James Caldwell, Torch Columnist (7.0)

Chris Jericho vs. C.M. Punk carried the in-ring portion of the show, while Trish Stratus's one-off return was a memorable moment to make this a strong "thumbs up" show. WWE was also effective in continuing to bridge the gap to Royal Rumble with a few extra weeks in-between PPVs. They had four matches that mattered, leading to what-should-be at least a 30-minute elimination match on next week's show featuring four of the top stars in the company. Good concept to build and build to the Royal Rumble.

First, though, we need to know what happened to Jim Duggan. Where was Cryme Tyme leading him to last week? This needs to be resolved. In any event, Jericho vs. Punk capitalized on a hot crowd and both men delivered a really compelling performance with Punk actually gaining some points in defeat based on him breaking free of the Walls of Jericho several times and being a second away from victory. Very strong match with a great finishing sequence.

JBL vs. Rey was surprinsingly good. The second-half of the match was very strong with Rey kicking out of several believable pin attempts before Shawn Michaels interrupted to advance his program with JBL. Of course, Triple H was needed to tie up some loose ends on why Michaels would resort to working for JBL rather than taking a loan from the First National Bank of WWE. When storylines don't make sense, just call upon Hunter to right the wrongs.

Sim Snuka, or whatever his name is, showed great charisma in 15 seconds backstage. Couldn't possibly be the same person who showed a complete lack of substance doing the greasers gimmick. ... Manu vs. Kofi. Why? ... Women's Title and IC Title are both stuck in the middle of nowhere. Punk vs. Regal hype should be happening for the IC belt and Beth needs an actual opponent and/or program. Melina? Candice? Mickie? Pick one and run with it.

Bruce Mitchell, Torch Columnist (7.0)

Sometimes it's the right thing to save the surprise for the main event, instead of building anticipation and maybe ratings by announcing it ahead of time. Telling fans a week ahead of time that Trish Stratus would make one appearance on Raw probably wouldn't have moved the ratings, and definitely would have made for less immediate TV than what we got tonight- a genuine feel-good WWE match, instead of a contrived one.

Chris Jericho had a good, heated win over C.M. Punk. The explanation as to why Shawn Michaels didn't go to Triple H was pretty good, but Michaels helping JBL to a DQ win over Rey Mysterio wasn't. Randy Orton continues to grow as a big time main event act, even if fans cheer him on.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

WWE has been on a roll the last three weeks or so with a string of solid Raws, thanks in part to more of a concentration on solid in-ring action, as well as more meaningful backstage segments and getting away from the lame comedy that used to bog down the show at times.

I don't think we've seen the payoff to the Kane-Kelly Kelly angle yet, as Kane hinted toward future evil deeds. I hope WWE remembers it down the road and makes it mean something. There wasn't much to the Kane vs. HBK match. It was of the basic, no-frills kind. Michaels was a little too excited coming to the ring too for a guy who has lost it all. Kofi vs. Manu was not smooth and I really think Manu should've gone over here, but it did lead into the storyline with Sim Snuka and Randy Orton later in the show. I feel like Orton is the Main Event Mafia and the rest of The Legacy is the Frontline in that they can never do anything right or do anything better than Orton.

The show-long angle with John Cena and Santino Marella was an odd detour from Cena's current storylines and feuds, though they do have some time to kill before the Royal Rumble. Plus, the payoff of Trish Stratus' return (however brief) was worth it. Triple H had a good segment backstage with Shawn Michaels; admittedly, while the angle has a lot of holes, they have been trying to patch them up week-to-week. The Divas tag match was bowling-shoe ugly and seemed to be a backdrop for William Regal to plug his I.C. Title. At least the title is now worthy enough to be on every week in one form or another.

Rey vs. JBL was surprisingly entertaining, and it's obvious how much better JBL has gotten in the ring since losing weight. The ending made sense, but the DQ in that case should be used at the referee's discretion, since he had to know Shawn slapped JBL to earn his boss the win. Orton cut a pretty decent promo on the now-injured Batista. Kelly Kelly's backstage segment with the tag champs and Dolph Ziggler was well-done and call me crazy but I think Kelly's acting has improved in the last few months. Jericho vs. Punk brought the awesome, helped by the crowd. But as James referenced....what happened to Duggan? Did they not want to bring him out in Canada for fear that he would be booed? Inquiring minds want to know!

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