5/4 WWE Raw Reax

Brodi VonHenry of New York, N.Y. (2.5): Best: The Win & In matches (MVP vs. Rhodes, Batista vs. DiBiase). Worst: *gasp* more Shane. I came into this Raw (like I did last week) with high hopes of no Triple H and no Cena. While that was mostly okay, the show once again fell flat. I guess I watch Raw out of habit for how good it used to be. Week after week, it sucks worse and worse. Minus Orton, the top tier here is so bad and so stale, that I just can't take it anymore...and that is without Triple H, and we know it will get worse when he returns. And with Shane in the mix and all over the board, it is hard to care about or buy into anything with Legacy. Yes they are ruthless, but Shane ups them better than MVP or Batista can? Huh? Batista needs a heel turn and thankfully that is coming. To slide MVP into a feud with Regal has potential, and I hope he is biding time and will be built up for a future World Title run. Santino bounced back after a horrible skit last week. Carlito is boring without three other men in the ring, or a mic in his hand. The Vickie and Chavo tension has potential, even though Vickie has to work on her acting, but Chavo carried her as he usually does. Show vs. Cena, well yeah, I get it, but I'm sorry, I just don't care. Hardy is selling the injury well, but some further advancement is needed, and fast. Raw is quickly becoming the #3 show behind Smackdown and ECW. I mean, SD has more interesting top tier talent in Jericho, Edge, Jeff Hardy, and Undertaker. ECW has the top new talent in Bourne, Swagger, and (to some extent) Christian. Raw needs more Miz and more MVP (and NO Shane), but sadly that will not happen.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (5.0): Best: Miz promo (until the burial). Worst: predictability and amnesia. Like most weeks, the effort by wrestlers was there. This keeps my score from being less than 5.0. There were even some fun moments, which hurts me wondering why the show blew chunks on the important stuff. Right out of the gate, Randy is chumped for expecting Shane to come from the entrance when every other time Shane has come at him from behind. Just when I thought there was some upward mobility for MVP, it looks like he was shot down. The minute I saw Regal on commentary, I knew where the MVP-Cody match was headed. A lame leg trip was all Regal needed to get MVP counted out? You're kidding me, right? At least Batista's DQ for not answering the ref count made better sense. For the record, Regal does have a point about the opening montage, but he's not disappointed that he and Layla were split up in the draft? And while we're on the amnesia thing, the Bellas have forgotten about Carlito & Primo and moved on to MVP without batting an eyelash. The Colons seem nonplussed about it, too. And the twins themselves forgot about their little tiff. Matt Hardy is on a collision course with Cowboy Bob Orton, just you wait and see. Miz gives another great promo that's a near face-turner, but I can't forgive WWE then ignoring him. How could Miz not know that if he got what he wanted that Show would come with the package deal? Then Show stops short of taking out Cena; no punch. The match build is over-the-top unbelievable and not in a good way. ... Most women wouldn't want to see guys getting hurt, but this chick is disappointed that Shane was beaten up enough. I guess they didn't want to repeat what was already done (which, by the way, was undersold through the storyline). A broken leg? Sorry, but that's not enough time out for Orton to capitalize on. If you're going to use the steps, as Michael Kors would put it, "Make it work." I would have had Randy do a top rope DDT to the steps in mid-ring and pin Shane. Then Rhodes and DiBiase break his leg afterward to capitalize for a full heat effect. It would have been a clear win, like when Randy took out Triple H and HBK in the past, and not this puddle of mud called a No Contest. Was it even a no contest ruling? Why won't WWE let Randy have a full set?

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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