1/26 WWE Raw Reax

Jon Gargis of Cartersville, Ga. (2.0): Forget Orton's IED - tonight's show catered to the ADD crowd. How many times did they show the video of Orton attacking Vince? It may have been the focal point of the show, but any WWE fan knows what happened by now. All that repetition led to a pretty lame show ending, and Shane-O needs to learn how to make his punches look more realistic. On the flip side, is it just me, or did they promo the C.M. Punk vs. Jericho match only once? Other than HBK vs. Cena, that was the biggest Elimination Chamber qualifying match of the night because of their history, though the match itself didn't last long. Shouldn't your Intercontinental Champion be able to last longer than three minutes? I guess Cena is the only one allowed to be in long TV matches now. Kofi Kingston earning a spot in the Chamber was a surprise since Kane seemed like the more likely entrant, but I think having the smaller Kingston and Rey Mysterio in the Chamber will lead to some memorable spots. I don't hate Melina as the Women's Champion, but what's with the diva "flavor of the month" booking? Who did Mickie James anger to get relegated to making small talk with Cody Rhodes? She and Smackdown's Natalya should start a support group. And isn't it about time the WWE announces which can't-wrestle Diva will be the next in Playboy? Anyone who expected an explosive post-Rumble Raw should've been disappointed tonight.

Alex Roberts in the U.K., Torch reader (4.0): Best Match: Cena vs. Michaels. Worst Match: Tag Titles match. Raw was going so well this week until Shane McMahon arrived. Personally I really liked Randy Orton's opening address - it was classic scumbag heel. The pick-up of the Michaels-JBL angle was a little messy but worked. The continuation during the latest installment of Cena vs. Michaels worked as well, but it's impossible to deny that this angle has lost a lot of its spark. The rest of the wrestling content was (once again) too short, but the action that was there was at least good and somewhat meaningful thanks to the Chamber qualifiers. The kick-start of Jericho vs. Rourke for WrestleMania was handled as well as it could be, but the real test will be how Rourke does in face-to-face exchanges with Jericho. My guess is that WWE has given themselves a safety net by dropping Ric Flair's name so heavily here. By pairing him with Rourke, WWE should be able to avoid another embarrassing incident of the celebrity babyface getting booed out of arenas ala Mayweather last year. And then we come to the show closing segment, which actually started off really strongly. The Stephanie-Orton confrontation was very good and Orton was excellent on the mic begging Stephanie to fire him. I even liked the roster coming out to claim "their WrestleMania," but then Shane arrived. To be honest Shane's arrival actually wasn't a bad thing its only when he became Super Shane that things fell apart. Shane taking down Legacy and Raw's top heel by himself is inexcusable, especially when the entire roster was ten feet away. That was hideously bad booking that just destroyed any credibility Legacy might have had and seriously dented Orton's as well. It was just terrible, truly terrible. I can't believe anyone thought that was a good idea.

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.

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