Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 1/30
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 9.0

What a hot start on the road to WrestleMania! This was a really good show that featured a great mix of surprises, promos, and wrestling. All of the negatives tonight were pretty minor (Truth's inane commentary, the seconds-long Divas match, etc.), and I was thoroughly entertained for almost the entire show.

First, let's discuss Undertaker's return. The segment before was fine with Triple H and Laurinaitis, but business really didn't pick up until Taker arrived. But, boy, that last part of the show was great, for more reasons than just being mesmerized by Taker's new hairpiece. It was cool to see them do a take-off their original confrontation last year around the same time, when Triple H interrupted Taker's return. Why Taker is issuing the challenge to Triple H is beyond me, especially after he refused to give Shawn a re-match for such a long time back in 2010, though. But, I digress.

The lowest point of the show came with the Kane-Cena-Divas segment. It wasn't a bad segment, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what they want people to feel about Cena. Is it good that he's embracing the hate? Should people be cheering him any more? And, at the same time, what happened to all of the credibility Kane's developed over the last couple of months? It all seemed to work, but at the same time the story they're telling is very odd.

The real highlight of the show was the in-ring action. Miz and Kofi had a nice, short match, and Dolph and Orton made the most of their eleven-minute segment. But, the real props tonight go to Bryan and Punk, who had an astonishingly good match that left me wanting so much more. The pace was great, the action really brought the crowd into it, and, overall, it was one of the best Raw matches I've seen in a while. The ending was great, too, in that it started up the Jericho-Punk feud, while giving Bryan another fluky win to build up his heel character. Awesome!

Really, there's very little to complain about with tonight's show. Brodus was fine, the main segments did their job, and the in-ring action was great. If this is how Raw's going to be over the next two months, then Mania's going to have...oh yeah, there's another pay-per-view in February.

Any questions or comments? Follow me on Twitter at BTuckertorch, or e-mail me at btuckertorch@aol.com.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt