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WWE Raw Reax #1: "Shane being out of the picture means the countdown to Triple H's heroic return is on..."
May 4, 2009 - 11:28:17 PM


5/4 WWE Raw Reax

Jon Gargis of Cartersville, Ga. (7.0): Best match: Shane vs. Orton and Legacy. Worst match: Carlito vs. The Brian Kendrick. Orton and Legacy got some much-needed heat during tonight's main event, even though Rhodes and DiBiase weren't dominant in their respective paths to the match. Does anyone really want to see what the Rhodes-MVP match ultimately teased - an MVP feud with William Regal? Batista getting DQ'ed made sense for his character, and if he feuds with Triple H down the road, his anger would make him a good heel to Triple H. (We've already seen them face-off against each other in opposite roles.) Maybe I need to study anatomy more, but why is Orton's "punt" a dangerous move while Kofi Kingston's Trouble in Paradise - also a kick to the head - is just a routine move? I guess not all kicks to the head are created equal. I've always thought that MVP had potential, and in the last few weeks, the company has seemingly gotten behind him. I think it will pay off in the long-run if they push him as a future World Champion. Carlito-Kendrick was a bad match as Kendrick, just like other draftees, should at least be presented as a formidable opponent to make the draft moves seem important, not to mention that he was in a WWE Championship match less than a year ago. Even though Santino didn't bring his "sister" to Raw, he still brought the funny tonight. Line of the night goes to Jerry "The King" Lawler with Mickie James entering the ring: "Wouldn't you love to share a footlong Subway [sandwich] with her?" Tacky, tasteless, you name it, but give me Sexist Jerry over Bland Jerry any day.

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (3.5): I was ready to say that I actually quite enjoyed this week's Raw until the main event and finish of the show, which left such a bad taste that it wiped everything else away. Is everyone backstage at the WWE so out of touch and/or scared of Vince McMahon that they can't see or vocalize the damage that the McMahon family is causing the company as a whole? On what planet was it deemed a good idea for Shane McMahon to continually punk the WWE Champion? When did it become a good place of action for Shane McMahon to continually get the better of three men? And who on earth thought that these three men should only be able to put McMahon down because he made a mistake and missed an elbow drop he would have missed by a mile even if Orton hadn't moved? Matters were only made worse by the terrible execution of the ankle-break beat down, which is not only completely out of character for Orton but was done so poorly that it was painfully obvious neither the chair or steps connected with Shane's ankle. The terrible sell job by McMahon only made matters worse. I become even more frustrated with this horrific booking when I consider the bigger picture view. How inept will Batista look when he can't beat Randy Orton with ease or gets beaten down by Legacy now that Shane McMahon has performed so well against them? How ridiculous does MVP look for holding his own against Randy Orton last week when Shane McMahon punked Orton out repeatedly tonight? How is the McMahon family justifying this line of booking to themselves? How did they not connecting the freefalling ratings heading into WrestleMania with this angle? And how are they not connecting the still falling ratings with this angle? How are they not seeing that everything they've done to Orton since after The Royal Rumble has done nothing but damage him? The continued running wild of the McMahon egos has once again zapped my enthusiasm for Raw. Like I said, it was shaping up to be really good Raw. The Santino segment was excellent. The Miz segment was excellent. The Big Show beat down on Cena was excellent. The backstage interaction between Chavo and Vickie was incredibly intriguing. Even the awkward set up for MVP-Regal wasn't bad and they managed to make Smackdown look like a worthwhile, meaningful, and entertaining show for the first time in months with that recap video. But then the McMahon's came along and left me feeling frustrated and fed up once again. I'm tired of it, but the depressing thing is that Shane being out of the picture means the count down to Triple H's heroic return is now on. Then, we'll have to go through all of this again in a few months.

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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MORE "Torch Feedback" ARTICLES
ECW TV Reax #1: "C.M. Punk scoring the pin in the main event made Smackdown seem more important than ECW"
WWE Raw Reax #3: "While WWE delivered an above-quality show, they still haven't given viewers a reason to order Survivor Series"
WWE Raw Reax #2: "This was NOT one of the best Raws of 2009, but one of the worst..."
WWE Raw Reax #1: "This was the best Raw in years and had a ton of great, emotional moments"
TNA Turning Point Reax #2: "I'm a college student who works hard for every dollar and it came down to Turning Point vs. Survivor Series..."
TNA Turning Point Reax #1: "It has been many years since I've seen someone actually wrestle on par with Kurt Angle"
WWE on Food Network and DGUSA PPV Reax: Evaluation of Santino & Miz, Davey Richards & Bryan Danielson on PPV
ECW TV Reax #1: "Where does Christian go from here? With Regal as champ, ECW would have received a good shake-up"
WWE Raw Reax #2: "Only a few short weeks after having Rev. Al on Raw as guest host, WWE is back to racially-insensitive storylines"
WWE Raw Reax #1: "DX playing buddy-buddy until the final Raw before Survivor Series is not going to entice viewers to buy the PPV"
WWE PPV Price Increase Reax #2: "I spent more money on Vince every year than anything else and he does not even care about me or the people like me!"
WWE PPV Price Increase Reax #1: Outrage expressed over WWE's latest PPV price raise - could the backlash cause WWE to second-guess decision?
TNA Impact Reax #3: "The build for the PPV matches somehow featured Hulk Hogan despite him yet to show up on TV"
TNA Impact Reax #2: "I'm tired of non-stop talking. This isn't a Broadway play; it's professional wrestling and the best stories are told in the ring"
Thursday Night TV Reax #1: "I feel anything TNA does right is inevitably drowned out by what they fail at"
ECW TV Reax #1: "William Regal has stepped up big time since coming to ECW and he deserves a World Title run"
WWE Raw Reax #2: "The major flaw of this show was the real lack of hype for Survivor Series"
WWE Raw Reax #1: "The main event commentary was hilarious with Triple H and HBK making fun of Vince, but DX has run its course..."
WWE Smackdown Reax #1: "Batista plays the perfect bully and Rey plays the perfect hero; this is a chance to make Batista the lead heel on Smackdown"
TNA Impact Reax #2: "Hogan, as great as he was, is 15 years beyond his prime and he signed with a company touting their so-called youth movement"

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Articles Grouped by Category
Torch Today
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WWE RAW 11/2: "Place your Bets" Scoreboard after Week 11 - Review the previous scores before tonight's Raw PYB contest
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10/25 WWE Bragging Rights Results: KELLER'S detailed match-by-match PPV report - Cena vs. Orton Iron Man match
TV Reports
PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/20: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Jericho & Show vs. Undertaker & Kane
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