For those who had better things to do on New Year’s Eve than watch Raw and forgot to record it, you missed a good show. It was highlighted by a standout performance by Ric Flair in what is likely his final match at the Greensboro Coliseum, a venue he is synonymous with.

Flair’s win-or-retire match against his friend Triple H was set up well. First, Vince McMahon added the stipulation that if Triple H loses in any manner, he cannot compete in the Royal Rumble match. That gave Triple H a reason not to lose on purpose to prevent Flair from having to retire. Then, Flair and Triple H had a great segment in the locker room in which they discussed the ramifications their match would have on their friendship and their careers.

The basic, logical approach to storytelling was very effective in making the fans care about the match, as each man’s incentive for wanting to win was crystal clear.

As for the match, Flair at 58 obviously isn’t what he once was, but he showed that he still has the ability to rise to the occasion. He and Triple H took fans on the proverbial rollercoaster ride, successfully getting the crowd to suspend disbelief and buy into the fact that Flair could hold his own and possibly defeat a wrestler who is 20 years younger and significantly bigger and stronger.

To me, the finish – in which William Regal came to ringside and hit Flair with brass knuckles, causing Triple H to get disqualified – did not take anything away from the match, although I have seen people complaining about it on various wrestling Web sites. Honestly, I was expecting some kind of outside interference. What else could they have done for a finish? For the angle to continue, Flair couldn’t lose, and there’s no way Triple H should be losing clean at this point. It had to be a DQ or a countout.

From a story line standpoint, Regal’s actions made sense based on what had happened earlier in the show. Regal had disobeyed McMahon’s orders to assault Hornswoggle with brass knuckles, and this was Regal’s way of trying to get back in the good graces of the boss.

This sets up a likely feud between Regal and Triple H, who will seemingly play the role of the anti-hero who has to overcome the odds against a corrupt authority figure. Triple H’s loss to Jeff Hardy at Armageddon cost him a WWE title shot, and now he has lost another opportunity at a title shot by being denied entrance into the Royal Rumble.

The way things are shaping up, I expect The Undertaker to win the Royal Rumble match and challenge Edge for the world heavyweight title at WrestleMania, and for Triple H to win the elimination chamber match that is reportedly taking place at the No Way Out pay-per-view next month, setting up a Triple H-Randy Orton WWE title match at WrestleMania. I’m still not quite sure how Batista fits into WrestleMania.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

Triple H definitely brought his ‘A’ game, both on the microphone and in the ring, for his angle with Flair. I did have a slight problem with Jim Ross’ commentary during the match, however. Ross referred to the contest as the greatest wrestler from a previous era facing the best wrestler in the business today. Shouldn’t Randy Orton and Edge, the two world champions, be considered the best? And didn’t Triple H just lose a high-profile match to Hardy? If Triple H is the best regardless of wins and losses and titles, then why should fans care about his quest for the championship? …

As good as the Flair-Triple H match was, the Shawn Michaels-Mr. Kennedy bout was even better. In fact, Michaels and Kennedy might have topped their match at Armageddon. I was definitely surprised to see Kennedy score the clean pin, however. I might be in the minority on this, but I just don’t see Kennedy at that level, at least not yet. Kennedy cuts good promos and he’s become a solid worker, but there’s just something missing for me as far as him being among the elite superstars. …

It was nice to see Matt Hardy back on camera. It was his first televised appearance since undergoing emergency appendectomy surgery in November. While Orton’s attack on him might have been a little predictable, it still was effective in adding some intensity to the Orton-Jeff Hardy feud. …

After acting like he was having a nervous breakdown last week, McMahon seemed more composed. I’m not sure what to make of that. …

JBL and Chris Jericho both showed a lot of fire during their pull-apart brawl. The blood on the bridge of JBL’s nose, while probably not planned, was a nice touch.