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WWE Raw Reax #4: "Punk just is not believable as the World Heavyweight Champion. He's too small and just not intimidating." Jul 1, 2008 - 12:58:55 PM
Marquis M. of Shreveport, La. (8.5): Best Match: C.M. Punk vs. Edge (just based on the bravado and shock factor alone). Worst Match: The tag team match, although it wasn't really bad. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised tonight. This is easily one of the best Raws they've put on in a while, and the opening segment was definitely the best one in quite some time! And everything flowed fairly smoothly throughout the night. Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho is definitely the feud to look out for. While it probably won't even go past GAB, I'm enjoying what they're giving us so far; and it's nice to see WWE, once again, taking a risk on a young, potential star (not to mention a guy who looks more "realistic," for lack of a better word... better influence for the young people if you catch my drift). The only things I would've preferred was giving some actual direction to the women's division again, and not putting so much emphasis on John Cena. I would just love to see a Raw main event devoid of Triple H, Cena and Orton... ALMOST there! Just give it to us! Nonetheless, I can definitely appreciate WWE FINALLY going in a somewhat different direction and taking risks. The draft did a great job of shaking things up. Also, for the first time in a while, I would be greatly disappointed if the ratings didn't go up at least somewhat significantly this week.
Sydney Bean of Calgary, Alberta - Teacher (8.0): Best Match: Opening with J.R., Edge, etc. Worst: Mickie vs. Jillian. Great opening to the show with J.R., and Edge's promo was on-point. Batista's run-in and beat down established him as a presence in his new home. C.M. Punk cashing in was great too, and I love him (or anyone new) as champion. Mickie vs. Jillian was a bore. Santino delivered as he always does, "Ray Mastrio, taller than Hornswaggle" was sheer gold. Rey was good in the exchange as well. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase as heel champs with the young and disrespectful attitude has potential, and it will be interesting to see how this develops. I hope hope hope they don't roll out old man squashes for them (Hacksaw and Hot Rod, I'm talking to you!), but instead give them a credible program. Y2J delivered in his promo and his match. The continued feud with HBK is still intersting to me. Happy to see Kofi retain the title, even though the DQ was super-lame. I may be in the minority but I absolutely dread seeing JBL wrestle. He is a solid heel on the mic and creates a lot of heat, but his in-ring literally puts me to sleep, I mean the man has three power moves! I haven't been this bored since Stone Cold was in the ring. He and his man-boobs would be better served in a suit as Raw GM in my opinion. Punk was great in the underdog role, but he couldn't carry the dead-wieght of JBL in the ring. Cena and Cryme Tyme were hot with the run-in to close the show. Best Raw in a while, and I was happy to NOT see Triple H here, too.
Jeremy Quist of Lynchburg, Va. (8.5) Best Segment: Opening Segment. Worst Segment: Shane McMahon Intro. It says alot that fans were laughing in the background as Shane spoke of his Father's "secret" condition. Vince McMahon blew himself up a year ago, only to tell everyone that he did it for a reaction out of his family. Let's not even get started on the higher power angle. The saddest part is that when Vince really passes away it will take a long time before everyone really believes that it was not just another angle. They will toll the bell on Raw and some fans will actually snicker. The opening segment was awesome. Ross deserved the recognition he got, and I was glad to see the fans respect him despite him being sent out there to deliver the company line about Smackdown. Ross showed how big of a man he is by endorsing Cole. Cole's lack of ability to deliver in the big time will be plainly seen sooner than later. Ross has such a poker face that I can never tell when he's really mad. Was that just his character that was truly insulted by Edge's comments. I'm sure that Edge loves Ross, but Ross could have been mad that Vince would even have a heel character say that Ross is basically irrelevant to the business. Edge was tremendous on the stick. He is just the full package, and I become a bigger fan of his everytime that I watch him. I did not see how they could make Triple H or Edge job to someone so pathetic, but I did not factor in that Punk could just clean up the mess. That's not very babyface like. JBL was right, Punk simply beat a defenseless man. Punk just is not believable as the World Heavyweight Champion. He's too small and just not intimidating. Rey Mysterio can leap around like he's from a video game. That is what makes him credible. Jeff Hardy is a high flyer and looks tough. HBK had to change his pretty boy image before he could main event. I don't think there is anything they can do to make Punk credible. For Punk to beat a John Cena or a Batista would be as bad as Eric Bischoff putting the strap on that actor. I loved how they used Santino tonight. He and Rey can have a great program together. That is major rub for a guy they had teaming with Carlito and jobbing to cousin Sal. Santino doesn't even have to win. Cody Rhodes showed me that he can play a heel role decent with Ted DiBiase as a tag team. I loved the theme of the show; Raw needs a general manager. I thought they stayed with that theme all throughout the show. The writing staff of Raw gets alot of criticism, but last night they deserved alot of credit. It's interesting that they had Kofi pull the tights before Jericho did. They are positioning Jericho well. I find him to be a credible heel now. HBK missed another night of television. Shawn will now wrestle Jericho at the Great American Bash, but does anybody have any answers as to why Shawn is taking so much time off. Is he helping with his church, or just spending family time until the end of summer. It just feels like Shawn doesn't want it anymore. He reminds me of Brett Favre. The angle with Cena coming down with Cryme Time was great because it means that JBL is not the champ.
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.
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LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1045 (20 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story by Wade Keller on Jake Roberts's indy show meltdown... Keller's BBL looks at WWE's decision to put all three World Champs in a Triple Threat on the MyNetwork debut of Smackdown... Page 2 Buzz with Jason Powell features tons of insider news items from WWE and TNA... Part three of the "Torch Talk" with Lanny Poffo... Pat McNeill's "At the Bar for Unforgiven" column... In-depth coverage of the TNA No Surrender PPV including the newsletter-exclusive Roundtable Reviews from Keller, Mitchell, and McNeill... Plus WWE Newswire, TNA Newswire, and ROH Newswire, Keller's reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, the Top 5 Stories of the Week... PDF EXCLUSIVE features include the Greg Parks's review of the new Mr. Perfect DVD and Brian Hoops looks at pro wrestlers with Olympic backgrounds........
