Will M. of Phoenix, Ariz. (0.5): Best: London vs. Cade. Worst: Everything else. Looks like the WWE has laid another egg on the big build-up; the only thing separating this from the Gobbledy Gooker is a lack of feathers and no dancing Gene Okerlund. Didn't crap like this kill WCW? Horrible matches, complete garbage in between, and Hornswoggle as McMahon's illegitimate child. Throw in Glacier and Larry Zbyszko forehead and you'd have your average episode of Nitro. This sucked. I wish I would have watched the first quarter of the Cardinals-49ers game instead.
Kris Smoot of Frankfort, Kentucky (5.5): Best Match: Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin. Worst Match: Jeff Hardy vs. The Great Khali. This was an overall decent edition of Raw. However, I thought that Vince McMahon's presence over the show was too great. I got tired of seeing Vince every 5-10 minutes. It was also predictable when Cena overcame the odds that the Coach and security put in front of him. We all knew he was going to find some way into the arena. I was laughing when Santino hurt his leg trying to break Sandman's cane. If creative would've decided to cut out some of McMahon's appearances, they could have given Santino more TV time. He is showing great characteristics of a jealous heel. The Women's Division is just in shambles. I wonder how they could possibly have Candice retain the title at Unforgiven. Staying on the subject of Unforgiven, I think that they added an interesting stipulation to the Triple H-Carlito match. This will give Carlito more exposure. Neither Khali nor Batista should've been given ring time. Enough said. I think that they gave too many clues leading up to the revelation of Hornswoggle being the bastard son. The false finish made no sense, as most know that Triple H is married to Vince's daughter. I'm looking forward to Unforgiven.
Clinton Fitch of Wichita Falls, Tex. (1.0): Best match: N/A. Worst match: The revealing of Mr. McMahon's son. As I was in class until 9:00, I only saw the last hour of the show, but it was enough for me. It was enough to lose the last shred of faith I had in WWE's product. I've been a WWF/WWE fan for over 20 years, and after what I saw tonight, they're not getting a minute more out of me. On a positive note, it's nice to see that WWE is going out of their way to make it a point to discipline those in their roster for substance abuse; in fact, I was even impressed at the ways Regal and Umaga were "written off" the show last week. (I was wondering how they were going to write Mr. Kennedy off TV for a month, though, and what they did come up with was pretty lame…) Anyway, about the show itself... Khali-Hardy did nothing for me. Khali squeezed on Hardy's head much longer than he did with Mysterio, and yet no blood? And again, Batista makes the save after the damage is already done. What a hero. Randy Orton cut another intense promo, and John Cena's matching intensity is what led me to give the show as high a rating as I did. Cena's a guy who does what he does simply because he loves it, and that's what I've always liked about him. Now, about the "big reveal"... with WWE shooting themselves in the collective foot (or maybe the face, depending on how you look at it) with their "wellness policy," the creative team really had to step up to find a suitable and credible "son" for the Chairman. And they came up with a leprechaun. A LEP-RE-CHAUN. With the substance abuse, the brain damage, the raunchiness, and the idiot storylines, this is too much. I've seen Wrestlecrap moments before, but this takes the cake. After 20-plus years of following WWE, going to shows, buying the $22 t-shirts, DVR-ing the TV programs, and hearing "You actually WATCH that stuff?" from friends and co-workers, I suddenly find myself with better things to do with my time. And after seeing Pacman Jones win a championship without laying a finger on another wrestler except to pin him, I don't think I'm going to put my faith in TNA, either. You're seeing the end of an era, folks. The Micro Aggression figures are leaving my desk at work, the $22 t-shirts are going to Goodwill, and my DVR record list is going to be shorter by three shows as of tomorrow. Hope you're happy with what you've done to your fans, Vince, because you know I'm just one of thousands who're going to turn their backs on you after tonight (if they haven't already). I've given up on wrestling before, but WWE has given me a good enough reason to stay gone.
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