LIVE Raw thoughts

11:07 - This was a more exciting ending than the recent episodes of Raw. I think they angered a lot of fans by teasing a new belt, only to do the one thing to it that would make haters dislike it even more (but could this mean a new belt is on the way when Miz does lose the title?) But they did make sense of the whole Cena "via satellite" scene, with the familiar set. Anyway, this helped Cena get his heat back without sacrificing Miz.

10:49 - Why am I not surprised? The most awesome part of the show involves CM Punk. First, with him cartoonishly screaming along with Orton's wife, and secondly, with him blowing a kiss towards her through the glass -- where you actually saw the fog on the window.

10:37 - Admittedly, that was a really good Undertaker/Triple H montage, but it's just plain awkward that they keep talking about Undertaker's streak without mentioning that Triple H is one of those victims. I can understand not focusing the entire feud on that aspect, but what do they gain from completely ignoring it? Like I said, it's just awkward.

10:32 - Those Sin Cara vignettes are truly amazing.

10:27 - Love that rub John Morrison is getting!

10:26 - Odd that they're essentially giving away their WrestleMania match less than two weeks before the show.

9:52 - Who was the genius who decided that Cena should do a live "via satellite" interview after using that as his primary insult against the Rock? Especially when that's clearly the same decor they use for all of the GM offices.

9:45 - So it looks like it'll be Kane/Big Show/Santino/Kozlov vs. the Corre. So that answers that. But one must continue to wonder -- what becomes of Christian?

9:34 - This stuff with Cole and the Divas is just strange. It's not without its fair of history and backstory, but how does it relate to the build towards WrestleMania? How odd would it be if the Divas were "wasted" on a Snooki appearance and to build Cole/Lawler instead of a Divas title match? I still don't understand why they didn't put the title on Beth to set her up as an underdog against Awesome Kong.

9:30 - Did they just cut a promo about a bus? Strangest. Interview. Ever. Yes, I know it was drop that bit of info that Orton's family is inside, but still. Very odd.

9:23 - I don't think I've ever heard anybody refer to it as "the Champion of the United States of America," but hey, it works for Sheamus. And I guess he's back in management's good graces, so maybe he'll win back all those losses he's suffered. Also, I'm guessing Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan will be the match that opens the show at Mania. It'd be great to see Bryan regain the title, but I'm thinking Sheamus retains.

9:14 - Did Ted DiBiase learn nothing from Sheamus? If you're being buried on television, you DON'T try to attack Triple H following one of his promos. And speaking of Sheamus - Didn't this seem like a scene by scene replication of that showdown?

Regarding the actual promo, did it make anybody more excited for the match? There's a strong rumor that this match will close the show, but I can't help but feel like the excitement just isn't there. I just don't think that Triple H has the relationship with the audience or the storytelling skills that Michaels possesses, and as such this feud is just missing that special something that existed last year. I'd match rather see them close the show with Cena/Miz -- not because it's the title match, but because it's a better built and more interesting story.

8:30 - Check back at 9:00 for my LIVE Raw thoughts, but how about some pre-Raw discussion. Continuing my earlier post about Christian and his role at WrestleMania, a lot of people seem to think that this year's WrestleMania doesn't have that "WrestleMania feel." I argued against this point for a while, simply because I thought it was too early to judge. But now I can't help but agree, to a large extent. One factor that has played in this decision is today's announcement on WWE.com that Abdullah the Butcher is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is a big part of WrestleMania weekend, and the entire "season" has felt pretty lackluster in that regard. Traditionally speaking, the first announcement occurs at the Royal Rumble, and from there a new name is revealed each week or so until the entire class has been revealed. This year they kicked things off big with Shawn Michaels' induction. But then they went several weeks without announcing any names whatsoever -- not even at the Rumble -- and when they returned, it was with Hacksaw Jim Duggan. A deserving name for sure, but it also lacked that certain "oomph." From that point forward, every single name has been revealed on WWE.com, eliminating the spectacle altogether. There's just no mystery or anticipation involved this year, and it HAS hurt the aura surrounding the biggest show of the year.

What do you think? Have you been disappointed with the handling of this year's Hall of Fame? Not so much regarding the actual class, but how it's been done altogether.