James Caldwell, Torch Columnist (8.0)

I thought this was a very strong episode of WWE Raw, only hurt by the lack of credible finish to the first title match of the year between William Regal and C.M. Punk. Seriously, how many times can WWE build up expectations for any sort of IC Title resurgence before pulling the rug right out from under us? Frustration Nation.

In any event, Shawn Michaels continues to perform at a level above and beyond the vast majority of wrestlers in the company. Chris Jericho is right there too, while John Cena continues to be a great main event player doing exactly what he's asked to do every week. Back to Michaels, who had multiple segments on the show and proceeded to deliver gold-star performances to build intrigue for a red-hot main event tag match.

WWE also did a nice job of building toward next week's show with a Michaels vs. Cena singles match and for two weeks from now with Vince McMahon scheduled to return. When WWE has more than three weeks in between PPV events, they sometimes have no idea what to do with themselves, but after getting last week's below-average episode out of their systems, it's obvious the refreshing break has brought into play some intriguing new storyline ideas. Well done all around.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.om com Contributor (7.5)

After last week's bump in the road, WWE continues to churn out solid episodes of Raw. This week led off with a fantastic opening segment in which we really saw deep into each wrestler's character, and they played their roles to a tee. A great job by the writers there as well as with the rest of the show.

The in-ring action was splendid as well, especially in two of the tag matches. Punk vs. Regal, while the finish was a disappointment, contained some good action for four minutes. Melina looked impressive as she gets set to face Beth at the Rumble, and they continued the Rosa Mendes storyline with the next step that made sense. Even Kelly vs. Jillian wasn't terrible. I'm intrigued to see where they go with Orton vs. Kane next week, both being heels. I don't see either turning soon (at least I hope they don't).

The Legacy stuff is interesting in that they seem to be building to a second second-generation faction. They're going to need a strong babyface to lead them to counteract Orton, whoever they get. The main event was well done once again and while the JBL vs. Michaels feud has its off-weeks and storyline holes, there are so many ways they could go with that angle, it's keeping me tuned in.

Lee Stevens, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.5)

Did anyone else notice that in the land of tag team hatred, we had four tag team matches? Sadly, only Cryme Tyme and Miz & John Morrison routinely work as teams. The main event and Miz & Morrison vs. Mysterio & Kingston were very enjoyable and the opening segment was a strong way to start the show. Since I'm a detail guy (Look for "Under The Microscope" on the main page), I loved that Jericho confronted Michaels, reminding him of everything they fought over in 2008.

With all of those positives, why the less than average score? If you bought into the Intercontinental tournament on Raw, you had to be disappointed with Monday's payoff. Granted, it will extend a fued which could be enjoyable, but I can't grade on what might be or could happen in the future. This show needed either a clean finish or a longer match. What we got was a shrug of the shoulders. I appreciate that it must be tough to write for a demonic, formerly masked individual who has a brother who alternates between dead and a title holder, but I can't help but feel deja vu with Kane. Great tease with Vince McMahon returning, Michaels and Jericho were entertaining as usual and I didn't find myself desperately wanting to fast forward, but an average score seems appropriate. The bonus .5 is for Jericho's use of the word "axiomatic".

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