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By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Chances are you clicked on this article looking for some hope again. Everything seemed to be at least improving last week on Raw, then WWE turned in a surprisingly great Summerslam PPV card. Suddenly, last night's Raw fell off a cliff in the eyes of many Torch readers.

You're looking for assurance that everything is going to be okay again. Tell me, oh wise reviewer of Raw, please tell me Vince McMahon doesn't have the power to book two birthdays in one year?

If McMahon has the power to keep an entire group of wrestlers quiet about union protection despite it becoming less justifiable they aren't protected by the Screen Actors Guild as WWE shifts more to being an entertainment company, then maybe McMahon can book a second birthday. Or maybe only Chuck Norris and Chris Jericho can do that.

Oh wait, you want Raw answers.

Yes, Raw answers. Well, it was the perfect storm last night. Birthday for the boss. Las Vegas. DX Reunion take three. No PPV to promote in six days. Writers worn out writing the Summerslam PPV the previous night. Guest host Floyd Mayweather scheduled for secondary program.

And, most importantly, WWE believing there is a whole new audience that has been turned over since 2006 that had not experienced the joys, the laughter, the mind-numbing cackling from Michael Cole, the jokes, the pranks, the one-liners, the humiliation of McMahon, and the "please don't let it be Mae Young in the birthday cake" elements of DX-makes-a-funny TV programming.

All of those new kids and families had not seen the "PG-version" of DX do a full-out segment mocking good ol' Vinnie Mac. So, WWE delivered. Just wait until 2012 when the entire world explodes for the next DX reunion.

In the process of delivering DX Sings The Hits 2009, WWE neglected their young talent. I hear you, Torch readers. You read my column before Raw talking about WWE setting in motion the Youth Movement. You were ready for follow-up.

Give me DiBiase & Rhodes in a meaningful segment to capitalize on their near-victory over DX at Summerslam. Give me Swagger in a redemption match/segment. And don't wait until Superstars when I'm not watching. Give me The Miz in a U.S. Title chase. And put Kofi on the show in a meaningful match. Please, make sure Evan Bourne has something to work with. ... Wait, no, no, not the Chavo-Hornswoggle feud that won't ever end. Anything but that.

Yep, the Youth Movement was cut off at the knees last night.

I get it, though. I understand WWE's mindset.

Your answer to last night's Raw is procrastination.

WWE didn't have a sense of urgency to sell a PPV last night since Breaking Point is three weeks away, although the first impression lasts the longest. Expanding that to a broader picture, WWE doesn't have a sense of urgency to build up any new stars since DX is holding the show up just fine in their eyes.

The glaring problem that Chris Jericho touched in his Baltimore Sun interview last week is no sense of urgency to build up future main eventers. Oh, we don't need to build up stars for Shawn Michaels to feud against when he comes back from sabbatical. We can just dust off the ol' DX bag of tricks and get by for a few months.

Last night, it was easy for WWE to script 25 minutes of DX insults on McMahon's birthday. We're coming off a big PPV, let's take a "day-after-WrestleMania" breather. That alleviated the "problem" of having to focus on the younger stars who need constant, consistent, and focused TV exposure to be presented as big deals to the audience.

Who do you think the audience is going to see as more important: Triple H and Shawn Michaels with a combined 40 minutes of TV time or The Miz, Evan Bourne, and Jack Swagger with a combined grand total of four minutes of TV time? Hm...

And repeated over and over weekly on TV, how do you think the audition is going to be conditioned to react to the second group? Apathy comes to mind. Sit tight, Timmy. Have some cotton candy. DX will be back on in a few minutes after the other guys finish.

Your answer, o Torch reader, is that WWE put last night's show in cruise control and let DX fill up as much TV time as possible. You either hated it or loved it. Either way, the Youth Movement came to a screeching, procrastinating halt last night. That's more concerning. It's also how WWE arrived at this "crisis point" to begin with.

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