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Matt Guerra of Bayonne, N.J. (2.5): This show was a disaster from start to finish. The only reason I gave it a 2.5 was because how funny it was when I pointed out the fact Chris Jericho disappeared from his own show, "The Highlight Reel." WWE is trying to sugar coat the fact that Triple H will be winning the title over JBL. Everyone in that arena could see what will be coming down the road. As for William Regal taking on Orton next week, did you hear the pin drop when he announced it? Oh my lord, a jobber will be taking on the champ...can't wait to tune into next week. The WWE has become what it once hated, WCW, with a bunch of old guys people are tired of seeing.

Adam Riemer of New York, N.Y. (7.0): Best: TIE!: HBK/Batista Feud starting & Randy Orton as the champ. Worst: Two Woman's matches in one show. This was a very decent Raw. Since last week was really just Ric Flair's show (which it should have been) this was the first Raw in terms of story line since WrestleMania. While the show was sub-par in parts, others seemingly made up for it. I know everyone is sick of Triple H and John Cena, but JBL is a great heel and Orton might be the best thing to happen to the WWE since the Attitude Era. Randy has come into his own, and he is a very enjoyable heel to watch and his character and attitude completely go along with everything he is about. I would even say taking the title off of him at Backlash is a bad idea since he has so much heat from fans and is really hot coming off the win at WrestleMania. I really hope Triple H doesn't go heel anytime soon, since his interactions with JBL and Orton are good, even if he is REALLY pushed down our throats. Since Cena is never going to be universally cheered, WWE needs a face who everyone will cheer for like Triple H, Y2J is a tweener (and a good one), HBK is off doing his own much more interesting things on Raw and Jeff Hardy is both suspended and really unreliable as to his future with the company. The Highlight Reel was amazing. HBK and Batista is something fresh, new, and most likely will be very fun. The idea of running with the Ric Flair storyline is good, since he is being honored on two different fronts with both sides of the spectrum it works very well. WWE is taking the logical approach of how a friend of someone would act if another friend of that person ended their career. Batista as a heel is going to be really fun to watch and hopefully he has the same great matches he had with Triple H a few years back. The matches to determine the contenders for the title were not great with the in-ring technique, but they were fun to watch. The WWE is really selling Backlash as being something more than just a WrestleMania re-hash to tie things up. How great would it be to have Ric Flair be the special guest ref in the HBK-Batista rematch down the line at a more prominent event.

A.A. Norman of Tulsa, Okla. (5.0): Best Match: Tag team bouts. Worst Match: Suppressing the whiners matches. A 5 out of 10 rating for a half-effort show. Granted, they realized we all probably were watching the Kansas-Memphis basketball game, but still, they didn't give us much of a reason to keep switching back during commercials. I am very happy that they are focusing on tag team matches more, which I hope leads into a huge match at Backlash for the titles. Tag teams are wonderful, because it gives us the chance to see more wrestlers in action instead of the same guys over and over, like we see in Orton, Cena and Triple H. Perhaps it wouldn't be good for this era of tag teams to do a TLC match, but perhaps another fatal four-way brawl would be fun. Obviously, we'd need tag team champs Holly & Rhodes. Next, London & Kendrick have really earned their spot as well. To add in a villian, we could have Santino & Carlito. Finally, the tough decision that shouldn't be tough at all - do you have Cryme Tyme or Cade & Murdoch? If you want to make fans happy (and you do for a PPV), you go with CT. Or, you could throw everyone a curve and add in a newly created team with other top stars, like, say, Kennedy and... randomly thinking here... Umaga. So, kudos to WWE for the tag team showings. I liked that they didn't completely bury their women's division for once, but think it's about time they introduce someone who can plausibly beat the Glamazon (does Big Show have a sister?) Finally, it's about time Triple H and Cena stop getting top billing over and over, unless one of the goes heel, because fans will continue to hate on them as long as they've getting star treatment.

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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