-- 10/26 WWE Raw Reax

Simon Rowley of London, England (7.0): Finally, a noteworthy episode of Raw with actual storyline progression – a rare treat! For once, the show didn’t drag at all, and in fact, the two hours absolutely flew by. The booking of Cena-Triple H-Michaels may not enthrall some (especially as the former two have met many times in the recent past), but the "dissension in the DX ranks" storyline should be intriguing, and will hopefully lead to the eventual DX split sooner rather than later. This was a breakout night for Kofi Kingston, who gained the upper hand on Jericho, Orton, and Big Show. The Orton segment was killer, even though "keying the car" was mildly petty in comparison to Steve Austin's vehicular antics ten years ago. Hopefully this will result in the genuine rise of Kingston, rather than a mini-program with Orton to kill time before Survivor Series. The NASCAR hosts appropriately provided car crash TV, and on any other week, they would've threatened to destroy the show completely. However, this week’s offering was so strong that it really didn’t matter. The Osbournes should be interesting next week, but I really don't know what to expect; which is probably a good thing. Miz-Swagger feels like a heel-heel feud, and if booked that way, could make for some entertaining TV. I'm not a big fan of either, but they looked in their element with each other tonight.

Justin James of Columbia, S.C., IT professional/author (?): I can't 100 percent judge this episode of Raw; due to DVR malfunction, the last thing I saw was Kofi Kingston staring straight down at his feet. That being said, I thought the guest hosts were refreshingly genuine. They stumbled on their words, tripped up, and it felt real, not scripted. I liked it. The opening sequence with Big Show and Jericho was good. I liked the continued tease of dissention. That being said, Smackdown's title situation has me fairly annoyed. It's been what...four months since anyone has actually had to qualify for a title match? Ditto for Raw. ECW is the only WWE show right now that actually feels like a real "sport" at the moment. Kofi Kingston got more talk time in one night than his entire U.S. Champion reign put together. Nice to see him treated like a main event star, moving into a program with Randy Orton for reasons that actually make sense. I'm so hot for the DiBiase turn right now; when they led Orton to the side to show him the car, I thought they were going to jump him. I really liked the Cena-Legacy exchange, other than Cena’s funny faces. It wasn’t that he buried them; it's that it made perfect sense. Why *should* they get a title shot just for challenging his manhood? Why *shouldn’t* they wait in line like Swagger, Miz, Kingston, Bourne, etc. are? Whoever decided to move Sheamus to Raw was a fool. Sheamus has been a real treat on ECW. Even worse, they built up an AWESOME program with Shelton Benjamin, the audience has been dying to see it build for a month or so more and then the blow off. Instead, the rug is yanked out, and the talented Sheamus gets to be back benched on Raw like Swagger and Bourne. How about this, WWE? Don't move anyone else to Raw until Swagger and Bourne are properly used. Until Raw learns to use the talent they already have, they don't need anymore. I fear a Sheamus/Hornswoggle connection. Maybe Raw wouldn’t need Sheamus if they didn’t ruin Chris Masters by not allowing him to beat anyone other than Santino, and putting him in too many comedy matches. Or maybe Masters is about to get released and Sheamus will replace him as the large mid-card heel. I would love to see a Sheamus/Swagger team, especially if it were to take on, say, Bourne/Primo, MVP/Henry, or even Legacy.

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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