-- 3/8 WWE Raw Reax

Aaron of Keizer, Ore. (7.5): Best: Seeing Taker's entrance live and no Bret Hart. Worst: Missing Stone Cold as our guest host by one week and no Bret Hart. I saw the show live and had a great time. Other then the former wrestlers I've never been a fan of, the Guest Host concept serves as a great time to go to the bathroom or grab a snack/beer. From what I did see, Criss Angel was okay, but Caldwell nailed it on the head when he said that we (Portland) must have felt disappointed that we missed Stone Cold as our guest host by one week. Oh well. As for the show, it was nice to see some younger stars/mid-carders get main event rub however nonsensical the match format was. On the other hand, I think everyone knows that Henry and Kozlov will never be over and McIntyre might be headed down that road too. Am I the only one that felt the gauntlet could have been a perfect opportunity for an MVP heel turn? Kofi's involvement was somewhat random and he was quickly dispatched of. It appears WWE has cooled on his push and I can't really blame them after his string of botched spots in recent matches. Speaking of pushes, it appears all those jobs Bourne has done are starting to pay off and the Air Bourne is a thing of beauty to see live. Looking at the MITB line-up, it doesn't necessarily get me excited and seems pretty predictable - I'll bet my next paycheck that Christian wins. A question for WWE, why don't all eight of the superstars have their NXT rookie with them at all times? Some do and some don't and I find it a little confusing. Sheffield telling Regal that he owed him a Travis Tritt CD was pretty funny and got a pretty good laugh from the crowd. WWE got that pairing right. I was both disappointed and relieved that Bret Hart wasn't involved tonight. Hart has always been one of my favorites and I would have loved to have seen him live, but the Hart-McMahon angle hasn't been presented very well up to this point and a break between their confrontation last week and the signing of their match next week is probably best for the angle. Miz has put himself in the category of Jericho and Punk when it comes to cutting a heel promo and got a good amount of heat. R-Truth was way over in Portland. He easily got the biggest pop of any mid-carder and his was right up there with Cena's and Taker's. His gimmick doesn't scream "Main Event" and I find the "What's up?" chant insufferable, but he's a natural face, he's comfortable on the mic, and he is more then serviceable in the ring. ... Legacy came out to very little reaction and Rhodes had to cut a promo on Portland during the commercial break to generate some cheap heat, but having them stand tall over Orton and mock his pose after the handicap match was a great way to build heat. I really can't buy RKO as a face yet. It's funny that WWE wants us to boo a guy that says don't drink or do drugs, but cheer a guy who was presented as one of the most diabolical heels of all time last year. Meanwhile, Michaels-Taker continues to progress nicely, but I sensed the crowd was getting a little restless by the end of the segment. WWE might be best served to give the angle a little rest next week, but still good stuff by both. Finally, Taker's entrance/routine is a pretty tired act to watch on TV after 20+ years, but watching it in person was an awesome experience that every wrestling fan should see.

-- 3/8 Raw & Impact Reax

John White of Houlton, Maine: I found myself watching more of TNA than WWE on Monday night. In the long run, they'll find themselves hard-pressed to come up with things to keep me tuned in, but in the short-term, I was more interested in the RVD debut, Sting, etc. Raw was good as well, even without Bret Hart's involvement. The main event of both shows was pretty predictable, with Hogan and Flair trying to get as much face time as possible. How bad do those two look in-ring? They bled, and bled some more, to try to mask just how slow and unbelievable they are trying to work a match.

-- 3/8 TNA Impact Reax

Jason Walker of Brookhaven, Miss., Retail Manager (4.0): Best: Sting turn/Hall's mic work. Worst: Knockouts tag match only lasting three minutes. I really believe TNA brought it this week and I found myself only switching to Raw during the commercial breaks. It was great to open with the main event tag. As old as Flair and Hogan are, I still wanted to see it. Even though I could see the Sting turn as soon as he stepped in, I thought it was great. I thought the RVD debut was awesome to see and the subsequent beat down was a great lead-in to a feud with these two. Thank goodness the X Division is back? Let's keep our fingers crossed. Those guys worked really hard in their ten minutes. Does Shannon Moore really deserve a shot, though? Not yet, let him work his way up please. What's this guy ever done? I thought the Nash/Young and The Band segment was money. That's the best mic work I have seen from Hall since he first came to WCW in '96. The Young-Waltman fight was well done with Young getting a good push. Angle-Anderson was good, but save it for a pay-per-view. Too much, but I know they were going for ratings. The Knockout tag was way too short. But the Beautiful People are way over. Great move to put the belts on them. Daffney just has a great look. Good way to get her involved. More POPE! This guy is gold! Thank you WWE for letting him go and not ruining his career. The main event was good. Flair bleeds like no other. Overall, I enjoyed the first battle of the Monday Night Wars Round 2. Raw really needs to step it up.

Adam Riemer, Torch reader (5.0): Best: Kaz's promo on the X Division. Worst: Hogan in the ring/the feel of WCW. This was an average episode of Impact at best. I am not a WCW-hater at all - I liked WCW back in the day - but when you have this huge talent acquisition in RVD and then he gets destroyed by Sting, how is that different from his treatment in WWE again? Speaking of RVD – it's hard to say "we don't know who Sting's opponent is" and then have Taz say something about 4:20, and then he tries to sell shock that RVD is here? Stupid. Sting vs. RVD could be very cool; let's hope RVD gets some steam back next week. Also, who in the world cares about Nash vs. Hall again? This would be like WWE putting Kane vs. The Undertaker on TV for the millionth time. Nash-Hall had their program about ten years ago when the Black and White feuded with the Wolfpack. The worst of the night was Hogan in the ring. Goodness, this was horrible. His promo was a mess, and Abyss just doesn't look right being the guy next to him getting the rub. It should be Angle in the ring with Hogan playing up his top babyface status. Sting's turn was predictable when he took so long to react, but now it seems like Sting is contradicting everything he said when he was in the Main Event Mafia preaching respect. Eh, but that is TNA basically pretending that there is no past before Hogan's arrival. The best part of the night for me was Kaz's promo on the X Division. Sure, Kaz hasn't been around in a while (remember Suicide didn't exist after Hogan came in), but his promo was great. The X Division was the reason I got into TNA; I really hope they let the guys have fun with it. Doug Williams's finisher is awesome by the way. Lastly, Jeff Hardy is back, but for how long? There is so much potential with RVD, Hardy, and Styles that I just hope TNA and Team Hogan don't just focus on themselves.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on these shows for a "TV 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 and Impact, click here.

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