James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (4.5)

I'm really torn about this show. WWE definitely got the WrestleMania 25 hype machine back on track, but there was too much non-family-friendly programming that was at times disturbing, counter-productive, and simply in bad taste. Randy Orton forcing himself on an unconscious woman was disgusting. Sure, he was presented as the bad guy. Sure, he is the main villain. But, does a child that WWE is targeting their programming toward understand that what Orton did was not right? Or, is WWE going to turn around and have Stephanie turn heel, join Orton, and basically give the idea that what Orton did was okay because Steph was going along with it the whole time?

Sorry, but those storyline "outs" won't fly when WWE has made it very clear they are programming towards kids that don't have the capability of fully grasping these concepts and think they can head to school the next day and start punching girls because they saw it on TV. Despicable WWE programming that was the product of WWE going so far in one direction with SuperHunter Alpha Male that they had to fly in the opposite direction to make Randy Orton a credible threat to the WWE Title at WrestleMania. If you keep escalating things and upping the ante without checking to see whether you're still in bounds, you end up so far out of bounds that you can't even see the boundary lines anymore.

Chris Jericho beating down Ric Flair in a disturbing, but effective opening segment was another example of having to push the envelope too far because the WrestleMania hype was stalling. WWE was so desperate with this week's show that they went Attitude era and pulled out every shock TV tactic they could think of. Heavy bleeding from a man who is almost eligible for social security (Flair), chair shots galore from Jeff Hardy, John Cena continuing to verbally abuse women (making it okay for the same kids who watch Raw to go call their friends names and pick on girls who aren't the prettiest girls in school), Randy Orton's sexual stalking, etc. Desperate times call for desperate measures and WWE went way out of bounds this week, even if several of the segments were very effective for hyping WrestleMania and made for compelling TV if viewers weren't pushed to change the channel.

Bruce Mitchell, Torch Columnist (7.5)

John Cena's program with Edge and Big Show is still too silly, but tonight's work reversed the trend of over-the-rope nonsense with Triple H and Randy Orton. They executed a strong, clear babyface/heel angle where fans want to see the villain get his, and will feel like they missed something if they don't buy in. Orton's timing and pro wrestling acting was tremendous here. Ric Flair and Chris Jericho did everything there was to do with their angle, and their execution also was top-notch. I also liked Shawn Michaels's video promo. That was one of those things WWE does that no one else can touch.

Brian Hoops, PWTorch.com Contributor (3.5)

The build to WrestleMania is normally one of the best times of the year to be a wrestling fan. This year is the exception to that rule. We are two weeks away from Mania and with each week I have less of an interest to watch than I did the previous week. This particular edition of Raw featured zero decent matches and in fact delivered approximately 16 minutes of in-ring action on a two hour program. On the plus side, Jericho and Flair were both awesome on the mic. I didn't particularly care for the Triple H-Orton segment, but Orton is so awesome in his heel
persona. He seems to get better and better each week.

I guess part of my problem is from a nostalgic standpoint. The two headline matches, Triple H and Orton and Cena-Edge-Big Show, are not about the titles or who is the best. It is all about the angles and the title is just a prop and is not part important to the matches themselves.

Dominick Mayer, PWTorch.com Contributor (9.0)

Now THIS is how you sell Wrestlemania. Man, is it ever. The show was all-around solid from top to bottom. I thought Santino's bit was highly entertaining, and Jeff Hardy continued to sell his new mean streak before the Extreme Rules match in two weeks. They also finally gave some development to the JBL-Mysterio match, as well as continuing to sell the MITB. However, let me just focus upon the three big segments of the show. The advancement of the love triangle worked fine, I thought. Cena's promo with the sorta-rhyming story was okay (Jericho did it better in a feud with Benoit years ago), but I like that they're bringing the focus back to this being a three-way World title match, instead of just a fight over Vickie. Plus, for the first time, the night was owned by Show, and this was much needed; the feud has been heavy on Edge and Cena in the spotlight.

Then, there is the matter of the bookending money segments, that by the end of the show ended up being similar in nature. Jericho comes out and beats the living hell out of Flair. Lawler should've stepped in, but that's a quibble, and would have detracted from the harrowing beat-down on Flair. I could have cared less about the Legends match before this week, but Jericho alone just sold me on it. And then, the end of the night brought the return of the Randy Orton that should've been on TV since he won the Royal Rumble. The setup was excellent, with HHH leading the crowd to believe another punk-out was on its way, only to have Cody Rhodes be waiting under the ring. Hunter tries to fight while tethered to the top rope, and then evil Orton (not IED Orton; there is a distinct difference) comes in and proceeds to draw Stephanie out and toy with her in front of HHH. To his credit, Hunter made no ridiculous faces this week. Instead, he just looked like he was going to kill Orton where he stood, and for the first time in months, Orton made no attempt to run away. This didn't totally redeem the lameness of weeks past, but man, am I willing to forgive. Strong show leading to next week's final sell before the big show.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

This was a show that could be debated about for quite some time. It seems either you loved it or hated it, and really, it's based on only a few angles on the show. I was hoping for something in the opening segment that would take the focus off the three legends and onto someone else, but it didn't. The beat-down was good and I liked Jericho stomping the watch, but to me, it looks more like they're building to Jericho vs. Flair (which I don't think they're really doing). Lawler not stepping in, yet getting indignant later on, didn't make sense.

I'm wondering if Matt will get these "extreme rules" warm-up matches like Jeff has been getting. The eight-man tag was OK, but it seems they have no idea how to build to a MITB match anymore since these tag matches are all they seem to be able to think of. There was lots of action toward the end that served as a preview for the match itself. Edge vs. Show didn't spoil much for the WM match; it was more of an angle anyway. Mysterio vs. Regal was solid while it lasted. I really liked the Undertaker-Michaels segment. They did a great job having Shawn go through all of Taker's past opponents, and the symbolism of Shawn burying Taker's streak was a nice touch.

Santino was entertaining in, sadly, one of his longer matches in quite some time. A more unique way to build to the Divas Battle Royal. The main event segment was a Grade-A beat-down, but I'm wondering if it's too late to save Orton's heat. They did all they could to make him get over as a monster heel this week, no doubt to make up for the past few weeks. I really liked the visual of Triple H's outstretched arms reaching for the just-out-of-reach Orton. While the segment was solid, I thought the kiss to Stephanie was a bit much.

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