Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Regal as King; Michaels-Batista promo (attitude); four-way promos Worst: Holly vs. Carlito. Tonight's Raw would have served best as either solely a Backlash go-home show with King of the Ring qualifiers, or a full-out King of the Ring show in that first week post-Flair, but not both. It affected the main event something fierce as both intros and the match were noticeably rushed and trimmed. This year's KOTR lacked the punch and star power of previous years, but gave us the surprise of King William Regal. I admittedly marked out for Regal winning the crown, and see a lot of potential here, even more so than if C.M. Punk or MVP had won. Clinton-Obama could have been a lot worse, but this time was kept short. Unfortunately, there also went another chip of Umaga's credibility along with it. For once the women's title got the attention it's meant to get and in the right ways. How long do I hold my breath that this will consistently continue? The four-way competitors' promos were all well done and fit their respective characters. Wish there were more of these across the board. The Michaels-Batista face-off was well done in performance, but again suffered in language. What is this feud about again? The crowd has all but accepted Batista as heel, and yet even now the safety's been put back on. And Chris Jericho was too busy with the King of the Ring tourney to worry about making a statement about his reffing duties, so why was he even entered into the mix? I'll be at Sam's Town for Backlash. Would my money have been had I needed to pay for it? Not this time.
Aaron Randall of Mesa, Ariz. (5.0): Best Match: Main Event. Worst Match: Regal vs. Hornswoggle Seriously, WWE should bring back the King of the Ring PPV. It was fun to watch Raw in the leading weeks to the PPV to see the tournament play out and have the wrestlers wrestle more than six minute each. I still don't know why they had Booker T win it last year and Regal win it this year when the KOTR is historically won by a young mid-carder getting a big push. I sense a new GM will come in because Regal will be wrestling full time. The promos by each candidate were fun to watch as they got to show the fun side of themselves. The "Barack vs. Hilary" match was waste, but the line of the night goes to the Bill Clinton impersonator after tripping Barack. "I did not have illegal contact with that man!"
Ryan Longstal, age 22, Career Resources Specialist: Best Match: Y2J/n vs. Punk Worst Match: Hornswoggle vs. Regal. I have to say, kudos to the WWE for genuinely shocking me not once but twice in one show, the first time I can say that in years. I actually didn't read the news like I normally due prior to a show so I had no idea the candidates were actually going to appear on the show (if only via pre-taped satellite). That brings serious credibility to the WWE... Vince has got to be ecstatic. The second shocker was William Regal becoming the King of the Ring. As soon as it became apparent that Punk would be facing Regal in the finals, I assumed as probably most did that Punk was a lock. When he tapped to the Regal stretcher I actually stood up in my chair and yelled "WHAT? WHAT?" at the TV in genuine disbelief. It is long past time for Regal to get a serious run as a wrestler, or at the very least be taken seriously, and this does a lot for his character. I was hoping for more quality matches out of the KOTR, but it did keep me watching. The women's brawl was great because it brought much needed focus to the division. I'm also digging the mixing of the brands leading up to pay-per-views. Solid show simply for the surprises.
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 age (if you choose) and 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 #1037 (16 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story on the annoucement on Raw that Mike Adamle is the new Raw G.M... Wade Keller's BBL features a number of other shocking G.M. possibilities for WWE to consider... Page 2 Buzz with Jason Powell features his exclusive insider news galore... Pat McNeill continues his series of articles reviewing the history of Summerslam... Bruce Mitchell continues his series of Ric Flair DVD Liner Notes with a focus on "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers htis week... Part four of the "Torch Talk" with Doug Basham... Sean Radican reviews in detail the ROH PPV before it's offered nationally on PPV... Plus the Torch Newswire, Top Five Stories, reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, and more......
