2/2 WWE Raw TV Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: HBK-JBL exchange; Rey/Kofi vs. Kane/Knox. Worst: Punk/Mickie vs. Regal/Layla. Nice recovery from last week's debacle. The mixed tag was a trainwreck with an ugly back bump to the outside by Punk to boot. Legacy vs. Cryme
Tyme had a lame finish, though it did lead to a heat-seeking beatdown. Why is the build continuing for the Rourke-Jericho face-off if rumors say Rourke won't be appearing? Snuka and Piper are well beyond their ability to go, and Flair will likely honor his retirement. Candice
looked better after her most recent hiatus compared to her first return. There was a tiny bit of losing track, but when was the last time she was on TV? Undertaker responds to "a phone call" from Kane. My, how we've forgotten the gimmick there. Kane went from heel to face in less than two hours, but his entry into Elimination Chamber has a solid reason. I'm still trying to rack my brain how a rumored Michaels-Taker feud will come from this considering what each will be doing at No Way Out. Anyone who's ever worked for a cutthroat boss and/or anyone who's ever been in any sort of abusive relationship will understand the HBK-JBL story at it unfolded tonight. Bosses and abusive partners will throw the abused and victimized under the bus. Even when called out, they will twist whatever is necessary to put blame outside of themselves for their actions. I get the feeling there is something else intangible stacking the deck in the HBK-JBL match, because the layout of the stipulations seemed too easy. It may be a shift of employees to turn the corner on the HBK-JBL feud, which in turn gives JBL a start on a new Cabinet. We'll see. And a shift back to the crowd gathering behind Shawn was a nice follow-up last week, which shows the crowd continues to "get it." As for Randy Orton, there was a sensible explanation for Legacy's lack of action with Shane last week. Do I like it? No, but at least there is an explanation. Like with JBL, Orton is showing little to no malice in his actions and knows he's in current control of the situation. But what has to be the most curiously cool aspect of Randy Orton tonight was one little moment: him quieting down an "RKO" chant by simply shaking his head. No cheap verbal response to get the crowd to keep him heel; just a simple "no" head shake. Now that is what I call being over.

Cedric "Cid" Ethier (Government office), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (7.0): Best: Legacy attacking Shane and Stephanie. Worst: Randy's explanation for Shane's attack last week. In my opinion, the Torch and all the other websites must have influenced Raw last night because I think Randy's explanation was weak. They obviously felt the need to explain what happened with last's week's Shane-o-Mac attack so Randy said in other words that he was "pretending" to get beat up by Shane. I would have just stuck with the original plan of "Shane provoked me" and now I want him at No Way Out. It seems to me that they used everyone's ideas on Raw; they made the show-opening attack look more "real" by having Shane use a weapon, which was mentioned on this site. The explanation from Orton seems to be a mix of "what ifs" from readers of this site. In my opinion, Orton looked like a little boy that was caught in a lie: "go look at the footage, man. Sure Ted and Cody were scuffling with ya but..." C'mon, Randy! Another huge backtrack was Jericho and his "Mickey Rourke won't wrestle me" promo. So now we are supposed to believe that Flair is a poor broken-down retired wrestler who works in school gyms just to make ends meet? He should go work for JBL! I guess I'm happy to hear that Flair will be at Mania, but what a lame way to bring him in. The Legacy attacking the McMahons was good. The matches on Raw were okay. I liked the team of Knox and Kane, the Cena-Jericho match was good, and I can't wait for Taker vs. Orton next week. So yeah, this week's show should have been called "WWE: Let Me Explain" instead of "Raw." Peace out Torch-lovers!

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE 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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