John T. Hyland of Queens, N.Y. and Torch Newsletter subscriber (8.0): After weeks of mediocre storytelling and stupid backstage skits, we get a great mix of both that really makes me want to see Survivor Series. Every participant in the Elimination Chamber had a chance to shine tonight and Ross and King put them all over as having a great shot at taking the title. Adding HBK to any show adds to the excitement, but finally some buildup for the middle card with an excellent heel promo by Chris Harvard (Was Big Show traded for Maven and Ivory?) as well as more psychotic actions from Victoria. The interplay between Christian and Jericho was classic. However, the highlight for me is the possibility that Vince and the boys realize that the necrophilia angle was the absolute lowest of the low for the longtime wrestling fan, and had the sense to mock it with the Goldust-Kane skit. Hopefully the PPV buildup continues as well as some good Raws in a row. Does anyone else think Batista's debut was a bit soft considering Big Poppa Pump is going to be Raw's genetic freak?

Kristyn Tower of Hattiesburg, Miss. (6.5) Best Match: Triple H & Jericho vs. Kane & Booker T. Worst Match: Nothing struck as being royally stupid this week. Overall this week's show was a major improvement from the previous three weeks. It seems as if the workers are giving a little more effort. After all the flack that Test (Andrew Martin) got for not wanting to cut his hair, he gave in. I was worried about how he was going to look with short hair, but I must say he looked very attractive. The whole "Testicles" angle is a little weird in my opinion. The show started off with a solid match and ended with one. I was particularly impressed with Trish and Ivory's match. Now that Raw as one gold solid female wrestler besides Trish, maybe they can establish a good women's division and push it to big heights. Hopefully, we are done with the whole necrophilia angle. The nice little angle they have with Bischoff and Steph is pretty good. The elimination chamber sequence was interesting. I didn't get the last pay per view, but they have definitely soled me to get Survivor Series. The Scott Steiner vignette looked really good. I can't wait to see the big freak. They need to figure out what to do with Dave Batista. At this point, I don't care about him one bit. Overall, the show was a vast improvement.

Jamie Hough of Macon Ga. (8.5): They get a point for not bringing up "Katie Vick." Best Match: Ivory vs. Trish. Worst Match: Test vs. The Hurricane. First off it was great to see Ivory return to TV. I freely admit that I am a huge fan of both Ivory and Victoria and would much rather watch these WWE women than say Stacy or Torrie. Although the audience didn't pop big for Batistia. I was glad to see him getting some TV time. If done right the wwe could turn him into a huge star. Jericho just gets better on the mic and him and Christian are really coming together well as a team, as well as Lance Storm and William Regal. They are actually watchable. Wish I could say the same about Buh Buh Ray DUDley. Him and Spike just take up much needed TV time that could be given to better athletes...like Jackie Gayner and Gillberg! And naturally it was great to see the Heartbreak Kid, too bad we had to sit through all the boring Triple H talk. Letter to WWE...Please put the belt on anyone else already. Plus I was glad to see they finally cut Lex Lugers...oooops i mean Test's hair. Much needed. It was also pretty cool to see Maven back and i think a feud between him and Nowinski will be good .Who dressed Rico? Then a very good backstage skit with Kane, Goldust, and Booker T as well. Goldust is very under-rated, although I'm sure many "Internet Marks" will disagree. But hey to each his own, right? All in all, 100 percent better than last week's crapfest. It almost makes me want to buy the upcoming PPV, just too see Victoria that is. And I guess it would be cool to see Shawn get his hands on (yawn) Triple H.

Jacob Gilbert of Troy, N.Y. (9.0): Best Match RVD vs. Christian (by default). Worst: Tie between Trish vs. Ivory, and Batista vs. Justin Credible. The latter wrestlers weren't given much to do, and the ladies have done better in the past. Trish's top rope "bulldog" looked bad. Someone must've given her some Rick Steiner tapes, and she tried to learn something. It doesn't surprise me that Triple H would have something to say about Bischoff kissing Stephanie. I'd write it off as something impulsive in the heat of the moment. The Katie Vick file is now closed, and the main event was a partial preview of the Survivor Series, but since the women's match was non-title, no titles were on the line at all this week, which doesn't exactly help ratings now, does it? Okay, so Maven is off the DL, and he & Ivory are now on Raw. No mention of whether or not this was part of the deal that sent Big Show to Smackdown. I think eventually, if they can sign enough past TE contestants, they could have enough people on hand that can fill the Heat part of the roster. I'd expect Maven v. Chris Nowinski no later than Survivor Series. Too bad that Tazz, Nidia, & Chavo Guerrero are going to be left out of the TE loop. Now, if they could bring Tori back!

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