By Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist

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Here are some quick thoughts on the just-finished Raw 1,000:

- I like announcing Rock in the WWE Title match at Royal Rumble this far ahead of time. I'd almost prefer to see him IN the Rumble match, to interact with more Superstars, but that might give away that he's winning. Anytime you can announce something far in advance, it makes it seem more important when you can bring it up in ensuing weeks and months.

- The opening DX skit set a nice tone for the show, and Damien Sandow was the perfect foil for them.

- I don't know if A.J. being named Raw GM is going to be enough of a payoff for the wedding for some people. I do like A.J. as GM over some of the other oft talked about folks.

- A Bryan vs. Sheen Summerslam tease? This is something to keep an eye on going forward.

- Lita was not the payoff I was expecting for Heath Slater's Legends challenges, but her, along with all the others, worked for me in that segment.

- The first segment that I really didn't care for was the Triple H - Heyman one. Heyman and more importantly Lesnar didn't come across well. It wasn't just that Hunter extinguished Lesnar, but that Lesnar was portrayed as a chicken who didn't want to fight Hunter until Heyman was egged into it - by Stephanie. Ugh.

- The main event was hit-and-miss. I didn't expect it to finish cleanly, so that didn't bug me. C.M. Punk's turn didn't bug me, as that could set up some interesting stuff down the line. Punk leaving the babyface side will hurt the already-hurting depth there, but they're not exactly deep on the heel side either. I wasn't a huge fan of the actual match, which featured a surprisingly extended feeling-out process.

- Undertaker being on the show with Kane was a big moment and the live crowd ate it up. I don't think it was a mistake to use Taker here despite WWE saving him for Wrestlemania in recent years.

Overall, I thought this was a really good effort from WWE in what was certain to be one of the most-watched Raws in some time.

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