James Caldwell, Torch Columnist (4.5)

I just didn't have a great feeling about this week's episode of Raw. It started off with some promise as WWE changed up the show-starting formula with Kelly & Candice rather than talking heads. We got the talking heads in the next segment with Chris Jericho and Batista battling smirks and wits, but Mike Adamle provided the proper buzzkill to foreshadow the rest of the show.

The main event tag team handicap gauntlet deal was just a complete mess. KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. WWE writers do not need to channel TNA-esque "concept matches" to sell a PPV. There is more than one way to skin a cat of putting Batista in a dominating position heading into the PPV to get viewers to order the PPV thinking there is 100 percent certainty Batista is winning the World Title. WWE chose the most difficult, complicated, annoying, and confusing way to skin the cat in order to arrive at the goal. It didn't help that Austin, HBK, and Orton were nowhere to be found on the broadcast to sell the text voting and the PPV.

I am conflicted on the lengthy Santino promo. I tried every imaginable plausible explanation and tried to give him every benefit of the doubt on giving that segment a thumbs up, but I just couldn't. It didn't connect with the audience, the material was a bit repetitive, and Santino seemed to be talking into a backstage mirror rather than to the live audience in the arena. I did really like the ending with Santino showing toughness and a mean streak. That has been absolutely necessary for months, so that was a positive of the segment.

Bruce Mitchell, Torch Columnist (3.0)

This was about as listless a wrestling show as you could find in the modern era of professional wrestling. I'm beginning to think both TNA and WWE found a list of wrestling match stipulations (in no particular order) on the internet and they're just working their way down the list week by week. That three man gauntlet thing went nowhere, slowly. Santino Marella selling washed up Superstars three at a time to the modern John Cena audience isn't getting it.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (5.0)

WWE is on a bad streak of Raws right now, and it is kind of concerning. The main event angle/match was a mess, but at least it only completely buried one of the three wrestlers in it. It had little redeeming quality and wasn't a very good push for Cyber Sunday.

The rest of the show did build to the PPV well. The only problem I had was not one choice for the special referee of the World Title match or an opponent for the I.C. title match were on the show; that inherently puts creative behind the eight-ball.

They even spent time hyping the divas costume contest while starting the show with a different feel; always good to mix things up like that. The tag teams got a chance to do their thing to entice voters to vote for their match. The Morrison/Miz vs. Punk/Kingston match was very entertaining. JBL vs. Haas was just thrown out there seemingly for no reason other than to get a Haas impersonation on the show.

Things started to go downhill after that though, with the awful Santino segment. He just kept going on and on and didn't really hit any good punchlines. Then to see Duggan come out was a groaner, because you knew the segment wasn't going to get any better. Rey vs. Snitsky was odd as the announcers treated it as a warm-up match for Rey to face Kane...but he's already faced Kane several times before; he should know how to fight him and what to expect.

What worries me most is the feeling that creative is booking by the seat of their pants; for the first time I can remember, WWE.com had no match listings or preview to the Raw, right up to show-time. The only match they plugged during House before Raw was the opening contest, which they almost had to have had booked by that point. It's a little scary to think about.

Wade Keller, Torch editor (3.0)

There's something just not working with Raw right now. There's something about Triple H being off to Smackdown, John Cena being injured, and Vince McMahon away that has lowered the gravitas of the show. Batista and Chris Jericho have not made up the difference, and C.M. Punk's shooting star has been snuffed out and he's just a mid-carder who isn't even talked about as a former World Champion. That's the typically week for Raw. Then subtract Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton from that equation and you get a show that feels like an NFL strike team rather than the usual star-studded Raw.

This wouldn't be so bad if WWE hadn't, as a philosophy, spent years conditioning fans to believe anyone under the top tier players totally sucks (special thanks to Triple H for that). But it's tough to sit through two hours with 1.5 top tier stars (Batista, Jericho) and not feel WWE is in a down period.

The flat ending to the show with the oddball "Adamle Original" (the excuse for lame matches and stips, apparently; it's like your plumber visiting your house and saying a new guy is in charge and he's totally incompetent but he is creative when fixing your pipes) did nothing to make me want to see Cyber Sunday. Seeing Jericho and Batista co-exist and just stand there watching the other wrestle just took the sting out of seeing them fight. Instead, Batista should have talked about how much he needs that World Title belt. By not doing so, it gives the impression - subconsciously - that Sunday is not his night, winning the title is not his destiny.

All of the text message plugs are a real drag, too. Boy do those get old. Every time they do that, I feel someone has reached their hand out of my TV and is asking for a handout. It's just beneath WWE to be asking for money on top of basic text messaging fees. It makes them seem desperate.

The Cena videos are well done and establish that WWE sees him as far and away their top star today. Santino's segment went too long, but if anyone's segment is going to be too long, I suppose he's the person for the job.

Oh, my deep apologies to Michael Cole. In my Raw report last night I called him a dork for saying Jillian was doing karaoke and claimed "she wasn't lip synching." I'm the dork! Of course karaoke isn't lip synching. Not sure what I was thinking there. Michael Cole was right and I was wrong. To make up for my unfair criticism of him in that instance, I will refrain for the rest of the month in criticizing and mocking his fake laughter at unfunny things on Raw that he's awkwardly forced to pretend to think are funny.

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