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WWE Raw Reax #2: "How can some aspects of the show be so consistently brilliant and other aspects be completely terrible?"
Aug 26, 2008 - 1:51:35 PM


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Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (6.0): Best: Michaels-Jericho Worst: Unforgiven going to hell based on build. This was one of those nights where I am so conflicted with the show that I wonder very loudly what WWE is doing. Punk-JBL just was not something I wanted to see again, but Punk got another clean win, and a put-over statement that Punk has JBL's number which was nice. And I give kudos to JBL's torture rack: the move itself wasn't very good but he held Punk on his shoulders for quite a while, a major feat for someone with back issues. John Cena is gone with a neck injury which affected the Scramble match. Properly taken care of (like Benoit and Edge, and not like Angle) Cena will be out a year conservatively and should not be rushed to return. Rey Mysterio in his place... not what I would have done at all, especially with the Kane-Rey feud working. Chris Jericho should have been added to that match by my armchair booking scorecard. Call me sadistic (especially being a longtime HBK fan) but I would have Shawn agonize over the decision more, physically or (more likely) psychologically mess with Jericho during the Scramble match, and set the actual match for No Mercy, where "an eye for an eye" would really mean something. Regardless of the PPV where Michaels-Jericho takes place, I still dread a dumbing down of Jericho's character after the feud runs its course. The Michaels-Jericho promo had the tiny flaw of already assuming a match was set, but I let it go for Shawn's and Chris's performances. Shawn trying to temper his full spectrum of emotions was outstanding to watch, with Jericho's steel-cold demeanor being the perfect compliment. "Charlito"-Primo could have been a fun match had it not been so crapped on by the crowd. Rhodes/DiBiase vs. Lawler/Duggan should have happened when the original exchange occured. It just felt like "oh, crap, we forgot they were feuding." Someone should have done some research and have Cryme Tyme cash in a title shot they had earned some time ago but never used; maybe I'm the only geek that remembers. Kane-Batista was just plain bad; enough said there.

Alex Roberts in the UK (6.0): Best Match: Michaels-Jericho Segment, Worst Match: Simply Prices vs. Lawler & Duggan. I really don't understand how the WWE continues to book such weirdly disjointed shows. How can some aspects of the show be so consistently brilliant and other aspects be completely terrible? It's almost as if there are two completely different booking teams writing Raw every week, one of them great the other completely clueless. The clueless team were once again given the task of booking C.M. Punk, granted his match with JBL was at least enjoyable this time around but when a Champion winning is followed with lines like "Punk survives again" and "Bradshaw beat Bradshaw tonight' there are serious problems with your booking. What Punk needs more than anything else right now is a convincing victory over a major star as part of a heated feud people care about, by my count Punk has had one decent feud during his entire WWE career, against John Morrison on ECW and that's hardly an ideal position for your World Champion to be in and unfortunately the height of lazy booking that is the Championship Scramble isn't going to change that. Seriously these scramble matches are inane TNA-like booking, using a gimmick to prop up a complete lack of compelling stories or characters and hoping no one will notice. The decision to add Rey Mysterio to the Championship Scramble match was unavoidable all things considered but defies all kind of logic. The WWE needs to pull something out of the hat next week to make sense of this Kane-Mysterio angle but God knows what that might be. The clueless team were also seemingly in charge of Batista, who wins the award for the most awkward promo transition ever with his ‘Cena's a great guy' into "I hate Kane" speech. That was just odd and the finish to Raw this week was so supremely anti-climactic and pointless it's hard to put into words. I would hope that Cena's injury forced them to change plans relatively last minute but I wouldn't put money on that. Thankfully the talented creative team showed up for week this week as well, the Michaels-Jericho feud continued to progress brilliantly, Michaels brought his A-Game last night and it was wonderful. The talented also showed up for the Tag Titles angle, personally I can't stand Cryme Time (they just don't do it for me) but I'm willing to over look that and praise the WWE for finally booking an actual Tag Titles feud involving two full-time tag teams and putting it on PPV. More of this please WWE. But less of Jerry Lawler and Hacksaw wrestling on Raw. In fact, I would be happy if I never saw either man wrestle again. The Santino/Phoenix stuff remains interesting but its hard to know where this really goes or where this really leads for Kofi Kingston, presumably a PPV match with Santino is in his future but can he afford to lose again? I'm not convinced. On one final note does nobody else find it odd that Carlito makes up the sole reason for Primo Colon's push but isn't regarded highly enough to actually make it on television himself? Am I missing something here? Is he injured or is this whole thing just some kind of elaborate punishment devised by the McMahon's?

Shane Bennett of Frankfort, Ky. - Legislative Assistant (5.5): Best Match: Punk vs. JBL Worst Match: Champions continue to be wasted. I am really going to try to work on my formatting this week. I think I get so riled up that I lose sight of my goal. Not this week, I have notes! C.M. Punk vs. JBL was a good match. Couple of questions though. Why was this match the show opener? Where was JBL's intensity from last week? And why were there no advertisements for this PPV rematch to happen on free TV? Is this not the main event? I am glad Punk won again, but JBL is not looking worthy of being in the championship scramble. If they insisted on giving away Punk-JBL again, they could at least have had them wrestle for a prize spot in the scramble. They announced that a wrestler will enter every 5 minutes I think, so why couldn't they have fought for the last entry or something? Same with Kane and Batista... By the way, Michael Cole, I have never heard Punk mention that he is part of the "New School." I think Punk has proven he is a loner and relies on himself and no one else. Where do you get your facts? Awww, poor Cena is hurt. So, Super Cena was able to pin the World Tag Team Champions with a herniated disc in his neck? Wow, the credibility just flies out the window for the tag champs. And speaking of the tag champs, why can't they get a feud that is worth something? Cryme Time is terrible on the mic. Jesus, both guys stumbled and fell on dead ears. You'll never guess who's not terrible on the mic…(drum roll) Jericho and HBK continue to be compelling TV. We all can't get enough of this slow building epic feud. Looks like we got Rey Mysterio to take Super Cena's place in the Breakfast Scramble at Unforgiven. So, Rey isn't dead? He isn't broken? His spirit isn't tortured? Guess the writer's decided to punt, don't blame them, this storyline is Katie Vick bad. Kane has the worst storylines in wrestling history. Note to WWE staff, parody can be funny, Charlie Haas can't be. As Mr. ECW on this website, I have to wonder why they can't use J.R. or Tazz to do interviews on Raw and leave my boy Todd Grisham alone. He is too good for the "A" show. He and Striker rule the announcing world. Vince gave Kane and Batista 15 minutes on Raw and gave the Intercontinental Championship match 2? No! Even in fast-forward, this match moved slowly. Ugh. There was no heat or excitement that was built toward the end of the match. The copyright icon just kind of popped up there. Didn't feel like the exciting end to a show. I don't care if everyone is injured, none of them really deserve to be in the main event at Unforgiven. Kane has lost to everyone, JBL has lost to Punk three times in the last two months, Batista lost to Punk, but I guess he won the "pretty" match with Cena. Mysterio hasn't done anything for like two years. He only seems motivated when he is fighting for the custody of his kid! He he. Jericho should be in. Kofi or Santino should be in. Batista can stay, since he is so over. The other guys are boring. Punk needs a great heel to have that "Star Maker" feud. Overall, blah show with blah storylines and matches that have two minutes to tell a story. Tonight is my night, you can bet your asses, I will have a good night with my boys on ECW! ECW!

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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MORE "Torch Feedback" ARTICLES
ECW on Sci-Fi Reax #1: "I was waiting for someone to take a shot at Swagger's lisp, but Ricky Ortiz?"
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