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WWE Raw Reax #1: "Congratulations WWE, you've earned my viewership for at least one more week." Sep 3, 2007 - 11:09:00 PM
Sanjiv Shukla of Clearwater, Fla. (5.0) - Best match: London/Kendrick vs. Haas/Benjamin. Worst match: Triple H's lack of long-term selling. Quarters one through six were some of the best we have seen from Raw all summer. Orton showed great intensity and an edge that has been sorely lacking from his "Legend Killer" character until recently; could have done without the extreme close-up though. While I initially wasn't buying John Cena's beatdown of William Regal, Cena eventually sold the conflicted and slightly deranged character well. The no. 1 contender tag match was great for those of us who crave wrestling on Monday nights - imagine what they could do with 15 minutes on a pay-per-view. I don't understand why Cody Rhodes has earned the right to have Haas & Benjamin job to him, and worse, how he got the privilege of teaming with Mickie James. I was hoping Mickie would give him a huracanrana when he hoisted her up on his shoulders. Speaking of nepotism, just so I'm clear, Triple H received Carlito's finisher, a vicious kick from Umaga, and a joint beatdown, yet two minutes later he is standing over a bloodied Umaga, sledgehammer in hand? Wellness suspension or not, I don't like the associated insult to my intelligence. The last segment with Vince (which I expected to open the show, thereby burying the show's score before it could ever surface) was actually not terrible. It felt like Kennedy was Darth Vader trying to convince Vince (Luke) to join the Dark Side. Although turbulent, the segment set up a nice cliffhanger heading into next week. Congratulations WWE, you've earned my viewership for at least one more week.
Michael Cardillo of Long Island, N.Y. (6.0): Best Match, Worst Matc...does it really matter? This was a compelling two hours in that reality and entertainment were colliding center ring. The levels to which ''punishment'' was handed out was quite interesting, ranging from doing the normal job (Haas) to being completely decimated (Umaga). The Cena STFU on Regal was a little too much. I was surprised to find myself being that sensitive to seeing one wrestler choke out another. This next month will be so intriguing because those who have been entertaining the last 30 days (Umaga, Regal, Kennedy) most likely will be MIA the next 30 and there will need to be those who will need to step up on that side of the coin. Perhaps by Halloween we'll have a full two hours of entertaining characters. Lastly, I will reveal the McMahon bastard son... Hornswoggle - "Things are looking up" and he's Irish!
Adam J. Grammas of Westchester, Ill. (2.0): Worst: Bastard storyline. Best-10:07 p.m. CST. "Things are looking up"? That can only mean one thing - Triple H. How many weeks did they tell people to look up before they dumped green gook or feces on them? So rather than elevate a guy like Kennedy like they did with Hunter during the Stephanie-Test wedding, they're going to go back to Triple H in a sick storyline. They'll probably do up a baby with a fake third eye since there is "blood" between Steph and Hunter. Shelton dies his hair, Carlito cuts his hair, and Murdoch cuts his hair - too much change in one week for me!
A.A. Norman of Tulsa, Okla. (8.0): Best match: Sledgehammer vs. Umaga. Worst match: Suspensions vs. Storylines. So they suspend ten wrestlers and need to explain it away. At this rate, the only title changes we're ever going to see are not going to be on PPVs. They're going to be when there's a draft and someone transfers shows (Bobby Lashley) or a champ gets injured (Undertaker, Edge). Not a bad show, but I am greatly disappointed with the release of Cryme Tyme. Given the choice between Cade & Murdoch or Cryme Tyme, think about which team fans would rather see, but get stuck watching more than we'd want. It isn't because they're heels, it's because they're unoriginal and stale. Finally, why is Randy Orton free from being suspended, or so I hear? This is not just punishment across the board, from what I've seen, and I just might not tune in next week from annoyance. It's football season, baby.
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