WWE Monday Night Raw (5/16): Hits, Misses and "What the Hell"

This week's edition of Raw was the last show before Over the Limit. I expected very few matches because of the usual promos and contract signings which set-up pay-per-views.

This was actually a pretty good edition of Raw, by the recent standard.

But with with every edition there are always Hits, Misses and What the Hell moments.

Hits: 

Punk vs. Kingston

The match had several good spots. The outcome was great because Punk needed the win more than Kingston. It was also good to see Punk wrestle rather than act as a cheerleader for Mason Ryan like he has been the last couple of weeks.

Swagger leaving Cole

At first I thought this was a face turn but Swagger ended up being John Cena's mystery opponent in the main event. Swagger needed a change.

Performing in the main even boosted his prestige in the WWE, even though he lost. This is another sign that the Lawler/Cole feud will end this Sunday.

Misses

Kharma angle

Although this attack angle with Kharma is getting old, it isn't the main reason this is a miss.

Kharma is so good in the ring.

I don't just want to see her attack people. I want to see her destroy someone in a match and become Diva's Champion, the sooner the better. We had to wait after her signing to see her debut and now they are delaying her first match.

Miz/Cena segments

They tried to sell us on the Miz's chances of winning this Sunday. It starts with a video package of Miz beating up Cena.

Miz then gets to pick Cena's match later on in the night, which ends up being a No Holds Barred match against Jack Swagger. Cena won the match.

Then Miz tries a promo to make people believe he won't quit. It ends with an attempted beat down, which Cena took control of.

All the segments were top notch, don't get me wrong. The video package was great and so was Cena's match with Swagger. Miz's promo was near perfect.

And yet, it all fell on deaf ears to me. If the same segments were used by Miz against anyone else, they would be believable.

However, this is SuperCena who we all know will never say I Quit.

What The Hell

What the Hell was WWE thinking giving us another Mysterio vs. Del Rio match. Haven't we seen this enough?

In fact, their last feud lasted six months, which is almost as long as their current storyline.

Is this going to launch another feud or was it just a lead in to Mysterio vs. Truth? Either storyline is a terrible misuse of Del Rio.

What the hell is up with the Kiss my Foot match?

I'm sorry WWE, most of us don't want to watch another Lawler/Cole match to begin with. Then you throw in this ridiculous stipulation? You think it makes us want to see the match more, but it has the opposite effect.

The new edition to this weekly article is going to be quote of the night and spot of the night. Without further ado:

Quote of the Night: "Miz will never say I'm the Miz and I have testicles" - John Cena.

This quote was chosen because I feel it is a step outside of PG and anytime I hear something like that I rejoice, even if it comes from John Cena.

Spot of the Night: Swagger goes head first into a chair during the main event.

I chose this because Swagger hit the chair  hard and it was definitely the best spot in my opinion.

Bonus hit of the night has to be getting Zack Ryder and Scott Stanford on TV.

They both are underutilized. I can't wait for WWE to realize this. If you don't know what I am talking about, go check out Zack Ryder's Youtube show, Z True Long Island Story.

Coming out of this Raw, we got a few more matches for Over the Limit, including Mysterio vs. Truth and Big Show and Kane vs. Mason Ryan and CM Punk for the tag team titles.

It was a good Raw. But, I think they wasted time by using Del Rio to develop the Mysterio/Truth feud without producing his own spot on the pay-per-view.