5/4 WWE Raw Reax

Jon Gargis of Cartersville, Ga. (7.0): Best match: Shane vs. Orton and Legacy. Worst match: Carlito vs. The Brian Kendrick. Orton and Legacy got some much-needed heat during tonight's main event, even though Rhodes and DiBiase weren't dominant in their respective paths to the match. Does anyone really want to see what the Rhodes-MVP match ultimately teased - an MVP feud with William Regal? Batista getting DQ'ed made sense for his character, and if he feuds with Triple H down the road, his anger would make him a good heel to Triple H. (We've already seen them face-off against each other in opposite roles.) Maybe I need to study anatomy more, but why is Orton's "punt" a dangerous move while Kofi Kingston's Trouble in Paradise - also a kick to the head - is just a routine move? I guess not all kicks to the head are created equal. I've always thought that MVP had potential, and in the last few weeks, the company has seemingly gotten behind him. I think it will pay off in the long-run if they push him as a future World Champion. Carlito-Kendrick was a bad match as Kendrick, just like other draftees, should at least be presented as a formidable opponent to make the draft moves seem important, not to mention that he was in a WWE Championship match less than a year ago. Even though Santino didn't bring his "sister" to Raw, he still brought the funny tonight. Line of the night goes to Jerry "The King" Lawler with Mickie James entering the ring: "Wouldn't you love to share a footlong Subway [sandwich] with her?" Tacky, tasteless, you name it, but give me Sexist Jerry over Bland Jerry any day.

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (3.5): I was ready to say that I actually quite enjoyed this week's Raw until the main event and finish of the show, which left such a bad taste that it wiped everything else away. Is everyone backstage at the WWE so out of touch and/or scared of Vince McMahon that they can't see or vocalize the damage that the McMahon family is causing the company as a whole? On what planet was it deemed a good idea for Shane McMahon to continually punk the WWE Champion? When did it become a good place of action for Shane McMahon to continually get the better of three men? And who on earth thought that these three men should only be able to put McMahon down because he made a mistake and missed an elbow drop he would have missed by a mile even if Orton hadn't moved? Matters were only made worse by the terrible execution of the ankle-break beat down, which is not only completely out of character for Orton but was done so poorly that it was painfully obvious neither the chair or steps connected with Shane's ankle. The terrible sell job by McMahon only made matters worse. I become even more frustrated with this horrific booking when I consider the bigger picture view. How inept will Batista look when he can't beat Randy Orton with ease or gets beaten down by Legacy now that Shane McMahon has performed so well against them? How ridiculous does MVP look for holding his own against Randy Orton last week when Shane McMahon punked Orton out repeatedly tonight? How is the McMahon family justifying this line of booking to themselves? How did they not connecting the freefalling ratings heading into WrestleMania with this angle? And how are they not connecting the still falling ratings with this angle? How are they not seeing that everything they've done to Orton since after The Royal Rumble has done nothing but damage him? The continued running wild of the McMahon egos has once again zapped my enthusiasm for Raw. Like I said, it was shaping up to be really good Raw. The Santino segment was excellent. The Miz segment was excellent. The Big Show beat down on Cena was excellent. The backstage interaction between Chavo and Vickie was incredibly intriguing. Even the awkward set up for MVP-Regal wasn't bad and they managed to make Smackdown look like a worthwhile, meaningful, and entertaining show for the first time in months with that recap video. But then the McMahon's came along and left me feeling frustrated and fed up once again. I'm tired of it, but the depressing thing is that Shane being out of the picture means the count down to Triple H's heroic return is now on. Then, we'll have to go through all of this again in a few months.

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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