James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (7.5)

This was a very focused show with both eyes on WrestleMania, but there are still some items to clean up going forward. One is the use of wrestling matches on the show. Randy Orton costing his team a match doesn't help sell wrestling at WrestleMania. Batista intentionally throwing a match doesn't help sell wrestling at WrestleMania. Sure, the finishes were means to an end and both men threw matches to advance bigger storylines, but having both on the same show rubbed me the wrong way.

Outside of that (and the bullriding segment that was considerably shorter compared to Jerry Springer last week), the show was spot-on building to WrestleMania 26. Shawn Michaels and Undertaker had a classic face-to-face moment setting up their WrestleMania match that hit all the right notes. WWE had to add something to the match to give it a hook following last year's match and now WWE fans will be rolling around the thought of The Streak or The Career ending for the next five weeks.

Batista was terrific as a heel making John Cena wait, then ending their match with an intentional loss to set up the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. (Like I said in the opening, it served the bigger storyline, but I didn't like it from a wrestling match context.) Batista's post-match beat down was great too. The show was book-ended by two great heels, along with Chris Jericho gloating after his World Title victory, that will get viewers ready to see some babyfaces go over strong at WrestleMania. Well done planting the seeds of conflict, intrigue, and anticipation for March 28.

Tony Donofrio, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.5)

Coming off a slightly above average Elimination Chamber PPV, this was a pretty hot edition of Raw. Chris Jericho was only on the show for five minutes but his role was terrific! Edge choosing Jericho was a no-brainer, but a good one at that. John Cena and Batista for the WWE Title seems to be logical choice for WrestleMania and I like how the feud was furthered on Raw. The missing links on the show were Triple H and Sheamus, though. I'm still interested to see where, if at all, these two fit into the WWE Title picture. I'm hoping that both World title matches stick as one-on-one match-ups, but wouldn't be surprised to see Hunter and/or Sheamus added to the WWE Title match.

However, the biggest moment of the night was obviously Shawn Michaels and The Undertakers interaction. This was just as gripping as it was last year when these two had their chance in the spotlight...if not more! The streak vs. the career was the next logical step to progress this feud but it still was must see TV. As I said in my Elimination Chamber Hits and Misses, if Jericho can help carry The Undertaker to a solid match (at this point in Takers career), so can HBK, of course. The only question now is, will Vince McMahon actually pull the trigger on these two for the actual last match main event at WM, not just a co-main event.

Then there's Legacy: The demise of Legacy is producing a more exciting story than anything they did collectively as a unit. I love the Randy Orton heel turn and am curious to see where they go with the triumvirate of second/third generation wrestlers. Lastly, as far as the upper card goes, I am interested to see what Bret Hart does next week on Raw. Was Vince behind the attack? Was Bret really working Vince just to get him to accept a match before he reveals that he was never really hurt? Here's hoping it's the latter and we don't see a "miraculous recovery" on Bret's part.

As for the rest of Raw, I was surprised to see Christian make his Raw re-debut with such little fanfare. On the same token, I was extremely surprised to see that the Money in the Bank match will be taking place at WM. Why is there a July PPV for this match now? Will they water down the idea of the concept or is this now the PPV where you have to cash in the briefcase? I'm guessing we still have some questions that need to be answered about that. The tag title match wasn't bad but wasn't anything that stood out either.

Jewel and Ty Murray were okay in their role as co-hosts. I was glad to see their impact being minimal. My friend did laugh though when The Miz shouted out MVP and Mark Henry's name towards Jewel, as if to let her know who they were facing because it was easy to assume that she had no clue! The mechanical bull riding was kept short, thankfully. I was expecting Santino to come out, maybe even as Santina, and attempt to ride the bull as well though. Finally, the Divas Title match was very under-whelming. It seemed as though Gail Kim accidentally caught Maryse in the side of her head or ear though with her drop kick, obviously pissing off Maryse. That, to me, was the most interesting part of the match because Maryse was completely out of character after the match had ended. But again, it was sad to see a tournament end in a 3 minute throwaway match. Despite the few negatives that I stated, still a very solid effort from Raw as WWE moves towards WM.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (7.0)

After a mild slip-up last week, WWE got back on track this week with a couple big segments. First, Chris Jericho and Edge. Not sure why they didn't save this for Smackdown, as it would've been a good hook to get viewers tuned in on Friday nights. But at this point, the ratings on USA clearly matter more than the ratings on MyNetwork TV. Even thought Edge choosing Jericho was predictable, commend WWE for following through anyway. The Divas Title match was a disappointment, mostly due to the problems the two women appeared to have with each other in the ring.

The other big segment was Shawn Michaels and Undertaker's confrontation. I would agree that Taker shouldn't have given Michaels what he wanted after HBK cost him the title and perhaps HBK should've had to do more for Taker to grant the match, but Taker did force Michaels to put his career on the line. As guest hosts, Jewel and Ty Murray were rather harmless, though Murray did show a bit of personality on the mic. While the Orton-Legacy issue was mildly interesting, I can't help but think how effective this would've been two months ago.

Shawn Valentino, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.0)

This week's edition of Raw was a huge improvement over last week. But then again, last week's was one of the worst Raws I have ever seen. Here is the good from this week: The opening segment was very well done. I am looking forward to Edge-Jericho. This is the case of WWE being predictable in a good way. These are two of the best workers in the WWE, both on promos and in the ring, so they will definitely make Smackdown must-watch television. I thought the Taker-HBK segment was solid, though unspectacular compared to what they are capable of. I liked the intensity from both men and how they are playing up what a monumental match this is. I really liked the segment with Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase. They may have dropped the ball in building up the credibility of Legacy, but I like the interactions between the three characters, including the mind-games and tension. Orton's DDT on Cody as well as his sudden RKO on Ted were brilliantly orchestrated. I hope if they turn him that they keep his badass aura because they can win over some of the fans that don't like Cena. I didn't like Batista's sudden impromptu match against Cena at the Elimination Chamber, but I liked his beat-down of him on this show. He is playing the quiet deadly heel very well and I hope they keep him strong.

On the downside, I hated the constant "What?" chants during the Michaels-Taker exchange. I always hated that stupid chant and as great as Austin was, the lasting impact of this slogan is awful. I also thought the segment came off a bit flat for such a huge moment. I don't like the Michaels retirement stipulation because career-ending matches in wrestling do not mean anything. I didn't like Vince calling Bret back out. It seems like we are seeing the same thing from Vince every couple of weeks. First he announces that he won't allow Bret back. Then he invites him back on the show. I hope they are doing something interesting with this because for me the Hart return has been disappointing. I fast forwarded through the guest host segments. Thank goodness for DVR!

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