-- 3/8 WWE Raw Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev.: Best: Michaels vs. Jericho. Worst: Kelly vs. Maryse. I didn't once switch over to TNA throughout the whole show. If I switched at all, it was for Mystery Diagnosis during the breaks. It's far from perfect, but WWE is well focused on WrestleMania. The three WrestleMania Rewind matches were at least decent (though hasn't Cena faced Big Show each time they've done these shows?). Sheamus stepped up in a big way (at the unfortunate expense of Bourne) to state his case with Triple H. I wish they would focus more on the title match that set off the feud than the MSG storyline they're using. Orton is being better received as a face now. This slow-burning turn, evidenced by the "hate, but respect Hunter" comment, has done plenty to get Randy over. I'm reading in multiple places that there was disappointment in Austin's appearance. Okay, so he didn't Stun Vince (who does deserve one), but a Stunner here would have taken away from the reveal that Bret had put one over on Vince with the leg injury. There is still this ever-present thin tie that binds Vince-Bret to Batista-Cena that I still think will carry through to WrestleMania. Shawn did bring up Undertaker's Smackdown squashing. Thank goodness those who were buried in the process remained nameless, at least on Raw. Shawn asked Austin what he thought of Michaels-Taker. The answer did come across honest (beat Taker, yes; at WrestleMania, no). Why wasn't more of this happening? This was a major point of a recent Michaels promo leading to Triple H giving the pep talk. Finally, did anyone see Stu Hart's backdoor entrance to the Hall Of Fame as a diss? I did.

-- 3/8 Raw & Impact Reax

Efren Bojorquez of Mesa, Ariz. (Impact 2.0 & Raw 8.5): Best Impact: Jeff Hardy vs. A.J. Styles. Worst Impact: Scott Hall-Kevin Nash. Best Raw: Steve Austin Opening. Worst Raw: No Stone Cold Stunner. Um, where do I begin? TNA, you can say you are trying to offer an alternative to WWE, but when your product looks like the Church Carnival instead of Disneyland, yet you are trying to sell Tomorrowland, I question why I even bothered to show up. How much PPV money was lost on Impact last night for the sake of a ratings pop? Are you even trying to sell me on Destination X? Where was the build-up? Did you not learn anything leading up to Survivor Series 2009, which turned out to be a decent PPV had anyone cared to market it/order it? Two questions kept popping up in my head watching Impact - "What the hell was that?" and "Why should I care?" Nastys-3D, Jimmy Hart, Hall-Nash, Bischoff-Foley, etc. I just...didn't...care. Isn't that what this is all about? Where is my vested interest in your wrestlers, your storylines, your product? It's not there. BTW, having to deal with Sting's long journey to the ring reminded me of my wait time to go on Space Mountain. Another Disneyland reference, but TNA's product has truly made me care enough to wonder what is going on. ... As for Raw, did the energy flow through the screen from the second Steve Austin came out? Did it make you long for a time when you had water-cooler talk on Tuesday mornings? Austin had the crowd HOT while he was out there, and WWE created a nice story leading up to WrestleMania. Run-ins, DQ's, count-outs, etc. were in abundance, but what else do you expect on a free show leading up to the industry's biggest PPV? A very nice build-up with two weeks to go, although I am getting really sick of Evan Bourne being used as a Tonka Wrestling Buddy. Here is to him having a coming-out party at WrestleMania.

-- 3/8 TNA Impact Reax

Adam D. of Edmonton, Alb. (8.5): Best Match: Jeff Hardy vs. A.J. Styles. Worst Match: Kurt Angle & D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe & Mr. Anderson. TNA Impact did a great job this week of selling me on their seriousness to compete with WWE. I can really tell they are trying to put their best foot forward. I finally realized what TNA's real problem is however. I never thought I would say this, but TNA’s roster may be too stacked with great wrestlers. WWE has 6+ hours of original programming every week to sell their superstars. TNA has two. TNA has to hype Hogan, six different championships, and several undercard feuds. I thought this week was TNA's best episode of Impact in a long time. Since Hogan and Bischoff have come in, they have done a great job of making A.J. Styles relevant as TNA champion again. I think the more Ric Flair stays out of the ring and stays on the mic, the better this alliance looks and the stronger Styles looks. The Abyss storyline with Hogan doesn't fly with me because I don't believe the Abyss character. After all the different types of incarnations of Abyss we’ve seen since TNA started, I just don't buy that he's Hogan's long-lost protégé or successor. It'd be like Kane being Hogan's successor in WWE. It just doesn’t fit. The Band and Nash-Young is looking pretty nice, but it would be a lot better if you knew Scott Hall was reliable in the ring. I don't need to see The Nasty Boys or Jimmy Hart wrestling in 2010. I think it speaks volumes that for a company that wants to revive and revitalize the X-Division that they give Hogan's buddies essentially more time than the entire X-Division. TNA's problem with the X-Division is that, when they do focus on it, it's always as a whole. How many times have we seen the Steel Asylum thrown on PPV or random X-Division matches thrown together for the sake of getting fans excited over random spots? I'd be more excited for Chris Sabin hitting an amazing spot on someone if there was a great story behind it. And by the way, where the hell are Lethal Consequences? Sting's heel turn is looking good, but I want to see how they develop it further. I just hope it involves a long, meaningful program with Rob Van Dam. ... The Knockouts look awesome and the return of Angelina Love seems to have brought new life into the division. Beer Money is awesome and I hope they are given the belts. The only real complaint I have going into Destination X is the throwaway buildup of Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson. I understand Angle got his warrior medal, but last weeks beat down of Anderson by the US Military seemed a little forced. It seemed like one of those moments that you do just so you can put it in the middle of a video package to make it look cooler. This week's tag match was weak. The quality of the wrestlers involved in this match means they should have been given at least ten minutes, and they got about three. Dinero was injured and won with a small package, which usually always bugs me. And Anderson’s revenge on Angle was pretty predictable due to last week's heavy beat down. Overall, I thought what was shown was very well presented, however, the one thing I would re-evaluate is the logical length of some of the segments. Like I said, the tag-match deserved more time, the Nastys deserved less (none), and X-Division should be spread out more.

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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