-- 3/1 WWE Raw Reax

Bryan Lynch of Denver, Colo. (2.0): Best Match: DX vs. Big Show/Miz (by default). Worst Match: Divas pillow fight. Wow, I thought this was a really, really bad show to attempt to pave the road to WrestleMania. There was almost no wrestling at all. I don't understand the positive feedback for the Batista and Cena exchange. Their delivery was fine, but the lines that were scripted for them were all over the place and made no sense. What I got from this was that fans are supposed to cheer Cena because he's the better company man. Huh? Why would people cheer someone for that reason? Batista's jealousy of Cena almost makes sense, except the guy who runs the company he's angry with essentially just gave him the World Title. That's the problem with having a heel authority figure like Vince McMahon; it really makes things confusing. Cena is the face of a babyface WWE, yet Batista is in bed with Vince McMahon, the heel owner of same WWE? I don't get it. Nice showing from Gail Kim in that Divas pillow fight. That must have been one of those "big things" people said she was destined for when she left TNA. I have no idea where Orton vs. Legacy is going and at this point; they've done such a poor job with it that I don't care at this point. The Triple H-Sheamus set up was okay, but Undertaker-HBK was really weak. It was a good way to further Shawn's character heading into WrestleMania, but they could have done more than just have Undertaker's head appear on the Titantron. A really weak show overall.

Nicholas Sutton of Edmonton, Alb. (5.0): Best Segment: Batista-John Cena. Worst Segment: Cheech and Chong. The rating is for the lack of wrestling and some really dull comedy/wasted time. I mainly want to touch on how disappointed I am with the handling of Bret Hart. The Bret-Vince angle produced some truly compelling television up until that fateful "accident." I had goosebumps every time the Hitman was on WWE TV. Now, I'm just disinterested and I truly hope that they can improve on it. It just baffles me that they've seemingly made up their minds that the breaking of Hart's leg was just some big accident and not part of Vince McMahon's scheme. At least, that's how it's being played up now. We'll see how it plays out in the weeks to come. I otherwise thought Bret showed some really great energy and passion in the segment tonight (in spite of some iffy selling on the leg injury), and it goes without saying that Vince is good in his role, but the writing is just awful right now and it's making Bret look silly. I love seeing Bret on TV again, but I wish this angle reflected what was so great about Bret in the first place and made an attempt to create new stars because Cena and Batista surely don't need the rub.

David Bryant of Asheboro N.C., show producer/entertainer (7.0): Best Segment: Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart Promo. Worst Segment: Batista vs. John Cena promo. Overall, this episode of Raw was enjoyable. It wasn't the best Raw, nor was it the worst. It was slightly better than Impact this week, which is odd because I usually enjoy Impact more than Raw. The one thing that pulled Raw down for me was what I thought was a horrible Batista vs. John Cena promo. It's not the wrestlers's fault in this case; it is the writers's fault. "I just don't like Cena" is the reason for Batista beating Cena down with a chair and wanting to wrestle him in the main event at Mania? What stupid, childish, overly-simplistic booking. I'm not a 12-year-old. If I wanted to see that kind of story I could just go watch a boxing match. Boxing is real life. Wrestling is a TV show. I like wrestling because I enjoy having a story to go along with my matches. The story is a big part of the draw for me. I'd like to see real emotion, drama, plot twists, and entertainment that all leads up to a fantastic wrestling match where I now feel emotionally invested in how the climax of that story (told to me via the wrestling match) will turn out. Trying to be "straight laced" and "I just want to beat you cause I hate you" doesn't cut it for me. On the other hand, you can look at the Bret vs. McMahon promo to see exactly why I love wrestling. That promo was genius. When McMahon, in all his caricature glory, told Brent "I lied! I lied!" man I just wanted Bret to hit him! There was a story there and it made what I was watching feel special. Obviously, they have the built-in story of the Montreal Screwjob, but that alone isn't what excites me about Bret vs. Vince. What excites me is the combination of that screwjob with other storytelling elements such as Bret's broken leg, Vince being goaded by Cena, Stu Hart not getting in the Hall of Fame, and of course Vince McMahon lying once again.

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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