James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (6.0)

There's been a recent trend on WWE TV to "ignore" developments from the previous night's PPV, barring a major turn (Batista on Rey) or title change. Viewers are being conditioned more and more to focus on the week-to-week storylines, the latest being evidenced by DX simply brushing off their teased dissension at Survivor Series the previous night. WWE is beginning to set up the monthly PPVs as mere "big wrestling events" with matches a step above a house show card. Customers will presumably get $40 worth of wrestling content, but don't expect major follow-up the next night on Raw.

Based on the previous paragraph, Sheamus receiving a title match on the TLC PPV seems to be merely a bone to viewers wanting to see some new blood in PPV main events. John Cena, DX (especially), Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho (no complaints there) will continue to dominate TV and the guest hosts will continue to book the same types of match-ups on Raw. Since WWE is focused on their TV storylines rather than trying to boost PPV buys (based on build-up for Survivor Series), I'm looking at Cena vs. Sheamus as a mere step-up house show match with a gimmick thrown in to possibly entice some new viewers, but not make a real difference in buys compared to any other off-brand PPV.

Until WWE completely overhauls their approach to selling PPVs, Raw will continue to be a vehicle to promote the following week's Raw. Hardcore wrestling fans will get their $40 worth on PPV, but casual fans aren't missing much since WWE isn't emphasizing PPV happenings unless something major happens that WWE will show the audience on TV anyways. Those are my big picture thoughts on a show dominated by Jesse Ventura ruling the show, delivering good TV, and carrying himself as an authority figure with knowledge that WWE needed. Vince McMahon sounded old on commentary during the main event, but his back-and-forth with Ventura was solid overall.

Tony Donofrio, PWTorch.com Contributor (8.5)

Monday Night Raw with Jesse Ventura was a great show almost completely from start to finish! I will admit that I have a bias towards Ventura, but he was perfect for this role. He was easily the best guest host to date. The pairing of him and Vince McMahon was fun and nostalgic for those that remember what a great pairing those two were for so long. It's a shame that someday, when the guest host role runs it's course, Ventura would never sign on to be a full-time GM for Raw.

As for the rest of the show, the biggest downer was the lack of hype for the historical significance of the DX/Hart feud. It wasn't taken seriously and the match wasn't particularly special either. John Cena and CM Punk put on a good show but one can't help to think that their first match couldn't have been saved for a big money feud down the road.

All that aside, as I said earlier, Raw was a big hit. The elevation of the young talent recently has been amazing. This week's Raw and Sunday's Survivor Series were prime examples of that. Kofi Kingston continues to shine and it looks like Sheamus may possibly get the same type of push now, if not a bigger one! Here's hoping that the recent trend in the WWE will become the rule and not another disappointing exception.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

Jesse Ventura was nothing if not entertaining. There's just something about the guy and the air that he carries with him that makes him seem so important and confident. I hope the some members of the roster were watching how to carry oneself with said confidence. The show was a thumbs-up, even if Jesse and Vince on commentary wasn't the greatness I expected; someone needed to tell Vince on his headset to speak up a bit.

As with every three hour Raw, the crowd seemed dead by the end of it, and I'm sure many of the fans at home watching felt the same. There was one good match, C.M. Punk vs. John Cena, but I wish they'd use some of these three-hour Raws to open things up for the Raw roster, give some mid-or-lower card guys more time or even give them a feud. WWE seemed to feel that the Raw roster couldn't fill three hours, so they have to bring guys from Smackdown and ECW. Well, just elevate some guys on the Raw roster.

Speaking of elevation, you gotta hand it to WWE. Whether you like Sheamus or not (and I do), WWE has done a good job with him and Kofi Kingston and raising their status. I'd argue they did it a tad too soon with Sheamus, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. As for the rest of Raw, the Divas stuff was dumb, even if it did re-introduce Maryse. Vickie's segment backstage was actually funny. And yes, I will be checking out Ventura's "Conspiracy Theory" show on truTV.

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