3/16 WWE Raw Reax

Terrie Neilson, Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: nothing sticks out. Worst: Mania predictability. There really wasn't much to pick at in terms of what happened in the moment throughout the show. JBL and Rey were on the show in matches. In Rey's match, there was a mention of Rey wanting to challenge JBL for the IC Title. There was no follow-up by JBL, which I'm guessing will come next week. WWE spoiled Gail's debut by putting her in the Divas Battle Royale graphic (top right corner, there she is). Santino miraculously has his unibrow back. Orton gives Triple H a "get out of jail free" card to explain why he was on Raw and why there is still a WrestleMania match. For a while, WWE had been taking noticeable steps to bust rumors and expectations (Christian showing up on ECW instead of the rumor Smackdown as part the Jeff Hardy storyline). With Shawn Michaels getting his match with Undertaker, we're back to square one. Taking in the events of the evening, conclusions about WrestleMania could be drawn using the "Law Of Reverse Wrestling Psychology" (what we see or hear now will be the opposite of what comes later). Undertaker makes Shawn Michaels victim #17 (coming from a match that did little for anyone otherwise). C.M. Punk will not win Money in the Bank; Shelton just might this time. At this rate, Miss WrestleMania will be Mae Young, whether we like it or not.
Jericho has done more embarrassing than be embarrassed, so he will get his butt handed to him. John Cena will be new champion ... and so will Randy Orton. The placement of the Hunter-Orton match in relation to the triple threat will be such that the Orton-McMahon Swerve happens. And Vickie will dump both Edge and Show. Who for? That hasn't be established yet, and may not show itself till WrestleMania.

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (2.0): Best Match: Taker/HBK vs. Kozlov/JBL. Worst Match: Triple H vs. Rhodes. Three weeks until the biggest show of the year and this is what the WWE serves up? Am I really supposed to be inspired to buy WrestleMania after watching Triple H squash Cody Rhodes and making Randy Orton look like a complete idiot for what must be the fourth week running? And what am I supposed to make of the WWE Title feud? Do I want the blackmailing face to overcome the bickering heels who may or may not be sleeping with the authority figure to further their careers? The dynamics of both of these feuds are a complete mess although the Edge/Show beat down on Cena was effective in creating the "Cena in peril" push for WrestleMania. Even the brilliant Chris Jericho vs. The Hall of Fame angle came off the rails this week with the reveal of Jericho's opponents for WrestleMania. I can honestly say that I absolutely do not care about this angle anymore, which is incredible given that until this week it was easily my favorite WrestleMania angle. The pay-off has not lived up to the hype. And perhaps someone in the WWE can explain to me why I care about a Mysterio-JBL feud for the IC Title when you don't care enough to even create a segment to set the match up. Michael Cole randomly informing us Rey Mysterio has decided to challenge JBL for the belt is the best you can come up with? Calling that lazy booking would be a compliment. After watching this week's show, I'm considering skipping WrestleMania for the first time ever. That's how utterly uninspired I feel about the WWE's current direction. The one saving grace of Raw and WrestleMania are Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. They followed up last weeks excellent promo exchange with a very effective breakdown of their uneasy alliance. The fact that the only reason I will buy WrestleMania is to watch two men whose bodies are obviously falling apart does more to sum up everything that's wrong with the WWE than I ever could.

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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