A.A. Norman of Tulsa, Okla. (6.0): Best match: Hardy vs. Michaels; Worst match: Incest foreshadowing. They really shouldn't have promoted the dog show, because after I realized it was on, we started watching the dog show with occasional flips back to Raw. I am a little bit afraid of where the brother-sister duo are going and I think everyone else watching out there is, too. We've had a gay duo in Billy and Chuck, which turned out to be a lot of fun. We've had a little lesbian teasing with Mickie James and Trish Stratus, which was very weird. However, I picture nothing but bad out of a potential brother-sister makeout scene... not that we'll be totally turned off, because we all know they aren't really brother-sister. Santino Marella must have had fun making out with two women in one night, but it's about time they let him do his "Santino's Casa" on television. Everytime I see HBK in a main event against a non-Cena/Orton, I expect him to win because he is Triple's buddy and he probably thinks he deserves it. However, it is encouraging to see that it wasn't the case Monday night. Speaking of Triple H, where is he? Is he by any chance playing Mr. Mom at home, or trying to explain to the boss why he'll be a grandaddy again?
Bryant Mooney of Stamford, Conn. (8.5) Best: Jeff Hardy vs. Shawn Michaels Worst: Melina vs. Maria. I was so happy that they got the Hornswoggle vs. Mr. McMahon match out of the way in the beginning instead of pushing it to the second hour. It was just what I expected and it was just a way to keep the storyline going. I don't know what to think about this storyline anymore now that they will have a steel cage match next week. Chris Jericho vs. JBL was a very good TV match. It was very enjoyable and a fun match to show and would not be the only one this week. The "Don't Do Drugs" promo kinda got me by surprised because I didn't expect WWE to have that type of promo. I know that they have the "Please, Don't Try This At Home" thing, but I never expected a "Don't Do Drugs" one. It's for the best though. I think this "Incest" storyline will be very interesting and will be good for Paul Burchill and the lovely Katie Lea. It was a pretty decent debut for Burchill on Raw, has Brian Kendrick turned into a professional jobber? His best days were definitely on Smackdown. John Cena vs. Mark Henry was just a way to put more momentum on Cena (like he really needs anymore momentum) It didn't serve anything else but that sole purpose. The Kennedy-Flair promo was a great promo. It was a very great way to sell their match. The kick to the knee by Kennedy was a great touch as well. The Melina vs. Maria match was also just to serve a single purpose and that to build Maria up for the Playboy cover. You can never have enough Playboy hype right? The taped Triple H promo was a great promo with him voice-overing it. Now to the match of the night. Jeff Hardy vs. Shawn Michaels is easily a four-star match. This was definitely one of my dream matches. They both displayed excellent athleticism and it was absolutely great to watch. It was so good to watch that right after Raw went off the air, I watched the match again on tape, that's how good it was to me. They gave it more than enough time and had a PPV match feel to it. It also gave hope that Jeff Hardy's push is not completely over. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch at WrestleMania. Overall, it was a very good show and had little to no flaws and was a great way to push the final sell towards No Way Out. They did alot better than TNA did pushing Against All Odds. Time to enjoy "The Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin" DVD, Oh Hell Yeah!
Rick Gardner of Manchester, England (6.5): Best match Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Hardy. Worst match: Vince McMahon vs. Hornswoggle. This week's Raw was a prime example of what the WWE is getting right at the moment, but unfortunately it was also indicative of what the booking team is getting very wrong. The interaction between Vince McMahon and Hornswoggle got beyond a joke months ago, but WWE continues to push this storyline at the risk of alienating even its most loyal fans. The fact that they have booked the owner of the company in a steel cage match with a midget for next weeks show makes me glad that the mainstream media ignores the WWE, except when one of its stars unexpectedly passes away. However, the fact that the Y2J-JBL and Michaels-Jeff Hardy matches were given time far in excess of the five minutes usually allotted to Raw matches says a lot about the direction in which the WWE is going at the moment. The main event was particularly good, probably the best WWE television match since Michaels-Cena in London last year, although the clean finish raises the issue of how much the WWE should give away on free TV. Raw is essentially a vehicle for increasing PPV buys, but why should fans bother to get the Pay Per Views when they can see Pay Per View calibre matches for free on a Monday night? It could be argued that the matches served as a preview for the upcoming Elimination Chamber match, but Y2J-JBL and Michaels-Jeff Hardy are both contests worthy of featuring on PPV, which will be hard to sell to viewers in the future who have already seen them on Raw. Regardless of this short-sighted booking, Hardy is coming across as a real star at the moment, and this win only served to make him look stronger in the run up to No Way Out. The rest of the show was a mixed bag. John Cena looked strong again, and it was nice to know that his miraculous recovery from his torn pec muscle was done with “no shortcuts” (although I suppose that depends on what your definition of a shortcut is). Santino Marella is the best character on Raw at the moment, but it's a shame that he has not meaningful feud to get involved with. Brian Kendrick must be tearing his hair out over the fact that a midget can get a win over the owner, whilst he is discriminated against due to his size to the point of not winning a match in several 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.
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LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1045 (20 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story by Wade Keller on Jake Roberts's indy show meltdown... Keller's BBL looks at WWE's decision to put all three World Champs in a Triple Threat on the MyNetwork debut of Smackdown... Page 2 Buzz with Jason Powell features tons of insider news items from WWE and TNA... Part three of the "Torch Talk" with Lanny Poffo... Pat McNeill's "At the Bar for Unforgiven" column... In-depth coverage of the TNA No Surrender PPV including the newsletter-exclusive Roundtable Reviews from Keller, Mitchell, and McNeill... Plus WWE Newswire, TNA Newswire, and ROH Newswire, Keller's reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, the Top 5 Stories of the Week... PDF EXCLUSIVE features include the Greg Parks's review of the new Mr. Perfect DVD and Brian Hoops looks at pro wrestlers with Olympic backgrounds........
