4/20 WWE Raw Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Cena vs. Jericho; Triple vs. Orton. Worst: squashes; Santino/Santina segment. It took WWE a little too long, but they did confirm that the draftees were essentially fulfilling obligations on their way out before the switches complete next week. Looking over the top 12 draftees, if the current last matches of each hold as last before the full switch, the record is four wins (Show, Melina, Punk, Kozlov), seven losses, and one incomplete (Edge knocked both Cena and Jericho out of the corner before focusing his assault on Cena). Right before Backlash, WWE traveled to one of the usual Bizarro World places, and they didn't disappoint on their reputation. Cena gets the "boo-yay" treatment, and this time embraces it as opposed to ignoring it. Wish the announcement of Jericho-Steamboat came sooner, but it worked in front of the hot London crowd. I see a Jericho win since Steamboat is likely only working as a special attraction. Just like WrestleMania, boos toward Punk are being heard. There wasn't even an attempt to hide it in the replay. For the third time, I heard a variation of the MITB case being for "any champ on any brand." It still feels to me that Punk needs to cash it in at Backlash. He could cash it in and give the belt back to Smackdown, which needs to happen to settle the belt issue. Cashing it in on Edge sets a Smackdown-only feud for a change. Taking the past several weeks's worth of reactions to both, I can almost smell a double turn coming from that possibility. The whole Santina thing is already going nowhere, and Rosa causes all the wrong kinds of distractions. Has anyone else noticed that Beth is traveling down MVP Losing Streak Road? I'm hoping this means a breakaway for her, but I'm not holding my breath. Rey gets a new title belt and already the mistreatment has begun. He was squashed by Big Show much quicker than in previous times. It's another vicious cycle that needs to end regarding Rey. And why in the world was so much given away for the Hunter-Orton story? Despite the multiple "RKO" chants, the finish suggests a much simpler case of Triple H beating Randy clean rather than all the talk about the alternative results. A McMahon turn still seems in there - Shane this time - but I'm biting my tongue on whether they pull the trigger this time. Sam's Town was not seated to capacity for WrestleMania 25 (it was nearly SRO for Mania 24). I expect an even thinner turnout for Backlash, and WWE won't have anyone to blame but itself for the buyrate and other blast area turnouts.

Neil Knuckles of Allentown, Pa. (3.0): Best: Y2J vs. Cena. Worst: all the quick squashes. Was it just me or did this episode feel like a repeat? The Jericho-Dragon-Cena opener was pretty good and was boosted by the usual fantastic mic work from Jericho, especially when he stopped Cena and pretty much spouted off everything Cena was about to say. Jericho is SO money on the mic. Raw will miss him dearly. While the prospect of a Steamboat vs. Jericho re-match bores me to tears, at least we got to see Cena vs. Jericho later. Batista vs. Chavo was a joke, Kane vs. Punk was sadly a joke, and Melina vs. Glam was decent. I hate to say this, but I am bored with the whole Santino(a) thing. Cena vs. Jericho was a great match, and I loved that the crowd was chanting for Y2J by the end of it. The Edge run-in, although effective, screamed "repeat" louder than late night Taco Bell. Seriously, Edge has done nothing new with his character in all the time he has been on Smackdown. And what of the teased Edge and Jericho alliance that they alluded to at the Draft? Edge pushing Jericho off the top to get to Cena is no way to start that off. Rey vs. Show served its purpose, but you hate to see Rey used this way, and he really sold the closed fist finisher from Show. Triple H vs. Orton also served its purpose, but like the Edge stuff, I really feel like I have seen this before. I mean who didn't know that there would be something to cause some heat within Team Hunter prior to Backlash? Anyone? If Creative wants to lead us through the same old stuff, at least try and spin it a little. Is that too much to ask? Apparently...

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