Adam Crawley of Christiansburg, Va. (7.0): Best match: Randy Orton vs. William Regal. Worst match: Paul Burchill vs. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. This show finally gave the fans what so many on the internet complain about - more wrestling than talking. Regal-Orton was hard-hitting, and did a good job of making the hometown boy look strong while still putting over the champion. As excited as the British crowd was, I was just as excited to see Virginia's own Mickie James win the Women's Championship! JBL-Triple H could have used some more hype about their long, simultaneous runs as champions a few years back. That match was nothing special, but the after the bell action sold the PPV storyline. Burchill-Duggan should have been a flag match, or something to push Burchill towards the same reaction that Regal got. Jericho-Umaga was another good match, and those two could be put into a long-term feud if Y2J weren't in the middle of the HBK-Batista story.
A.A. Norman of Tulsa, Okla. (8.0): Best Match: Uma(n)ga vs. Jericho. Worst Match: None come to mind. I absolutely love foreign crowds after about a year of traveling the U.S. and hearing "Let's go Cena" vs. "Cena sucks," so I applaud the WWE for giving us not only a title change for once on a non-PPV that wasn't suspension or injury-motivated, but also a fresh crowd. Kudos to the UK audience for providing comic relief when the wrestlers really didn't. My favorite signs were anything to do with Umaga/You-manga/Umanga or the "John Cena, for ages 5-12." Priceless! A very solid show with great in-ring and backstage promos. They are hinting at heel turns for several, which is good, because there's nothing that gets an audience at home and at the stadium into a match like hate-able character. There are far too many wrestlers that nobody cares about either way - love them or hate them. This show did what it needed to for character development and moving toward another PPV... not that I'll order it or anything.
Jon Gargis of Cartersville, Ga. (6.0) Best Match: Orton vs. Regal. Worst Match: Hacksaw vs. Burchill. Last night's Raw featured a heavily promoted tag division and a Women's Title match between two women who can actually wrestle. Did anyone else rub their eyes in disbelief? If they could only develop some mid-card wrestlers to chase Chris Jericho's Intercontintental Title, then Raw would be a solid brand. Michaels-Batista has had a decent build, so I don't know why Jericho was put in as a third wheel, but if it leads to either Michaels or Batista challenging Jericho for the title (assuming a draft could bring Batista back to Raw), then it could all be worth it. Oh, and since Ric Flair won't be salsa dancing on the cancelled "Secret Talents of the Stars," what's stopping him from being a manager? If such a future is in the cards, then perhaps his return will be at a pay-per-view. I saw last night three of the four men who will be in the Raw main event at Backlash - where was Cena? Even if he is filming a movie, he should've appeared via pre-taped promo (Or did I blink and miss that?). Speaking of missing stars, where has Kennedy been? I don't know why next week's King of the Ring wasn't promoted weeks before last night's Raw. What was a PPV with a lot of history is returning to free TV and playing out over the course of one night; I'm not sure how I feel about that. But here's to hoping next week's Raw won't be a throwaway show and that the crowning of the next King will have a significant impact in the coming months. (My money's on King Kennedy...King!)
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.
LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1039 (17 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story by Wade Keller who attended Brock Lesnar's first UFC victory on Saturday night in the semi-main event in front of a record-setting crowd in his hometown. Keller's BBL looks at Lesnar's place in MMA and in what ways he seems more comfortable than ever... Bruce Mitchell's Memo examines the dilemma of Chris Benoit and the Hall of Fame... Sean Radican reviews the two latest TNA DVD releases... In-depth coverage of the TNA Hard Justice PPV including Keller's match report with star ratings and the newsletter-exclusive Roundtable Reviews... Jason Powell's "Page 2 Buzz" with scoops and insider analysis... WWE Newswire, TNA Newswire, and ROH Newswire with insider news, big story analysis, and notebook tidbits... Plus Keller's reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, the Top 5 Stories of the Week, and more....
