1/19 WWE Raw Reax

Marquis M. of Shreveport, La. (7.0): Best Match: C.M. Punk vs. Regal. Worst Match: Melina vs. Jillian. Opening battle royale was pretty dumb if they were trying to sell the PPV on Sunday with that. Punk vs. Regal was an excellent match. I still don't see why they had stall two weeks on it. The Cena-JBL/Michaels segment was a very enjoyable segment for a contract signing. It set up an intriguing story for the Rumble, which will only add to what would be an otherwise boring match. Rey vs. Knox has lazy booking written all over it. I'm just over Cryme Tyme at this point...they're coming off more as the minstrel show that they truly are than anything else. Cody-Goldust interaction was pretty amusing. I've always wondered if they were gonna play on them being related. Both women's matches were pretty blah. The post-match segment was very good in re-focusing Beth's character. She's a dominant diva - what does she need with Santino or Rosa? Main event segment was very good. Stephanie's interaction with Jericho was spot-on and the crowd was gold to this segment. Randy Orton's part was good as well and set the stage for a couple of intriguing possibilities. For once I'm optimistic about McMahon's presence on Raw. Overall, not great from top to bottom, but it set up the Royal Rumble nicely. We should get a great show on Sunday!

Matt Guerra of Bayonne, N.J.: (6.0): Best match of the night, not a match: Randy Orton taking on Vince. Is there a Royal Rumble match on Sunday? You wouldn't know it the way the WWE has hyped it so far. How many times will Vince get knocked down, and get back up? Is he the Pink Panther? Does he walk into situations and accidentally blow them up? Yeah the writing is that absurd.

Elena Douglas of Houston, Tex. (8.0): Best: Orton, Orton, Orton; IC Title match. Worst: All the squash matches. I don't get what was with all the squash matches including the two diva ones. I get there needs to be some hype, but seriously, they could've saved the time and threw them all in a tag match. The Rosa fan thing is dumb. She can't even put on a good catfight. I loved the IC Title match. We don't get to see "real" wrestling matches often, but this was one of them. The shots they were throwing at each other and the physicality of it was great. It was also nice to see Layla actually get involved and try to help. It's what she should do. I barely remember the signing segment except for how good HBK was at getting his point across. He's selling this story really well and making it much more interesting that it was before. Orton is the god of Raw. Without a doubt. He truly came into his own and proved he is the real future of the company. Let Cena sell the merchandise, but Orton will put butts in the seats and will carry the company for many years to come. He definitely has an Austin-like persona and the crazy look on his face before attacking is a sight to see.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE 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.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE PPV REAX #1: "I wanted the biggest event of the summer to end with an exclamation point; it ended with a semicolon and a question"

WWE PPV REAX #1: Battleground finish generates mixed reactions...

WWE PPV REAX #2: In-Person Battleground Report on overall show, reactions, more