Niel Oliva of Manila, Philippines (9.0): Best Match: Jericho/JBL vs. C.M. Punk. Worst Match: None. This was a better effort at Raw to nail its place as the A-show. Smackdown is suddenly becoming interesting, and I'm seeing an internal "ratings war" between the two brands. Shades of the Attitude Era all over, from the General Manager making outrageous matches and stipulations, babyfaces pitted against each other, heels forced to team up, an intense interview, the backstage humor, and of course, the amazing crowd. The only thing missing here is the cliffhanger.
Sam Weiss of San Diego, Calif. (9.0): Overall, best Raw since the draft. Best Match: Toss up between the Punk three-way, and the main event. Worst Match: none that deserve to be called "worst." Highlight for me was the women's match; Mickey James is one of the best female wrestlers I've seen in many years, and she is the ideal women's face. I'm glad that Katie and the Glamazon are there with whom she can work well. On the new tag team champs - it is really a toss up as to which of them is the more popular. I realize that lots of young guys like to boo Cena and there are even some bloggers/writers online who like to diss Cena too, but it seems to me that just arises out of envy. Cena does over-talk, but that is hardly a mortal sin for a wrestler. I'm kind of glad that the "priceless" ones lost the belts, as that tag team, even though having the genetic material and the training, lacks emotion. Hopefully now that the "priceless" ones are without the belts they will have an opportunity to develop some real characters while they are in chase mode. Finally, on Adamle, I think he did a fine job and I like the approach Raw took tonight. Let's hope they continue with him being a cool, business like straight guy. We get more than enough melodrama from the manager on Smackdown to last the whole week.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Mic work: JBL/Jericho vs. Punk Worst: The match work (save one). Mike Adamle might not have worked as a commentator, but he might actually work as GM. Equating himself to Reagan was a pretty good analogy (though some people may question whether The Gipper was the best prez). The booking of the two-on-one didn't leave a lot of room for preditability, and adding the time limit at match time added urgency and a motive for Punk to win. The match under these conditions didn't feel like the three were finding ways to pass time until a satisfactory finish came. JBL winning with one second left and by accident kept Punk from looking like a chump. I'm just not looking forward to JBL-Punk. Maybe I should have taken the surreal sight of non-descript trunks worn by Chris Jericho as a sign. Not to be cocky, but I did say something two weeks ago in this very reax about there being a double title tag match at SummerSlam involving Kingston and James. The opponents are different but I saw this match coming. "Adamle Original," eh? Cena/Batista getting the tag titles is so 2007... and every other year WWE decides to create tension by the combatants sharing a title. And I know my ears weren't playing tricks on me as both were getting booed afterwards. It's starting to become clearer that the young guns experiment is all but over: DiBiase, Rhodes, and Cade (by his lack of appearance and lame explanation for it) were all buried tonight. The reveal next with Kane better be good or maybe Kane should contemplate retirement instaed of Shawn. As for Shawn, the promo can be taken one of two ways, either of which is logical: he truly is contemplating retirement or he's selling well for the "announcement." His fundamental reasons are sound and make sense, but to retire just four months after Ric Flair would likely be more than what fans are willing to take. The Flair retirement storyline allowed fans to come to terms with the eventual end. The burden of retiring Flair has yet to really be played with properly, and maybe it won't ever, plus realistically he shouldn't be in a match to properly sell his "condition." But his promo may have planted seeds for the inevitable, as this longtime fan knows as much as she doesn't want to see it happen, Shawn will call it a day sometime. Bittersweet when that day comes. Methinks The Showstopper will play on for a little while longer.
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "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.
LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1039 (17 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story by Wade Keller who attended Brock Lesnar's first UFC victory on Saturday night in the semi-main event in front of a record-setting crowd in his hometown. Keller's BBL looks at Lesnar's place in MMA and in what ways he seems more comfortable than ever... Bruce Mitchell's Memo examines the dilemma of Chris Benoit and the Hall of Fame... Sean Radican reviews the two latest TNA DVD releases... In-depth coverage of the TNA Hard Justice PPV including Keller's match report with star ratings and the newsletter-exclusive Roundtable Reviews... Jason Powell's "Page 2 Buzz" with scoops and insider analysis... WWE Newswire, TNA Newswire, and ROH Newswire with insider news, big story analysis, and notebook tidbits... Plus Keller's reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, the Top 5 Stories of the Week, and more....
