3/23 WWE Raw Reax

Michael Moore of Casper, Wy. (0.0). I understand there are a lot of grown single men who loved the opening and closing segments. As a parent of two young boys, eight and six, who love WWE, I was disgusted. What happened to WWE's TV-PG rating, and how can they justify it with this crap? I watched part of the first segment of the show and as soon as Flair started bleeding I turned it off and wouldn't let my kids watch anymore. I stuck around long enough to see Jeff Hardy attack his opponent with a chair. I turned off the rest of the show until I caught the end, when Randy Orton attacked a woman and then forced himself on her. If WWE chooses to present content like this, that's fine. But don't label it PG and market it to the kids who are wearing your T-shirts and buying your toys. I haven't ordered a WWE PPV in years but was actually considering getting WrestleMania 25 for my kids. I won't be doing that now. Like a lot of people, I got sick of the moral majority criticizing the WWF during the attitude era, but they weren't marketing a product to children then, and they made that clear. Now Vince McMahon is trying to tell families it's okay to watch WWE - it's family-friendly programming - and in one show he presented a 60 year-old-man beaten and bleeding all over the ring, a wrestler attacked with a chair, and another wrestler assaulting and forcing himself on an unconscious woman. Great family programming, Vince.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Michaels-Taker promo; Hunter-Orton segment. Worst: Jeff vs. Dolph; Santino vs. Mickie. Getting something quickly out of the way: "12 Rounds" is condemned (pun intended) to fail. Meanwhile John Cena continues to play both ends
against the middle. But what was that DQ for when all Chavo did was step in the ring? It was lamer than when Matt got Jeff disqualified out of the MITB match. Where has Matt been lately, anyway? Jeff's had two quick Extreme Rules squash matches, while Matt has had no screen time. Meanwhile in the MITB, the eight guys involved have become more and more non-descript. The only thing sticking out is the fact that Shelton Benjamin has been taking a lot of losses (making my spidey sense tingle more with each loss). JBL was great as usual on commentary, but the answer to why Rey Mysterio wants the Intercontinental Title eludes me. It's a title, and it's supposed to be prestigious, but the feeling of the title being a meaningful goal is missing. Gail Kim's picture has been taken off the Divas Battle Royal graphic (still more backtracking on rumors and spoiling). It was fun to watch, but the Santino-Mickie match was a deterrent from the specialness of the Divas match. Adding Lawler to the mix against Jericho made sense from the start, so I'm curious what this chapter of the story will bring. The Flair beat down also introduced the possibility of a Michaels-Jericho restart after Michaels-Taker is through. I'm guessing the destroyed watch was a replica. Michaels-Taker was well-played, but it's becoming a broken record. Raw was a poetic re-telling of what we already know about Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. Putting Shawn in Undertaker's role at a "cemetery" was a sweet touch, with an almost old-school Taker feeling. Not sure the silence in the background while Undertaker responded with agitation can be considered a good sign. We may piss and moan about the Hunter-Orton story, but tonight's chapter was very nicely done. Triple H took the beat down well, as did Stephanie taking the rope-aided DDT. At WrestleMania, it's looking 50/50 now on whether Hunter gets his revenge or Legacy gets a new member. I'm still getting the spidey sense on the guest editorial I wrote a few weeks ago: Stephanie is in prime position to turn on Triple H in Houston.

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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