-- WWE Raw Reax 6/17

Scott, PWTorch reader (8.0): Best Match/Segment: Mark Henry retirement tease. Worst: Axel vs. Slater. The Mark Henry angle was absolutely incredible. He had the crowd eating out of his hands, and you had to know something was up when he invited Cena to "stick around." Lesnar vs. Punk should be great. No Heyman when Lesnar came out means that Heyman will say he had no idea it was going to happen and he will screw Punk at MITB... Christian looked pretty good in the ring... Hopefully Daniel Bryan isn't seriously hurt, but I have a feeling that he may be... If you noticed about five seconds before the screen went dark in the A.J./Kaitlin scrap, Kaitlin had a "wardrobe malfunction" (exposed breast) that was clearly caught on-camera, which may have led to the dark screen.

Steve in Pompano Beach, Fla. (8.5): Best: Punk-Del Rio, Mark Henry "retirement." Worst: Anything involving Triple H & McMahons. It's been a while since a Raw didn't have me channel-surfing at some point, as I watched from start to finish, looking forward to what happened next. But, this episode wasn't without problems. Three of them, to be more accurate. I simply can't get into anything involving Vince, Stephanie, and Triple H, as their actions and behavior flip-flop from week to week. And their respective segments tonight hurt those they worked with. Vickie was again made to seem weak thanks to Hunter (then Vince, then all three), The Shield's "anti-authority" aura was blown when Vince peppily stated how he liked them, and Stephanie's "stereotyping women" bit was laughable, as she came off like a bitch to A.J. and all the other Divas in that vignette. I get that the McMahon drama is gonna go on for now, but why do so at the expense of the talent?

Darren M. of Roseville Calif. (8.5): I give props to WWE Creative because that is how you write an episode of Raw. Suprises, intrigue, setting up conflicts, and even sympathy. This Raw hit on all cylinders and was well-paced, storylines are being set up great, and is it just me or is Henry having his best career moment? ... I wrote Torch about three months ago saying that C.M. Punk should come back, break away from Heyman, and set up a feud with Lesnar, which is all happening now. ... I gave this Raw an 8.5 because Christian was lost in the shuffle. And, who did Barrett upset? Also, the McMahon/Hunter/Stephanie issue. I just hope that they have a light at the end of the tunnel for this because it just seems so off. ... I'm glad Raw was this good and I'm looking forward to more of these type of shows.

Did you watch Raw? We're looking for your 0-10 Score and Reax sent to pwtorch@gmail.com.

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