J.B. of Windsor, Ont. (2.0): Best match: Marella vs. Venis. Worst match: Umaga vs. Simmonz. I'll be honest. I turned the show off three quarters of the way in because it was just too mind-numbing and dull to sit through. This week's Raw seemed to drag on forever and accomplish nothing. The injury to John Cena and the absence of Triple H left a gaping hole in the show that Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton simply couldn't fill. As well, it seems really counterproductive for the E to make make their new champion look weak in three matches when Cena is gone and they really need someone strong at the top to carry the load. Rhodes-Holly has gone on for far too long. Cody's lost so often that when he does win it'll be perceived as a fluke. The Hornswoggle stuff was funny once, but it's really wearing out its welcome. The Orton matches were unimpressive, the women's match was just there, and the extended Umaga beatdown was just cringe-worthy, and not in a good way. Santino Marella continues to be the lone bright spot of Raw, though. Beyond that, the E's flagship show seems to be treading water and not really moving forward. They really need to find some way to inject some electricity into this show, and fast, because without Cena they're just floundering.

Michael Grimaldi of Lansowne, Pa. (7.0): Okay, let's play a game. The name of this game is, "Decide what you want to see on a wrestling show." Why do we play this game? Because all I read about TNA's two hour show is how rushed everything is, how things are not explained fully or allowed to develop over time, and, most importantly, they don't sell you on why you should buy a PPV. So here we have Raw this week... no really good matches, but an entire show built on selling the top two PPV matches on the show. In reports of the show I read words such as "pointless" or "dragged" or "not enough" to describe the segments in question. Was 14 minutes TOO long for the visual explanation of the Triple H-Umaga? Maybe. Do we understand the stipulations? Yes. It was a good visual way to show what you might see when you order the PPV that wasn't done by yelling and screaming at you about each style of match... you saw it. A lot of people don't like the ends of shows that give them three minutes of a PPV match and leave you hanging. Funny, most people think Bill Watts is a genius booker and that's how Mid-South ended every week. So three-to-five (including promos) segments devoted to the main event of the PPV and one 14 minute segment for the second main Raw Cyber Sunday match. Could Kendrick & London be used better? Yes. Is Val vs. Santino a nothing match, to most. Cody vs. Holly is very smartly booked, but again, it requires patience. I'll end with this: In the Russo era(s), hot-shotting for the sake of reacting to a low number in the ratings was deeply frowned upon by the smart mark internet/sheet community. Hell, it still is to this date when TNA takes one hour of hotshotting and makes two hours of it. What I think you can take from this show is simple; tomorrow you will remember who the choices for the WWE Title match are and what the stips for the Triple H vs. Umaga match are. Is that really bad writing?

Jay Povo of Sturbridge, Mass. (6.0): Best: Storyline Advancement. Worst: Lack of Wrestling. One of the main reasons I enjoy wrestling more than MMA or boxing is because of the dramatic storylines that pull you in and peak your interest. Raw does this better than any other wrestling show right now. They can also hype a PPV better than anyone else. Everything you see (except the Horny and Coach sideshow) is advancing something, and they do it in a way that is spread out and easy to digest. Santino is building towards getting that Stunner and the Holly-Rhodes feud is playing out nicely; that'll be an interesting tag team to watch if that's the plan for those two. Beth Phoenix cuts great promos, and I hope her feud with Candice ends next week because I really miss seeing Mickie James. The tag division is still horrible, although the champs are great. The Highlanders are boring and Paul London needs to ditch his twelve year old tag partner and find a new one. The WWE should unify the tag belts and put all the tag teams on Raw, then put the Women's Championship on SD since both divisions are so weak. It felt strange not seeing Triple H; it almost seemed like a test, like they were trying to see if Randy Orton can draw ratings on his own. I don't see why he couldn't; the man is the complete package and I'm sure the ratings will be up from last week. Its pretty obvious who they want you to vote into the main event for Cyber Sunday, and why not vote for HBK? I'd rather see him take on Orton and have Hardy-Kennedy on the card; it just makes more sense. Good show.

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