Mark Swiderski of Chicago, Ill. (5.5): Best Match: Main Event. Worst Match: William Regal becoming KOTR. This show had tons of potential before it started and it just bombed. Why is Bob Holly even in the ring anymore? William Regal KOTR?!?!? He has not ever and will not ever be a draw, a headliner, or someone the company can use to build up so I don't understand why the WWE wasted this opportunity on Regal. Just like Holly, Regal has no business being in that ring. They stink up the joint every time they step foot in there. I guess seniority really does matter in the workplace these days. The rest of the show was average at best. I will never understand why they jumped the gun on HBK vs. Batista. That is a match that should have been built up towards SummerSlam and not Backlash. The presidential candidate stuff was pointless as usual so I won't even bother commenting on that. As for the main event, all I can say is that I sure do miss Edge being on Raw. He just adds that special element that has been missing on Raw ever since he left for Smackdown. These three hour specials used to be exciting and actually meant something, but now they are just like any other edition of Raw.
Jeremy Quist of Lynchburg, Va. (7.5): Best Match: Main Event. Worst Match: Regal vs. Hornswoggle. The main event was loaded with star power. It was very interesting to see Triple H defer to Undertaker in the order of entrance and the last man standing factor. The elimination stipulation adds more intrigue to the fatal four way, but it's tough to see them de-strapping Orton after they put him over at WM a month ago. Cena will get Triple H back by pinning him. By Batista and HBK not talking about the fact that if Batista wins the belt Friday night then he would face edge and not HBK, it totally gives away that Batista will not win the strap. HBK will likely cost him the match with a run in. Despite their predictability, I am still marking out for the match. I think the two have great early chemistry. The King of the Ring was a joke. C.M. Punk is just not a credible heavyweight. Regal beat a midget, a crippled Finlay, and the smaller Punk to become the King of the Ring. He did not even receive time for a speech. Was that Vince's idea of a push? Why try to push Regal as a wrestler at this point in his career anyway? MVP would have been an ideal winner. The Big Show vs. Khali should be fun if it's ten minutes. The women's segment made me want to see Michelle McCool take on Big Beth, and not Mickie James. The Presidential Candidates match got booed, but I thought it was kind of funny. It makes me miss The Rock, though. They will never have anyone as entertaining as him. The sad part is that he could come back today and wrestle for another decade, but he won't because of the money and fame of Hollywood. JBL is boring. I just thought that should be said at least weekly by somebody. After watching this show, I am borderline on buying Backlash. HBK vs. Batista is what I really want to see. I don't see either World Title changing hands.
Michael Moore of Casper, Wy. (2.0): Best match: Main event by default. Worst: Everything else. So what's more boring than your average two-hour Raw? How about a three-hour Raw built entirely around non-wrestlers? A part-time wrestler becomes King of the Ring and we get the worst spoof of wreslting since the whole Rosie O'Donnell-Donald Trump mess. The saddest thing about that whole mess was that the crowd was too dead to even revolt against it. Seriously, why does WWE continue to do such stupid things that completely expose its product? Why should anyone take Umaga's Samoan Spike more seriously than "Obama's" Rock Bottom? Or anyone in the main event for that matter? Great way to incorporate male on female violence in that segment, too. I bet all three presidential canddiates were proud to take part in this show. The whole King of the Ring tournament just stunk. For all the buzz around C.M. Punk from the indy fans, he's just lacking that "it" factor. Whatever "it" is, Punk doesn't have it, and guys like Edge and Tomko do. Chavo Guerrero in a main event? Nice to see he's still getting the Courtney Love-style sympathy lay. The wrestling on tonight's show was bad enough, but that Clinton-Obama crap made me ashamed to be a wrestling fan.
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