Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 4/16
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 7.0

Raw was certainly an up-and-down show this week, with a lot of steam being lost in the last half-hour. I understand trying to make John Cena look vulnerable, but I still can't take Lord Tensai seriously. He just doesn't fit in this era (yes, Brodus has more of a place than he does). Why would WWE even have him beat Cena with the lack of reaction he's been getting lately? The match itself was nothing special and it killed the crowd. To me, Albert seems out of shape and very limited in his moveset, has little charisma, and his character was DOA. And, if they're trying to make Cena look weaker, then have him lose clean. Someone please e-mail me the last time Cena lost a match without any shenanigans whatsoever (that includes manager interference, distractions, etc.). That boat has sailed a long time ago. Not a good segment there.

I also didn't get the Tag Title match. Why have the tag champions lose so quickly? Even if it's going to lead with a new alliance with Abraham Washington, it makes the Tag Titles look even more worthless than usual. It's not as bad as TNA's TV Title in terms of credibility, but it's getting there. And, as much as I adore Brodus Clay, Dolph Ziggler should be shooting up the ladder right now. Save the comedy stuff for someone else. Oh, R-Truth's character has officially jumped the shark, by the way. Those Sherlock Holmes skits were terrible.

Now, some positives. The rest of the show was much better in comparison, with the crowd being great all night. There were two very nice matches tonight, with Daniel Bryan, Kofi, and thousands of "Yes!" chants, as well as the opener of Punk vs. Henry (even though the match had a few sloppy moments to it). Both matches had a pretty nice run time and didn't over-stay their welcome. Even if the Punk-Jericho feud is still being overshadowed by whatever Cena does, it's still a lot of fun to watch. Once again, both guys had nice promos, and while the Street Fight stipulation seems a bit too close to Cena and Brock Lesnar's Extreme Rules stip, it is also fitting for the feud. Elsewhere, the U.S. Title match was quick and painless, and Kane's attack of Ryder was solid.

The two promos with Cena and Lesnar were especially good, though, righting several of the wrongs of last week. Sure, they're still rushing through the story at a mile a minute, but for what it's worth both guys had some very good promos. Cena's was serious, cohesive, and sold their match pretty well. Brock's was great in that it was done like an MMA interview without breaking kayfabe. Lesnar seemed like he was telling the truth in his comments, and his candid remarks made him seem like a no-nonsense bad-ass. That being said, I have to continue to question (a) why they have him paired up with John Laurinaitis, and (b) why they have him as a heel. Sure, technically it makes more sense, but in the best-case scenario, people will just boo both Cena and Lesnar. They won't be able to put everyone back in Cena's corner after the damage that's been done to his character over the last year. That being said, it worked overall, and tonight was a solid showing for Raw. It wasn't superb, but it was definitely better than last week's offering, and had many more successful segments. Did it do anything to turn around ratings, though? Nope.

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

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