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WWE Raw Reax #1: "I wonder if Target is going to start selling burlap sacks for their Back To School sale? Ridiculous stuff." Aug 11, 2008 - 10:57:26 PM
H.G. Gillis of Nova Scotia, Canada (2.5): Aside from the continuing hijinx of Santino and Beth, this week's Raw was a mess. Kane has Rey's mask? That's too random for me to even think about; the writers are trying to be cute and leapfrogged over some requisite storytelling elements with that one. I wonder if Target is going to start selling burlap sacks for their Back To School sale? Ridiculous stuff. Did they fulfill the dream of a Make-a-Wish kid this week and let him book the show? Playing up the fact that C.M. Punk doesn't drink might impress the FCC, but it doesn't make him a star, and they really need to hurry up with that. The Batista and Cena feud, meanwhile, has gone way off the tracks. It should be about who's better, not who's more popular. Batista and Cena have been around for maybe six years apiece; this isn't exactly Rock vs. Hogan. Their feud feels petty rather than epic, and it's really dragging the show down. I like that DiBiase and Rhodes won the titles back, at least; it put the belts on the fans' radars. As for Regal and Noble, whose feud I was looking forward to: why bother sending them out there if they were only going to allow them three minutes of air time? Really. Why bother going to the trouble of putting together a program last week? At least let them have an angle. Regal and Noble could be a solid undercard feud for the house show market since both of them can really talk. What a waste. The show was just way below what it needed to be to drive home SummerSlam. I, for one, don't care what happens in any of the matches on Raw's side. You know it's bad when something the stature of Batista-Cena is less interesting than a feud featuring Mark Henry.
Dan Strauss of Goodhue, Minn. (6.5): Best: Smackdown Rewind. Worst: Lack of PPV buildup/Regal's leotard. I give the Smackdown Rewind the best bit of the show because I missed Smackdown (I have never understood why it's on Friday nights) and seeing Edge's performance was honestly the best part of Raw. C.M. Punk was at the end of the first hour for a month in a row now. I realize Batista and Cena have more star power, but I believe in the old school ways in that whoever had the belt was the man. It didn't matter if you were smaller, weaker, or won via fluke; you had the belt, so you were top dog of the company. I don't understand how WWE promotes a drinking contest on the air a week after announcing they were "proud" to offer PG programming. People die all the time from stupid shot-drinking contests. I really don't think they should have had the segment. That being said, I was disappointed Punk didn't receive a bigger pop for doing the right thing and sticking to his guns. Him roughing JBL up was good though. Seeing Mysterio's mask was a surprise and a slap in the face to all the internet amateurs who "just knew" that Kane had his own mask in there. Hopefully, when Rey returns he's thrown into a main role again. I don't know why the GM of a pro wrestling show keeps referencing an American President in the 1980s, but it's hilarious. The main event was alright; we knew the young guys would get the belts back, but I really didn't think it would be this soon. I really don't think WWE put their best foot forward trying to hype up the second biggest PPV of the year this Sunday.
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