-- 4/26 WWE Raw Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Draft picks; Swagger vs. Morrison. Worst: Dolph vs. Horny. This episode could be summarized as predictable, but not necessarily in a bad way. ShoMiz is essentially no more, and Big Show starts as a face on Smackdown. I didn't really buy into Big Show as a heel, anyways. Those who were drafted were pretty much the ones I expected to move, except Edge. During the build-up to the main event, Orton phrased his promo to Sheamus in such a way that established him as the face of the situation as well as answering for his past heel behavior with Triple H. I feel WWE has booked Orton's semi-face run good so far. Meanwhile, Swagger got the strong win he needed to keep his title run on track. Morrison looked good in the loss, but now that he's on Raw it's time for the spinning wheels to stop. The three-way main event seemed inevitable as the show progressed. I'm not sure what the deal is with Edge, especially with Jericho now on the same brand on Raw. I just hope that he's not turning heel yet. It would confirm that his face return was a mistake, and another heel run feels stale already. The show's worst offense was Hornswoggle winning against Dolph Ziggler, but at least it was a count-out. Ziggler deserves better; thankfully, he's on Smackdown where Horny can't mess with him...yet.

Chris of San Jose, Calif. (9.0): Best Match: Hart Dynasty vs. ShoMiz. Worst Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Hornswoggle. I didn't think the Hart Dynasty was ready to become Unified Tag Team champions, but during the match they showed a lot more confidence and charisma than ever before. I hope this title change revives tag team wrestling in WWE, which has been at its lowest point in company history. I liked Sheamus's promos throughout the night. I actually think he may become a tweener at some point because he comes across as one of the toughest guys around. He's reminding me of Psycho Sid from late 1996 because many of the older wrestling fans can't stand a guy like John Cena (just like they couldn't stand Shawn Michaels in late 1996) and that's why they'll root for a tough guy who's not catering to the PG-audience. I liked all the Draft picks for both brands and I think the best moves are John Morrison and Edge to Raw and Kofi Kingston to Smackdown. I'm not sure what to make of Chris Jericho going to Raw other than the live Monday shows need a consistent guy to cut a top-notch promo on a weekly basis. I like Edge's supposed heel turn, but it wasn't as shocking because half the fans are not sure if he's a full-fledge babyface.

John of Cocoa Beach, Fla. (5.5): Best Match: Tag title match. Worst Match: Brand Battle Royal. I guess Batista is sticking around on a short-term basis. This wasn't a bad show, but the Draft let me down. The intrigue that this was a "random" Draft was totally missing - e.g. alliances were in jeopardy of being split up. Remember last year when the then heel team of The Miz and John Morrison was separated? What if C.M. Punk was drafted to Raw? Luke Gallows and Serena would be leaderless. How would Layla and Vickie Guerrero reacted if Michelle McCool was drafted to Raw? If I'm John Morrison, I feel good that I'm the "flagship show," but I'm also feeling pressure to be Shawn Michaels's heir apparent. If I'm R-Truth, I would fear the "Evan Bourne" treatment. No announcers changed brands? ... An intriguing aspect of the show was the interaction between Ted DiBiase and Carlito. We sometimes forget Carlito also had a famous father in the business. Perhaps Ted's forming a new Legacy type stable with other sons of wrestling greats. Some talents who needed a change to Smackdown were drafted, like Kofi Kingston, but I was disappointed with Christian being drafting and MVP not being drafted. It also looks like Edge's face run is over with his attack on Randy Orton. His character is better as a heel. He just needed the face run against Chris Jericho to get back in the mix. Now that their feud is over, he can be back. Remember the history between Edge and Orton? That should make for a good feud. ... Jack Swagger's interviewing skills are much improved since he became a serious character. His mention of being a finance major and a 4.0 student gave me a JBL flashback. ... It would have been a cool concept to feature the NXT Rookies in the brand battle royal. If a Rookie won, then whichever brand his Pro is on would get the pick. Too bad they couldn't have included Zack Ryder, Goldust, Vance Archer, Santino Marella, and Primo in a "future endeavors" team for the battle royal - win and you keep your job.

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.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE PPV REAX #1: "I wanted the biggest event of the summer to end with an exclamation point; it ended with a semicolon and a question"

WWE PPV REAX #1: Battleground finish generates mixed reactions...

WWE PPV REAX #2: In-Person Battleground Report on overall show, reactions, more