Email This Article- Contact Us - VIP Sign-Up - Back to Home Page

|

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.5 if it were clear of botches; 5.5 because it was loaded with them): Best: Shawn/Triple H promo; DX vs. Snitsky/Umaga; Cena vs. Philadelphia. Worst: Cody vs. Carlito The build to No Way Out and Wrestlemania is off an running and good so far. The WWE title and Number One contender matches are already set - and an interesting booking that the Rumble title shot is cashed in at a lesser PPV than Mania. The opening Cena-Orton promo was strong. The crowd was mixed and turning angrier (completely drowning out the supporters) the longer Cena went, and Cena's face told a huge one that this wasn't expected. (I'm not among the haters, but I am in agreement with those that say that Cena is bigger - his hands and arms are bloated looking.) Even Orton couldn't get it to change much, though he was fine on the mic. Orton still has his attentions on Hardy (who looked in legit pain) in the main event, which added to his being in the Elimination Chamber come No Way Out still leaves the door open on the push upward. I liked how Kendrick just went on the attack on Kennedy, though it would have been nice for continuity to acknowledge that Kendrick would be looking to avenge his fairly recent previous loss to Kennedy. Kennedy is next for Flair, but no good closure for Kennedy-Michaels in his promo (Ken did toss out Shawn). I hate when WWE detaches feuds like that! In between all of this there were botches galore: tongues ties (though Regal covered himself well enough) and botched spots everwhere. DX-Snitsky/Umaga was best simply because there were none (and it was good match, too). I'm hoping there will be something that explains how the six were named for the Elimination Chamber match, as qualifiers had been used in the past. And I'm not sure what to make of Mike Adamle. I have a bit of a soft spot for him as he came from WLS-TV sports in Chicago, but he looked out of place. In his defense, it so looked like he was left hanging. He plugged the WWE Title and Elimination Chamber matches, and by the phrasing there was a place to ask the crowd behind him who they think would win the EC match (this one the first where the Number One Contendership is on the line and not the title itself), but it was never done. Could have made the EC match and its competitors a bigger deal, but made Adamle look bad instead. Tough baptism by fire, Mike, but I don't think they should get rid of him yet.

Arturo Garcia of San Diego, Calif. (6.5): Best Match: Hardy/Jericho vs. JBL/Orton. Worst Match: Carlito/Cody. And after weeks of big moments and solid build for the Rumble, we're right back to the drawing board. Absolutely nothing about this show stood out. Beside Maria's underwear, of course.

Harley R. Pageot of Oshawa, Ont. - Occupation: Retail Clerk (6.0): I was really hoping they would follow up on who let Cena be in the Rumble match and how he just happened to get number 30, but no luck. With Regal and McMahon in charge, it seems like they should be out to get Cena just as much as Triple H so it seems unusual they'd welcome his joining. In which case, a secret alliance between the two parties would make sense from a storyline point and finally freshen up Cena's character. I guess it could still be coming but it seems unlikely.

Leonard Tripodi of Kenilworth, N.J. (4.0): Best: Candice's Go Daddy commercial footage. Worst: Carlito vs. Rhodes. This was a very forgettable episode of Raw following a better-than-average Rumble PPV. The Philly crowd was as vocal as always, especially during the opening segment when they let Cena have it (cheers and jeers). The Cena-Orton confrontation was solid, but a little winded on Cena's part. His rambling about risking his career and health is somewhat believable, though, since he probably felt like he needed to get back into the title mix before Mania as to not lose his spot on the roster. Many of us don't like him, but I can identify with his situation. Aside from his monster push picking up where it left off last year; his pre-Mania return will most likely bury Hardy and others in the process. There were plenty other aspects of this show which bothered me, like having Melina job for WWE's next Playboy shoot girl. Has Melina become the official Diva jobber? I actually like Maria as a Diva, but she's going to receive the "Candice push" until the magazine is out. One good thing coming from this is an overprotective Santino and his rants of jealousy about how none of us will ever see her naked. His timing and delivery has been on point. He's obviously delusional, though, because it's a done deal. Please keep Trashley off my TV screen. That girl just bothers me for some reason. And Ric Flair should ALWAYS keep his shirt on before, during, and especially after a match. Hopefully, Flair will retire from active competition after Mania, but remain in some sort of authority role backstage where he can wear one of his expensive suits. We got another impromptu DX reunion with two near forty year olds acting goofy backstage and shilling more DX merchandise. I can really do without this kind of crap now. Michaels is becoming a parody of his former self. His wrestling skills and charisma are still solid, but he's just acting way too sophomoric and zany for a top tier veteran. Triple H dissing on Michael Buffer was funny, though. A lot of Torch writers are commenting on the overall wrestling quality and sloppiness as of late. And I agree. Everyone, including the production staff on occasion, just seems to be a step off or a notch below of what they are capable of. Cody Rhodes and others are blowing spots left and right. No Way Out is a shaping up to be a throwaway PPV for me, since I can pretty much predict the results beforehand. WWE went to great lengths in properly building and then featuring a fresh and compelling Hardy-Orton feud, along with showing signs of pushing Kennedy, MVP and others with more intent. But with Cena's surprising, early return, everything will pretty settle back to where it was before Survivor Series. I can clearly see Triple H winning the Elimination Chamber, followed by Cena defeating Orton for the WWE Title, leading to a massively overhyped Superman vs. Super boy main event at Mania in two months.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.

For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA, ROH
visit our affiliate: JASON POWELL'S PROWRESTLING.NET

For UFC AND MMA NEWS & BLOGS
visit our affiliate: MMATORCH.COM - now featuring Jamie Penick's MMATorch Daily Audio Updates!

REACT TO THIS STORY IN OUR FREE PWTORCH FORUM

PWTORCH VIP SIGN-UP INFO - NO ADS, EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

|