Keith Parsons of Baltimore Md. (5.5): Best Match/Moment: Cena Promo. Worst Match/Moment: The last ten minutes. This show would have ranked a bit higher for me (closer to a 7.0) before that stupid "car wreck" finish. That was lame, and very obviously faked. That took all the momentum out of the show. With that said, John Cena's promo was spot on! Maybe a bit long, but that would be nitpicking. I like what they are doing with Cryme Tyme. They aren't the greatest workers, but they do have personality. Cena's forming a stable works for me. Also, I should point out that I felt so bad for Hacksaw! That whole segment was great, and I hope they keep pushing these two guys. Hacksaw looked like he wanted to both cry and puke. The only thing I am not looking forward to is the inevitable Hacksaw/Holly vs. Teddy/Cody match. That would be unwatchable. Beth Phoenix beating Santino was good, but short. The HBK vs. Jericho thing was good too. Not as great as last week, but HBK's promo last week was one of the best of all time, so I can't expect that every week. All in all, a decent show, if you discount that last ten minutes. That garbage ending accomplished nothing positive; in fact it made the whole show look awful by comparison.
Henry Gomes of Toronto, Ont. (8.0): Best Match: DiBiase/Rhodes/JBL vs. Cena/Cryme Tyme. Worst Match: Snitsky vs. Jamie Noble (not really a match, I know). This was a great go-home edition of Monday Night Raw and it was certainly a step in the right direction after last week's Raw. First off, I like what they're doing with Kofi Kingston and Paul Burchill and, now that Mickie James and Katie Lea are involved, it makes the angle even more interesting. Moving on, it did bother me that they didn't give Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho more time. The stuff they did do was compelling and I wish Paul London got more offense in that match. By the way, that was a good choice of an opponent, as it ties together with Lance Cade and his past in the TWA. The Santino bit was entertaining and I wonder if they'll continue having Beth Phoenix play a face. I'm not a big fan of the whole Kane angle as it smells too much of 2003. I loved the segment with the World Tag Team Champions absolutely tearing Hacksaw Duggan into shreds. It was a great heel promo. The way they set up the World Title is interesting, as it looks like WWE wants Punk to be the heel in the match. Long term, that is the best idea, but it poses a problem short term. The Great American Bash is taking place in Long Island, New York, which in my books is a ''smart'' venue. And I'm sure there will be plenty of ROH fans from the surrounding area wanting to see and cheer for the ROH alumnist. The new chapter in the JBL-Cena saga has been pretty eventful. Last night, Cena delivered a great, albeit long, money promo selling their New York City Parking Lot Brawl. They also were involved in the main event, a pretty good match that really showed some great work from the two tag teams and they teased the tags expertly. Then came the angle where JBL tried to run over Cena's face. The incident has been labeled as attempted vehicular homicide by Wade Keller amongst others. There's no denying that it wasn't attempted homicide, it was. The problem I have with people lambasting this angle is that every thing in pro wrestling can be interpreted as attempted homicide. Whether it's beating someone down with a chair, ramming an ambulance with someone in it with a semi, putting someone through a burning table, pouring Drano down someone's throat. Wrestling has crossed the line several times and it baffles me why this incident is being singled out.
Adam Riemer if New York, N.Y. (6.5): Best: DiBiase & Rhodes Promo. Worst: The Kane Heel Turn. Let me first start out with why I made that the worst part of the show. They start the show with Kane (after the Jericho-Michaels fight), make it interesting with his "split" personalities, then have him make it more interesting with his promo with Punk. Later in the night he comes out to face Punk with his mask in his bag (even before the Guest Editorial on PWTorch.com, it is a safe assumption to think the mask is in the bag), goes Crazy again and then... Batista comes out, hits him one time with the chair, and that is the end of Kane for the night. If WWE is trying to make him the monster he is, then why didn't they have him get back in the ring and attack Batista or Punk? The monster Kane one time took three sledgehammer shots from Triple H and still came out to a match, he once took a stunner and a chairshot to the head and sat up to chokeslam Steve Austin. Why couldn't they add more mystery to him and what is going on inside by having him come back in the ring after C.M. Punk and Batista? Plot holes if you ask me. Other than that, the show wasn't that bad. The end was stupid, but WWE has been doing terribly foolish things and over the top angles for a while that it was not unbelievable. With the match Sunday and the attempt by JBL to kill Cena, it was safe to assume that Cena got away. Punk's time as champ is probably up, but who knows really. WWE is so random these days that anything could happen at the Bash. Raw needs a heel champ again, but Orton or Jericho would be better at it than Batista (heels NEED mic skills). I might be the only one to say it, but I love Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes. They are perfect in their roles; a new young heel stable would be amazing. Think about it. What if Randy Orton came back and was the leader, those three (or four if they add one more person) would be amazing, they have the look, they have the arrogance, and they have the talent. These two come off as real jerks who are over-the-top arrogant and you just beg for them to get what's coming to them. I legitimately felt bad for Hacksaw with what they were saying, because it's the truth. JBL could be a good leader for them as well with a new Money Inc. being formed. HBK and Jericho is still the highlight of the WWE, and it says a lot that these two can have this type of program with no title being involved. I can't wait until Lance Cade gets his final push into the big times and faces Michaels, there is a lot they can do with that program as well given their history. Raw is finally not feeling like "deja vu" all time.
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