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

|

Remember when writing in reader reax to TV shows to include your occupation or school, also, just to personalize everone's responses a little..

Jason Stevens of Edgewood, Md. (Restaurant Manager) (7.5): Best Match: Main Event Worst Match: McMahon-Hornswoggle. Though the score doesn't reflect a stellar show, I was most impressed with WWE's ability to make No Way Out feel like a can't miss event in the same way they have succeeded doing the same with Backlash. And it's HOW they did it that impresses me the most. As a rule I do not order PPVs aside from the"'major ones," but after last night's Raw I changed my mind. Contrast WWE's confidence in Michaels and Hardy's in-ring ability to push the PPV to TNA's foaming-at-the-mouth West and Tenay pitches and it is obvious why most Americans only recognize one professional wrestling promotion.

Paul Calligan, Jr of Hoover, Ala. (9.0): Best Match - Hardy/HBK  Worse Match - None.  The show entertained from head to toe.   The WWE actually did a good job of selling a predictable PPV;  the wrestlers actually wrestled their butts off; storylines were advanced; Vince lost; Finlay is really starting to connect with the fans which I hope sets up a bloody McMahon mauling by Finlay in a cage;  interesting characters were introduced and with Burchill's skills in the ring and on the mic, this controversial angle has potential, but less is more and I am hoping that the WWE is subtle in their approach;  the main event confirmed the hottest star in the WWE right now... and the second hottest star;  Flair gave an inspiring interview that elevated him before he could be knocked right back down by Kennedy, which sets up a "dirty" victory for Flair at NWO; Maria actually is more attractive when she is upset or confused so let's hope for at least one lost puppy pose in "The Playboy"; Santino got more mic time which is always a plus;   Umaga served a purpose by reinforcing "every man for himself" in the Chamber and for the first time in a long time and maybe ever, his appearance was self-initiated rather than a hired mercenary or puppet which may be signs of things to come.  Although they had no other way to go, I hated to see Mark Henry lose by submission for two consecutive weeks (Smackdown/Undertaker). He is far from a jobber, but has served his role in making Cena seem healed, invincible and unstoppable.  Randy Orton is a smart champion and scored mega-heel points when he refused to acknowledge Cena towering over him but as soon as Cena left he asked the announcers where Cena was going because he's right here!?!?!  This was an excellent show which was extremely fan friendly which means that some major "face" beatdowns are coming and Wrestlemania will be the time and place for the good guys to shine.  I must say this.  If they are thinking about going with Cena vs. Triple H at WM for the main event, then one of them needs to make a change... and soon!

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Kennedy-Flair promo; Michaels vs. Hardy Worst: Melina vs. Maria TNA, even with its serious flaws, gave a hot go-home show effort toward Against All Odds.  Raw's heart was in the right place, but the sum total was underwhelming.  The Vince-Horny stuff opened the show, so I figured they woud get that out of the way so that the rest of the show would go solid toward the PPV.  A handful of segments later, I was rolling my eyes (most of the penalty went there).  Maybe the thought was to go early with that so the crowd would save its energy for later, but it just kepting coming and moving in circles.  Jericho-JBL was a decent match with the Umaga swerve.  With Triple H out of the picture, Umaga was used well (am I to assume that it would have been Triple H-Umaga had things been different?)  The Burchill-Lea gimmick pairing is strangely intriguing though highly not my cup of tea. That stomp move before his finish was absolutely vicious!  Cena-Henry was too short to mean much, but Orton did very well at commentary.  Cena's promo to Orton after the match was also well done.  The crowd crapped on the Melina-Maria match, as they should (it was pretty bad), but Santino left a great tease and ultimatum.  He does have a point of bringing up "the Playboy Curse" of injuries and centerfolds mixing. Ashley has also been injured, though it wasn't put into play.  His facials also told the story that heelish as he is, he does love Maria.  In Triple H's absence a nice video played which kept the relevance of the Elimination Chamber with it.  It still comes across as a heel turn in the making.  The Kennedy-Flair segment was what it needed to be--Flair not forfeiting in classic style, and Kennedy coming across strong and well aware of his advantage. Michaels vs. Hardy was a action-packed spectacle.  The crowd may have been a little out of it since they'd gone long for taping purposes, but unlike any Cena match, the crowd didn't quite know who to root for. When there were chants, nothing came across as majority for either--if anything, it sounded like people talking over each other.  After a while, it seemed like the crowd gave up trying to cheer for someone and respect the match for its action and drama.  Both were pulling things that aren't usual for either or haven't been used in a while more due to evolution of the business than anything else, which was a very nice touch.  And what a crazy irony to watch:  all these years since Shawn's return in 2002 there's been the story of a match being opponents targeting Shawn's back, and this time he's dishing it out.  I'll be at the Thomas And Mack for the PPV, and while it while it wasn't the strongest, Raw gave me enough reason to look forward to Sunday.

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 the MMATorch Daily Audio Update!

REACT TO THIS STORY IN OUR FREE PWTORCH FORUM

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

|