Some thoughts on last night’s Raw:

Playing Batista’s entrance music at the start of the show and having him come out to cut a promo was a great way to begin the program. And then having The Undertaker interrupt him, which led to an impromptu tag-team match between the two rivals against world tag-team champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch was even better. Having the two biggest stars from Smackdown unexpectedly appear on Raw brought back a sense of unpredictability to the show that has been mostly missing in the post-Monday Night War era.

It’s also a smart move by WWE to make full use of its roster in an effort to boost ratings and push Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. While it was predictable that the lumberjack main event between Triple H and Umaga was going to end up with everyone brawling in the ring as the show went off the air, it still was more interesting seeing wrestlers from all three brands involved. …

Batista admittedly isn’t a great talker, but his opening promo, while not spectacular by any means, was one of his more effective efforts. …

I’m sure some fans feel that the tag-team champs were buried, but I disagree. Batista and Undertaker should be able to beat Cade and Murdoch. …

Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton had a good face-to-face segment, mostly because of Michaels. It was effective in building up their title match at Survivor Series. When Michaels suggested that he could win the title with a submission hold since his super-kick is banned, I am glad that he didn’t bring up the fact that he defeated Bret Hart for the belt with the Sharpshooter at the 1997 Survivor Series. That would have turned the crowd against him. …

It looks like Chris Jericho's much-anticipated return will finally happen on next Monday's Raw. After a few teases, I think WWE is going to follow through this time. ...

I liked Santino Marella’s confrontation with Jerry Lawler, but I didn’t like Marella getting pinned by “The King,” who turns 58 later this month. I don’t know if this was a one-shot deal or the start of a program between the two, but I hope it ends with Marella getting the last laugh.

While Marella is mostly a comedy act and I don’t expect him to be headlining pay-per-views, I do think he has potential to move up the card. He could draw legitimate heel heat by developing a serious side to complement the humorous aspects of his character. The Honky Tonk Man comes to mind as an example of a comedy act who also could incite a crowd by doing despicable things – such as shoving Miss Elizabeth and hitting Randy Savage over the head with a guitar, back in the day when both of those acts were considered shocking. I think Marella could get over in the same manner, with Maria playing the role of Elizabeth. …

The Hornswoggle training session was about as bad a segment as you’ll ever see on Raw. I wonder if WWE made the decision to tape it before the show in an empty arena because it knew the fans would turn on it like they did the match between the Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump impersonators last spring. …

For those of you who don’t remember how uncool WWE was in 1994 before the “Attitude” era, the company reminded everyone by showing a clip of Lawler and his team of midgets, who were named Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy, in a Survivor Series match against Doink The Clown and his band of little clowns, who were named Dink, Pink and Wink. …

I don’t know what Mickie James calls her new finisher, but I definitely hope she keeps using it.