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1/19 ECW REAX:

Paul Calligan, Jr., of Hoover, Ala. (8.0): Best Match: Flair/Punk vs. Burke/Benjamin and the selling of Hornswoggle's injuries. Worst Match: Richards vs. Jobber (but the match did what it was designed to do) The recipe for this weeks ECW was a throwback to the '80s and early-'90s wrestling shows in most territories. The show starts off with a fan favorite (Flair) who gets interrupted and jumped on by the heels (Burke/Benjamin), saved by another fan favorite (.C.M Punk), setting up your main event for later in the show. In the process, four different individuals got over strong with the fans at the expense of no-one.

The next match showcased your newest rising star in the company(Kofi) and schooled the fans on his amazing arsenal of offensive and defensive moves along with a ton of charm and charisma. The next two matches also were designed to showcase the talent on the roster and their signature moves and finishers and also to get us more emotionally involved with Colin Delaney.

This simple element has been missing over the past few years because the rosters have been so deep with talent that wrestling fans don't get the opportunity early enough with debuting wrestlers to know what they are capable of or what they are working with.

I remember the days of Worldwide Wrestling on Saturday afternoons watching wrestlers like Ron Simmons, the Road Warriors, the Steiner Brothers, Sid Vicious, Rick Rude, Nikita Koloff, and how they would plow through their competition (jobbers) and how we would get together at school and fantasize about what would happen if any two wrestlers fought or crossed paths. These guys, along with their peers, had developed an invincibility factor and seemed larger than life on tv and in the eyes of fans; nowadays, gifted wrestlers rack up such a series of losses before they are ever really pushed on tv and the fans never seem to accept them in the same light as they could if they are given a series of victories over lesser talent showcasing them as dominant athletes that just haven't had their moment in the spotlight.

The main event delivered in many ways: Ric Flair performed at a high level, C.M. Punk showed why he is consistently in the title picture, and both Elijah Burke and Shelton Benjamin showed that the WWE can start investing more tv time and faith in them because when the bell rings, they always deliver. There were a couple of close pinfalls on Ric Flair that could have stirred up some serious drama if he had been pinned. For only a second, I thought that the WWE had devised a secret plan to take Shelton Benjamin to WM against Flair but I was wrong. This show did nothing to move towards a pay per view and for the first time I can remember since the debut of the new ECW, this show was designed only to showcase talent and stand on its own. 

1/21 TNA IMPACT REAX:

Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (5.5): Best Match: Women's Worst Match: X Division Triple Threat. Look, I know that interference in a match helps progress storylines, but having nearly every match have some interference in it cheapens your wrestlers and is very distracting. How am I supposed to focus on the action when interference happens almost all the time? How am I supposed to take your product seriously when you think it's okay to have interference nearly all the time? Why should I buy your PPVs when clearly the focus is on progression of storylines instead of in-ring work? Man vs. Man? Clean wins? Actual comptent refs? Guess not. Styles/Tomko vs. Bullet Bob/K.G. James was dead air. Much applause for the Lethal love, but they blew it when they showed shots of Dutt miffed. Joe's not signing the contract actually makes some sense. There is no reason why Steiner couldn't have come in after the match. The descision to have him saunter down the ring took away from the match, cheapened the wrestlers (conveying that Petey couldn't win on his own).

I'm starting to hate Black Reign and Rellik. Where's MMG? Where's Kaz and Young going? Comedy hour of Shark Boy/Currymen vs. Team 3D... (big love for Bubba). Tenay: "Very little worm action" West: "Correction, that's very big worm action" Tenay: "Well, big worm, little action". After that bit, my brain exploded. I do so love it when announcers tell me how I should feel. The main event was poorly run, in the sense that for the 1st segement the annoucners were focusing on other feuds, two commerical breaks, and the ever-so-predictable Roode interference. Sorry, but Angle vs. Nash does not deserve a OMG. This show was such a mish-mash. Just really boring developments, predictable run-ins, and 10 percent focus on actual in-ring work. This show was a train wreck that badly wanted to be a soap opera.

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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