Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 4/9
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 5.0

Well, the Three Stooges were bad. Let's get that out of the way. Every segment they were involved in was a huge dud, and the crowd barely reacted to them at all. Terrible idea having them on the show. Moving on, the rest of the show was the definition of hit-or-miss. The show had several moments of brilliance, but was hampered by multiple comedic or dull segments on the show. Can someone explain to me why David Otunga was in the main event? Or, how come Zack Ryder, after finally getting a break, is now playing jobber to the stars? Notably, Del Rio, who hasn't developed at all since mid-2010 when his debut vignettes first started. Seriously, someone has to think up new catchphrases for him or something. It's not a good sign when the lackey announcer has more charisma and depth.

The Rhodes-Show segment didn't work nearly as well the second time around. Cody looks like an utter fool (something that's not in-tune with his current character), and Show and Truth gained nothing in the process. On a separate note, what is WWE doing with Truth at the moment? It seems like they could be doing so much with him, considering a psycho character has so many different possible routes to explore. Instead, he's back to floundering in the Raw mid-card like he was before WrestleMania 27. The opening tag match was decent, but it felt rushed, with Dolph looking too weak in the end. Brodus continues to look strong, but if he's moving into real feuds, he's going to have to start selling more. Finally, someone needs to give Tensai a character overhaul. Yes, another one. The character is one-dimensional, isn't getting over with the crowd, and doesn't fit in with the current WWE. Focusing on his knockout abilities is the only way to get this guy over. As it is, his stock is falling pretty fast.

But, two segments on this show saved it from being a huge stinker. First, the continuation of the Punk-Jericho saga was great. Jericho continues to look like a slimeball, Mark Henry didn't look bad, and Punk is showing some great emotion and character development that the crowd seems to be buying into. Even without giving Jericho some wins, they've successfully made me want to see him get destroyed at Extreme Rules. All of their promos were well done, and the segment in its entirety was great.

Now, we come to the opening Cena-Lesnar brawl. Take note, TNA. Brawls like this don't work when they're done every single week. The fact that the roster (or security, etc.) almost never comes out to pull two guys away from each other really elevated this segment and made it special. While I'm not too sure about John Laurinaitis becoming Brock's new manager (Heyman's better!), the intensity of the segment was awesome, and Cena taking a legit shot (or at least it seems) to the face only enhanced the entire affair. It's things like this that really enhance a feud, and this one brawl really made the show. Unfortunately, the rest of the show couldn't live up to these two segments, resulting in a mediocre Raw. Go watch these two parts of the show - it's better you forget about the rest.

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

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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