Torch Feedback WWE Raw Reax #1: "The star of tonight's show was without a doubt Chris Jericho. He gave a brilliant performance."
Jun 9, 2008 - 10:51:33 PM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY
Bob Malachowski of Whitesboro, N.Y. (5.0): Best segment: Jericho/Michaels. Worst Match. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy. In the words of Wade, Triple H is a prick. When I saw Hunter getting all the offense in the match, I thought at least Jeff would get a fluke roll-up pin on a Cena distraction or something. Of course, Hunter would not even give him that. What an awful one-sided match that was. The $2 prize is not a gag, not just being mean, and the contestant was most likely real. It is listed in the prize breakdown. There will be a $2 prize regularly, which is ridiculous. I would say that lady may actually tune out of Raw in anger now. Jericho was incredible in his role, and had easily the best segment on the show. If you watch Raw anyway, the money contest was okay, thinking you may get lucky with the one in a million odds that your phone will ring, but I don't see how any non-regular viewers would tune in for that. I would not have...
Jon Bain of London, England (6.0): Best match: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H. Worst match: Cryme Tyme vs. Santino/Carlito. Tonight's Raw was a strange experience. There were numerous performances that I felt were very good, but because of the sheer number of time-consuming McMahon's Million Dollar Giveaway segments, I was left feeling like I hadn't got my regular fix of Raw this week. Not all of McMahon's segments were bad, but there was just too many of them. Jeff Hardy came off looking very good tonight in his countout victory and post-match cross body on Triple H and John Cena. Cena was good on commentary and his match with JBL was a decent TV match and went the right length. However, other matches did not go the right length, specifically Mr. Kennedy vs. Paul Burchill. I would have preferred to have seen Cryme Tyme and Santino/Carlito in a backstage segment this week so that their match time could have been added to Kennedy-Burchill. Nonetheless, I think Burchill and Kennedy did the best with what they had. The star of tonight's show was without a doubt Chris Jericho. He gave a brilliant performance in his heel turn and that spot with the Jeritron 3000 looked awesome! I was glad to see Umaga get a win on the show and I enjoyed the brief promo from Ted DiBiase Jr. and think his character is coming along very well. It's a shame Raw ended with Vince McMahon instead of the Night of Champions main eventers!
Dan Strauss of Goodhue, Minn. (4.0): Best: Highlight Reel. Worst: Tie between the too many money segments and Umaga's red pants. As soon as I saw the show open with Mr. McMahon, I couldn't wait for it to be over. And again, they had to do the extremely anti-climactic transferring of money from one clear case to another...Women's segment was very good...So WWE tried to sell two PPV's in a row with one of the highlights being a Cena-JBL "brawl," and we're back seeing it again on Raw? Want to hear my impression of a JBL match? Sleeper hold... boot to the face... sleeper hold... boot to the face...sleeper hold...clotheseline...anyway, Triple H on commentary was good, almost too good, as he seemed to idolize Cena's strength. He did a good job, though, of showing respect for his adversary. So far I think they're selling the Triple H vs. Cena feud well, with their backstage confrontations and one-upmanship in front of the fans. I thought Jericho promised us he'd defend the prized IC Title as often as he could now? Gee, right when you think that the writers will start listening to the fans, they go back to their old ways a week later. Aside from that, the Highlight Reel segment was outstanding. Great to see Y2J finally get some. I'm of the minority in that I don't see why everyone's cheering a guy who lied and faked an injury like a heel. The segment was very intense and Jericho was 100 percent believable. This could turn into an even bigger feud with an "I quit" match or other beat-down match thrown in. Did Umaga steal some diva's red pants?. Good to see Jeff Hardy in a main event, although I wish they'd have built him up more throughout the show as a true main eventer. The match timing looked really bad when Hunter and Hardy spent a good 15 seconds outside the ring before Triple H got a countout. I liked seeing Jeff Hardy end on top (literally) after the match. Keeps his legitimacy as a contender, which will be huge for the push he'll hopefully be getting. What a dumb way to end the show. We had to stick around for a commercial for that? This show could have been good, but it was overshadowed by the stupid money gimmick. I wish it was just a one-time thing but apparently it's here to stay, and that means that it now takes precedence over quality storylines and entertaining, long matches. What Chris Jericho said to Shawn Michaels tonight is true of this money angle: "The worst is yet to come."
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.
THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.
He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.
He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).
He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)
REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.
Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.
The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...
-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars. **SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**