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Brandon Brown of Washington, D.C. - Federal Government employee (8.0): Best: DX vs. Jerishow. Worst: Chavo and Hornswoggle? This was a really well done show, in both promos and matches. Big Ben as guest host was amazing, and he wasn't shoved down our throats like other hosts were. John Cena and Randy Orton cut a great promo to build for "Bragging Rights." The Ironman match will be great if Cena loses. He could go to Smackdown and have new feuds, and Randy Orton won't get shoved out of the title picture... and we surely won't see Cena vs. Orton XXXVI. The divas and the Diva Bowl was... cute. I'm damn tired of the diva tag matches, though. Jericho and Big Show is a great aspect of Raw, as they always know how to work with the guest hosts. It would be pretty awesome to see DX vs. Jerishow have a storyline. Then again... Not so much. Kofi Kingston had a great title reign, and it was long. I'm so happy for Miz and I hope he'll have one worth remembering. Their match last night was a four star match, though. I'm glad we saw a balance between wrestling and promos tonight, and I'm glad we had a better guest host. I just wish we saw Ted DiBiase backstage or something, mentioning HIAC on Raw. Great Raw, this is the stuff we should see more often, not once in a blue moon.

Michael Panikowski: Best Match: Kingston vs. Miz. Worst Match: Swagger vs. Colon.
Synopsis: This Raw did absolutely nothing to interest me in an Iron Man match between Cena and Orton. We had the opening Divas Bowl, which was a waste because we never knew what the stipulations were. We had Swagger vs. Primo for no apparent reason. The Chavo/Masters/Hornswaggle/Mizark nonsense which was exactly that. Kofi vs. Miz was a well-executed match which built up the potential for a meaningful feud for a midcard title. Miz has a certain panache and Kofi is over with the crowds. Their styles seem to be compatible as well, as both are athletic. I thought Roethlisberger did a really good job in his role, both on the mic and as a protagonist in general (I'm not a Steelers fan, by the way). However, DX continues to be a detriment to the show overall. Triple H did his best to try to bury the best heel on the show in Jericho with his promo and the feel-good ending would have been better served on a house show. Michaels was good, but he is so so so much better on his own, either as a face or a heel, and he needs to drop the DX garbage as soon as possible. Even with the thinned rosters that have been talked about recently, there are enough options with the main event players that would make the product interesting again. I'll take anything at this point. Michaels superkicking Triple H. Legacy turning on Orton. Hell, even the McMahons mixing things up a bit. This Raw was on autopilot.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (6.0): Best: Kofi vs. Miz; DX-JeriShow-Big Ben Exchange Worst: Diva Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger (my spelling is probably as bad as Santino's mispronunciations) made tonight a fun Raw. But it was far from being a good Raw. The Diva Bowl was a complete disaster. There seemed to be no thought as to what kind of match it was supposed to be before settling on a short anonymous multi-chick tag match. It has been some time since the last long-distance match, so there was the big deal feel about that. But are fans going to have the patience to sit through a 60-minute match when fans are starting to get antsy for action after just 60 seconds? Adding "anything goes" to the mix may help familiarity breeding too much contempt, but takes away the specialness of it being the ultimate one-on-one match. Last time Orton tried to stip stack the deck against his opponent (banning Sweet Chin Music) the deck got restacked to even (DQ= title loss). I smell both a restack next week (either leaves Raw if he loses) and a booking disaster with the Cena-Orton Ironman. With Swagger apparently out of the U.S. Title picture, the goal of staying undefeated until 2010 will do, I suppose. Poor Swagger, seriously. I hope this means better things for him when he comes out the other end of this downturn. Miz, meanwhile, got the benefit of yet another telegraphed "last chance/win or else" stip. But I can forgive that after seeing the mighty fine match Kofi and Miz put on. There wasn't a very strong "Miz is awful" chant during the match (like the lack of "Mr. Ziggles") which is a very good sign. The verbal exchange between "Jeri-Show" and DX was nicely done. But Chris, my man, you do wear pads... look down at your knees and shins during a match. Yes, it's a nitpick visual observation but it made Jericho look and sound stupid. The DX-JeriShow match was good, but two nights in a row I am left with a very sour taste lingering in my belly left there by Triple H. He made himself look bad at the PPV (one of my mark friends thought he was taking a nap in the back during that long MIA pause). He further made himself look bad on Raw by not being more urgent about stepping in the ring more to show empathy for his wounded partner. Just like with the loss at Breaking Point, Cole talks the win at HIAC as if DX fully did both as a team. Thank you, Lawler, for clarifying who did most of the work for the green and black for the win and the tap out for the loss. Fans are noticing the difference and responding in kind with the presence of "HBK" and fair lack of "Triple H" chants. Thought about it when Shawn returned, and I'm thinking about it again: Shawn needs to turn on Triple H. The funny thing is, he wouldn't be the heel in doing it.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Smackdown 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.

[Miz art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]

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