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

|

Adam J. Grammas of Westchester, Ill. (2.0): Best: Ending of main event. Worst: Show-Hill-Mayweather. When is Vince going to learn the boxing thing doesn't work? Mike Tyson worked because they knew it was better to make him a "heel" against Stone Cold going into the match. But with all these other guys (Douglas, Butterbean, etc), they try to position the boxer as the babyface and the fans see them as invaders to the wrestling world, so they consider them the bad guys. There was zero reaction for this "Thriller" guy they brought out and it seemed JR & King didn't know what to say for the first few minutes of the "match". Then Hill does these Three Stooges type bumps. The post-match discussion between Show and Mayweather was just as bad. Since when does Show talk in ghetto slang-"Yo' mouth is writin' checks yo' ass can't cash!"? They only highlight was the shot of him dumping Hill outside the ring because when shot from behind, it looked like he was dumping him off a cliff. I don't know many rednecks with a robe like Murdoch had on. I remember a cheesy TNT skit with Terry Funk and Tony Garea fighting in a totally fake bar. That segment was better than the horrible clip with Carlito and Maria. Having a photo shoot at Playboy seems to have cured Maria's ditziness. When Maria has a blank look on her face, she resembles Paris Hilton and that's not a good thing. Cody is really looking like Pops with the bags under his eyes. Please let this Hornswoggle thing be over after Mania - or sooner. A good ending to the main event with Orton standing tall, but if TNA put a wrestler in charge and they never went back to show him making decisions, everyone would be complaining.

Adam Riemer of Brooklyn, N.Y. (4.0): Best Match: Hardy/Jericho & HBK/Flai confrontations. Worst Match: Can you really pick just one? Okay, I didn't watch anything, but WWE last night. But I wish I did. I remember when the "Road To WrestleMania" meant something. It was a precurser that something great was coming, something fun and something worthwhile. That something was WrestleMania. But what do we get now? A cop out of the Hornswoggle/McMahon angle, which by the way, Vince seems pretty indifferent as to who in his family was working with Finlay to set him up. JBL is annoying; he is trying to be a monster heel, but it just doesn't work. Cena? Me and 400 million other fans have been beggin' for the heel turn for two years now, but it isn't going to happen, so instead we get a guy who trys to be a face but in return only makes the heels get cheered. The HBK/Flair angle got interesting, it would be nice if they turned HBK heel to add something new, but that will never happen, so instead I am sure this is leading to the quick turn like HBK did with Hogan and then right back to being a face again when it is over. Hardy and Jericho need an angle with each other alone, and it would be a money angle if they feuded over the WWE Title. Maria & Playboy vs. Santino was done years ago by Eddie and Chyna, so that isn't anything new. Lastly, I never was interested in the whole Big Show vs. Mayweather angle, but now I detest it. Mayeather is terrible on the mic; his constantly saying he is going to fly his jet right now to fight Show was annoying (does he have fighter jet or something that would go fast enough for him to get there in a two hour window?), and he is coming off as a total heel. How are we as WWE fans suppose to take it when some boxer comes in and says he is the "show" and he is taking over? Personally I hope Show botches a punch at Mania and actually knocks Mayweather out.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Michaels promo; Highlight Reel; Carlito-Maria WM24 commercial Worst: Show-Mayweather content. WrestleMania is less than 30 days away, right? That's what the graphic says. Didn't really feel like it. We have WrestleMania to Backlash 2006 with the round-robin build toward the triple threat. The three guys work well together, but for it's deja vu all over again. Tonight's segment toward the eventual Show-Mayweather match was absolutely horrible and crowd crapped decisively over it all. The less said about how bad it was the better, except to say: as much as I despised Mike Tyson ten years ago, WWE did everything right regarding his WrestleMania involvement. The lesson went unlearned. The Highlight Reel was fine in making the every-man-for-himself statement. Funny, though, I'm hearing each getting booed: Chris for his verbal statement; Jeff for his Twist Of Fate. That was a little surreal. Maria seemingly broke from character tonight throughout her segment; I actually marked out for it. Raw has four qualifiers for the MITB match now, ECW one, and none for Smackdown. That just seems wrong. Mae Young for the Hall Of Fame. I can accept that (especially after seeing the bio footage that actually took her seriously for a bit)...but who will do the honors with Moolah gone? The whole JBL-Finlay thing didn't click either, with me or the crowd. Some great potential blown there. Shawn's post-match promo was very well done, but I'm not sure if the response received was intended. The few boos there were didn't last very long; instead, the boos were replaced by Whoos, as if they really didn't want to boo Shawn. Shawn has two precedents to work with in terms of an idolizer-idolized match, Michaels-Hogan and Triple H-Flair (2005), so it was done well not to repeat those stories to the letter. If there is a turn to be taken, though I hope it isn't, the reason behind it parallels a bit closer to the Triple H-Flair match and how we want to see our pedestalized heroes. I'm working with the assumption that Flair had been insistent with Shawn being in this match since last week, though the out-and-out lack of exposure on Smackdown didn't help one bit. A promo by Flair on Smackdown about this match could have helped Shawn's second-thoughts response tonight, but I won't penalize Raw for Smackdown.

(More Real News: Exclusive backstage news on Batista's reputation and how Chris Benoit's absence has affected it (via dotNet))

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 co-affiliate: JASON POWELL'S PROWRESTLING.NET

REACT TO THIS STORY IN OUR FREE PWTORCH FORUM

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

|