James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (5.5)

I didn't care for this week's show, as there were too many wrestlers in meaningless segments, poor writing in the middle of the show, and bad humor. The show itself I would give a thumbs down to, but the overall potential for future Raw storylines gets a thumbs up. It averages out to a mild thumbs up on the strength of Batista's heel work, potential for a Miz & Jericho team, Edge's heel promo, and Randy Orton carrying himself like a top star in wrestling.

Batista will be missed when and if he walks away from WWE. His heel promo work is outstanding right now and he's clearly doing the best work of his career. Three PPVs in a row for Cena vs. Batista seems like over-kill, but I could see WWE adding a career stipulation to the match at Over the Limit to raise the stakes.

How WWE explained the Miz & Jericho pairing was completely absurd, but I like the pairing in general. WWE has watered down the brand split for so long that all of a sudden Miz and Jericho can't cross the moat filled with crocodiles to conquer Big Show in the Smackdown castle unless they win the tag titles? Lame. Beyond the lameness, the long-term potential is tremendous, especially continuing to elevate Hart Dynasty in the process. It will be interesting to see what WWE does with Jericho & Miz over the long haul, as both men have potential to have good singles programs with babyfaces on Raw. Plenty of options are available here.

The final segment of Raw was excellently written and played out. It came across like WWE put 90 percent of their effort into Orton-Edge and forgot about the middle of the show. Edge's heel promo was right on-point, Orton playing the silent assassin to agitate Edge even more was played up perfectly, and Orton being cemented as a babyface simply because the fans respect him now was a fine explanation. Interestingly, Orton is being positioned stronger than Cena right now as the top babyface on Raw. It's a sidebar element that will be interesting to watch play out over time.

Tony Donofrio, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

A predictable yet solid edition of Raw. There weren't really any surprises or anything that jumped out but at the same time there wasn't anything that made me say, "boy, this sucks." I wasn't surprised to see John Cena win the "Beat the Clock Challenge" and was even happier than Chris Jericho wasn't squashed in less than five minutes by Cena. I'm guessing that we'll see a triple threat match at Over the Limit for the WWE Title though. Hopefully that announcement will be made next Monday night in my hometown of Pittsburgh (a show that I will be attending, I'm glad you asked!). I also have to agree with a friend of mine that texted me during the show last night, Sheamus has stepped up lately in a big way. He shows improvement every week and is starting to look like a credible main eventer. It was just a few months ago that everyone was outraged at his quick success. It seems as though that has died down lately as Sheamus continues to prove himself.

As much as I'm for the recent Edge heel turn, does anyone else feel like Edge is more of a 'tweener than anything? His face cheers had started to wane recently but a lot of fans still want to cheer him. His continued heel turn last night almost felt forced. I don't doubt that Edge will able to pull it off in the long run because he's great as a heel. But right now, it feels like Edge is in limbo more than anything. Randy Orton, on the other hand, is on top of his game right now. This edition of Raw was a strong indication of that. He didn't have to utter a word and was over big time as a face. Funny how so much changed in a matter of a few months for Orton.

As for the tag division, we could see some very interesting interactions and some really good matches in the coming weeks and/or months if they pull the trigger with the seemingly impending Jericho/Miz-Hart Dynasty feud. My only gripe at this moment with The Dynasty is that they don't get nearly enough mic time to help get them over. All the casual fan knows at this point is that the trio were trained in the Hart family dungeon. I know that Tyson Kidd and DH Smith aren't great on the mic yet, but Natalya is decent with promos (and GREAT in the ring, but don't let me get on my soapbox for that one!). Point being, the trio will be able to get over more with more mic time and the only way they'll get better is with practice (even if that practice is at house shows).

As for the rest of Raw, nothing really stood out or was memorable. I like the story of Ted DiBiase looking for "his Virgil." I think it makes for entertaining television and we all know that he'll get his Virgil! Only question is, who will that be? DiBiase and John Morrison also had a strong showing with their match. I even loved the finish as it gave me a flashback to Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart when Hart was able to pin Austin the same way when Austin tried to win the the "Million Dollar Dream".

Like I said, overall it was decent show and as I always say, sometimes the predictable way is the right direction to go. This edition of Raw was no exception to that rule.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (6.5)

Solid, solid edition of Raw. Wayne Brady did well as guest host and didn't seem out-of-place. John Cena's feud with Batista has been nicely advanced, with Sheamus sticking his nose in. One wonders what that will inevitably lead to down the line. The tag team of Miz and Jericho has a lot of promise, but of course the downside is that both men really deserve good singles pushes. There was some filler, but reminding viewers that Zack Ryder or William Regal is on Raw is not a bad thing, especially if they want to push them down the line.

The final segment was really good, as I liked Edge's explanation for his turn back heel. Lot of real-life truth to it as well. The only segment that I thought was a waste was Santino's backstage ditty with Brady. With guest hosts, you have to chalk one of those up per week usually. They even (sorta) made Eve vs. Maryse interesting. The NXT Rookies got some good exposure on Raw, and Daniel Bryan is now over more for it. Wade Barrett didn't stand out, but did just enough to look decent. DiBiase vs. Morrison & Truth is an intriguing feud that could go a lot of different directions. No real stand-out matches brought the score down a tad.

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