's show when Kane attacked him. I was surprised by the interruption by Mark Henry. I am curious to see how Henry is used with this groin injury impeding him from wrestling (presumably). Henry as usual was good on the mic. I liked how he claimed that Kane cost him a chance of putting Cena in the Hall of Pain. The physicality at the end with Kane destroying Cena on the announce table was very memorable. I don't like the mask. I don't like the idea of playing to nostalgia in this way. I don't see why Kane can't do the same thing and not put the mask back on. It is cheesy. But, I am curious to see where they are going with this. The fact that he ripped Cena's "Rise Above the Hate" t-shirt has me intrigued.

6-Man Tag Main Event: This was far from a great tag match. It was just a formulaic WWE tag match with one extra prolonged beating of a babyface by the heel team until a hot tag was made. Instead of happening once, it happened twice with Bryan and then Ryder. But, it was well done for what it was. The wrestling action was good. It was enjoyable to watch. It was a nice moment for the babyface team to connect with the fans who were thrilled to see them get the win. Ultimately, Bryan needed to get a tap out win over someone credible like Alberto Del Rio to legitimize his Championship, so that was a good booking decision. It wasn't great, but good enough.

RAW MISSES

Use of Sheamus: Squashing Jindar Mahal does nothing for Sheamus at this point. WWE is really spinning their wheels with these matches for Sheamus against random opponents like Mahal or Jack Swagger at the PPV. Sheamus has become very popular on Smackdown, but while Big Show was the top babyface and Daniel Bryan became the World Champion, Sheamus has been lost as of late with silly skits involving Hornswoggle and these meaningless matches. Hopefully something good will be in the works soon for the Celtic Warrior.

Usos vs. Epico & Primo: Why have the team that is going to win the match, not get a proper ring entrance? Why not take some time to build Epico & Primo up as a team (other than just on Superstars which doesn't count) before giving them a non-Title victory over Air Boom and then a Tag Title match at the PPV? Why have this rematch from Smackdown on Raw when The Usos lost clean in the original on Smackdown? Why book the same exact match (close enough)? The crowd doesn't care about either of these teams and this isn't going to make them care. Oh yeah, one more question. What happened to Hunico? Wasn't he the one who brought Epico into WWE and teamed him with his cousin Primo in the first place ?

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