Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 3/19
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 8.0

Finally, Raw feels like WrestleMania season! Of course, that entails borderline too much talking, but in the end the show was very enjoyable and a great step forward for Mania build. For one, the follow-up to Chris Jericho's promo from Raw last week was great. C.M. Punk had the perfect amount of intensity and emotion in his promo, and Jericho's speech afterwards was also very well done. I mean really, who doesn't want to see a guy as sleazy as Jericho get beaten up?

None of the matches really stood out to me, but they weren't that bad and didn't end up hurting the credibility of too many guys. Of course, The Miz's loss was quick, but that's part of the story they're telling with him, and Ryder's decisive loss pretty much goes with his gimmick of being the underdog. Most of these matches were good enhancements for guys like Bryan, Sheamus, and even Ziggler to a certain extent that gave the announcers enough time to draw attention to the various matches at Mania. And, in general, most of these segments worked. Kane did end up getting overshadowed in the opening match, but Rhodes's attack on Show was effective. At the same time, both Sheamus and Bryan had their cred boosted, and Mark Henry didn't end up looking too weak against Cena. And, while the GM match hype hasn't been extraordinary, the story they're telling is at least solid enough with various wrestlers jockeying for a position to be on either team.

I'm glad the Cena-Rock feud had some time to breathe tonight. It allowed other feuds to shine, and allowed everything they've done over the past few weeks to digest. And, the final segment of the show with Triple H, HBK, and Undertaker was, once again, very well done. All three characters, even with their different motives, gel extremely well together, and I love the subtleties that each of the three men have in their exchanges (like HBK snickering when Taker told Triple H that he thinks Shawn is better). They've done a great job selling this match for WrestleMania, moreso than any other match on the card so far.

And, in the end, this was a pretty good night of television. The key to it all? Pacing. The show didn't skip a beat when going from segment to segment, but still allowed enough time to go over the past happenings of the night. It's something that TNA still doesn't get right, and it's something that WWE itself doesn't even get right a lot of the time, but it was definitely on display tonight.

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