By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

(Keller's full report on this week's Raw plus added analysis with more thoughts and select key quotes was posted exclusively on the PWTorch VIP website and VIP mobile site on Monday night. Subscribe here to go VIP: PWTorch.com/GoVIP)

- Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton was a very good TV match. Memorable, meaningful finish, too. Earlier in the show, Bryan showed great intensity playing up his obsession with being the weak link, but I'm not sure it's the best thing for him to still be doing at this point given how into him crowds have been lately. What he's scripted to do is not living up to how over he is with fans.

- Mark Henry is every bit as good as Paul Heyman these days as a performer on the mic. That's high praise. He's just so believable, so efficient in his words, and utterly entertaining without looking at all like he's trying to be funny.

- John Cena's promo was largely Cena at his best, and I always endorse any promo or segment that raises the prestige of a major title. There's still something a little too smirky and singsongy about how Cena sold being betrayed like he did last week on Raw. I would have liked a little more range of emotions besides the plainly stated framing of what Henry did as a disrespecting those who had to give real retirement speeches. Also, I'd like to see Cena give some indication that he sees Henry as a threat, some crack in the veneer of confidence he has that it's whoop-ass season.

- It's very smart to save Rob Van Dam's return for PPV. Part of the curiosity with any returning legacy star is what they look like and what their role will be.

- Paul Heyman's performances lately are just off the charts ridiculously good. C.M. Punk was stellar, too, interacting with Punk. These two have chemistry and they will especially remember this night and whatever else is to come in this storyline for decades to come. The story Punk told about his rise in WWE, and Heyman's unrelenting support for him, is barely embellished if at all. That's part of what made Punk and Heyman so good in their segment - they didn't have to remember lines, they just spoke the truth.

- Regarding the A.J. Lee-Kaitlyn skit, there's such a long line of WWE women being scripted in storylines being very mean to each other, including the angle making fun Mickie James for being too fat. At least Jerry Lawler said A.J. was only funny to two people in that arena. The announcers, though, could have gone further in defending Kaitlyn. Saying "it's not funny" isn't the same as coming to Kaitlyn's defense that A.J.'s criticism is judgmental nonsense of a beautiful woman.

(Keller's full report on this week's Raw plus added analysis with more thoughts and select key quotes was posted exclusively on the PWTorch VIP website and VIP mobile site on Monday night. Subscribe here to go VIP: PWTorch.com/GoVIP)

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