James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (4.5)

Thumbs down show for me. I thought WWE failed in two key areas. One was the build-up to the Elimination Chamber PPV. At least 10 out of the 15 minutes from the lame comedy skit with Jerry Springer could have been used to show Ted DiBiase and Kofi Kingston in sit-down interviews or highlight video packages talking about how much it would mean to them to hold the WWE Title. I mean, they are in a WWE Title match on Sunday. They could win the WWE Title. One of them could be on Raw next week holding a WWE Title for the first time. Yet, WWE put zero emphasis on them as potential WWE Title contenders.

The three singles match on the show building to the Chamber were poorly built-up on the show. WWE spent more time on last week's show announcing the three matches than they spent on this week's show explaining their purposes. I had no emotional investment in DiBiase vs. Kofi as a singles match because there was nothing on the line. Winner gets the last pod in the Chamber? Loser stars the Chamber match? Loser starts with his hand behind his back for the first five minutes? It was just a match to preview the PPV, but the build-up was weak throughout the show that the match wasn't "carried" since there was not an overwhelming rising tide of PPV hype and excitement.

The Bret Hart angle was shaky when looking back at the replay where the vehicle striking Hart was sitting a few feet away with the brake lights on ready to strike. In the moment, though, WWE created a realistic-looking angle set up by the mid-card wrestlers approaching Hart out-of-character as he was set to "walk into the sunset." Where they go from here is the intriguing aspect. The key is how the MIA stars - Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels - fit into the scheme of things. Should be interesting.

Randy Orton is right there ready to break out as a top babyface if WWE pulls the trigger. We'll see if they do. Ted DiBiase is sort of stuck in the mud as a heel playing a 'tweener right now. It didn't help that WWE barely focused on DiBiase vs. Kofi on the show. I foresee a three-way at WrestleMania with Orton being most sympathetic, DiBiase in the middle, and Cody the heel. Cody needs some more edge to his character, though. It would have helped if WWE actually followed up on Cody taking the RKO from Orton in the opening segment. Then again, that would have required WWE cutting out just 5 or 10 minutes from the awful Springer skit, which seems like it was the one segment WWE spent the most amount of time writing for. Sad if true.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (4.5)

Obviously, the Jerry Springer segment wasn't for everyone. It was not meant to be taken seriously, which was made clear at the end. But to put on a long, admittedly pointless segment while not even hyping the Divas Title match for this Sunday makes one wonder. I'll admit, I was laughing at the absurdity of the segment, and I'm glad they had Springer do his "Final Thought" later on. I can completely understand people who are viciously tearing apart the in-ring segment, though.

We got the big angle for the Bret-Vince feud tonight, or what felt like a big angle. Not sure how/if the blond woman will come into play later on, but one would think she almost has to. They couldn't have picked a worse time though, as the announcers had to sell the hilarity of the Springer segment with the hushed tones of the Hart-being-injured segment. The best thing about Sheamus beating Randy Orton by DQ the last two matches they've had is that it makes the referees look somewhat competent by catching the outside interference. As for the tag titles, I'm less than impressed if we're setting up for an MVP & Henry vs. ShowMiz feud.

I didn't like how Kofi vs. Dibiase was booked. First, Kingston backs into the Chamber match by winning via DQ, now he can’t beat a guy who clearly wasn’t 100%? I mean, Kingston got a lot of the offense, but jeez. Triple H vs. Cena was a suitable main event, and they finally put Sheamus over strong at the end, which could mean he's losing his title on Sunday.

Shawn Valentino, PWTorch.com Contributor (2.0)

After some good shows, this week's episode of Raw was an embarrassment. Whoever put together that atrocious Jerry Springer segment should be immediately fired. That was one of the lamest moments of programming I have seen in my twenty-plus years of watching wrestling. I also thought the Bret Hart promo came off really flat, exposing his weaknesses as a performer. He has never been the most charismatic guy or the greatest on the mic and this was a really uninspired and unconvincing speech about "leaving" WWE. I do not even have words to describe how terrible the backstage scenes were of him getting "hit" by the limo. It just looked terrible. I think they kept Bret off camera for much of that because he was probably laughing about how bad it was. The Cena-Batista exchange brought out the worst in each superstar. It came across as awkward. Cena had his usual lame lines and Dave looked like he was about to fall asleep. Matches like Kofi vs. Dibiase are good arguments why squash matches should be brought back to wrestling. What is the point of such a short match between two rising stars?

On the good side, at least Sheamus was established as a strong champion as he attacked many of the top superstars. The Cena-Triple H match and the Sheamus-Orton matches were decent, but shouldn't they be treated as bigger deals? These are four of the top stars of the show having matches with little hype or excitement. Despite all of this, I am still looking forward to the coming PPV. This show proves how much Shawn Michaels is missed when he is not part of Raw. When he is serious, he is the best performer in wrestling.

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