James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (6.0)

Perhaps in a few weeks, order will be restored and the Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker WrestleMania classic will be restored to its rightful place on the priority list for WWE programming. Then, we can forget about WWE no-selling the match the-night-after on a Raw show dedicated to the McMahon Family Two Hours.

I'm intrigued by Batista's surprise return to Raw only because there has to be a turn coming somewhere down the line. WWE has teased a McMahon family turn for the past few months, but nothing has come of it. Shane could be booted out for his interference in Vince's match against Orton despite Vince's commands not to interfere or Batista could turn against the McMahons to join the Legacy or Shane could straight turn on his family and join Orton's Legacy. If WWE is going to keep the McMahons on TV for the near-future, they might as well make it interesting to watch.

Ricky Steamboat delivered a great two-night performance on Mania and Raw. The nostalgia would eventually wear off, so I wouldn't recommend Steamboat remain a long-term fixture on Raw, but he has some life in him as an on-air character/manager for the younger stars. He still has a lot in the tank from keeping in shape by working with WWE wrestlers as an agent, and it was very refreshing to see an older wrestler working at the level (or a level above) the younger stars in WWE.

Overall, Raw delivered a good post-Mania follow-up show, but I can't get over the lack of Michaels-Taker focus. Give it a week when order can be restored and I'll be able to rate Raw fairly on what was included, not what wasn't included. Next week's Draft should be an interesting episode of TV to shake things up and hopefully set up some new heels for John Cena to feud against as new World Hvt. champion, assuming he retains the belt against Edge at Backlash.

Bruce Mitchell, Torch Columnist (6.0)

This was a tough show for WWE. They've got to be tired after WrestleMania weekend, the NCAA finals blunt the ratings boost from the night after 'Mania, and they still have to get Backlash up and running in three weeks. Then there's next week three hour Raw Draft. The return of Batista should help some. It does open up some possibilities. It was great to see today's fans take to Ricky Steamboat. I hope WWE takes this where you want one more match, instead of taking it one match too far. Santina Marella is pretty fun. Marella really is fearless out there.

Brian Hoops, PWTorch.com Contributor (2.5)

Definitely a flat follow-up to WrestleMania. Normally the Raw after Mania is one of the most watched Raw's of the year as people who didn't see Mania tune in to see what happened at Mania they missed. I felt watching Raw there wasn't anything I missed by not ordering Mania. I know the Shawn Michaels-Undertaker match was one of the best in WrestleMania history, but shouldn't they have had Michaels or Undertaker follow up with an interview or a promo or something other than Cole and Jerry Lawler talking about it?

The company has totally ignored the title belts and now the wrestlers don't even care. Triple H and Randy Orton made no mention of the title, it was all about the McMahon family wrestling at Backlash. The Mania match had the stip if Triple H used the sledge hammer, he would lose the belt. He used the hammer and Orton never said a word about it? The stip was forgotten completely as well as the Cena-Big Show-Edge winner getting Vickie love storyline. Edge didn't seem to care about losing the belt and Big Show didn't seem to care that Edge got a rematch and not him. Cena-Edge could be a good match, but has been done to death and what else does the company have for Backlash? The return of Batista is supposed to result in buys?

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

There was a lot to like on this show, and it appears they already have a clear plan heading into Backlash, which is always a good sign. Batista's return and siding with the McMahons (for now) was enough to make it a newsworthy show as well. The show started off with a good Orton promo, where he did a good job of being disappointed in last night's outcome without trying to show it. And Vince gave a different kind of promo than we're used to from him, but it was effective.

I thought it was dumb to throw the lumberjack tag match out there again, but perhaps since everyone was already in Houston, they decided to give them another night's pay. I think this seals the break-up with Miz & Morrison, for the Colons to get two wins in a row against them. Match was good, especially Morrison's flip off the top rope. Even the women's tag match was a notch above their usual in-ring work, likely because they only had the workers in the match. The 10-man tag was solid and I couldn't believe the crowd reaction to Steamboat- it seems like it's been a while since the crowd has taken to a WWE wrestlers like that.

Vickie as GM of Raw opens up some possibilities for Smackdown- I doubt Stephanie goes to that show when she's healthy, but I guess it could happen. We should know by next week though, since someone needs to represent that show at the Draft. Santina was entertaining again. I'm not a fan of the McMahons and Vince again getting the upper-hand on Orton as he did during their match, but at least Vince is being replaced by a legitimate threat in the Backlash six-man. I'm not worried about the follow-up to Taker vs. HBK- hopefully they're saving that for Smackdown, which will make that show mean more at least for one night.

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